Tang London

Comfort food

Chicken tang with pulled chicken and ginger

"Tang (=soup) noodles" are one of my favourite comfort foods, so I was pretty excited when I heard the newly launched Tang London is all about the humble street food that has been such a mainstay in the Asian culture. The menu is short and simple, with just to starters and four choices of of noodle items to choose from.

black bean tofu with miso

The fried chicken was decent at best; while the crispy texture was spot on, it lacked seasoning so it was completely overpowered by the spicy hot sauce it came with. The chicken tang was impressive, the glass noodles absorbed all the rich and powerful roast chicken flavours from the broth. The addition of nitamago egg, more commonly found in a Japanese ramen, was odd but it was cooked perfectly and worked with the dish. I really enjoyed the punchy ginger and soy element as it reminds me of the classic Hainan chicken cooking style from the Far East. I was also a fan of the prawn tang, the broth contained a bold, luxurious taste from the prawn shells and dried seafoods.

 fried chicken

Spicy prawn tang with tiger prawn

My meal at Tang London was an interesting experience; while the starters were weak, without a doubt the quality of the noodle dishes is a notch above your average Chinatown restaurant. Tang London was simply more refined made better with quality ingredients, but then again that is also reflected in the slightly higher price (All noodle dishes cost north of £10). I was not a big fan of the interior as the seats were very uncomfortable and the setting almost forces you to sit on top of the person next to you, which is fine for a fast food venue but not when you're hitting the £20 mark. The booming ramen trend in London makes it logical to see other Asian noodle themed concepts rolling out across the city, it will be interesting to see how Tang London takes on future competitors.

Food 2.5/5

What I paid: 
£13 per head

Average cost without drinks and services:
£15

111 Great Russell St, London WC1B 3NP

http://www.tanglondon.co.uk/