RICHMOND, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 31, 2023--

By the time I sit down at my table in Dorshi, a charming southeast Asian restaurant in the town of Bridport, Dorset, I’m exhausted but excited. The dumpling-forward eatery, tucked inside an alleyway, takes its inspiration from the streets of Penang, Malaysia. It has a hole-in-the-wall feel that many restaurants on the food-obsessed island have, as though you’ve squeezed yourself between two buildings only to find food heaven awaiting you. Opened by friends and owners Jollyon Carter and Radhika Mohendas in 2016, the pair had first spend time travelling around the UK to bring their delicious morsels to festivals, outdoor events and supper clubs. The Malaysian connection is made even clearer after I discover that Mohendas hails from the Southeast Asian country. Although she is absent from Dorshi on the night, I can see the cultural influence in everything – from the menu design, to the white sheets of paper clipped onto the tables, to the short, breezy curtains that hang down to give some semblance of separation between spaces. The presence of paper “tablecloths” suggest your meal might get a little messy, but it’s all part of the fun. The menu is also exciting, divided into dumpling and non-dumpling dishes, with unexpected combinations like pork and Bury black pudding, hot smoked fish, beancurd, and capers, and field mushroom and Dorset red cheddar. I want to order as many things as possible. But getting to this point of my evening has taken almost eight hours, when it should have taken no longer than four. My journey to Bridport began promisingly: there were no train strikes and my guest and I were well prepared with snacks and tinnies for the two-and-a-half-hour journey from London Waterloo. But no sooner had I stepped onto the train things began to go south – both literally and figuratively. The air conditioning was bust and the carriage got muggier and muggier as it crawled along the tracks. The train got stuck mid-way through the journey, leaving us wondering if we would be stranded at Brockenhurst for hours. By the time we actually arrived in Bridport, the journey had stretched to more than five hours. And really, I should’ve known this would happen considering the state of Britain’s railways. But this wasn’t even the end of our travel woes – later, we would discover that getting a taxi to pick you up on time in rural Dorset is something of a rarity, and trying to flag a taxi back to the hotel after 9pm was nearly impossible. Never mind though – here we finally are at Dorshi, stomachs rumbling and hopes high. We order all the aforementioned dumplings, with the addition of the white fish and sorrel number. For the non-dumpling dishes, one of the friendly waitresses recommends a celery, cucumber, strawberries and lovage salad coated in a kind of sauce made from cashews and nori seaweed, which was crunchy, fresh and delicious. We also indulge in fried shimeji mushrooms flavoured with togarashi, a Japanese spice blend of chilli flakes, seaweed and sesame seeds, and served with a seaweed mayo, as well as Hakata noodles (a type of ramen noodle) with the house broth and smoked garlic oil. Each dish is carefully crafted and balanced, making for perfect bites every time. The pork and black pudding steamed dumplings are succulent, while the hot smoked fish and beancurd fillings encased in crispy fried dumpling dough are a crispy, salty revelation. Mushroom and cheese in a dumpling? Yes please, I’d have 10 more of those if I could. I even go out on a limb and try a “kimchi pickleback” – a shot of tequila chased by a shot of kimchi juice. It’s a strange but wonderfully funky combination. Dorshi doesn’t fail to disappoint on any count, and it’s easy to see why everyone I had spoken to that day had raved about it. When we finally return to the family-run Outbuildings, where we were staying the night, I rave about the dumplings we had just devoured to Ed Whitehead and his husband Dom, who had welcomed us with warm smiles to what they describe as a “mini Soho Farmhouse”. The luxurious farm stay (three words that sound strange strung together, but somehow work) was a huge treat that we enjoyed immensely, even going so far as to run the outdoor bath at The Coop the morning after and soak in the calmness of the countryside. Naturally, our taxi back to the station was late and we had just three minutes to spare before jumping onto our train back to London – which was also delayed. But despite all the travel woes, I’d love to go back to Bridport, stay at Outbuildings and dine at the lovely Dorshi again. If only the country’s public transport systems would get its act together, then everyone else can do the same, too. Dorshi, 6 Chancery Ln, Bridport, DT6 3PX | dorshi.co.uk | 01308 423221 Read More The best outdoor restaurants, terraces and rooftop bars in London to book now In Horto: Hearty, outdoorsy fare in a secret London Bridge garden The Union Rye, review: Finally, a decent restaurant in this charming East Sussex town 30-minute summer recipes for all the family to enjoy What to cook this week: Tomato tart, sweetcorn pasta and other summery suppers Tofu chicken to chickpea bacon – how and why you should make plant-based meat at home

Eight in 10 British households suffered a drop in their disposable incomes last month as rising living costs

When people were diagnosed with HIV more than three decades ago, it was considered...

Who wants to buy a round of wastewater brews for the gang?

Internet criticizes Joe Rogan for advising individuals to eat 'nothing but ground beef'

Penfolds-maker Treasury Wine Estates Ltd. agreed to buy DAOU Vineyards LLC in California for as much as $1

Thousands of excited spectators packed the grid-like streets of a usually quiet Hong Kong neighbourhood Thursday night, eager for the resurrection of the city's fire dragon dance...

Max Verstappen has clinched his third world championship. The most one-sided Formula One campaign of recent memory was dominated by the Dutch driver. Here, the PA news agency looks back at six races which fired Verstappen on the road to glory. Bahrain Verstappen opened his championship defence with an ominous performance under the floodlights in Sakhir. He finished 11.9 seconds clear of team-mate Sergio Perez and nearly 40 sec ahead of third-placed Fernando Alonso. George Russell, 55 sec back in his under-performing Mercedes, summed up the mood in the paddock when he chillingly predicted Verstappen’s Red Bull team would win all 22 races this year. Canada Verstappen’s sixth victory from the season’s opening eight fixtures saw him match Ayrton Senna’s tally of 41 victories. A day after taking pole position in the wet, Verstappen reigned supreme in the dry at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Even an early collision with a bird could not stop the flying Dutchman as he drew level with Senna to leave only Lewis Hamilton (103), Michael Schumacher (91), Sebastian Vettel (53) and Alain Prost (51) ahead of him in the record books. “To tie with Ayrton is incredible and I am proud of that but I hope it doesn’t stop here,” he said. “I hope we keep on winning more races.” Belgium Verstappen’s invincible streak continued in the final round before the summer break at Spa-Francorchamps. The triple world champion started sixth following an engine penalty but he took the lead on lap 17 of 44 before crossing the line 22.3 sec clear of his forlorn Red Bull team-mate Perez. Hamilton, who finished fourth, 49 sec back, described his rival’s dominance as like “he is having a smoke and a pancake”. Netherlands Red Bull team principal Christian Horner hailed “untouchable” Verstappen as the best driver in the world after he overcame a chaotic rain-hit race to equal Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine wins in a row. Despite two separate downpours wreaking havoc at the beginning – which left him in 13th place – and conclusion of the 72-lap race in Zandvoort, Verstappen delivered in front of 105,000 expectant fans. At one stage, Verstappen was lapping his home track four seconds faster than Perez and two seconds quicker than anybody else. “Max is in a period of his career where he is just simply untouchable,” said Horner. “I don’t think there is any driver on the grid that would be able to achieve what he is doing in that car.” Italy Verstappen drove his way into the history books by taking his 10th-consecutive victory. He sat behind Carlos Sainz for 14 of the 51 laps at Monza’s Temple of Speed before fighting his way past the Ferrari pole-sitter at the second chicane. From there, the commanding Dutchman never looked back to better the mark he shared with Vettel and become the first driver in F1 to reach double figures for straight victories. However, there were sour grapes over at Mercedes with team principal Toto Wolff calling Verstappen’s remarkable streak “completely irrelevant” and “for Wikipedia” Japan Verstappen’s historic winning run, and Red Bull’s unbeaten season, came to an end in Singapore. But at the next round in Japan, he hit back in emphatic style. He topped every practice session in Suzuka, secured pole, and then won at a canter as Red Bull became the first team ever to win the constructors’ championship with six races to spare. Read More Max Verstappen’s season and overall record in numbers following world title win Angry Lance Stroll shoves personal trainer and storms out of interview Max Verstappen fastest in Qatar practice as he closes in on world championship Fernando Alonso lauds Max Verstappen as best F1 driver since Michael Schumacher Fernando Alonso lauds Max Verstappen as best F1 driver since Michael Schumacher Max Verstappen’s best moments as he wins 2023 F1 world title

South Africa hosts a summit of the BRICS group of nations and others in the Global South next

UK interior minister Suella Braverman was on Tuesday to question whether the United Nations Refugee Convention was "fit for our modern age" during a keynote speech...

Bank of England Deputy Governor Ben Broadbent said UK households have now run down the majority of their