Mr Ji set to open permanent site in Soho

Returning to the capital two years after operating a five-week pop up on Camden Parkway, the restaurant’s offering will feature ‘crispy fried chicken dusted with flavourful powders and served alongside booze-spiked Taiwanese teas’.

Mr Ji is the brainchild of restauranteur Samuel Haim, who also founded Camden-based fish and chip restaurant Hook, and was inspired by his visits to the Taiwanese capital Taipei.

The restaurant’s signature dish will be the Big Ji, which features a butterflied chicken breast that’s dusted with a range of in-house flavourings including traditional spice, Taipei ketchup and Ningxia barbecue.

There will also be a chicken thigh burger served in a bao bun; and chicken wings shaken up with a seven-spice powder.

Sides will include house fries; crunchy Taipei slaw with ginger and chilli; and pickled black cabbage and cashew with soy and citrus.

The restaurant’s interiors will be inspired by the neon-lit buzz of Shilin Night Market in Taipei and feature lantern-style lighting, and walls decorated with Taiwanese street art.

“The real ‘Mr Ji’ was an enigmatic character who tipped us off on where to find the best fried chicken in Taipei,” says Haim.

“I’m looking forward to bringing my modern and sustainable take on Taiwanese fried chicken to Soho using fantastic quality chicken and punchy powders.”