Gunpowder - London, UK

Your parents were wrong; it's not rude to play with your food. Gunpowder plays with your food, and their recipes are explosive. They smash something traditional into something modern and boom! A menu full of something special.

Their dishes are tapas-style, concentrated small plates perfect for sharing. This Spicy Venison and Vermicelli Doughnut is a fun one, a coat of crispy thorns covering a crumbly ball of ground, spice-loaded pinballs.

It's a leap over to a piled-high plate of Nagaland House Crispy Pork Ribs. The ribs barely require biting to sever them from the bone, and the tamarind kachumber is a sweet n' slightly spicy finger-sticking, finger-licking sauce.

The Lentil & Beetroot Salad has all the best veggies. The beets are silky-sweet, the oranges are refreshing citrus, and the spicy orange & ginger dressing adds a little more. 

I LOVE crab. The Karwari Soft Shell Crab is so fresh. A molting blue crab deep-fried to bring out a crunchy, ocean sweetness, sprinkled with a slight spice for added depth.

Porzhi Okra Fries: Was not expecting this to be their best dish but WOW. the slices of okra are fried to a crisp texture, and the fragrant seasoning is an uplift for the greenie freshness of the okra.

The Kerala Beef Pepper Fry is as heavy as it sounds. The spices are dark, the pepper is bitter and bold. Every pleasurable piece is high-impact - just eat it with a slice of onion to soft the blow.

"Duck taco" is how most describe the Chettinad Pulled Duck, but I that does it no justice. These tender shreds plop juicily upon the tongue, and the crisp oothappam lends its crisp to the braise.

A smooth Saag with Tandoori Paneer tastes flame-grilled and creamed, but there's a definitive spinach that dominates the puree without drowning the paneer. Saag paneer isn't my first choice at most Indian restaurants, but most Indian restaurants don't make it like Gunpowder can. 

Dessert is disappointing. Not because it isn't awesome, but because it signals the end of the meal. If I could move in to Gunpowder and just eat here, I would.

This Dark Chocolate & Cinnamon, for example, will never become boring. It's not too sweet so you can keep eating, and it has layers of rich complexity with a dollop of creamy passion fruit shrikhand to top it off.

The Old Monk Rum Pudding is a mildly alcoholic bread pudding. It's a classic for sure, but it's a happy ending raisin' the bar a la mode. 

Gunpowder checks off all the boxes. They serve modern Indian food, creative and stimulating samples and fusions from every part of India. The ambiance is hip but laid-back, service is swift but not smothering. The small space creates intimacy but keeps the background noise to a lively buzz. Despite being undoubtedly fantastic, Gunpowder was highly recommended by a local friend, not a major magazine or blog. I also have yet to see them in any of "London's best" lists, and they seem rather underrated right now. They just opened a second location, but I'm still hoping they fly under that radar until I have a chance to see them again. I would literally revisit London just for Gunpowder.