Randomness Guide to London - Differences between Version 22 and Version 21 of Silk Road, SE5 8TR

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Chinese cafe-style restaurant and takeaway on Camberwell Church Street in [[Locale Camberwell|Camberwell]], specialising in food from Xinjiang, a large autonomous region in the northwest of China where the default meat is lamb (rather than pork, as in most of the rest of China).
 Chinese cafe-style restaurant and takeaway on Camberwell Church St, in [[Locale Camberwell|Camberwell]].
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Its Chinese name is &#26032;&#30086;&#39080;&#21619; (X&#299;nji&#257;ng f&#275;ng w&egrave;i), which roughly translates as something like "Xinjiang local flavour". The menu is in Chinese with an English translation &#8212; see <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/sets/72157624836672513/ Kake's Flickrset]</small> with photos of the menu. The decor is quite plain, and the seating is at long tables with wooden benches. Note that as of September 2010 they're cash only.
 It specialises in Xinjiang food. The menu is in Chinese with an English translation <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/secretlondon/3282211672 photo]</small>.
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When nine of us visited on a Monday evening in September 2010, the place was busy &#8212; it's a good thing we'd booked. Service was still good, efficient and friendly. The food was generally quite tasty, although the dumplings (&pound;2.50/10) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/5008512788/ photo]</small> and the famed lamb skewers <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/5008631343/ photo]</small> (80p each) didn't particularly impress [[DrHyde]]; there was nothing wrong with them, they just didn't stand out. ([[Kake]] agrees &#8212; the spices on the lamb skewers were overwhelmingly powdery rather than flavourful, and the meat wasn't as deliciously crisped as I'd been hoping.)
 [[secretlondon]] visited one Sunday evening in February 2009. I had lamb with noodle and egg (&pound;7) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/secretlondon/3281454733 photo]</small>, 10 dumplings (&pound;3) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/secretlondon/3282270408 photo]</small> and a pot of tea (&pound;1).
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The big plate chicken (&pound;15) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/5009014306/ photo]</small> was delicious, though; the flavours in the gravy were much more complex than in the other dishes, and the chicken was neither mushy nor bland. Both [[Kake]] and [[Laura]] wished we'd ordered more of this.
 When a horde of us visited on a Monday evening in September 2010, the place was busy - it's a good thing that we'd booked. Service was still good, and the food tasty. All the food was tasty, although the dumplings and the famed lamb skewers didn't particularly impress [[DrHyde]]. There was nothing wrong with them, they just didn't stand out. The Big Plate Chicken was delicious, and the many vegetarian sides and salads were surprisingly tasty - a normal person could almost come here, pretend to be a veggie, and go away satisfied. But best of all was the price: 9 of us pigged out for only 15 quid each, including booze and tip.
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Home style aubergine (&#23478;&#24120;&#33540;&#23376;/ji&#257; ch&eacute; qi&eacute; zi; &pound;5) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/5009028456/ photo]</small>, although not really a Xinjiang dish, was one of [[Kake]]'s other favourites; the aubergine was peeled before cooking to a perfect texture, and the sauce was quite balanced if fairly nonspecific in flavour.
 Background music sounded like Chinese easy listening. The tables are wooden benches.
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Spicy salad/tiger salad (&#32769;&#34382;&#33756;/l&#462;o h&#468; c&agrave;i; &pound;3) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/5008499866/ photo]</small> was cruder than renditions [[Kake]] has had elsewhere, consisting simply of large chunks of tomato and onion topped with handfuls of fresh coriander. Mixed shred salad (&#25292;&#19977;&#32114;/b&agrave;n s&#257;n s&#299;; &pound;3) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/5007866269/ photo]</small> was similarly simple; nicely garlicky dressing, but dominated by the glass noodle vermicelli rather than an even mix of the three shreds advertised (carrot and spinach should have been the others).

Cabbage in vinegar sauce (&#37259;&#28316;&#30333;&#33756;/c&ugrave; li&ugrave; b&aacute;i c&agrave;i; &pound;4) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/5009608904/ photo]</small> was somewhat unbalanced, with the vinegar flavour coming across as harsh rather than tangy. Sour and hot shredded potato (&#37240;&#36771;&#22303;&#35910;&#32114;/su&#257;n l&agrave; t&#468; d&ograve;u s&#299;; &pound;4) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/5009040345/ photo]</small> was better, though, with the potato slivers nicely judged to be crisp yet not undercooked.

Despite the meaty nature of much of the menu, the vegetarian in our party was as happy as the rest of us. But best of all was the price: 9 of us pigged out for only 15 quid each, including booze and tip.

[[secretlondon]] visited some time previously, on a Sunday evening in February 2009. I had lamb with noodle and egg (&pound;7) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/secretlondon/3281454733 photo]</small>, 10 dumplings (&pound;3) <small>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/secretlondon/3282270408 photo]</small> and a pot of tea (&pound;1). Background music sounded like Chinese easy listening.

[[Kake]]'s verdict: It's a testament to the quality of regional Chinese food currently available in London that I can even <i>think</i> of criticising the food we had here. It was certainly all a lot better than your average generic Anglicised Chinese, it was very cheap, and it's the only place I've ever had Xinjiang food in London. I just felt that it wasn't quite as good as all the rave reviews had led me to expect, which is more to do with me than with the restaurant.
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<div class="last_verified">Last visited by [[Kake]], [[Laura]], [[Sarah]], [[bob]], [[DrHyde]], et al., September 2010.</div>
 <div class="last_verified">Last visited by [[secretlondon]], February 2009.</div>
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summary='Interesting Chinese cafe/takeaway in Camberwell.' summary='Chinese cafe/takeaway in Camberwell, specialising in Xinjiang food.' summary='Interesting Chinese cafe/takeaway in Camberwell.' summary='Chinese cafe/takeaway in Camberwell, specialising in Xinjiang food.'

Chinese cafe-style restaurant and takeaway on Camberwell Church St, in Camberwell.

It specialises in Xinjiang food. The menu is in Chinese with an English translation photo.

secretlondon visited one Sunday evening in February 2009. I had lamb with noodle and egg (£7) photo, 10 dumplings (£3) photo and a pot of tea (£1).

When a horde of us visited on a Monday evening in September 2010, the place was busy - it's a good thing that we'd booked. Service was still good, and the food tasty. All the food was tasty, although the dumplings and the famed lamb skewers didn't particularly impress DrHyde. There was nothing wrong with them, they just didn't stand out. The Big Plate Chicken was delicious, and the many vegetarian sides and salads were surprisingly tasty - a normal person could almost come here, pretend to be a veggie, and go away satisfied. But best of all was the price: 9 of us pigged out for only 15 quid each, including booze and tip.

Background music sounded like Chinese easy listening. The tables are wooden benches.

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Last visited by secretlondon, February 2009.

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