Kanada-Ya

Kanada-Ya is the best ramen in London. Arriving like many others as a chain from Japan, founder Kanada Kazuhiro has brought his original recipe to spank all would be ramen pretenders off their butts. You can keep your Ippudos and I don’t need no Bone Daddies cuz the Tonkotsu broth at Kanada-Ya is enough for me! (That line should be read outloud as Laverne from Scrubs).

Kanada-Ya is situated near Tottenham Court Road and directly opposite Ippudo (which these days can’t decide if it wants to serve ramen or masquerade as a Chelsea night club). The restaurant is small, minimalist and simple. You queue, you get let inside, you order from a menu of 3 ramens (all tonkutsu) and then you eat.

Not all ramens are made equally – Some are better than others. What makes a truly excellent ramen is one that does everything well, from the perfectly balanced rich and creamy broth, to the molten yolked soft boiled eggs and of course the melt in your mouth pork collar. A single square of nori that crumples and softens like tissue in the broth. Wood ear fungus and spring onions help to cut through the richness.  Everything a bowl of Kanada-Ya ramen complements each other beautifully and the end result is a ramen that is well worth the queue.

mmm brothy

 

The only other thing you can really order is the onigiri which is pleasant enough, but also guilty of taking up valued noodle space in your tummy. I call this the “Onigiritunity Cost”.

Onigiri

Nowhere else in London currently comes close. Go! Now!

 

Pince and Pints

Pince and Pints in Duxton Hill is a the newish lobster joint in the same fashion as the infamous Burger & Lobster in London. They keep it simple there, service is polite and efficient, and there are only 3 ways to order your lobster; steamed/grilled, in a roll or a Singaporean chilli style (This is the wrong option). And all for a very cool S$48.

Luke’s Oyster Bar & Chop House

Having tried the original outlet of Luke’s at Gemmill Lane a year ago, I was delighted to discover they had opened a second branch within the depths of Robinson’s in Heeren. Nestled within the women’s sections on level 3 by the floral dresses, Luke’s do a combination of some of my favourite things in the world; New England seafood and steak, so as you can imagine I find it very hard to not enjoy any visit here.

La Strada

La Strada has returned and reinvented itself more times than I can be bothered to count, but all you need to know that it’s back under the management of Danny Zhang of the Les Amis group and is still serving up great servings of Italian fare – although quite possibly tailored to suit the local palate under the guise of Italian authenticity. (I’ll explain later)

 

Bistro 21

Dear students of Durham, put down that Mr Choi take away menu. If you are looking for a restaurant to bring your parents to for a special occasion, Bistro 21 is the perfect place to go. The restaurant is owned by chef and owner Terry Laybourne and is conveniently located about 10 minutes from the city center by car. Bistro 21 is pretty, but unpretentious. It perfectly encaptures that rustic posh feeling of a good restaurant found up in the North of England.

 

Teppei

Teppei has been stirring some serious waves in the high end, expensive omakase scene in Singapore –  the main reason being; it’s decidedly not high end or expensive, but still offers exceptionally good quality food.

One aspect of the restaurant that matches the value you get for your money, it would be the notoriously difficult reservation system the restaurant employs. For a full omakase priced between $60 – $80 SGD, you can understand why the restaurant is currently fully booked until September 16th. (Our seating took place at 10.45 pm)

The restaurant is tiny, innocuous and busy as hell. Teppei-san himself works like a madman, busting out tupperwares from hidden corners of the kitchen, chocked of the freshest ingredients from emerald shisho leaves to amber ikura. He sweats and he hustles, but he never loses control and composes his meal like a conductor on speed would. It’s frantic, but controlled.

 

L’enclume

Spending most of my teenage school years in the archetypal British boarding school in the middle of nowhere in Cumbria, I had absolutely no idea at the time of the culinary superstar only known as Simon Rogan who would be rocking his way to 2 Michelin stars by 2012. And I certainly had no idea that this his flagship restaurant L’enclume literally down the road from where I would spend my half term breaks.

Medlar

Medlar is a winner. Located in Chelsea on Kings Road, the restaurant has experienced meteoric success under the helm of Joe Mercer Nairne (formally of Chez Bruce) as its head chef and David O’Connor as head of service. You get a fantastic level of comfort, service and unpretentiousness that is equally matched by the quality of its food.

Goldmine

I’m not gonna mince my words. If I had to choose a last meal before my impending execution for smuggling chewing gum back into Singapore this is probably where I would go. Goldmine in Bayswater is the absolute definition of comfort food for me, not only is the duck a quality above the other rag tag wannabes in Chinatown on a consistent basis, the quality of its supporting cast is also tear-inducingly good.

Hide-chan

Hidechan is one of two (the other being) are both owned by Mr Bobby Munetaka of Yakitoro Totto. The ramen bar is a fairly standard affair with Japanese staff serving up fresh hot bowls of their Hakata ramen.