Master Wei Hammersmith

This is the second meal that I have tried at Master Wei, which has two branches in London: this one in Hammersmith and also one in Holborn. I have written previously about the background of the restaurant On this cold night I started with hot and sour soup (£4.90), which was a good example of the breed. There was a good balance of vinegar and chilli, and plenty of elements including wood ear mushrooms, dried lily flowers, bamboo shoots, tofu and shiitake mushrooms. (13/20).

Beef biangbiang noodles (£15.10) had large chunks of beef, the large noodles resting in a chilli sauce. These thick, broad wheat-based noodles come from Shaanxi cuisine, and originate in central China, which has Xi’an city (of Terracotta Army fame) as the ancient capital of the region. The pieces of beef were a bit tricky to eat with chopsticks, but the good thing was that inside they were still pink, so cooked around medium. The noodles themselves were firm and were complemented well by the slightly spicy chill sauce (13/20).

Kung pao prawns (£18.90) tasted even better than I remember from last time. The king prawns were cooked accurately with Shaoxing wine, stir fried in a wok with roasted peanuts, garlic, ginger, celery, chilli and some Sichuan peppercorns, along with rice wine vinegar, soy, a little sugar and corn starch. The combination worked really well, though I would have liked to see more Sichuan peppers than were used here (14/20). Bak choi with garlic (£10.90) was again excellent, stir fried. This is a very simple dish, but the cooking of the bak choi was excellent, just flavoured a little by the garlic (14/20). Fried rice (£2.60) was also properly cooked.

Service was friendly and efficient, and the bill came to £38 each including tip, with Asahi beer to drink. Master Wei is a very capable addition to the restaurant options in Hammersmith.

Further reviews: 24th Sep 2025