What’s your favourite Chinese restaurant in Liverpool? Mine was the wonderful, but now sadly long gone Far East on Berry Street. Our family never needed much of an excuse to book a table there – birthdays, anniversaries, mum didn’t want to cook the Sunday roast… Ever since this much-loved eatery went the way of the dodo I’ve been searching for a worthy successor.
Mr Chilli on Seel Street and the Tai Pan on Great Howard Street have lain strong claims to the throne but somewhere genuinely outstanding has deserted me. Until now.
Located inside the burgeoning Cains Brewery Village, Lu Ban boasts an eclectic menu crafted by executive head chef Dave Critchley (formerly head chef at The London Carriage Works), and inspired by the flavours of China’s Tianjin region, home to the celebrated Tianjin School of Cuisine.
This isn’t your typical Chinese restaurant. You won’t find time honoured classics like prawn crackers, chicken and sweetcorn soup or sweet and sour chicken here. What you’ll discover instead is expertly prepared, delicately flavoured and beautifully presented dishes which will transform your view of Chinese cuisine. But back to the food shortly.
I’d be remiss not to highlight the sterling work of Liverpool-based interior designer, Angela Rawson, who has married classic elements of Chinese art and culture with Cains Brewery’s industrial heritage. Opulent oriental chests and chunky Chinese lanterns blend seamlessly with hulking iron pillars and exposed brick.
It was in this stunning setting where my wife and I settled down to sample Lu Ban’s small plate banquet (£39.50 per head). Small plate dining, or xiao panzi, is how food is enjoyed in Tianjin, and typically consists of a cold dish to start followed by hot dishes, including one Chinese dumpling option.
Before the main event got underway, we were each presented with a coconut, cucumber and lime palate cleanser. These refreshing little shots of fruit and veg offered a snapshot of what was to come – skilfully crafted and ingeniously presented.
Whilst I did say you won’t find any chicken and sweetcorn soup on the menu at Lu Ban, the Wok Smoked Chicken, served cold, could be described as it’s older, more cultured sibling. The most tender and succulent piece of meat I’ve ever eaten, it was a more than satisfactory replacement for that most staple of Chinese starters.
Next to arrive at our table was another cold dish, The Fisherman (jasmine and black tea cured wild salmon with fennel, pomelo and lime), closely followed by Master Yu’s Five Flavour Cucumber. Both matched the proceeding plates’ inventiveness, attention to detail and most importantly, were bursting with flavour. If those three dishes were totally new to my wife and I, the next trio were slightly more familiar.
The Collection (crisp battered stretched prawns, Szechuan seasoning and sweet chilli bean sauce), Gulao Pork (pork with pineapple, sweet peppers, tomato and rice vinegar) and Master Zhang’s Beijing Duck (cherry wood roasted duck leg plum sauce, cucumber, pancake, green onion and sugar).
All three were excellent, especially the Gulao Pork – so good in fact that I was still scooping up its scrumptious fruity sauce after it had gone stone cold, not something I’d consider doing at a typical Chinese.
The duck pancakes deserve special praise as well. A staple Chinese banquet dish taken to another level with the addition of smoked salt, brown sugar and and Lu Ban Spice – our waiter wouldn’t divulge the recipe for the later despite my best efforts.
That mythical condiment was utilised to great effect again with the Street Vendors Straw Fries, coupled with a fabulous Chinese mayonnaise. I’ve previously spoke on this page of my distaste for straw fries, which I’ve often found too brittle, but Lu Ban’s pleasingly struck just the right balance between crispness and softness.
Master Wang’s Noodles, Tianjin’s ‘famous’ pork dumplings and a Chinese mushroom broth with bok choi heart and black truffle rounded off the savoury courses before the magical banquet concluded with a delightful spiced custard.
Ahead of its launch, one of Lu Ban’s directors, Mike Mounfield, said the team wanted to create an “aspirational restaurant like no other in the city” – I’m delighted to report they’ve pulled it off.
It’s a truly outstanding eatery which I highly recommend readers take time to visit at some point during the festive period.
Lawrence Saunders is our Editor. He can be contacted by email at lawrence@ymliverpool.com or by phone on 0151 316 0210.
