Found my Zen

I love Folkestone.



The people that know Folkestone are probably thinking WTF?! but I really do love Folkestone. I have an emotional attachment to the place: my Grandparents lived there when they were alive and so it holds many happy childhood memories for me and it was also the first place I lived when I left home, so new memories were made during my formative years.



It is a bit of a dive-I know this. But if you look past all of the architectural monstrosities that rose post-war and into the 70's, you can still see relics from the past, and Folkestone's golden era was very much in the late 1800's into the early 1900's. There are many grand old buildings on the seafront and whenever I walk along the Leas Cliff, I really can picture the ladies of that time, in full get up during the heat of the summer, with their parasols, probably sweating buckets!



Folkestone is getting a massive cash injection and the seafront is going to have a makeover. There is already a creative quarter and a few boutiques and art galleries have opened up, I think it will become quite trendy and I am going to keep trying to convince my husband it would be wise to buy property there. Food-wise, Folkestone isn't exactly a culinary hot spot. There is plenty of fresh fish and the seafood stalls are amazing, I give it that but in terms of going out to eat, it is pretty thin on the ground.



So imagine my surprise when I find some of the best food I've eaten in Guildhall Street. Zen Kafe is a Chinese/Japanese fusion noodle bar found at number 4, next to Waterstones. The decor is minimalist, literally no-frills, think Wagamamas. But the food is AMAZING and I have it on good authority that it is authentic Chinese food. I wasn't hungry when I went so I ordered a side dish, the Pork Gyoza, a grilled dumpling served with a ginger and vinegar dip. OMG. It was so tasty and succulent, a million miles away from the greasy, fried ones I have eaten in Wagamamas. My mum went for the sweet and sour chicken noodles and my brother had the roast duck noodles with a side of sesame prawn toasts. I tasted both and they too tasted fresh and delicious, not at all greasy.



The rest of the menu has plenty of choice. Noodle wise there is everything you'd expect: noodles in soup, fried noodles, rice noodles, sauce-based noodles, Ho Fun and Udon noodles. But if you're not after oodles of noodles (ahem, sorry about the bad punnage) then there are also rice dishes and specials such as Thai Green Curry and Teriyaki Beef to name a few. If you want to try some thing different they also have Bento Boxes. They are a traditional Japanese set meal served in a box with compartments, they come with mixed salad, fried rice and a soft drink. They cost just £8.95 for the meat Bentos, £7.95 for the vegetarian Malaysian Curry Bento.



Another plus is that the food is cheap.



My side was only £3.50 and it was very filling, and the chicken noodles were just£4.60, the duck £5.45. We had drinks and ordered two more dishes to take-away and the bill came under £30 for 3 people. I just can't recommend Zen Kafe enough so if you're in the area, GO.