Shuang Shuang – Chinese Hot Pot Meets Sushi Conveyor Belt

Name: Shuang Shuang

Where: 64 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W1D 6LU, http://www.shuangshuang.co.uk/

Cost: Our bill came to £55 for 2 including service, without alcoholic drinks. Appetisers cost from £2 to £3.50. The main event, of course, is the hot pot - the broth base costs £7 or £8.50, and the ingredients placed on coloured plates denoting their price cost from £1 to £9.90 for the Japanese marbled beef. There is a set menu including a broth, dipping sauce, noodles and any of 3 items from the green plates on the conveyor belt for £9.30. 

About: Hot pot restaurants are hardly a novelty in London, with places like Chilli Cool in King’s Cross and Little Lamb on Shaftsbury Avenue. Opened in December 2015, Shuang Shuang however is a welcome addition to this restaurant genre. They offer hot pot, but not as we know it.

Here diners are able to pick their own ingredients, and as many as of these as they want, via a sushi-style conveyor belt. I have been to a number of hot pot restaurants where whole sets of ingredients are offered and paid for.

The problem with this is that the best ingredients go quickly, while some unloved and unrecognizable vegetables are left over. But this is not the case at Shuang Shuang – you only add and pay for what you want to eat.

Besides, diners can choose from a range of five different broths (mala with Sichuan peppercorns, chicken, lamb, seafood or vegetarian), which are brought to a gentle boil at the counter. Then a selection of fish, meat and vegetable items are chosen from the conveyor belt, with variable prices indicated by the colour of the plate.

The recommended cooking time is indicated on the clear plastic lid. After dunking them in the broth for a few minutes, it's a simple matter of putting them into your chosen dipping sauce and popping them into the mouth.

The restaurant is largely white, with a modern stylish feel to it, with young and helpful staff, and a hi-tech setting where diners control their own broth cooking station.

What We Ate: We sampled all four starters. Pea tofu (£2) as the name suggests is made from peas rather than the usual soya beans, and was served with sesame oil and spring onions. I enjoyed this, particularly the interesting granular texture, very different from the Japanese tofu I usually cook with.

Jasmine tea egg and nest (£3.50) was a preserved egg with a creamy, intensely scented yolk. 

The pig's ears with Xingiang spice (£3) were excellent - deep fried until crispy and with a rich, smoky chilli flavour.

Scallop and prawn fritters with mala oil (£3) were also very good, with an invigorating smack of chilli.

Our hot pot was divided into two sections, so we were able to choose two different broths. For one, we chose the mala broth (£8.50) – salty and fiery, made with dried chilies, Sichuan peppercorns, mixed herbs and fermented beans. I found this a little unbalanced, and I could taste the Sichuanese peppercorns with their heat and numbing qualities, but not much else.

The black bird broth was gentler, made from black chicken, jujube red fruits and Chinese wolfberries. Once they came to a boil, we chose from the range of more than 40 ingredients on the conveyor belt.

These included prawns, chicken, minced pork and prawn, scallop, and tofu balls, as well as greens and noodles. Vegetable options included chrysanthemum leaves, watercress, pak choi, pea shoots and choi sum.

I enjoyed my hotpot at Shuang Shuang – the broths we chose were intensely flavoured, and the ingredients were fresh and varied. In addition, the service was excellent and our waiter explained with great detail and enthusiasm how to choose, cook and eat a Chinese hotpot.

What We Drank: There are three white and three red wine options, starting at £27 for a French Viognier and £28 for a South African Shiraz. We had a glass of oolong tea at £1.50 each. Water is provided free of charge, which is commendable. 

Likes: I loved the crispy pigs ears, the black bird broth and the great range of ingredients to choose from. 

Dislikes: Shuang Shuang is not a restaurant that invites diners to linger by the conveyor belt, and seating there is not convenient for those in groups larger than 3. There is however seating for larger groups on the first floor. 

Verdict: If you have never tried a Chinese hot pot restaurant, Shuang Shuang is the most approachable of its kind in London. You won’t need to know much about the cuisine or its ingredients as the staff will happily guide you through. It is delicious, fun and good value. Recommended.  

London Restaurant Reviews - Century Club Brasserie (Members Club Dining)

Many is the time I have strolled past the Century Club's front door on Shaftesbury Avenue without realising it was there, surrounded as it is by Chinese restaurants, currency exchanges and phone unlocking merchants. I was intrigued to have the opportunity to visit and review its brasserie a little while ago, and was surprised by its cool elegance amidst the hectic surrounds of that area between Soho and Chinatown. Increasing numbers of clubs are opening their restaurants to non-members, especially those in areas like Soho and the City where there are many other dining options for members. Since clubs need to provide restaurants for their members, they can easily become a financial drain if they are not being used, and it is this that drives the trend.

I don't know what your thoughts are about members clubs, but personally I can't imagine ever signing up to one. I have several friends who have though, including at Century, and I can see some advantages in doing so. If you can afford the membership fees and have members as friends who can recommend you, clubs like Century offer you a guaranteed seat at a plush Central London watering hole (a rarity these days) without the risk of some drunken 16-year old vomiting all over your shoes, or at least so I would hope! In addition, members in certain businesses might find them good places to entertain clients.

This is not however a review of the Century Club, but of its brasserie. The Century Club currently has a full member's list, and indeed a long waiting list for new members. Members are mostly people working in media, film and theatre. It has the most discrete entrance imaginable, and is spread over  several floors, the top being a very attractive open air terrace bar. I was asked not to take any pictures of any of the club rooms or members, and indeed was only allowed to photograph the food. The two images of the restaurant in this post have kindly been provided by Century Club.

The manager, Sophie, welcomed us on the terrace and gave us a quick tour of the club's many rooms. We were soon seated at the brasserie, a spacious and casual room with wooden flooring and shutters, fresh cut flowers and discrete lighting.

Image Courtesy of Century Club Brasserie

Glancing through the menu, I was surprised to see how affordable many of the dishes were considering the venue, with starters between £7.50 and £13.50, and mains from £11.50 to £19.95. All the desserts were priced at £6.25. This works out at £30-£35 for a three course meal from the a la carte menu, which is not bad for the West End. Better still are the fixed priced options @ £15.50 and £19.50 for two or three courses, and the pre-theatre supper (chef's choice) @ £13.50 and £15.50 served between 5:00 and 6:30pm.

Image Courtesy of Century Club Brasserie

Dr G and I shared our starters and main courses. We started with the Steak Tartare @ £9.50 (which can also be served as a main course with French fries @ £18), and the Pan-Fried Foie Gras, Grapes and Balsamic @ £10.95. We enjoyed the generous portion of perfectly cooked foie gras, but we both agreed that the steak tartare was among the best we could recall eating in London. The meat was ultra-fresh, hand chopped and beautifully seasoned.

For our main course, we shared a Cote de Boeuf with Triple Cooked Chips @ £35 (for two people). One of my favourite cuts of beef, the meat was succulent and tender, deliciously charred on the outside yet bloody inside, and had the intensity of flavour expected of well-hung beef cooked on the bone. A real winner.

To accompany our beef, we had a lovely bottle of 2008 Massaya Classic, a Lebanese wine from Bekka Valley at £28. This tasted a little young, but had generous red berry fruit flavours and structure to stand up to the meat. House wines start at £18 with many options around the £25 mark.

To round off dinner, Dr G went for the Varlhona Chocolate Mousse and Honeycomb Ice Cream @ £6.25, while I opted for the Pear Tart Tatin with Creme Fraiche @ £6.25. We agreed that the presentation of both showed great finesse, and were a fitting conclusion to our meal.

We thoroughly enjoyed our meal on that occasion. The Century Club Brasserie is on my radar whenever I crave a fine steak tartare or cote de boeuf in the West End.

Cost: The London Foodie was a guest of Century Club Brasserie. I estimate that a three course meal would cost around £30 to £35 (excl. drinks). In my opinion this is good value considering the location, venue and quality of food.

Likes: The steak tartare is one of the best I have eaten. The cote de boeuf was magnificent. Impeccable service. Plush surroundings and excellent location. Reasonably priced a la carte menu with good value pre-theatre and fixed price menus.

Dislikes: I cannot fault the food and service that we experienced that evening, and while members would probably disagree with me I feel that non-member diners should be allowed access to the roof top bar at the end of their meal. Currently, non-member diners are only allowed to use the brasserie.

Verdict: Top quality French brasserie nosh in ultra-central location at reasonable prices. Impeccable service, good wine list, plush surroundings, and possibly the best steak tartare in London. Highly recommended.