No sooner had I written about the recently opened Jianghu on Woodville Road than someone commented on my blog to express their surprise that I hadn’t included Savour in my list of excellent Chinese restaurants in Cathays.
In fact, it wasn’t just any Chinese restaurant in Cathays, it was their favourite Chinese restaurant in Cathays. And to be honest I hadn’t even really heard anything about it before.
Located on a corner of Salisbury Road, Savour’s understated exterior gives way to a functional and slightly shabby interior. Iron plates, hot pots, dry pots, flavoursome pots, skewers, casseroles, soups and more all feature on the huge menu. Whether you’re an offaly big fan of offal or more timid of palate, like me, there’s plenty to work your way through.
The first time I visited Savour was on a weekday lunchtime and I had the place to myself except for a steady stream of home delivery orders. The second occasion was for an early dinner and the place was much busier with big groups enjoying sharing hotpots. It’s worth noting that it’s cash only - I pitched up with just a bank card, which led to a slightly awkward interaction.
I’ve wanted to try squirrel shaped fish (£16.80) for many a year and as it was one of the dishes which was recommended to me, I thought I’d better order it. It was a real feat of engineering, but on balance it probably looked more like a hedgehog.
A whole fish had been dissected and deep-fried in light batter so that its flesh stood up in individual crisp spikes. The mild-flavoured fish was then drenched in an old skool sweet and sour sauce with a light thrum of chilli. It was very tasty but it certainly wasn’t a nuanced bit of cooking.
Cumin lamb (£11.80) was a lovely example of the dish with plenty of tender meat coated in that compellingly earthy spice and mixed with plenty of red and green chillies, coriander and crisp onions. I could eat this stuff for days.
Dry fried green beans (£8.80) were scattered with nuggets of crispy pork mince and well-seasoned with chilli, sesame and garlic.
A colossal bowl of dan dan noodles (£8.60) was easily a meal in itself. The two-person portion of slippery noodles were sat in a potent broth with plenty of chilli oil and creamy sesame paste alongside finely ground pork mince, the crunch of peanut and fragrance of coriander. However, I’m sure there’s been a bigger tongue numbing hit from Sichuan peppercorns when I’ve had this dish elsewhere and it was barely perceptible this time around.
A bowl of wonton soup (£6.80) was arguably the least impressive of the dishes. Whilst the generous portion of ten dumplings had delicate skins, I found their pork mince filling to be a little dense and the meat broth in which they were served also lacked a bit of oomph; or perhaps that was just in comparison to the dan dan noodles.
Boiled rice (£2.50) was also a little bit soft and clumpy rather than distinct grained.
I enjoyed my couple of meals at Savour and it’s clearly another Cathays Chinese restaurant which is worth a look. I’d certainly be keen to explore the menu further so I can find out what other treats lie in wait.
The Details:
Address - 16 Salisbury Road, Cardiff CF24 4AE
Telephone - 029 2037 2909
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