Gina Restaurant

Last week I had the pleasure of cooking the third Curry Night (Bina) at Gina Restaurant, and what a few days it turned out to be. We had a sold out night with a wait list.

I spent some brilliant, full-on days in the kitchen with Rav, Mattie, and a seriously great team.  Every dish on the menu was made from scratch, from coconut cream to curry pastes, charcoal cooking, banana leaves, steaming, and lots of fresh herbs. I spotted the big charcoal grill on my first visit, and that pretty much set the direction for the night 🔥

The Menu

Steamed tapioca dumplings with chicken, pork & peanuts
Miang betel leaves with lime, shallots, chilli & pomelo (v)

Morning glory & enoki mushroom fritters with chilli jam & cashew nuts

Aeb curry of charcoal-grilled chalk stream trout, wrapped in banana leaves with Thai herbs & makrut lime leaves
Kolae of celeriac, charcoal-grilled on banana leaf with Thai herbs (v)

Soup of pork rib, coconut-smoked mackerel, bird’s eye chilli & Thai herbs
Shiitake dumplings with silken tofu, ginger & samphire (v)

Steamed jasmine rice (always)

Cashew cake with turmeric custard, condensed milk ice cream & cashew brittle

Gina Restaurant has only been open nine months, but Rav and Mattie have created something genuinely special in Chingford, warm, generous, and full of good food. If you haven’t been yet, you should. A huge thank you to everyone who cooked, came to eat, and supported the night.

Morning glory & Enoki mushroom fritters with chilli jam and cashew nuts