Before you dismiss Bar Shu as yet another Chinese restaurant in Soho, just hang on a moment. In fact you'll need to hang on quite a bit since there is little doubt that this is anything but just another Chinese. Built round the Sichuan pepper, this would seem to be the Chinese answer to the Mongolian steam boat, because whilst you may enjoy platefuls of man and wife offal slices or just plain old Sichuan chicken, there's no doubt that the show stealer is the hot pot.

Brought to your table will be starters of jellyfish ribbons in dark Chinese vinegar followed by red braised pork belly in a dark, sweet sauce. Convention is not something that sits too easy at Bar Shu, as pock-marked old woman's beancurd happens to be on your list of everyday treats. But trouble not with these descriptions as they are merely Chinese expressions for what are consumed with élan in South West China, and are adjusted to suit Western tastes.