The pair are friends of Mr Ji’s owner Samuel Haim, who founded the Old Compton Street restaurant in 2019 following a successful pop up on Camden Parkway.
The food offer is billed as more refined but will still be centred around the Taiwanese-inspired fried chicken for which Mr Ji is known.
Dishes include The O’Ji - a twist on Mr Ji’s signature deep-fried chicken breast with chilli sprinkles; and the Lil’ Chick, a roasted whole poussin with spicy XO sauce and peanut.
Gonçalves and Meng are also be looking to replicate the success of their original katsu sando with The Ji Sando, a pineapple bap filled with deep-fried chicken thigh and cucumber salad.
Smaller plates include daikon cake (steamed daikon and shiitake mushrooms with garlic soy paste); prawn ‘in’ toast (toasted brioche ‘box’ filled with velvety prawn sauce and prawns); and T Egg (tea-marinated soft-boiled egg with smokey mayo and katsuobushi).
The cocktail list, created by drinks expert Cyan Wong, will 'strike a balance between old school street food diners of Asia and the more contemporary, modern style of Soho bars'.
Cocktails include grapefruit spritz with Hawthorne grapefruit syrup, sweet vermouth, Martini bitters, Aperol and soda; and melon shake made with condensed milk fortified with honeydew melon, pear spirit and cardamom.
The new design takes its cues from Taiwanese canteens. The space is stripped-back space with exposed concrete walls, red and white tile details, and indoor plants dotted through-out.
“Having been forced to close for lockdown, I was more determined than ever to bring the lively evening vibe back to Soho once I could open Mr Ji’s doors again," says Haim.
"After many evenings at TĀ TĀ Eatery with Ana and Meng, we decided to work together to make Mr Ji a place where guests can sit down and get stuck in to dinner with friends, in a space that has a real buzz just like the Taiwanese spots I fell in love with on my travels.”
