Photos by Dixon Chow
People love to poke fun at the United Kingdom for lacking a solid culinary tradition. Ask someone to name a British dish and they’ll probably come up with fish and chips, or perhaps sausage rolls, but little else. For those who think the sceptered isle lacks good grub, a trip to Mini Taste will do little to alleviate their cynicism.
Food really is secondary to this restaurant. Instead, what will draw punters is the wacky decor, which pulls heavily on Mini Cooper motifs to provide a Union Jack-soaked affair that will have you shouting ‘Vroom, vroom!’ in your best Queen’s English.
Pictures of the iconic British vehicles are plastered all over the walls, bringing to mind the daring heist of film classic The Italian Job. Yellow stripes are stickered to the black-walled toilet cubicles, offsetting the racing-red toilet; the darkened interior makes it difficult to aim your gear stick, but at least you’ll feel like an F1 driver as you zoom to the finish.
If there is such a thing as Austin Powers chic, Mini Taste is definitely a proponent. In addition to the broad design strokes, there are also some delightful little touches, such as the place mats, which can be taken home and assembled into a Mini Cooper model with a little bit of tape and some glue.
We suppose we have to mention the food at some point, though the smart patron would just order a couple of pints and leave it at that. To do the kitchen credit, it is clearly aware there is no future Michelin talent waiting to emerge from their ranks, and keeping menu items basic with plenty of salads, soups, pastas and grilled meats – all simply cooked and plated with minimum frills – is the smart move. None of it is good, but at least it won’t have you swirling vodka around in your mouth just to disinfect your palate.
Every time the menu strays into something remotely tangential to exotic, it’s a disaster. Take the overwhelmingly fishy butterfly shrimp (RMB30), which appear to consist of shrimp wrapped in a coating of just more shrimp, or the Lava chicken (RMB68), which has been doused in enough mustard to make the angels weep, let alone mere mortals.
Cod is a commonly eaten fish in Britain, but we’ve rarely had to chew on quite so many bones, paying RMB108 for the pleasure, no less. For an unfussy eater it’s passable, but still miles off the kind of fare you’d expect in the most mediocre of English pubs.
Mini Taste is hardly a precious stone set in the Xingsheng sea, but for a beer or two in some kitschy surroundings that provide ample photo ops, it's definitely worth driving up and parking your bum.
// G7, Xingsheng Hui, Xingsheng Lu, Zhujiang Xincheng, Tianhe District 天河区珠江新城兴盛汇兴盛路G7 (3810 2450)
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