Review: Naga
As awful as it is to admit, the most sophisticated I get when it comes to Chinese cuisine is when I order from the slightly more expensive takeaway when the delivery time is too long at my usual. Sad but true. I rarely go to a Chinese restaurant, so dining at Naga, voted Best Chinese Restaurant in London at the prestigious Asian Curry Awards, was quite an exciting prospect- again sad but true, clearly I don't go out enough.
The Oriental restaurant and bar is a fairly recent addition to the Kensington area, but despite this it is already making its mark as a neighborhood gem. In fact, not long after we arrive (8pm) the restaurant is at full capacity with a healthy chatter, and fabulous aromas filling the air.
Before sitting down for dinner there is the option to enjoy a cocktail from the menu created by London's top mixologists, Tri Van Dang, who created the famous Flaming Ferrari cocktail, before becoming Manager at Mahiki and then setting up South Kensington's acclaimed The Brompton Club.
The restaurant area is split over two floors mezzanine style and the glass roof makes for an enchanting view of the night sky when you dine. That combined with a décor of lush foliage, silk screens and soft lighting makes for a truly beautiful interior- the wait for food is not long but there is plenty to keep you amused around the room regardless.
The menu at Naga emphasises on Modern Chinese and Vietnamese cuisine, with dishes including the signature Silken Tofu with Ginger Dressing, Vine Leaves stuffed with Chargrilled Beef (Bo La Lot), Lotus Root with Prawns Salad, Thit Bo Kho, A Vietnamese Mild Beef Curry, Slow-cooked Pork Belly with Crackling on Asian Mash, and Canton Style Lobster Noodles.
We decided to let the manager of the restaurant order for us, and as soon as the dishes started to arrive at our table we were delighted.
Firstly, I must apologise, getting carried away with the delicious smells of our dinner we dived straight in and it wasn't until we had devoured every last bit of our starter that I realised I had forgotten to get photographic evidence!
For our starter we were served Chicken Satay (the satay is made on site from cashew and peanuts) and the Duck and Watermelon Salad, which we were told is a firm favorite with diners. The salad was incredibly fresh, the watermelon and duck going together well and the garnish of mint added to that refreshing flavour. As well as tasting fabulous the dish was also a treat for the eyes, the watermelon and different leaves in the salad brining color to the dish. The chicken satay made with two types of nut was smooth and delicious, on top of that, with six pieces of chicken is a good portion size- enough to fill a space, but not so much that we dreaded the next course.
My main when ordering Chinese normally consists of some sort of chicken dish with curry sauce rice and a cheeky prawn cracker. So allowing our meals to be ordered for us lead to something much more exciting. Our main of shredded beef with onion and black cod both served with egg fried rice, French beans and egg noodles with beansprouts filled every inch of our table.
Fish is never something I had thought of ordering from a Chinese before but, after trying the black cod, I found that I had been missing out all these years. I would highly recommend and would go for the dish if I were dining at Naga again.
The beef, again was something I have never really ordered from a Chinese before (gosh, I clearly love chicken way to much) and again like the fish I enjoyed it hugely. The big pieces of onion added a great crunch to the dish and the accompaniments of rice noodles and beans went well with both of the dishes.
By the time we came to order our desserts the restaurant was really quite busy, meaning the wait for this course was slightly longer than it had been for the previous ones. But the chocolate ice cream with strawberries and chocolate fondant with vanilla ice cream soon made up for the wait. I always feel that Chinese (and Indian) restaurants are let down by their desserts- lemon or orange sorbet served in a lemon or orange anyone?- but thankfully Naga seemed to have bucked that trend and we were served two delicious desserts.
Naga more than lives up to the awards it has won so far, from start to finish the service was brilliant and the food was five stars. If I hadn't been so full I would have happily ordered all three courses again- I'll just have to plan another visit instead.
Naga 2 Abingdon Road London W8 6AF 020 7795 6060 www.nagarestaurants.co.uk
The Oriental restaurant and bar is a fairly recent addition to the Kensington area, but despite this it is already making its mark as a neighborhood gem. In fact, not long after we arrive (8pm) the restaurant is at full capacity with a healthy chatter, and fabulous aromas filling the air.
Before sitting down for dinner there is the option to enjoy a cocktail from the menu created by London's top mixologists, Tri Van Dang, who created the famous Flaming Ferrari cocktail, before becoming Manager at Mahiki and then setting up South Kensington's acclaimed The Brompton Club.
The restaurant area is split over two floors mezzanine style and the glass roof makes for an enchanting view of the night sky when you dine. That combined with a décor of lush foliage, silk screens and soft lighting makes for a truly beautiful interior- the wait for food is not long but there is plenty to keep you amused around the room regardless.
The menu at Naga emphasises on Modern Chinese and Vietnamese cuisine, with dishes including the signature Silken Tofu with Ginger Dressing, Vine Leaves stuffed with Chargrilled Beef (Bo La Lot), Lotus Root with Prawns Salad, Thit Bo Kho, A Vietnamese Mild Beef Curry, Slow-cooked Pork Belly with Crackling on Asian Mash, and Canton Style Lobster Noodles.
We decided to let the manager of the restaurant order for us, and as soon as the dishes started to arrive at our table we were delighted.
Firstly, I must apologise, getting carried away with the delicious smells of our dinner we dived straight in and it wasn't until we had devoured every last bit of our starter that I realised I had forgotten to get photographic evidence!
For our starter we were served Chicken Satay (the satay is made on site from cashew and peanuts) and the Duck and Watermelon Salad, which we were told is a firm favorite with diners. The salad was incredibly fresh, the watermelon and duck going together well and the garnish of mint added to that refreshing flavour. As well as tasting fabulous the dish was also a treat for the eyes, the watermelon and different leaves in the salad brining color to the dish. The chicken satay made with two types of nut was smooth and delicious, on top of that, with six pieces of chicken is a good portion size- enough to fill a space, but not so much that we dreaded the next course.
My main when ordering Chinese normally consists of some sort of chicken dish with curry sauce rice and a cheeky prawn cracker. So allowing our meals to be ordered for us lead to something much more exciting. Our main of shredded beef with onion and black cod both served with egg fried rice, French beans and egg noodles with beansprouts filled every inch of our table.
Fish is never something I had thought of ordering from a Chinese before but, after trying the black cod, I found that I had been missing out all these years. I would highly recommend and would go for the dish if I were dining at Naga again.
The beef, again was something I have never really ordered from a Chinese before (gosh, I clearly love chicken way to much) and again like the fish I enjoyed it hugely. The big pieces of onion added a great crunch to the dish and the accompaniments of rice noodles and beans went well with both of the dishes.
By the time we came to order our desserts the restaurant was really quite busy, meaning the wait for this course was slightly longer than it had been for the previous ones. But the chocolate ice cream with strawberries and chocolate fondant with vanilla ice cream soon made up for the wait. I always feel that Chinese (and Indian) restaurants are let down by their desserts- lemon or orange sorbet served in a lemon or orange anyone?- but thankfully Naga seemed to have bucked that trend and we were served two delicious desserts.
Naga more than lives up to the awards it has won so far, from start to finish the service was brilliant and the food was five stars. If I hadn't been so full I would have happily ordered all three courses again- I'll just have to plan another visit instead.
Naga 2 Abingdon Road London W8 6AF 020 7795 6060 www.nagarestaurants.co.uk