As a Runoff rule, when we hear the name ‘pan’ added to any restaurant cuisine we run and hide for cover. However, we’ve been hearing favourable things about pan Asian joint Pot and Rice and we recently checked it out for you. Pot and Rice can be found hipster foodie haven Sayer Street (as it turns out sadly not named after the washed up 70’s pop star) in Elephant and Castle. 

We’re big believers in sticking to what a restaurant does best, and in the case of Pot and Rice it has to be their traditional clay pot rice dishes. These bowls of goodness are a staple in south China and adjoining countries such as Laos and Vietnam. If rice isn’t your thing they also offer a selection of Udon dishes, Cheung fun, and Bao buns. But you’re on your own with those. 

Your scribe and dining partner Karen from Finance started with four beef dumplings, which were well grilled and heartily stuffed. I continued by ordering the chicken and shitake mushroom pot, filled with a ginger and soy marianated chicken thigh, and a combination of dry and fresh mushrooms with a topping of spring onion. The pots come with an ample side of soy sauce, which boiled and sizzled when poured into the aforementioned pot.  

For her mains, Karen opted for the Chinese sausage and chicken pot, with the chicken also marinated in soy sauce. The sausage was made from duck, and the deep flavour of the fat bled into the rice mixture. It was topped with some broccoli which pleasingly created the illusion that you were eating something healthy. The pot is actually hot in the very literal sense, resulting in lovely, chewy burned rice at the edges, so a bit like a Chinese paella. Karen so eagerly consumed her clay pot dish that she then had a go at mine. This resulted in an unsightly yet very entertaining sword fight involving chop sticks and flying soy sauce. Wine may or may not have been consumed. 

Pot and Rice has a casual and informal atmosphere with ambient music and well drilled, informed wait staff. There were also a number of patrons speaking Cantonese/Mandarin which is an accolade in itself, with a smattering of East Asian students.  Best of all, it’s a family run business.