The Chandlery

Food

We started with a very small serving of bread with butter and a tomato chutney, which was very pleasant. I ordered the house red, which was the Aresti Montemar 2065 Merlot, Curico Valley, Chile. My 175ml glass was certainly very generous. The entrees were quite boring, so we skipped them in favour of dessert. After driving through the countryside, I was hankering for lamb, and the Loin of Welsh Mountain Lamb (£15.95) - Lamb and potato torte, cumin infused swede, rosemary jus delivered. The cutlet was really tender, but didn’t have that much "lamb" taste or smell. The potato torte was excellent with melt in the mouth lamb. The 8oz Welsh Sirloin Steak (£16.95) - Tomato, mushroom and green salad with a choice of chips, new potatoes or mash potato didn’t really need the Green Peppercorn Sauce (£1.95), but we didn’t know that when we ordered. The steak was succulent, and definitely had a "beef" taste. The mash was well done. We also got to try some chips, which were fat and crunchy.

The Banoffi Tart (£4.95) - Banana, toffee, fresh Jersey cream and shaved chocolate was definitely unlike the ones I get from the canteen. For once, there’s fresh banana, and not any custard in site. I found the whole thing a bit too sweet as the banana itself was already very sweet, but the cream was very nice. For the Selection of Handmade Ice Creams and Sorbets (£4.95) , the sorbets were certainly more interesting. Out of berries, orange and yoghurt, and tangy sweetness of the yoghurt wins hands down.

Rating - 7

Atmosphere

The place was much bigger than I thought, the clientele is varied, from older couples to what looks like a group celebrating a 21st. The setting is like an upper class family restaurant, no fancy cutlery or tablecloth, but everything is nice, with some side table ornaments, fake fireplace, floral arrangements and the likes.

Rating - 1.5

Service

The waiters were quite friendly and efficient. The restaurant wasn’t full so they handled things well.

Rating - 3.5

C-factor

Prices are very good for the quality of the cooking, but then again, things are cheaper in Wales.

Rating - 1.5

Brownie Points - 13.5

Info

Lower Dock Street
Newport
NP20 1EH
Phone +44 (0)16 3325 6622
Website

St John Smithfield

Now that St John has moved to No 16 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurant, I was really looking forward to this, especially after the lovely breakfast at St John Bread & Wine.

Food

We got 2 wine recommendations, the ANJOU BLANC Loire (2007) (£20.40) Domaine des Sablonnettes 'Le P'tit Blanc' was not to my taste, but the red…. Was much better. Some brown bread, with beautiful butter got us started. I knew we had a lot of food, so I restricted myself to one slice.

After a long wait, our entrees arrived, their signature dish was Roast Bone Marrow & Parsley Salad, which I must say, wasn’t quite what I expected. Whole bone marrow arrives with some toasted bread. You scoop the marrow out with a crab pick, sprinkle with salt and add parsley salad. My overall impression was of an overwhelming amount of oil, yet the marrow itself didn’t have much taste. The Langoustines & Mayonnaise was much more pleasing. The langoustines were so fresh tasting, the meat firm and juicy, and the mayonnaise was so heavenly.

The piece de resistance, and the whole reason we came to the restaurant, was for the Whole Roast Suckling Pig. They informed us that they couldn’t get a big enough pig, so we got a juvenile one instead. I missed the ceremony of when they carted it out and chopped its head off, I only saw the head on a plate, but I did catch the carving. Luckily, the pig tasted great. The meat was meltingly soft, which even made up for the not remotely crunchy skin. I chewed some of the ear, but Slokky gave up trying to poke bits of the brain out of the whole. We think the stuffing was a mixture of bread and herbs, but the bread must have soaked so all the juices, as it was glorious. They gave us a choice of 2 other mains. The Whole Roast Fish Baked on Green & White Vegetables was pretty disappointing. The vegetable base was great, but the fish itself was a white mash. The Roast Beef & Horseradish was quite pleasant, on the other hand. The meat was still pink and juicy, and the horseradish was good enough to lick. It was served on yet another bed of bread, which was yet again, very tasty. So I guess they must excel in bread.

We were really looking forward to dessert, the Eccles cake I had from St John Bread & Wine was so good, we ordered it again here, but I was really disappointed. The Eccles Cake & Lancashire Cheese came with a huge wedge of cheese. The pastry this time was really tough, and the filling too was really hard. I wonder if they had over baked it? The cheese itself was nice, but I was so full I couldn’t really eat very much of it. The Steamed Marmalade Pudding & Custard was really good. British cooking at its best, the custard was real custard, not like that supermarket stuff you get.

Overall, it was a good experience, just to be able to sample all these food, but I definitely don’t think it deserves to be No16.

Rating - 6.5

Atmosphere

Much like St John’s Bread & Wine, the walls are white, with hooks all alone for you to put your stuff on. There is an open kitchen. The entrance is kinda like a garage, with a path leading to the restaurant proper. We were seated in “the dining room”, a large raised space. As can be expected, the place was full and buzzing. The tables were long and it was noisy, so it was hard to have any decent conversations except with people next to you.

Rating - 2

Service

Well, things didn’t start very well. Several of our friends arrived before us but could not get seated and had to wait at the bar, but I was able to sit at the table straight away. Apparently they were rude too but I didn’t have any problems. The waiter did flatter me by telling me that she really liked my top. Otherwise she recommended one very good and one quite bad wine. The service was very slow. We told them to serve us entrees for ages but didn’t get anything until nearly 8pm. By the time we finished dessert, it was past 11pm. For the price, the service is very casual, which fits the feel of the place really. Everything is served n platters and you just help yourself.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

I was really disappointed. The bill came to £47 p.p. True, we had a lot of food, but we didn’t need that much and it felt like the whole thing was a waste. It wasn’t as if the ingredients used were very expensive. For that amount of money I could have eaten a lot better. I have a feeling though, that if we dined in a smaller group, it would be better, as I usually never have good experience with large groups.

Rating - 0

Brownie Points - 11

Info

26 St John Street
London
EC1M 4AY
Phone +44 (0) 20 7251 0848
Website

Ping Pong St Katherines Dock 2

Back again, this time the staff were not on training and weren’t going to get evaluated, so I was very keen to see if they have kept the standard up, and more importantly, to get another dumpling fix.

Food

Barely a month has gone by, and they have already introduced a new menu. I decided to try one of their new cocktails, so went for a Tequila, apple and celery martini (£6.75) - José Cuervo Tradicional tequila, green apple liqueur, apple and celery juice while waiting. This definitely sounds better than it tastes, with the whole concoction reminding me of Chinese date medicine.

I was sad to see some of the old favourites have gone, but was keen to try out the new stuff:

• Chive dumpling (£2.99) - King prawns and chives in green chive pastry - an old favourite, and still great.
• Har gau (£3.19) - King prawns and bamboo shoots in translucent white pastry - these were lovely, the pastry excellent as usual, the filling was not too prawn like though.
• Scallop and shitake dumpling (£3.39) - Scallops and king prawns with shitake mushrooms in wheat flour pastry - this was my favourite on the last visit. These seem to have gone a bit smaller, but the flavour is still superb
• Spinach and mushroom dumpling V (£2.99) - Spinach and mushrooms seasoned with ginger and garlic in wheat flour pastry - again, I love this one.
• Spicy chicken dumpling (£2.99) - Chicken and vegetables in chilli sauce in translucent white pastry - really surprised by how good this one was.
• Crispy Thai chicken spring roll (£2.99) - Chicken and prawns with chilli, coriander and lemongrass wrapped in bean curd skin and served with chilli fish sauce - quite crispy and good balance of flavours and filling.
• Chicken puff (£3.19) - Honey roasted barbecue chicken in hand made puff pastry topped with pineapple - very sweet filling, but the pastry was well done.
• Traditional Sticky Rice (£3.39) - Rice with chicken, pork and king prawns wrapped in a Lotus leaf - I tried the seafood sticky rice last time and was disappointed. These weren’t too great either. I think it’s because they don’t want to use ingredients like pig fat and preserved sausages. I found a prawn in mine, so I will be giving this a miss in the future.
• Crispy aubergine V (£3.10) - Fried marinated aubergine chunks with garlic and sesame oil - you don’t get many, but the quality made up for it.
• Green-lipped mussels (£2.99) - 2 steamed green-lipped mussels in black bean sauce with sweet basil - very fresh and simple, a winning combination.
• Soft shell crab (£4.29) - Whole soft shell crab in a crispy coating - juicy and crisp, but you only get 1 for the price.
• Choy sum V (£3.19) - Steamed choy sum in soy sauce topped with garlic - not worth it.
• Pak choy V (£3.19) - Steamed pak choy in ginger and garlic sauce - even more of a rip-off than the choy sum
• Sprouting broccoli V (£3.19) - Steamed broccoli in soy sauce - I couldn’t believe how little of this we got.
• Mixed Mushrooms Tom Yum Sauce (£3.39) - not great, a tom yum sauce too sour and too overpowering.
• Duck Puff (£3.99) - again, the pastry was good, but the filling, although not too sweet, was a bit dry and tasteless.
• Valrhona chocolate bun (£2.49) - 2 buns filled with dark rich Valrhona chocolate and coconut purée in a fluffy white bun - I was surprised. The chocolate was really good quality, and the bun was definitely better than last time. But I still don’t think white buns and chocolate go that well together.
• Mango pudding (£2.50) - Traditional mango pudding served in coconut milk - this was very good. Smooth and full of mango flavour

So, it seems, the dumplings win again, while the vegetables and the more "traditional" dishes were a bit of a let down.

Rating - 7

Atmosphere

The place was relatively empty when I arrived, but by 8pm, the whole place was packed. We had extra arrivals, and people who said were coming but didn’t, and in the end, we squeezed 9 onto a table of 8, which was ok by us. It’s only been a month, but they not only changed the menu, but the wallpaper on the ceiling now is in a pattern of Chinese character. It’s still as good looking as always though.

Rating - 2.5

Service

The wait staff was definitely much worst than the training day. They were still polite, mostly, but it took so long to get anyone’s attention, and the drinks took forever to arrive. We had to flag them down several times to get anything.

Rating - 2

C-factor

They actually gave us all our drinks for free, so all the food came to £17 per person. Some things, like the vegetables, were definitely overpriced, but others are quite good value for money, so I guess if you order well, then things are good value. Now I am thinking of trying the Sunday all you can eat yum-cha special.

Rating - 1.5

Brownie Points - 13

Info

Quayside, Tower Bridge House
St Katharines Docks
London
E1W 1BA
Phone +44 (0) 20 7680 7850
Website

The Manifold Inn

We stopped off here for a quick meal before our drive back in London.

Food

Maybe because it was a Sunday night, but their normal menu was not available. Instead, we had to choose from a specials board consisting of only a selection of their normal menu. Never mind, after going on the “Red Shanks & Roasties” walk, I could only think of lamb shanks, so I knew I had to order the Braised Lamb Shanks on a Bed of Mash (£9.95). These were as lamb shanks should be. Melt off the bone, but still pink on the inside, with a rich, gravy-consistency sauce and heart-warming mash. We didn’t know that we were going to get vegetables with our meal, so ordered the Leek and Mushroom Bake (£6.95). We really should know better, how good can leek and mushroom bake taste? Leeks themselves serve more as a flavour enhancer than as a dominator, whereas mushrooms need something strong to absorb, so combining the two together, without a power player, meant that the dish was bland. The mound of mash on top only meant that we were eating a lot of potatoes. The free vegetables were Carrots, Red Cabbage and Spinach and weren’t that special but they were generous portions. And at least they didn’t give us more potatoes!!

I was going to have a beer but Slokky decided not to order one for me, and since he had already paid for everything else on the credit card, I really couldn’t be bothered buying one, so I will never know how good the beer was.

Rating - 6

Atmosphere

This is definitely a traditional English pub, from the building to the old style fittings, the open fire, to the Sunday night karaoke that was due to take place which we didn’t have time to enjoy. Even the clientele seem to be local – who bring their whole family, babies included, to enjoy a Sunday night dinner. The staff seems to know the people by name, and the crowd was definitely already rowdy by 7pm, so I guess karaoke should be a big success.

Rating - 1.5

Service

You order at the bar and they deliver to you. It was service country style, so don’t be alarmed if you get called “love”. I didn’t feel they were particularly friendly though.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

We saw lots of pubs offering very cheap meals, often 2 courses for under £10, so this is not so cheap in comparison. However, the portions were very generous and you will definitely not be hungry.

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 11

Info

Hulme End
Buxton
Derbyshire
SK17 0EX
Phone +44 (0) 12 9884 537
Website

The Druid Inn

Food

The menu was very appealing. A few café favourites, a few pub grub, some local produce, a few specials, so it took us ages to decide. Everyone else went for the lamb, but I decided to test the recommendations of the waiter (bad idea). But first the entrees. The Crispy Bakewell black pudding, crispy streaky bacon, brown sauce onions, poached free range egg (£6) was stock standard, reminding me of breakfast really. The Lump White Crab Meat, Marie-Rose Sauce, Deep Fried Soft Shell Crab (£10) was very nice, presented in a martini glass with the crab crawling out. The batter was light, the crab still retained its juice from the frying, and the sauce had just the right zing.

I was kinda disappointed with my Lemon Sole with Capers and Asparagus (£20) . I guess it’s the seafood again. Even though the waiter did promise me the sole came fresh off the line, I still felt it wasn’t quite there. The asparagus were nicely blanched but didn’t quite more that spring asparagus taste, and the butter and capers was not enough to lift the fish. The Aged Bakewell market Ribeye steak, creamed Ashbourne field mushrooms, chunky hand cut chips (£19) was better. The steak was cooked to medium rare as requested, with some lovely mushrooms and a jenga style stack of very chunky chips. Said Hand cut chips (£3) also appeared, in a bowl, for the table to share. They were lovely and buttery, but perhaps cut just a little too thickly for chips, as there was not much crunch. For “potatoes” they were sensational, but for chips, a little misleading. I did try some of the lamb, which was sensational.

I had ordered a ½ pint of Druid’s Ale, which was a slightly sweet, nutty ale, which made me too full for dessert. Slokky had the Sticky toffee pudding, toffee sauce, gingerbread ice cream (£6), which was very ordinary. I still have to say that my sticky date pudding is much better.

Rating - 7.5

Atmosphere

Well, for a country pub, it was huge, sprawling over 2 levels of the original house, and then over to an extension, and then to a separate self-contained building. They actually managed to fill up most of the tables on this Saturday night though, so it was very loud. There were all sort of people, girls nights, big family dinner and also the romantic couples, and not to mention a couple of muddy foodies from London.

Rating - 2

Service

Things started off very well. We were quite early for our booking, but they accommodated us no problems. The waiter was humorous and good natured, but things got worst from there. The service became slower as the room filled up. I asked for a refill of our water several times before my request was met. We waited for a long time for the bill, and had to ask two different waiters for it. It took so long to arrive we actually considered walking out. Another thing too, the recommendation from the waiter was not great, so either we have different taste or they were trying to make more money by recommending the more expensive meals!!

Rating - 2

C-factor

Acceptable for generously portioned food and a nice surrounding, pity it was all let down by the service.

Rating - 0.5

Brownie Points - 12

Info

Main Street
Birchover
Matlock
DE4 2BL
Phone +44 (0) 16 2965 0302
Website

Royal China Riverside

My last salvation at Canary Wharf. I have heard so many good things about Royal China, I was really looking forward to this. Good food at Canary Wharf, but sadly I was proved wrong.

Food

There’s definitely no trolley pushing here. In fact, you don’t even have to mark anything off a list, it’s a la carte dim sum. We decided to choose from a selection of classic favourites, and not try anything too weird, to initiate the yum cha newbies.

• Scallop Dumpling (£2.85) - these dumplings are only good when they are freshly prepared, unfortunately, the nice filling was ruined by a less than savoury skin.
• Prawn & Chive dumpling (£2.85) - again, let down by skin
• Spicy Chicken Feet (£2.40) - not as tender as can be, the sauce could do with more spice.
• Pork & Radish Dumpling (£2.40) - very unlike the ones I am used to. The filling was just wrong, but at least the pastry was good.
• Glutinous rice in Lotus Leaves (£3.20) - quite dry and bland, not enough soy sauce. I was really surprised they put prawns in this too.
• Turnip Paste (£2.40) - this is normally one of my favourite dishes, but unfortunately this was completely spoiled by the Royal China variety. They were definitely very generous, with thick slabs of the turnip cake on order. However, thick is not better here. The cakes looked like they weren’t even fried at all, being mostly white in texture, only a few bits were starting to take a brown tinge, but was nowhere here the degree needed to make these taste good. The cakes were too heavy on the flour, with not enough turnip, and certainly not enough of other ingredients.
• Roast Pork Puff (£2.40) - not great. The pastry was not hot or fresh.
• Beef Cheung Fun (£2.85) - went really quickly, so I didn’t even have time to try it out.
• Fried Dough Cheung Fun (£2.85) - was only warm. They didn’t give you the peanut and hoi-sin sauce for dipping, so you only have soy sauce. Otherwise, it didn’t seem that fresh but the flavours were ok.
• Pork Dumpling (£3.30) - surprisingly, the best dish of the day. The dumplings were encased in beautifully slippery skin, the sauce poured on was vinegary and slightly hot, a good combination.
• Fukien Fried Rice (£8.80) - egg fried rice topped with creamy assorted seafood & chicken - was executed very well. The rice was nicely coated with a superb sauce. I wonder if non yum-cha dishes would be better choices at Royal China.
• Milk & Egg Tart (£2.40) - was cold and disappointing. This is usually something that the Westerners lap up, but even they were unenthusiastic with the offerings.

In conclusion, a major disappointment. I wonder if location has anything to do with it, but I have decided to give the franchise one more go before I dismiss it. With the dismal state of UK yum cha, I don’t really have much choice.

Rating - 5

Atmosphere

The décor definitely sat more in the traditional sense than the modern. I actually expected more as I always thought Royal China was a flashy restaurant. The décor was more trashy than flashy.

Clientele wise, mostly Western office workers, having dishes that they serve on top of a silver plate lifter – I haven’t seen one of those since eating in HK in the 80s.

Rating - 1.5

Service

Generally efficient, although I did have to ask for the bill twice. They were very busy though, so the service was not bad

Rating - 3

C-factor

Well, I have heard that Royal China was expensive, so when our bill came to a little over £11 each, I was quite happy as I was expecting more. However, they did slug us a 13% service charge, that is just wrong!!

Rating - 0

Brownie Points - 9.5

Info

30 West Ferry Circus
London,
E14 8RR
Phone +44 (0) 20 7719 0888
Website

1 Lombard Street

This is probably the closest Michelin Star restaurant to our home, almost our local really, so were really hoping it will be special enough for us to come back.

Food

The a-la carte menu sounded very tempting, but we were here to take advantage of the 3 course special for London restaurant week. There was only one choice for the evening, but fortunately I was very tempted by what they were offering.

We started off with an appetiser of Celeriac Soup, which was actually rather boring and didn’t really show any flare or creativity. Better was the bread, as fitting for a 1 star restaurant, there were plenty of choice of bread. I tried the Poppy seed, olive and white, and all came hot with a crunchy crust and moist inside.

The meal proper started with Smoked Haddock Risotto with Quails Eggs, English Mustard and Lemon Veloute. I love the quail eggs which were still soft and just set, however the risotto was actually a bit bland. Pave of Angus Sirloin Steak Morel and Vin Jaune Sauce, Vegetable Fondant was cooked to medium as requested, however, it was a very boring dish. The steak was not even of the best quality I’ve had (I guess we aren’t paying top price for it afterall). The vegetable had had no special treatment either.

We had fun trying to figure out all the ingredients that went into the Apple and Mango Granita, with banana being a very popular choice, but surprisingly, mango didn’t feature. My favourite of the whole meal was definitely the dessert. The Gratin of Rhubarb with Elderflower Sabayon Honey and Vanilla Ice Cream was superb. The rhubarb retained its crunchiness and was rendered to perfection. The sabayon was what drew me though. Sweet, perfectly balanced, and a little different.

Some friends ordered from the a-la carte menu and were very satisfied with their choices, and also, we were the only ones ordering from the special menu. Which makes me wonder, did they skim on the London restaurant week menu? Because I thought the whole point of it was to show off their skills so that the new market of customer they were attracting would find it worthwhile to revisit again? Based on the performance today though, I won’t be back. It was good, but for a one start restaurant, I expect a lot more.

Rating - 6.5

Atmosphere

It wasn’t quite what I expected. To get to the restaurant, you have to pass through the brasserie, which actually looked very spectacular. Situated in a big open space, with a huge dome just above the bar. The restaurant though, was tucked away at the back, behind a set of curtains. There was really no discerning feature there, although some of the banquette seating was very nice. After being to so many Michelin star places, I was really expecting more.

The restaurant itself was very small, with only small groups. None of them seem to be dining on the restaurant week menu though. Considering this restaurant was the only one not booked out for the special offer, I was wondering why.

Rating - 1.5

Service

We had booked 3 separate tables. I rang them to try to combine them into one, but was informed that they were only able to cater to a max of 6 per table. Going into the restaurant, I could see why. They simply didn’t have room for more. They were nice enough to arrange for us to sit at 2 adjacent tables though. In the end, 2 people pulled out, so we all squashed onto a small table. Never mind, they took it all in their stride, transferring our cups, plates. There was a sweeping of crumbs off the table and napkin folding too, plus all the waiters spoke French again.

Rating - 4

C-factor

For a 1 star restaurant, the prices are not that different to other restaurants in London, so in that sense, it is not that expensive. I don’t see though, how this place is better than some of the other places I have been to.

Rating - 0.5

Brownie Points - 12.5

Info

1 Lombard Street
London
EC3V 9AA
Phone +44 (0) 20 7929 6611
Website

Pizza Express Canary Wharf 2

Back again, this time for a girlie lunch. I was determined to try the pizza this time, and to my surprise, they didn’t come out too bad at all.

Food

I tried out the “new” Romana pizzas, which promises that the dough is rolled for longer to create a thinner, bigger and crispier base so that the bold flavours stand out even more. It is also made with mozzarella and their famous tomato sauce… Well, I decided to top my impressive sounding base with Pinglestone (£9.25) Smoked pancetta and a free range egg, topped with fresh watercress leaves and shavings of grana padano.. As they proudly state on the menu, this pizza recipe was created by their Alresford restaurant and won ‘Best International Dish’ at the 2006 Watercress Festival awards. Hmmm, it’s not as if they’d won a Michelin star or anything. The base was certainly impressive, so thin and so crispy, and charred just right at the bottom, however I’m not so sure about the topping. The tomato base was pleasant enough, the egg was too quality and had real egg flavour, but however it was cooked to well done. The watercress isn’t strong enough to stand up to the flavours, and the pancetta was a bit too salty, even with the tomato base. The grana padano was shaved on at the last minute, and because the pizza wasn’t hot enough when it was delivered, didn’t even melt at all. Still, I found it was better than GPC.

Rating - 6.5

Atmosphere

It was very busy again on Wednesday lunch. It was hard for our table to hear the conversation, since we were seated on a long table.

Rating - 1.5

Service

Pretty much the same. Our waiter was a bit cuter than last time, and was efficient.

Rating - 3

C-factor

I still think it’s expensive, especially when I can eat at a fancy restaurant for about the same. But for Canary Wharf, it is probably one of the better choices.

Rating - 0.5

Brownie Points - 11.5

Info

200 Cabot Place East
London
E14 4QT
Phone+44 (0) 20 7513 0513
Website