Including restaurant meal kits

NATIONWIDE • ADAMHANDLING.CO.UK/HAME SHORYURAMEN.COM/DIYKITS DISHOOM.COM/BACON-NAAN-ROLL HOW SUCCESSFULLY DO MEAL KITS REPLICATE THE RESTAURANT DINING EXPERIENCE AT HOME?

For much of this year, the UK’S restaurants have been coming up with innovative ways to diversify, whether by adding al fresco tables, launching takeaway services or creating meal kits that allow diners to prepare their signature dishes at home. The latter promises restaurantquality food that wouldn’t travel well as a takeaway, in the comfort of your own home. Portioned up, and sometimes pre-cooked, the kits come ready to heat up and assemble. But is the semi-diy approach better than a takeaway?

I order a ganso tonkotsu ramen kit from Japanese restaurant Shoryu, which has branches in London, Manchester, Oxford and Japan. Although a ramen fan, I’ve never been tempted to make a 12-hour bone broth from scratch, so this is the perfect compromise. Following written instructions, I dilute the creamy, concentrated stock and heat; refresh the noodles in hot water; and lightly brown the precooked char sui pork belly in a frying pan. The soup is umami-rich, but thin — adding less water next time is the obvious fix. And while the garnishes are a little sparse, the pork is perfect — not too fatty and beautifully caramelised.

Next up, it’s fine-dining chef Adam Handling’s Uk-wide meal service, Hame, which offers video demos via QR codes — a huge help given the delicacy of these dishes. Adam talks through the crab, radish and pink grapefruit starter, and although I’m missing the salad leaves, I end up with something visually resembling a restaurant dish. It tastes tangy and refreshing, with a moreish brown crabmeat dressing, and requires little effort.

The main of cod, mussels and butter leaf isn’t quite as simple, with several processes to handle. The fish cooks at the same time as the confit potatoes, and the light mussel sauce and pickled mussels need to be heated too. I cook the cod for eight minutes as instructed, but it’s not enough. So, mindful that all ovens are different, I double the cooking time and am left with cod that’s still wonderfully translucent in the middle, topped with a decadent seaweed butter. It’s delicious, although it’s definitely special-occasion food, not a hassle-free weeknight takeaway.

Finally, Indian chain Dishoom has distilled its beloved bacon naan roll into a set of pots of cream cheese, tomato-chilli jam, coriander and dough balls, plus a package of smoked Ayrshire bacon (vegan version due soon). The accompanying video, featuring chef Naved Nasir, is brief and easy to follow — while the bacon cooks in the oven, the dough dry-fries for less than a minute before going under the grill. Fillings added and naan folded, I tuck in. It tastes just like the restaurant version, the cheese and sweet-savoury jam offsetting the salty bacon, all in fresh, fluffy naan. Best of all, there’s a spare dough ball in case of mistakes, or, in this case — another brunch. If only I had some bacon left. Hame mains from £20; Shoryu ramen kit for two £20; Dishroom bacon naan roll kit for two £16. Nicola Trup