Sticky Mango, our first trip back up town

Updated: Jan 10, 2021

It’s not news that COVID-19 has been especially tough for the hospitality industry. Some simply shut up shop for the duration and now are now tentatively re-opening, whilst others have partaken in innovative schemes. One such is that being run by Banquist, where a fine dining chef part-prepares a meal, and gives you video and written instructions on how to do the rest. We’ve been fans of Sticky Mango for a while, so when Peter Lloyd popped up on the chefs roster, I bought the package. You can see how we got on with it here: https://www.londonbornandbred.co.uk/post/banquist-making-us-michelin-worthy

It seems that Peter was impressed by our plating and we won a meal for 2 at the restaurant.

It’s only a short walk from the station or eight minutes from the Old Vic for when productions start again. Sticky Mango is situated on the corner of Stamford Street and Coin Street, perfect for a Waterloo rendez-vous.

You really can’t miss it, with its mural homage to the sadly missed Chef and writer extraordinaire Anthony Bourdain; author of Kitchen Confidential and renowned TV food presenter. I found it rather beautiful, it captured the underlying sadness of the man which eventually led to him taking his own life. The mural is not meant to be sad though, it’s a tribute by Chef Peter Lloyd, who worked with and was inspired by Anthony during his career. Peter also worked with Nigel Wilkinson of RSJ, a French restaurant that previously occupied this site. They continue to collaborate with Nigel advising on the wine list. Wine pairing can be tricky with South Asian food, so it’s good to know that there is some sound advice available.

Unlike our previous visit, we had to sanitise our hands on entry, and download the menu using a QR code. The tables have never been on top of each other here, so that didn't feel very different. The cocktail choice is still lovely and I managed to order a mango and chilli martini that matched my dress!

We were faced with some difficult choices on the menu, it all sounded amazing. How were we to choose between black pepper prawns, Malaysian chicken curry puffs, or crab dumplings? Or between wok-fried Monkfish, miso-glazed black Cod or Mamak barbeque chicken? The answer to our dilemma lay in the tasting menu which Peter chose for us to enjoy. Priced at £39.50 per person, this offers incredibly good value for food prepared to this standard. It consisted of:

From Top to bottom:

- Malaysian chicken curry puffs served with a coriander yoghurt dipping sauce and garnished with crispy curry leaves.

- Black pepper prawns with dehydrated pineapple, Jicama and pea shoots (I adored the Pineapple element of this dish which was so unusual, and have bought myself a dehydrator to try to recreate this at home)

- Thai green mango salad with candied ginger dressing and cashew nuts. This was packed full of flavour and a little heat; light and delicious.

- Mamak BBQ chicken, which came with long charred beans and a pickled red onion salad. I really enjoyed the tiny pickled onions which provided a sharp contrast to the rich chicken breast.

- Wok-fried tenderstem broccoli with crunchy water chestnuts, shiitake mushroom and oyster sauce. It was lovely to have some vegetables to accompany the main dishes, and I’d highly recommend this if you are ordering from the a la carte menu.

- Wok-fried Monkfish with Malaysian chilli Sauce, sautéed bok choi and apple blossom. The Monkfish stood up well to the chilli sauce, retaining a lovely texture.

-Truffle egg fried rice. This was akin to a fusion nasi goreng, and a nod to the previous French incarnation of the restaurant. It also had a little bit of drama to it as we were instructed to break the egg and mix it into the rice.

- Pandan macaron, another fusion dish which came with kaya jam and soy caramel ice cream. I’m not usually a huge fan of desserts, but this was outstanding – like the most upmarket ice-cream sandwich I’ve ever had the pleasure to eat.