Last Updated on April 1, 2026
New Spring Menu at Hainan House, Upper Street, Islington
4.5 out of 5.0 starsThere are so many restaurants and eateries now on Upper Street that it would be easy to miss Hainan House. It’s unassuming. Nothing fancy from the outside and next to a fruit and veg shop where the long queue of people blocked the entrance way. My advice would be to shove your way through these people – politely, of course – and perhaps ask them to queue for their 5-a-day on the other side.
Once inside, you will immediately feel ravenous. The smells from the open kitchen will start your stomach a growling. The warm smiles from Glenda and the other front-of-house team members will have you feeling that you’ve stepped into their home for an intimate dinner.
Hainan House is an independent restaurant focused on Southern Chinese home-style cooking, founded by Sunny (Cenlang) Wu. The menu celebrates the ‘homey, refreshing and comforting essence of Hainanese cuisine from Southern China’ with ‘flavours shaped by influences from Canton, Hakka and Min culinary traditions’.
We immediately got into a conversation with Glenda about regional food and the nostalgia that brings as she took us through the menu and guided us on what to order.
A New Spring Menu Alongside House Classics
The Spring Menu launches this April alongside a host of staple house classics. There is a whole section on the menu dedicated to claypots, and I suggest you try at least one on your visit. Claypot cooking has been used for centuries across Southeast Asia, but particularly in Chinese and Vietnamese cuisines. The clay pots retain the heat and distribute it evenly during the cooking process, so everything inside is incredibly tender.
We tried the Spring menu claypot special – Zao Po Cu Claypot. It was piping hot, rich in umami, tangy without being sour and had a nice chilli kick. It reminded me a little of some of the soups I ate in northern Vietnam, which is perhaps unsurprising considering the proximity of Hainan Island to there. The broth is made with fermented glutinous rice wine and aged rice vinegar. I would happily have had a bowl of this on its own as it was so immediately soothing for my sore throat. But add the fresh clams, giant prawns, seaweed and enoki mushrooms in addition to glass noodles, and it makes a very hearty main meal. Our portion could easily have fed four people, and I would encourage you to consider ordering it that way, vs as a main meal for one, because there are so many other unusual – for me at least – dishes to try.
Small plates on the Spring menu include Tofu Puff and King Oyster Mushroom Stir Fry. It’s a house fermented sauce that the tofu puffs must have been immersed in for a few hours because they oozed it out when I bit into them. It was the kind of delightful that makes you close your eyes and appreciate good cooking. I would suggest ordering a little rice to go with this so you can elegantly eat all the sauce. Perhaps order some Hainanese yellow lantern chilli sauce on the side for extra measure. My companion and I were both desperate for a chunk of baguette to ‘scarpetta’ what was left on the plate.
I was intrigued by the Tiger Skin Quail Eggs with Papaya Chilli. I’d never come across a dish like this. Deep-fried quail eggs atop a sweet papaya ‘hummus’ of sorts. We both agreed this would be very easily replicable at home with ordinary eggs, as breakfast.
Side note – this is what I love about coming to places like this. It inspires me to broaden my repertoire of what I eat at home. Quail eggs with papaya is not something that I would have come up with, but it absolutely slapped as my children would say.
I excused myself for a brief minute and came back to my companion, having already demolished the Cola Chicken Wings with Mango Chilli Dip, regretting only ordering three rather than five. So I did the same with the Mushroom Rice Wraps with Fermented Chilli. Not what I expected, which was on the lines of a spring roll, but rather a gen lettuce cup topped with fried rice infused with fermented mushroom sauce and a really spicy citrus chilli paste.
This was the polite amount of food to order so there was room for dessert but I would rather like to go back for the Steamed Whole Fish, Vegetable Curry Stew (aubergines, tofu puffs, green beans and cabbage in a curry broth with rice), Fish and Tofu Claypot Stew (seabream and fresh tofu stewed in house made black bean broth and the House Crackers (crispy wonton skins sprinkled with house made chilli pepper salt).
So onwards to dessert. I confess I’m not a fan of the texture that is gelatinous. Partly because, as a vegetarian, I’m always afraid it contains gelatin. But on recommendation, we tried the signature Housemade Taro Dessert Bowl – the taro paste is topped with rice balls – like the ones in bubble tea – and pandan ‘shrimp’. These are drizzled over with palm sugar syrup and dried osmanthus. It works. I really wanted to remain sceptical, but I cannot deny it was a perfect end to our lovely meal.
Another one to try if you are a fan of mochi-style desserts is the Yi Bau Sticky Rice Cake. The Spring menu special has a filling of brown sugar, toasted coconut, sesame and peanut butter.
Hainan House comes from a mix of different cultural roots – from growing up between Hainan and Shanghai, to family heritage that stretches to Hubei and Jiangxi. This brings memories and influences that shape the way Sunny remembers, tastes and understands what “home” means.
The name Hainan House marks where her story starts, and if you are new to regional Chinese cuisine, then perhaps start your journey here. The prices are affordable, the atmosphere is cosy and inviting, and the menu brings food I’d like to go back for time and time again.
Hainan House
88 Upper Street, London N1 0NP
Book a table online or email foh@hainanhouse.co.uk
For more Chinese food in London, try Three Gorges Cantonese in Fitzrovia or Dim Sum Library in Covent Garden
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