Fantuan London

Walk down Camden Passage and you'll spot Fantuan doing something refreshingly unfussy: cooking regional Chinese food like they mean it. This is Shanghainese cuisine done right, not the Anglicised buffet nonsense you'll find elsewhere. Order the xiaolongbao—those delicate soup dumplings arrive steaming and properly executed, the broth inside actually gelatinous and flavourful. The hand-pulled noodles are silky and elastic, the kind of thing that makes you slow down and actually taste what you're eating. It's a small spot with a loyal following, and at under £15 a head you're getting proper value for food that deserves respect.