Silk Road Camberwell Restaurant Review

Taking a trip through the rougher parts of London isn't on my list of top things to do - unless you plan to fill up on some positively memorable food like I did on a visit through Camberwell a few days ago.

The days are getting darker. To top it all off, it was wet and cold enough for gloves when I made a trip to Silk Road - A Chinese restaurant in Camberwell. This joint had better live up to the hype!

Main Courses at Silk Road Camberwell

After an evening trip to Toys R Us, we made our way to Camberwell. Destination Silk Road. I avoided puddles in the dark as we arrived at the Chinese restaurant.

For this restaurant review, I shall start with the bad first. Do hang in there and read the whole review, as it's not all bad news.

Silk road is actually on a road that's the total opposite of silk. Camberwell isn't a wanderers dream. Silk Road itself is very basic. In need of a good polish. There's nowhere to hang your coats inside. We had to bung all our wet stuff next to us on a wooden bench.

Don't expect amazing service at Silk Road - you'll be lucky to get a smile out of the staff, unless you're a well loved regular.

They only except cash, also I advise on making a booking before you pop round.

A lot of the plating at Silk Road is chipped, and drinks are served without glasses.

So.. you're probably wondering if this review on Silk Road in Camberwell is going to get any better??

Well..Silk Road in Camberwell is famed for super tasty Chinese cuisine at really good prices. So I just had to put Silk Road to the test, and my findings are that the food at Silk Road in Camberwell really is delicious.

Beef and Onion Dim Sum at Silk Road London

I ordered some beef and onion fried dim sum for starters. For those who may not know, dim sum is a Chinese meat filled dumpling. The dim sum at Silk Road tasted pretty good, and I've eaten a fair share of dim sum over the years. You get 10 pieces for four pounds fifty.

If you're familiar with dim sum, you're probably aware that most places average on about 4 measly dim sum pieces, so this 10 piece dim sum starter was great. Dim sum also arrives room temp most of the time. However the beef and onion fried dim sum at Silk Road in Camberwell stayed nice n' warm throughout my meal. Dim sum is so much better warm.

If you really want to know what to eat at Silk Road in Camberwell. The star of the show has to be the Xinjiang fried noodles with lamb shish for seven pounds. The noodles are the best I've ever had, and I've had a lot of noodles in my time. They're hand pulled - I'm guessing that's what makes them so super long. Super soft, wonderfully chewy and quite frankly top class.

Silk Road Restaurant Xinjiang noodles lamb shish

Don't be fooled by the picture. The lamb shish is plentiful. There's plenty of well seasoned lamb pieces and sauce hiding beneath that top layer. The lamb pieces are beautifully tender, unique tasting and so so flavoursome.

The lamb is seasoned with chilli and cumin which gives it a suprisingly distinct flavour. It's not too spicy either, despite being seasoned with chilli. I like that this dish tastes different to the commonly available dishes at the majority of Chinese restaurants in London. The only negative is that it's a bit oily. It doesn't taste oily but you will notice oil once you get to the end and see a mini puddle.

The Xinjiang lamb shish noodles at Silk Road are super filling. Meaning that I couldn't finish off the dim sum by myself. Luckily my husband and son were on standby.

Silk Road Restaurant Luxury Noodles

I also sampled the luxury noodles plus special cooked lamb dishes at Silk Road in Camberwell. These dishes are basically the same as one another if you ask me. They too were really good, but similar to something you can commonly find at many other Chinese restaurants. (Minus the top class hand pulled noodles)

Silk Road Camberwell Special Cooked Lamb

I was surprised to see that the big plate chicken at Silk Road in Camberwell costs twenty-eight pounds and has to be pre-ordered! I wonder what all the fuss is about, and just how "big" the plate really is. My curiosity doesn't stretch far enough for me to order it though.

So yeah, to sum up Silk Road Chinese restaurant in Camberwell, it's a cheap eat. The portions are big, and you can fill up for under ten pounds. The food is super tasty, with possibly the best thick noodles in town, but the venue and service is pretty shoddy.

I'll probably be back to Camberwell Silk Road someday to re-live those tasty hand pulled noodles - but I'll most probably be ordering my Chinese food to take away.
 
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