Chino Latino

"Kani kani" soft shell crab and avocado nigiri sushi

I went to this Asian-fusion restaurant for my mum's birthday in January this year- although it may seem a bit far out near Vauxhall (in London) the food is definitely worth going out there and sampling. 

Thai Penang Curry with crinkled vegetables and jasmine rice

The rice was exquisitely perfumed and the flavour of the curry was strong and had a nice authentic taste with the galangal and peppers. The curry dish was a bit stingy on the meat as we only found about 3 chunks in the bowl, but the sauce had a good, substantial texture to it and the vegetables inside bulked it up. The crinkled potato chips and batter were a fun twist to this Thai dish and were light and unobtrusive to the main dynamic. £13

The kani kani crab (first image) was cooked to perfection- not too astringent but the beautifully crispy texture, balanced out well with the avocado and nori seaweed. (And the rice is served WARM- an absolute must for me!) This is one of Chino Latino's signature dishes. For five fairly substantial pieces, its not too bad for £10.50.

Assorted Vegetable Tempura

For the assorted vegetable tempura tree, I thought the presentation was very commendable as it makes a welcome difference to the usual greasy baskets! They had some interesting vegetables fried in light batter here, such as red pepper and sweet potato (if I remember correctly.) Again texture was perfect and batter was not overly heavy. Portion was very generously sized for £8.50!

Soft shell crab california roll

Because my family and I are renegade soft shell crab fanatics, we indulged ourselves in another soft shell crab sushi dish, this time the california roll with cucumber and a chilli mayonnaise drizzled on top. The mayo gave a very subtle element of heat to the dish which went wonderfully with the crispy crab. Arguably my favourite dish (hence the overly keen instagram filter) 6 pieces per platter, £11

Dessert platter (Roka dupe)

The dessert platters have a very Zuma/Roka-esque vibe with the platter of assorted little cakes, sorbets and exotic fruits, however it simply can't compete with theirs. Yuzu sorbet was far too tart (even for yuzu) and an odd, airy whipped concoction was one of the things that featured. I find Zuma's platter a lot more satisfying with their oozy cakes and variety of other puddings- Chino Latino's mochi rolls seemed a bit standard.

In conclusion, Chino Latino is a sophisticated restaurant, delivering authentic flavours with surprising elements to their dishes which makes them unique from other establishments. However the price is simply too much to ask for at times, verging on the ridiculous for the scallops (it was nice, but not that nice.) I suspect their japanese cuisine is better than their dim sum but I haven't tried it in person so I can only assume so. 

3.5/5


More info on their website: www.chinolatino.eu