My 10 (+1) favorite Asian restaurants in London

I kicked off this year with my recommendations for 5 (+1) Japanese novels to read in 2020, followed by my suggestions for 5 more books from, or about, Japan. Then, earlier this month, the South Korean film ‘Parasite’, directed by Bong Joon-ho, not only won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, but also the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. So, last week, I embarked on a cinematic journey to South Korea. Today, I am going back to London, but at the same time I’m staying in Asia. This sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? Well… being a foodie and a Londoner, I love exploring the rich gastronomic scene of the city, and today I’m going to write about my favorite Asian restaurants in London.

I’ve previously reflected that, for me, traveling is so much more than just visiting a new place, city or country, and taking beautiful pictures (which I do a lot). It also provides me with the perfect opportunity to try different (often exotic) cuisines, savor new ingredients, and go out to the places the locals go out to. In fact, this is an essential ingredient of all my trips. Traveling also gives me the inspiration to become more adventurous in my own cooking; in fact, soon after I return home, I start experimenting and trying out new recipes inspired by my travels.

At the same time, thanks to traveling, I have become very keen to explore the gastronomic scenes of the cities I’ve called home over the years. London, where I currently live, is home to about 40,000 food service establishments (restaurants as well as cafes), many of which specialize in Asian cuisines. So, without further ado, here are my 10 (+1) favorite Asian restaurants in London (listed by alphabetical order of the countries they represent):

India: Tandoori Villa & Dishoom

When I lived in West Yorkshire, an English county with a large Asian population, I often used to go out to Indian and Pakistani restaurants, such as Prashad in Drighlinghton, Tharavadu and Bundobust in central Leeds, and Mumtaz in Leeds and Bradford.

Having been used to such high gastronomic standards when it comes to food from the Indian sub-continent, it took me a while to find Indian restaurants in London that I liked as much as those in Leeds.

Tandoori Villa is a small neighborhood restaurant located in Ealing, West London, halfway between Ealing Broadway and South Ealing tube stations. It’s quite hidden, but once you discover it, I’m sure you’ll be keen to come back.

When I am in the mood of something a bit different from the traditional curries, I visit Dishoom. There are five of them in London (near Carnaby Street and Covent Garden in central London, near King’s Cross, in Shoreditch, and in Kensington), as well as three in the rest of the country (in Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh). They all are in the style of the traditional Irani cafes, once very common in Bombay. As well as food typical of Bombay, they also serve delicious cocktails, chai (the naughty chocolate chai goes a long way with me), and lassi.

Japan: WA

I am still to decide which is my favorite Japanese restaurant in London. For the time being, none of those I’ve tried are close enough to make it to this list.

Nonetheless, there’s a small Japanese patisserie really worth mentioning here. WA is located a few steps away from Ealing Broadway station, and there’s also a second one in central London, very close to Covent Garden (albeit hidden and therefore tricky to find). Their desserts are both elegant and delicious. They also serve sweet buns (such as the melon pan), savory dishes, coffee and tea. In addition to traditional Japanese teas and matcha latte, they also serve hojicha latte (made from hojicha tea) and kurogoma (black sesame) latte.

Lao: Lao Cafe

I had never heard of let alone tried Laotian food until recently, when I found out about the Lao Cafe, in central London. Since they do not take reservations, I showed up there on a rainy Sunday afternoon). It is located between Trafalgar Square and Covent Garden, not far from the central London location of WA.

The food was amongst the most interesting, as well as the spiciest, I’ve ever tasted (despite saying medium, when the waiter asked me how spicy I wanted my food). I had the Lao-style papaya salad (tum lao), followed by mushroom soup (om hed bai yang nang) with ants eggs, and char-grilled beef (yang sint jim jaew). I also had brown sticky rice in a banana leaf (khao niew) as a side, and durian and sweet potato ice cream for dessert.

Nepal: Monty’s

I have to admit I have a soft spot for Nepalese food, and although I absolutely love Indian food, I like Nepalese even more. Nepalese dishes are similar to Indian, but less spicy and somewhat sweeter.

When I moved to Ealing, I was glad to discover that it is home to quite a few Nepalese restaurants.

Not far from South Ealing tube station (and from my home) there’s Monty’s, a lovely Nepalese restaurant. It is actually one of several Monty’s in the area; there’s also one on Uxbridge Road, one in Northfields, and another one in Hanwell.

I usually have aloo chaat (fried potato with cucumber and spices) as an appetizer, followed by a Himalayan dish (such as the Nepalese murgh masala), or one of Monty’s special (such as the tandoori butter chicken). Mandatory sides include pilau rice and the delicious peshwari naan (naan stuffed with a sweet filling of coconut and raisins).

Monty’s aside, there are a few more Nepalese restaurants in South Ealing.

Sri Lanka: Papaya

Also in West London, there’s Papaya, in Northfields. This is a restaurant specializing in Sri-Lankan cuisine; the food is not too dissimilar to that from South India. The menu includes local specialties, such as thali dishes (trios of vegetable and/or meat curries, served with several traditional sides), masala dosai (a crispy pancake stuffed with savory potato), hopper (another type of pancake), rotti (a type of thin bread), paratha (a type of puffed bread), and sambol (a traditional Sri-Lankan accompaniment with coconut as the main ingredient).

Taiwan: BAO

BAO has been included in Time Out’s list of the best restaurants in London, and has been consistently in the top 10. They actually have three locations: in Soho (they do not take reservations, so be prepared to queue outside), in Fitzrovia (it’d be prudent to make a reservation) and at the edge of Borough Market. They are named after bao, the steamed slightly sweet bun from China, which is usually filled with savory fillings. There are five different baos on the menu, and I usually have them all. Even though they are not meant to be shared, this is exactly what I’m always ending up doing, as I can never decide which ones to have (or not to have). When it comes to the peanut milk, though, I am never ever sharing it. It’s so delicious that I want it all for myself.

The same applies to the baos filled with ice-cream. They’re just too good to share!

Thailand: 101 Thai Kitchen

As I’ve been writing this list, I’ve realized that Thailand is the only country on the list that I have visited. Yet, I don’t really remember the food I had there, other than the fact that it was pretty spicy. In all fairness I was pretty young then, and this was also my first time abroad, so I was overwhelmed by so many discoveries that I did not pay particular attention to the cuisine.

Since then, I’ve become a fan of Thai food; I familiarised myself with it whilst living in Leeds, where there are quite a few Thai restaurants, Zaap being my favorite.

In London, I’ve tried several Thai restaurants from the Time Out’s lists, but to be honest I was somehow disappointed. Then, I visited 101 Thai Kitchen on the border between Hammersmith and Chiswick, in West London. This is a small neighborhood restaurant serving absolutely delicious food. They specialize in the cuisine from the Isaan (or Esarn) region of north-eastern Thailand, which means that the food is similar to that of the Laotian cuisine (but it was much less spicy than the food I had at the Lao Cafe). I played it safe, choosing a papaya salad (similar to the one I had at the Lao Cafe), followed by a red or green curry (I love them both, so I don’t remember which one I ended up having, but I’m sure that both made it to our table). I certainly wasn’t disappointed this time.

For that reason, I decided to be more adventurous with my choice of dessert (and not stick to the otherwise beloved sticky rice). So, I had the tab tim grob – mock pomegranate seeds in coconut milk poured over ice. Simply delicious!

Vietnam: Ngon & ViB Bar

Not far from the 101 Thai Kitchen, there’s a little Vietnamese cafe called Ngon (pronounced ‘non’ which translates to ‘delicious’). It is a great place for lunch; the menu includes Vietnamese baguettes, summer rolls, and soups. They also serve bubble tea, and -of course- Vietnamese coffee (drip coffee, served hot or iced, with sweetened condensed milk). These are two of my favorite things in life!

From Chiswick, I’m now going to Woolwich, in South-East London, where I’ve recently discovered another lovely Vietnamese cafe. ViB Bar is on Beresford Square, just round the corner from Woolwich Arsenal station. The name is an acronym: V stands for ‘Vietnamese’, I for ‘inspired’, whereas B refers to different foods they serve, such as baguettes and bao buns (a Taiwanese bun but filled with Vietnamese fillings). It is a great place for lunch; I usually have a steamed bao bun, Vietnamese coffee, and sometimes a bubble tea too. It is the only place where I’ve found durian bubble tea.

Not far from ViB Bar, there’s the mother restaurant Viet Baguette, where the food is more Vietnamese (so no bao buns there).

So, these are my 10 favorite Asian restaurants in London. Now, you may be wondering why I have not made a gastronomic stop in China and in South Korea. Simply because I am yet to be wowed by a restaurant from these countries.

To this list of my favorite Asian restaurants in London, however, I would like to add one more:

Asia: The Ivy Asia

Unlike the 10 aforementioned restaurants, the food here is not limited to one country’s cuisine; instead, it does celebrate the food of Asia. Amongst the dishes I’ve had was the ‘Mongolian cheese/peanut and curry leaf’ and the ‘steamed prawn dumpling/miso foam’.

The cocktails are also exquisite. I had the ‘K-pop passion’ (vodka, passion fruit puree, clementine juice, kumquat liqueur, and Akashi-Tai sparkling sake, finished with a flaming passion fruit shell).

But the food and the cocktails are not the only things that stand out here. The views are simply spectacular. This barely comes as a surprise, since the Ivy Asia is located on New Change right opposite the St Paul’s Cathedral (exactly where Jamie Oliver’s Barbecoa used to be until last year).

Bon appétit!

Alex

(the Traveling Psychiatrist)