Lunch at Sohe, Jesmond

I used to be pretty set in my ways when it came to food, I wasn't very adventurous at all.  Then I met Simon and he opened my eyes to what being a true foodie is all about.  Trying lots of different types of food and not writing things off just because you never used to like them.

One type of food that I've learnt to appreciate is Asian so when I was invited to try out the new lunch menu at Sohe in Jesmond, I happily hotfooted my way there for a late lunch.

Sohe is more than just Asian cuisine.  With traditionally trained chefs showcasing dishes from across  Asia using their own unique methods and expertise - I was looking forward to my first taste of Fine Food/Asian fusion.

The first thing we noticed when we stepped foot in Sohe was the ornate bar, the beautiful mosaic counter with marble top finish certainly caught our eye and I can see why Sohe is a bit of a "go to" place for a drink in the evening.

If the Bar wasn't enough eye candy, the rest of Sohe is also beautifully furnished with lots of snug little areas, comfy booths and brightly coloured sofas.

Despite being there to try out the lunch menu we couldn't help but order ourselves some alcoholic drinks to go with our food.  Neither of us are big drinkers and we don't usually indulge over lunch but we'd heard such great things about the drinks at Sohe we decided to peruse the drinks list.

 

Simon decided to try some Hitachino White Ale which he really enjoyed.  He loves seeing a menu that's full of new beers to try.

 

I'm not much of a beer drinker and in all honesty there was only one thing on my mind. Cocktails!  Several friends have told me about Sohe's cocktails, so I really couldn't leave without trying one.

 

I picked the Sohe Colins - House Rose Petal infused gin and Nettle and Elderflower Syrup mixed with Rose Soda Water and Lemon then beautifully decorated with flower petals. It was just as delicious and refreshing as it sounds. I'll certainly be checking out some more next time we visit. 

On to the job at hand!  Lunch!

 

Sohe serve their lunch menu from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm daily where you can choose Dim Sum and Banh Mi for the bargain price of £8.90.

 

We aren't usually ones for a course before our mains but the Dim Sum menu looked delicious with 6 different dishes to choose from.

 

I chose the Crispy Salt and Pepper Squid Chips.  Fish is definitely something that's very easy to get wrong in a restaurant but the Squid at Sohe was perfectly prepared and not at all chewy. 

 

 

Simon chose the Duck and Chive Sui Mai with Spicy Mango Sauce.   I was very tempted by this one myself but tend to shy away from things if they contain the word "spicy".  I didn't need to fret though, I stole a massive forkful off Simon's plate and the dish was perfect and not too spicy for my sensitive taste buds.

 

When it came to the Banh Mi course we almost came to blows when the same dish leapt out at us.  The Teriyaki Glazed Beef Patties in a Brioche Bun sounded so amazing we both wanted to try it!

 

In the interests of my blog and, of course, being a gentlemen Simon very kindly let me order what I wanted on the promise that he could try some.

 

The mini burgers came served with Asian Slaw and Pickled Carrots and were beautiful.  They weren't at all greasy like most burgers are and therefore it felt like I was eating something that is perhaps a little healthier than your average burger.

 

I found the chips a little spicy but as we all know I'm a wuss when it comes to spice!  Luckily the attentive staff made sure our water glasses were permanently topped up with ice cold cucumber infused water to cool my tongue.

 

Simon ordered the Japanese Breaded Pork in a Flatbread Roll with Spicy Black Pudding Pate, Cucumber and Coriander Labneh.

Again, the word spicy had put me off but I was impressed with the mild amount of spice used in the dish.   Sohe are definitely a restaurant that concentrate more on delicious flavours rather than trying to blow your head off with heat.

 

As soon as I tried the delicious Flatbread I was more than happy to do a little swapsie with Simon so we had a Flatbread and a mini burger each.  

 

We finished our meal feeling really satisfied and agreeing that we couldn't quite believe we'd never tried Sohe before!   It's somewhere that's now very much on our radar and next time we're meeting up with friends for a bite to eat we know where we'll be heading!

 

 

Sohe treated us to complimentary meals for review purposes.