The five-dish menu traces the fish’s journey from northeastern China to London, while a limited-edition sharing mooncake marks the Mid-Autumn Festival
Xi Home Dumplings Bay is launching a five-dish menu dedicated to Spanish mackerel, drawing on founder Wenjun Xiang’s childhood in the coastal city of Dalian.
Available from 1 September until 30 November, A Fish’s Journey explores how food can carry memories of home across borders and generations.
At its heart is the Spanish Mackerel Potsticker, handmade with a traditional fish filling and pan-fried until crisp and golden. The fish also appears in Crispy Aubergine with Spanish Mackerel Filling, a playful take on a familiar Chinese home-cooking dish.
The menu’s most comforting proposition, however, may be the Tomato-Braised Spanish Mackerel with Cornbread: a generous sharing dish served in a rich tomato sauce, with pieces of cornbread ready for dipping.
Two additional dumpling dishes complete the line-up. Di San Xian Dumplings are filled with aubergine, potato and green pepper, while Black Truffle Soup Dumplings combine pork, hot savoury broth and black truffle for a more indulgent finish.
“In Dalian, mackerel is not a special-occasion fish,” Xiang explains. “It is what you find in someone’s kitchen in season, minced into dumpling filling, and it is one of the first things I think of when I think of home.
“Putting it at the centre of this menu was a way of bringing something ordinary and precious with me.”
Xi Home is also marking the Mid-Autumn Festival on 25 September by bringing the traditional large sharing mooncake to London.
Made entirely by hand, the intricately decorated mooncake is designed to be cut at the table and shared among family and friends. Xi Home will release just 60 to 80 boxes, which are available to pre-order now for collection from its Blossom Street restaurant.
Founded by Xiang, Xi Home specialises in the food of Dalian and northeastern China, with a particular focus on the region’s rich tradition of handmade dumplings and other dough-based dishes.
A Fish’s Journey will be available from 1 September to 30 November 2026 at Xi Home Dumplings Bay’s Liverpool Street and Covent Garden restaurants, as well as Xi Home at Bang Bang Oriental Food Hall.
Visit the Xi Home website for further information and mooncake pre-orders.
Locations:
Xi Home Dumplings Bay, 10 Blossom Street, London E1 6PL
Xi Home Dumplings Bay, 43 Chandos Place, London WC2N 4HS
Xi Home, Bang Bang Oriental Food Hall, 399 Edgware Road, London NW9 0FH