For northern Chinese food, this is truly a wondrous find: On the two occasions that I had dinner…read morehere, I can tell that the chef is the real deal. In Oxford, no less! Incidentally, the Chinese ideograms for the restaurant's name actually mean "Flaming/Burning Wine," which might not be the only thing on fire, if you get my drift... My dining companion and I tried a total of five dishes over the two occasions we came here for dinner. Some were dishes that were a little off the beaten path, what with the current mania in society for "healthy foods" and all, but sometimes, you've got to live a little and relish that incomparable taste of fat that makes a dish so iconic otherwise you won't ever know what you're missing! And of all of them, I wasn't disappointed in any, which is testimony to the chef's skill. It also doesn't hurt that the owners, Shuman and Teresa are very genial hosts and bring extra warmth to the already cozy atmosphere of dark colours in a very classic Chinese setting. In the appetizer category was the Mouth Watering Chicken which was a poached chicken that was covered in a sauce of fiery chili peppers with peanuts sprinkled over it. It certainly lived up to its name. This is definitely not a dish for those with wimpy tastebuds because they're likely to have them seared off as with a blowtorch. However, for those who can handle it, it'll provide a nice "glow" in both your faces and stomachs to start the meal off. The initial foray into the forbidden began with the Shanghai Sweet Soy Braised Belly Pork dish which we had with plain white rice (in the old and traditional days, only animals were fed brown rice or unthreshed rice). With its generous cuts of fat-laced pork belly covered in a thick sweet soy sauce and with the white rice to "cut" its artery-clogging richness somewhat, I was in Seventh Heaven. This was food from my childhood when the "fat is bad" mantra just didn't exist. It was oh-so-good and brought back memories of times past and of home in Singapore. We ordered the Mapo Tofu with its classic chili and meat sauce as a sort of counterbalance. It was another dish that didn't disappoint. The ground pork swimming in that beautiful spicy sauce mixed in with the usual bowl of rice just hit the right spots where it counted. The spiciness wasn't as intense as I've had at some other restaurants and this is a good thing because it's so hard to taste something when your tongue feels like it's been run over by a lidocaine steamroller! Not to mention that drooling because your lips don't work any more is so unbecoming... On another visit, we decided to just "go gangbusters" and ordered the Shanghai Sweet Soy Pork Hock which just made my day. It was one entire pork hock that had been stewed in the traditional sweet thick soy sauce which infused the entire hock rather than just its surface. Now, the tree-hugging health nuts will probably be turning up their noses in disgust but, as I said, you haven't had true Chinese food until you've tried the richer dishes at least once (and risk your doctor going apoplectic on your next visit)! Okay, it's not something to have daily or even weekly but once in a while, to quote Gordon Gekko in "Wall Street": "Greed is good!" And amen to that. Now we come to Tofu in Crabmeat Sauce: The silky tofu cooked with the divine crabmeat made for an incomparable taste sensation that also sent shivers up my spine. Singaporeans can summarize this feeling in one word, "Shiok!" In other restaurants that I've had this dish, they skimped on the crabmeat and/or even used low-quality crabmeat, which detracted from the overall taste. But not here. At Sojo, they use a well picked-through, high quality backfin crabmeat (this is one dish where jumbo lump crabmeat would not have worked) so that you don't end up with crab shell or cartilage in your teeth nor is there a fishy flavor. Despite its reddish colouring, it has no chilli of any sort in it whatsoever, so rejoice all ye who have wimpy tastebuds or sensitive gastrointestinal systems! This is a restaurant that I am dying to return to so that I can wander through its menu searching for another "hit" of nirvanic bliss on each visit. Since I happen to live on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, I'm sure that Sir Richard Branson will be more than happy to have me add to his already bulging coffers and perhaps Virgin Galactic. Assuming his pilots park their cars on time for a change and we don't miss our departure slot again: Nothing is quite so ludicrous as hearing your flight is delayed because your pilot is looking for a parking spot for his car...it was like being stuck in an episode of Mr. Bean!

Coming from a guy who's lived all over the world and have tried Chinese food in various Western…read morecountries, this is a very mediocre Chinese restaurant. Pros: vegetables and tofu selection are great, and decently cooked Cons: the Cashew chicken my friend and I ordered was very bad; it was not marinated, diced, tasted like they boiled the chicken and stir fried for 5 second with random sauces.

Recently visited but unfortunately it was closed. We have enjoyed dining there every time visiting…read moreOxford. Sad to see it no longer there.

Three stars is generous. The kitchen is very slow and people who were seated after us got their…read morefood first. Wait staff rush off like a Beijing express train. Bad English skills, can't tell beef and pork apart. Generally, food is quite tasty and comes out hot. The sweet and sour soup is a bit too gooey for me, but has a lot of ingredients, which is good, not just broth. Satay mushroom was good, but they could work on the presentation. No complaints about the wok fried duck. Same for the tofu. The lychees are from a can. The banana fritters had some oldish bananas inside, but the batter is quite good because it is thin. The lackluster service is a turn off. Why are there never any knives in Chinese restaurants? Or spoons? Like Seinfeld said: Chinese farmer goes out and works on the field with a shovel! Shovel! Helloooooo? How am I supposed to eat a massive lettuce leaf with chopsticks? Has anyone seen chopsticks with a knife on the edge of it? Pm me if you have please. A big plus here is the lunch meal deal where you get three courses for 8 pounds.

I was walking through Oxford looking for something to eat when I came across this restaurant. I…read morewas craving some Thai and figured why not give it a try. The front door is interesting an has an interesting history with the building dating back to 1637. I was greeted when I walked upstairs and given a menu. I ordered Veggie Spring Rolls (Popia Tod), the Tom Ka with chicken and Pad See-Ew Noodles with chicken. It didn't take long to get my order and it was all still hot when I arrived back at my hotel. They also wrap it all quite tight so nothing spills out. The Spring Rolls weren't what I was expecting. I thought they were going to be fresh spring rolls but they are fried; it does say on the menu but I didn't read that part. It came with a plum sauce but would have been nicer with some hot mustard. Unfortunately, they do not do fresh spring rolls. The Tom Ka soup was quite good. It's a bit heavier than most Tom Ka soups I've had and I would have preferred it to be a bit spicy. The Pad See-Ew was fantastic. They serve a very generous portion and it's just delicious! And like the soup, it would be nice if it was a little spicy. I'm sure they can make it spicy if you ask them and I wish I would have asked. The food is very fresh and delicious and I would absolutely come back here.

food was amazing and reasonably priced. the restaurant is cosy feeling and is a great spot to get…read moresome delish Thai food.

Food and delivery were great however the soup was not packaged correctly causing the soup to leak…read moreout into the bag. At least they double bagged it so it didn't leak however, they were unresponsive when we reported the problem. The response was simply "sorry we cannot offer a refund"...weren't asking for a refund we were asking for a replacement. My advice, eat in and enjoy the food....avoid ordering soup as a take away option.

I've been here two times. Maybe its because of the food I tried, but I wasn't impressed, at all…read more The food is ok, not as authentic as I thought based on all the comments. The portion of the food is average, if not small. In my opinion, the price is too much for the portion. The environment is not bad. Out of all the Chinese restaurants in Oxford, this one is probably one of the best. I can see that this restaurant won some sorta awards before. But honestly, I wouldn't even rate this as the top 3 Chinese restaurant in Oxford.

Koi is seemingly new (no reviews) and is not street level, so I was rolling the dice when I decided…read moreto lunch there. But after heading downstairs, I found a big dining room half-filled with happy Asians, so that was good news. The staff were very friendly and quick. In terms of food, they have a bunch of lunch specials, plus a regular dinner/fancier menu. Though listed by some as a Chinese eatery, the menu has a variety of pan Asian dishes. I went with a simple 4.95 beef and mushrooms with rice, which was nice. There were groups around me ordering a lot more food, family style, and seemingly enjoying their meals. I'm by no means an expert on dining in Oxford, but this place seems to be a decent choice. Don't be afraid!

We called for their pre-theatre menu before visiting the New Theatre opposite…read more For £12.80 per head we got prawn crackers, a drink, starter and a main meal. The selection of dishes was small, but everything was well cooked and tasty. Staff were friendly and the food was good, worth a visit.

Came here a few times mostly for takeaway but also dined in once. For dining in we arrive at 12 pm…read moresharp on a Thursday right when they opened. The tiny space was not crowded at that time, and our order came quickly and efficiently. It's a nearly self service kind of place because you place orders by checking off a sheet (that sheet is the menu). Xiaolong bao (with soup inside) was wonderful and delicate; beef noodle very good. I also got their wonton noodle before as take out. Love their salt and pepper shrimp, too. A highlight of our dining in experience was the salt and pepper tofu. Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. They have an open kitchen so you can see the chefs at work. The whole place was run fairly efficiently though they take only cash. A slight inconvenience since all other restaurants in Oxford take credit cards (even those eateries in nearby Covered Market.

I've only had some of the dim sum items from the very limited menu and the wonton noodles. This is…read moreproper Canto taste. Hopefully my next visits will prove better. It's a tiny place with tiny table in a very cozy atmosphere. There's almost no table service. You walk in, seat yourself, and fill out what you want from the paper menu, then hand it back to the kitchen. Your order then comes out. When it's time to pay, you get up and ask how much your total is (unless you're smart enough to have tallied it up while you were ordering). I wasn't impressed with the dim sum. It's not bad, but I suspect it's just frozen fare from the freezer aisle. The wonton noodles were improperly cooked, just not snappy/bouncy enough. However, the wontons that came with the noodles were perfect. I'm planning to come back and try some of the other soup noodle dishes next time and anticipating less disappointment.

In a word: Yum! The food is amazing! My wife loved it, my kids loved it, and I loved it. The soup…read moremy wife ordered (Tom Kha) was fresh-tasting and delicious. The kids split an order of chicken fried rice and they inhaled it! Service was prompt and the ambiance was quite nice. The best part? The price is quite reasonable. Recommended!

Yum, yum, yum! A tastier than average Chinese restaurant that does a stonking all you can eat…read more(although it's cooked to order, rather than buffet, so you end up feeling a bit guilty). They're good at hosting quite big groups, but it's still a nice intimate atmosphere. Apparently it's changed hands recently and although the food's still great, the service and staff friendliness has suffered. Still, go along and judge for yourself. It's good value. I recommend the deep fried bean curd - not the healthiest, but never mind!

This is definitely off the beaten path which is the thing I like most about it. You are finally…read moreoutside of the tourist trap! The food was good and there are lighted photos on the walls to help guide you if you are unsure as to what to order. Typical waitstaff is brusque but efficient. This is a hole in the wall, greasy joint but authentic food. To come here, you need to already know how to order. Best of luck!

Food was good and cheap compare to other places I've been to. The portion was big as well. I…read moreshared my noodles.

The restaurant accepts cash only. The food is tasty. The service is as good as can be expected. The…read moreprice is reasonable.

I ordered delivery since I was sick and this has been the single best meal I've had the entire week…read moreI've been ill. I got 2 orders of the 6pc soup dumplings (小笼包) and it was phenomenal. Also had their Vietnamese pho, which granted isn't pho but literally soothed my sore throat. They kindly packed the soup and noodles separate. The soup was still hot enough when it was delivered. My only critique is that the beef was very dry but I was craving the noodles and soup more than the meat so I didn't mind as much. Definitely ordering here again, it's the closest I've gotten to real Chinese food here in Oxford!