Restaurants

The fact that on our midweek visit the waiter was mopping the floor of a deserted restaurant indicates that lunchtime trade hasn't picked up since last year though evenings are much busier. It wasn't long after our arrival before Vietnamese music parped into action, with the waiter not far behind. Ornate dark-wood screens, plastic bamboo and a carp pond provide an old-school oriental set-up. Soft-shell crab deep-fried with chilli and salt had a clean, nutty crunch; and a zingy soup with prawns and tamarind was crammed with crisp beansprouts and juicy straw mushrooms. An unctuous main course of duck with aubergine cooked in a clay pot was resplendent with subtle aromatic spices.

Time Out Cheap Eats in London Guide 2007