The 20 best things I’ve eaten this year (so far)

I have an album on my phone where I put photos of the best things I’ve eaten this year. I’ve been noodling with it for the past five months, trying to compose and order its contents so that each picture flows satisfyingly into the next, as I did with these 20 meals in January.

I like this format because it exposes commonalities between dishes and across cuisines. In this album, I’ve grouped together the clearer soups, for example, as well as things with rice. Some photos break the pattern, because I haven’t had anything similar to them lately, and I like that too.

Every time I thought about adding an image to this album, I asked myself, “would I feel comfortable if someone ate this dish because of me?” I usually knew the answer straight away, but on multiple occasions, I looked back at a photo with fresh eyes and decided to remove it, because I couldn’t say that I found it truly delicious.

I can also see that I chose a lot of these dishes because of their affordability, but there’s a few pricier ones too. Some are from restaurants I’ve been going to for ages; some I’ve been only to once. Some I’ve just started going to, and am now a temporary regular at.

Eating around this city is such a rewarding way to get to know it and I plan to make more albums like this. Here are the 20 best things I’ve eaten this year so far, and some of the threads that tie them together.

My favourite type of fry-up consists of egg, bacon, sausage and tomato, or the same four components plus chips. I don’t trust many spots to cook and serve all of these items well, mainly because of varying sausage quality and the frequent lack of respect for tomatoes in caffs. When I ate this set breakfast at Bar Bruno in January, it was the best I’d had in a while. I’ve eaten it twice since and I now realise I should have included it in this list.

If I won the lottery, I’d buy a townhouse in Clerkenwell and eat a côte de boeuf and a crème caramel at Bouchon Racine every day. For now I’m happy to settle for the odd meal at The Three Compasses, an otherwise unremarkable pub with the same owners, and some of the same menu items, as the fancy French restaurant above it. I’ve tried a few things there so far, and this incredibly juicy Toulouse sausage was the first that fully transported me upstairs.

I’ve got to know some people from Shepherds Bush and nearby areas lately, who have made me see west London differently. One’s a screenwriter called Hoagy, who told me to order a mix of beans and lentils with kefte from this Moroccan food stall on Golborne Road. It tasted indulgent but also deeply nourishing, and I felt like a local when I ordered it.

I once read a Google review of this restaurant by a person extolling the virtues of its fresh herbs, north Vietnamese dishes and, particularly, the bún riêu cua. After trying the latter – a deeply satisfying noodle soup, fortified with tomato, crab roe, crab mince and congealed pig’s blood – I’ve never looked back.

I’ve eaten at Wong Kei in Soho’s Chinatown over 100 times over the past five years, and these meals have introduced me to many Cantonese dishes. This anachronistic canteen has low prices for the area, and I’ve always been conscious that the dishes I like there might taste even better somewhere else. I’ve found eating the beef brisket noodles at Reindeer Cafe, six miles northwest, a thrilling experience for this reason.