Affordable Food in London – MsMarmiteLover

This will be an evolving post, a series. I'm always looking for cheap restaurants in London. Here are a few places I have visited recently.

Jincheng Lane – Sichuan

This place is located between Holborn and Tottenham Court Road, close to british museum. There is a new little Chinatown nearby that is less touristy than the real Chinatown. We, my sister and I, sat at a formica table. Each table was decorated with a giant paper fan.

The food is Sichuan. The menu is very authentic, including tripe, squab, pig's trotters, boiled haggis, frog legs, fried rabbit, etc. There are almost no vegetarian options. I ordered mapo tofu and luckily I asked for the non-spicy version. What came out was a surprise to me, but it was delicious. My sister got the chicken. While the meat itself isn't spicy, the dish is packed with red peppers. Luckily she didn't eat the peppers – I think they were there for the job – we were told you shouldn't eat them.

Towards the end of the meal, two Asian women came over and asked if they could take a photo with us. “We can't believe you are eating this food. How can you handle these spices? Even we find it difficult”. I looked around and suddenly realized we were the only two white people in the restaurant.

I posted about it on Instagram; my parents went the next weekend. They are the only “gui lao” (Cantonese for white people, meaning ghosts or ghouls) in this place. I'm a little worried that my dad is going to have a heart attack. They found it spicy but enjoyed it.

The bill was around £20 per person. An experience. I will go back to try the few remaining vegetarian options.

Mary's Cafe – Thai

This very popular cafe is nearby waterloo Food Court – The Cut. By day it's a workers' cafe serving a full English breakfast, and by night it's a Thai restaurant. Open from 5.30pm. I tried the massaman curry, fish cakes (they were frozen), pad thai and soup. The food was good for the price, maybe a little too sweet. You can order beer or wine there or bring your own, but there is a corkage fee of £2 per person. Bill is about £20 each. I've been there twice

Momangio! – Italian

This is a “mums and dads” restaurant in the back streets of Haggerston, East London. The nearest subway is Haggerston On the blast line. Or subway and then bus.

The food comes from Puglia and includes handmade pasta typical of the region, such as cat ears and picchi, all made by chef Roberta. This is the kind of food you would normally spend a lot of money on at a riverside cafe.

The front desk is run by her husband, who is friendly and has a great sense of humor. They do not have a liquor license so you can bring your own alcohol. Around £20 per person. I want to go again

Naples on the road – Italian

London is lucky enough to have some great pizza places right now, including the best pizza chef in the world, Michele Pascarella, who is Naples on the road exist Chiswick. I've been there three times now and even though it's a bit of a walk from where I live, I'm just blown away by the light, soft and crispy crust. The tomato and mozzarella salad is simple but uses the finest Italian ingredients. You wonder if pizza is a special meal, but it is.

Around £25 to £30 per person, including a glass of wine and a coffee.