Well Mix Oriental in Southwark

Bus routes 12,36,171,438,345 to the stop St Giles Grove, almost to the very door. You’re welcome. I was a stranger here myself. The plan had been to seek out The Silk Road, the regional North-East-ish legendary cash only gaff which Faye Maschler referenced keenly as benchmark excellence for years in the Evening Standard. Church Road Camberwell is quite the lost horizon, running parallel to the High Street with its chain stores, from a spoke in front of the Green. Unhelpfulness of location is compounded by the lack of a church spire from this end to guide you in the way one might peer out to follow IKEA twin towers. The emotional investment was part civic mourning for Princess Diana, part silently observing stretchered casualties and gap yah climber effluent and detritus on the upward slope to Everest. The Silk Road is no more. I was far too late. I walked up and down this road several times. Well Mix looked spacious light and airy, it was going to be a solus interface with wok of the fire chef (what luxury) draping myself and bags at a four seater table. I was assured by the front of house Lady that I could have a sit down meal, I could pay by credit card. There is no musak queue or staff bustly banter. Yes, we have no Padella mind-set. The ambience is currently sanctuarian, just white-washed walls, hunky hewn oak square tables, sprung and high backed proper chairs. The Feng Shui war has been won by Zenite minimalism. One shop front Yucca, one rear wall yucca and a central point enormous scarlet knot-work tassle. There is dual aspect sunlight, a far end staff-only courtyard which needs on the shelved staging a big blowsy trailing flowering plant to provide a visual accent for customers, or plant another giant tassel on it for the diners’ view. If you close your eyes, you could, with humour hear a shishi odoshi water feature. Bring your power banks, pre-loaded podcasts or broadsheets, this is for the time being, the age of the lounging lunch. Residents came on more than bikers for take-homes. Save petrol, save the planet, avoid plastic and washing up. Sit down. Drinks. There is a chiller chock-full of a single brand beer, cans of pop. Ask the price before choosing. I had a pot of jasmine tea with re-fillable hot water £1.20. The dish number 106 is a wok fried Singapore rice vermicelli with flair and oomph. There was a generous fold of rich and bold ground curry spice. The rice vermicelli was bouncy and properly dried off not par-boiled before wok action. There are julienned vegetables hidden in it. Like Mr Bright Side, you can hear the stage by stage flaming and assemblage of your own dish, you just don’t have a front stage centre seat as you would in Benihaha. Quite ASMR. You do not have to pay extra if you ask for chili oil. They give, when asked, a pot of the serious full grain type, with a teaspoon. The shrimps are cooked from raw, char siu and chicken had been cooked separately for taste. I was delighted beyond measure after months of lockdown meh pasta and rice at my mediocre hand. It takes a Pro to cook piping hot scottadino style without burning or making a pan of stodge. I also road tested the wok fried rice ho fun with beef. This was easy mild tasting comfort food, chewy and un-fussy. Under tens would like this too, given a proper cooling down. Unlike Rosa’s Thai, there is no added service charge. Each wok dish was £5.50. If or when I’m ever stuck in a TFL or Central London related incident I would walk here again and again in a heartbeat or truthfully in a spasmodic growl of a hangry stomach. Suggestions? Trial for a month a coffee session one type of flat black/flat white only [how very Henry Ford…] every day 2pm-5pm say £3 with a single-packed See Woo mini Chinese cookie or biscuit. I see your machine, guys and that calendar. Put up a A3 notice asking for donations of healthy pre-loved or baby houseplants, labelled with donor’s name and colour doodles on the shop-front pots to encourage footfall and new folk. Ho Wun ! Why not bring the back yard plant shelf to the Front Window.