EAT & DRINK

Originally published on Thursday, 08 May 2008

Hunan

I'm not sure how I missed this family-run, Taiwanese-influenced restaurant on Pimlico Road, although saying that, I have a feeling it suits them just fine keeping the low profile they do.

The decor is rather beige and un-Chinesey. There is no menu, and, apart from the very enthusiastic Michael - the son of the owner, it turns out, who greets you at the door and keeps things ticking over - it seems to take a while for them to realise you're there to eat. And then, just when you're starting to feel a bit cross at being kept waiting for so long, someone whisks over, asks if there's anything you don't eat and whether you'd like them to begin.

And then the food begins to arrive, little plate after little plate of some of the tastiest morsels you're likely to try outside China: an intensely savoury, ginger-infused, minced pork and mushroom broth; garlicky green bean tempura; prawn dumplings, with proper fat king prawns inside; bang bang tofu salad; rich, sweet, braised pork with aubergine...

This was around the point that we stopped remembering, drunk on the flavours, but there were about ten dishes in total and I think there would have been more if we hadn't told them to stop.

Next time I'm not eating a bite until dinner time.

Hours: Mon-Sat 12.30-2pm and 6-11pm
Place: 51 Pimlico Road, SW1W 8NE
Cost: £50
Web: hunanlondon.com
Book: 020 7730 5712

 

by SL

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Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.

 

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