Restaurants

Green Papaya, with its Bordeaux-red walls and neat wooden furniture, keeps both the decor and menu minimal. Besides a batch of Vietnamese standards such as pho and bun, the menu (dinner only) contains a few treasures that utilise the produce from next doors London Star Night Supermarket. Thinly sliced banana flowers were flavoured with an intensely sour, spicy and lip-smacking dressing. The vegetarian banh xeo, a classic yellow pancake filled with fried beansprouts and onions, contained a nice surprise: smoked tofu (hard to make and even harder to find, with the taste and texture of ham yet completely meatless). One of the best finds on the menu, however, was the braised pork with king prawns and a hard-boiled egg. This Vietnamese stew (with a barely detectable hint of ginger and sweet soy sauce) contained succulent prawns and cubes of pork meat, striped with thin layers of juicy fat. Green Papaya sticks to just a few dishes, but it does them well.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2008