Sichuan Restaurant - Acton

Haven eaten in my fair share of Chinese restaurants/cafes in London, I have become increasing fascinated with the wonderful food from Sichuan province. People are becoming more familiar with these regional dishes now, thanks in part to places like Bar Shu and Bar Shan in Soho who have helped make the food more accessible and, dare I say it, trendy.

After reading about, and salivating over the photos of, the Sichuan Restaurant in Acton on the great blog, Tamarind and Thyme, I made it my mission one Friday night to go and try it. It is a little tricky to get to, I would suggest getting the tube to Acton Central (Picadilly Line) and walking (10 minutes).

Service was warm and friendly but I was surprised to only see one other table with diners on (cue a sense of apprehension and dread). After being seated, I was comforted by the fact there were two menus, one with "SiChuan Style Dishes" and another thick book which looked like it was more a mix of Cantonese and the usual Chinese food fare. The waitress seemed confused that I wanted to order off the Sichuan menu and ignore the other one, but I was here for Sichuan food and stuck to my guns.

We pigged out and started with "Sweat and Sour Eggplant Dragon (£9.80)". Wow. This is a whole aubergine, with slits in the top like a hassleback potato, deep fried and served in a sticky, rich sweet and sour sauce with minced pork and spring onion. This is not the luminous orange stuff you get in naff Chinese takeaways all around the country, but a perfect balance of pungent vinegar, chili heat and sticky, unctuous sweetness. Amazing. [we agreed we would only eat half of this dish since it is so bad for you. We ended up eating it all...] (sorry about this photo, take a look at this to really appreciate it, link)

"Corn with Salted Egg Yolk (£6.80)" - crispy, fried, salty, tasty. I was surprised at how good this dish was. Different and delicious, get it.

"Spicey Three Pepper with Fish (£12.80)" -Subtle and tasty, I was glad they used a stronger tasting oily fish here, although I would have liked a bit more heat.

"Steamed Meat and Vegetable Dumplings (£6.80)" - served with black vinegar. Very fresh, full of porky flavour, a good dumpling. Just a touch under those at Bar Shan (which are amazing with the spicey sauce) due to being a bit salty.

"Dan Dan Noodles (£5.80)" - a Sichuan staple. Lip tingingly zingy with Sichuan pepper, sesame paste/oil, fresh noodles, topped with the usual minced pork and spring onions. Delicious.

There was so much more on the menu that I wanted to eat and I will definitely be back (Beijing noodles, which remind me of a trip to Beijing back in 2008, spicey and sour potato threadlike, heart of cabbage with shrimp, crab fried with egg yolk, chili fried lamb etc etc). The menu is great.

One of key things to note, according to my gf, is that their tea uses filtered water. You can apparently tell due to the lack of a ring of scum which you can sometimes get forming around the top edge of the cup. I am told this is the mark of a good, cleanly Chinese restaurant.

I absolutely loved this place. It is a bit of hike outside of central London, but good things are worth traveling for. Our bill came to about £52, but easily could have fed four people. I had to be rolled back home after. This place is very good value for money. Go here if you want a truly authentic Sichuanese feast (and who doesn't want that?).

Monster Munch Rating: 91%

Sichuan Restaurant
116 Churchfield Road
Acton
London
W3 6BY
0208 992 9473

Bodean's - BBQ

I have been watching a great programme on TV recently called "Man vs. Food". It's about this American guy (Adam Richman) that travels around the USA finding the "best pig out joints in the States". This includes BBQ restaurants, fried chicken shacks, burger bars, pizza places etc and he always ends up doing some kind of food challenge which normally involves eating an obscene amount amount of fatty, indulgent food. Awesome. Seeing the huge hunks of beef brisket and ribs smoking over open hickory wood pits gave me a real hunger.

The "burnt ends" which are the outside bits of the beef brisket that get charred and collect all the flavour of the smoke and seasoning got me really excited. I wanted them in a massive sandwich just like my friend on TV. Look at this guy, heroic...

But where to go in London? Does this great BBQ fare even exist here? After a bit of investigation, I headed to Bodean's in Tower Hill.

We started with a portion of the hot wings. Every ounce of my male ego told me to go for the extra hot sauce. Thank the Lord I resisted and went for the medium hot version which were fiery enough for most people and pungent with vinegar and spices. They had a good amount of meat on them, more than the usual skinny things. One word of warning, don't wear a brand new shirt here like I did. You will cover it in hot sauce. I made full use of the kitchen roll on our table, making the requisite bib, a bit like a fat Italian Don eating a bowl of spaghetti. Good stuff and great with a couple of beers.

After some deliberation I followed with the burnt ends (not available everyday) and ribs served with fries. The ribs were tasty. The meat was nice and charred on the outside and moist within but I would like more of a smoked, BBQ taste. Fries were OK. The much anticipated burnt ends however were a disappointment. I wanted an intense meaty flavour like you get when you eat the outside end of a well seasoned, good quality rib of beef. What I got was indistinguishable from any average cubed beef stew. Not great.

Since it was the weekend, we had a liquid dessert and went with a round of shots. Amen.

Bodean's didn't really hit the spot for me. Thanks to Man vs Food, I found I had a passion for the smokey, meaty goodness that a good, proper American BBQ offers. Did I find that at Bodean's? Unfortunately not. If you do have a real hunger for BBQ, I would stick to the ribs and wings. This place is a good venue however for a group of guys, beer, wings and football.

Monster Munch Rating: 60%

Bodean's
16 Byward Street
London
EC3R 5BA
www.bodeansbbq.com

0207 488 3883

Abu Zaad

Lately I've had a bit of a hankering for Middle Eastern food. After a great find in Tas Firin on the Bethnal Green Road, the bar was set high. I decided to head west and sample what was on offer in Edgeware road.

What I really wanted to try was Cafe Helen's, which I have it on good authority does the best shawarma in London, but alas the place is only open in the evening. So we headed over to Abu Zaad. I had read good things about this place on a few blogs (thanks Bellaphon) so was very excited to go with friends.

It is nearer Marble Arch than Edgeware road tube and you cant miss it.

It was nice and clean inside and the waiters were actually pretty friendly and welcoming despite much of what I have read online to the contrary.

We started with a selection of hot and cold starters.

Kibbeh Shamieh. Conical shaped, fried and crispy on the outside, filled with tasty minced lamb. It needed acidity and went well with the accompanying sliced lemon.

Tabbouleh. Zingy and fresh with the taste of chopped flat leaf parsley.

Moutabel. Finely chopped grilled aubergine with sesame and lemon, topped with paprika. This tasted smoky and heady with the flavour of tobacco from the charred aubergines. Great with the delicious, soft flat breads. Much better than the usual pitta bread.

We then followed with chicken shawarma which was delicious and salty.

Lamb shawarma, again tasty served with well cooked rice topped with ghee, assorted salads and pickles (overly salty).

Mixed grill. Cubes of marinated chicken and lamb (good with char grill flavour) and minced lamb kebab (not overly flavourful).

The mains were served with garlic yogurt and a great fresh piquant chili sauce.

I liked this place. Pretty much everything we ate tasted fresh and full with flavour and you can't argue with the generous portions and economical prices.

I still think that if you want really great grilled meats then the place to go is Tas Firin, as they cook theirs over an open charcoal pit which really adds to the flavour and keeps the meat beautifully moist. They don't however do shawarma.

All in all, a good meal at a good price (£47 for 3 of us).

Monster Munch Rating: 80%

Abu Zaad
128 Edgeware Road
W2 2DZ
(I couldnt find a phone number although their other branch has a website which I used to see if they were open http://www.abuzaad.co.uk/)