Dream Xi’an, London EC3: ‘I challenge you to find a nicer way to spend a couple of hours near the Tower of London’ – restaurant review

I have yet to leave any of Guirong Wei’s places not delightedly flecked with umami, sweet, hot and vinegary sauces

Dream Xi’an is so close to the Tower of London that Anne Boleyn could feasibly have popped by for her last supper; nearby neighbours to this new restaurant include Traitors Gate pub and a handful of hungry ravens. Opening Dream Xi’an, a culinary paean to the capital of Shaanxi province, so close to one of London’s most hectic tourist attractions is a bold move. Before it set up shop here, this was a Gourmet Burger Kitchen. It’s a great location, with legions of tourist passersby, but maybe not the sort who’d rush, as their first option, to a spot selling chewy tripe, pig ear and beef tendon.

One of Dream Xi’an’s unmissable dishes, the biang biang noodles, are yet to enter mainstream western consciousness, which is wildly remiss because, once eaten, biang biang become a compulsion. You have my warning. For the uninitiated: imagine fat, slithery udon noodles, but much bigger and flatter – wider than pappardelle pasta, wider than a child’s belt – served in long, unbroken stretches. If anyone in the UK can start your journey into Shaanxi cooking, and especially these wonky, slippery suckers, it is chef/owner Guirong Wei, of Master Wei and Xi’an Impression, in central and north London, respectively. I have yet to leave any of Wei’s places not delightedly flecked with umami, sweet, hot and vinegary sauces. Often the heat comes from chilli flakes, providing a fiery, crunchy glaze to the joyous carb as you chew and slurp. Here at Dream Xi’an, there are at least 12 biang biang and liangpi dishes, with minced pork, lean beef and vegetarian options.

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