Restaurant Deja Vu

A significant part of the London food scene is comprised of restaurants that can only be found in London yet are found all over London. If you're the type to quickly get turned off by chains, then you may want to reconsider. Ranging from French to Italian to Japanese, these restaurants are so quaint and delightful that, up until recently, I had no idea they were chains -- I simply thought I had been walking in circles.


The Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) is like the burger translation of the California Pizza Kitchen (CPK). They serve beef, chicken, buffalo, chorizo, lamb, lentils, falafel, and mushroom burgers -- and if you think that's bad, you should see the list of toppings. Of course by bad I mean WOW because they're putting camembert cheese and cranberry sauce on their chicken breast.

I went for the Mint Lamb burger with mayonnaise, homemade mint relish, and salad, which I think are the basic veggies you see before you. The burger was everything the menu said it would be and more, literally. Standing at a height of almost 1 foot, this thing was colossal. 
If you think I'm going to deem mayo as the winning ingredient, you are mistaken. Covering my hands, dripping down my arms, and somehow getting stuck in my hair, the relish got everywhere and I loved every second of it. I would have licked my plate if there was anything left on it, but by the last bite (yes, I finished it) all the remaining relish had made its way onto my body, so I opted for the napkin.


We had some more traditional palates at the table, but that's not to say their burgers weren't incredible as well.

David ordered the avocado & bacon burger, and, judging from that smile, I think he made a wise decision. He also ordered the gbk "chunky" fries, which are really special because of all the toppings, of course: garlic mayo, chili, bleu cheese, sour cream, satay, barbeque, smoked chili mayo, and sour cream & sweet chili dip.

After attending an outdoor play at the replica of the Globe Theatre in 40-degree weather -- which we left early because we were too cold -- Cameron decided to go with a milkshake. In her defense, it did look delicious, and I probably would have tried some if I wasn't so mortified that I had finished my burger in about 6 minutes. Or if I wasn't covered in relish.


Gourmet Burger Kitchen
1 Lindsey Street
Suite C Second Floor
London
EC1A9HP

Tel 0845 450 8937
Fax 0845 450 8938
Email info@gbk.co.u


Moving onto Chinese, Ping Pong, a restaurant that puts a modern spin on dim sum in a funky atmosphere, offers what they call "little steamed parcels of deliciousness" -- dim sum. Diners order in a similar fashion to ordering sushi, marking what they want right on a paper menu and handing the completed slip to the server.

Now for some more food porn:

Baked flakey Hoi Sin vegetable puff pastry glazed with honey

Crunchy vegetable & tofu roll with an herb-infused crust

Spicy mango dipping sauce

GRIDDLED spinach & mushroom dumplings
Citrus, apricot, and Goji berry dipping sauce

Crispy Hoi Sin duck roll
Hoi Sin sauce

And, la pièce de résistance, the butter to my bread and Hoi Sin to my duck.....

Steamed fluffy white buns with sauteed vegetables

Try to imagine a condensed cloud that's soaked in dry sweetness and hiding a savory secret. Yes, it's just like that. These spectacular buns define "little steamed parcels of deliciousness." All I need is about 20 more, and I'll be all set.

ping pong

Goodge Street
48 Newman Street
Corner of Goodge Street
LondonW1T 1QQ
tel: 020 7291 3080