It may be a little off the beaten track, away from the main shopping areas of Golders Green, but Blue Pacific is well worth a detour.
Serving an eclectic array of Chinese, Malaysian, Singaporean and Thai cuisine, Blue Pacific offers an enourmous range of authentic dishes in its bright, airy restaurant on Finchley Road.
Everything about Blue Pacific shows its attention to detail, from the chef's homemade tofu to the delicately hand-carved carrots that decorate each dish. Even the names of the dishes have an exotic, romantic quality: 'five willows' monk fish, Pacific delight and rainbow vegetable soup, to name just a couple.
But even without the evocative names, the food is remarkable. As a starter, I can recommend the shredded smoked chicken with chilli, and the beautifully tender salt-and-pepper squid that just melts in the mouth.
The main-course menu has a wonderful choice of fish, meat and vegetarian dishes, all beautifully presented and prepared using the freshest ingredients.
If you enjoy seafood, try the drunked prawns, which are cooked in a clay pot with Chinese herbs. Or if you're feeling extravagant, why not splash out on fried lobster with ginger and spring onion or buttered garlic chilli and curry leaf.
On our visit, we tried a selection of chicken dishes, including the dramatic volcano chicken (marinated spring chicken, flambeed at the table) and a fragrant Thai green curry that released all its delicate aromas as the lid of its clay serving pot was removed.
We also tried the wonderful nasi lemak, flavoured coconut rice served with redang chicken, sambal prawns, egg and ikan bilis (fried anchovy).
For dessert, customers can try some authentic Asian sweets, such as the cooling sago gula melaka (sago pearls with palm sugar and coconut milk), which provides the perfect antidote to the spicy chillis of the main course.
There is also the fantastically creative 'fried ice cream', a flash-fried scoop of ice cream encased in a crispy coconut coating and served with black cherry sauce.
Blue Pacific offer incredibly good value for money and the quality of food and the service is impeccable. So whether you want a leisurely lunch, a romantic dinner or just a great, quality take-away, Blue Pacific is definitely worth a visit.
Private functions catered for and take away service available.
Blue Pacific
757 Fincley Road
Golders Green
London, NW11 8DL
020 8455 9497
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