Tearing frogs’ legs limb from limb before stuffing them into your mouth may not seem like the nicest way to eat, but as I found out from visiting Paddyfields, it’s delicious.
Though most people associate the delicacy with our neighbours ‘the Frogs’ across the channel, frogs’ legs are popular in both China and Vietnam. Hence their presence on the menu in Paddyfields, a Chinese restaurant opposite the Bridge nightclub. The first time I attempted frogs’ legs was in a Vietnamese restaurant in Deptford, south London where they were grilled. My friend was reviewing the place for ‘Time Out’ and so we were obliged to eat authentic dishes from the menu. Frogs’ legs turned out to be considerably more palatable and less rubbery than chicken’s feet, and my friend and I finished off a whole plate of them in no time. Now, I actually look out for them on menus.
When I sat down to dinner at Paddyfields and read ‘fried frogs legs with salt, pepper, garlic and chilli’ alongside jellyfish salad and such other delights as lamb hotpot with sheets of beancurd and Chinese leaf, I was filled with greedy delight at the prospect of eating these strangely tasty limbs once more. The menu stated that no MSG or artificial colouring is used in the restaurant’s food, which made me feel that we were in safe hands and free to order weirder dishes from the menu too. To start with we asked for steamed, stuffed dumplings with vinegar dipping sauce, crispy wontons with garlic and chilli sauce, minced fried lamb with lettuce and hot and sour soup.
The dumplings arrived wobbly and steaming, filled with a rich, savoury stuffing of pork with an intense kick of fresh ginger, which we cut through by dipping them in vinegar; the wontons were fried to perfection: not too greasy. The soup was very spicy and teeming with crispy beansprouts, prawns and sliced pork.
Lamb was a marvellous substitute for the usual duck with plum sauce, and instead of a pancake, we used crisp lettuce to wrap round the lamb and plum sauce – something common in Vietnamese cuisine too. Though I’m a fan of Hoisin duck pancakes, I found this meal more interesting – the sumptuously fatty, salty lamb and sweet nuttiness of the plum sauce were lifted by the freshly washed lettuce.
For main courses we ordered frog’s legs, lamb hotpot, spicy ginger squid, sizzling chilli beef, chicken with blackbean sauce (not everyone wants to eat pondlife), noodles with beansprouts and egg fried rice.
Needless to say, the frogs’ legs were fabulous. They’d been cooked in a lighter-than-light tempura batter, well seasoned and with a fried garlic and chilli garnish. They were moist and we tore the delicate translucent flesh from the bone with aplomb. The squid was not chewy at all, and had an intense ginger sauce.
The lamb in the hotpot was soft, with flavoursome gravy, and accompanied by the Chinese leaf which was tender. The more familiar plates of beef and chicken delivered what was desired of them without any of the excessive gloopiness or fluoro colours common in seedier Chinese restaurants. The service throughout the meal was impeccable: the waitress refilled the water jug repeatedly without us having to ask and all the food on the table was kept warm with candle-heated hot plates. All in all, Paddyfields would make an excellent night out – even if you’re not thrilled by frogs’ legs.
Price: £15-£20 a head
In a word: ‘Authentic’
