Master Wei Hammersmith

This restaurant specialises in noodles, in particular “Biangbiang” thick noodles from Shaanxi province in north/central China. The name comes from the noise that the noodle makes from being slammed against the work surface when being made. It is the creation of Guirong Wei from Xian (capital of Shaanxi province), who came to London in 2008 and opened the restaurant Xian Impression in 2015. In 2019 she opened Master Wei in Bloomsbury, with this Hammersmith branch following. Xian has a long history, the starting point of the Silk Road and the capital city for thirteen Chinese dynasties. Its cuisine is noted for its wheat noodles. The chef/owner Guirong Wei was featured in a Netflix series called Chef’s Table, which has certainly helped spread the word about the noodles here.

To begin with, hand-shredded chicken in a special spicy sauce was a cold dish, the strips of chicken served with spring onions, bean sprouts, green and red peppers and cucumber as well as a quite spicy dressing. This was very good, the dressing nicely balanced and with quite a kick of chilli, the chicken tender and the vegetables working well with the chicken (14/20). Salt and pepper squid was not in the same league but was quite good, avoiding greasiness or sogginess; the fried squid was reasonably tender (12/20).

Pork biang biang noodles with tomato and egg, sauce and chilli oil featured wide noodles with good texture and a lively chilli sauce. The pork pieces were rather uninspiring, a little hard in places, but the rest of the dish was good (13/20). Also enjoyable was kung pao prawns. The prawns were marinated and stir-fried with mixed vegetables as well as peanuts, along with a sauce involving soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, garlic and ginger, as well as a few Sichuan peppercorns. The prawns were quite tender and worked well with the sweet and sour sauce (13/20). On the side, bak choy was particularly well-cooked with garlic, having excellent texture and flavour (easily 14/20). Fried rice was also fine. The portion sizes were generous, and we didn’t quite finish everything. 

Service was very stretched at this very busy midweek service, and was functional rather than cuddly. Dishes arrived when they were ready rather than following the usual sequence of starters then main courses. The bill came to £45 per person, with beer to drink. This was a simple but very enjoyable meal, with lively and well-prepared dishes at an affordable price. I will happily return.