44 | squaremeal.co.uk

new openings

Joe's Oriental Diner

The Laundry Building, 2-18 Warburton Road,

E8 3FN

020 7920 6443 Price £48

No one could accuse Scott Hallsworth of

resting on his laurels since Kurobuta Chelsea

won our BMW Best New Restaurant Award

in spring 2015. His newest project - a huge,

rough-and-ready Asian adventure - also

began life in Chelsea, but we reckon Joe's is a

more natural ‡ t here in Hackney, a short stroll

from London Fields.

The setting is The Laundry: a cavernous

- if somewhat soulless - events space with

high ceilings, knocked-together decor and

ample room for a dining area, bar, lounge and

terrace. The South-East Asian menu includes

rare beef salad with a chilli dressing, buttered

prawns with walnuts, rendang short-rib buns

and duck leg curry.

Our Chinese chicken salad was a dish

of tasty contrasts: chewy chicken o‘ -cuts

given a crackle by crisp wonton crunchies,

all splashed in sweet plum dressing and

mandarin segments. Best were the gooey and

lightly battered prawns doused in sriracha

mayo. Sadly, things started to unravel with

the larger plates: unappetisingly soft snapper

lumps swam in a muted and lukewarm

yellow curry broth; and though duck leg curry

with lychees was acceptable, it lacked any

memorable “ avours or texture. Take solace at

the bar, where Picklebacks jostle for attention

next to naughtily named cocktails (the Green

Bastard is a refreshing blend of cucumber,

lime, Midori and gin), predominantly European

wines and London ales.

The formula - a short hit list of intensely

“ avoured Asian sharing dishes - has proved

a winning one elsewhere, yet somehow Joe's

currently lacks a sense of joy. Let everything

bed in, though, and it could be a great

addition to the area. We wouldn't bet against

Hallsworth just yet and we'll keep you posted.

The Duck & Rice

90-91 Berwick Street, W1F 0QB

020 3327 7888 Price £45

The latest venture from the

ever-creative Alan Yau (founder

of Wagamama, Busaba Eathai

and Yauatcha) sounded like

it might be a comforting

Chinese gastropub, inspired

by memories of his parents'

Chinese takeaway in King's

Lynn. And, yes, you can

enjoy dumplings and a pint

of Pilsner Urquell Tankovna

beer in the ground-“ oor

bar - but the former

Endurance pub now

looks very much like a

destination bar-restaurant.

Past gleaming pilsner

tanks and up a spiral staircase,

the dining room is cramped yet

becoming: panels of blue and white

china matched with dark woods and

metals. The menu is split into abstract

sections such as 'Home Comfort',

'Heroes' and 'Buddha's Delight', but

clued-up sta‘ can guide you to dishes

from the classic Cantonese repertoire.

Sweet, fatty roast duck, fall-apart barbecue

beef short rib and ginger-packed bavette

steak - all are exemplary. The 'small chow',

perfect for casual bar-snacking downstairs,

includes soft-shell crab, beer-battered

scampi and salt-and-pepper squid, while

the chilli chicken will leave your tongue

numb and ‡ zzing from Sichuan pepper.

Prices can be vertiginously high,

but chow mein options provide more

a‘ ordable alternatives - Malaysian char

kway teow combines plump, soft noodles,

‡ ery spice and juicy prawns for £12.50. The

fragrant and refreshing mango and pomelo

sago dessert is also good value. There are

dozens of Euro-led wines by the glass

(including a 70ml sampling option), and

beer lovers are well catered for, with pilsner,

IPA, porter - or in a cocktail.

This gleaming temple on tatty Berwick

Street is an engaging choice for Chinese

food and with its new alfresco tables looks

set to be a hot ticket all summer.

3 more…ORIENTAL EXCITEMENT

The House of Ho

020 3551 2822

Kouzu

020 3463 0207

Min Jiang

020 3544 7970

THE LAST WORD Cavernous, makeshift and well suited

to Hackney, Scott Hallsworth's new Asian enterprise boasts

refreshing libations - though the food needs extra oomph

THE LAST WORD Alan Yau's gleaming bar-restaurant

matches exemplary, if pricey, renditions of Cantonese

classics with top-notch brews in a former Soho pub

Jake Gyllenhaal

at Duck

Rice