WEST Bridgford town centre? It's been a while. I believe my last raid was on Mud Crab Pacifico, which was by no means bad. Returning to the neighbourhood this week it looked like a straight choice between Bird's and, over the road, Yumacha Brasserie.
I mention Bird's because its Nottingham branches sell the city's finest sandwich – the in-house egg and cress job on soft, sweet granary-type bread. I could easily have taken one of those back to the car, and perhaps one of those perfectly-jellied pork pies.
However I had time for a restaurant lunch so I paid my first visit to Yumacha, whose website confides that it is the perfect place in which to "sit, relax and watch life go by to the soothing notes of chilled-out world beats". Right.
I asked for a seat by a radiator because a panic-stricken radio announcer had just declared that Britain was about to be struck by a "weather bomb". What she meant was a nasty storm of the type you tend to get in December. Weather bomb? It will no doubt enter the Book of Barking British Meteorological Phrases somewhere between "organised rain" and "weather event".
For my luncheon event I ordered the bento special: you select four from a list of meat, fish and vegetable dishes and they come enclosed in one of those compartmentalised black boxes with either steamed or fried rice and a sweet chilli dip.
The remarkable thing about my selection was that it contained the only really pleasant Thai fish cakes I have ever ingested. After years of scrapping with unfishy vulcanised pucks I sank the gnashers into two succulent, tender patties. They were delightful.
Switching to the top left corner of the box I started making inroads into the veg section.
I'd ordered mixed vegetables in oyster sauce and I was treated to green beans, carrots, corn, beansprouts, spring onions, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts and mushrooms, all perfectly cooked.
Next, three little pork ribs with plenty of fragrant meat and a fiery accompaniment of onions, red peppers and chillis. I put out the fire with a few gulps of Luscombe ginger beer.
Last, but by no means least, the south-west corner of the bento was filled with Malay chicken curry with plenty of tender poultry in an unctuous ochre sauce.
The bento was priced at under a tenner, adding outstanding value for a meal high in quality.
I considered the dessert menu but my eye had been caught by the display of cakes on the counter: from left to right, banana toffee loaf, tea "cake's" (note the grocer's unnecessary apostrophe), chocolate Hochi, raspberry and white chocolate cake...
The last one sounded fun so I ordered a slice. It was harmless enough, although bore no trace of white chocolate. Interestingly, my bill listed it as raspberry and almond cake. Alas, I recall no evidence of almond, either. Either way, we can agree that raspberries were present.
Good effort. Good service. Good chance of a return visit.
I had: Bento box special, £9.95; raspberry and almond cake, £2.95; ginger beer, £3. Total: £15.90
Marks out of five ★★★★
Yumacha Brasserie 17 Central Avenue West Bridgford Nottingham NG2 5GQ 011 981 1400 yumacha.co.uk
The Food Sleuth dines unannounced and pays his own bills.
