Billy & Me Quest for Eats

Mint in Streatham was a very pleasing find last Saturday night. Having recently moved into the area we haven’t really had much of a chance to explore as of yet. Poor litt’ Billy’s been gnarling and gnashing indignantly.

Oddly it seems that I’ve discovered one of the best kept secrets in London, or I imagined the entire evening. As the bar fails to make an appearance on beerinthe evening, fluidstyle, viewlondon or any of my usual mainstay sites. But this looks like the only mistake the management have made as everything else is spot on.

We arrvied back from the West End after a day of serious shopping. I always find shopping for glasses or shoes stressful and, having spent hours doing both, I was in the mood for beer, and a lot of it. Thankfully Mint provided.

We popped off the 159 early to see more of our new area; full of high hopes for Streatham High Street (recently voted the worst high street in Europe). We weren’t too dissappointed spying a few places to try out again: Bar 61, Perfect Blend and Chico’s among them.

Mint is simply a nice place with nice people. The staff are attentive, chatty and quick-witted and the customers seem chilled and good-humoured. Even the security carry out their job with inobtrusive efficiency and humour.

We order a steak sandwich. Always a risky venture as you’re never quite sure what will be served up to you. Billy was delighted as the meat came as steak always should; seared, rare and bloody. The large fleshy portobello mushroom and the thin layer of strong cheddar worked a treat.

A moment should also be taken for their cocktails (happy hour from 5 til 7). The aptly named Lychee Love Machine is composed of ground fresh lychees, lemongrass, something else that I’ve entirely forgotten, vodka and topped off with cinnamon bark. It’s an interesting and varied cocktail menu, and not too pricey.

In short, Mint is something Streatham needs; somewhere with good food and service with comfortable surrounds where you can sit, chat and relax.

On a tangent, I’ve read recently that Lambeth council plan to take action against the bar as its shopfront is breaking the conservation order placed on the area. I find this startling as the street is simply ugly: plain and simple. Rows of bookmakers, takeaways and franchise stores do little to add to local character. It would be something of a disgrace if one of the few businesses to add at least something to the appearance of the high street with well-designed and welcoming front was taken to court for its efforts.

Billy:7
Eoin:8
Location: As mentioned above, this bar is impossible to find online so I don’t have an address for it. You’ll find it on Streatham High Road, opposite Streatham Hill station.

I think this is a pub that deserves a lot more attention (though not too much; then Billy might not get through the crowds to get his Friday night feeding).

In an area often derided from being devoid of any daring dens of.. okay, I’ve run of of ‘d’ words… New Cross isn’t exactly famed for its tempting array of eateries and bars. To be fair, that’s not without reason; the A2 snakes through the area covering everything with a thick lair of soot. Many of the shop-fronts on the street are boarded up and there’s always some hassle by the train stations. In New Cross, the sirens never stop.

But, I have to point out, having lived there for well over a year; there are some fantastic places to go and things to see. While, you might have to put more work into finding them then you would in Brick Lane or similar; I’ve found that there are often of more genuine worth and sincerity. Whether a gallery, a cafe, a market, or, in this case, a pub.

The Walpole is, simply put, a bloody good pub.

On a Friday evening, you can usually get a seat with after a short wait at the bar. On a Sunday you can stroll in and there’s still some hustle and bustle to keep you alive and entertained. The crowd’s a great mix of students from Goldsmiths across the road, market traders and locals. There may even be a gig on and, should it be the guy we saw a week or so ago, you’d be very lucky. Somewhat reminiscent of Billy Bragg, the singer-songwriter had string of lyrics both cynical and loving of the area.

The food is unusual in two distinct ways: 1) it’s New Cross and it hasn’t been deep-fried and 2) it’s thai food and it’s varied and good. We’ve had chicken-on-a-stick with satay (good sauce; rich and nutty), pad thai (the thai staple; served hot, very spicy, and with that fresh bite that Thai food should always have), green curry (this, frankly, wasn’t all that hot), and beef fried in basil (which was excellent). I’ve been served far worse in Bangkok… and I was never served bad food in Bangkok.

Billy: 6
Eoin: 8
Locations:
407 New Cross Road
SE14 6LA
Google it here

(Image is stolen from http://www.fancyapint.com/main, sorry guys).

A very short entry; it’s not a particularly interesting story. It’s just to highlight a pub that we think is rather nice and serves rather nice food in an area that is largely devoid of such. Also it gets slated on beerintheevening and we think the entries are a bit unfair.

The menu is a fairly basic pub food menu; meat and chicken dishes. They do however succeed in that one criterion that so many fail to even realise is important; simple food is fantastic if you just use good ingredients.

We had:
Italiano Chicken. Described as “chicken breast wrapped in bacon”; it rather impressed our companion as being wonderful moist roast chicken wrapped in crisped parma ham.

Lamb shank was excellent; the meat strongly flavoured and waiting to fall from the bone and into my belly where Billy waited with great expectations.

It’s an area where it can very difficult to find anything at all nice to eat (unless you really do enjoy the endless mediocre tapas of Greenwich village). It can be difficult to find a nice pub where the television doesn’t blare out over your every word. It can certainly be very difficult to find a quiet table on a Saturday night. The Guildford Arms provided all of these and, for anyone living in the area, it’s a hidden treasure for doing so.

Eoin: 7
Billy: 8
Extra super new score for general niceness: 8
Link to gmap here

Where the Noodle is King!!

36 Deptford Broadway,
London,
SE8 4PQ

Now, I lived in Bethnal Green a year or so ago, and really liked the Noodle King there. I think the interior is partially, if not wholly, responsible. The one in Bethnal Green is fairly simple; just the usual noodle house benches, but fine. The Deptford branch feels a bit like you’re at a low cost Irish wedding 20 years ago in the community centre or town hall: not too bad, but vaguely depressing in some way you can’t quite put your finger on.

(Yes, I’m a snob. I’m okay with that).

Noodle King does deserve some praise however. It delivers unbelievably vast portions of food at a remarkably low price (there, I’ve remarked on it). Starters, main courses, and two beers each (my companion and I, Billy drinks half of mine) came to just £19. Which really can’t be scoffed at.

The service is friendly and efficient. You can stay as long as you like to mull over your paper, conversation or thoughts without being disturbed. I think, in context, it’s an excellent restaraunt. If you’re hungry and want neither to spend a lot, nor be kept waiting; it’s superb.

If you’re expecting good food however; you’re in trouble. Order the fried rice. Order the basic soups. Do not order the king prawn starter. Do not order the garlic and chilli dishes. Just order the kind of thing you would make yourself if you were skint, hurried, and you couldn’t be arsed with a serious trip to the shops and you won’t be disappointed.

Multimap: here
Billy: 9
Eoin: 4 (7 in the aforementioned context)

Thai Chung (Thai)
8 Nelson Road, london , SE10 9JB
Tel:020 8858 8588

Billy was a bit the worse for wear after a conference week of stodgy potatoes and endless boiled chicken breast. Eoin wasn’t too happy about all of that, and he thinks Billy may have overdone it (yes, it can happen; as rare as hen’s teeth).

We arrived into Greenwich, with our companion; all desperate for something other than the competent tapa’s at which Greenwich excels and warily entered Thai Chung. We were hungry, with no appetite and no real urge for anything other than sustenance.. and were very pleasantly surprised.

The menu isn’t strictly just Thai; it borrows a few items from the Japanese, Korean and Malay, but borrows the best. We ordered tom yum for two, mixed tempura, kimchee (pickled cabbage served cold), and a Malaysian noodle salad that I’ve unfortunately forgotten the name of, and a few bottles of Singha.

The soup was excellent; served in one of those metal burner/bowls. Good portion so Billy was happy, and shared between two which always aids sociability. Kimchee was served in thick crisp slices of cabbage, very spicy and chilled just enough to nicely offset the soup. Tempura was good, though the batter was a tad too thick, which is a shame (though, to be fair, we were ordering Japanese food in a Thai restaurant). The Malay noodle salad conversely was very good; a nice lingering chilli burn and a good mix of shredded chicken and glass noodles.

All in all, I’ve had better Thai, but rarely. Very reasonably priced; the whole meal with drinks came to about £26. Staff were very friendly and efficient. It certainly makes a break from the endless tapas and pasties of Greenwich… not that I have anything against tapas or pasties you understand. No som tam which is a shame as it’s my favourite Thai dish, but that’s certainly made up for by good tom yum, which far too few Thai restaurants in London actually do as a main course.

Billy (a bit sleep today, so his scores are askew): 6 out of 10
Eoin: 7 out of 10

Thai Chung can be found here