Sethi, Tony and Steve Proctor have confirmed their regular night in November, (Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday respectively)

James Cooper is confirmed for Friday 11th for his fourth gig at The Monkey and will be at the Monkey Decks from 8.30 on Friday night.

James Cooper will be play on Friday 11th for his 4th visit.

BBC Radio 1xtra’s Ronnie Herel will be gracing the Monkey decks again on Friday 25th of this month for another Monkey Late Night session. Watch out for this one as were looking busy already, Ronnie will be celebrating his 2nd year here.

Join Ronnie and guests for his It's So... anniverasary party on friday 25th.

Opal Rosso going down a halloween treat!

A busy November started with our 2nd Halloween Party. this years event was sponsored by Opal Rosso, a new drink from the makers of Opal Nera Sambuca.

Smashing pumkins!

The Monkey was again decorated into a “Chop Shop” and everyone staff and customers really went for it on the costume front.

Faustas in full kit. Would you take a mojito off this man?

If you would like to see all the pictures from our Halloween party then you can view them on our Facebook page

Another 3am finish with Radio 1xtra’s Ronnnie Herel with JP and guests. Be sure to book early. If you want to get a taster go to our DJ booth and listen to a bit of Ronnies set or listen to his show every Monday night on BBC Radio 1 xtra.

But if it’s alcoholic drinks you want, Cristian has come up with a list of tea-based cocktails as an added extra to bring a kick to the tea party. One refreshing example is the Citrus Iced Tea, which is a blend of Bulldog gin, orange liqueur, jasmine, lemongrass, orange and lemon, served over ice. The Quince Asian Tea uses a Heaven and Earth tea that combines strawberries, kiwi and tangy Japanese sencha, infused together with Bramley and Gage Quince Liqueur, cinnamon liqueur and orange peel, served in an oriental tea pot.

A £12 trip to the cinema (prices in London currency) will get you one adult ticket plus either part of a tub of popcorn, a cup of not-quite-as-nice-as-a-can-of-Coca-Cola pop, or about six penny sweets. This level of restraint doesn’t exist in the real world, so you’ll inevitably blow about 20 quid each on a load of ulcer-inducing food and drink and probably end up wishing you’d waited for the film to come out on DVD instead.

Perhaps that’s just me. The point to my little rant is that if you head down to The Drunken Monkey bar in Shoreditch on every third Wednesday of the month, you can catch a film, some freshly made dim sum, and a comfortable, un-flip-uppable seat, all for £12. Or less, because the films are screening for free. The £12 is for the special set menu, so really – if you’re savvy (read ‘skint’) like me – you could grab some crisps and a beer and settle down for an even cheaper night out.

The newly-launched Chick Flick evenings kick off at 8pm and feature a range of films from Grease to Sex and the City. Not the current Box Office chart toppers, but a good selection of pleasers all the same. Men are allowed too, though the testosterone-fuelled Karate Film Nights The Drunken Monkey is planning to launch might be more up their street.

My friend Victoria and I headed to the Breakfast at Tiffany’s screening last Wednesday. Stopping off in the red lit bar upstairs first for an after work catch-up and a couple of drinks. We headed downstairs to watch the film just after the opening credits had rolled, which meant that the only seats available were at a booth in the corner. We had a partially obstructed view of the big screen – there’s a smaller one too but it was behind us – and struggled to hear properly over a noisy fan. Everyone else, a relaxed bunch of about 30-odd people in their 20s and 30s, were all comfortably settled in to much better positioned seats and seemed to be happily tucking into the numerous dishes, delivered by the on the ball waitresses going and back and forth attentively throughout the eve.

Going along with the girls’ night out theme, we ordered a couple of cocktails. They start at a low end city price of just over £6 which, for the massive and really delicious Pineapple Monkey Mojito we had each, was very reasonable. The aforementioned 10 piece set menu featured a selection from their main menu, also a good deal, though with prices ranging £3.50-£5 per dish it wouldn’t break the bank to sway from that. We sampled the steamed King Prawn Dumplings – so good we ordered another round; Chilli Salt Fried Squid, Duck Spring Rolls and a couple of Sticky Rice Parcels with Chicken and Pork – all really fresh, non-greasy and moorish.

Despite our partially obstructed view, we did actually enjoy ourselves and would head there again. It’s a great concept, but I advise getting there early. Upcoming Chick Flicks include When Harry Met Sally (Oct 20th), Sex and the City (Nov 17th) and The Holidays (Dec 1st).

by Gabrielle Sander

Wai Lan is Head Chef at Drunken Monkey in Shoreditch. Although the restaurant is known for its cocktails, Wai Lan has introduced a traditional Chinese oven and revolutionised the dim sum menu. Born in Liverpool, Wai Lan moved back to Hong Kong with his parents when he was four and lived there for ten years before returning to the UK. He has been cooking at Drunken Monkey for the past six years, and only took time off last year for five months to revisit China and reinvigorate his cooking.

What was your first job in a professional kitchen? How did it lead to where you are today?

My first job was when I was 12, helping my uncle in his restaurant in Mong Gok, Hong Kong. The chefs would carve flowers, birds, butterflies and pagodas out of turnips and carrots when they were not busy, they would then be used to garnish the dishes. I would sit there and watch, so my Uncle bought me a small carving tool kit and the chefs taught me how to make different dishes.

I remember being excited watching the chefs during service, especially when food in the ‘char wok’ (the main wok cooker) was cooked really quickly; there were always lots of banging noises and flames shooting up around the wok. You would hear the metal ladles scraping along the wok, and suddenly you would see all these amazing dishes ending up on the plates. From then on, I always helped my uncle when I wasn’t at school. When we moved back to London, I went to catering school, and I worked in restaurants both here and back in Hong Kong. I still love the noises and the smells during service.

What do you like about being a chef?

Food of course! Working in different countries is always exciting because of the different ingredients you have at hand. But the buzz of service, noise, the heat, smells and pressure of being in the kitchen is like a drug to me.

…and what do you dislike?

Bad service and lazy staff.

You recently took a culinary trip back to China. Where did you go, what did you learn there, and how has it influenced your cooking?

I first went south to spend time in Hong Kong of course and to see my uncle and aunt who have retired and moved back to their old village in Guangdong (Canton). My cousin still runs the restaurant in Hong Kong, so a lot of the old faces are still there. My auntie and uncle are my biggest food critics – they constantly watch what I am doing.

From there I went to Fujian which is known for seafood, then spent some time in Hunan, Shandong and then back to Guangdong. I always learn something new when I travel; I think when you stop learning you must not be breathing! I don’t think the trip influenced me as much as revitalized me: food is such an important part of any culture, so being back in China was like reuniting food and culture back together for me.

What would you say is the most important philosophy of Chinese cooking?

Like most things, I think the most important philosophy is pretty simple and is down to Ying and Yang. This is not about opposing forces, but more about creating a balance in texture, taste and colour.

What experience do you hope diners will have through your food at Drunken Monkey?

I want everyone to have a good experience, and to know that Chinese cuisine is not all about sweet and sour and thick sauces. I also want to give people the proper Chinatown experience; our roast duck and barbecue char siu are just as good as anything you will find in the West End.

As well as a restaurant, Drunken Monkey has a significant emphasis on the cocktail menu. Does this cocktail bar atmosphere change the way you cook?

The biggest change is more down to the way we have broken tradition. Dim sum was traditionally only served in tea houses until 2.30 in the afternoon. Because of the nature of dim sum (which means “tiny little treats”) we knew it was the perfect accompaniment to go with cocktails, the same way the Spanish nibble on tapas. This is why we broke the mould and decided to sell dim sum all day. We were the first restaurant to do so; it’s been funny seeing chains like Ping Pong and Yum Yum open up since. I like to think we paved the way for them.

What is your most precious piece of equipment you use whilst cooking and why?

My wok of course, and after that my cleaver. A good sharp cleaver can just about perform any task needed, it has the weight to crack lobster claws, a good slicing length and enough precision to open oyster shells too.

Where would you recommend Londonist readers go in London, if they want to purchase good quality ingredients for cooking Chinese dishes?

We are spoilt in London. Chinatown is the obvious answer but outside of the West End there are now so many big Chinese supermarkets. Wing Yip in Croydon is a great example; all the local restaurateurs shop there because you can buy live seafood, it has a great Tea House which is always full, there is parking, no congestion charge and it even has a small HK style shopping mall upstairs!

Powered by Twitter Tools