Gourmet San – Northern Chinese Restaurant

Situated on the Bethnal Green road, you can recognise Gourmet San by the queues of Shoreditch foodies waiting in line for a table to open up. Expect to wait a good 20 minutes in the small cramped room to be seated. We found our reservation didn’t really make a difference and had to wait in line with everyone else.

The atmosphere is buzzy and young and everyone is excitedly asking tables next to them what dishes they are eating so that they can get a slice of the action themselves. There is an air of discovery here and dishes are fresh and new to all but those well versed in regional Chinese cuisine.

The menu is extensive with some 250 items to muster over. Make sure you get a selection of goodies from the authentic charcoal BBQ. We tried lamb skewers which were salty, spicy and very addictive. Perfect with bottles of Tsing Tao and a bargain at £1 each. Also from the BBQ, squid with a fermented chilli bean marinade, king prawn and quail (well spiced but a little over cooked).

To follow we had broccoli with scallops. The scallops were perfectly moist inside and the broccoli crisp and al dente just as it should be. The dish was light and delicious and makes a good accompaniment to many of the other fiercely spicy dishes on the menu.




We tried the “shredded pork with garlic in a spicy sauce”. The dish was sweet and sour and I enjoyed the silky crunch of the wood ear mushrooms but it lacked the garlic and chilli punch it promised which I found a bit disappointing.



As a side dish we ordered dry fried French beans and picked vegetables. I liked the overall smoky taste this dish had which I suspect came from a well seasoned wok and ultra high heat. I couldn’t really detect the pickled vegetables but instead enjoyed the taste of the dried chilli and soy.



The service is quick and efficient. Note that they only take cash, we had to make an embarrassing dash to a nearby cash machine. I will be back to sample some of the other dishes that I was eying up on other tables such as deep fried pork and beef in chilli oil. Gourmet San is a solid restaurant serving authentic northern Chinese fare. It can be unpleasantly crowded at times but it is a price worth paying and worth travelling for.

Monster Munch Rating: 72%

Tas Firin Ocakbasi - top quality Turkish Kebabs

Quite unusually I stumbled into this place without doing any of the usual googling and blog checking online that I normally do before I go and eat somewhere new. Myself and my girlfriend were actually on route to Gourmet San Sichuan restaurant on the Bethnal Green Road (highly recommended) but were disappointed when we found out it was closed for lunch. Walking back towards Shoreditch we saw this small restaurant on the corner of Bethnal Green Road and Turin St. What made me go in was the sight of the chef sitting in front of an open charcoal grill, slowly grilling juicy kebabs. This place had to be good. And it was.

The menu is pretty simple, centring around traditional Turkish kebabs and Pide (a pizza like dish). I love the fact you can see the chef grilling the kebabs right in front of you and making the homemade breads in the background.

We started with humous and Turkish flat bread. The bread here is much better than the usual accompanying pitta. It is thicker and softer and soaks up the houmus better. We also had roasted onions in turnip juice which was good with pickled vinegariness and a moorish charred flavour.

I wanted to try all the kebabs (im greedy like that) so I opted for the mixed kekab. This was a selection of chicken shish (juicy), lamb shish (nicely spiced and seasoned) and a minced lamb kebab (meaty and delicious). It was served with rice and some more of the home made bread.

My girlfriend had a minced chicken kebab served with lashings of yogurt. There was a good amount of spice in the chicken so the yogurt didn’t wash away its flavour but instead added a contrasting acidity and tang.

Our guest ordered one of the pide’s cooked in the wood fired oven. I didn’t try this but disappointingly he said that it lacked seasoning. It did look a bit dry to me. I would suggest sticking to the kebabs.

Our meal came with a good selection of salads, diced tomatoes, shredded carrot and cabbage. I washed the meal down with a hot and salty turnip juice and and Efes beer.

Tas Firin serves fantastic kebabs with friendly and efficient service. Skip the local kebab van and venture down the Bethnal green road. A fresh juicy and char grilled treat awaits you.

Monster Munch Rating: 85%