Goldfish review - London dim sum buffet at Hampstead Heath

I was walking along Hampstead High Street when I came across this Chinese restaurant named Goldfish with advertisements outside its door trumpeting its weekend dim sum buffet at £15.50 a pop.

Which self-respecting Chinese restaurant would name itself after a mere goldfish, I thought? Don't they all aspire to be dragons or phoenixes? Coupled with its nondescript appearance I resolved to give it a miss until I came across this review in the Guardian. The reviewer declared that the food served at Goldfish was utter perfection. I was hooked. I must go and try perfection.

One weekend morning, I woke up and decided that I needed a treat after a horrid week. I rang up a friend, told her that we are going to try the best dim sum in London and off we went to Goldfish. We had no reservations but did not have to wait long before we were seated. There weren't many customers and no Chinese customers at that. A good Chinese restaurant should always be bursting at the seams with business. I was getting slightly worried but told myself that maybe for once I was in luck. I didn't have to queue or make a reservation and I could get a table! The interior of the restaurant was rather plain, blue walls (blue!) and wooden furniture. Never mind, I tell myself, I am not here for ambience, I am here for the perfect cuisine.



We were given menus which list their ala carte dishes, but there was no menu for their dim sum buffet. We asked the waitress what the dim sum buffet consists of and were told that "they consist of everything on the trolleys and there are rice and noodles" or something to that effect. My friend looked doubtfully at me but I was up for the adventure. Sure, we will go for the dim sum buffet, I told the waitress. I was charmed. Dim sum in a trolley! How traditional! Maybe I would get noodles cooked on the spot for me.

Well, except that it didn't quite work this way. What the waitress did was to push this little metal trolley up to your table and scoop items out of the trolley on your table in a certain pre-determined order.

The first items we had were steamed dim sum. Prawn dumplings, scallop dumplings and the like. And they were lukewarm. Have you eaten lukewarm dim sum before? I had, when I bought frozen dim dum from the supermarket and didn't heat them up in the microwave oven for long enough. They were edible, but the whole point about having dim sum is to have them piping hot! The waitress explained that these were what's left of the current batch of dim sum as their chef was not ready with the next batch of dim sum. We were promised hot steaming dim sum for the next round.

In the meantime, we tucked into the fried items (seasame toast, dumplings, beancurd skin which looked and tasted remarkably like one another save for their shapes). We were given small dishes of sweet and sour pork,fried pork ribs and fried noodles as well. With every bite I took, I became more and more miserable. To be fair, those dishes were passable, but were they delicacies? Nope. Not by a long stretch.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Also...
Hakkasan vs Yauatcha - clash of the London dim sum titans
Leong's Legend - Taiwanese food in London's Chinatown
More reviews on London's restaurants
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The next round of steamed dim sum came piping hot, thank goodness. This time round, we had custard buns, pork buns and siew mai (pork dumplings). Again, passable efforts, but nothing that I would rave about. Not all the items were replenishable as the term "buffet" suggests. You could only have 1 serving of pork ribs for example. I was beginning to wish that I had gone to Yauatcha for my treat instead.

What about the service? Matthew Norman, the Guardian reviewer, described their service as impeccable. I would say it is hit and miss. It depends on whom you happen to speak to. One staff did not seem to understand our orders, be they in English, Mandarin and Cantonese and made no attempt to find out.

Now, I must confess that my friend was quite happy with the food and it seemed to be the case with the customers around us. I guess it is all a matter of expectations really. If you want normal fare and a buffet is your cup of tea, Goldfish may be the place for you. Matthew Norman, the Guardian reviewer had their ala carte dishes so again it might that the restaurant's magic lies in those dishes. As for me, I am saving up for dim sum at Yauatcha.

Address: 82 Hampstead High Street NW3 1RE
Tel: 020 7794 6238 (reservations recommended)
Nearest Tube station: Hampstead

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: below £20 pp
Service charge: N/A
Taste: **
Service: *
Ambience: ***
Suitable for: those who do not mind having a dim sum buffet without knowing what's on the menu

Read More......

The Quality Chop House review - a Victorian styled food shop in Farringdon

I was chatting with a British colleague the other day when I asked for recommendation for any restaurant that serves good British food. Let me provide some context to this conversation. London, which is very much like Singapore in this aspect, is literally a metropolitan melting pot when it comes to offering cuisines from a variety of cultures, which of course means that Londoners are spoilt for choice when it comes to dining out. So much so that the British cuisine fades into background.

Anyway, my colleague looked stumped for awhile before suggesting The Quality Chop House. Incidentally, it is just across the road from Little Bay Restaurant. I called the restaurant that Friday afternoon and was able to make a reservation for dinner on the same evening.

If first impression counts, The Quality Chop House scored a ten on the onset. That was despite being located around half a kilometre from Farringdon Tube Station, which is apparently the nearest station. The exterior reminded me antique food shop that one would probably find at the turn of 19th century. Although it sat right next to the ever busy Farringdon Road, it nevertheless retained much of its charm.

Given its Victorian exterior, I was pleasantly surprised by its post war interior furnishings. There was ample seating capacity with its counter stools and perched tables and chairs. Those who fancy some privacy could opt for compartment tables instead.

Since we went to the restaurant looking for British food, what could be more appropriate than ordering just that? We ordered Eggs, Bacon Chop and Chips (£9.95), Battered Pollock (£12.95) and English Breakfast Tea for two (£4.50). How well such staples are done is usually a good indication of whether the rest of the menu would turn out.

We spent a good 45 minutes sipping our breakfast tea while waiting for our food to be served. Credit must be given to the two ever smiling female staff who were literally running around serving customers who were slowly filling up the cosy restaurant.



The Bacon Chop did not disappoint. It was done just right - not too salty or oily with a sliver of fats running through its length. Accompanying it are two eggs fused together with their yolks still runny. The chips are… well, chips.



What really made our day was the Battered Pollack. Though the portion could have been more generous, the batter was done just right leaving the flakes of fish fresh and tender on the inside. With mash peas and chips, that was easily one of the best fish and chips we have ever tasted in London.

Looking to tuck into British cuisine and yet tired of the bustle of the City? Look no further than The Quality Chop House.

Address: 94 Farringdon Road, London, EC1R 3EA
Tel: 0871 3328550 (Reservation highly recommended for dinners)
Nearest Tube station: Farringdon

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: below £20 pp
Service charge: 12%
Taste: ***
Service: ***
Ambience: ***
Suitable for: weekday dinner for two.

Read More......