From Beijing via Brixton comes Mamalan, a five-strong family of Chinese street food restaurants whose latest offspring has just arrived in Shoreditch.
Family is central to the Mamalan story: its roots lie in a market stall run by founder Ning Ma's grandfather, back in the old country. Even the name is a tribute to Mama Lan, Ma's mother, who passed on the recipes he used to cook.
Building on the success of Ning Ma's restaurants in Brixton, Clapham, Dalston and Stratford, the Shoreditch branch offers a few variations on the winning theme. A new cocktail menu blends the Anglo and Eastern: Beijing Blues, for example, incorporates gin, sake and lavender bitters, as well as ginger cordial and fresh lemon juice.
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The food itself is unfussy, well-executed and satisfying. Unctuous slow-cooked pork buns are a treat, as are elegant spiced shrimp dumplings. Chicken noodle salad, served cold, is fresh and filling.
The pricing is keen, but the restaurant feels anything but cheap. Hard-edged industrial-chic decor is softened by the glimmer of a few dozen copper birdcages, imported from China and suspended from the ceiling – and by friendly, informal service. Mama Lan and Grandpa Lan would certainly approve.
Mamalan Shoreditch, 6 Richmix Square, London E1 £15-20 per person
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