Last weekend I headed to the Som Saa residency at Climpsons Arch in London Fields with a couple of friends. Its January and it seems to be cold and dark all the time so we arrived early at about half 6 to a beautifully lit up railway arch with many tables already taken.
I ate here so many times over the summer whilst Tomos Parry was there. You’ll know the name as he’s now at restuarant of the moment, Kitty Fisher’s. I still haven’t made it there but have heard such good things – I can’t wait to visit soon! I loved the menu at Climpsons Arch over the summer – I was still living just round the corner at Victoria Park so it was easy for me to pop by.
Back to Som Saa! We had a wonderful night here – the food and atmosphere are both brilliant. There is also a great little cocktail menu. We all went for the rum punch which was lovely and fruity and very refreshing. They now serve Chang beer in cans too which is rare in London town, so we moved onto those shortly after.
We decided to order an array of dishes to share. The menu is small but everything looks interesting and you’ll still sit there and think, I want it all! We ordered the grilled chicken leg with jaew dipping sauce, spicy cucumber salad, deep fried seabass with issan herbs and roasted rice, the pork belly curry and sticky rice for the table.
The sea bass is, wow. It’s so crispy on the outside but when you pull away the meat is so moist. The herbs and sauce are delightfully tangy and you will want to drink it off the plate! I resisted this urge, but if I’d been at home, I totally would have. It’s also a fun dish to order – I was tasked with getting all the meat off the fish for my friends. The pork belly curry was good – lots of garlic and ginger and nice and saucy, just how I like it.
Who doesn’t like a grilled chicken leg – if you don’t, then you’re weird. And it comes with a lovely tangy, spicy, nutty dipping sauce which is fab with the chicken but also very good poured over your sticky rice, in my opinion anyway! The spicy cucumber salad with peanuts was really good, but very spicy. Which normally I love but I’ve had a horrid cough recently and it did not agree with my tickly throat – I had a rather embarrassing coughing ‘moment’ where I ended resembling a tomato. So I let the others finish that off, annoyingly.
By the time we had finished our food the place was packed. Testament I think to a great restaurant. The staff here are friendly and pretty much spot on and the food authentic and flavourful. Even though I’m no longer a local I don’t mind making the journey here, its a great place and if you haven’t been make sure you head down before the residency ends. I’m looking forward to see what comes next to this little arch!