/ 25 March 2025

Alexandra Dudley’s Working Lunch

We’ve all been there – stuck for weekday lunch inspiration the moment Monday morning arrives. In this monthly column, SheerLuxe contributor Alexandra Dudley serves up fresh, easy ideas – whether you work from home, like to take a lunchbox into the office or are hoping to head out for a meal. For her first instalment for spring, she’s sharing a simple DIY Asian-inspired option – and gives us the lowdown on a great Asian newcomer in Mayfair…

Alexandra Dudley

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STAYING IN

Spicy Peanut Chicken Noodle Salad

Ingredients

1 nest of vermicelli rice noodles

½ cucumber, seeds removed, cut into thin strips

1 carrot, cut into matchstick size strips

Handful of shredded red cabbage

300g of beansprouts

150g of sugar snap peas

300g of shredded chicken

100g of roasted salted peanuts

Small bunch of coriander, leaves separated

1 red chilli, finely sliced

For the dressing

100g of smooth peanut butter

2 tbsp of toasted sesame oil

2 tbsp of soy sauce

2 tbsp of chilli sauce or sriracha

1 tbsp of honey

1 small garlic clove, finely grated

Juice of 1 lime

Method

Step 1

Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions. Once refreshed and drained, toss them in a large bowl in a couple of tablespoons of toasted sesame oil to stop them from sticking.

Step 2

Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl with the noodles keeping back about a quarter of the peanuts, coriander and chilli to garnish if you like.

Step 3

Combine the dressing ingredients in a bowl. Pour into the noodles and toss well. Sprinkle over the remaining peanuts, coriander and chilli.

GOING OUT

Akira Back, Mayfair

Two of the first things I longed for most while pregnant were martinis and good sushi. So, when the first lunch with my husband post-baby came about, that was exactly what we did. Akira Back is the first eponymous opening in the UK from the internationally acclaimed, award-winning chef. The menu takes its inspiration from his Korean heritage, infused with his own interpretation of Japanese cuisine. The sushi is excellent (my favourite dish was the Hot Mess rolls filled with salmon sashimi, crab tempura and spicy ponzu aioli), but where the menu really shines are the plates that bring a flex of fusion with them. A must order is the tuna pizza. Sashimi slices of tuna arrive on a wafer-thin crisp finished with umami aioli, shiso, truffle oil and fresh black truffle. The wagyu tacos with roasted tomato ponzu definitely deserve a mention as does the miso aubergine (gloriously sticky and melt in the mouth) but it is the Dynamite lobster that steals the show, deliciously tender and adorned with pickled shimeji mushrooms and a jalapeno mayonnaise that is not for the fainthearted. The cocktails are excellent and the dining room makes you feel like a star in a Bond film.

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