Salvation in Noodles (SIN), 3rd August

Noodle joints are ten a penny in London these days what with the Tonkotsus, Shoryus, Phos and of course the plethora of Vietnamese places along Kingsland Road but as long as they’re doing them well, then London still seems to have an appetite for them, and this London er in particular hasn’t got bored of them either. One of the newer ones is SIN (Salvation in Noodles) who opened up on the Dalston end of Balls Pond Road last year (I think, could have been early this year). 

The other Sunday I was supposed to be going to Feast for a chow down with the Nuffnang lovelies but someone (read - the boyfriend) couldn’t be bothered so instead we enjoyed a stroll around London, stopping by the evocative Poppies at the Tower of London and then walking to SIN. They had been at Feast and this way, I felt I wasn’t completely missing out. 

We pulled up a pew at the window and got ourselves some chicken wings to start and then I had hot noodles - the bun bo hue (spicy pho with pork belly and brisket in a lemongrass broth) and Stephen got cold noodles - a noodle salad with beef wrapped in betel leaves. I also ordered a Dalston lemonade to wash it all down.

At first I was a little worried for SIN's prospects - there was literally no one else in there when we arrived. But we soon decided that it must have only just opened for the evening when, 20 minutes later, the place had all but filled. 

So, the wings arrived – five beasts of them. They were finger-licking good, with quite a light, subtle flavour and crispy skin, though I didn't love the little hairs all over them - a bit too reminiscent of the creature they once were.

My lemonade had yet to arrive. Our waiter came back to explain that he did have the lemonade, but it wasn’t at all cold so he wanted to wait for his colleague to arrive with some ice. That was no small wait. I didn’t mind at all although at one point, when I was halfway through my bun hue and it still hadn’t arrived I did contemplate cancelling the order. He was very apologetic though and when it arrived, he gave it to me on the house, which was appreciated.

Both our mains were pretty satisfying. Am I whooping with unbridled glee at them like I did with Roti King (and soon would again at Palomar)? No, but such was the nature of the meal. I had chosen a delicate broth, not one rich with meat stock and indulgence, and Stephen had a light salad. Actually, I really rather did love Stephen’s cold noodle dish – each mouthful had the zingy nuoc cham sauce on it - I had food envy. I thought there were a little too many bean sprouts in mine and the noodles were quite choppy – good for scooping, but not good for twirling round your chopsticks into a big mound to shove in your mouth with a big spoon of soup. The broth was a perfect spiciness though – I had quite the sheen on me by the time I finished and I didn’t have to add any sriracha to get the heat I wanted. I also loved the sound of the crab pho and would happily come back for that cold noodle salad.

Find the menu & restaurant information on Zomato

Mien Tay, 2nd September

Last night was, considering I don't live too far away from the area, my first belated visit to one of the Vietnamese places on Kingsland road, of which there is a glut.

One of my friends suggested we go there before an erotic literary night in Shoreditch so I requested we go to one on my list - Mien Tay.

Mien Tay falls under the category 'cheap and cheerful'. The place is a bit of a cross between a cafe and a restaurant - you don't want to look too closely where the floor meets the walls and the whole thing could do with a lick of paint. But I don't really care about that kind of stuff as long as the food is good.

And it was. I wouldn't call myself a Vietnamese expert but I have had pho and bun hue a few times as well as my beloved banh mi sandwiches so I'm familiar with the flavourings. Nuoc cham, red chillies, lemongrass, ginger, and lots of coriander - what's not to like?

As much as I love Pho, and was starving, the warm weather put me off having a bowl of steaming hot soup. Instead, I ordered a dish that Stephen often gets from the chain Pho but which I hadn't got around to trying yet - bun salad. Cold vermicelli rice noodles, with bean sprouts, carrot, cucumber and in my case chicken cooked with honey and spices. I normally like to get something a bit fiery but they had plenty of sriracha on hand to spice it up, and I was also able to take a couple of chillies from my friends' pho garnishes.

There was plenty of chicken and even as I raced through my dish, assuring myself that I was only finishing earlier than everyone else because my portion was a little smaller, I realised I was getting very full. I didn't need to finish the whole thing in order to feel satisfied, but it was so nice I just had to.

Tofu dish - looks as good as a meat one!

Everyone seemed to really like it, from the Vietnamese 'virgins' in the group to my friend who is most discerning in her approval of food places. She had got a beef style tofu dish which looked amazing, and some spring rolls, one of which she was generous enough to let me have. They were really different to what I'd had before - instead of rolled dough with the filling inside, these were 'spun', light casings. They were deep fried and tasted very bad for you. I'd definitely get them again!

I didn't try any other dishes but the plate full of accoutrements to put in your pho (mint, coriander, chillies, bean sprouts) was well heaped, and it all looked excellent - lots of herbs floating around in the soup, a large amount of noodles, plump-looking prawns.

They were really quick at getting us our food (we'd told them we were in a bit of a hurry) and the prices were fab - my bun salad was £6.80 only. A really good start to what I hope is just my first visit to that area for Vietnamese food.