insideSUSSEX Magazine Issue 08 - October 2015

FOOD+DRINK Rickshaw Oriental words & images by Maz Ogden I was delighted to return to Rickshaw Oriental, a trendy bar and restaurant serving a fusion of Asia’s finest food in the heart of Brighton. Once inside, we instantly felt relaxed and enchanted by the innovative décor. poppadom, all for just £17, and all incredibly delicious. I was delighted to return to Rickshaw Oriental, a trendy bar and restaurant serving a fusion of Asia’s finest food in the heart of Brighton. Once inside, we instantly felt relaxed and enchanted by the innovative décor. My guest chose the Rickshaw meat platter. This consisted of roasted Cantonese duck, slowly roasted crispy pork, braised lamb in peanut mild curry, tikka chicken finished with satay, steamed greens and a poppadom. As a food, drink and cocktail lover, I was spoilt for choice at Rickshaw. They not only serve an amazing collection of cocktails, wines, spirits, Western and Asian Beers, but if you fancy a non-alcoholic health kick, they also serve cold-pressed cocktails and juices. My other guest went for the more traditional chicken pad Thai. Traditional it may have been, but Rickshaw never failed to surpass our expectations, providing an exceptionally good version of a classic. As my companions and I sat down, we were delighted to see that Rickshaw Oriental had abbreviations next to all the food for Vegan (V), Vegetarian (VG), Gluten Free (GF) and even an abbreviation that suited me, Pescatarian (PE). After these ample dishes, we were so full we thought we might have to skip dessert. However, one glance at another diner's profiteroles and we soon changed our minds! What I love about Rickshaw is that every dish seems to have a slight twist to it. The profiteroles were white chocolate, filled with a Belgian chocolate mousse and covered in white chocolate cream. Definitely no ordinary profiterole, and definitely worth having that uncomfortable too-full feeling for. For starters, I managed to resist the salt and pepper chilli squid and opted instead for the scallops of Asia, which were pan-seared and served with lemongrass, ginger and coriander sauce. My guests – the meat lovers – shared the Vietnamese pork ribs. We enjoyed a massive portion of ribs, covered in honey caramelised ginger and chilli sauces. Whether you’re after a leisurely dinner in a great atmosphere, or a quick business lunch, Rickshaw Oriental is a place I’d highly recommend. After much debate over the vast selection of seafood, meat and vegan dishes, we decided to go for Rickshaw’s amazing platters for mains, which are available for one person or as sharing dishes. I chose the Pearls of Orient Sea Platter – the fish platter. If you’re a fan of ginger, you’ll love the ginger chilli spiced seabass fillet. The fish platter also came with scallops on a bed of ginger, lemongrass and coriander curry, king prawns topped with spicy peanut and satay sauce, steamed greens and a Rickshaw Oriental 36 Ship Street Brighton BN1 1AB www.rickshaw-oriental.com 42

insideSUSSEX Magazine Issue 08 - October 2015 | Page 42