http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/ Welcome to Been there. Your tips on the places you know - that you love, live in or have just visited - are what make this guide. http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18903 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18903 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/13336
To accompany your food select from the amazing wines hand picked by wine critic Malcolm Gluck then sit back and enjoy an exquistite meal in a uniquely relaxed environment.
]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/13336 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12859 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12859 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9951 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9951 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9535 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9535 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/4706 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/4706 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/4542 Victoria Street: Vietnamese restaurants
The area of Brunswick (for example, Sydney Rd): Lebanese and Turkish restaurants
The area of Richmond: Greek restaurants
The area of Armadale (for example, High St): Japanese restaurants
And obviously Chinatown for Chinese restaurants]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/4542 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/4401 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/4401 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/2871 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/2871 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1815
Fortunately, Londoners without his resources can find excellent Vietnamese nosh in Hackney. The section of Kingsland Road just past Shoreditch is a veritable gauntlet of Vietnamese restaurants, but the Loong Kee Cafe is a standout.

Like most Vietnamese restaurants, the decor is simple, although it has had to up its game with the plethora of competition. The formica tops have been replaced by a more inviting matt surface and the walls have been repainted. But you do not come here for the interior design.

Besides the excellent pho, a hearty soup of flat rice noodles, brisket and thin red slices of steak that cook in the broth before your very eyes, Loong Kee makes a Vietnamese treat rarely found in London.

A northern dish, Banh cuon consists of very fine minced pork and black mushroom, wrapped in a white thin, translucent layer made of rice flour. The delicate creatures are sprinkled with dried onions, which have been fried so that you get a wonderful contrast between the velvety smoothness of the rice wrapping and the crunchiness of the onions.

Cha lua, a thick sort of mortadella and fish sauce complete the dish. If you don't meat, there is the prawn version, not unlike the long white steamed dumplings with prawn in the middle that is a staple of dim sum. The difference is that the Vietnamese rice wrapping is much more delicate.

Loong Kee does banh cuon to perfection and is the only restaurant I know in the area that does this dish. That's why you'll see plenty of Vietnamese customers tucking into banh cuon for Sunday lunch. It's also fun to see non-Vietnamese trying to eat banh cuon with chopsticks. They are very slippery and seem to take on a life of their own.

There is an added bonus to Loong Kee. If you fancy some culture afterwards, pop into the Geffrye museum literally next door, a quirky museum with a large garden, which traces the history of English living rooms from 1600.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1815 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1115 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1115 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/8847 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/8847 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/4981
Not the cheapest but perfect date or anniversary territory.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/4981