Thai – Momo Canteen, Barbican

I rebooted this blog 2 months ago with the intention of it being a regular feature…well bi-monthly is regular! After 9 weeks I was long overdue for another lunchtime adventure so today I headed out with my fellow foodie Phil to Momo Canteen in Barbican, just past Barbican Tube station and a short walk from our office. Phil had recommended the place having been shown it by another guy at work and had enjoyed the Pad Thai recently so he led the way and we strolled over to the restaurant. I hardly noticed the place when we got there as it was another nondescript commercial building that seems to fill this part of London town in between the shiny towering office blocks.

Image: Momo Canteen menu

Inside it was pretty small with a few tables, an ordering area and a small kitchen. We decided to eat in as it was fairly empty and stood in the short queue. Browsing the menu I wasn’t sure what to have, Phil recommended the BBQ pork buns so I went with them and then decided to go for a soup as I like Thai soups with their unique fragrances and flavours. I thought I’d selected Tom Yung Chicken Soup but when we sat down and started eating I soon realised I’d ordered a very spicy Chicken Laksa Soup – this was probably due to me mumbling my order and saying ‘yes’ when the lady serving me asked me something which upon reflection was probably ‘Laksa?’

Image: Lunch - Spicy Chicken Laksa Noodle Soup, BBQ pork buns, Thai Iced Tea (me) and Masaman Chicken Curry and Siew Mai (Phil)

My mouth was on fire after my first mouthful so I tucked into the BBQ pork buns – they were very nice, kind of like suet dumplings, though could have done with a bit more BBQ pork in them. After wolfing them down I finally manned up and took on my spicy soup and after a few mouthfuls I found it very nice and full of flavour. I washed it down with a plastic glass full of the fresh Thai iced tea they sold at the counter, which was very refreshing and a welcome accompaniment to my spicy soup. I got a final kick of spice in my final mouthful as it seemed most of the heat had rested on the bottom of my container.

Phil went for the Masaman Chicken Curry accompanied by Seiw Mai (pork & shrimp dumplings) and a bottle of water. He said the dumplings were delicious but was disappointed with the curry and said it lacked flavour. I noticed Momo Canteen had a Top 5 Best Sellers list on their counter and we’d chosen 3 of the 5 off it so this review is fairly representative one of what they sell.

Image: Top 5 Best Sellers at Momo Canteen

Overall we enjoyed our second lunchtime outing though agreed it definitely wasn’t as good as Banh Mi Bay. I’d go back and try the Pad Thai as that’s a favourite of mine (Brewery Tap and Charters/East Peterborough special!) though not for a while yet – there are plenty more cuisines of the world to sample, next time I think we’ll go somewhere out of Asia and definitely not leave it another 2 months!

Taste: 7/10
Service: 9/10
Value: 8/10
Overall: 24/30

One word review:
Jeremy: Spicy
Phil: Underseasoned