Zheng, Jericho, Oxford

I have a friend who’s notoriously difficult to please, who we will call Mr Fussy for the purposes of this review.

Nowhere I recommend is ever good enough or up to scratch and he returns time and time again shaking his head in disappointment. Personally I blame his wife, a great friend of mine, and an Italian chef to boot, who spoils him by feeding him like a king so that once he steps foot out of his own front door he is doomed to a life of banality.

And then out of the blue Mr Fussy stops to tell me about a new restaurant he’s going to, somewhere exciting, somewhere highly recommended, had I heard of Zheng? Yes, I had heard of it and yes I was already booked in, except that Mr Fussy pipped me to the post by trying out Jericho’s newest eaterie, which has replaced The Bombay, the BYO curry house on Walton Street, and absolutely loved it.

Zheng is Adam Tan’s baby, and when I say baby I mean it in every sense of the word. He has toiled and laboured for years to bring Zheng into the world, ensuring its success before he even opened the doors a few weeks ago.

Having learnt his trade in China and then at Sojo in Oxford, Adam’s certainly done his homework by working as front-of-house at Sojo, my favourite Chinese restaurant in Oxford, and then absconding to set up on his own. You can feel the Sojo influence in Zheng’s varnished wooden interior and menu, although Zheng is a smaller, tighter ship with less to choose from, something of a relief if, like me, you find wading through the endless lists of food in Oriental restaurants something of a strain.

We asked Adam to choose for the two of us and we were soon rewarded with a lovely simple meal of Malaysian chicken and beef satay skewers (£4.90), a lovely Asian version of BBQ’d meat. We also tried the sen chai bau – lettuce wraps with crunchy vegetables and plum sauce (£6.90), leaving you to construct the salad parcels yourself.

Having asked if we liked heat, and taken us at face value, the next dish – a Szechuan lamb with chilli sauce (£7.90), named ‘godmother’s chilli’ – nearly blew our heads off with its chilli and cumin depths. And yet with the help of lots of water and rice we persevered because it was so delicious.

So beware, there is no ‘tourist strength’ pandering going on at Zheng. The chilli salt and pepper tofu (£3.90) accompanied the lamb as did the gan ban (£6.90), salty green beans which we ate with our fingers. Overall the meal was dark, intense and exotic, but for me almost overflavoured, the salt noticeable throughout.

The pineapple and banana fritters with ice cream was an absolute gift of a dessert, which I can still taste. The ice cream also did a brilliant job of cooling down my red raw tastebuds.

But you know what they say, if you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen. All I know is Adam’s godmother should be approached with caution. You have been warned.

Zheng is at 82 Walton St, Oxford OX2 6EA
01865 511188
zhengoxford.co.uk