Chinese in trendy Camden

The late, unlamented Galangal has been replaced by a shiny new(ish)comer called Teachi. Knowing nothing about it, we mistook it for a Japanese joint on our drive-by - the wood, brick and glass decor and the crockery would look more at home in a swish sushi merchants than a neighbourhood Chinese restaurant.

But this is trendy Camden and therefore not dumbed down, corner shop Chinese: it serves tapas-sized portions of what turned out to be unexpectedly pretty good stuff.

And while the old sweet and sour is there - flounced up with a whole fruit salad of extra ingredients - there are also more interesting finds.

These include temple cups, stuffed with ear-tinglingly hot diced scallops and vegetables; or spicy cuttlefish which tasted almost Hunanese; or skewers of tender ox tongue.

Kung Po chicken was heading in the right direction towards its gong bao Sichuan forefather, only lacking the numbing buzz of fresh Sichuan peppercorns.

And standards like 'seaweed', chicken and prawn buns and salt and pepper calamari were fresh and well-cooked.

Teachi is full of young scenesters taking a break from the Camden pub crawl for a couple-of-bites-with-beer dine'n'dash; but the food easily stands up to being viewed without beer goggles.

Teachi
Parkway, London, NW1 7PN