From Xi’an to London: Chef Guirong Wei’s Journey To Building A Noodle Empire
Guirong Wei has quietly built a noodle restaurant empire that has transformed London’s perception of regional Chinese cuisine. As the chef-owner of acclaimed Chinese restaurants Xi’an Impression, Master Wei, and Dream Xi’an dotted across the capital, Wei has introduced the bold, complex and robust flavours of Shaanxi cuisine to a city that was largely unfamiliar to them. Her meteoric rise in the food world has now caught the attention of Netflix, where Wei features in an episode of Chef’s Table: Noodle, a documentary series showcasing chefs from around the globe. Her episode delves into her culinary journey and spotlight her incredible noodle-making skills.
Wei was born in Bohekou village, near the Qin Mountains in the southern region of Shaanxi province in northern China. Despite growing up incredibly poor, she was always surrounded by food, and from a young age would help her mother and grandmother gather wild herbs and pick vegetables, then watch them cook. “My grandmother is my biggest cooking inspiration,” she explains. “I learnt how to make noodles from her.”
Despite her passion, the road to becoming a chef wasn’t easy. “When I started culinary school in Xi’an, I was one of only four women in a class of about 1,000 men,” Wei recalls. “It was tough to break into the industry, especially as a woman, but I was determined.”
At 13, she left home and moved to Xi’an, the capital of Shaanxi, known for its bread, noodles, dumplings, and the Terracotta Army. The city was 10 hours away, but she went there in search of work, determined to earn money to send back and support her family. Her hard work and perseverance paid off as she rose through the ranks eventually becoming a head chef – the only female head chef in Xi’an – before an unexpected opportunity at the highly-regarded Sichuan restaurant Barshu brought her to London in 2008.
“I don’t speak English very well,” Wei admits. “But the kitchen is my language. It’s where I feel most at home.” After seven years working at Barshu, she decided to branch out on her own, determined to bridge the gap between London and Xi’an cuisine to a new audience.
In 2015, she opened Xi’an Impression with her husband, Song Yong, also a Xi’an native, with the backing of restaurateur Chao Zhang, another Barshu alumni. Located opposite Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium, the humble restaurant serves a small menu of classic Shaanxi dishes such as ‘cold skin’ liang pi noodles, posticker dumplings, rou jia mo Xi’an hamburgers and her now-famous hand-pulled biang biang belt noodles.
“At first, Londoners didn’t really know what Shaanxi food was,” she explains. “In recent years, there have been a lot of new Xi’an restaurants opening in London and that’s only a good thing.”
Following the success of Xi’an Impression and London’s hunger for more regional Chinese cuisine, Wei opened her first solo restaurant Master Wei in Bloomsbury in 2019, bringing the same traditional Shaanxi dishes to another part of the city. “I want people to feel at home when they come to my restaurants,” she says. “Every dish is made with heart and love.”
Master Wei quickly earned rave reviews, securing spots on top restaurant lists and building a loyal following. In 2019, her restaurant won Observer Food Monthly’s Best Newcomer Award and the Founders’ Food Forward award at the Golden Chopsticks Awards. Earlier this February, Wei launched her most ambitious and largest project to date: Dream Xi’an in Tower Bridge, the latest addition to her growing restaurant portfolio.
“Dream Xi’an is a bit of a new direction,” she says. “We’re focusing more on pastry and bread and showcasing the different types of street food from Xi’an.”
As her restaurants continue to thrive and her Netflix episode is set to bring her story to a global audience, Wei remains grounded in her passion for cooking and is only just getting started. “My dream has always been to cook,” she says. “There’s still so much to explore with Shaanxi cuisine and I hope to communicate the culture, the history and the food of my hometown to many people.”
Guirong Wei’s 4 Spots To Eat Around The World In London
“I don’t eat out often, but when I do, I prefer trying different cuisines instead of Chinese or noodles, because London is so diverse and offers so much variety,” she says.
- For A Special Occasion… “Sabor is such a special restaurant to me. I love that the head chef-owner is a woman [Nieves Barragan]. Sitting at the counter, watching the chefs cook for you, seeing the fire and listening to the clatter of the pots and pans in the kitchen… It’s magical.
- For Comfort Food… “Padella or Manteca. I really love pasta because it’s food that touches the heart. I guess it’s kind of like noodles? Maybe that’s why I love them so much.”
- For A Quick Bite… “The Eight in Chinatown is a great central London spot using fresh ingredients that are always expertly cooked.”
Angela Hui is an author, writer and editor based in London. She has written for the BBC, The Guardian, The Financial Times, Time Out and more
