Once in a while, I indulge in a session of eating that technically beggars belief. Two days before the sushi adventures in the same postcode, the other half and I were drawn to try what we had read was one of the most genuine and appealing Japanese restaurants in town: Asakusa. It was, I had read, one of those places that you are lucky to find in London.
And so it goes; London seems to have taken to it rather well. So much so that when we showed up without a reservation we were told we'd have to wait until after ten to eat. That certainly wasn't an option on a cold December evening, especially on crutches. Most normal people might have gone home at this point but we were not to be deterred. We walked up Camden High Street as far as Taste of Siam, a fairly empty canteen-looking Thai place.
We were both hungry, cold and miserable enough to try whatever we could get so in we went. Now, as I have vented before, Thai food is not my favourite cuisine. In fact, most of the time I plainly do not like it. My hopes were not high. In the event, they were right not to be. We ate over £30 worth of food and I didn't enjoy a lot of it, sadly.
The other half is certainly more keen on Thai food than I, so the tom yum soup she ordered was eaten exclusively by her, save for a few coughing, spluttering sips for me. This stuff is just horrible. Over-spicy, excessively thin, bitty and generally laden with nastiness, I can't bring myself to eat more than a couple of spoonfuls before choosing hunger over indigestion. That said...she liked it. It was reportedly very traditional and fresh.
The kung pao prawns we ordered were more up my street. Typically quite a spicy dish, these were actually quite reserved and, as with the soup, pretty fresh. Certainly firm enough to actually taste prawn in there. The two curries we tried were acceptable enough, apart from one being too sweet and one being too spicy. Apologies if I sound grumpy recounting this, but as I have previously explained, Thai food is simply not my thing.
Finally, we experienced the absurdity of crab claw tempura. I will eat just about any sort of tempura and I had visions of these being comparable to battered oysters: luxury street food which melts in the mouth. Unfortunately these were whole crab claws wrapped in batter. I almost broke a tooth in my over-zealous efforts to extract the meat from the things. The meat itself was rather nice, but not worth the challenge by a long shot.
As we left, it's fair to say I was in a pretty bad mood. I was on crutches, it was cold and late, we hadn't got into our first choice restaurant and I had not enjoyed our food. It was at this point that the other half had one of her typical flights of fancy... How about the place that was too full earlier?
She had to be joking... I mean she had to be. She wasn't. Back to Asakusa we went, but it was almost too late to get a table now. So much so that she hurried on ahead whilst I huffed and puffed with my leg supports back down the high street. It certainly wasn't one of our brightest ideas, or one of the most necessary meals we'd ever eat. Let's be honest, it was downright ridiculous.
Whilst it was primarily outrageous greed and curiosity on the other half's part, it was more unfulfilled irritation on mine which pushed us to the table. We rushed in, content that a late sitting would do the trick, or at least send us both home satisfied.
We ate two set meals. Basically your main event coupled with salad, pickles, miso soup and rice. Easy-peasy: that's traditional Japanese enough. As for the food, there's enough there to make it worth a visit but not enough to make it a special occasion place.
The other half's potato and pork mince croquette was casually dismissed as "something I can cook at home". (I am indeed a lucky man.) The ratio of pork to potato was absolutely too low and they didn't hold their shape or form as well as they might.
I ate some ton katsu, a sliced breaded pork cutlet. Very pleasant: moist, tender, appropriately sauced and breadcrumbs A-okay. Now this is all well and good but none of it is particularly out of the ordinary. As mentioned; it is stuff you might well cook at home if you're appropriately skilled. (Yes, you can technically say that about any food you eat in a restaurant but you know what I mean.) Maybe the naff Thai food put me in a more receptive mood...
What I will say in Asakusa's favour is that it is exactly what it purports to be: a no-frills neighbourhood Japanese restaurant. It does have a very authentic feel to it; cosy and quaint yet brusque and professional. I wouldn't say that you should drop everything and head up there the second you're free, but you should definitely pop in for a quick dinner if you are in the area. Not to be missed, though not as altogether fantastic as some would have you believe. And better than Taste of Siam. Well, I think so.
Taste of Siam
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