East End Review

Tag: Lower Clapton Road

  • My Neighbours the Dumplings – restaurant review

    My Neighbours the Dumplings – restaurant review

    My Neighbours the Dumplings' frontage on Lower Clapton Road
    My Neighbours the Dumplings’ frontage on Lower Clapton Road

    As previous reviews attest, Clapton is now home to several quality Asian eateries. The newest among them is the puzzlingly named My Neighbours the Dumplings, which opened last month on Lower Clapton Road. As a dumpling fanatic, I waited impatiently for the opening, and apparently wasn’t alone in doing so: when we visited midweek, the restaurant was so bustling that a passing resident marvelled that she’d never seen such a busy place locally. It took us a few moments to get through the door as a decent crowd had assembled around the sake bar, seemingly just popping in for a drink.

    MNTD has many things to recommend it. The general ambience is outstanding. The interior is thronged in custom-made light boxes, and the music is good, contributing to a celebratory vibe. The service is warm too. And the ingredients are clearly of a high quality, with meat sourced from the Rare Breed Meat Company. This is immediately apparent from the earthiness of the pork and lamb. It was nice to be offered ethically-sourced meat, which is not generally a fixture at regular dim sum parlours.

    Food from My Neighbours the Dumplings

    As dim sum is a brunch food, the food here isn’t strictly traditional. Diners do order from a tick box list, and the dishes are served in baskets, for sharing. The menu is carefully chosen, with classics like siu mai and sticky rice alongside pan-Asian fare such as a cucumber salad spiked with chilli and lemongrass, and a generous smattering of vegetarian options. We tried about eight dishes and although the general quality was high, some were more successful than others. The lamb and coriander potstickers were crispy without greasiness and the turnip cake with Chinese sausage and shiitake mushrooms was outstanding. The siu mai, however, weren’t firm enough, and the pork in the filling overpowered the prawn rather than hitting a balance. The prawn wontons were priced quite dearly at £5 (over a pound per piece), but were dry, with a thimble-sized portion of sauce.

    dumplings-2-620

    Far and away the best dish was the whole steamed lemon sole in a coriander butter sauce, the coda to our meal. The fish, sourced from sustainable fishmonger Soleshare, was silky and buttery, with a delicate flavour that needed little adornment. Although the daily fish selection changes, I expect the quality will remain outstanding.

    It took us far too long to receive and pay our bill, which came to £60 for two people with a soft drink and one sake cocktail. A shade too pricey for my tastes but I would definitely head there when hit by a dumpling craving – it’s local, ethical and the joyous atmosphere put us in a good mood.

    My Neighbours the Dumplings
    165 Lower Clapton Road, E5 8EQ
    myneighboursthedumplings.com

  • Little Baobab – review: A trip to Senegal via Lower Clapton

    Sengalese finest: Little Baobab
    Little Baobab

    The restaurant business is famously hard, particularly in London where rents and competition have become such juggernauts. Hackney’s low rents used to allow young or inexperienced entrepreneurs some room for error and experimentation, which is why some much loved local businesses such as the E5 Bakehouse, Passing Clouds or the now defunct Railroad Cafe seemed to be borne less out of a solid business plan than a narrow and determined vision to deliver something unique.

    It’s easy to wax nostalgic about the past, however, and Hackney’s food scene is undoubtedly superior now. Some new arrivals are welcome additions, and one such place is Little Baobab, a new Senegalese restaurant and music venue that has opened up in the premises on Lower Clapton Road where Candela used to operate, before it disappeared without a sound.

    Little Baobab feels like the sort of venture that was popping up every day in Hackney a few years ago. Run by chef Khadim and musician Abdoulaye Sam, two friends originally from Dakar, Senegal, the restaurant hosts live music every night.

    When we went on Friday evening, the room was packed and people sat elbow to elbow around candlelit tables as a man played West African guitar music in the corner, propped up against the window. As the evening wore on the guitarist was joined by another musician and together they picked up the tempo. Staff were relaxed and warm, and were chatting casually to the mixture of customers, friends and family who were in the venue.

    The menu was scant: it had three mains to choose from and only one starter, as well as two juices. We opted for the African mains: I had curried lamb with peanut butter and rice, and my friend had a spicy spinach stew, both of them hearty and satisfying and coming in at under a tenner each. I had a rum cocktail with baobab juice, followed by some bog standard but very reasonably priced house wine that was £3.50 a glass.

    Beers on offer were an eclectic mix and mostly still being chilled when we arrived, which I took to be a sign of the restaurant cutting its teeth in its first weeks. Ultimately, however, the food was a backdrop to the convivial atmosphere. Let’s hope it lasts longer than its predecessor.

    Little Baobab
    159 Lower Clapton Road, E5 8EQ
    littlebaobab.co.uk