As I get older, there are less excuses for my stupidity.
Not too long ago (age also brings on delusion), an excuse when I did something especially moronic, would be excused with a quick “he is young, he will learn”. When instead it was even more gobsmackingly lacking in sense, imbecility could perhaps be passed off on the basis that “he is experiencing a novel experience”. Yet, when it was something especially idiotic, sometimes others would be lost for words and silence ensured. If you are interested, the above terms are actually objectively defined.
Hiden bills itself as a “curry lab”. Its website states that its curry is “rigorously” served with rice. Snarky person that I am, I had to withhold my probably ill-conceived comment that if this apparent slop was prepared with “rigor” then I shuddered to think if it was instead prepared with an “adequate” level of preparation.
Beef curry. A few cubes of beef were floating around inside there somewhere, the rice was slightly cold and rather clumpy. Not a great start. The rice made me sad as that is what makes and breaks Japanese meals. In a dish like this, the rice grains should “stand up” at attention, separate and begging to be doused in curry. Instead, these were rather limp specimens that had to be scrunched up. The curry was slightly spicy, sadly lacking in umami, it just didn’t have anything to “spark joy”. Being somewhat of a Japanese curry connoisseur myself (much practice at home), the curry was sadly rather flat and boring. It was also missing, well, most of anything.
Being served in a paper container with disposable cutlery for you to park yourself outside is also somewhat of a put-down. Especially when the temperature is something like 4 degrees, ambient temperature can have more than a passing impact on the experience. I admit that discomfort while eating may have led me to maybe rate this place more harshly than it might have been on a fine warm day. However, my defense in this case was an experiment, that the food should appeal in all 4 seasons. So if that was the test, it failed on that account. So if this is a lab, best stay away from anything else that comes out of here or perhaps run the risk of being called somewhat lacking in sense like me.
A quiet eating 6/10.
Lunch (curry and rice) was about GBP11 excluding drinks and service.
Hiden Curry
Unit 114 Lower, Stable St,
London N1C 4DR
