What to order: People come far and wide for the Peking duck.
55 Curzon Street, Mayfair, London W1J 8PG
Once a local’s secret and now a south London staple, Silk Road remains a go-to for aromatic Xinjiang flavours at an unbeatable value. The short menu sticks to its roots, offering the kind of northern Chinese fare that keeps regulars coming back. Skip the Sichuan-style dishes and head straight for the Xinjiang specialities. The grilled cumin lamb skewers are a must: juicy, fatty chunks of lamb crusted in ground cumin, chilli and salt. The real star, though, is the legendary big plate chicken — a rich, aromatic stew made up of bone-in chicken, potatoes and thick ribbon noodles swimming in a fragrant star anise and chilli broth bath. Whether you’re here for a midweek dinner or a skewer-fuelled birthday bash, Silk Road delivers.
What to order: The vinegar cabbage or a generous bowl of lamb noodles drenched in chilli oil will make you see why this spot has earned its cult status.
47 Camberwell Church St, London SE5 8TR
Tucked beneath a Holiday Inn Express in North Greenwich might be the last place you’d expect to find some of the city’s best dim sum, but this Cantonese gem has been blessing diners with heavenly morsels since 2010. With over 400 seats, it’s one of London’s largest wedding banquet halls, serving dim sum until 4.30pm every day. The extensive menu features favourites like satisfyingly squidgy prawn cheung fun and honey-roasted char siu pork buns. And if you feel like working off your feast, there are two private karaoke rooms ready for some high-energy singing.
What to order: Make a beeline for the special dim sum items you won’t get elsewhere, such as Thai-style chicken claws (served cold), prawn balls in bird’s nest, beancurd rolls with duck claws and sweet mango pudding.
85 Bugsby’s Way, London SE10 0GD
Looking for dinner and a show? Yi-Ban is the place to be. This Cantonese banquet hall-style restaurant sits right across from London City Airport, offering diners front-row seats to the runway action. Like most Cantonese spots, Yi-Ban’s dim sum menu is a daytime-only affair. Expect delicate mixed meat steamed dumplings, shatteringly crisp taro croquettes and plenty more to fill your table. The food is satisfying, if not groundbreaking, but with every dish under £5 and the added novelty of dining in a vast, conference-ready hall with planes taking off in the background, it’s hard to leave Yi-Ban feeling anything but completely and blissfully content.
What to order: The ethereally light and flaky crispy roast pork puff pastry and the oh-so-cute fluffy custard buns shaped like a pig
London Regatta Centre, 1010 Dockside Rd, London E16 2QT
Chef-owner Mukaddes Yadikar’s restaurant near Walthamstow Central station is London’s first Uyghur neighbourhood restaurant. Etles pays homage to the diverse blend of cultures that define the distinctive Uyghur Muslim cuisine, originating from the Xinjiang region in northwest China – it’s famous for its thick belt wheat noodles and cumin-laced barbecue meat skewers. Bring friends as eating reinforcements to tackle the beast of a menu, but a word of warning: vegeterians might struggle as things are on the meatier side. Start with Chaomian, a remarkably deep, savoury and flavourful dish of stir-fried beef noodles with spring onion and tomato. Then, move on to the signature da pan ji ‘big plate chicken’ sharing platter flecked with tender chicken pieces, potato and peppers alongside a tangle of hand-pulled noodles and wash it all down with a plate of refreshing vinegary paprika salad and marinated beef tripe.
What to order: The da pan ji ‘Big Plate Chicken’ is a must. True to its name, it’s essentially a rich and aromatic big plate made up of chicken pieces that’s slowly stewed for hours with potatoes, peppers, cinnamon and star anise.
235 Hoe St, London E17 9PP
