Duck + Rice: posh Chinese in a Soho pub

It wasn’t easy getting to Duck + Rice. The first time I tried their kitchens were out of action because the extraction system was down ….

Then the bookings system showed there wasn’t a table available at the time I wanted to go. Then I RANG UP - you know, got on a phone like you did in the old days - and of course they had a table after all

Why did I make so much effort? Well the place is owned by restaurateur Alan Yau the creator of the then groundbreaking Hakkasan which has now cloned itself across the planet from Abu Dhabi to Las Vegas. Duck + Rice is his first project for a while, still offering the modern Chinese he’s famed for but (oddly) in a pubby setting.

You reach the dining room via a spiral staircase that you feel could be a bit lethal if you teeter down in your Alexander Wangs or overdo the cocktails but we made it without incident.

Daunted by the unusually large menu I phoned a friend who’d been recently but by the time she replied we’d already embarked on the prawn toasts which I’d remembered reading were particularly fine and a crispy duck salad which proved more interesting than it at first looked with generous nuggets of duck nestling (actually, they did nestle) under the leaves. The prawn toasts were sublime - shaped like a prawn, stuffed with fat juicy prawn meat, definitely an alpha plus prawn toast.

Bizarrely after that we switched back to dim sum. Very good prawn chueng fun with more fat chunks of prawn, good pork and prawn shu mai (that were a great match with the 1998 Savennières that was suggested by the glass) and rather dull vegetable spring rolls though why I expected them to be interesting I don’t know. They never are but at least they were well fried.

The drinks list is particularly interesting. I didn’t plan to drink so was urged to have the house special of chrysanthemum tea with honey which wasn't as exciting as it looks or sounded. But they have an amazing list of beers and an even better one of wines which are available in 70ml tasting measures so you can try different things. I ended up, urged by the sommelier Angelo, picking the Savennières and a really good Vespaiolo. Afterwards Angelo proudly showed me his Provintech dispensing system, a state-of-the-art wine-on-tap machine which is apparently the only one in London. Boys’ toys, eh?

The downside is that it’s a touch expensive. As Jay Rayner pointed out in his review - you can eat the same dishes much more cheaply elsewhere in Chinatown but you have to know the ropes and the service isn’t a fraction as friendly or obliging. Here they do that seemingly obligatory squatting thing by the table so they’re at the same level as you rather than towering over you. Never seems entirely genuine but who can object when they smile so sweetly?

To return to the cost we didn’t eat or drink that much but effortlessly ratcheted up a bill of £60.30. You could easily find yourself with a much bigger one. I’d advise either going in for a single dish - of chow mein, say - if you're snatching a quick lunch or go in in a group of at least four so you can try lots of different dishes. Make sure you have at least one prawn toast to yourself though.

As we left the restaurant I realised I didn’t really get to grips with either of the signature duck dishes (the house duck on the next table* looked particularly good) Or the rice come to that. Or the beer snacks. Or the beer. I definitely need to go back.

Duck + Rice is at 90 Berwick Street, London W1F OQB. Tel: +44 203 327 7888

*The weirdest thing was that the friend I’d tried to go to Duck + Rice with in the first place turned out to be sitting - I kid you not - on the next door table, it being her first visit since our abortive attempt. Spooky or what? Anyway she’s also a food blogger so you’ll be able to read her review soon too

Taberna do Mercado, Spitalfields, London

The hype that accompanies almost every new restaurant launch these days is crazy. We all swarm in, pronounce it the best opening this year then swarm off to the next hotspot.

No restaurant is perfect in the first few days, even one run by that luminous talent Nuno Mendes formerly of Viajante, now of Taberna do Mercado in Spitalfields which he’s combining with his day job as executive chef of the fashionable Chiltern Firehouse, a fact that’s bound to stretch his team in the first few weeks especially when a large party descends from a neighbouring wine fair.

Nuno is proudly Portuguese and this gives him a chance to explore some of his country’s great rustic food traditions but also - being Nuno - to innovate To say that his food occasionally oversteps the mark is like complaining that Delia Smith’s recipes are too reliable. Of course it does

What have I got in mind? Well the abade de Priscos a silky - no, go on, I’ll say it - slimey egg pudding made with pork fat and served with a port sauce is actually rather horrid. Turns out it’s a traditional dish from Braga and one of the 21 wonders of Portuguese gastronomy but to be honest I’d rather have a custard tart. And I’m not wild about the Tigelada, a slightly leaden milk pudding either. Clearly Portuguese desserts don’t do it for me.

I also wasn’t convinced about the chicory and pear and almond salad that arrived with a spicy chilli sauce (masa di pimentao) that overwhelmed the other ingredients or an over-crunchy carrot escabeche.

But the highlights were dazzling. The widely instagrammed (including by me) cuttlefish and pigs trotters coentrada is just insanely good, an umami bomb of a surf and turf dish that I could easily have made a meal of. (I might have to order two next time.) Runner bean fritters (below), a pretty tempura-like tangle of crisp vegetables makes the perfect snack while you’re debating what else to eat and the prawn rissois (or croquetas as they’d be called in Spain) are the biz.

I also loved the idea of the ‘tinned fish’ which are apparently cooked sous vide but cutely arrive in tins with an accompanying sauce, some very good toasted bread and pickled radishes. We had the daily special, some outrageously fat mussels with a wild garlic sauce which were fantastic.

Wild garlic also appeared in a dish of migas (breadcrumbs) with asparagus and fennel so there’s more than a nod to seasonal ingredients - appropriate to the restaurant’s market location. I thought it tasted nicer when it was lukewarm than hot - as is the way with these small plates restaurants, dishes all arrive at once. (Tip: don’t order more than two or three at a time if you don’t want to be in and out within the hour.)

We spotted some other dishes arriving at neighbouring tables. The sandwiches (beef prego with prawn paste and wild garlic, pork bifana, yeast mayo and fennel) sounded and looked particularly tempting and judging by the silky coils of ham that were sailing past, the cured meat section is also worth exploring. As is the all-Portuguese wine list, much of which is available by the glass. I loved both my sparkling Campolargo Bairrada rosé (great with the trotter dish) and intensely flavoured Antonio Lopes Air Vinho Verde - still remarkably fresh for a 2011 vintage. The charming staff are well-informed about both the menu and the list.

So I’ll definitely be back and you should definitely go, though maybe in few weeks once it's had a chance to get into its stride. And once the fuss has died down though given it’s Nuno and one of the city’s only Portuguese restaurants I’m not hopeful that will happen any time soon.

Taberna do Mercado is at 107b Commercial Street which is just inside the entrance to Old Spitalfields market. It’s open every day but only takes bookings at lunchtime (and is relatively small so you may face a wait to get in) and serves a restricted menu in the afternoon. Go early (like 6pm) as we did. Our bill came to £86.29 including 4 glasses of wine which is way more than you need to pay if you’re not as curious or greedy as we were

5 fun places to have breakfast in London (updated)

Have you noticed the number of restaurants which have started offering breakfast - and I don’t just mean a full English?

Breakfast seems to have become the new lunch though goodness knows how hard-pressed execs have time to chat over a bacon naan* (see below) before they hit their desks. Maybe they’ve already been there since six and this is their mid-morning break ….

It makes sense of course from a business point of view. Restaurants have to be open to prep lunch so they might as well offer breakfast to cover their overheads. And for customers breakfast is cheaper than lunch and certainly dinner. No alcohol for a start.

I’ve taken to breakfasting with friends regularly so here are five of my current favourites (updated from back in July 2014) together with five more you might enjoy . . .

The Modern Pantry, 47-48 St John’s Square, Clerkenwell

One of the first restaurants to become creative about breakfast, Anna Hansen’s bright, light Modern Pantry offers a dazzling selection of breakfast dishes that’s only slightly less extensive than their weekend brunch. Options range from homemade bircher muesli with roasted pineapple, raspberry compote and toasted seeds (£5.80) to sugar-cured prawn omelette with green chilli, spring onions, coriander and smoked chilli samba (£9.20) - still my favourite though I enjoyed the sweetcorn, feta, green chilli and curry leaf waffle the other day. Breakfast is served from 8-11am. It gets rammed so you need to book

Fischer’s, 50 Marylebone High Street (Marylebone Village)

One of my new favourite breakfast - and frankly any-time-of-day - spots, Fischer’s is the latest opening from Chris Corbin and Jeremy King of The Wolseley, Brasserie Zedel and Delaunay fame. Like The Delaunay it has an Austrian vibe - only even more so - it feels just like one of those grand Viennese cafés. Sadly it doesn’t serve strudel for breakfast - or didn’t when I went - but the Gröstl (£11.25), a robust country-style fry-up of eggs and paprika-spiked potatoes, will make up for it. Pretzels are excellent too. Monday-Sunday 8am-11.30am

Honey & Co, 25a Warren Street (near Great Portland Street tube)

Honey & Co’s tiny restaurant is famously hard to get into - I imagine even more so after the publication of their hugely successful book - but at breakfast you at least stand a chance. I rocked up at 9.30 recently and walked straight in. The dilemma is choosing between healthy middle-eastern options such as flatbread with egg, spinach, yoghurt and pickles (about £7-ish) or cake - if you’re lucky the plum (or cherry), coconut and pistachio cake will be on. Stay all morning and you can justify both. From 8am.

Koya Bar, 50 Frith Street, Soho

If you fancy a Japanese breakfast, Koya Bar (next to the original Koya) is the place to go. It has the Japanese classics like salmon onigiri and miso soup but also, when I last went, clever riffs on classic British offerings such as ‘kedgeree’ (porridge with smoked haddock and poached egg) and English breakfast noodles with egg, bacon and shiitake mushrooms. Sound a bit hard core? Admittedly you need to wake up feeling adventurous but I love the deeply savoury flavours and sitting up at the bar watching the chefs at work. From 8.30am.

The Greek Larder, King's Cross

The Greek Larder sees the welcome return of the talented Theodore Kyriakou whose The Real Greek was one of my favourite restaurants of the early noughties. He now has a new place in uber-trendy Kings Cross, just up the road from the Guardian and round the corner from Grainstore, Caravan and the latest branch of Dishoom (see below) whose bacon naan you shouldn't overlook either. As the name suggests it’s a deli, takeaway and wine shop as well as a restaurant with all kinds of Greek goodies it’s hard to find anywhere else. I went for breakfast and had some delicious baked eggs with pistachio-infused goats cheese, Koulouri (sesame bread) and Greek mountain tea.

1 York Way, London N1C 4AS. Tel: 020 378 02999. Nearest tube: Kings Cross/St Pancras. There's a useful map on the website if you're not familiar with the area.

And 5 others worth trying . . .

Either branch of Dishoom (in Covent Garden or Shoreditch) for their bacon naan roll* (£5.20) - a thing of beauty. Some delicious-sounding new spicy egg dishes too I haven’t tried. 8am-11.30am.

Duck and Waffle, Heron Tower, Bishopsgate (City)

For an early morning breakfast after a late night’s clubbing or, simply for the stunning views - it's on the 40th floor. The signature duck and waffle (£15), never mind the Full Elvis Belgian waffle, is a touch sweet for me. Try the ox cheek benedict (£11) instead. 6am-11am.

Newman Street Tavern, 48 Newman Street (Fitzrovia)

One of those quiet under-the-radar restaurants that never lets you down. The Newman Street Breakfast includes roast suckling pig - great value for £10. Excellent bacon and egg sandwich too made with huge doorsteps of white bread. 7.30-11am.

Quo Vadis, Dean Street (Soho)

Worth going just for the stylish room and beautifully drawn menus (see top of post). Last time I went I had tomatoes on toast with goats curd which doesn’t seem to be on the menu currently. But bacon 'manchets' are. The kind of place to indulge in a kipper. 8am-11am.

Hawksmoor Guildhall, 10 Basinghall Street (City)

Declaration of interest - this is my son Will’s restaurant but if you feel in the mood for steak (or pig’s cheek scrapple) for breakfast - £22 or £8 respectively - washed down with an ‘anti-fogmatic’ cocktail this is the place to go. (Monday-Friday 7am-10am)

Sea Containers at Mondrian: much more fun than it sounds

I may have been handicapped by knowing the building previously as an office block but even the name Sea Containers at Mondrian has a corporate ring that makes the heart sink.

The food though is far, far better than you’d expect from a hotel restaurant with some original and delicious dishes devised by New York chef Seamus Mullen of Tertulia who has been brought in as a consultant.

We arrived late for lunch by which time the vast dining room was half empty. This is obviously a place used for business lunches by nearby office workers (there’s a 3 course deal at £24)

Our waitress arrived to explain the ‘concept’ which was ‘sharing’ (gah!) but there were enough tempting “seasonally contemplated” dishes to make us over-order.

The first wave was in many ways the best: a cracking kale, apple and pecan salad (recipe here) which would convert any kale-loather and which we liked so much we insisted on keeping to hand for the whole meal; some delicious smoky 'charred eggplant’ with mint labneh and dates (right) and a plate of artfully draped salmon ‘crudo with fennel and dill yoghurt. By the time we’d scoffed that lot we were already full.

We’d dithered over whether to order the smoked and roasted cornfed chicken (below) on the basis that two gals didn’t need to eat a whole chicken but a charred lemon vinaigrette had sold it. We did have it with braised greens and mushrooms rather than chips or mash which made it slightly more virtuous but made more inroads on it than we’d intended. (The slightly bitter lemon vinaigrette is a winner and great with the light Morellino di Scansano we were drinking)

We were less keen on the flatbread with sobrassado, a rather ungenerous pizza with slow cooked egg yolks (bleugh) perched on top but it was the only duff dish of the meal.

We managed - God knows how - to find room for a dessert - well, rude not to really with a pear soufflé for two with an extra shot of poire william on offer. A splendidly posh fine dining pudding you wouldn’t have expected to find in a relatively casual restaurant like this.

Other plusses and minuses: a decent but quite pricey wine by the glass selection (most of the interesting ones about £10-12 a glass but well served at the right temperature in proper glasses). Slightly scatty service. A request for bread totally threw them - and when it finally arrived it looked like the toasted leftovers from breakfast. Flatbread apart, I don’t think they ‘do’ bread*. Slightly annoying background music.

By and large though Sea Containers was much better than I expected in a dramatic room with stunning views overlooking the Thames and St Paul’s. Cosy it ain’t but it’s a great place to eat if you’re staying (by no means true of all hotel restaurants), to take visitors to London, especially at night or even lunch with a greedy girlfriend … If we’d stuck to those 3 first courses and a glass of wine it would only have cost £20-odd a head.

I ate as a guest of Sea Containers at Mondrian. I’m guessing the full bill would have been more like £60 a head if you ate a normal amount of food.

Sea Containers at Mondrian is at 20 Upper Ground, London, SE1 9PD. Tel: +44 (0)20 3747 1000. It's open on a Sunday which is useful.

* Borne out by the title of Mullen’s book: Hero Food: How Cooking with Delicious Things Can Make Us Feel Better,”