Street food from X'ian

Food Review: Master Wei. This sister restaurant of Wei Guirong’s famous Xi’an Impression tucked behind the Arsenal Football stadium is more centrally located in comparison, in the heart of Bloomsbury to be precise.
Given the foodie that I am, I have made it my hobby to explore the best of food that London has to offer and I have never come across some of the glorious dishes such as the ones on Master Wei’s menu. Right from street food to home cooked delicacies, it’s all under one roof.
I chose nearly all the vegetarian dishes on the menu except for the vegetable biang biang noodles as I’ve had them before at Xi’an impression (so incredibly flavourful and delicious). I also wanted to try everything else that the lovely Shaanxi region has to offer.
My favourites were the wood ear mushroom salad and the steamed vegetable dumplings. The former served cold and the latter served hot, both with a generous amount of chilli, soy and vinegar. The salad was very moreish and cleansed my tastebuds while the steamed dumplings tasted homemade and felt like a warming culinary hug. I was also curious about the egg drop tomato noodle soup- a dish that’s very basic in many households in Xi’an and is a bowl of hearty goodness from humble ingredients of hand pulled noodles, eggs, tomatoes, greens and spices. Dessert of sweet potato balls with vanilla ice cream was unusual. I loved that it was similar in texture to a beignet, yet it wasn’t overly sweet and had a great, airy texture.
The staff are true stars here who are very attentive, knowledgeable and friendly. A big thumbs up to Wayne, Aimee and Lee. Given how much I enjoyed the regional food here, once things return to normal after Covid-19, I am certainly going to indulge in more dumplings and hand pulled noodles!
Reservations in advance: Recommended for parties of four or more.
Price for food, drinks and service for two: £40

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