Kaki

As lockdown restrictions ease and eating out becomes both an outdoor and indoor experience again, I thought it only fitting to start sharing some restaurant reviews and foodie findings from London.

Kicking off the series is last nights al fresco dinner at Kaki London. Kaki is located along the Regents Canal in Islington and serves authentic Szechuan cuisine.

The interior is spacious and modern with vibrant neon signs. The terrace has heaters and overlooks the water where you can watch the sun set.

The menu is extensive with a dedicated vegetarian section for those who are interested. We were spoilt for choice and had a tough time deciding what to order. I’ve seen and heard people raving about mapo tofu, a dish I’ve always wanted to try but is usually served with pork. Kaki offers a vegetarian version of mapo tofu which I had to get, alongside vegetarian dumplings, egg fried rice and choy sum in garlic sauce to share. My friend Nancy also had the braised pork belly.

The mapo tofu was unlike anything I had ever tried before. Warming and spicy with the notorious numbing oil creating an almost herbal aftertaste from the Szechuan peppercorns. I probably wouldn’t order this again for my personal taste, but it was incredibly well made and flavoursome.

The vegetarian dumplings were very tasty and came with a soy dipping sauce. The dough was thicker than other dumplings I’ve tried but I quite liked the chewy toothsomeness of it.

The egg fried rice and choy sum were both delicious and fresh. The waiter informed us that the greens were delivered that morning and were very good quality which you could tell. The garlic sauce was light and addictive.

The service was welcoming and accommodating, the food was fresh, authentic and overall delicious, the prices were great considering the quality and portion size and the ambience was lovely.

8/10 will be going back to try more.