Tasting Britain were invited down to Shikumen in Shepherd’s Bush, because I failed at attending/covering their Chinese New Year party (thanks, stomach bug!). Anyways, Shikumen draw their menu from the multitudinous and wonderful cuisines of mainland China. According to Shikumen, “Shikumen (石库门) translates to “stone gate” and is a style of housing unique to Shanghai. This arched housing blends Chinese and Western structural styles and was popular in the 40s following colonial influence.” – you can see this in their logo, which has a few little arches on it that inexplicably remind me of the icons/art from Civilization II.
Bryony (Tasting Britain’s cofounder) and I did that usual thing where we order ALL THE THINGS but not very much alcohol, which is, I suppose, best from a food journalism point of view but not best from a body composition point of view (too many gainz). Whereas this Shikumen is located within Dorsett Hotel on Shepherd’s Bush Green, there’s another one in Ealing, in the ground floor of the Xanadu Hotel 10 minutes walk from Ealing Broadway tube. Probably the most memorable thing we tried was the ‘Haka Chicken’ – it has a taste that I cannot begin to describe and is very popular amongst their Chinese diners. It is not so popular amongst their European clientele however, and I now can see why. lol.