It started with a faint twitch, or nervous restlessness. There was an almost involuntary desire to pull out the phone and snap away. Your author even managed to resist the temptation to quiz the servers about what made their dishes special. As an (unintentional) experiment, Gourmand Gunno spent two consecutive nights in restaurants without a plan to review either.
Eating out can be about the spontaneity of the moment and the company – not just the experience provided by the restaurant. Visitors to either London’s Chinatown or its Edgware Road are spoilt for choice. Over 80 Asian restaurants are located on or close to Gerard Street. Roughly half that number of venues serve Middle Eastern food on the stretch directly north of Marble Arch. With such a plethora of options in either direction, how might diners choose, and does their choice matter? ‘By chance’ and ‘probably not’ would be the most succinct respective responses.
As humans we are all susceptible to biases. We favour familiarity, tend to follow crowds and value more recent experiences over older ones. Your reviewer remembers being told in his younger days that if a restaurant is full of locals, then that’s probably a good thing. This simple principle still holds true. Some combination of balmy summer weather and a weak domestic currency – good for tourists - meant that both Chinatown and the Edgware Road were thronging with crowds. Fortunately, an outdoor table was free at the Golden Phoenix while the bright lights of Shishawi drew us in.
The Golden Phoenix, my dining comrade informed me, is famous for its dim sum. However, they serve this only at lunchtime. We therefore opted for one of their set special menus. It contained the usual fare: a series of fried bites and seaweed to start, an obligatory duck and pancake course and then mains with egg-fried rice. It was neither better nor worse than many similar experiences. Duck was, arguably, the standout. Dishes were plonked with minimal care on our table. We were also forced to pay before we ate – for fear, presumably, that two middle-aged men might do an imminent runner. None of it mattered though, since it was an ineluctable Chinatown experience. The people-watching was superb too.
Similar dynamics were at work at Shishawi, a long-standing Egyptian venue close to Marble Arch. We did need to make our own atmosphere amidst the cavernous interior of the restaurant. But excesses of mirrors and gilt combined with several large televisions helped provide amusement. Our group traversed a collection of dishes that mirrored Golden Phoenix in their predictability. Picture mixed mezze, lots of hummus and a decent quantity of grilled lamb. Everyone was happy and the plates were all cleared. Most diners don’t need any more than this.