Azuma

Fantastic. Fish with a fermented black bean sauce, tree mushrooms and pork, fried noodles, endless Chinese tea.
Great service, great price, great food.
It’s a must.

After two years living 15 minutes walk from this restaurant, I regret that my first visit is less than a month before I move.
Somehow I had the impression that serving multiple cuisines would dilute the quantity but the Chinese menu here is pretty focused on Sichuan and has a lot of the classics e.g. my favourite fried chicken with chilli.
For once though I skipped that and shared gong bao chicken, aubergine with pork, braised pork and beef with noodles. All were excellent and I would get them again and recommend. My friend got some kind of beef ribs as a takeaway and phoned from his train to report how good they were.
Service was very prompt. We were told it would be 20 minutes for the braised pork. It was 20 minutes.
We didn’t sample the Korean BBQ but it’s properly set up with the pans in the tables, so no doubt will be fun to try at least!
I shall no doubt be back as much as possible before I depart!

Chinese restaurant that is popular with students and the Chinese community that serves Chinese food and Korean barbeque. We went for the BBQ option, which is all you can eat. You get to pick meat/​fish, veg, spices and sauces then you get to have fun cooking it yourself in the BBQ within the table.
If you like playing with your food as much as I do then this this one to try, just make sure your eyes aren’t bigger than your stomach.

Formerly ‘Little Fusion’, a very tasty Korean restaurant, this venue has become ‘Azuma’, an equally tasty Chinese diner.
I visited recently with a group of around twenty people for a joint birthday party. We were a little on the rowdy side, and arrived in dribs and drabs, but despite this the staff were really patient and welcoming. We ordered a selection of Szechuan dishes (with help from the lovely owner who came over and recommended some things) which arrived in huge steaming bowls with a bottomless pot of rice. My favourites were the Kung Po Chicken (soft chicken, crunchy peanuts, sweet and salty sauce) and the pickled cucumbers which were spicy and refreshing. For £20 each we all had more food than we could manage, and one too many beers…
The only let down of Azuma is that the décor and atmosphere are a bit lacking. Similar to other East-​Asian diners, the room is large, packed with a mish-​mash of furniture, and harshly lit with strip lights. This seems to be a standard of a certain kind of Chinese and Korean eatery — and whilst it may make the experience more authentic, it always makes me want to leave the restaurant as soon as we’ve finished eating, rather than sit and enjoy a coffee or dessert.
Recommended for groups, cheap and authentic eats, but not for first dates or romantic occasions.

There are very few Oriental Restaurants in ths country that I’ve enjoyed eating in. This is a very bold statement, I realise, but completely true.
I may have mentioned this (snore, I know) but part of me is Chinese. Probably the stomach. Grandma used to call me Fan Tong as a child. It means ‘Rice Bucket’.
I digress.
This resaurant used to be ‘Little Fusion’ under previous ownership. It was a little clinical, slightly odd, and not very popular with the local Chinese community itsels. The food was pretty good it has to be said, but not well delivered. The new owners have given the place a great USP and a Korean twist and have spruced (and most importantly cosied) the place up, making it far more attractive, homely and nice to be in. Testament to this is that I never see it empty.
I visited the other day for something to grab and go to the park with (takeaway). The restaurant was rammed, but lively. The waiters were running about nimbly and launching food out at a great pace, letting those that were cooking themselves (on the in-​table Korean style BBQ grill-​plates) to get down to the fun of preparing their food. The menu is well constructed, and not overburdened by countless dishes that cater for the English. It was rather funny to hear my Gweilo friend say ‘I don’t really recognise any of these dishes’.
My food was fantastic, and without wanting to sound like a massive idiot, was just like Grandma used to make it, and that’s enough for me.
I will be returning soon, hungry for more.
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