Jabu

Until last night I had been scarcely able to glimpse inside the huge windows of Jabu, a house serving Beijing cuisine, largely due to their being consistently steamed up whenever I'm passing. The reason for this being that it was a fondue style restaurant where you cook the meal at the table, Steve had already eaten here but had found the whole experience fairly baffling as he’d been unsure what to order and what to do when the food had arrived.
The menu essentials were vaguely explained to us and we were able to make a respectable choice, when the waitress returned to take our order she ensured we had ordered the necessary broths and dipping sauces. We’d also ordered some chicken and spinach dumplings, there were far too few of these to share, which came in a portions of twelve, they were delicious little parcels of savoury delight. I could have eaten more of these, they were a revelation. I’d not had them before, perhaps I’d been put off by their appearance, wan and soggy, they’re not exactly appetising but apparently ‘good things come in small packages’ and ‘appearances are deceiving’ these were wonderful.
The second course was delivered, we’d chosen the fragrant thai and satay soup bases along with various meat, seafood, noodles and vegetables to submerge and cook in the broth. We cautiously placed the uncooked food into the simmering stock and eagerly waited, while plunging raw carrot into our accompanying dips, the delicious sweet chilli and brawny garlic. The beef balls, again not so inviting, once cooked were delectable, as were the scallops. The meal was miraculous; the aromatic soups infusing the raw ingredients, provided exquisite food as entertaining the diners, large groups and parties would enjoy this kind of fun interactive dining experience. We also found the place well priced, you could cherry pick which raw food you’d like so potentially you can make the meal as economical or expensive depending on your pocket. It seems my aversion to chinese food is fading, Jabu is now a London Road favourite, I would definitely return here, with a group of people, it is unquestionably an experience I want to share with friends.