Crystal China 味缘

Chinese restaurant · Borough ·

Crystal China 味缘

Chinese restaurant · Borough ·

Dry hot pots, Dongbei & Sichuan dishes, glazed strawberries

Information

78-80 Tower Bridge Rd, London SE1 4TP, United Kingdom Get directions

£20–30

@eater

391,688 Postcards · 10,991 Cities

London’s Best Hotpot Restaurants for Sichuan and Cantonese Meals | Eater London

"Thought hot pot meant simmering ingredients in flavoursome broth and causing a bigger dripping mess than Splash Mountain? Think again. Crystal China specialises in dry hot pots cooked in ma la, and ingredients are ordered by weight. Vegetarians and vegans can rest easy with loads of meat-free options to choose from including aubergine, taro cake, bamboo shoot, black fungus, tofu puffs and mooli. For the carnivores in the party, Chinese lap cheong sausage, chicken gizzard, beef balls, fried fish bean curd and Thai sausage await." - Angela Hui

https://london.eater.com/maps/best-hot-pot-restaurants-london-sichuan-cantonese

Crystal China 味缘

@eater

391,688 Postcards · 10,991 Cities

Bermondsey’s Best Restaurants, at Maltby Street Market and Spa Terminus | Eater London

"Where Dongbei meets Sichuan, around one of London’s best dry hotpots. Pick a mix for the pot, steering wide of the higher heat levels — they run from one to four — which are palate-razingly hot. Outside the pot, Dongbei dishes are particularly strong: braised aubergine in yellow bean sauce; a dry-fried, waxed Chinese sausage with a curiously, then compulsively chewy texture; tea tree mushrooms with the delicious texture of slightly decomposing meat. On the Sichuan side, get the fried green beans with minced pork. This is a place to embrace intestines, pigs trotters, secret sauce. Bear in mind that it’s also a homing device for London’s Chinese student population, so get there early or book." - Virginia Hartley

https://london.eater.com/maps/best-restaurants-bermondsey-maltby-street-market-spa-terminus

Bob Walker/Flickr

Crystal China 味缘

Nellysworldoftaste

Google

Tried this Chinese restaurant near Tower Bridge and it honestly exceeded expectations — a proper hidden gem. We started with the pepper prawns, which were juicy, spicy, and packed with flavour. The salt & pepper squid was light, crispy, and seasoned perfectly. Dumplings were soft and juicy, and the spring rolls had that proper golden crunch you want. For mains, everything hit. The Singapore rice was fragrant and spicy, the egg fried rice was fluffy and well seasoned, the sweet & sour chicken was crispy with a perfectly balanced sauce, and the kung po chicken with nuts was bold, savoury, and full of texture. Every dish was cooked well, full of flavour, and clearly done with care. Definitely worth a visit if you’re around the area and love good Chinese food. For the full review, follow nellysworldoftaste on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok

Xu Y.

Google

Found Crystal China by chance and was really impressed. Portions are huge and prices very reasonable. They now offer a £24.95 all-you-can-eat Mala Xiang Guo — looks amazing, will definitely come back to try it. We ordered several dishes and most were delicious: the spicy chicken was crispy and addictive, the boiled beef incredibly tender, and the Yu-Xiang pork perfect with rice. The sesame-style pork slices were a nice surprise, and the roast duck is unbelievable value at £9.5. Fried rice portions were massive! Overall, tasty food, big portions, and great value. No wonder Jay Chou visited! Will return for the spicy buffet next time.

June L.

Google

The staff is really friendly. We ordered five dishes: roast fish, szechuan pepper chicken, glazed strawberries, morning glory, and soup. Three free starters. We were two and could not finish everything. Strongly recommend the strawberries. They are so different from other desserts. Crispy skin with soft cream stuffed inside. A hidden gem!

J L

Google

This Chinese restaurant specialises in Sichuan food. It offers dry hot pot. We had one with fish, aubergine, mooli, bean curd skin and enoko mushrooms. Other options include various meat, seafood and vegetables, like lotus root. You can add as much as you want, so the portion size depends on you really. We chose to have it mild, which was ok. Though it does still come with some chillies and Sichuan peppers. We also got some of the specials like the braised pork belly with egg and rice, the braised beef flank on rice, braised beef flank tripe and shin with dry vermicelli and braised fish and tomato with vermicelli in soup. These were all nice. The portions of the specials are more than enough if you're not overly hungry. There's lots of other typical plates on the menu, like mapo tofu, salt and pepper squid and sweet & sour chicken. They have friendly staff. Follow the IG link in profile for more travel and food and drink tips, ideas and reviews!

Sophia Y.

Google

One of my must-visit spots near Tower Bridge! Crystal China is said to be Jay Chou’s go-to, and after coming for years, I totally get why. Their mala dry pot is unbeatable—fragrant, spicy, rich but never greasy. I always order the “Jay Chou combo”: chicken wings, taro cake, beef, dried tofu skin and sausage. Every ingredient absorbs the sauce perfectly. The fish-fragrant shredded pork is a true rice killer—balanced, tangy, slightly spicy and incredibly flavorful. The stir-fried pork comes with amazing wok-hei, and the egg fried rice (£3.5!) is surprisingly huge and delicious. If you love bold, authentic Chinese flavours, this place is a must.

Hana X

Google

The portion sizes here are huge. The two of us ordered two dishes plus an egg fried rice and almost couldn’t finish everything. Boiled beef in chili oil: a bit spicy, but the beef was very tender and generous in portion. It also came with bean sprouts as the base, which worked well. Northeastern-style jelly noodles (la pi): lots of toppings, including shredded wood ear mushrooms, cucumber, and a few others I can’t quite remember 😄. It didn’t come with sesame sauce though, and I personally prefer la pi mixed with sesame sauce. Egg fried rice: fragrant and well cooked, with each grain nicely separated. Overall, it came to about £20–25 per person, and the portions were definitely worth it. The only downside was the 12.5% service charge, which felt a bit on the pricey side.

Joanne

Google

Loved the DIY mala xiang guo buffet here! You can pick all your favourite ingredients and choose the spice level. With its prime spot near Tower Bridge, it's the perfect place for a fun and tasty group meal.

Lily

Google

Had a really satisfying dinner at Crystal China. The dishes were full of flavour, especially the spicy grilled fish, great with rice. Portions were generous, the restaurant was clean, and the staff were very friendly. Perfect spot if you’re craving authentic Chinese food in London.