Even though I am newly back in London, I am quickly becoming a mover and shaker as I was invited to go and try my first restaurant! Numnum is an Asian fusion restaurant, located just underneath the railway arches by Southwark station. The restaurant is very casual but has a cool and quirky vibe. The menu is on a big board, and all the food is ordered at the counter. They also accept no reservations, so you may need to queue if it is busy.
Before we could even consider what to eat, we needed to get ourselves a drink. I was surprised to see that the had quite a large selection of drinks to choose from, which is rare in an Asian restaurant. Since it was a rainy Tuesday lunchtime we decided we need a little booze to pick us up, so ordered a glass of Chenin Blanc (£3) and a Tsingtao (£3). I was really impressed with how reasonably priced the drinks actually were, although I may have already become jaded by the prices in London. We were also given a complimentary glass of tea to sip on too.
The menu is large and varied with dishes from all over Asia with a heavy emphasis on Southern Chinese. We knew right away that we wanted to kick off with Pan Fried Dumplings (£5.50). The portion of six homemade dumplings came with a chili oil dip. The skins were crisp and the insides were plump, the flavour inside was quite delicate, so you should dip into the chili sauce if you want to pump up the flavour. Don’t worry though, the sauce is not too spicy.
Since travelling to Taiwan, I have become a fan of the Beef Noodle Soup (£8.50) so I was excited to try the Numnum version. A huge steaming bowl arrived on the table. The handmade noodles were thinner than the ones that I ate in Taiwan, but still had the chewiness one should expect. The rich dark broth was strewn with tender chunks of beef shin and fresh chillies. It was a really comforting and filling dish.
One dish we were told not to miss was the Bone Marrow Fried Rice (£8). Bone marrow is all the rage these days, and with good reason, it’s absolutely delicious. We were given a giant bone, which we scraped out on top of the rice. The wild rice gave the dish an extra texture and made it feel a bit healthier whilst still retaining the flavour of a traditional Chinese fried rice.
We paired this fried rice with Golden Honey & Spice Roasted Chicken (£10 for half a chicken). The tender chunks of chicken were surrounded with a very crispy skin which was glazed with a sweet and sticky honey sauce. The piece of lemon when squeezed upon it gave a lovely sour note which added a balance.
Overall we enjoyed our lunch, there is a great variety of dishes on the menu that would please a big group of people. It was nice to see less well known items like the beef noodles on the menu, and I loved the way they jazzed up a classic dish like fried rice with the bone marrow. The prices were also very reasonable. Well worth stopping by if you are in the Waterloo area.
Numnum is located at 81 Scoresby St London SE1 0NX. For more information you can call them on 07403 502845 or check out their website. They are open from 12pm-3pm and 5pm-9pm Monday to Friday, and closed on Saturday and Sunday.