St John Bread and Wine review - where food is served as it is

Address: 94-96 Commercial Street, London E1 6LZ
Tel: 0207 251 0848 (reservation necessary)
Nearest Tube station: Shoreditch High Street

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: below £20 pp
Service charge: N/A
Taste: ****
Service: **
Ambience: *
Suitable for: lovers of 'very English' foodDifferent people had different things to say about St. John Bread & Wine and they were invariably good. But something that a Swedish acquaintance said got stuck in my mind. Our conversation drifted over to good restaurants in London over, well, dinner one night.

"You must go to St. John, their food is marvellous!" he exclaimed.
"Really? How's that so?" I got curious while shoving an overcooked steak into my mouth.
He paused, closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and after a prolong silence, he opened his eyes and said something that would probably be up there among the understatements of all time.
"You know, at St. John, when you ordered spinach, you are served spinach. Nothing fancy, just spinach."

I didn't know what to make of it at that point in time. But anything would taste way better than the pathetic rubbery steak in front of me.



A couple of months later, we finally get down to making a reservation at St John Bread & Wine. With high expectations, we stepped into St John on a Monday evening. For a moment, I thought that I had stepped into the wrong restaurant. The layout of St John at Spitalfields were sparten to say the least - bare wooden tables and chairs, without any frills. In fact, the interior looked like a local run down pub with lights fully lit.

The entire place was packed, which was a feat considering that it was late Monday evening. Once the host (the only guy dressed in a suit and looked totally out of place) confirmed our reservation, he led us to a creaky table. I was certain that the customers sure weren't here for the ambience.

After leaving us to our own devices for awhile, a stern lady came by and placed a single sheet (the menu apparently) in front of me. I was told by K that St John changed its menu according to what was in season: it was pheasant two weeks back and that was replaced by middlewhite (a breed of pigs originally from Yorkshire area). While there were fish on the menu, we noticed that they were served whole and both of us weren't keen to pick through bones so we settled for a slab of middlewhite with pig cheeks as starters.

While waiting, four thick slices of bread were laid in front of us with a small slab of butter. Considering that St John doubled up as a bakery as well, those bread were disappointing. They were cold and tasted as if they had been left in open air for some time, totally unlike that served at Hazev.

We were getting a bit restless when the pig cheeks (£6.40) finally arrived. A couple of fried strands accompanied with some token greens doused in mustard. We looked at each other in dismay. Half-heartedly, I popped a piece of the deep fried pig cheek into my mouth and for a split second, what the Swede said came back to me in a rush.

How should I describe it? The pig cheek was firm and didn't crumble when my fork thrust into it. But the fats literally melt the moment it entered my mouth, infusion my palate with its full flavour in an instant. That was how good it was. What was interesting was that the mustard doused greens came into play when I needed to cleanse the taste a bit - there was only so much fats one could ingest at one time.

Totally delighted with St John's pig cheeks, we couldn't wait for our middlewhite (£13.90). Like before, the middlewhile took quite a while. And like before, there was almost no presentation involved in the dish - a slab of still-pink pork with a thick crackle with four slices of lettuce carelessly cast beside it. I was wiser after what happened to the pig cheeks earlier and quickly cut myself a bite.

I guess what got people returning to St John Bread & Wine was that it served food the way it was. There was a time when a piece of meat (or a fish for that matter) could stand purely on its own as a dish. No condiments, no gravy, no fancy cut carrots immersed in sugar, just a simple slab of meat and that was exactly what the middlewhite was.

After TwinkleToe posted earlier about St John's Madelines (£3.70 for 6), I know I had to try it. It didn't disappoint. It came freshly baked and was piping hot. The interior was light and the slightly crisp exterior had just a tinge of honey. It was superb with a pot of English Breakfast tea.

St John Bread & Wine would definitely not be for those who placed a premium on the entire dining experience because it simply did not match up; the place was understaffed and service was hard to come by, not to mention the sparten décor. After requesting for the bill for quite awhile, a female staff walked over, inserted my card into a handheld payment device, handed it over to me and "Just follow the instructions" before striding off (there was an inbuilt gratuity request in the device). To be sure, I looked around and the people on the next table were dutifully figuring out the payment device as well.

As what my acquaintance said, "You know, at St. John, when you ordered spinach, you are served spinach. Nothing fancy, just spinach."


View Larger Map

Read More......

Sausage and Mash (S&M) review - British answer to hangovers at Islington

Address: 4-6 Essex Road, London, N1 8LN
Tel: 020 7359 5361
Nearest Tube station: Angel

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: below £10 pp
Service charge: N/A
Taste: *
Service: ***
Ambience: *
Suitable for: curing hangovers with comfort foodWife asked whether I was sure that I wanted to write about it when she saw me taking out my camera at S&M that morning. "Pretty soon, you're going to write about even the visit to the local McDonald's!" she lamented after I nodded my head.

Well, not that I will go to the local McDonald's, not after the fist fight that broke out between two groups of teenagers vying for territory. Yep, spilling blood for the a patch of greasy tiles between Iceland and The One Pound Shop. I swore that I would never fall for the lure of the 99p double cheeseburger again. Ever.



Where were we? Right. S&M. Since that fateful Monday morning when almost the entire central London was snowed in with traffic plowed to a stop and we decided to pop into the local S&M at Islington for a breakfast instead, it was like almost a weekly ritual for us.

There was something about S&M. I wasn't sure whether it was the radio music playing in the background, or the aroma of sausages and mash, or even the chirpy waitresses (and waiters of course), there was something inviting about S&M. It was probably the free tea or coffee refill when you got a meal as S&M because it was official the place to go for cure a hangover on weekends.

But of course, both Wife and I couldn't be more sober when we stepped in that morning at five minutes to eleven. "Good morning!" the waitress flashed a wide grin. I felt good already as I walked past the kitchen where the 'grill chefs' were hard at work.



I wasn't about to tuck into a Workers Special Breakfast (with unlimted toasts), not when we were going to meet HP for lunch at Min Jiang at one. I opted for a Double London Traditional Sausage sandwich (£2.95). Apparently, Wife felt the same as well. Instead of going for the omelette of three eggs, she ordered a Fish Finger sandwich (£2.95).

If you think that the sandwiches weren't much to look at, you're not alone. To be honest, they didn't taste that good either - the sausages were charred and the fish fingers were mushy. But as I sunk my teeth into my sandwich, everything felt all rosy again.



It must be the cheesy posters plastered all over. Or the friendly waitress had added something to my tea. Darn.

Read More......

Tokyo Diner review - Japanese food in a cosy corner in Chinatown

Address: 2 Newport Place, London, WC2H 7JJ
Tel: 020 7287 8777
Nearest Tube station: Leicester Square

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: below £15 pp
Service charge: N/A
Taste: ***
Service: **
Ambience: *
Suitable for: those who are looking for
an alternative to the usual at ChinatownIncidentally, the first time we had a meal at Tokyo Diner was also the first time we set foot in London's Chinatown in the summer of 2007. I recalled clutching on tightly to a London guidebook, absolutely rattled by the crowds in the Tube and almost glad to make it out of Leicester Square Tube station in one piece.

I needed a meal fast and I half dragged Wife into Tokyo Diner claiming that it was featured in the guidebook (I later found out that it was in fact highlighted as one of the 'good value eats'). The first thing that struck me was the cramped, or if you prefer, cosy layout. I was thoroughly disappointed not to find katsu curry in Tokyo Diner's menu and made do with a katsu don instead.


Almost three years down the road, I could pretty much navigate round Chinatown with my eyes closed and felt at ease despite just emerging from the ever crowded Tube. We stepped into Tokyo Diner again.

In a way, it was like coming a full circle. Tokyo Diner was exactly as it was the summer day three years back, even the table that we sat on was still in the same corner. We were shown to a small table set against the wall under a huge Tokyo city mall and the Japanese waitress laid down two sets of menu. To my surprise, I realised that Tokyo Diner had added katsu curry to the menu, and ordered a pork katsu curry without hesitation. After flipping through the menu for a moment, Wife succumbed and ordered a chicken katsu curry. So much for creativity.

I didn't realised this before but Tokyo Diner now offered a plus size portion of rice for big eaters. The order for 'omori' portion of rice came free of charge and the only request was for the customer to finish it up and not waste it.


We did order agedashi tofu (£5.20) for starters though. Unlike Crane & Tortoise, Tokyo Diner's tofu was the soft variety, which was just the type for the dish. The soy sauce with grated ginger that the two firm fresh tofu pieces were immersed in weren't too salty and the spring onion peels added some crunch. However, I thought that the fried skin was quite damp and slid off the tofu surface a bit too easily.



The pork and chicken curry katsu (£10 each) were quite sizable even without the 'omori' portion of rice. After the fiasco at Miso Noodle Bar, I thought I would never touch katsu curry again but I was glad I ordered it at Tokyo Diner for the dish was definitely one of the better ones that I had come across.

Though I suspect the rice wasn't the Japanese short grain rice as it was grainy instead of sticky, the curry itself was a class of its own. Served with large cut pieces of boiled carrots and potato, it had none of the powdery texture that I tasted at Wagamama. Instead, the consistency was thick enough not to be mistaken for a soup but thin enough so that it would not coagulate over the rice. However, at £10 per portion, it was easily one of the more expensive curry katsu around.



Having a meal at Tokyo Diner was like buying into a culture. I couldn't help but notice the brochures that were strategically placed on each table. While waiting for my food, I read about why Tokyo Diner didn't serve tuna, its electricity was obtained from a sustainable source, and that it wouldn't accept tips (apparently practiced by all traditional Japanese eateries).

As the restaurant's tagline goes, "Please come again and bring your friends". If you're tired of the Chinese buffets that have sprung all over Chinatown, head towards Tokyo Diner instead.

Read More......

Cha Cha Moon review - Ganton Street popular hangout for Chinese food lovers

Address: 21 Ganton Street, London W1F 9BN
Tel: 020 7297 9800
Nearest Tube station: Oxford Circus

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: below £15 pp
Service charge: N/A
Taste: ****
Service: ***
Ambience: **
Suitable for: a quick bite between shoppingAfter our disappointing escapade at the now defunct Cha Cha Moon at Whiteleys, we turned to Cha Cha Moon's flagship store at Kingly Court. After working his magic at Hakkasan, Yauatcha and Wagamama, Alan Yau's Cha Cha Moon opened with huge fanfare in 2008 offering items on the menu at half price (most going for just £3.50).

More than a year later, Cha Cha Moon remained one of my favourite eating places within walking proximity of Oxford Circus and Piccadilly. Serving mostly Hong Kong street fare and some Straits food, Cha Cha Moon catered not only to the lovers of char kuey tiao (fried flat noodles) and gan lao mian (dried tossed noodles) but also to tourists totting London guides.



Wife ordered her current favourite Wanton Mian (dumpling noodle in soup) and having gone for Cha Cha Moon's char kuey tiao the last time round, I decided to throw caution to the wind and went for the Char grilled Chicken Lao Mian. The couple next to us ordered spring rolls and onion pancake, which looked pretty decent and we ordered that as well to be shared between the two of us.



I normally avoid ordering spring rolls at restaurants. Most of those that I came across were small over fried ones that were simply transfer from the freezer into hot boiling oil. The spring rolls (£4.60 for four) at Cha Cha Moon turned out better than expected. The turnip and carrot fillings were thinly sliced and lightly packed. More importantly the frying oil wasn't recycled, at least not for our spring rolls. I thought that they were a bit overpriced but if you couldn't do without your spring rolls, be sure to order this one.

The spring onion pancakes (£3.50) turned out totally different from what we expected. Instead of firm and fried to a crisp, Cha Cha Moon's version was essentially onion slices stuffed into two round flat lightly pan fried dough cut into quarters. It didn't taste too bad objectively but I'm not sure whether I would order them again.



According to Wife, the Wanton Mian (£6) was nicely cooked, better than that at Joy King Lau and way better than the clumped up version at Cha Cha Moon (Whiteleys). But the dumplings that she kept on shovelling onto my plate were fabulous. If only Cha Cha Moon does a wanton soup as I'm not exactly a fan of noodles soaked in water.



The Char grilled Chicken Lao Mian (£6.40), in my opinion, was the highlight of the meal. I was half expecting lean chicken breast, though healthier, wouldn't go down well with dried noodles. Instead, the dish came with thick slices of lightly grilled chicken thigh meat, which I could just taste the 'smoke' from the grilling - even the skin were left attached to the meat, just the way I preferred it.

The noodles, which was quickly immersed in boiling water, still retained its springy texture. Tossed in sauce flavoured with soy sauce and a tinge of oyster sauce, it was perfect with the milky savoury broth (the waiter mentioned that it was some duck broth).

To be honest, I am looking for an excuse to head back to Kingly Court again. The Crispy Duck Lao Mian was heavily recommended by the waiter serving us. I can't wait for my next visit.

Read More......

Madeleines at St John Bread and Wine

Address: 94-96 Commercial Street, London E1 6LZ
Tel: 020 7251 0848
(reservations@stjohnrestaurant.com)
Nearest Tube station: Liverpool Street

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: below £25 pp
Reservation strictly necessary for dinners
Service charge: N/A
Taste: ****
Service: **
Ambience: *
Suitable for: a leisure afternoon tea
or a lavish dinnerMention St John and most people will immediately associate it with the nose to tail eating that it is famous for. Simply put, the restaurant's philosophy is to not to waste any part of an animal (in its case, a pig) and to use all parts of the animal in its dishes. I would have loved to go for its whole roast suckling pig to see how it differs from the Chinese version (which is indeed yummy) but given that you need a party of at least 13 pork lovers to order an entire suckling pig and the restaurant does not serve its roast suckling pig in smaller portions, I could only pine for it.

But I digress. What I mean to say is that St John produces very decent baked goods as well. St John Bread and Wine at Spitalfields is the branch with the bakery though St John at Smithfields apparently serves some baked goods too. Friends swear by their freshly made breads but I will let you in on a secret - their madeleines are to die for. You could buy them for a take-away but given that they are freshly baked (you have to wait for 15 minutes for each order), the best way to savour them is to have them in the restaurant on the spot with a hot pot of Earl Grey.

The famous quote from Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time reads: “One day in winter, my mother offered me some tea ... She sent out for one of those short, plump little cakes called petites madeleines, which look as though they had been moulded in the fluted scallop of a pilgrim’s shell ... I raised to my lips a spoonful of the tea in which I had soaked a morsel of the cake. No sooner had the warm liquid, and the crumbs with it, touched my palate than a shudder ran through my whole body, and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary changes that were taking place. An exquisite pleasure had invaded my senses ...”

Have the madelines at St John one of these winter afternoons and make Proust's experience yours.

Guest post by TwinkleToe - a discerning eater who occasionally posts at Singaporean in London (read London Pantomime - Aladdin review) (image source)

Read More......

Princi review - finding sanctuary in an Italian bakery in London Soho

Address: 135 Wardour Street, London W1F 0UF
Tel: 020 7478 8888
Nearest Tube station: Leicester Square

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: below £10 pp
Service charge: N/A
Taste: ***
Service: **
Ambience: **
Suitable for: a quick afternoon tea
Coming from an island where it's hot and humid all year round, I do welcome the seasonal changes in weather. I guess a miserable winter just makes you welcome spring and a sweltering hot summer makes you look forward to a cool autumn.

However, one issue that I have with winters is that the glutton in me tends to manifest itself during cold weather - the freezing temperature doesn't exactly encourage exercises to burn off the extra calories either.


The inviting display will be the first thing that catches your eye

The temperature was barely above zero when we trudged along Wardour Street heading towards Kingly Court over the weekend. The gust of wind that came from nowhere broke the camel's back and we sought refuge at Princi.

The heater installed just above the entrance was a lifesaver as we dragged our sorry selves in. "Hello!", a staff who was standing behind the counter nearest to the door greeted us with a wide grin. Afterwards, I suspected she was planted there for that sole purpose as the rest of the staff seemed sullen beyond words.


Pastries galore

But what really caught my attention were the rows and rows of pastries behind a long counter, which spanned the length of the store. Colourful pastries that came in various shapes and sizes with some customers pouring over them through the glass display while the rest nursing cups of hot beverage busy chatting among themselves just seemed so surreal compared to the miserable weather outside.


Bins doubling up as standing tables as well

The entire place was packed to the till and some even had to stand and eat off vertical blocks that served as tastefully designed trash bins. We did get some seats after some time and I was immediately off to the hot food counter placed right at the back.


Nothing staves off the cold like a hot cup of tea

A grand total of four pasta were on display with no clear display of prices. With my stomach growling, I pointed to one that looked like something that I would like. It turned out to be a spinach lasagne, which turned out quite alright. My only grouse was that at £7 per serving (approximately 4 inches by 4 inches), the price seemed a bit steep.

That said, I must add that the pastries were fabulous. We got some Rustichi Spinach (3 for £1.50) for takeaway. The only grumble that I had was that the pastries weren't heated up if you dine in (and they cost much more). It didn't do the otherwise delicious bite size delights any justice as we found out later that they tasted way better after two minutes in the oven at 150 C.

Princi was a welcome addition to Wardour Street. Its minimalist layout with top to bottom glass façade literally lit up the vicinity, which, in my opinion, needed some sprucing up. I would definitely to get some pastries for takeaway the next time I'm in the area, but only for takeaway - I like my pastries served warm.

Read More......

Pham Sushi review - hugely popular Japanese hangout for sushi and sashimi at Barbican

Address: 159 Whitecross Street, London EC1Y 8JL
Tel: 020 7251 6336
Nearest Tube station: Barbican / Old Street

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: below £15 pp
Service charge: 12.5%
Taste: ***
Service: **
Ambience: **
Suitable for: a quick lunch, definitely not
a place for a leisurely mealPham Sushi, I have long heard about its reputation for its good quality and affordable Japanese food. I tried to go for dinner on a Wed evening once and it was fully booked. That goes to show how popular it is. Finally, I managed to plan ahead and reserve a place at Pham Sushi for lunch one day.

The soft shell crab was crispy and not too greasy but it came in a rather small portion. I heard that the crunchy tuna roll was the specialty of the restaurant and indeed it lived up to its name. The texture was interesting and it was something that is unique to the restuarant.


Sushi and sashimi combination set

We also had the sushi and sashimi combination set with tempura soba. While the sushi tasted fresh, I did find the taste of vinegar rather overwhelming. My companions were pretty happy with their noodles. With its relatively affordable pricing , I couldn't really quibble with the quality.

Its service was efficient, nothing to shout about. Ambience was simple, designed to maximise the sitting capacity and was definintely not a place for a long sit down meal. All in all, I would say that Pham Sushi would be a reliable place to turn to if you craved for reasonably priced Japanese food.

Guest post by Twinkletoe - a discerning eater who occasionally posts for Singaporean in London

Read More......

Four Seasons (Gerrard Street) review - behold the legendary roast duck mentioned in London guidebooks

Address: 12 Gerrard Street, London W1D 5PR
Tel: 020 7494 0870
Nearest Tube station: Leicester Square

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: below £15 pp
Service charge: 12.5%
Taste: ****
Service: *
Ambience: **
Suitable for: people obsessed for the roast duck unique to this part of the world









One would be inundated with choices along London Chinatown's Gerrard Street. Everything along that street was about food - provision stores, restaurants, eateries, dubious looking pubs and more restaurants. Even the HSBC branch and the lone casino along the street looked oddly out of place.

Four Seasons, which was located somewhere along the middle of the stretch had long being hailed by London guide books as the must-eat in London. As I walked down the street like I had done countless times before, I noticed that it was easy to walk pass Four Seasons without realising it - similar restaurants with rows of roast ducks hanging in the front displayed didn't help matters.

Even with seating spaces on three floors, Four Seasons was always packed regardless of when you arrived. As far as I know, it, like many of the Chinese restaurants in the vicinity, didn't accept reservations. Basically, you just turned up and hoped for the best. Thankfully, the turnaround time was relatively short. If you weren't part of the queue that was standing in the open, the wait time rarely exceeded half an hour.

Four Seasons was of course renowned for its roast duck. Not the crispy Peking duck with its dried skin and hard flesh but the good old roast duck prepared over an open fire. Frankly, I had no idea why anyone would even go for the Peking duck. I would prefer a slice of juicy and tender roast duck with glistering fat anytime.

It was said that Chef Heston of Fat Duck, who specialised in molecular gastronomy, failed to recreate the famed London roast duck. The reason, he concluded, was because all those ducks came from one particular farm in the UK and no other duck would do. Something to do with the high fat content apparently.

Anyway, we developed a sudden craving for roast duck one wintry afternoon and went down to Four Seasons that very day for a late lunch. It was a bit quieter but even then we stood in line for around 20min before being shown to our seats on the first floor. We realised immediately that being seated in the basement or the first floor was way better than the ground floor, the last thing I wanted was to have my meal with hungry people staring down at me and willing me to ask for the bill and clear the table.

We were hungry when the menu was tossed onto our table (you don't go to a Chinatown restaurant for its services) and quickly ordered a three combination (san-pin) of roast duck, roast pork and charsiew, wanton noodles, and beancurd with seafood.

The three combination (san-pin) of roast pork, charsiew and of course, the famed roast duck

The san-pin (£9) arrived first, which was surprisingly substantial and would easily satisfy two light eaters. What we liked about the san-pin was its roast pork and charsiew were relatively lean yet retain their flavour. The accompanying sauce could be less salty but it did brought out the full depth of the dish.

The main item in the dish was of course the roast duck. Thickly sliced duck with a thick layer of fat that literally melted in your mouth would be an apt description. To get the full taste of it, refrain from dipping it in the chilli oil that comes with it. In fact, it would be almost a sin to remove the skin even for the health conscious. The roast duck itself would probably warrant the time spent queuing.


Wanton noodles - a bit too bland

The wanton noodles (£7) was an afterthought really. The bland noodles was a disappointment although Four Seasons were generous with their wanton (dumplings). Each wanton was a mouthful and I suspect there was more 'flour fillers' than prawns and pork.


Seafood with beancurd - generous portion of seafood with soft beancurd

Seafood with beancurd (£9.80) turned out to be more soupy than we thought as we were expecting a more starchy concoction. Even for its price, the amount of seafood (jumbo prawns, squid and fish slices) piled into it was substantial. There was even small morsels of fishballs stuffed into the large triangularly sliced beancurd. Again, that dish alone could easily feed two light eaters.

We have clearly over-ordered but somehow managed to finished everything towards the end (we had to skip dinner afterwards). Even as we stumbled out into the open with the cold winds blowing onto our faces, we were already making mental notes of getting our roast duck at Four Seasons for our Chinese New Year dinner.

Read More......

TiffinBites review - Canary Wharf Jubilee Place Indian food, decent food priced a tad too high

Address: 22-23 Jubilee Place, London E14 5NY
Tel: 020 7719 0333
Nearest Tube station: Canary Wharf

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: below £15 pp
Service charge: 12.5%
Taste: ***
Service: **
Ambience: **
Suitable for: fans of Masala Zone or Waitrose Curry Rice









I received an email from HP asking whether I had plans for lunch. Having grown a bit tired with Nando's, I suggested TiffinBites instead knowing that she would be fine with it. TiffinBites, which sat right opposite Nando's at Canary Wharf's Jubilee Place, served Indian cuisine accompanied with loud pop music.

There was always that stark difference between the trio (Wagamama, Nando's and TiffinBites) at Jubilee Place. I couldn't help but notice that the queue outside TiffinBites would always be considerably shorter than the other two. Even then, TiffinBites' sitting area was always almost filled.

There wasn't any queue when we were there for lunch. As we were marched into the restaurant and I could feel the Nando's queuers' sullen looks boring down on my back. Long wooden tables seemed to be in the rage now and TiffinBites' main sitting area was filled with that though it provided some two and four seaters as well.


Lamb Rogan Josh - tender chunks of lamb, could be spicier though

TiffinBites' menu was quite varied and there was a chilli indicator beside some of the spicier items (one to three chillies). I ordered Lamb Rogan Josh (£9.95), which had three chillies next to its name. Having grown up eating spices, I loved having the occasional chilli hot meal.

True to its name, TiffinBites presented its tiffin meals, which included Lamb Rogan Josh, in small metallic containers arranged in a larger plate. It reminded me of a more sterile Gufaa. The lamb was tender and gravy was creamy. That with the mandatory vegetable dish went well with rice.


Chicken Tikka Masala - chicken cooked just right

The Chicken Tikka Masala (£8.50) was presented pretty much in the same manner. I guess having them in 'tiffins' made the preparation more modular as well. I must say that the fresh chicken pieces tore easily and were cooked just right. In a way, I was glad that the tikka masala wasn't overpowering and distracted me from the chicken's texture.

The staff, however, had acquired the skill of staring at blank space towards another direction while speaking to the customer. Every smile and thank yous seemed to be directed at thin air, which I thought was quite queer. Other than that, though the meal was decent, I thought that it was a bit overpriced. Considering that there were a number of relatively affordable eating places in the area, TiffinBites would have to work harder to get lunch crowds in.

Read More......

Miso Noodle Bar review - a place to avoid at all costs along Islington Upper Street

Address: 67 Upper Street, London N1 0NY
Tel: 020 7226 2212
Nearest Tube station: Angel

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: below £10 pp
Service charge: N/A
Taste:
Service: **
Ambience: **
Suitable for: dire situations when all eating places are shut and your kitchen stove has broken down. Seriously.








Well, it was meant to be a casual night out, nothing fancy. We were strolling along Islington's Upper Street looking for a meal. Those who were familiar with the area would know that the casual diner would be spoilt for choice in the area.

We were in fact heading towards La Forchetta when we chanced upon Miso Noodle Bar. Given that our previous experience at La Forchetta left us with a salt overdose and we had yet to try out Miso Noodle Bar, I thought that it would be a good idea to do so. Furthermore, the Miso Noodle Bar chain seemed to be popping up all over London and I thought that it couldn't be that bad, could it?

I was wrong.

Let's start with the good things first as always. Miso Noodle Bar adopted the Wagamama styled layout. In fact, it reminded me of Glo Rice and Noodle Bar, only more spacious and more pleasant. Staff was efficient though a bit curt but that I could deal with. We were seated on a raised platform, which was fine by me, and everything went downhill from there onwards.

The place was relatively empty for dinnertime, a sign that I chose to ignore. There was a table of diners who looked a tad too sullen at the fare placed in front of them - another sign that I should have turned around but nope, we sat right now.

Clean layout is perhaps one of Miso Noodle Bar's few redeeming features

London was facing of the most severe weather in recent years and the winds were practically howling along Upper Street. Credit given to Miso, which introduced a buffer space between the main entrance and the inner doors - if only both set of doors would swing shut instead of being stuck whenever someone pushed through them.

So there we were, clutching the menu under a constant stream of wind drafts when something caught my eye - the Miso's Specials menu. We zoomed in on Chicken Curry Katsu rice and Thai Green Curry with rice. We could sure do with something spicy on a miserable day like that and so we ordered just that.


Chicken Curry Katsu - Japanese curry Chinese styled

Both dishes arrived quite soon after that much to our delight as we were famished. I took a small spoonful of curry from my Chicken Curry Katsu (£7.25) like I always did at Wagamama and gave a fleeting glance at Wife.

"Is it that bad?" she asked. My expression must had said it all.

To be honest, it's not easy to foil up Chicken Curry Katsu. Lightly battered chicken served with some Japanese curry. I have no issue at all with Miso Noodle Bar's Chicken Katsu and I thought they were better than Wagamama's, but the curry was all wrong. Perhaps it was some herbs that Miso have added or it could even have been the addition of sesame oil (see Green Curry below) - it was neither sweet nor spicy but there was this Chinese touch to it - in fact, it reminded me of the lotus soup that I used to detest as a kid.


Thai Green Curry - ingredients doused with sesame oil and msg

If the Chicken Curry Katsu was bad, the Thai Green Curry (£7.45) was even worse. It seemed that all the ingredients were seasoned in sesame oil before added to the watery curry - a disastrous combination. As if to add injury to the insult, there was an oily film over an otherwise fresh prawns, which to our dismay was also doused in sesame oil. The same applied to pieces of squids as well.

Much as we tried, we had to leave most of the Green Curry untouched. Something good came out from the fiasco after all - we now know where to avoid along Islington's Upper Street. In my opinion, Miso Noodle Bar squandered an otherwise fantastic location.

Read More......