YiQi — Restaurant in London

Today, I went to the newly opened Southeast Asian restaurant YiQi in London's Chinatown. Their dishes are truly unique, each one surprisingly delicious.

🎋 Bamboo Tube Rice with Pork Trotters Ancient Taste

The bamboo tube rice is served in a bamboo tube. This braised pork hock rice is somewhat similar to the traditional Longjiang pig trotter rice. The braised pork hock is tender and flavorful, pickled cabbage adds a refreshing touch, the soft-boiled egg is delicious, and the crispy pork fat adds a fragrant crunch. Combined with the golden turmeric bamboo tube rice, it's simply irresistibly tasty!

🥩 Sous-vide USDA Beef Steak

Sous-vide, originating from France, involves vacuum-sealing the ingredients and cooking them in a low-temperature water bath for an extended period (typically between 50°C to 80°C, with cooking times ranging from 1 to 48 hours).

🔥 This steak is first sous-vide and then seared at high temperature on a grill or charcoal, resulting in the Maillard reaction and a delightful aroma. It's tender, without any residue, and paired with 4 Southeast Asian-flavored dipping sauces, it's truly delicious!

🦐 Pasar Malam Prawn Fritters

I've never had anything so delicious before! A round cake with whole prawns on top, it's fragrant and fresh, crispy, and paired with sweet and spicy dipping sauce, truly opening the doors to a new world.

🍗 Signature Charcoal Chicken Wings

Originally thought to be just ordinary grilled chicken wings, but they turned out to be so juicy and tender, with the skin charred to perfection. The chicken is marinated well, bursting with flavour in every bite.

🐟 Charcoal-Grilled Skate Fish with Yuzu Chili Sauce

Skate fish, also known as ray fish, is used in this dish. The fish fin, which has soft bones, is crispy and delicious. The fish meat is tender, and paired with the refreshing and spicy yuzu chilli sauce, it's a dish not found in other restaurants.

🥗 In addition, we also ordered two vegetable dishes, Stir Fried Asparagus, Kale & Lily Bulb, and,  Kumquat Sauce Salad, both made with great finesse and deliciousness.

🍹 YiQi's cocktail series 🍸 is also very enjoyable! The presentation is also very appealing. They also offer Milo and Thai Milk Tea, and overall, the drinks menu is...

Tucked away on a pedestrian side street near the W Hotel, just off Leicester Square, Yiqi is marked by the Green exterior and seat on with hanging red lanterns.

First impressions The entrance is unfortunately cluttered, with storage items left in plain view and multiple packs of sous-vide meat stacked in a water bath beside the entrance door. It gives a rather messy and unpolished first impression.

Interior & atmosphere The dining room features a mix of green banquette seating and mid-century modern chairs with cane backrests, set against green and wood panelled walls. Lighting is dim but softened by a few light wells. The tables are simple wood, though some lacquer has worn away. Outdoor seating is available, though the floor was slippery in the rain and the covering didn’t provide much protection.

The lack of soft furnishings made the noise level very high once it filled up.

Table setting & service Water is served in grey metal cups from a matching carafe. Tables are set with green chopsticks and plates, adding a bit of coordinated style. Service was brisk – water was brought immediately and my order was taken within five minutes.

Menu The menu is extensive, covering a range of Southeast Asian dishes.

Food • Ipoh Chicken Condensed Soup with Ho Fun, Clams and Prawns (£16.80, Malaysia) The broth was disappointingly thin and pale, lacking depth of flavour. The chicken (served with skin) was bland and contained cartilage, suggesting poorer-quality cuts. The prawns were also flavourless, possibly frozen and not marinated, failing to absorb the broth’s seasoning. When I asked for chilli oil, I was given sliced chilli in oil instead – not the same effect. Overall, the dish lacked the richness and comforting depth expected of a true Ipoh-style ho fun. • Dessert Desserts are priced at around £10, which feels excessive considering the equivalent would cost under £2 in Asia.

Overall Service was efficient and presentation had some thought, but the food itself – particularly the Ipoh Ho Fun – was a let-down, especially at this price point. For the cost, one would expect better-quality ingredients, richer flavours, and more...

I went to YiQui this week after a quick google search of high rated restaurants in Chinatown - which lazy, I know, but it was impromptu! Anyway, I was a bit weary because previously I had gone to a highly rated restaurant only to be disappointed - had these people never eaten good food in their lives? However, I am so happy to say this was not the case with YiQi !! We ordered the braised pig trotters (incredible, in an incredible sauce) salt and chilli squid (okay) and the seafood noodle (fresh and chewy, with massive prawns) and four tea drinks. First off, if you’re coming alone, maybe don’t do that as the portions are HUGE. Not like dainty-skinny-girl huge, but split-it-between-two-people-and-you’re-still-both-full-huge. The braised trotters were melty and overtly generous, paired with the soft as fluff coconut rice was perfect comfort food … we scooped out all of the sauce that came in the pan! The drinks were all really enjoyable, with a variety to choose from, alcoholic or not. I recommend the red bean milk (?) one - you’ll know it when you see it. All really good accompaniments to the slight spice of the trotters. YiQi does charge a service charge, but it is well deserved - unlike some other restaurants where you get charged anyway and you’re left blinking as to why on earth they would feel entitled to that. The door man was lovely, and brought us 3 different drink samples before we made up our minds, and helped us hold our bags as we went to the lav quickly - thank you!! The atmosphere was magical, inspired by old picture show-houses, and the wooden walls and dim lighting only seemed to make the food (and conversation!) more worthwhile. I’m kicking myself for not ordering a better plate in sub of the salt and chilli because I felt it was average. Maybe the ribs? Or the frog legs? I’ll...