Being of Chinese descent and growing up in
South East Asia has its pros and cons. I grew up living and breathing a food culture with the convenience and abundance of tasty food at my doorstep. These tasty foods can also be bought and eaten without a second hesitation as it is cheap and affordable.
Having been reading into the history of Chinese cuisine, it is truly a world of multiple complexity and amazing flavours. I do believe that the modern us are only scratching the surface layers in what we are currently exposed to and eating. It also saddens me that Chinese food has the stigma of being cheap and greasy. During the imperial times, dishes are as innovative and beautifully crafted like a refined and prized ornament.
I hear a lot of comments from people moaning when they hear of Chinese Restaurants and how a vegetable dish can cost £20. That's too expensive for Chinese, so exclaims.
I am guilty of that too sometimes but then it dawned on me that that is being unfair. Possibly so for immediately dismissing Michelin rated ones. It is not possible to compare the prices of food that you can get in Asian countries to what you pay for in
Europe. The mere fact that labour costs are so much lower in the East is a differentiation that cannot be ignored and need to be considered.
If we are willing to pay £20-30 for other cuisines like Italian, German, French; why do we flinch and hesitate when it comes to Chinese?
Without this becoming a long rambling on philosophical thoughts, I decided that I should keep an open mind. Browsing the menu for Kai, I noticed that they offer a 3 course set lunch for £30, now that is affordable and a chance to taste a 1 Michelin Star Chinese cuisine. Also for me to challenge my initial view: was the 1 Michelin based on dishes for the western palate? Or is it authentic Chinese but more refined and sophisticated? In either case, is it worth the £££!
For a weekend lunch, Kai was not overly busy and we were given a choice of tables. Our impressions did not start well due to a number of incidents. The pair of chopsticks laid on the table on my side was not clean and it still had some food crust stuck to it. Inexcusable really.
It also took forever for the waiter to come back to get our orders. We practically looked around and had to wave for quite a while before we caught the attention of another waiter that was serving a different table. He had to call ours back from goodness know where. Our waiter took our orders and then we saw him just wandering around while I was still waiting for my replacement chopsticks. I seriously am not impressed with this guy.
Before our starters arrived, we were served an amuse bouche of Miso soup with Enoki mushrooms, goji berries and tofu. I was thinking miso soup in Chinese cuisine?
This had chilli flakes in it which gives it a spicy tang and there was a Chinese flavour to the soup which distinguishes it from the Japanese version. This was very much enjoyed.
S T A R T E R S
Shanghai noodle sheets & jelly-fish, sesame and ginger dressing
Enoki mushroom & pea shoot salad, spicy black cloud fungus, Tau pan bean dressing, asian pickles (v)
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