Location is often everything, but London of course dismisses that entirely, most places in London have the ability to host great restaurants. In Duddell’s case though, they thought they’d pull the stops out and set up in the shadow of The Shard on St Thomas Street, SE1 – London Bridge basically.

I visited not long after it had opened and had no idea what to expect. I was accompanied by a dear friend of mine who really knows his stuff, so I took a bit of a risk.

At the time the outside was still a building site, the restaurant being located within an old church, St Thomas’s, which was still being renovated. Inside however, everything was in tip top condition. It seems I keep visiting restaurants in dramatic buildings lately – having been to the The Ivy Cheltenham and their Rotunda.

I know it’s new but the staff were so happy and helpful – I would say, they were proud.

It’s an old church, so this place is big and grand with a large bar, plenty of tables, an upper floor for ultra busy times and stunning lighting that leaves you to imagine a bygone era of this building.

Duddell’s London, originally from Hong Kong, is their first restaurant to open in the UK. You might think located within a church that the two cultures would clash, not at all – its a great place to eat.

The menu, fortunately, isn’t too large – which we appreciate her at NationalDish – large menu’s means poor, pre-prepared and  high likelihood of processed food.

As we were already enjoying the wine and having a good catch up, we thought we’d just go for a little mix up and let it come as it came. First off Cantonese Dim Sum Symphony – FUCK! Symphony is a great noun to describe this, you’re hit with some serious colour wrapped around variations of prawn, scallop and king crab. This was quite possibly the finest Dim Sum I had ever eaten, and we both agreed.

I go weak at the knees at the mere mention of Soft Shell Crab and I won’t even care how it’s prepared, which normally is tempura. It was refreshing to see that Duddell’s had tried to mix things up a bit, but not too much – serving theirs with some spicy toasted almonds. It was good – real good. My love affair with this soft centred shellfish continues.

Quick fact for you – soft shell crab isn’t a species, it’s a crab that has recently molted their old exoskeleton and therefore are soft – remove the gills, mouth-parts and abdomen and then you can scoff the rest.

This next dish is something quite special, it takes more than 12 hours to prepare – Cantonese Crispy Salted Chicken. This is a free range, organic french breed – Poulet de Bresse. What’s so special about that? It’s a chicken that has an appellation d’origine contrôlée status.

I have no doubt these guys could make any chicken taste good, but it really does make this dish even more special. It sits in a broth bath of Italian Parma Ham, Japanese dried scallop and shrimp, air dried for half a day and then crisped up in hot oil.

Grab a piece, dip it in the salt (looks like the Himalayan mined stuff to me), close your eyes and basically jizz yer knickers.

Naturally we ordered a few sides, this one in the middle was Wok fried seafood vermicelli Hong Kong Style, bottom right some cute baby pak choi and as you can see, the chicken is taking a beating.

The wine list is pretty extensive with everything covered – we both have a mutual fondness of South Africa and went for Walker Bay Blanc de Mer at £37.

They also give you a few cool little condiments to keep you company – chilli sauces and soy.

In conclusion, Duddell’s London, near The Shard is good, exceptionally good. My buddy was texting his boyfriend as we ate, arranging to bring him here. I would say if he was looking to romance him with food – this’ll do it and it will do the same for you.

Atmosphere
Food
Drink
Staff
Value
Overall
Average

 

PRICE: £ £ £

WEBSITE: www.duddells.co/london

MENUS: www.duddells.co/london/#menu

TELEPHONE: +44 (0)20 3957 9932

The post Duddell’s London Restaurant Review | Cantonese near The Shard | National Dish appeared first on National Dish.

Koj Cheltenham, popular Masterchef finalist Andrew Kojima’s new restaurant, is easy to miss, we’ll let you know if you should…

Fronted with a large window, you’d be mistaken to think that it was another shop and mistaken you would be. It may be small, only about 25 covers, but it packs a real punch, especially in flavours.

I usually wouldn’t gush in to a review, but I might as well, you’ll find out why as you read on. Koj is different, modern and trending – it’s actually rather unique.

Firstly, some scene setting. It is a celebrity restaurant, from a game show contestant, who didn’t even win. I always find it amusing that all MasterChef contestants want their own place, do well in the show and it’s yours if you want it and Andrew Kojima wants it. Koj started as a pop up restaurant which is now permanent.

It’s refreshing that Andrew Kojima doesn’t believe that it’s only the taking part that counts, he is clearly driven and wants to be a success, therefore, Koj is extremely flexible and adaptable to the needs of it customers, and in that regard, rather unique.

During the week Koj is a relaxed affair with Ramen and Hirata buns but at the weekend it turns in to a cocktail bar to accompany a fun drinks menu of Japanese beers and Sake. We went cocktail night, and they were great fun a Geisha and Japanese Whisky Sour, had a couple of Japanese beers too.

The decor is contemporary and fits in with a modern Japanese style – most noticeable is a very cool mural, encompassing all the great things that inspire the Japanese Tapas approach – Koj is super chilled. The staff are like your buddies, dressed relaxed, act relaxed and care deeply that you have a good time.

The pricing is as you’d expect for a popular place, the dishes, of which there are rather few, which is always a good thing in my book, range in price and you’ll need a few. It’s unlikely that you’ll find Sushi on the menu, which is ace – we don’t like all that rice here at National Dish.

I’m just gonna whip through the dishes we shared:

• Miso Soup – served in a cool bowl and cup in one and was sublime
• Sashimi – Salmon and Tuna, fresh and well prepped, was good
• KFC (Koj Fried Chicken) – this is unbelievably good, ordered an extra portion
• 2 Hirata buns – soft shell crab and pork in tonkatsu, yes bread, which is bad, but it taste sooo good, so shut up
• Squid pancakes – we’d been tipped off about these before hand and there’s a good reason for that

The entire bill, with a well deserved tip, was £96 – and because of the quality and it’s celebrity status, this is going to get a £ £.

You may have heard of Andrew Kojima’s rant at a Tripadvisor user, right or wrong, he can reply if he wishes and it’s good to see some honesty for a change. At least, or at least I hope, he doesn’t post fake 5 star reviews like far too many other restaurateurs – you know who you are you – liars.

‘We paid the bill to keep it real’ and the reality is…you need to go here, so book up.

Atmosphere
Food
Drink
Staff
Value
Overall
Average

PRICE: £ £

WEBSITE: kojcheltenham.co.uk

TELEPHONE: 01242 580455

A bit about Cheltenham

‘Cultural Centre for the Cotswolds’ which is handy, because Cheltenham is right on the outskirts of the Cotswolds – Cheltenham is a Regency Spa Town, because of course, it has mineral springs.

Cheltenham’s architecture is one of it’s most endearing features, long, high avenues of regency townhouses, mostly painted white and many with pillars, it’s cool. As a result it incredibly middle class and hosts some of the best schools in the world.

It’s also rather famous for a number of high profiles festivals such as the Jazz and Literature Festivals and of course The Cheltenham Festival, the most prestigious national hunt racing meet in the world.

Cheltenham also happens to be our home town, and even though we’re not indigenous to Chelters, it’s a really cool place to live (past winner of best place to live in Britain) and visit.

The post What is it like to eat at Koj Cheltenham, in the Cotswolds? | Restaurant Review of Andrew Kojima’s Japanese Tapas place appeared first on National Dish.

Is this the national dish of Japan, probably not – and whilst sushi is not simply rice and seafood, far from it, Ramen makes for a great cooking experience? Plenty of ingredients and rather simple to make.

I’ve replaced the wheat noodles with a low carb substitute…and so should you.

The post Japanese Ramen Noodles with Roast Lamb | ラーメン | What is the national dish of Japan? appeared first on National Dish.