April 17 (Bloomberg) -- Trawling through London’s Chinatown for a good meal can be like looking through the 7-Eleven chiller cabinet for that perfect pizza -- not a task for the sober.

Soho has all the smells, the noise, the lights, the bustle and excitement you might expect. The food and service, though, may be a letdown. Many of the eateries serve dishes closer to Cantonese takeaway fare than to anything you are likely to find in China or Southeast Asia, and charm schools weren’t obligatory during the Cultural Revolution.

Ba Shan is an exception. It’s understated and easy to miss; the service is friendly and efficient and the cuisine on offer is a mix of Xi’an -- virtually unknown in the U.K. -- and Sichuan, which is served in just a handful of places. Best of all, the food is delicious and isn’t expensive.

This new restaurant offers Chinese snacks, “xiao chi,” which you might equate with Cantonese dim sum but the cooking and spicing are different, with bigger flavors. What you lose in subtlety, you gain in punch, which isn’t to say the dishes lack finesse. For a menu that’s dominated by dumplings and noodles, Ba Shan’s food isn’t short on refinement.

It’s the brainchild of the restaurateur Shao Wei -- who also owns Bar Shu across the road -- and food writer Fuchsia Dunlop, the first Westerner to train as a chef at the Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisine. The corner venue over four floors is divided into rooms with Chinese names such as Happiness of Rustic Cheer and Preserving the Tradition Pavilion.

Distant Sound

The design, by Xu Xiaolin -- who was also responsible for Bar Shu -- is understated and enchanting, with Chinese artworks, screens and even birdcages, like a teahouse. The tables are bare, you sit on stools and the distant sound of an erhu (a two- stringed musical instrument) may help transport you east.

Starters include lettuce with sesame sauce, a Bar Shu dish like a healthy variant on a peanut-butter sandwich, and spicy chicken salad with Sichuan pepper. That’s the pepper you’ll find popping up in many dishes. You may only spot it when your lips and tongue go numb. It’s like going to the dentist only you don’t need to wear an apron and dribbling is optional.

Among the various offerings: Shaanxi Flatbread (jia mo) sandwiches are like mini buns, neatly served in a triangular paper envelope, filled with tender stewed pork, cumin-spiced beef or pressed bean curd and vegetable slivers. Steamed lotus- leaf buns are green (colored with spinach) and more chewy.

Wonton Memories

Chaoshou Sichuanese wontons come in a savory broth or with spiced soy sauce, chili oil and garlic. The dishes listed as dumplings are “jaozi,” boiled parcels typically filled with pork and Chinese chives or water chestnuts. I first tasted these when I went to live in Beijing in 1982 and the memory is as sharp as the accompanying vinegar. (I liked them so much that I married the woman who showed me how to make them.)

Best of all are the Xi’an-style pot stickers: pork and chive, chicken and shiitake mushrooms or vegetarian. Why not get all three? These are as light and crispy as -- well, I’m running out of similes here but the casing melts away, the filling hits you and then you find yourself picking up another. It’s magic.

In her book, “Shark’s Fin & Sichuan Pepper” (Ebury Press), Dunlop devotes a chapter to dan dan noodles, Sichuan street food named after the bamboo poles vendors use to carry their wares, “dan” meaning to carry on a shoulder pole. This smoky, steaming dish of chilis, Sichuan pepper, minced beef and sesame may be irresistible unless you are a vegetarian. If you are, no problem: there are plenty of meatless dishes.

Fans of Bar Shu may be pleased to learn that that venue should reopen by July after being closed by a fire on Jan. 3 that started when a chef was frying eggs for breakfast. Ba Shan (on the site of La Capannina) is the most exciting new Chinese restaurant I’ve tried in London since Bar Shu three years ago.

Ba Shan, 24 Romilly Street, London, W1D 5AH. Tel. +44-20-7287-3266.

The Bloomberg Questions

Cost? Most dumplings are 5.20 pounds ($7.75) for six.

Sound level? One of the few places where music adds to experience; not too loud.

Inside tip? Book a table at the front of the restaurant.

Special feature? Xi’an and Sichuanese cuisine.

Private room? Yes.

Will I be back? Yes.

Date place? Yes if you will forgive the occasional slurp.

Rating? ***

(Richard Vines is the chief food critic for Bloomberg News. Opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer on the story: Richard Vines in London at rvines@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: April 16, 2009 19:00 EDT