Authentic Xi'an Food at Murger Hanhan
Tuesday 20 October 2020
Murger Hanhan was another of my Instagram discoveries; that seems to be the way with everything I've done more recently, not that I'm complaining because this was a great new find. Not only did the food look totally unfamiliar which was very exciting but they are running a ridiculous £10 deal throughout October (three courses and a drink) so I got Georgia on board asap and we headed to their Mayfair branch for lunch.
The restaurant itself was very cool; dark and intimate of course with an oriental vibe - and well set up for Covid too, there was a mini hand santizer and full length plastic sheet dividers between each table.
The £10 menu gave us the option of two starters, a choice of 25 xi'an noodle dishes and a couple pieces of mochi for dessert - plus any soft drink from the menu.
Georgia went for the veggie starter which were gyozas but as soon as I see something I've heard of on a menu, I'm intrigued. The other option was a murger (or rou jia mo in Mandarin) which they explain as the world's oldest sandwich/hamburger. I can definitely see where that description came from but at the same time, it was so uniquely Asian and just not like a burger at all. The shredded, fatty pork was full of flavour and almost held together like a patty spread was across this strange round bread. It was dense and chewy and just very unfamiliar - but very delicious.
The handmade biang biang noodles were what I was there for and they didn't disappoint. I ordered beef and Georgia went for chicken, which came chopped up but still on the bone - something I got very used to in Southeast Asia but was a bit odd to see in London; it wasn't your typical Chinese restaurant that's for sure. I haven't been to mainland China (just Hong Kong) so I can't be sure but all these new flavours, incomparable to anything I've had before really and a menu full of dishes I'd never heard of, made it feel very authentic. I loved being so unfamiliar.
I wasn't totally sure about the scrambled eggs and soggy tomatoes that were part of my dish, it was all a bit soft and wet but ignoring that, the pac choi, lemongrass and almost.. crumbly meat, along with the intensely flavoursome dribble of sauce at the bottom of the bowl were a perfect addition to the huge hand pulled noodles. They were thick, un-uniformed and had quite a bite to them thanks to the wheat rather than rice, they were made from. Big comfort food vibe.
I love ice cream mochi so I wasn't worried that it was the only option for dessert. Mango and green tea, both vibrantly coloured with a soft, chewy shell, one sweet and one much more understated and a little bit bitter. Both very good.
With a few days of the month left, if you're looking for something different, I'd highly recommend you take advantage of this deal and give Murger Hanhan a try.
