Chinese restaurants are popping up in International City like a bag of microwave popcorn at the 3-minute mark. Hunan cuisine specialist, Xiang Jun, is one such restaurant and I was there with fellow food adventurer and Chinese food fanatic, Alex aka @justfooddxb to try it out.
I’m asked how we find these restaurants. The truth is that we have help, most recently in the form of Hongkongers Aunty Peggy @peggy_p_li and Nephew Glenn @ggawler. In this specific case, Aunty Pegs did the pointing, and Glenn did the ordering – thank you!
My experience with Hunan cuisine is limited to “it’s spicy” so bear with me.
Unagi, so popular in sushi, didn’t fair well as a stir fry. It was the largest takeaway. The Cured Beef with Garlic Leaves, on the other hand, was smashing – its smokey, savoury flavour a hit with all three of us. The Beef Dumplings were also a hit. We ordered a second portion. The Fried Noodles were a (bland) disappointment until I poured the dumpling dipping sauce over it – better but still no cigar. The Stir Fried Chicken with Tea Oil was tasty but, like many of the other dishes, was diced into small, bead-size pieces which made eating it tedious, especially because much of it had pieces of bone. FYI, most authentic Chinese chicken dishes are cooked on the bone. It’s said to enhance the flavour.
The restaurant itself is made up of a common dining area with a corridor running down the back with private dining rooms of various sizes on either side – typical Chinese. We were looked after by a group of giggly Nepalese girls, one of whom talked just like @jokoy impersonation of a Japanese woman in a porn scene (must watch) – hilarious!
Would I go back? Probably not. There are too many better options. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it a try.
Xerxes (pronounced Zûrk’seez) – Food Adventurer Extraordinaire & Aspiring (=Amateur) Food Blogger – Shamelessly Exploring the Boundaries of Gluttony
Xerxes physically dines at, or orders from, each and every venue he reviews. He pays in full for whatever he and his companions eat, drink, take away or occasionally throw at each other. Xerxes accepts no money, gifts, discounts or free meals in return for reviews or favouritism. What you have read was NOT influenced in any way by the venue. Join him on his culinary journey on Instagram: @ravenousxerxes or reach out to him via email on xerxes@dellara.com.