Supperclub: Hong Kong mon amour – “Fed by Tang” review

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As an avid, curious and easily bored eater, I am always on the lookout for the next “best thing in food”- be it the best supperclub, the best burger, the best sushi in London town. I have covered some of my quest, but recently realized I was missing an important part- thus “London supperclubs – a declaration of love” was born. It’s meant to be a growing series of reviews and this is the first one. Curious? Read on…

Faithful to my “declaration of love” for supperclubs, I let my heart guide me on the hard choice of where to start from. So I picked a new and lesser known – compared to other, long- established ones-  but absolutely delightful one: the Fed by Tang Chinese (Cantonese, to be precise) event hosted by Cherry, blogger at “Feed the Tang”. It’s everything a supperclub should be about (in my book at least): new people (and some old friends), interesting conversations, a host which is approachable and willing to share not just a meal but also his/her passion for cooking and clearly some lip-smacking good food- of which in this case there was plenty. Expensive kitchens, prestigious postcodes, houses you could find on a design magazine and plates so expensive they probably have some hidden anti-theft tag are all nice extras, thanks very much, but to me you can enjoy a supperclub just as much if all the “essentials” are included.

So here I am – after a quite adventurous bike journey (no helmets, no map, malfunctioning iPhone GPS and no voice, thanks to a mounting throat infection), in a London neighbourhood which I’ll keep secret- as in every proper supperclub- but trust me, was definitely much, much, much more South than my usual beat.  In fact, I think it’s the furthest south I’ve ever been to in London; at a particularly exasperating junction I started wondering if it was the TourEiffel I was seeing on the horizon- but alas it wasn’t. If I’m trying to put you off this way is just because I want to make sure I can book a place next time (evil laughter). Joking aside, it’s 20 mins from London Bridge and a breezy trip – just don’t cycle there and if you do don’t get lost like me.

I arrived at the door 1. Late 2. Sweaty 3. Quite frazzled 4. With just a hint of voice, which could have scared a lion (cue Gollum or Bane in The Dark Knight Rises). 5. Embarassed because of points 1,2, 3 and 4. Was it worth it? Absolutely. The host was all smiles- and I mean genuine smiles- the smell from the kitchen was out-of-this world delicious and the other guests looked happy and sociable (VERY important factor to make or break a supperclub experience – avoid like death the sullen-looking guy/girl standing in a corner with a condescending smile. If you can’t be happy at the thought of some great food and chatter, you’re probably not my type anyway). And last but not least, the watermelon & gin welcome cocktail was properly strong and ice- cold.

I could- I COULD- walk you through the yummy dishes. Or I could tell you about the banter, the anecdotes exchanging, the restaurant tips, the life stories shared around a table for 6 where 6 different nationalities where represented (7 if you count the host and the lovely front of house).  Or maybe for once I could just let the food do the talking…

If you’re not craving this food by now, well I really don’t know what’s wrong with you. Personally, I can’t wait to be in Hong- Kong in my upcoming trip to China this autumn (and I hope the food there is half as good as the one cooked by cherry. Since you probably are  drooling by now, then make sure you don’t miss the next feast- head to Feed the Tang for details. You can thank me later. See you there!

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