Review: Giggling Squid onto a winner with new 2024 dishes

Giggling Squid has showcased their new menu for 2024, which featured a new plant-based starter in time customisable noodle and stir-fry meals and fresh desserts too. It was made available nationwide from January 1st of this year.

New starters included the Salt & Pepper Chilli Mushrooms (£6.50), caramelised Pork Belly (£8.25), bite-sized Crispy Squid Bits (£8.25), and a light North Eastern Papaya Salad (£8.95).

I went for the caramelised pork belly, which was beautifully presented and had a lovely caramelised smell to it. I didn’t need my knife for the entirety of the starter, the meat was that soft! The pork belly was cooked to perfection and the flavour of the marinated honey, chilli and tamarind came through eloquently. A side salad of peppers, jicama and spring onion accompanied this one well, setting up the main meal.

Giggling Squid have also further updated their sharing platters, which are ideal for groups who don’t want to choose just one starter, the Satay Four Ways (from £17.50) and Fisherman’s Feast (from £23.95) are great options for peanut sauce fans or squid lovers.

For a hearty main meal there are some new curries. There are the Prawn and Soft Shell Crab (£19.95), Slow Cooked Jungle Curry (£16.95), and Spicy Double Curry Seabass (£17.50), which are all served in a rich sauce. I tried the Slow cooked jungle curry and was impressed beef tips, which were very flavoursome and dare I say made me want more than what was on the plate. The smorgasbord of veggies that were included with the dish made this a meal that sticks with me. Aubergines, pea aubergines, green peppercorns, coconut tips, sweetheart cabbage and fine beans were in a flavoursome broth that had a comforting feeling in the colder month of January.

The dessert menu includes the new Pandan Tres Leches (£7.50), known as three milk cake, the White Chocolate Matcha Cheesecake (£7.50), and the Mini Melting Heart Chocolate Dessert (£3.99). The melting heart chocolate was just right, and made completed the evening really nicely.