#mrji

[onejamtart]

OJT EATS | Mr. Ji (again)

One of our first post lockdown meals was at Mr Ji in Soho (read about that meal here).  It had been a while since we’d been and having noticed that they have a new menu, we headed on down to give it a go.

These things were the wings.  Chicken wings stuffed with a mixture of prawn and pork, covered with a yoghurt and crab sauce.  These were not bad at all; they were essentially prawn and pork meatballs covered in chicken skin.  The sauce was very tasty as well.  I feel like they were a little on the small side for the price but ignoring that, a very nice little small plate.

Mr Ji’s version of tacos.  Braised pigs head on dumpling skin wrappers and a pickled cucumber salad.  This was so good!  The braised pigs head had that amazing gelatinous texture that you get when you braise it down and a really deep flavour from the sauce it was braised in.  A very impressive addition to the menu.

A couple of the items did survive from the old menu and (in my opinion) this dish luckily was one of them.  The “Prawn in toast” was a nice little play on the classic prawn toast with a deep fried brioche filled in with a creamy prawn sauce and then covered with a massive amount of grated parmesan.  This was as good as it was the first time we went.  Still a must-order dish here.

Another item that stayed on the menu was the O’Ji, a fried chicken breast battered and fried pretty much to perfection with picallily mayo and golden kimchee.  Again, a good decision to keep this on the menu; partly as this is their signature dish and partly because it is so good.  This is as close to an accurate representation of what you can get in Taiwan as I’ve found in London (Good Friend comes pretty close too) - although the mayo and the kimchee is far from authentic.

To go with the O’Ji, we ordered a salad of cured tofu, carrot, daikon and chilli.  Nothing too exciting but a lovely refreshing salad that went well with the rest of the meal.  

The small plates here are definitely that - small but they are all pretty tasty.  Maybe not the best place to go if you are hungry and on a budget but if you’re looking for a light meal or a snack, there are some gems on the menu here that are definitely worth a visit.

Mr Ji, 72 Old Compton Street, London, W1D 4UN

Cheers, JL

[onejamtart]

Mr Ji

Now that things in London are slowly getting back to what could be called normal, we thought we’d start sharing some of the places that we have been to in these last few months since restaurants have opened up again.  One of the first places we went to was Mr Ji.  Now over lockdown, this place took the opportunity to reinvent itself and so opened after lockdown with a brand new look and a brand new menu which we were keen to go down and try!

Luckily, back then, the weather was good and the streets of Soho had been opened up to let restaurants maximise outdoor seating which is where we were sat.  It was so nice to be back at a restaurant and have food served to us and the first thing that arrived was this daikon cake.  This was a far cry from the usual stuff you get for dim sum.  For one, the soy glaze gave it a punchier flavour and the frying gave it a nice crisp but very thin crust.  Not a bad start at all!

Next up was the “prawn in toast”  Again, another twist on a classic dish and came covered in a blanket of parmesan shavings.  The bread looked nice and crisp and all there was left to do was to cut it open!

As soon as we did that, this amazing gooey sweetcorn and prawn mixture oozing out.  We had to move quickly so as not to let too much flow out and we were glad we did.  This thing is delicious!  It got a bit messy but with the crispy bread, creamy prawn and sweetcorn mixture and the sharpness of the cheese, it all came together surprisingly well!  Definitely the best prawn toast I’ve had in a while!

These were panko fried chicken hearts in lettuce wraps.  I’d always had chicken hearts braised or fried without breadcrumbs so this was new to me.  I think this worked and was undoubtedly tasty but I think I still prefer my chicken hearts on skewers from a night market in Taiwan (when I can eventually make it back there).

You can’t go to a Taiwanese fried chicken store and not try something called the O’Ji.  This was a big chicken breast, flattened, breaded and fried.  It was fried really well and the chicken was still nice and juicy.  There are a few places around Chinatown now where you can get a good fried chicken (thinking Good Friend and Monga here) but this was up there with them too in my opinion!

To go with the O’Ji, we got a plate of crinkle fries.  This came with a bunch of Sichuan spices and a drizzle of mayo on top.  These were ok but nothing special really. 

To go with the Sichuan spices in the fries, we also went for the Sichuan burger.  You can’t really see it in the picture but the bun is actually a pineapple bun which was a nice touch.  The crust at the top added a bit of sweetness to the whole thing that offset the spice.  The cooling cucumber salad also added a bit of extra crunch.  The chicken itself was done really well so all in all, a pretty impressive burger!

Just because with the fries, the prawn in toast and the burger buns, we were worried we didn’t have enough carbs, we also ordered a couple of onigiri.  They came wrapped in seaweed with furikake mixed into the rice and a filling of mushrooms.  By this time, we were pretty full so may not have appreciated this as much as if we hadn’t just stuffed our faces.  Still, even in that situation, we enjoyed them and would have them again.

All in all, we really liked Mr Ji and it was a very good choice for a post lockdown meal.  The dishes are all quite small so it’s a great place to grab a quick bite or snack if you are in the area (that prawn in toast is definitely ideal for when you’re feeling peckish).

Mr Ji, 72 Old Compton Street, London, W1D 4UN

Cheers, JL