Berwick St newcomers: Banh Mi 11 and Pizza Pilgrims

Berwick Street Market is one of the oldest in town, having been established in the area since the late 19th century. Traditionally home to old school fruit and vegetable salesman, you would walk down the narrow street and be met with the cacophany of tradesman pitching their wares. These days, many of these sounds are muted, and although a few of the fruit and veg salesman remain, new residents are beginning to move in.

Viet Noodle Bar: No fuss, max flavour.

I was a little disappointed by a visit to Pollen Street Social recently. Whilst the food was ok, the service was disappointing in parts and if you take into consideration the whole "effort" it took to go there (taking into consideration the time to get the booking, the rounding up of dining partners, coordinating diaries, saving up enough cash so you can pay the rent at the end of the month, making sure you are suitably attired etc...), I sadly don't think the personal "investment" was really worth it.

Which brings me to Viet Noodle Bar. Here I was, strolling the streets of Soho with Cat, looking for a bite to eat. She's leaving the country soon you see, so any time I can fit in with her the better. Almost by accident, we walk into Viet, a favourite of Cat's, and somewhere I have never been before. No booking, no required "smart casual" attire, just a room full of people looking to fill their bellies with Vietnamese food.

More Clerkenwell: Cafe VN

Hot on the heels of one Clerkenwell post, I thought I would roll out another whilst it is fresh in my mind, strike whilst the iron is hot and all that. Another of my regular lunch companions throughout this period of unemployment is Catty. I talk about the pint sized Aussie a lot but she is cool and deserves the coverage. And she tolerates me which is always a good sign.

Anyway, lunch was at Cafe VN, a little Vietnamese place just off Clerkenwell road housing a small but adequate menu. Serving mainly pho (noodle soup) and bun (cold noodle salad), it was getting a bit of bashing on twitter so I wasn't sure what to expect. I kept my options open and my stomach hungry, braced the Summer showers and headed for Clerkenwell once again.

A simple lunch, Cat went for the pork bun and I went for the beef special pho, really needing something warming after having walked through the pouring rain, not something I expected to say in the first week of June. You know what, I was pretty happy with this. The broth wasn't as intensely flavoured as the pho I recently had at Cafe East but was better than the disappointing Song Que and had a good slow chilli burn. The three types of beef included meatballs (ok), brisket (ok) and strips of sirloin (better than ok) which bulked out the dish and throw in some decent noodles and vegetation in the form of spring onions, what you get is a decent bowl of pho.

I can't say I was blown away by Cafe VN but definitely enjoyed it and it certainly didn't deserve some of the derision dished out on twitter (well, a few tweets anyway). Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and everybody has different tastes, but I enjoyed my meal and if I was ever in the area again needing a cheap and quick meal, I would be more than happy to pull up a chair at Cafe VN.

Cafe VN - 144 Clerkenwell Road London,London EC1R 5DP

View Where I have eaten, when and with whom in a larger map

Panda Panda. So good, they named it twice

Pandas. I've always had an affinity for them. Not because they, like me, are Chinese. Definitely not because of this video (although it never fails to make me laugh).

No, whenever I think of Pandas, I think of the days I happily spent in university. Panda, you see, was one of my nicknames.

In my younger and more wayward days, I was often dragged to the uni bar where we partook in various inane drinking games, with the sole intention of leaving as unsteadily as possible. In the process of these aforementioned games, I would get redder and redder, forming strange red patches all over my body. My Chinese genes reacted badly to the alcohol and reminded me of this by making me feel sick and look stupid. Not before long, I would have red patches forming all over my body, as well as around my eyes and I was affectionately christened "Panda".

Approaching Panda Panda for the first time, that was all I could think about, those stupid red patches. Thankfully, not only am I less of a booze hound (ahem), but I appear to be far more tolerant of alcohol in my old(er) age and those red patches are no more. Inside is a simple cafe selling treats from the Orient. With a menu focused around its bánh mì (Vietnamese baguettes) and street snacks, it's cheap and the friendly staff certainly make it cheerful.

Throughout the evening, we witnessed a stream of locals and students (Goldsmiths College is but a mere stroll away), come in, order and leave. The place is primarily a takeaway, although there are a few tables for those who fancy eating in (like me). Each baguette is made to order and as bánh mì go (I am far from an aficionado), I thought they were pretty decent. Filled with pickled veg soused in fish sauce, hints of chilli and filled with pork, a simple but delicious meal.

We also decided to try the fish ball, which unlike many fish balls I have tried, actually still retained some flavour of fish, and the pork noodle salad which was pretty average and probably my least favourite dish of the evening. Desserts of mango sago and tofu fa (soft tofu in sugar syrup, basically) finished us off and we waddled off into the night, just as Panda Panda started getting busy.

I wouldn't call Panda Panda a destination restaurant, but it's a nice little cafe doing their own thing. It's perfectly located as it appears to have a steady flow of service from the nearby university but also saw a nice balance of locals tucking in. It's crazy cheap (nothing is above £3, if I recall) and is well worth a visit if you happen to be in the area. Now when I think of pandas, I have one more memory to add to that list (Oh, and red pandas. As they are definitely the most adorable animals on this planet).

Panda Panda - 8 Deptford Broadway, London SE8 4PA

Song Que, just ok

I seem to be spending more and more time out in the East of London. Maybe Mark was right, the East is the center of all that is cool? Well, we know that I'm not just about cool (that made me chuckle a little) but it certainly has it's fair share of gastronomic landmarks. Although previous visits have seen me eat at markets, devour fantastic Bangladeshi grilled meat, play table football and drink the best coffee in London, I had yet to hit up Kingsland Road, also known as the Viet mile.



Last Friday saw me out East yet again when I went to watch some of the UK 2010 Barista of the year heats (absolutely fascinating by the way), and was the perfect opportunity to try out one of the more renowned restaurants on the Kingsland road, Song Que. After a rather lengthy wait, we were ushered to our table and with an iced Vietnamese coffee in tow, I started to make my way through the encyclopedic menu (it has over 150 listed items!). I got to about item 60 before my eyes started to get a little tired so I left it up to my dining companion to choose our dishes.



First up was Bo La Lot (beef wrapped in betel leaves). This dish requires some construction. First I was informed that I needed to take a single leaf of lettuce, line with noodles, herbs and pickled root veg (carrots and turnip, I think). The beef is then dipped in fish sauce and wrapped in the filled leaf. The ensuing sensory onslaught is quite something. Sweet and sour from the pickled vegetables, aromatic smells and deeply savoury beef. The lettuce adds a clean finish to refresh your palate, ready for the next helping.



Man cannot live on beef alone, so the crispy chilli squid was ordered alongside. I have long lauded the baby chilli and garlic squid at Mandarin Kitchen, my favourite squid in London, and unfortunately this didn't quite match up. That having said, they were far from bad. Although slightly on the salty side and a tad overcooked, still highly enjoyable and worth ordering.



All these dishes were merely the precursor to the main event. I was assured that this was the best Pho (pronounced "fur", thanks to @hollowlegs for that lesson) on the Kingsland road. Unfortunately, the resulting dish was rather disappointing. The essence of the pho comes from the intensely aromatic broth, steeped with flavour. Although the slices of beef and chicken, as well as the rice noodles were perfectly adequate, the broth was one dimensional and had none of the punch required. This probably had a lot to do with the time we were dining (9pm on a Friday night), but still disappointing nonetheless.

I was assured that this was not par for the course and we proceeded to discuss what the best tactic would be to sample the best broth. I think we settled for around 2pm where the broth would have had time to develop its deeply complex flavours, whilst not having run out and risked being topped up with standard stock. Deeply scientific analysis.

Although my visit was far from outstanding, the queues at the door tell me a different story. By the time we left (around 10pm) there were still lengthy queues, and considering that there are at least 10 other Vietnamese restaurants in the area, they must be doing something right. I certainly wouldn't rule out another visit, just maybe closer to 2pm next time.

Song Que - 134 Kingsland Road London E2 8DY

Eat Vietnamese: Cafe East, Surrey Quays

Surrey Quays is home to all sorts of weirdness. It has an assortment of pubs ranging from the trendy to the derelict. It is home to probably the worst shopping centre in London (saved only by a massive Tesco's which never actually has anything you want), Europe's only fully digital cinema and a rather large bowling alley. Oh yes, entertainment central.

What I have also found out recently, is that it appears to be home to a rather vibrant Vietnamese community. There are a few Vietnamese restaurants dotted around, and the one I seem to hear about the most is Cafe East. Now I come to Surrey Quays quite a lot to visit the quite excellent cinema and was totally unaware to its existence. So last week after watching the pretty amusing film, "The Hangover", sister no 1 and I went in search of this gem in Surrey Quays' crown.

We actually found it at the bottom of the massive car park outside the cinema and bowling alley. We even headed back out to the main road only to nearly miss it and loop back upon ourselves. Once we got there, we discovered that it was full to brimming with Vietnamese people, a sure fire way to guarantee the authenticity of the place. After a short wait, we were shown to our tables.

First, I wanted to sample some of their drinks, my sister going for the iced coffee whilst I went for Che Ba Mau (an interesting symphony of colours in a glass). The coffee was strong and refreshing and although mine was slightly erring on being a dessert, packed to brim with sugared kidney beans, it was very refreshing, just what the doctor ordered on a hot day.

Starter: Banh Cuon

We wondered if we should go for the summer rolls (everyone goes for the summer rolls!) and it certainly felt like summer but opted for the banh cuon instead. And what a dish. These are essentially rice noodles stuffed with mince meat, accompanied by a sausage of sorts and topped with bean sprouts and fried onions. All this and a spicy fish sauce based dipping sauce to boot. Light and refreshing, a cacophony of flavours synonymous with Vietnamese food.

Main: Bun Bo Hue

Beef brisket in a spicy soup with vermicelli noodles. Cant really say too much about the flavour of the beef but the broth that it came in was amazing. First you got the flavours of the deep beefy broth, then the lemongrass starts tingling your taste buds, all rounded off by a quick hit of heat. It was like a multi layered gobstopper in broth form! Not what I would have chosen, considering how warm and humid it was, but pretty good nonetheless.

Main: Bun Ga Nuong

Essentially a crispy chicken salad. The chicken was seriously tasty. Not sure how they packed it with so much flavour but the skin was crisp and the chicken moist. This came with a mountain of salad and vermicelli noodles doused in fish sauce, a decent accompaniment but frankly, there was way too much of it. By the time the chicken had gone, I still had over half the salad left!

I guess the Vietnamese don't do dainty, but Cafe East serves great food in great volume at great value. People often mock me for living in South London, but when you get gems like this on your doorstep, it makes you proud to be a saarf Londoner.

Cafe East, 100 Redriff Road, SE16 7LH

Asia - Delights from the East

Chinese

Dim Sum:
Dragon Castle (best for dim sum)
Yum Cha
Dumplings Legend
Dragon Palace
Golden Pagoda
Old China Hand
Ping Pong

Simple and uncomplicated:
Four Seasons (best roast duck)
Hungs
HK Diner
Wong Kei
Tai Ka Lok
Wuli Wuli
Noodle Bar

Food from the Straits (Singapore and Malaysia):
Kiasu (now closed)
Rasa Sayang

Upper end:
Mandarin Kitchen (family favourite)
Pearl Liang
Min Jiang
Plum Valley

Other Regions:
Leongs Legends cont... (Taiwanese)
Silk Road (Xinjiang)

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Korean

Koba 

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Japanese

New Fujiyama
Abeno (Okonomiyaki)
Bincho (Yakitori)

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Thai

Rosa's
Mango Tree
Suchard Pub

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Vietnamese

Cafe East (best pho)
Song Que
Panda Panda
Bam Bou (French/Vietnamese)

Vietnamese Restaurants

Cafe East (SE16/£10-£20)
Song Que (E2/£10-£20)
Panda Panda (Banh mi/SE8/<£10)
Bam Bou (French Vietnamese/W1T/£30-£40)
Cafe Bay (Banh mi/SE5/<£10)
Cafe VN (EC1/£10-£20)
Viet (W1D/£10-£20)

Key - (Info/Location/Rough price per head with no alcohol)