Mention the words ‘fusion restaurant’ and I make that sound of inhaled air through pursed lips builders are so good at when you ask them what the damage is. The concept can be so hit and miss. Usually, miss.
But whilst Pacata may market itself as an East-meets-West endeavour, I would describe it as Asian street-food with a dash of creativity. And one would expect nothing less from a menu designed by Yasuji Morizumi, the first Michelin starred ramen chef.
Morizumi was present the evening I attended a Pacata press launch, and via an interpreter was able to share a little more insight into the dishes on offer, ‘[Pacata] is bringing the essence of Asian street food to London - the menu needed to really grasp the palate of the discerning Londoner whilst adding an authentic Asian tang’.
Owned by beer giants Singha, Pacata can already be found in Bangkok with a quite different format of casual dining and shorter visits. It’s new European counterpart is aimed at leisurely lounging with plenty of options for a drink or four and food to accompany them. The interiors are such that once you’re in, you won’t be in a hurry to leave - quaint mismatched chairs, untreated wood tables and cushions a-plenty in the subterranean den.
It’s open from 8am until late each day with a menu that’s not too exhaustive, yet a decent proportion of Asia is represented. Expect breakfast entries of Vietnamese kai grata (eggs cooked and served in a pan with a choice of toppings - £6.95) and bahn mi baguettes (£5.95), to lunch and dinners of tofu miso soup with seaweed and black peppercorns (£4.50) and hot and sour tom yum ramen (£8.50 / £9.95).
The popcorn chicken is a no-brainer; anything bite-sized and savoury and covered in larb powder (lime, heat, fish sauce, herbs) that fingers grab without the brain being aware, are always winners (£6.95).
The chicken in the satay was very soft, and the grilled prawns in their Thai chilli-paste-mayo marinade were huge (£9.95). At the table, diners are able to combine the DIY papaya salad themselves in a large pestle and mortar; it comes with soft-shell crab looking like pretty spiders, lightly battered and waiting for a dunk into lubrication before being devoured (£8.95).
Beef yakiniku (grilled meat) is, as you can probably guess, a Japanese dish. Here served with naan, it needed a little more wet stuff present for the bread to mop up (£10.50). Seared seabass with Japanese curry was cooked very well with crisp skin, barely opaque flesh, and accompanying a choice of jasmine rice or fries (£14.95).
Chicken wings were lacquered in a bright hot sauce with sesame seeds, and the Thai style squid ink tagliatelle with spring onion, egg, bean sprout, Chinese tofu and prawns was made to taste like pad thai, but with a variation of noodle. Italian egg pasta replacing Asian noodles is not that uncommon, as seen in the sublime spaghetti with chilli-marinated cod roe and caviar sauce served at Luiz Hara’s Japanese Supper Club. The green tea brownie with thin slices of nuts and green tea ice cream was nothing but delightful.
Then there are the cocktails - the Amahata Rama is sour and strong and something I revisited at least twice more (and by twice, I mean thrice). There are many others and if cocktails are your thing, the barman at Pacata will be a good friend - venture off menu.
This is a sound addition for the theatre-goers that fill out Covent Garden, and for those that fancy a classy drink and bite to eat to either start or end a night on London’s tiles.
Afiyet olsun.
Note: I was invited as a guest to this event.
Walk into a restaurant in Japan and prepare to face the full force of an ‘IRASSHAIMASE!’ greeting, often yelled with enough terrifying enthusiasm to shorten life expectancy by at least a few hours, so I’m told. Meaning ‘welcome!’ or ‘come on in!’, it is the same greeting you’ll find emblazoned above the counter at the Japanese fusion restaurant SeeSushi situated at the waterside of Paddington Basin, the tranquil body of water behind the station leading to Regents Canal.
When it comes to eating out, along with themed bars and hygiene ratings of three or less, restaurants with the word ‘fusion’ on the homepage are something I actively avoid. My immediate assumption is a Frankenstein mash-up that neither fills a gap in the market nor appeals to diners – I specifically recall the uncomfortable viewing of misguided candidates from the most recent series of The Apprentice conjuring a nightmarish ready-meal combining Caribbean chicken and Thai noodles. Bleugh.
'Fusion' at SeeSushi is thankfully not about two parts of the world crashing on one plate. What it reveals is a kitchen able to produce select dishes from Japan’s neighbouring countries - think Thai and Malaysian inspired noodles and curries. But I was there for the Japanese food - it’s in my top three favourite cuisines and it’s what they do particularly well.
Fresh, crunchy and subtly sweet chuka wakame seaweed salad was delivered alongside a plate of spinach ohitashi - leaves blanched, steeped in dashi, shaped into balls and served with a sesame sauce. Salmon carpaccio and a ponzu dressing met on the plate in holy matrimony along with refreshing, crisp daikon and beetroot for texture - tart and earthy in several sublime mouthfuls.
A riot of colour and seafood on a 22-piece maki platter took up a large portion of both table surface area and stomach capacity - at least half made for a really rather good doggy bag and lunch the following day.
There were dragon rolls of tempura prawn, grilled eel and spring onions with avocado; spicy maguro of tuna, avocado, cucumber and spring onion (and with a kick); white tiger with tempura prawn, cucumber, spring onions topped with seabass and tobikko. Small piles of orange salmon roe skillfully perched atop nigiri rice looked like miniature glistening baubles, fat and rich with oil, popping in the mouth.
Tonkatsu donburi saw breaded pork in a bowl with rice, a runny egg and all manner of julienned crisp vegetables and leaves and whilst good, was slightly lacking against the flavours from the rest of the dishes. But the accompanying miso was as life-affirming as expected. Then there was the black miso cod - flesh breaking away in meaty chunks at the mere mention of cutlery, savoury and slightly sweet, succulent and really very enjoyable.
All manner of desserts were involved in the proceedings: banana fritters with crispy shells and gooey middles; chocolate and chilli (cold with heat is always a winner), green tea and black sesame ice cream; gummy mochi balls; and a very good pear and almond tart with a crisp base. Drinks came in the form of plum wine tasting like alcoholic Vimto (the perfect drink?), warm and strong sake, and quality flowering tea.
Frequenters of London’s Chinatown won’t have failed to notice the large SeeWoo supermarket on Lisle Street stocking all manner of exotic edibles from the far east. The observant may have also spotted that the supermarket and SeeSushi are part of the umbrella SeeWoo group. No doubt some of the same suppliers stock both, meaning the stuff you would cook with at home can also be found in the restaurant kitchen - a good thing.
SeeSushi is a very worthy venue to appease the need for Japanese in West London - a wonderful meal was had.
Liked lots: range of options, idyllic location, presentation, outdoor seating by the water for the summer, salmon carpaccio, black miso cod, seaweed salad, great lighting for photography.
Liked less: tonkatsu donburi
Good for: quality Japanese food made with skill, large groups, intimate meals
My rating: 4/5
Find the menu on Zomato
Afiyet olsun.
Note: I was invited as a guest to review this restaurant.
