Chungdam, 35-36 Greek St, London W1D 5DL. Bookings taken via WhatsApp: 07548 925 636, chungdam.co.uk. Starters and sides £7.50 – £18.50; barbecue dishes £13.50 – £68; rice and noodles £14.50 – £16.50; dessert 38. Wine from £35 a bottle
It’s odd when the once achingly familiar becomes alien; when you move house, say, and what was once yours suddenly belongs to someone else. After my parents died, we sold the family home in northwest London and the buyers cut down the magnificent horse chestnut in the front garden, the great tree whose canopy had spanned my childhood. They also paved over the lawn to create more parking. I wanted to be livid, but I knew it was no longer mine to be livid about. I should save the rage for more deserving atrocities. Later, I was told that this building, in which I’d led a raucous, vodka-marinated adolescence, was now home to Buddhist monks and their carers. The house had gone off with someone else. It was probably off the booze.
