I had a race to run in Oxford after work and figured that it was more practical to have a meal out in town afterwards than to drive home and then start cooking late.
So, following up a top-tip we decided to go to SoJo; a very unassuming (and to be brutal, uninspiring!) looking place not far from the station. The word in cyberspace seemed univerally enthused, and everyone I mentioned it to in Oxford got a dreamy look in their eye, so it seemed worth a go.
You know the worst kind of chinese? The type that's swimming in grease? And where the noodles are soggy and over-cooked? And the flavours taste distinctly arificial? And you wake up the next day with a tummy that grumbles and is unhappy?
Well, SoJo is the polar opposite of all of that. It restores your faith in Chinese being interesting, flavoursome, and frankly delicious. Another thing - I would say that about 2/3 of the people eating at SoJo last night were Chinese, which is surely a good sign.
We shared a dim sum starter. I'd never had dim sum before, but I'll definitely be going back for more. We had a selection of steamed dim sum, and it all tasted fresh and delicious.
Then on to mains. Szechuan "Gan Shao" Seabass topped diced waterchestnut sauce for me - a pleasing contrast of soft textured fish and crunchy waterchestnuts, with enough chilli in the sauce to warm but not so much that it was uncomfortable. Dan had beef with aubergines and declared it amazing. (Whether he had more chilli I don't know, but it certainly cleared out the last of his summer cold sniffles!)
The portions were generous, but it was all so lovely that we just couldn't leave it...so we did go to bed feeling a little bit over full. Still once in a while that doesn't do anyone any harm I think! Next time I'm going back for a dim sum lunch. I'm already salivating at the thought.
Here's the link to the google page. The place doesn't have a website that I can find.
Seriously though - its my top tip. Go there!
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