Chinatown

Well now, this is welcome news. Given how much Chinatown suffered in a drop off in trade the weeks before lockdown, any signs of revival there are doubly appreciated.

So we're delighted to reveal that one of our favourite hangouts in London, Dumplings' Legend, is back up and running.

The restaurant announced yesterday that it had moved to delivery, with "Stir-fry and Xiao long Bao and our

London's Chinatown has certainly been one of the city's hardest-hit areas by Covid-19, having seen its business decimated weeks before the official lockdown started.

So it's good to hear about a new campaign to keep at least the spirit of the place alive, until we can visit again. #BringingChinatownHome is all about allowing Londoners to explore, take inspiration and enjoy Chinatown without leaving their living room.

To

It's Restaurant Marketing #101 (not to mention common decency) not to insult the cuisine of the country whose food you're serving up, but that lesson seems to have eluded someone at Pachamama.

In an email sent out to their mailing list yesterday promoting both Chinese New Year, which in 2020 is the Year of the Rat, and their upcoming new Chinese noodle restaurant Yiu Fat Noodle, they've written (with our bolding):

In order to pay our

More change for Chinatown, which has seen quite a few new restaurants and shops appear thanks to the Newport development. This time it's the turn of three new dessert spots for the area.

First up is Kova Patisserie (who already have another location in Soho). Like their other shop, they'll have French patisseries with a Japanese twist - like their mille crepes - as well as a

Popular Taiwanese fried chicken chain Monga have chosen London's Chinatown for their first European branch.

Since 2017, Bun House have built up a reputation in Soho for their steamed buns. Now they're opening a much larger restaurant in the heart of Chinatown (with new buns too). 

Yamagoya ramen originally started as a pop-up upstairs at Shuang Shuang. Now they're back, taking over the main restaurant for good and are bringing their famed raindrop cake with them. 

A modern Sichuan and a Shanghai noodle and dumpling offering will be the first two restaurants to open in Chinatown's new Central Cross development.

This will be the second site for Mamasons, with the previous one opening in Kentish Town in 2017. If you’ve not been or are unfamiliar with the concept of Filipino “dirty" ice cream, it’s basically the nickname used to describe ice cream made in a steel drum with ice and salt in the hawker markets of Manila.

If you've never made it down to Sammie Le's ice-cream pop-up you can now try her permanent parlour in Chinatown selling ice-cream, milkshakes and the macaron ice-cream sandwiches that are her signature.

There are 80 ingredients for you to build your ideal hotpot from at this sizable new Chinatown restaurant, from traditional tripe and aorta to Wagyu beef and seafood.

Get ready, because the hottest new table in town is about to open for bookings.

It's from the same people behind The Palomar and The Barbary and is part of their big new Soho pub, The Blue Posts. The main pub and cocktail bar opened late last year and

The bubblewrap was certainly something that became big on the Chinatown food scene in 2017, and now the biggest spot Bubblewrap Waffle is opening 2017 with a brand new savoury treat. 

It's called the Winter Flame and it's made with Bubblewrap batter with added paprika, mature cheddar cheese from Snowdonia and organic charcoal from G Baldwin & Co.  When it's cooked, more cheese is added

The people behind The Palomar and The Barbary are opening a pub in Chinatown. It'll be a three-floor affair including a basement kitchen counter and a cocktail bar. 

We take a trip to this Aegean-inspired restaurant and bar from the owners of London restaurants Frescobaldi and Yosma.