Three Treasures (Crispy Pork, Soy Chicken and BBQ Pork (Char Siu) at Kym’s Restaurant
The long-awaited A Wong v.2 finally opened its doors in the spanking new Bloomberg Arcade in the City. So much anticipation, so much excitement and probably so much pressure on the popular whiz kid, Andrew Wong, to deliver. This is quite an act to follow given his meteoric rise to rock star status. Last October, he acquired his much-deserved Michelin star for his first (Chinese) restaurant in Victoria, called A Wong.
You can see his creative juices flowing in the relatively small multi-regional menu at Kym’s, using a mixture of traditional Chinese and other Pan Asian ingredients, such as Wood Ear Fungus, Goji Berries, lemongrass and wasabi, as well as European ingredients, eg wild mushrooms. With the help from specialist chefs, Andrew Wong has dared to enter the holy grail of Chinese roast meats, hung up, glistening in all their glory on stainless steel rails, catching your eye as you enter.
Oh my – did he deliver? A resounding yes.
Given its location, the restaurant is probably targeted at city workers. However, with the likes of Pierre Koffman having already checked out this place, this is likely to be a magnet to lovers of Chinese food from all over.
October 2018
Laksamania
New Malaysian restaurant just off Tottenham Court Road
Address: 92 Newman St, Fitzrovia, London W1T 3EZ
Satay with peanut sauce at Laksamania
I love my Laksa and so, I was thrilled to see a wide variety of Laksa on offer at Laksamania, 6 in total actually. Something about a rich spicy coconut milk noodle soup – with egg noodles, rice vermicelli and different meats or seafood - that is exceedingly comforting. The toppings were like a happy family cuddling one another while swimming in a massive bowl of soup. The broth had an intense flavour, thanks to the exemplary effort of the experienced Malaysian Chef Danny Tan. He has been doing his thing very nicely at this restaurant, tucked away in a side street close to Tottenham Court Road station.
Laksa is only one part of a sizeable menu, offering a mélange of Malaysian favourites as well as other Chinese dishes. Laksamania is definitely a welcome addition to the Malaysian restaurant scene.
2018
The Pleasant Lady
Address: Soho: 23 Greek Street London W1D 4DY
Old Spitalfields Market: 16 Horner Square, E1 6EW
Map→
Jian Bing (with Iberico Pork) at The Pleasant Lady (Soho)
You can get your hands on one of China’s favourite traditional street food, Jian Bing, from a hole in the wall in the heart of Soho.
This delicious food-on-the-go takes the form of a slightly crispy thin crepe, filled with your chosen filling, then rolled into a wrap and cut into halves. After the dough hits the hot plate, an egg is fried on top and the filling (eg Iberco pork, cumin lamb, miso chicken or vegetables). The lady at the stall then sprinkled a big handful of coriander and crispy cracker, which added a nice crunch to the wrap, together with some chilli sauce. I had the one with Iberico pork (which had a good flavour). The chilli sauce just gave it a bit of a kick and provided some moisture to the whole snack, which would otherwise have been too dry on its own.
I liked the fact that the lady who made the Jian Bing to order, wore rubber gloves and touched only the food with them on. It is a (contactless) card only place. So, more hygienic and quicker for all. Win win situation.
Now available also in Old Spitalfields Market.
2018
Lahpet
New Burmese restaurant opened in April 2018
Address: 58 Bethnal Green Rd, London E1 6JW
Map→
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Frustrated with his day job, Dan Anton, the co-founder of Lahpet, binned headhunting for restaurant trade, following his passion for Burmese cuisine and opened Lahpet. It is a brand new permanent residence of what originally started out as a market stall, “bringing Burmese to London” says Dan Anton. His father is from Myanmar and Dan loved eating Burmese dishes cooked by his grandmother and aunt every Sunday. His fondness for cooking classic Burmese dishes led him to the idea of tapping into the relatively new Burmese cuisine, which has a mélange of Indian, Thai and Chinese influences.
Dan wanted to test Londoners’ appetite for Burmese food and so he started cooking his family recipes at a market stall in Maltby Street in 2016. His noodles and lahpet (fermented tea leaves) salad were a hit straightaway. This gave him the confidence to open Lahpet at a temporary warehouse site in the back streets of ever increasingly popular Hackney – very close to where Som Saa used to be – in late 2016. Despite a fairly mixed review in Evening Standard, diners got curious and more queues formed. Trusting his instinct that “Londoners crave Asian flavours”, he finally decided to quit his day job and take his venture to the next stage. His permanent site is in Shoreditch, sticking to “his East London roots”.
Dan co-founded the latest venture with Zaw, the head chef, who grew up in Myanmar and had been working as a chef in London. Zaw knew his Burmese food and started advising Dan at the Maltby Street market stall before deciding to join Lahpet as the head chef.
An exciting venture for an entrepreneur who was bold enough to quit his 9-5 job, delving deep into his heritage. He wants to take us with him on his adventure, opening our eyes to the culinary delights of Myanmar. Perhaps with Lahpet and other Burmese restaurants importing more produce from Myanmar and potential tourists wanting to try the cuisine before travelling there, producers and communities in Myanmar will start to benefit a bit from the expansion of Burmese cuisine in London.
April 2018
Poon’s Pop-up
Opened on 17 February 2018 - now closed
Address: 131-133 Central St, London EC1V 8AP (@ The Alchemist)
Having come from a long line of chefs in her family, Amy Poon, daughter of Bill Poon (from the famous Poon’s restaurants from 1973-2006), was adamant that she would not go into the restaurant business. However, destiny called and she realised that food is what she loves. She has just opened a pop-up restaurant in Clerkenwell. There has been much excitement and anticipation about this opening.
Bill Poon apparently was the first to bring claypot rice to the UK. You can find some signature dishes from the Poon’s former days, such as their wind-dried sausage and bacon with claypot rice. The wind-dried meat had just the right amount of saltiness with some sweet notes. The rice baked in the claypot was still moist and delicious, having absorbed the flavours from the wind-dried meats. However, Amy has put her own stamp on the menu, with the emphasis of freshness on ingredients, such as her aubergine salad and pickled cucumber.
The style of the pop-up is also much more casual against a background of pretty colours, the intention being to introduce a deli as well.
Enjoy!
19 February 2018
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