insideKENT Magazine Issue 32 - November 2014 | Page 58

FOOD+DRINK

DELICIOUS ORIENTAL CUISINE

Bamboo

Stepping into Bamboo in the centre of old Bexley is like being welcomed home. Its classic, understated
interior is modern and relaxing, perfect for enjoying a long, leisurely meal that tastes as good as it looks.
When I compliment co-owner, Ping, on the design (warm mushroom-coloured walls that work wonderfully
with dark wood furnishings, and the oversized bamboo shoots that adorn the entrance), she tells me she
had to do it. Tired of the old-fashioned blue Formica that had been there before, she closed the restaurant
for three months and self-funded the refurbishment. BY LISAMARIE LAMB

It was worth every penny.
Bamboo looks inviting, and that in
a restaurant is half the battle. The
other half starts once customers
are through the doors, and it’s all
about the food and the ambience.
Thankfully, Bamboo has this
covered too.
The menu (much of it prepared by
Ping’s 77-year old mother-in-law)
covers a wide range of both
Chinese and Thai dishes, some of
which will be familiar, and others
that are either a new twist on old
favourites or entirely new ideas
altogether, including mussels in
black bean sauce. For a starter, I
chose the spiced salted squid, and
my dining partner went for the
dumplings.
After just enough time to get
comfortable, order drinks – the
house white is a zingy Australian
tipple called The Riddle from
Hardy’s – and have a chat with the
staff, the food arrived, and it looked
impressive. Far above the standard
of Chinese fare that we have
experienced so many times before
in other restaurants, at Bamboo the
dishes are delicately plated, and it's
clear that a lot of thought and love
had gone into preparing the food.

My partner will always choose
dumplings when he sees them on
a Chinese menu. He never wavers.
So he is something of an aficionado
of these pork and vegetable-filled
delicacies that are first steamed,
and then grilled. They can
sometimes be stodgy, sometimes
under-seasoned. Sometimes they
can be soggy and fairly off putting.
Not so at Bamboo. These
dumplings were cooked perfectly,
so that the impeccably seasoned
insides were soft and moist, and
the outside had a little bite to it. As
for the spiced squid, the coating
was delicate and the seasoning
was spot on. So good was the food
that we chose a third starter—tea
smoked chicken. The flavour was
subtle and sublime, and if it wasn’t
for the fact that we had a large main
course coming, I might have been
tempted by another portion.

was delicious, but the chicken was
also moist and tasty, with a fantastic
sauce that I can only describe as
Chinese gravy. New and exciting! The
king prawns came out sizzling, and
were plump and sweet. What more
could we want?
In the end, we wanted dessert. We
certainly didn’t need it after enjoying
the starter and main course so much,
but when the menu was presented
and we saw the array of Movenpick
ice creams, as well as the toffeecovered fruit on offer, we just couldn’t
resist. My pistachio ice cream was
tart and fresh, and my partner’s mint
ice cream was superbly flavoured. However, it was the toffee-covered
deep-fried lychees that really hit the spot. The toffee coating was crisp,
and the thin batter meant that the flavour of the fruit shone through too.
I’d never tried such a dish before, but I’ll certainly be trying it again.
As we left, Ping told us that the restaurant is ‘home’ to a number of regular
customers who come in once, twice, even three times a week. They have
their favourite tables, and they have their favourite dishes, and they come
to eat and chat with Ping and her exceptional staff.

Speaking of the main course, I
opted for the Chinese-style roast
chicken, and my dining partner had
the king prawns in chilli and garlic
sauce. As an extra to share, we
went for the pan-fried sea bass with
ginger and spring onions on Ping’s
recommendation. Did I say that we
would share the sea bass? That
was the idea, but it was too good
for that, and I have to admit to
eating most of it myself. The fish

And if I’m honest, I can’t say I blame them.
Bamboo, Chinese and Oriental Restaurant and Takeaway
28 High Street
Bexley
DA5 1AD
Takeaway: 01322 523139
Restaurant: 01322 528977
www.bamboobexley.co.uk

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