Photo: YEYE’s signature feast pairs golden-bottomed pork soup dumplings, crisp vinegar cucumber salad, and towering slow-braised beef noodles -an irresistible showcase of texture, flavour, and traditional Chinese craftsmanship.
Authentic Craftsmanship, Exceptional Consistency And Unforgettable Flavours In The Heart Of Soho
YEYE’s Soho outpost showcases Jianxing Xiao’s decades of expertise through extraordinary beef noodles, exceptional pork dumplings, and unwavering quality, delivering one of London’s most memorable Chinese dining experiences.
W hen searching for the best Chinese food in London, one would automatically think to head to the lantern-lined crossroads of Chinatown. But I’ll let you in on a secret. To find what you’re looking for, you need to go a few blocks north.
YEYE combines authentic recipes, meticulous quality control, generous portions, and remarkable consistency to create an outstanding dining destination.
Here you’ll find YEYE’s newest branch, where traditional Chinese decor meets modern natural wood and exposed brick with pops of deep red and, of course, some hanging lanterns of their own. Their Soho branch may be new, but founder and head chef Jianxing Xiao (Sean) brings 30 years of culinary experience, utilising recipes passed down from his father. And if that wasn’t enough to convince you, Sean himself visits each of YEYE’s four branches daily to ensure consistent quality and authentic flavour. He makes four promises to his customers:
- 30 years of craft, personally checked every day.
- Any flaw? Replaced instantly.
- Core ingredient not right? We replace it for free.
- Served the wrong dish? It’s on us.
So not only does Sean understand food, he also understands how to take care of his patrons.
As seen in the name, YEYE’s signatures are their beef noodles, which can be ordered as soup or dry, and their grilled pork dumplings. For their Golden Supreme Beef Noodle Soup, the 23-centimetre prime rib is slow-simmered for 3 hours in a completely homemade broth with no powdered enhancements. Not only is this a massive portion for £17.99, it is without a doubt the best beef I’ve ever eaten; for a moment I felt as though I was in a barbecue joint in Texas. Actually, it felt like an alternate universe altogether when I found myself returning again and again for bites of beef—one of my least favourite foods, over noodles and dumplings—my two favourite foods. The outside is beautifully caramelised, and the meat falls clean off the bone with one prod of your chopsticks. It’s literally like bits of candy floating in your soup…but in a delicious, not-gross way. As a die-hard beef detractor, I tend to also avoid beef broth-based soups, because they often just taste like salt and beef and nothing else. But this bowl was a new world for me. YEYE’s broth is packed with so much soul, flavour, and a deft hint of spice to a point where I wouldn’t have even known it was beef-based. And I haven’t even started on the noodles! Chewy, bouncy, soft, and expertly cooked, I was heartbroken that I was too full to order another round of complimentary noodle refills. Next time I think I’ll take a bowl with extra noodles to go, so I can sit in the privacy of my flat and house these noodles alone in an entirely undignified fashion unbecoming of a professional food writer in public.
Highlights
- Founder and head chef Jianxing Xiao brings 30 years of culinary experience.
- Recipes are inspired by traditions passed down from his father.
- Sean personally visits all four branches daily to maintain standards.
- Golden Supreme Beef Noodle Soup features a 23-centimetre prime rib slow-simmered for three hours.
- Homemade broth contains no powdered flavour enhancements.
- Complimentary noodle refills add exceptional value.
- Signature pork soup dumplings combine steamed and thrice-seared textures.
- Centre-cut pork belly filling delivers rich flavour and exceptional juiciness.
- Vibrant vinegar cucumber salad balances the meal perfectly.
- Consistent quality maintained across multiple locations.
- Generous portions at accessible prices.
- One of Soho’s standout destinations for authentic Chinese cuisine.
When I tell you that YEYE’s pork soup dumplings are in my top three dumps of all time, you best take it seriously because I’m a dumpling fiend. I always have a difficult time deciding between steamed or fried, but at YEYE’s, you don’t need to choose. The top of the dumpling is covered in delicately steamed dough, while the bottom half is GBD—golden brown delicious from being thrice seared. The inside is filled with centre-cut pork belly and a delicious broth, but don’t get cocky and ignore the cute little ‘hot’ sign that comes on the plate. The heat (temperature, not chilli) really is no joke. Unless you want to scald your impatient little tastebuds off so you can’t taste anything properly for days, take my hack and poke a little hole in the top with your chopstick so the dumpling cools off faster. Just be careful not to let the liquid gold that is the soup filling spill out. This chopstick hole serves two purposes: to release steam, and as a venue into which to drip some of the soy vinegar sauce. The acidic pop provided by the sauce on your table lightens the rich, juicy pork and makes you want to stand and applaud right there in the middle of the restaurant.
And not to be forgotten, a punchy side of vinegar cucumber salad is supplied to provide you some respite from all the richness. With a perfect crunch and a delicate spice, I was quickly addicted to these cucumber spears and was tempted to eat them like French fries—shoved into my mouth in handfuls of four. YEYE’s clearly puts focus into everything they do, not just their main dishes.
To be honest, I’m often put off by restaurants with more than two locations, as I believe quality control can wane when the original chef and owner become spread thin. But Sean anticipated this, and through his personal quality control checks is now ensuring that all YEYE’s food lives up to not only his own name but his father’s as well. I’ve now been to two of YEYE’s locations and can confirm that their quality is indeed unwavering. So no matter which location is most convenient for you, I can confidently say that any one of them will meet this exact standard and exceed your expectations.
