There are not many places for Yunnan cuisine hence I was glad to come across this restaurant so I made a few visits to get a fair idea of what the food is like.
The Classic Yunnan style beancurd noodles from Kunming is probably the famous dish that most people would know about.
Lesser known is the Rushan Cheese which is milk curd pulled/stretched which is then grilled/fried and served with sweet things like chocolate, rose jam etc.
Unfortunately, you can't get Rushan here so they have substituted it with halloumi which was interesting as it was served with sugar.
Other dishes I discovered were three red chops, Grandma's mashed potato, ghost chicken, split pea porridge noodles and ham & potato rice.
Yunnan ham and potato rice!
To be honest, it could have been much nicer if they used proper Yunnan ham instead of the bacon they used.
I wasn't keen as it is nothing like English back bacon but the potato cubes were seriously good as it was soft and sticky.
Yunnan split pea porridge noodle.
This was an interesting noodle which I felt was comforting because I can relate it to English pease pudding.
It is surprisingly, they have a pea puree which they put on top of the noodles and drink as a porridge.
Again, another tasty noodle with the pickles, fresh chives and tasty mince when you mix it together.
Yunnan Split pea pudding!
Just some starchy stuff!
Dali Fried halloumi with sugar inspired by Yunnan Rushan Cheese!
I thought the restaurant was going serve the real deal but it turns out that they just used Halloumi and coated it with sugar!
Rushan cheese is milk curd pulled/stretched which is then grilled/fried and served with sweet things like chocolate, rose jam etc.
Yunnan Ghost duck salad.
[That was the name, I don't know why] however after googling it turns out they have this ghost chicken dish where they use silkie chickens where the meat is black to ward of ghosts.
However at the restaurant, there was an option of chicken or duck so I chose duck which is more flavourful and it turned out to be a refreshing salad.
Think of it like a Thai salad with coriander, cucumber, carrots, cherry tomatoes drenched in lime and Sichuan peppercorn.
Absolutely addictive and moreish!
Classic Yunnan style beancurd noodles.
These are best I have tasted especially when you mix it together.
The flavours come from the mince with salty yellow beans, pickles and then you get the spices from the Sichuan peppercorn chilli oil dressing and chives.
Simply delicious.
Yunnan noodles with three red chops and Grandma's mashed potato!
Again this is new to me because there are not many Yunnan restaurants so I ordered this so I could try the famous three red chops and Grandma's mashed potato.
Interestingly, they were both relatable to Western food so it was comforting.
I was surprised to find mashed potato on the menu because people in Asia just don't like potatoes.
The three red chops is basically like a simple bolognese base with chilli.
The mashed potato was interesting because it had dill another unusual ingredient that you rarely see in Asian dishes.
It was nice but I was expecting more depth and flavour in the mash from the gherkins, dill and a peppery kick according to the recipe. So that sense it was similar to Eastern European dishes but lacked the flavour.
Yunnan Ghost duck salad:
Yunnan ham and potato rice!
Yunnan noodles with three red chops and Grandma's mashed potato!
Classic Yunnan style beancurd noodles.
Dali Fried halloumi with sugar inspired by Yunnan Rushan Cheese!
Yunnan Split pea pudding!
Yunnan split pea porridge noodles:
Menu:
Yun Cross Bridge Noodles:
Brick Lane