One of Edinburgh's most highly-anticipated new restaurants is almost here, with Ka Pao set to open its doors for the first time next week.
Ka Pao will be welcoming in diners to their St James Quarter site, their second in Scotland, on Monday, March 21, with the restaurant located on the fourth floor of the shopping plaza.
The Asian-inspired restaurant has achieved massive success in Glasgow after opening on the west coast at the start of 2020 - just last month, it earned a coveted Michelin Bib Gourmand.
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And, in terms of the menu, the capital Ka Pao is set to offer something very similar, with chefs set to serve up a range of sharing plates and other dishes inspired by south east Asian cuisine.
According to Ka Pao, they will be bringing to Edinburgh the very best of UK produce with ingredients, flavour combinations and cooking techniques gleaned from the core team’s travels and experiences working in Northern Thailand and Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore, and sampling the uniquely knit Asian influences found in Australia’s modern cuisine.
So, ahead of the grand opening, we had a sneak peek at the menu to find out what's on offer, as well as how much it costs.
What's on the menu?
Smaller starter-style plates include the likes of creran oyster with green nam jim; grilled aubergine and chilli dip, pork skins and crudités; white crab, calamansi and coconut, with shrimp cracker; and grilled beef skewers.
Then, you can find dishes hugely popular in the Glasgow restaurant such as corn ribs, salted coconut and lime; and fried chicken with spicy caramel. Other appetising options are grilled pork and bone marrow sausage, with peanuts and herbs; jungle curry of monkfish cheeks, pork belly and ramiro pepper, stir-fried venison and pork, chilli, lime leaf and lemongrass; and stir-fried ox tongue, choy sum, oyster sauce and green peppercorns.
There's plenty of vegetarian and vegan options scattered throughout the menu too, such as salt and Szechuan pepper oyster mushrooms, with pickled mooli; vegan corn ribs, with salted coconut, soy and lime; charcoal-grilled celeriac, almond and turmeric curry with crispy kale; and roast Jerusalem artichoke and harlequin squash, bird’s eye chilli and green peppercorns.
Sides include a cucumber salad, chilli, lime and peanuts; and stir-fried tenderstem broccoli, sugar snaps, chilli and puffed rice.
Meanwhile, don't underestimate the dessert menu, which features coconut and pandan and mango calamansi soft serves; cardamom and almond sponge, with Thai basil and lime curd; and palm sugar panna cotta, pineapple, with papaya and mango.
How much does it cost?
Prices for the smaller plates range from £3.00 to £10.50 mark, averaging at around £5.
For the bigger main options, the cheapest dish is the excellent corn ribs, at £6, with the most expensive being the whole grilled sea bream with herb salad and green nam jim, at £14.50.
Sides are generally around the £5 mark, with £2 for rice, while desserts come in at £4.50 to £6.
If you fancy trying a bit of everything, which would very much be recommended, you can get a sizeable sharing menu for four featuring many of the best dishes at £27.50 per person.
What about drinks?
Ka Pao has a substantial drinks menu, which focuses on their exotic cocktail list, with drinks such as lime leaf negronis, palm sugar and cassia old fashioneds, burnt orange margarita and pineapple and chilli daiquiri. Cocktails cost between £6.50 and £9.50.
Meanwhile there are plenty of red, white and rose and sparkling wines to choose from, with three draught lagers on tap, including Budvar at the cost of £6 a pint.
To see the menu in full, you can visit the Ka Pao website, here.
