Long-lived isn’t always the same thing as top-notch
The only thing more uncommon than a long-lived restaurant in London is a long-lived restaurant that’s still at the top of its culinary game. The Begging Bowl has been trading in Peckham since 2012 which is quite the achievement in a restaurant market that tends, as a whole to, value superficial newness over everything else.
Longevity doesn’t necessarily equate to quality, though. Local restaurants can often be favoured and lionised by the locals, irrespective of whether they’re actually any good or not – as anyone who has ever attempted to criticise Camberwell’s Silk Road can attest.
The Begging Bowl isn’t just another local restaurant, though. Some of London’s post-credit crunch wave of reenergised Thai restaurants can either directly or indirectly trace their lineages back to this eatery as it helped popularise Thai food in London that consisted of more than just coconut milk and off-the-shelf curry paste.
Starters and side dishes at Begging Bowl
‘Larb-spiced’ nuts were, in some ways, a taste of what was to come – a collection of fatty l’il thirst-inducers, but only mildly moreish and lightly spiced at best.
A crunchy and tartly sour selection of pickled vegetables were let down only by the meek chilli brine.
Firm and dense slivers of patridge came nestled in a refreshing salad, the whole thing dressed in a tangy, lightly sour sauce.
Chive cakes had a texture somewhat reminiscent of taro/turnip cake with a crisp mantle giving way to a squidgy fluffiness. These little patties had their distinct charms though – a chewy softness alongside that fluffiness, replete with the distinctive taste of chives.
Miangs of ginger, peanut, shallot, coconut, galangal and palm sugar, mixed up and served on betel leaf, may have been small in size. But they packed a powerful presence – sweet, fiery, tangy and nutty, all in a single mouthful.
A trio of vegetables – Jerusalem artichoke, palm heart ad leeks – wasn’t love at first bite, but its charms slowly grew on me. The smoky fleshiness of the artichoke and the slight chewiness of the leeks was made even better by the light muskiness and umami of the thin broth, as well as by a dash of distinctive dill.
The appeal of a bowl of stir-fried mussels lay not in the molluscs themselves which were wan, runtish morsels. The thin broth at the bottom of the bowl was far more interesting, where the distinctive sharpness of galangal jostled with the aroma of sweet basil for my attention. Although the boldness of both soon faded after a few spoonfuls, it was a sensual experience while it lasted.
A salad of beans, prawns, puntarelle and cashews was a delightfully multifaceted affair. No mouthful was exactly the same as any other, encompassing sweetness, nuttiness, tanginess and muskiness. The shrug-inducing soft boiled egg was the only disappointing element.
Despite allegedly being graced with chilli, turmeric and lemongrass, the pork larb wasn’t anywhere as fatty or as spicy as it should’ve been to be a true success.
Mains at Begging Bowl
Stir-fried venison was barely idenitifable as such. While far from inedible, with slices ranging from tender to mildly dense, it all made for a rather bland, forgettable dish. The onions and brown colour increased its resemblance to an average-quality beef ho fun, but without the noodles.
A curry of beef and sweet potato was a better demonstration of the kitchen’s ability with meat. The tender squidginess of the beef was matched by the yielding squishiness of onions. The two, along with chunks of sweet potato, were bound together by a muskily moreish sauce that reminded Norfolk Dumpling of a massaman.
Deep-fried whole sea bass came presented in a manner that can only be described as battered taxidermy. Norfolk Dumpling and I were divided on this presentation, but united in our appreciation of its manifold charms. The gently chewy skin was almost like jerky. It easily gave way to reveal gleaming seams of white flesh that sheaved off the bone with little effort. The sticky tamarind-based sauce clung to everything, including our fingers, imparting a perfect balance of sweetness and sourness, while extant tamarind and kumquat pieces added occasional bursts of additional sweetness.
Som tam fritters sound subversively Caledonian, but this was an almost Japanese-like display of artistic deep frying. The light dusting of batter was gently crisp, segueing almost seamlessly into the velvety reeds of green papaya underneath. The nutty crunch and mild chilli kick of the peanuts and long beans respectively could’ve been stronger, but the heat was helped along modestly so by by a nam pla prik-style garnish sauce.
I’m not sure what was more misconceived about the duck leg dish – choosing lean duck leg over fatty duck breast, or grazing it with an apologetically meek ‘Five Spice’ rub. There was some joy to be had here, from the tender meat to the mild umami of the thin broth, the latter helped along somewhat by shiitake. But it was all far too fleeting.
Desserts at Begging Bowl
Dollops of condensed milk ice-cream were surprisingly dense. Smooth and free of errant ice crystals, each gulp brought an addictive mouth-coating creamy richness.
Som chun was a bit like a cross between a slushie and a fruit salad. Fine-grained crushed ice came sweetened with a basic sugar syrup. Crunchy shallots would’ve added more character, but there wasn’t enough of them, with that task resting on the plump, squishy lychees instead. Young green mango was there for crispness rather than sweetness. While refreshing and pleasant enough, it didn’t quite work as a singular whole, needing something to bind all the disparate elements together.
No prizes for guessing which of the photos in this review were taken with an iffy-quality borrowed camera phone.
Banana fritters benefited from crunchy, moderately thick batter, the curlices of which were free from excess oil. But the un-aged fruit lacked caramelisation, as did the tamarind caramel on the side. The turmeric custard was thin in both taste and texture. I really wanted to love this dessert given the quality of the deep-fried batter, but in the end the affection only went skin deep.
The Verdict
Despite enjoying several dishes from the ever changing menu at The Begging Bowl across multiple visits, I feel oddly underwhelmed by the overall experience. The kitchen’s overly restrained use of the rich Thai pantheon of herbs and spices, for whatever reason, now feels more outmoded and stunted than ever before. While not every dish in any given meal has to be a firecracker, eating at The Begging Bowl still feels much more sedate and languid than, say, Singburi or Farang.
While there’s still much to enjoy here, it does feel as if The Begging Bowl has been eclipsed by its successors, offspring and competition. Perhaps that’s not such a bad fate, to be outshone by a generation you helped inspire.
Name: The Begging Bowl
Address: 168 Bellenden Road, Peckham, London SE15 4BW
Phone: 020 7635 2627
Web: https://thebeggingbowl.co.uk/
Opening Hours: Tuesday-Thursday 18.00-22.00, Friday-Saturday noon-14.30 and 17.00-22.00. Sunday noon-15.30. Closed Monday.
Reservations: highly recommended the closer you get to the weekend.
Average cost for one person, including soft drinks and service charge, when shared between two: £40-50 approx.
Rating: ★★★☆☆