Angrily pacing Oxford Street in search of somewhere to throw down your Primark purchases and tuck into wholesome food - it's okay, we’ve all been there. Chi Kitchen is tucked away down the side of Debenhams, and I visited midweek (minus some shopping bags) to see if it could compete with my reliable medium chicken with peri peri chips from Nandos on James Street.
The Venue & Atmosphere
For any restaurant, location is key. Slinking away from Oxford Street, Chi Kitchen is around the corner from Debenhams and is hidden from passersbys and tourists. Chances are, you wouldn’t stumble across it too easily (unless you’re in the habit of getting lost), so you’d have to be in the know to get here. Floor to ceiling windows flood the restaurant with natural light and a sea of tables and bold coloured turquoise leather booths give prime viewing of the open kitchen. Interiors here are humble with oak effect wood featured throughout and the odd hanging light fixture, but what really caught my attention was the atmosphere. It was calm and relaxing, nothing like the busy streets outside, or the shopping outlet it's attached to.
Grab a chair and marvel at the chefs behind the open kitchen.
Food and Drink
Do you ever look at a menu and think ‘oh shit’, but in a good way? With around 14 different sections, each influenced by flavours from Thailand, Malaysia, Korea, Vietnam and Japan on the menu; Chi Kitchen left me wide eyed, but more importantly - it left me spoilt for choice. Never missing an opportunity to make a move on dim sum, we ordered a platter £13.50 to share. Coming served in a traditional steamer basket, a selection of parcels from the dimsum section came perfectly presented, with the mixed seafood dumpling and the wagu beef siu mai being the juiciest and meatiest of the bunch. Torn between what to tuck into from the small plates, I placed my trust in our waiter's recommendation of popcorn shrimp £8.50. The shrimp was cleverly presented, coming deep fried and coated in a fiery wasabi mayonnaise, sprinkled with pomegranate seeds, and the chicken satay £6.95 my friend ordered was tender and moreish, smothered in rich savoury sauce.
Slightly full, but forever optimistic when more food is involved, we sauntered on ahead towards our main. Not under the signature section for any ol’ reason, the szechuan stir fry £10.95 had succulent pieces of chicken amongst a mass of fresh, crunchy vegetables, in a spicy sauce. I don’t know about you, but I’m not happy unless some sort of carb is on my dinner table, so we took another recommendation from our waiter and tried the special fried rice £9.95. With stir-fried jasmine rice, egg and mixed vegetables - it was that little something missing to complete the main. My company went for the chicken in black bean sauce which was a recent addition, but not being a massive lover of the dish in general, I found the sauce a tad bland. Unable to order a dessert each, we picked up two spoons to share the caramel cheesecake £6.95. It could have done with more caramel, but the texture of the cheesecake was uniquely silky. 
Pan-Asian cuisine is king at Chi Kitchen.
If you love your cocktails as much as I do, you’ll know that bars that fail to execute classics should have a big red ‘x’ beside their name. Focusing mainly on the timeless greats, Chi Kitchen made a bold move when putting together their drinks list, but it paid off thanks to confidence in method and quality ingredients. The mojito £9 was a minty masterpiece, packed with crushed ice and in a glamourous turn of events, the aperol spritz £9 featured champagne instead of prosecco.
The mojito served at Chi Kitchen packs a minty punch.
Summary
Chi Kitchen took me on a trip around the world with its Pan-Asian cuisine and it managed to knock up some smashing serves along the way. Using flavour as a fist, it put up a decent fight against my go-to medium chicken. So - time for the big question. Will I be giving James Street a miss the next time I decide to treat myself to some Primark essentials? Sorry Nandos, but the answer's yes.
