Long Chim, London W1: ‘A startlingly brief menu of crowd pleasers’ – restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants
Long Chim in Soho is a new restaurant by the chef David Thompson, the man who changed the face of Thai food in the UK back in the early noughties,You’ll hear this repeated by chefs and food writers whenever Thompson’s name is mentioned, and his work genuinely warrants genuflection,Without him, it is said, there would be no Som Saa, no Kiln, no Smoking Goat, no Speedboat Bar, nor many of those other hip Thai eating spots run by earnest boys called Crispin who serve kipper curry to other earnest boys called Crispin,Thompson did not by any means invent the concept of Thai people eating – they’ve been managing perfectly well by themselves since the country was created in the 13th century – but he certainly dismantled the UK’s love of gelatinous yet sating pad Thais and of boiled chicken pieces swimming in tinned coconut milk and masquerading as green curry,When he opened Nahm in 2001, Thompson laughed in the face of the predictable, cosy and safe Thai food we’d been used to – comforting sweetness and nuttiness, with gentle, fragrant wafts of coriander and unthreatening heat – and instead favoured scallops, pigeon, Asian celery, white pepper and often alarmingly bold levels of both fresh and dried chillies.
Twenty years on, in a rather chaotically styled venue in the heart of London’s theatreland, there’s little evidence that he’s mellowing much.Long Chim has taken over the ground floor of Hovarda, a restaurant I once walked out of because they wouldn’t let me have a walk-in table unless I gave them my name, phone number and postcode, and which still operates from the first floor.Anyway, the ground level space has been rejigged with garish decor and a clanking open kitchen, and seems to have been inspired by a design palette that screams: “This could be a Bangkok street food scene, right, guys?” complete with bold neon signs, animal murals and studiously staged piles of bottles.At times, the lighting is purple, at others blue, should you have ever wondered how you’d look as a Smurf.Why do designers persist in trying to recreate “the street” indoors? It always looks like a themed shooting range at Chessington World of Adventures.
The menu, meanwhile, leans on the side of crowdpleasers, with monkfish curry, crispy pork in five spices and “Long Chim rolls”, which turn out to be long, thin, slightly wonky, crisp spring rolls stuffed with a non-obtrusive mulch of mustard greens.Be warned, though, this menu is startlingly brief, featuring a mere four starters – a couple of skewers, those spring rolls, rice cakes with crunchy pork – seven mains and the briefest of nods towards pudding; the rice option is steamed jasmine or no rice at all.“Long chim” translates loosely as “come and try”, and you literally could try everything here on a single visit.The menu feels as if it began life as something a bit more ambitious – the pre-opening hype promised wagyu beef salad and red snapper fishcakes, for instance – and seems somewhat meagre when compared with, for instance, those at nearby Kiln and Speedboat.It’s punchily priced, too: a single skewer of admittedly delicious grilled beef with turmeric, galangal and coriander costs £8, while a suggestion of southern-style grilled squid with ginger is £6 a nibble.
Two black tiger prawns with celery, spring onions and glass vermicelli (£19) all sang in the same key: white pepper,The pomegranate salad was a thick, rather jammy bowl of rich red fruit that acted as a welcome foil to the mellow monkfish curry with a cucumber relish,My advice here would be to order big, if your wallet allows it, or you might well leave still a bit hungry, in which vein we ordered both the desserts on offer,Grilled sticky rice with banana was exactly that: grilled lumps of rice with hot banana,The other pudding, however, turned out to be the star of the entire evening.
Tapioca with coconut and corn was a complex and pretty bowl of wobbly frogspawn with sunrise-yellow corn.And before any of you start, there’s no such thing as bad tapioca: it is the saviour of a million 1970s British schoolchildren’s teatimes, and it’s widely loved across Thailand, too.Long Chim is a place for Thompson’s many fans to head to pay homage to a culinary legend.If they’re lucky, they might even catch the man himself behind the stoves, so they’ll be able to thank him in person for the impact he’s had on the UK’s approach to Thai dining.Long Chim may not be quite his best work, but the fact that he will always be remembered is not up for debate.
Long Chim 36-40 Rupert Street, London W1, 020-3319 7750.Open dinner only Tues-Sat, 5-10.30pm.From about £35 a head, plus drinks and service.The next episode of Grace’s Comfort Eating podcast is out on Tuesday 24 December – listen to it here
Benjamina Ebuehi’s mincemeat frangipane turnovers | The sweet spot
A pack of puff pastry provides endless inspiration for quick, last-minute desserts, and I almost always have one in the freezer, ready to defrost. Here, I’m transforming it into turnovers filled with an easy almond frangipane and spoonfuls of mincemeat. If you’ve had your fill of mince pies, but still have some mincemeat to use up, these make for a great pudding, especially if served with custard or cream.Prep 10 min Cook 50 min Makes 61 sheet ready-rolled puff pastry (320g)1 egg, beaten, to egg washA handful of flaked almonds Icing sugar, for dustingCream or custard, to serveFor the filling90g softened unsalted butter80g golden caster sugar Zest of 1 orange 1 large egg 80g ground almonds ½ tbsp plain flourA pinch of salt3 tbsp mincemeatHeat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6, and line two large baking trays with greaseproof paper. Beat the butter, sugar and orange zest in a bowl until pale and creamy, then mix in the egg, followed by the ground almonds, flour and salt, to make a thick batter
Dry them, fry them, turn them into sauce: what to cook with cheap, juicy summer tomatoes
Turn a bumper crop into a seasonal feast, with expert tips for baking, bottling or serving fresh in a saladAn abundance of truss tomatoes means now is the perfect time for Australian shoppers to take advantage of the lower prices – while also helping out overloaded growers. Stocking up on the summer staple will ensure your shelves are packed with tomato-based sunshine for the colder months ahead.Whether you’re serving tomatoes fresh in a panzanella salad or making a sauce for shakshuka, here are fresh ideas for making the most of affordable tomatoes.Oven-dried tomatoes are the least labour-intensive but most time-consuming way of preserving a bumper crop. Just three ingredients – tomatoes, salt and a little olive oil – will extend that intense summer flavour of any tomato-infused dish until well into autumn
Drinks to take the strain out of entertaining
How do you feel about entertaining? I have a few friends who love it. For them, it’s an opportunity to tidy the house, light kitsch candles and remember to bleach their upper lip. Welcoming other people into their home gives them the warm fuzzies.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link
Long Chim, London W1: ‘A startlingly brief menu of crowd pleasers’ – restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants
Long Chim in Soho is a new restaurant by the chef David Thompson, the man who changed the face of Thai food in the UK back in the early noughties. You’ll hear this repeated by chefs and food writers whenever Thompson’s name is mentioned, and his work genuinely warrants genuflection. Without him, it is said, there would be no Som Saa, no Kiln, no Smoking Goat, no Speedboat Bar, nor many of those other hip Thai eating spots run by earnest boys called Crispin who serve kipper curry to other earnest boys called Crispin.Thompson did not by any means invent the concept of Thai people eating – they’ve been managing perfectly well by themselves since the country was created in the 13th century – but he certainly dismantled the UK’s love of gelatinous yet sating pad Thais and of boiled chicken pieces swimming in tinned coconut milk and masquerading as green curry. When he opened Nahm in 2001, Thompson laughed in the face of the predictable, cosy and safe Thai food we’d been used to – comforting sweetness and nuttiness, with gentle, fragrant wafts of coriander and unthreatening heat – and instead favoured scallops, pigeon, Asian celery, white pepper and often alarmingly bold levels of both fresh and dried chillies
From smoked salmon fritters to bircher muesli loaf: Ravinder Bhogal’s Christmas Day breakfast – recipes
Among the mad rush of Christmas, don’t neglect the most important meal of the day: breakfast. It’s vital fuel to get you through the day, particularly if you are hosting or nursing a sore head from the night before. Christmas Day breakfast should feel festive and special, but it shouldn’t overwhelm. These recipes are easy enough to put together for a crowd without a fuss, and can be made ahead of time, giving you plenty of time to concentrate on locating the crackers, chilling the champagne, basting the turkey or perhaps even just enjoying the festivities.Who wants to slave over a hot pan making several small latkes when you can make a colossal, showstopping one? If you want to get ahead, make this in advance and reheat in the oven for 10 minutes
People in the US: how do you eat a climate-friendly diet on a budget?
Tackling the climate crisis will require us to think more carefully about what we eat, since our food system accounts for up to one-third of all greenhouse gas emissions.The best option, according to scientists who developed a climate-friendly food plan several years ago, is to eat more vegetables, legumes and whole grains, and cut back on meat and dairy. Despite the planetary – and health – benefits of this diet, it’s not always easy to eat this way, especially given soaring food prices and lack of accessibility in many parts of the US.So we want to hear from people in the US about how you’re eating a climate-friendly diet on a budget, and what other challenges you face in eating this way.You can tell us how you eat a climate-friendly diet on a budget by filling in the form below
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