Bao Noodle Shop review – the best noodle soup you’ve never heard of
★★★★★ / Chinese / Chinese Noodles / Taiwanese

Bao Noodle Shop review – the best noodle soup you’ve never heard of

That difficult fifth album restaurant is nonetheless a hit Disclosure: on one of my visits, a single dish was offered for free. This offer was not solicited and was accepted out of politeness. Like albums and movies, restaurant sequels are tricky to pull off without flopping like an orca ejected from a plane. A successful … Continue reading

Kauboi Ramen review – the barbecue noodle soup Texas-Japan mashup you never knew you needed
American / ★★★★☆ / Barbecue/BBQ / Japanese / Japanese Noodles

Kauboi Ramen review – the barbecue noodle soup Texas-Japan mashup you never knew you needed

Kauboi Ramen is an eatery seemingly custom-made to muddy the argumentative waters swirling around authenticity. Set inside the compact bar area for Texas Joe’s, Kauboi Ramen serves up Japanese-style ramen noodle soups – but with Texan-style barbecued meats instead of the usual chashu pork. Continue reading

Soju Reading review – the sizzle and thrill of Korean barbecue in nearest Berkshire
★★★★☆ / Barbecue/BBQ / Korean

Soju Reading review – the sizzle and thrill of Korean barbecue in nearest Berkshire

Kimchi, grilled bulgogi and chilled noodles in east Berkshire The very question of whether Reading is a part of London would’ve been ridiculous just a few short years ago. This quasi-commuter town in east Berkshire, which has always been within easy reach of the capital, is slowly being drawn closer into the Big Smoke’s orbit … Continue reading

Normah’s Cafe review – this hidden Malaysian restaurant is Bayswater’s worst kept secret
★★★★☆ / Malaysian/Singaporean

Normah’s Cafe review – this hidden Malaysian restaurant is Bayswater’s worst kept secret

Tucked away in a quiet shopping arcade and full of understated sass Updated 26/11/2019 – tweaked the conclusions slightly Bayswater is a funny part of town. Dotted with hotels, souvenir tat shops and one too many overpriced cafes, it often feels like tourist trap London. But it’s also long been an area where you can … Continue reading

Baozi Inn London Bridge review – Cantonese roasts and Sichuanese dumplings under one roof
★★☆☆☆ / Chinese / Chinese Dumplings / Chinese Noodles / Sichuanese

Baozi Inn London Bridge review – Cantonese roasts and Sichuanese dumplings under one roof

But this Borough restaurant isn’t the best of both worlds The flowering of new Chinese restaurants across London in recent years has given us all a joyous bounty to partake in. Biang biang noodles, skewered offal and spicy crayfish – to name but a few examples – are immensely preferable to the saggy prawn toasts, … Continue reading

Seveni review – there’s more than just barbecue to this sizzling Chinese restaurant
★★★★★ / Chinese

Seveni review – there’s more than just barbecue to this sizzling Chinese restaurant

Grilled offal, Cornish pasty-lookalikes and hearty doughnuts are just some of the charms at this Lambeth North restaurant Not having to cook is one of the more pragmatic attractions of eating out, rather than staying in – it’s part of the service that you’re paying for after all. This utilitarian consideration probably helps explain why … Continue reading

Maya DD’s vs Danfe review: Nepalese food in Woolwich and Plumstead
★★★★☆ / ★★★☆☆ / Tibetan/Nepalese

Maya DD’s vs Danfe review: Nepalese food in Woolwich and Plumstead

Eating well on a budget in south east London If you hang around on London Food and Restaurant Twitter (TM) for long enough, then you’ll inevitably come across a peculiar form of griping. For some people, certain words and phrases are considered impermissible in food writing on pain of public shaming. Some, such as ‘melt … Continue reading

Wau review – Malaysian food heats up Newbury
★★★☆☆ / Malaysian/Singaporean

Wau review – Malaysian food heats up Newbury

Bringing the spice of life to West Berkshire The West Berkshire town of Newbury is notable for a few things. It was the site of two battles in the English Civil War, its neighbours once included a RAF base picketed by anti-nuclear protestors and it’s the headquarters for the UK branch of telecommunications behemoth Vodafone. … Continue reading

Mercato Metropolitano review – the Southwark street food hall trying to be everything to everyone
★★★★★ / ★★★★☆ / ★★★☆☆ / ★★☆☆☆ / ★☆☆☆☆ / Street food/food court

Mercato Metropolitano review – the Southwark street food hall trying to be everything to everyone

Halfway between Elephant & Castle and London Bridge, but nowhere in particular Updated 30/9/2019 – added reviews of new traders and updated the reviews of Badiani, Duman, Little Sicily and Turkish Garden Updated 16/4/2019 – added hyperlinked table of contents, corrected spelling and grammatical errors The weird thing about street food in London isn’t the … Continue reading