Cuisine: Taiwanese

All I knew about The Pond before my trip to Brighton this summer was that it served Taiwanese street food, so I wasn’t expecting it to look like the typical trendy British pub. But there was something very pleasant about the combination of the two, and I am clearly not the only one who thought so – every time we walked past this place, it was packed to the rafters.

And deservedly so, because the food was delicious. Really, is there anything more exciting than bao buns? I may only be saying that because they’re quite the rarity on the Prague vegan scene, but still. The Pond has four savoury and one sweet vegan option, plus a few plant-based side options too.

We ordered one bao bun each, and I opted for this tofu classic: excellent crispy tofu, a lovely, sticky hoisin sauce, spring onions, chopped peanuts, and cucumber. It was such a classic combo, really flavoursome and balanced. I would have been happier to tuck into another one of these, but to be honest one was pretty filling.

Dr HH went for the apple wood smoked tofu, which was a good slab of smoked tofu with some nori, mayo, pickle, and sesame. He felt that mine was better, but I actually really liked the smokiness of his. I’d say they’re both solid options.

And who can turn down tempura cauliflower?! Well actually, it turned out to be general tempura vegetables, mostly cauliflower and spring onion stems (?!) in a lovely light batter. This was a very tasty accompaniment to the bao buns. Here’s to more Taiwanese options hitting the UK soon!

What’s the best bao bun filling you’ve had? Are tempura spring onion stems a thing now?