Smoking Goat: Inspired

Since the summer of 2007, smokers have had to stand outside, shielding their glowing embers from the sideways rain, a true British summer experience. But inside kitchens all across the Capital, there has been a growing trend to cooking the campfire way. Josper's shares must have gone through the roof - charcoal is in high demand. Others have turned to wood. But I have never before seen coal used on a menu. Step forward Smoking Goat, a restaurant serving BBQ with the flavours of Thailand, with their "coal roast aubergine salad". Similar to those smoked aubergines you can pick up in Istanbul. But with extra smoke. A mound of mint leaves. A soft boiled egg. And a drenching bristling with chili, lime and fish sauce. No one in Thailand may ever have eaten this. But I bet they wish they had.

All of the chit chatter had been about the crab which was sadly not available on my visit. So, chicken wings it was. After burgers and hot dogs, chicken wings have been a staple in London for longer than perhaps they should. As with any food trends, so many of the late arrivals are sad imitations. Not Smoking Goat. They'll see your smoked chipotle or gochujang and raise you some fish sauce. Salty, crispy, spicy, these were inspired.

Next up a yellow curry with clams - perfectly balanced flavours, generous clams - this on its own would merit a trip to Smoking Goat.

Back to another food trend sadly often ruined - ribs. In place of pork or beef: lamb. We had nothing to worry about. Cooked to the right side of tender, smoky from the wood: sweet and sticky on their own, they were transformed by a quick dunk in a dipping sauce straight out of Chatuchak.

The only things which didn't quite hit the mark were the som tam, a little carboardy and lacking in punch, and the rice which arrived late and was underdone. Still minor aberrations in what was otherwise an incredible meal.

Décor is non-descript, a few of those low-flying bulbs to hit your head off, bare wooden tables. So understated in fact that a father and son came in while waiting for sisters and mum. They didn't eat a thing, assuming I suppose that it was just a quiet pub, a place to grab a quick pint. I was tempted to beseech them to stay - at least for a portion of those chicken wings - but as soon as they arrived, they were gone, a swift pint down the hatch and back outside to the madding world of Soho.


Smoking Goat opened about the same time as Som Saa, and with both focussing on Thai BBQ, comparisons were always going to be made. But I am not sure that is all that fair. They are both absolutely fantastic, each in their own way.

 

 

Som Saa: worth the wait!

I love a queue. I really do. I see a restaurant surrounded by baying "foodies" and I want to go. I will stand in the rain, the sleet and the snow, just to get whatever it may be: a burger; some ramen perhaps. I waited 2 hours for a burger from #Meateasy, as they then were, in New Cross Gate. Call me boring, but the great thing about a queue is that it is orderly, you may be climbing the culinary equivalent of Everest, but the summit is in sight: you know how many breathless steps you have got to go to get there.

Men with clipboards, however well meaning, are a slightly different prospect. You are assured of 45 minutes, that comes and goes. Others, who arrived after, seem to be sitting down earlier (perhaps the joys of eating in a three). One table, almost empty other than for a few portly gentleman, offers hope, a false dawn; no that is the owner who needs nine seats for him and his chums. An hour arrives, still no luck. Another quarter, nope, still waiting.

We get to 1 hour 35 and at last we sit down, a little weary, murmurings that "it had all better be worth it". But see that's where Som Saa, the latest pop up at Climpson's Arch, gets you. Because it is. Despite the disorderly seating system, the mislaid snacks which turned up 30 minutes late and the general lack of organisation, the food is, in the main, very good indeed. You have traveled through purgatory and arrived in heaven: a heaven heavy-laden with chili, drenched in fish sauce and full of lime-smacked smiles. In London it is perhaps only second to The Heron in delivering that collision of flavour that only Thailand can.

Some snacks got us through our wait, cashew nuts tarted up with Kaffir Lime and chili, some fermented pork, sour and spicy. There is the usual som tam, here served Bangkok or Isaan style (a little heavy on the salt, but vibrant).

Grilled pork neck makes the most of the wood-fired oven at Climpson's Arch - hot, sweet, sour, and salty in equal measures, it is everything Thai food should be.There is a curry which, to my palate tastes similar to a Massaman, although it is given a much more interesting name here.

Juicy prawns are simply grilled, served with a dipping sauce in which to get your fingers grubby.

And fish, perhaps the scariest looking sea bass you ever will see - I was waiting for fireballs to roll forth from its nose! It may look overdone, but the flesh was perfect, the skin crispy. A triumph on which to end.

The wait and the queuing system at Som Saa may be frustrating, the food is anything but. Head early or late, gorge on some of the best Thai food around and leave laughing. I'll be the one at the bottom of the clipboard, waiting for my hit.

*Thanks to the kitchen for the extra serving of prawns to make up for the wait, much appreciated!

The Heron Pub: A Thai Gem

Last night I had the best Thai food I have had outside Thailand.  That is a big statement I know, but it's true. Tucked underneath a rather shabby looking pub near Edgware Road called the Heron, is a haven of Thai cooking and karaoke! 

You walk in and the smell of Thai food physically hits you, this place is packed to the rafters with Thai's singing along to their favourite Thai hits.  There was about eight of us so we had the opportunity to order a raft of food.  Unfortunately I got so caught up with the number of dishes arriving that I forgot to take a note of what we ate and photos of all the dishes so I may have missed some things out.

The menu comprises around 100 dishes with a whole page dedicated to som tam - sometimes this can be a bad sign, leading to old ingredients cobbled together by a chef trying too much.  Not so here, everything is fresh, full of flavour and expertly created.  The drinks list is dominated by bottles of spirit in the true Thai way (a friend of mine used to live in Bangkok and kept his own bottle behind the bar and only bought soda all night to top up his 100 Pipers whisky, standard practice apparently) along with a few cocktails and the ever present Singha.

Back to the food, from what I recall we had ground pork and vermicelli salad, (spicy, sweet and salty, delicious) som tam (unripened papaya salad) with prawns, the best I have had for a very long time, catfish and mango salad (full of lemongrass and galangal, this was intense), a couple of fried rice dishes, one with pork one with crab, ho fun with beef and with seafood (Chinese, but delicious nonetheless), crispy pork salad.  Everything was incredible.

After wolfing down everything that came our way we sat back satisfied, beer in hand.  And then then singing started - on the table next to us was a group of four Thai twenty somethings.  One of them requested the microphone and began singing along with the cheesy Thai music videos being shown on the screens (there are subtitles to sing along to if your Thai is up to scratch) - her friends rolled around laughing at her attempts and so did we - great fun!

If you are looking for toned-down Western-style Thai this is not the place for you! The food at this place is a spicy, packed-full of flavour, assault on the senses! I love it!  The only disappointment is leaving to find out that you are not in fact in a basement in Bangkok but are still in London!  Still, you can't have everything...