I LEARNED TO LIKE EGGS

CARROTS + DAIKON

Carrots + Daikon is easy to miss if you happen to just be passing by. It is small, with only enough seating for about six people. It has fairly restricted opening hours. But come lunchtime during the week and there is a queue coming out of the door. It is a queue I will always join if I’m in the area because Carrots + Daikon is one of the best Vietnamese restaurants in London.

Their menu is simple: Banh mi, salads, lunch boxes and pho, starring a selection of fragrant, dreamy protagonists.

I go through phases when it comes to my favourites. The honey caramelized pork is exactly as it sounds - sweet and sticky. In the time it took me to write that sentence, my mouth started to water. They must be doing something right. Let’s see what happens when I mention the lemongrass chicken or the garlic tofu…. Oh. Look at that. Same thing.

All the salads and sandwiches are made with fresh, impactful ingredients. It’s also the only place I have EVER asked for a slightly smaller portion than the standard. I had had a snack already and knew that, if confronted with the whole glorious, noodly lunchbox, I’d eat myself into a stupor. Why order it at all, you may ask. Because I was passing by Carrots + Daikon. Try it. You’ll understand.

Now, let’s talk pho. It is not so difficult these days to come by good pho in London but this one is still pretty special. Each stripe of flavour stands out, rainbow bright. The broth is light and savoury, the noodles pearlescent white and oh so slurpable (sidebar: do not wear white to eat this). Topped off with perfectly pink beek flank, brisket, chicken or tofu, this bowl is one of the warmest and most welcoming bowls of anything I’ve encountered. I would proscribe it for a cold or a broken heart.