From upmarket Chinese restaurants with an oriental clubbing twist to community-driven food projects here’s what you need to know when it comes to dining out this month in Nibbles And Nuggets

Nibbles And Nuggets originally appeared in the December 2016 issue of GCN (Issue 324) on page 38. Read it online here.

Hang Dai

We don’t often associate Chinese food with cool dining experiences, but the owners of brand new Hang Dai, on Dublin’s confirmed foodie throughfare Camden Street are doing their best to change that. We haven’t eaten there yet, so the jury is out on the food, but we do know that there’s an extensive cocktail menu to compliment a modern take on Chinese food, and that the atmosphere is clubby, with a big sound system and dancing after dinner. Maybe we’ll have the staff Christmas party there!

McGuinness’ Traditional Take Away

Also on Camden Street, and getting on board on the current vegan gravy train, is McGuinness’ Traditional Take Away, a much-loved post-pints soakage stop-off, which is now aiming to be “the first chipper to cater to vegan customers”. Now serving up a range of vegan burgers, kebabs and pizzas, and, eh, battered sausages, all supplied by Moodley Manor, an Irish manufacturer of meat-free meat, it’s tapping a whole new market, with relish. Our jury is out for the time being.

StreetSmart

We’re totally on board with StreetSmart, the initiative that is in its third year of roping in restaurants across the capital to help the homeless. In participating restaurants, a voluntary donation of €2 will added to each table’s bill (if you don’t want to contribute, you can just let your waiter know), and at the end of the campaign, which lasts ’til January,100 percent of all donations from each restaurant will be passed on to either the Peter McVerry Trust or Focus Ireland (the restaurants get to choose which charity). They’re hoping to raise €50,000 this year, so let’s help make sure they get there! Find out more at streetsmartireland.org, folks.

Out Table

We’re also giving big love to Our Table, a community-driven, non-profit project aiming to highlight the need to end Direct Provision for asylum seekers in Ireland. Essentially it’s a pop-up café in Project Arts Centre, which serves up a range of delicious drinks, savoury pastries and sweet treats from 10- 4pm, Monday to Friday until the end of the year. It also provides paid employment for people previously in Direct Provision, as well as information for those still living within the system, and it’s one step closer to a permanent Our Table café. Props!