A unique glatt kosher pan-Oriental restaurant, Met Su Yan delivers a fusion of Oriental cuisine including Vietnamese, Japanese and Thai influences.

The Venue
Positioned on Golders Green Road, this restaurant is set in the heart of the Orthodox Jewish community that has been around for many generations. Met Su Yan’s modern and simple layout has a contemporary Japanese feel that the uncomplicated table layout provides. Clean white walls with tasteful paintings and lots of light woods give this place a bright and fresh finish.

The Atmosphere
You will be rubbing shoulders with religious and non-religious people in search of some tasty nosh. The clientele is mainly large groups and local couples who add to a vibrant environment. Service is a little inconsistent depending on what you order and how busy they are on the night.

The Food
There is a good choice of Oriental fare on offer at Met Su Yan. For starters try the spicy and crispy chicken wings with an aroma of lemongrass which cuts through the chicken. There are also Thai grilled Lamb chops and Japanese tempura vegetables. The consistency is light and the vegetables are perfectly crunchy. However they do have a bit of chutzpah for charging about £6.00 for crispy seaweed which is very steep.

Mains feature a beautiful crispy aromatic duck which is marinated and deep fried. This is accompanied by strips of cucumber and scallion, hoisin sauce and duck pastry. The duck comes warts and all and is perfect to share so long as you have around £30.00 in your wallet. Highly recommended is chicken with spring onion and generous chunks of ginger, spicy kung po chicken and lamb in black bean sauce which is tasty, sweet and the lamb is extremely tender and moist.

There are also some interesting fish dishes with a succulent pan fried tuna steak in light soy sauce scoring highly. The tuna is meaty with the soy sauce providing a light fragrant finish to the fish. There is a wide selection of sides on offer from a delicately cooked steamed baby Chinese leaf in a light garlic sauce to spicy sea spice aubergines.

However for mains you are looking at spending at least £15.00, and that is without rice or noodles - which at over £6.00 is certainly not worth it. Vegetable sides too are around the same area. Furthermore, be warned that there is also a minimum charge of £20.00 per person. A good alternative would be to opt for one of the four set menus – the choices are limited but there are decent classics to select including a sizzling lamb in a sticky black bean sauce and chicken which comes with sweet basil leaf which is certainly fragrant.

Desserts offer up simple dishes from a sticky toffee apple to uninspiring banana fritters and fresh fruit salad.

The Drink
Japanese beers and a respectable selection of wines but again this comes at a cost. Try the house white which is dry, fruity and slightly crisp.

The Last Word
Decent food, but Met Su Yan’s over-the-top prices may put off those who aren’t limited to a religiously restricted taste of the East.

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