“I've been travelling around, eating lots of regional Chinese food for a long time now,” explains Lucky & Joy founder Ellen Parr. “The menu is my take on dishes that I thought were delicious and amazing, with lots of bold, fiery flavours.”

Drawing on recipes from provinces such as Hunan, Xinjiang and Sichuan, Lucky & Joy’s menu begins with peanuts deep-roasted at a low heat and then quick-pickled in black vinegar and soy until they’re both chewy and crunchy. The cold sesame noodles are a Lucky & Joy classic, and are Ellen’s reinterpretation of a dish from Sichuanese restaurants in New York. Chewy wheat noodles are tossed with a toasted sesame and peanut dressing and a generous amount of chilli oil. “The key to this is using our wonderfully fragrant homemade chilli oil,” says Ellen. “Everyone comes from far and wide for these noodles.” The red braised pork belly - once said to be Chairman Mao’s favourite dish - is inspired by a classic recipe from the Hunan province. Chunks of pork belly are wok-fried until caramelised, before being re-caramelised with a spoonful or two of sugar. Next, the pork is slowly oven-braised with ginger, soy and spices so that the sauce reduces to become extra-sticky and delicious. It’s accompanied by dressed Hispi cabbage inspired by a recipe from Xinjiang, roasted until it’s both crispy on the outside and slightly crunchy on the inside, served with a tangy Sichuan peppercorn and soy dressing. Simple steamed rice is made with sushi rice, kept plain to mop up all the juices and allow the bold flavours of the other dishes to shine.

The menu can be enjoyed course by course, or served all at once family-style: “All the flavours go together nicely, but equally can be enjoyed in their own right,” explains Ellen.