Bamboo Basket

A must for lunch! Get bamboo noodles and chicken penang for a fiver…

I have a confession to make and an apology to the owner, it was a simple error to expect a gift of a teapot could contain tea bags and not have a wonderful in-​built filter contained inside the pot?

Very bijoux but nice friendly atmosphere. Only space for around12 people very close together. Food was freshly made in the little kitchen next door. Takeaway available too. Lots of people ordering to eat in and takeaway while I was there. Good wise the menu is very short, rice or noodles but to be fair that makes things a lot easier and the dishes we ordered were delicious! All types of tea available too.

Wow1 How popular this outlet has become ever since I introduced it! So much so it was up for an award this year.

A rare foray into Epsom town centre at lunchtime recently afforded me the chance to have lunch at this little hole in the wall business located outside the back entrance to the Ashley Centre. I had spotted it but as they only open for lunch, I hadn’t had a chance to try it
The food menu is simple — a choice of either fried rice or noodles with a variety of toppings or some Chinese steamed buns called bao tze with a range of fillings or hot soup
The food can’t be any fresher — they cook your choice of meal to order in the compact kitchen. The food can be packed to go or you can eat at the tables outside, which are a little chilly at this time of year but the warm food will help to warm you up
I ordered a starter of char siu (Chinese sweet roast pork) bao to keep me ticking over while my order of ‘Bamboo noodles’ with beef rendang was fried. The char siu was perfectly sweet and sticky with the encasing bread dough soft and chewy as it should be
The noodles arrived in an elegant bowl. There were condiments on the table to boost various flavours if necessary but I ate them as they were served — I love to taste food as the chefs intended. The thin egg noodles had been fried with vegetables and soya sauce and topped with beef rendang, a traditional Malay dry curry where the beef has been cooked over many hours in coconut and other spices until it’s falling apart. The noodles were nice and warm, the perfect antidote to a cold day. The rendang had the right flavour but the meat hadn’t been cooked as long as the traditional versions and so was still in whole pieces
The shop really packs in the maximum into the limited space with other goods such as Chinese teas and chopsticks also being available for sale
This is exactly the sort of local business which I love to see succeed. So, if you’re looking for lunch in Epsom, do eschew the big chains which abound in town and give Bamboo Basket a whirl