Hidden gems in Chinatown ahead of Chinese New Year

We head to Chinatown ahead of celebrations.

Transcript

00:00Chinese New Year is nearly here. In fact, the day itself is on January the 29th but

00:08celebrations are set to go on into the weekend and where else to get into the festive spirit

00:15than right here in London's Chinatown. Chinatown plays such an iconic part of most major Western

00:23cities and that's no different here in London. The amount of incredible restaurants and shops

00:29and Chinese supermarkets means this place is always absolutely buzzing as you can see

00:35behind me. And what better way to celebrate Chinese New Year by looking for some hidden

00:40gems right here in Chinatown. There are plenty of incredible food choices and restaurants

00:48here in Chinatown but first up I am heading to Kung Fu Burger. This is a Chinese take

00:55on a burger but instead of the traditional patty and cheese you have Eastern options

01:00like crispy duck and this one right here, the braised pork. What makes this area so

01:06special is these little secrets tucked away like this one transporting you to China when

01:12you're right here in London. But it's not just places like Kung Fu Burger that are kicking

01:18up a storm, there's also one place that apparently is serving up the best noodles in town. Soho

01:24has a new hotspot and now it's a viral sensation. The Noodle Inn on Old Compton Street has been

01:31dubbed the best Chinese restaurant in the capital. With Noodle Inn opening at 12 I thought

01:38heading down for 12.15 would mean avoiding the queues but how wrong I was, it was a 50

01:43minute wait for most customers arriving at that time. Luckily though because I was riding

01:49solo I managed to sneak in ahead of the queue and sit front and centre right by the kitchen.

01:56There is just a sheet of glass to prevent steam from filling the restaurant between

02:00the counter seats and where the noodle magic happens but it made for quite a showing, watching

02:06the masters at work carving noodles into a pan full of boiling water. The white noodles

02:12known as bang bang noodles are a Xi'an specialty and honestly as you step into this place it

02:18really does feel like you could be in a buzzing restaurant tucked away down an alley in China.

02:24The smells and spices transported me to the far east but for me the food is the second

02:30best thing about this place, what makes this place worth visiting above anything else is

02:35the atmosphere. I asked a waiter for the best thing on the menu and without hesitating she

02:40told me to get the beef shin wide noodle. I was eating by around 12.30 and personally

02:46felt this was a little bit too early for something this decadent. I can imagine on

02:51a late night when it's raining outside and it's acceptable to have a cold beer this

02:55will genuinely be one of the best feeds in London.