The Zetter

Food

It was half price cocktail hour, so I ordered a Ze-llini - passion fruit puree, peach puree, peach liqueur and Prosecco. Garnished with Physalis was really wonderful, the sweetness of the fruit complements the bitter alcohol. We had:

• Grilled octopus with borlotti beans, capers & pickled ginger (£8.50) – really slimy and weird texture, but nice sauce, a bit strange with the addition of the ginger
• Rosemary papardelle with rabbit ragu, white wine & Parmesan (£7.50) - gutsy tomato flavour, the rabbit was shredded so you can’t really identify it. Papardelle is just on the wrong side of al dente.
• Grilled whole bream with baked polenta, Cavolo Nero & gremolata (£17.50) – loved it. I admire them for serving this whole
• Caramelized Gressingham duck breast with braised lentils, Porcini mushrooms & bacon (£17.50) – really nice, sweet sauce, with brown layer of skin and just enough fat
• Dulce de Leche Crème Brulee and Banana Split Ice Cream (£5.35) – definitely the right pick. Really creamy and smooth crème brulee, and excellent banana ice cream
• Apple Tart with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream (£5.35) – well executed, but boring as well. This is the thin sliced apple variety, so the apples were not too caramalised or too stewed. I prefer mine more like an apple pie or tarte tartine, where you really get into the apple flavours.

Rating - 7.5

Atmosphere

It was still quite empty when we arrived at 6:30pm, so we could take advantage of our 50% off offer. I don’t mind, it meant that our food was delivered promptly, and the chefs had time to spend on our meals. There is a small bar area, with a pretty big circular bar at the front. We sat at the back, decorated with some strange paintings. Our table was at the back, overlooking the pavement and square outside, so it was quite nice, to be away from the crowds. Music was very enjoyable too.

Rating - 2

Service

Slokky was very afraid of our waiter because she was too friendly, but I found she was very nice. In fact, all the wait staff were eager to please, explained to us what we wanted to know, and actually talked to us.

Rating - 4

C-factor

About average for Farringdon area, and pretty much bang on for the price. I would be interested in coming back, especially for brunch, or jazz on Sunday.

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 14.5

Info

St John’s Square
86-88 Clerkenwell Road
London
EC1M 5RJU
Phone +44 (0) 20 7324 4444
Website

Jamie’s Italian Canary Wharf

Finally managed to try Jamie Oliver’s much hyped new place at Canary Wharf. I have to admit, I was very dubious due to the mixed review I have read, so of course I had to see for myself. Fortunately, I had a rather enjoyable meal, so will be back again at some time to test it again, to see if it’s a one-off experience.

Food

The menu reads like Jamie Oliver speak, and I take no responsibility for any description herein. There are some quite appealing things on the menu, but unfortunately I couldn’t eat about a third of what’s proposed. It was also nice to see they have a few specials on as well (which sounded great but I couldn’t eat it). We skipped starters (yes, bread is extra, but you do get a big basket if you order) in favour of the mains. There were a few pasta dishes, but I was feeling hungry and felt like having a bit of meat, so I opted for the made famous from his series Chicken Cooked Under a Brick (£12.50) - A lovely free-range “Devonshire red” bird from the West Country, halved, boned, marinated and chargrilled with a warm tomato, chilli and caper salsa, which was surprisingly well done. The chicken had crispy skin (with a lot of chargrilled marks for something cooked “under a brick”), the flesh was lovely and juicy, the salsa was strong enough to add punch and some rocket, which wilted soon, added a bitter note. Crispy Polenta Chips with Rosemary Salt and Parmesan (£2.95) - these sounded very interesting and intriguing, but in fact, they were just polenta, shaped in the form of chips. The added rosemary salt and Parmesan did nothing to add to the flavour. I ended up using them like bread to soak up the juices from my dish, which worked quite well…. but if you were expecting a chip, I would skip these.

I skipped dessert after filling myself up on the polenta chip, but I got reports that the special of Lucy’s Orange Mousse served with Almond Biscotti lacked orange taste, although the biscotti was well done.

Rating - 7

Atmosphere

The place is basically built above a shopping centre, so you can see the shoppers below. There are lots of glass though so you can see to the buildings outside, and also an outside area (which no one was using today because of the crap weather).

I really like the décor, there are huge hams hanging around, a display of his books and wines, as well as a huge back section displaying their breads and produce. The thing I need to moan about is even with such a big space, the tables are so close together, you get very intimate with your neighbours.

Rating - 2

Service

There is a no booking policy for parties below 10, so we arrived very early, before 12pm, to ensure we got a table. The restaurant soon filled up not long after, very impressive for a Monday lunch. I love how they keep things relaxed, and serve the big platters stacked on top of tomato cans. Our charming waiter was very nice (but she was from NZ, we enquired due to her strange accent). Towards the end, the service started to slip, due to the sheer number of people I presume, but our food did arrive quite promptly. So I would advise trying to arrive early or avoid the really busy lunch hours to get the best enjoyment. Also, they don’t do obligatory service charge, so you can tip what you like. I think that’s the reason why the service seems to be a notch above your average too.

Rating - 3.5

C-factor

Definitely not a cheap place for lunch, (ours came to just over £22 p.p after tips), more like a special occasion meal (unless your boss is treating of course). However, I would definitely pick this over Pizza Express or Carluccios any day.

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 13.5

Info

2 Churchill Place
London
E14 5RB
Phone +44 (0) 20 3002 5252
Website

Kee Lung

I haven’t had Taiwanese food for a long time, and when the menu promised “Taiwanese night market”, I was very excited.

Food

We ordered just Taiwanese specials. I was excited to see so many different varieties of soya drinks on the menu. We ordered the Hot soya milk (£2.30), which came in a bowl with a bowl of sugar – great touch as you can adjust the sweetness itself. I didn’t bother with the sugar and was pleased with the taste. Slokky had the Salted soya milk (£2.30), which you don’t see on many menus, but this just turned out to be salted soya milk…so all our excitements were over nothing.

I was hankering after the soya-marinated Taiwanese little eats, but unfortunately could not eat any of the innards anymore, so I tried the only dish that I could eat, the Beancurd (£2). It was a bit disappointing. The soya sauce was actually sweet, and the tofu was served warm. The other street eat of Mixed Meat Balls (£3.80) was also disappointing I think. The sauce was nice, sweet and filled with sesame, but I felt that it didn’t go with all the different varieties of meat balls. It paired well with the more salty and pungent ones, but not the sweeter varieties.

Fortunately, the next two dishes show promise, the Pig’s Trotters (£8) were salty, soaked in the sauce, and was melt in the mouth, with glutinous bits of skin and a sweet and salty sauce making it very satisfactory. Tinan Pork Noodle Soup with Prawns (£4.30) only came with one prawn, but delivered a big flavour hit. The noodles were nice and chewy, with beautifully marinated pork mince and yummy soup.

We were full by this point, but couldn’t resist trying the interesting sounding Crystal Balls (£2.60) – which was 6 balls of custard, red bean, yellow bean, but with a chocolate sauce which I felt didn’t suit. The balls themselves, the filling was nice, the pastry was nice, but looked better than they tasted.

Rating - 6

Atmosphere

It is a pretty new restaurant, so they have gone for the new look of dark lighting and dark brown wood – funky white bowls that is prettier rather than functional. They play 60s tune and have pictures of Elvis and the Rat Pack on the wall…strange, but the music is more pleasant than if they play soppy Chinese songs from the 90s.

Rating - 1.5

Service

They were so rude!! Things started off quite well actually with our menus delivered promptly and then we were left to make our choices. As soon as we put our pens down they put all the orders in. They were smart enough not to deliver desserts until we had finished our mains. The waiter was very polite as well and said thank you after delivering every dish. And now the bad points, even though we arrived at 3pm and the restaurant was virtually empty, but we felt like we were really rushed. As soon as we had cleared a plate, and sometimes before, they would take our dishes away. I was still finishing my food, but they had already removed my bone plate and my chopstick rest. I felt like I had to hold on tight to my soya milk so they don’t take it away, but they took away the sugar that was supposed to go with the milk.

Rating - 2

C-factor

It WAS £28.80 including service charge, but Slokky decided to give them another £2 for no reason, because the machine asked if you wanted to leave a tip. I guess they were sneaky to ask for a tip after they put on a mandatory service charge, but I think if you are dumb enough to fall for it, you deserve to be charged extra.

Rating - 0

Brownie Points - 9.5

Info

6-7 Lisle Street
London
WC2H 7BG
Phone +44 (0) 20 7734 8128

54 Restaurant

Food

We chose from the a-la carte menu, which seems to contain a mixture of Malaysian and western dishes. We stuck with the Western dishes.

• Roti Jala (£5.50) - Fishnet style pancake served with potato curry - I was surprised by how hot the curry was – this has loads of different spices, and definitely not toned down for Western tastes. Whether those spices work together is another story. I felt that this had too many flavours going, but definitely delivers a hit that you need to mop up with the pancakes.
• Penang Assam Laksa (£6.50) - Piquant fish soup with rice roodles & bunga kantan - again, very hot! I was pleasantly surprised that the flavours were very authentic, just like the ones we had at the hawker stalls! What was strange though was the amount of noodles and vegetables that was pack into this, so that instead of having a soup with vegetables, it was more like having a vegetable with a hot sauce.
• Rendang daging atau kambing (£14.50) Lamb shank rendang in spicy coconut - I was pleased that this came with a whole lamb shank, and more importantly, the meat melted off the bone. Unfortunately this was let down by a too salty sauce.
• Nasi Lemak (£13.50) - this came with the biggest prawns I have ever seen, again, in a very hot, but very yummy sauce. The sauce for the rendang chicken was really different to the lamb shank rending. Good…because it was much less salty and had much more fragrance.

We wanted to have banana fritters, sago pudding or red bean for dessert, but they had “run out” of all three, so we opted for Ice Cream & Sorbet (£4.50) -homemade selection – changes frequently Coconut, lemon, blueberry sorbet, and Pistachio, durian ice cream, banana sorbet. This turned out to be a really good choice. All the ice cream was made there, really tasty and fresh.

Rating - 6.5

Atmosphere

The place was filled, with westerners. The décor is very strange… kinda new age, kinda Asianised, with some dark blue lighting, a reflection from the bar, going on . They have a small bar and an open kitchen. The tables are quite cramped, so not the most inviting place, better to eat and leave. They have these Asian style clothes as table runners too, which was strange as you can get that very dirty.

Rating - 1.5

Service

They certainly don’t have enough waiters. I had to ask for my water to be refilled 3 times before it was done. After we were told none of our desserts were available, they forgot to change it on the bill, so we had to ask for it to be recalculated. Food arrived promptly though.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

Not the cheapest Malaysian, but bang on for the setting and the quality.

Rating - 1.5

Brownie Points - 12

Info

54 Farringdon Road
London
EC1R 3BL
Phone +44 (0) 20 7336 0603
Website

Bi Won

We had wanted to try this place since first walking past 2 years ago. After getting our appetites whetted at the Korean food fair for the Thames Festival, we decided to finally take the plunge.

Food

The menu is your typical Korean menu, with quite a lot of choices. For lunch though, they have a few sets that represent a slight saving. We ordered a Rice Punch (£2.50) to start, and saw them open up a can and pour the contents straight into a glass and serve…oh well, it tasted like it came from a can too. I had one of my favourite Korean meals Bibimbap with Miso Soup (£9.20). They really skimped on the meat here, I only got a few shivers of beef, but the actual dish was superb, with the sizzling stone pot, the rice crisp at the bottom, fresh vegetables, and of course the raw egg and the hot bean sauce forming a beautiful sauce for the rice. The miso soup really was an afterthought, but had enough tofu and shallots in it to liven it up. I wasn’t so impressed with the Rice Cake with Glass Noodles and Dumplings (£9.80) though, the broth didn’t have much flavour, the pastry for the dumpling was thick, and the filling was unimaginative. It was probably the wrong choice. What I was most disappointed about was probably the lack of condiments we got … only a small amount of kim chi and some bean sprouts… I was looking forward to the potatoes and the spinach.

Rating - 6.5

Atmosphere

A small cosy place, with minimal “Korean” decoration. Everything is simple and clean. The kitchen is situated downstairs, and all the food brought up by trolley. The restaurant was full on this dreary Sunday lunch time. There were quite a few single people dining, and also one big group of girls… disappointingly, no Koreans.

Rating - 1.5

Service

Very polite, as Koreans should be. They kept trying to clear our table though before we were ready.

Rating - 3

C-factor

Quite expensive for the quality and quantity, compared to what you can get around Chinatown.

Rating - 0

Brownie Points - 11

Info

24 Coptic Street
London
WC1A 1NT
Phone +44 (0) 20 7580 2660

Sri Nam Thai Canary Wharf 4

It has been a long while, but I have been hankering for Asian food lately.

Food

It looks like the menu has been slightly updated. Lamb has been appealing to me lately, so I went for the Rendeng Lamb Curry (£7.50) again, which I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised about. After only having some average meals previously, I was not expecting anything special, but the lamb was succulent and tender, and the sauce actually had some spice in it. I didn’t get a single potato in mine, but the boys were happy to pass theirs along. I do like potatoes that have been absorbing rending sauce…the rice though, was like gluggy sushi rice, not happy.

Rating - 6.5

Atmosphere

This time we went Friday 12:15, and we couldn’t even get a table, ended up having to sit on the stools, which was impossible to push in while get up on at the same time. Not the most comfortable. It just proves that there is nowhere to go to eat at Canary Wharf.

Rating - 1.5

Service

Still poor if you ask me. Well, they have plenty of business, so I guess it doesn’t matter to them.

Rating - 2

C-factor

£7.50 + service charge, not the cheapest meal you can have. But at least this one was nice.

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 11

Info

10 Cabot Square
London
E14 4QB
Phone+44 (0) 20 7517 2898
Website

GBK Canary Wharf 3

Another voucher, so off we went to GBK again.

Food

This time, instead of beef, I opted for Greek Lamb – lamb, hummus, cucumber raita, fresh chilli sauce and salad (£7.85) which I thought was even nicer than the beef. Very moist and tasty. The sweet chilli sauce was nice, and there were lots of fresh vegetables. The Chips were chunky and fat as usual.

Rating - 7

Atmosphere

I had never actually visited at lunch time before, and they were very busy. Everyone around us were also using their discount coupons.

Rating - 2

Service

It was good to report that despite the business, the service was kept up.

Rating - 3

C-factor

Still better than everything else around Canary Wharf, and certainly better than McDonalds.

Rating - 1.5

Brownie Points - 13.5

Info

Jubilee Place
Canary Wharf
E14 5NY
Phone +44 (0) 20 7719 6408
Website

Le Saint Julien 2

Back again after 2 years away.

Food

I was surprised to see that the menu didn’t seem to have changed at all…well I guess classic French dishes always remain the same. I was getting into the whole classic French thing, and what could be more cliché than the snails, which I also had last time. These did not disappoint with their big garlic hit, which I used the baguette to mop up. The Poêlée de gambas au beurre d’ail et senteur d’anis (pan fried king prawns with garlic butter and pastis flavour) (£15.95) – generous with the amount of prawns, not very garlicky, but has enough prawn flavour. My first choice of the bouillabaisse special was sold out (even though we ordered just after 7pm!), so I went for the Cuisse de canard confite, pêche au four et pommes de terre sarladaises, sauce aux épices (duck leg comfit, peach and sarladaise potatoes, sweet spicy sauce) (£17.95) – the skin was nice and crisp. The peach cut the fat, and potatoes had lots of salt to give it flavour. Côtelettes d’agneau grillées servies avec ratatouille de provence, et son jus de thym (grilled lamb chops served with ratatouille and thyme juice) (£17.95) – really juicy and gamey with a flavourful sauce, served with a nicely reduced, very tasty ratatouille.

I was very satisfied with my food, and really didn’t need to eat more, but Slokky wanted to try the Panna Cotta, which, after such good mains, was nice, not nothing special. The berries decorating the plate was not especially sweet. I like the fact that this was not too heavy but still has a creamy texture though.

Rating - 7.5

Atmosphere

Have not eaten here for so long, but they are still doing a roaring trade.

Rating - 2

Service

They were so busy it took them forever to clear our plates, give us dessert menus, get the bill and actually to pay the bill.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

I don’t think prices have gone up since two years ago, which is good. And I am glad they are still running the 50% off offer.

Rating - 1.5

Brownie Points - 12.5

Info

63 Long Lane
London
EC1A 9EJ
Phone 087 1971 4388

Smithfield Bar & Grill

Food

Yeah! They have mocktails! We had the Tropical Colada - Fresh pressed pineapple juice, guava and fresh orange juice, coconut and ice cream, which is a bit different to your usual colada collection, with the addition of guava, which I like. It wasn’t overwhelmed with pineapple or coconut, and actually tastes quite refreshing!

Food can be described as high class pub grub, with some very inviting steaks….vegetarians beware though. We opted to skip starters and bread, instead starting with the Rump 11oz (£16.50) - The leanest cut with a big, bold flavour, at its best medium rare and not recommended beyond medium. I couldn’t eat too much of this, but the outside was nicely charred. The chips were homemade and fat, golden and moreish. I opted for a special since I wasn’t keen on having well-done steak. The Salmon Fillet with Capsicum had good flavour, not overcooked, and a good gutsy sauce. We had a side of Creamed Chives Mash which WAS really nice and creamy. Having indulged way too much in the past week, decided to skip the desserts offering.

Rating - 7.5

Atmosphere

The bar area was packed with suits and others, and generally a lot of noise was to be had. We were heading to the “restaurant” at the back, which was quieter, but as the evening progressed, quickly filled up with work colleagues, couples and friends. The décor is a notch above your average high class pub, with inviting booths and nice designer lighting.

Rating - 2.5

Service

I was very impressed. They were very polite, from the person who showed us to our table, to the care they took to get our orders. The receipt had a nice personal “Thank you” written on it, and they even chased us up the street to give us a map that we had left behind at the restaurants. Now if you get this level of service at not just your high class restaurants.

Rating - 5

C-factor

Great food, great atmosphere, great prices. We really enjoyed ourselves – I will come back, when I can eat my steaks raw again.

Rating - 2

Brownie Points - 17

Info

2-3 West Smithfield
London
EC1A 9JX
Phone +44 (0) 20 7246 0900
Website

Café Rouge Canary Wharf

We were planning to go to the new Jamie’s Italian, but they were booked out, so never mind, we went to Café Rouge instead.

Food

We nibbled on some nice, but not too fat or juicyMarinated mixed olives (£2.50). Bread comes separately, and at a price, so we didn’t bother filling our stomachs up with it, plus, my Fruits de Mer Dieppoise (£12.95) - A classic creamy seafood casserole from the northern French port of the same name - salmon, dory, mussels, carrots, leeks & new potatoes cooked in a white wine velouté with French baguette for dipping came with plenty of bread, which was great as there was a lot of sauce to mop up. The flavours were subtle rather than bold, there were a lot of fish, but lacked the other ingredients, especially mussles, that would have given it more bite. Still, very pleasant and not too heavy for lunch.

Rating - 7

Atmosphere

For a Monday lunch time, there were us, and a group of new mums with their strollers and babies. Everyone else was sitting outside, by the river, but as our group was too large, we couldn’t sit outside. I presume all the Café Rouge look the same – I think they try to create a French bistro like atmosphere. Nothing much was happening in the restaurant, but we made our own atmosphere.

Rating - 1.5

Service

The waiter was a bit rude. Paul asked for a chicken Caesar, but only got a plain Caesar instead. When he asked the waiter about it, she insisted that he didn’t ask for chicken….Doesn’t matter if she is right or wrong, she needs to do what the customer says.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

The portions were quite generous…and while not the best food around, a nice place to go for a relaxing lunch.

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 11

Info

29-35 Mackenzie Walk
London
E14 4PH
Phone +44 (0) 20 7537 9696
Website

Café East

People have been raving about this place for a long time, so I thought that it was about time I went to judge for myself.

Food

While we were waiting, we satisfied ourselves with some of the yummy drinks. I hadn’t had Cha Ba Mau (£3) - special three-colour drink made with red kidney bean, green jelly and topped with coconut cream. Crushed ice for a long time, and this one was very nice. A good balance of solids, coconut juice and ice. The Sua dau Nanh (2)- fresh homemade soya milk with no preservatives, no colouring or flavouring did taste very natural too.

There were 6 of us, so we got 3 starters to share, which we didn’t need as the portions were huge, but we couldn’t resist as they sounded so good! We had:

• Banh Cuon (£4.80) - famous Vietnamese steamed rice pastry (Cheng Fun) filled with savoury Chinese mushroom and minced pork - so yum!! There was just a right amount of filling, the cheng fun was slippery and the topping was fresh
• Goi Cuon (£4.50) - Fresh rice flake summer roll with poached prawn, pork, herb salad and vermicelli rice noodles. With special peanut sauce - again, the cheng fun pastry was excellent, with lots of filling and aromatic herbs. What I really loved was the sauce though.
• Cha Gio (£4.30) - Traditional Vietnamese Spring roll served with iceberg lettuce, mint and coriander - these were thick, so not like the little traditional ones, but the filling was really good.

For mains, we ordered the obligatory Pho Chin (£6.50) - Well-done beef with flat rice noodles for testing, and it didn’t disappoint. The best stock I have tasted in this country by a country mile. The noodles were al dente, even after being soaked in the soup, and the beef, although ordered cooked, was still tender. The other dish of Bun Cha Nem Thit Nuong (£6.50) - warm vermicelli rice noodles topped with herb salad, pickled molly and carrots, peanuts, spring roll and lemongrass pork had the same spring roll we ordered as entrée, but it was definitely worth it just for the pork. I think it tasted more like BBQ pork than lemongrass, but whatever, the pork is so tasty and so tender, I just wanted more.

Verdict? Best Vietnamese in London. Better than quite a few places in Sydney…not quite up to Vietnam’s standard. Still, this is a godsend for London, can’t wait to go back to try the curries and the bun!

So it must be a sign, exactly one week later, I am back again. This time, true to my word, I tried the Bun Tom Hue (£7.50) - Vermicelli Rice Noodle with Juicy King Prawns in Spicy Soup and the Sam Bo Luong (£3) – Traditionally a Chinese Herbal Tea Drink. Deliciously Sweet and Refreshing with Fruits and Jelly. The bun had the same intensity and depth of flavour in its soup. It seems they use the same base stock but add a lot of chillies to it. The noodles were the round spaghetti like variety, but still good. I had prawns this time around, and they were generous with the amount that we got too. The Sam Bo Luong was a bit too sweet, but the tea like flavour was refreshing after the hot soup.

Rating - 8.5

Atmosphere

When I finally found the place, after walking all around the Surrey Quays centre, I found a large open space, with tables covered by paper cloth. The place was not that full at 6:30 on a Wed, but that soon changed. Turnover was very brisk, and the place was full of Asians (apparently Asian Australians). It does get very loud in there, but you’re here to eat, not to linger.

Rating - 2

Service

Like all good, popular Asian places. Efficient and quick. They don’t really take the time to deliver things to the right person, but kinda plonk it down for you to sort out. Suits me, but some people might find it a bit rude.

Rating - 3

C-factor

Prices aren’t that cheap, but portions are huge and quality is first rate, so, worth it.

Rating - 2

Brownie Points - 15.5

Info

100 Redriff Road
London
SE16 7LH
Phone +44 (0) 20 7252 1212
Website

Tiffinbites Canary Wharf 2

Not my choice to come here again, especially not at lunch…but, as it wasn’t my choice, that’s how I ended up here :)

Food

I couldn’t believe that they didn’t have lassies… so someone didn’t do their job on Monday morning. I had the Keema Mattar Masala (£9.50) - Lamb mince & peas flavoured with coriander, tomato &
onion served with Ma Di Daal, urad lentils and Cumin Pilau.. The lamb was not really hot, tasting more like a tomato based bolognaise sauce instead…which is not really a bad thing per sa, but not really curry like or Indian related. The side dish was daal, which, after all the beautiful daals that I have tasted, was a bit boring. It’s a perfectly passable meal, but just not great.

Rating - 6

Atmosphere

It was empty when we sat down, but by the time we left, the place had filled up. I suppose if you want a nice place to sit down and chat in CW, there’s not that many options. And I am sure the décor suits the Westerners.

Rating - 1.5

Service

Not great. There is nothing on the menu, and they weren’t very friendly.

Rating - 1.5

C-factor

Mega expensive, considering how well I can eat at Tayyabs.

Rating - 0

Brownie Points - 9

Info

22-23 Jubilee Place
Canary Wharf
London
E14 5NY
Phone +44 (0) 20 7719 0333
Website

Hung Tao

Food

Hung Tao has your typical Chinese noodle house menu, and we decided to go for the classics. I had missed wonton soup since being thrilled by the lovely bowl I had in HK, so I was hankering for more. The Won Ton Noodles in Soup (£4.60) didn’t disappoint. A generous bowl of about 6 wontons arrived, each wonderfully flavoursome, with a generous amount of pork and prawns. The noodles and soup of course, did not live up to the legendary HK version, but they were more than passable. Fried Ho-Fun Malaysian Style (£4.60) didn’t let the side down too much. Again, a generous amount of ingredients, and definitely freshly cooked, were the good points. There was not much wok taste here, and the flavour of the dish relied a lot on chilli hit rather than any complexity in flavours.

Rating - 6.5

Atmosphere

We were dining at 2:30…so the place was not packed. Made up mostly of non-Asians when we got there, so I was a bit comprehensive. However, more Asians did arrive, and the fact that all the waiters spoke Chinese and were acting rude, and behaved in that efficient manner, added some reassurance.

Rating - 1.5

Service

Typical London style Asian restaurant rudeness. The food took longer than I thought it would, considering it was just wonton noodle soup, and we were the only customers…

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

For the amount of food we got, they were very generous.

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 11.5

Info

51 Queensway
London
W2 4QH
Phone +44 (0) 20 7403 8403

Awana 2

Back after nearly 2 years, this time for our Toptable rewards meal.

Food

The drinks menu was enticing as always. Even though we are now restricted to those of the non-alcoholic variety, there was still a lot of choice. I had the Ma ma Awana (£6) – passionfruit, guava, pineapple from the Specials list, and it was as I expected, tangy rather than sweet, and refreshing with the food. I told Slokky not to order such a boring drink this time, so he chose the fruity bandung (£6) - mango and raspberry purée, lychee juice, rose syrup, milk, brown sugar , which was very nice, milky and sweet, his type of drink. The fact that this came in a girly martini style glass, with the drink being pink and white, really suited him.

So onto our 3 course limited menu. The Chicken satay served with house made spicy peanut sauce was a no brainer, and like last time, the meat was charred beautifully and the sauce was magnificent. The Popiah sayur goreng - mixed Asian vegetable spring roll served with sweet chill sauce was also wonderful. The sweet chilli sauce was not as mind blowing as the satay sauce, but the spring rolls were fried to perfection, not too oily, and will good filling.

The entrees were small, so we were eagerly waiting for the mains. Ayam goreng kacang gajus - chicken fillets stir-fried with peppers and cashew nuts tasted more like a Thai stir-fry than any Malay style cuisine. Still, it was nice and tasty. The Kari sayur bermusim - mixed seasonal vegetables simmered with curry and tamarind sauce was excellent. The sauce had some heat, but also the tangy sweetness from the tamarind. The vegetables were fresh and chosen well, so that they did not go all mushy in the curry sauce.

Desserts only came with 2 choices. Dadar pandan - pancake roll with sweet coconut – can’t really taste the pandan, the coconut filling paired with coconut ice-cream was a bit too much sweetness, but both parts on their own were really good. I didn’t try the Tiga krim chocolate - trio of chocolate mousses, served on a crisp biscuit with raspberry sauce, but it was supposedly not as good as the pancake.

Rating - 7.5

Atmosphere

The last time I was here, the place was full and buzzing. Maybe it’s the credit crunch, but the restaurant was only half full by the time we left, just before 8pm. They were doing a roaring trade at the bar though. We were seated in a corner, right next to the bar, so had no view of the satay bar this time.

Rating - 1.5

Service

Excellent, as usual. Everything was prompt, they anticipated your needs well. More restaurants should try to do what they do.

Rating - 4

C-factor

As usual, the drinks were too expensive. I guess that is their strategy, to serve cheap and good food, and make all their money on drinks.

Rating - 0.5

Brownie Points - 13.5

Info

85 Sloane Avenue
London
SW3 3DX
Phone +44 (0) 20 7403 8403
Website

JSW

Michelin restaurant in a small town, passionate chef and loyal patrons, my kind of place.

Food

Things started off very promisingly. After munching through the olives and parsnip trip, the bread basket arrived, containing a mix of bacon, rosmary, walnut and raisin, and baguette, all homemade, and warm from the oven. We decided to order the tasting menu, which comes out in sets of 2:

1st pair

• Cod with Curried Mussels & Coriander
• Wild Sea Bass with Ratatouille & Pesto

The fish from both dishes were mild, so it was left ot the sauce to carry the dish over. Fortunately both the sauces were excellent. The curry just tastes like curry sauce, but the ratatouille was soft and the vegetables have developed deep flavour.

2nd pair

• Fricassee of Sole with Girolles & Samphire
• Mushroom Risotto

I guess the common theme here is that both contain earthy flavours, but the sole was again lacklustre. I love the mushroom risotto though, it really picked up on the rich sauce.

3rd pair

• Slow Cooked Lamb with Minted Peas & Wild Garlic
• Pork Belly with Apple Sauce

I had to have my lamb well cooked, which meant the meat became very dry. The peas were very nice as usual, but the lamb was a letdown

4th pair

• Salted Caramel Mousse with Peanut Praline
• Lemon & Tullamen Raspberry Feuillantine
• Gariguette Strawberry Trifle with Earl Grey Tea

I was glad I got to try the feuillantine because I couldn’t eat the mousse, because I love the pairing of lemon and raspberry. The earl grey tea ice cream was a disappointment, if it was earl grey, the flavour was so weak. What I tasted of the mousse was very promising, I wish I could eat more.

Rating - 7.5

Atmosphere

Situated in a converted old house, we were the first ones there, and had the place to ourselves for awhile. It wasn’t until we were onto our 3rd pairing that everyone else arrived, and suddenly the whole restaurant was full. As usual everyone was old, and we were the only young casually dressed people there.

Rating - 1.5

Service

Pretty formal actually. I didn’t like the fact that we were delivered a pair of dishes as once, as the 2nd dish always got cold. Service was quick and brisk, until we finished the 3rd pairing, when everyone else arrived…it was a half hour wait before dessert.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

The tasting menu was £40…we ordered it because to order 3 courses would have been £37. The portions were not huge, and the food was acceptable

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 12.5

Info

20 Dragon Street
Petersfield
Hampshire
GU31 4JJ
Phone +44 (0) 17 3026 2030
Website

Tayyabs 2

Food

After the initially poppadom and salad, it wasn’t too long before our starters arrived. As usual, they were excellent. I just had to order the Seekh Kebab again, and they didn’t disappoint. What I liked even more though, were the Shami Kebab, which is only available on Wednesdays. I think these were flat disks of mince meat and some sort of pulse, but with killer seasoning. Fried to golden on the outside, while remaining soft and gooey on the inside. The rest of the mixed grill, Tandoori Chicken and Lamb Chop just paled in comparison. I was disappointed that the breads: Tandoori Pratha, Tandoori Roti, Tandoori Nan and Peswari Nan arrived so early though. It meant that it was all cold by the time the mains arrived.

We ordered from a huge mix, and they were all plonked on the table, so that I had no idea what was what. All I know is we ordered the following, and they all tasted great…but after awhile, I couldn’t tell the different flavours apart. Maybe curry in a big group is not such a great area afterall…

• Karahi Ghost (lamb)
• Karahi Chicken
• Bhindi Meat
• Chana Meat
• Dhall Karela
• Karahi Bindi (Okra)
• Mughal Korma

We got 3 huge plates of Pilau Rice as well. Needless to say, we didn’t finish the food, but we were very full and satisfied.

Rating - 7.5

Atmosphere

It doesn’t matter what day and what time you come to this place, it’s always really crowded and a huge line. This time we booked, but we weren’t allowed to go to our table until our whole party was here. After waiting for 15 minutes and begging them to sit down, they said we could, but only on the condition that we order straight away.

Rating - 1.5

Service

As usual really quick on everything, and even before we were really finished, they took everything away and gave us the bill…a clear sign that they want to turn over the table for someone else to use.

Rating - 2

C-factor

Came out to be £13p.p including tips. We actually had a lot of food leftover too.

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 12

Info

83-89 Fieldgate Street
London
E1 1JU
Phone +44 (0) 20 7247 9543
Website

The Wykeham Arms

Food

We started off with some Multi-grain bread with fruit. I have no idea what the bread is, but it was very yummy. Out of the 4 starters, I could only eat one, plus they were pretty boring anyway, so we ordered the Prawn and Lobster Salad with Marie Rose Sauce to share. This too, was not very interesting, basically some prawns with thousand island sauce. It was nice enough, but just something I could have thrown together myself.

Another long long wait for mains, but at least it was worth the wait. Slow Roasted Top Rump of Beef served with Roasted Potatoes, Seasonal Vegetables, Yorkshire Pudding and Gravy - nice and raw, juicy, boring vegetables, with quite dry potatoes, but good sauce with lots of gravy like flavour. Roasted Leg of Lamb served with Seasonal Vegetables, Roasted Potatoes very juicy, but raw and fatty, so I couldn’t eat much :).

We had to go for dessert as you needed to order at least 2 course. The Sticky Toffee Pudding with Toffee Sauce was very boring and too sweet. I didn’t enjoy it at all but Slokky lapped it up. The Lemon Posset on the other hand, I couldn’t get enough of. Really beautiful. Lovely creamy lemon cream paired with raspberry coulis. Just like eating lemon curd, only better. And it even came with a little biscuit on the side.

Rating - 7

Atmosphere

Another pub consisting of lots of small rooms, mismatched furniture, and crammed with all sorts of odds and ends. It does give it that sort of charm. I especially like the old school desks they have used as tables.

It was very busy so late for Sunday lunch, with lots of big groups.

Rating - 2

Service

Service was mostly great, except for the newbie, who asked us who was having soup, when none of us ordered it. It took so long for our food to arrive, we waited nearly an hour between entrée and main, and the fact that I didn’t order any mains didn’t help. After our mains though, dessert arrived in about 5 minutes…so maybe they needed to start a new roast.

Rating - 2

C-factor

£15.50 2 courses, £19.50 3 courses. Not cheap, just about right I would say.

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 12

Info

75 Kingsgate Street
Winchester
Hampshire
SO23 9PE
Phone +44 (0) 19 6285 3834
Website

Thai Thai East

A new 1400 point participant on Toptable for their Rewards Meal program. I know I like Mango Tree, but it’s such a hassle to get there. This got pretty good reviews, so I thought I would try it out.

Food

We were given the Express lunch menu to choose from, which had not bad choices:

• Thai Fish Cakes - A spicy fish cakes seasoned with curry and kaffir lime leaf served with sweet chilli sauce - not really fishy, but had bite, and the chilli sauce was excellent.
• Tom Yum Gai - The famous Thai spicy and sour chicken with lemon grass and fresh herbs soup - I like this, not that spicy, and not that sour, but had lots of chicken and mushrooms in it, and definitely made me hungry for mains.
• Red Duck Curry - Slices duck cooked in coconut milk with pineapple, tomato and Thai basil leaves - a pleasant curry sauce, not too sweet even with the pineapple pieces. The duck was very tender and there were some peppers to prop it up.
• Phad Ke Moe Chicken - Stir fried Thai rice noodles with bean sprouts, spring onion and in house sauce - a bit too much soy sauce, making it one dimensional, but the vegetables were fresh and the wok taste was good.

Rating - 6

Atmosphere

This place was really full on a Tuesday night, and they were doing a roaring trade on takeaway. The space is large. They treated all the people there for a free meal with Toptable like 2nd class citizen. We were given the worst seat, tight next to the door and where there is not even a gap between your table and the next.

Rating - 0.5

Service

The waiters were pretty nice, but they got our orders mixed up and delivered our entrees and mains at the same time. This was fine by us since it meant we could get out of the squashy table arrangement quickly, but is really bad form.

Rating - 1

C-factor

We got to order 2 courses from the lunch menu, which would cost £8.95 normally. Not bad, only because the place is so close to my house.

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 8.5

Info

110 Old Street
London
EC1V 9BD
Phone +44 (0) 20 7490 5230
Website

The Gurnard's Head

The weather was belting down outside. I was looking forward to settling down in the cosy surrounds of this multi-room pub.

Food

We didn’t get very much of the always yummy Irish Soda Bread to start with, so we were very hungry for our entrees.

The Sardine, Roast Cherry Tomato, Marjoram (£6) looked beautiful with its beautiful bright colours. The sardines tasted as good as they looked, beautiful strong flavours, balanced with very sweet tomatoes. I was very happy with this start and was very much looking forward to our main.

It took us a long time before we saw our mains, and I have to say, I was disappointed after such a good start. The Slow Roast Rib of Beef (£12.50) had well-cooked potatoes, but meat was really nice, gelatinous and melt off the bone. The root vegetables were very tasty too.Grey Mullet, Lyonnaise Potato, Runner Beans (£13.50) was a real disappointment. Boring dull fish with no taste, and not interesting sauce, really undercooked potatoes. I liked the peppery and buttery greens though.

Rating - 6.5

Atmosphere

We booked for 2:30, which was lucky, as the place was still packed and there were lots of people waiting for a table. Luckily, our table was waiting for us. There were lots of big groups and family, and you can tell they’ve all had a few drinks, as they were all very merry. The setting would have been magical if the weather was better, but as such we couldn’t even see 2 feet out the window before fog obscure any views. It was interesting watching the one cow that was very close to the window though.

Rating - 2.5

Service

I understand that there were lots of people…but they were so so slow! We waited one hour between entrees and main, and there was never a waiter to be seen. We had to walk around looking for a waiter when we arrived, when we wanted to order, and when we wanted to pay. There didn’t seem to be enough people, and obviously not enough cooks, servicing the number of people they had.

Rating - 0

C-factor

No wonder too, they charged us incorrectly for our bill. Prices were fair, but the experience had not been great.

Rating - 0.5

Brownie Points - 9.5

Info

The Gurnard’s Head
Nr. Zennor
St. Ives
TR26 3DE
Phone +44 (0) 17 3679 6928
Website

The New Angel

Food

You know you are in for a treat when the olives and parmesan sticks on the table to start are so yummy that you scoff the whole thing. Things continue on the up with the beautiful wholemeal, walnut bread. Almost everything on the menu was seafood based – and so they should, with the fresh seafood that’s available. So accordingly, we went for all the seafood choices. Lucky there were 3 of us so we could taste more.

• Fish Soup served with Rouille, Garlic Croutons, Gruyere Cheese (£8.00) - deep complex and strong flavour. Like the fish soup from Brittany, only fresher. I love the rouille and the other condiments that were served separately.
• Hand Dived Start Bay Scallops served with a Cauliflower Cream and Wild Mushrooms (£14.50) - Finally. Scallops that actually tastes like scallops! So they do exist. The cream and mushroom subtly enhanced the flavour whether tried to force flavours into the scallops. I only wish that there were more of it, but I would rather the smaller, fresher kind over the big but rubbery ones any way.
• Grilled Line-Caught Mackerel with Beetroot Salad - a stronger flavoured fish, balanced by the tangy and light beetroot salad.
• Poached Dartmouth Lobster served in a Light Basil Butter Sauce (£31.00) - not too much was done with this dish. I still love lobster, but I prefer the Australian kinds.
• Grilled Sea Bass with Tempura Prawn, Pak Choi and Mushrooms a Light Chicken Juice Infused with Soya - the reason this tastes so good is due to the freshness of the sea bass – yes, still not my favourite fish, but tasting it fresh is so different to what you usually get at all the other restaurants. The Asian touches were good, not special.
• Warm chocolate tart served with Devon clotted cream - very dark and very rich. Very nice

Rating - 8.5

Atmosphere

We arrived too early after our boat trip. Luckily we were able to settle at the upstairs bar which was decked out with plush seating. We got a corner table, so we were able to observe the passing traffic and the open kitchen. It was certainly interesting to inspect the amount of people working in the kitchen to serve not that many customers, and that the chef approves everything before it goes out.

Rating - 2.5

Service

Top notch service, not too formal.

Rating - 3.5

C-factor

We opted for one of the 3 course set menu for £29.50, and then ordered a la carte for the rest. For the great quality seafood, it was worth the price.

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 15.5

Info

2 South Embankment
Dartmouth
TQ6 9BH
Phone +44 (0) 18 0383 9425
Website