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There hasn’t been a shortage of Thai cooking in London for some years now. But the subtleties and regional differences have not always been well represented, and there’s been a tendency to westernise what can often be a pretty challenging group of cuisines. This made us all the more pleased to see places like The Begging Bowl in Peckham, and, more recently, The Smoking Goat, Soho’s Thai barbecue specialist, and the north-eastern cooking (a rarity in the UK) of Som Saa out at Climpsons Arch.
Now two alumnae of Smoking Goat are doing something that, as far as we know, has never been done by any UK Thai restaurant before: cooking khanom jeen, a type of noodle made from rice flour fermented over many, many hours before being shaped. The noodles will be served with various curries and a few side dishes. Chef Seb Holmes has also worked at both Begging Bowl and Som Saa, so it’s pretty safe to assume that he knows what he’s doing.
Pestle, their new venture, will be starting out with a two-day gig at the Winemakers Arms, a Farringdon wine merchant and wine bar. They’ve already started taking bookings (info@pestlelondon.co.uk) so move fast if you’re interested. But don’t worry: they’re already planning further pop-ups in early and mid-September. And eventually they hope there will be a permanent venue.