When the Nationalists fled to Taiwan in 1949, they took their culinary traditions (as well as China’s greatest treasures) along with them. Drawn from every corner of the Mainland, the glorious gallimaufry they created is what makes Taiwan one of Asia’s greatest culinary destinations.
Now, Shing Tat Chung, Wai Ting Chung and Erchen Chang, the entrepreneurs behind London’s Bao, are expanding their mission to champion Taiwan with Xu, a restaurant and cocktail bar with a dedicated tea bar and master to teach Londoners to appreciate a better brew.
Bringing much-needed sophistication to Rupert Street, its design and concept signals the young trio’s growing maturity and so to showcase the menu of Xiao Tsai titbits like smoked Taiwanese sausage and pan-fried dumplings, and mains like Sho Pa chicken and Lu Wei-style braised meats, the sleek minimalism of Bao has been traded for a 1930’s vibe. Created by BradyWilliams, the studio behind the period glamour of Fischer’s and the Wright Brothers, Xu’s panorama of glossy dark wood paneling, sea green upholstery and wooden ceiling fans channels Love in a Fallen City, while the intimate, blush-pink marble of its formal dining bar and ethereal shan sui landscapes add elegance to the lush, cinematic atmosphere.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
30 Rupert St
-
These compact new lighting designs are perfect companions for darker eveningsWith our glowing recommendation, six cute and covetable new lighting designs to beat the winter blues
-
Reach for the Barcelona skyline from this horizon-busting hotelHotel Arts Barcelona gets a luminous new look from New York studio Meyer Davis
-
‘We use the past to look forward to the future’: Oslo’s International Library of Fashion Research is entering its next eraFounder Elise By Olsen talks about the first five years of ILFR, nostalgia fever, and why public programming is the next step in preserving fashion history
-
Rachael Gowdridge reinvents a Victorian public toilet as boutique suites17 years after closing, a public loo on Oxford’s St Giles has reopened as a set of two richly decorated hotel suites
-
Nela is London's new stage for open-fire gastronomyA beloved Amsterdam import brings live-fire elegance to The Whiteley’s grand revival
-
New London restaurant Lagana drizzles Shoreditch with extra olive oilPachamama Group’s latest spot turns the namesake Greek bread into a philosophy, pairing childlike creativity with generous, unfussy cooking
-
Tobi Masa lands at The Chancery RosewoodChef Masa Takayama’s debut London restaurant transforms modernist geometry into a space of ritual calm and culinary purity
-
London’s smash burger obsession goes haute with Supernova MayfairNew York designer Sarita Posada taps into 1970s nostalgia and cinematic restraint for the group’s third outpost in the British capital
-
Peek inside Uchronia’s celadon green suite at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde ParkThe Paris-based studio teamed up with Pantone to transform a suite at the storied hotel into an aquatic dreamscape. Here’s how to check in
-
The Chancery Rosewood: A new chapter for London’s modernist iconAfter years behind closed doors, London’s most anticipated hotel opening finally arrives, proving that some things are worth waiting for
-
The Hart Marylebone marks the next chapter in London’s design-led pubsThe trio behind The Pelican and The Hero turn to Marylebone, fusing Victoriana, intimacy and culinary honesty in their most ambitious project yet
