Around Asia in 80 dishes at New China Restaurant

Forget crispy duck and pork balls – be brave and try one of these quirky dishes at New China Restaurant.

If you’re a little sick of Sichuan or bored of Cantonese, consider pushing the culinary envelope a little further at New China Restaurant. Firstly, you won’t be able to miss this imposing eatery – its exterior resembles a bright red pagoda. Inside, however, is where the magic happens. New China’s menu is one of the most comprehensive in Chinatown, featuring almost every type of regional Chinese cuisine. Trust, that’s no small feat. Its owners are among the first Chinese mainlanders to open restaurant in London so it’s safe to say they’ve got experience in spades.

If there’s one regional style Chinese food aficionado and authority, Fuchsia Dunlop loves it’s Jiangnan. Underpinned by gentle flavours, it’s the polar opposite of the fiery spice of Sichuanese. New China is one of the only places in London you can sample Jiangnan food.

In amongst crowd-pleasers like crispy shredded beef and sweet and sour pork you’ll discover some lesser-known delights like Nanjing saltwater duck. Hailing from the Jiangsu Province, just north of Shanghai, this dish sees the duck rubbed with spice, pickled for a few hours then gently simmered with a broth of ginger and spring onion. The result? A plain looking but awesome tasting bird.

Keep perusing the menu and you’ll stumble across some super-quirky ingredients that are certainly worth trying (for bragging rights as much as taste). Why just have chicken when you can have shredded chicken with jelly fish? Or how about wok grilled bullfrog? Served spicy, flash-fried with veg, it’s a delicious – albeit unlikely – dish.

From Northern China, another must-try is New China’s stir-fried beef with tofu jelly in hot soup. Gelatinous, flavourful, with stick-to-your-ribs meat, it’s a perfect winter warmer for the approaching colder months.

Next time you’re in Chinatown and want to treat your palette so some more inspiring tastes, just look for the red pagoda and step into New China.

If you’re a student, get down to New China, post-haste! Any students that flash their ID will received 12% off their final bill, excluding hot pot.