KA PAO AT ACID BAR, SWG3

Sounding like a comic book sound effect, Ka Pao, became the first restaurant residency at SWG3’s new bright and minimalist restaurant and bar space, Acid Bar, which launched in May of this year. And Ka Pao was so good that the residency was extended and will now be in situ until mid-November meaning that there is still time to experience their delicious menu of punchy southeast Asian flavours (Thai, Malaysian…) so expect plenty of chilli, coconut, lemongrass and kaffir lime.

Order a few of the smaller dishes to share, or one of the three larger dishes as a main and food will arrive when ready like many eateries in Asia, and here’s what arrived for us, in order.

Finger food first – Boom! an appetiser of crispy chicken skins with sriracha dip
(£2.50). These moreish crackers, like a cross between Thai prawn crackers and good quality pork crackling, were devoured quickly! The sriracha dip was spicy.

Next, the Messy prawns (£8.50) arrived. Squelch! Large plump prawns with a sweet sticky tamarind glaze, a fragrant taste, not overly spicy but rather warming and very tasty!

Ooh! The Monkfish, coconut, cashew, green chilli & water chestnuts (£8.50) looked great – so earthy and Autumnal. This was the creamiest dish of the lot with meaty fish, herby dill, and some crunch provided by the water chestnuts and cashews.

Pop! Then 5p salad (£8.00), a bowl of 5 items, each beginning with the letter P: pork, prawn, papaya, pomelo and peanut, but with a few other ingredients mixed in, such as fresh coriander and lemongrass. It was the most acidic of the dishes and reminded us of ceviche, which we love! If this was 5p we would be eating this salad daily (I know salad!)

Zap! The Fried chicken, green chilli dip (£5.50) was perfectly fried crunchy chicken with a mild green chilli dip and thin strips of mooli (tasting a bit like cucumber or radish).

We only ordered one of the main dishes, Sea trout, coconut, finger root (£8.50), which was a warming curried dish with lots of fresh dill, aubergine and chilli.

And to finish we shared a refreshing Mango ice cream and shaved ice (£4).

The recommended cocktails are tropical too and we had a Karma before the storm (£8), a sort of Dark n’ Stormy topped with pickled ginger shavings, and a White aromatic negroni (£8) which was a blend of gin, kaffir lime, lemongrass & vermouth.

THE VERDICT

Absolutely brilliant, we loved every morsel, and it was so good that it even surpassed a recent trip to a Michelin-starred restaurant but was around half the price at £64 for the two of us! All the dishes had been put together with care, looking great and tasting fresh, aromatic and authentic. Service was great, there’s free WiFi and we enjoyed the background music of Zero 7, Nile Rogers, Fleetwood Mac and the like.

Ka Pao is open Fridays for dinner and Saturdays and Sundays for lunch and dinner and is bookable until Saturday 17th November. Get there while you can!

IN BRIEF
+ Excellent food