King's Cross Camino brunch review - churros dipped in chocolate, need I say more?

Address: 3 Varnishers Yard
London N1 9FD
Tel: 020 7841 7330
Nearest Tube station: King's Cross

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: below £15 pp
Service charge: N.A.
Taste: ***
Service: ***
Ambience: ***We have been to Camino at King’s Cross just once sometime back when HP brought us. She was still quite into sangria then and promptly order a whole jug at the bar. While I didn’t share her enthusiasm over sangria, I remembered being really impressed by Camino’s ‘black rice’, which is essentially rice cooked in squid ink and with cuttlefish.

Everything else was a blur as that was before London Chow and I didn’t use to dine with a camera at hand. Besides Camino’s black rice, my only other impression of it was that it was noisy, loud thumping music noisy.



Two years later, Wife and I returned to Camino again. Not for its black rice and with the Little One in tow, we can do without loud music and flashing lights. We headed to Camino for its brunch, which we gathered online that was pretty decent.

Camino in the morning is a totally different world. When light falls, Camino adopts a club like atmosphere filled with workers streaming in from King’s Cross for a drink and even a tapas or two before heading home. In the morning, Camino is all toned down. Brightly lit with sunlight streaming in, it feels like one of those sensible hotel breakfast cafeteria. Noisy and rowdy revellers are replaced by sleepy travellers waiting for the trains and local residents flipping through their weekend dailies.



Espressos replaced sangria and that’s exactly what I asked for. More precisely, I asked for a café bombon (£1.60), which is espresso with a layer of condensed milk at the top. This is bound to wake to you. It certainly did that for me when I nearly choked on the thick condensed milk, and that was even after stirring the concoction thoroughly. No doubt this together with all beverages on the menu featured in the ‘formula sheet’ stuck discreetly behind the coffee machine

Churros never fail to cheer us up. We practically had that almost every morning while in Madrid. While I’m sure the crisp-fried strips of dough are served elsewhere in London, the only other place that I’ve seen it is at a pull-cart in Soho, which sells churros for £4 per cup (5 – 6 strips probably).



Camino’s churros (4 for £1.75) was a great deal. It comes with quite a bit of chocolate dip to boot. I thought that it tasted a bit flat and didn’t have the fluffiness that I would expect.



The desayuno completo (£7) or full Spanish wasn't exactly pretty but was quite substantial. Two pan fried eggs with chistorra (Navarran sausages), bacon, pan-roasted potatoes with green pepper and onions, served with salad and toast. The pan-roasted potatoes was done wonderfully well, moist and flavourful.



Wife’s revuelto je jamon y queso o bacalao (£8.50) comes with free range (no less) scrambled eggs on toast with smoked cod. We expected the cod to be placed separately but it turned out that it was scrambled in the eggs as well. That tasted better than it looked but you’ll need the churros to fill you up after that.

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Camino (Canary Wharf Westferry)
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If you are heading towards King’s Cross for your train the next time round, instead of popping by MacDonald’s for a burger, why not drop by Camino for brunch? Chocolate dipped churros topped an espresso beats a hamburger anytime.

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Santore review Exmouth Market Italian restaurant - catering to bulk business

Address: 59-61 Exmouth Market
London EC1R 4QL
Tel: 020 7812 1488
Nearest Tube station: Farringdon

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: below £15 pp
Service charge: 12.5%
Taste: **
Service: ***
Ambience: ***We have always been intrigued by Santore every single time we walked past it at Exmouth Market and have been meaning to try it ever since we heard from someone that they do pizza ‘by length’. So instead of a disc bread base, Santore’s is a rectangle, big deal right? Truth to be told, it was the £8.95 lunch set (2 courses) that sealed the deal.

In fact, we did try to lunch there a couple of times and were rebuffed every single time because Santore opens only at noon (we have this nasty habit of skipping our breakfast during weekends and go for brunch instead) and we ended up at Caravan and The Ambassador.



So we made it a point arrive right after noon last weekend and to our surprise there were already quite a number of tables filled with three serving staff running the whole show. Nevertheless, we were promptly led to our table. The table was only set for one and I had to request for another set of cutlery when our dishes were served later. I guess Santore could do with more staff during that time of the day.



Wife thought that the description for her grigliata mista di vegetali was rather misleading. Instead of ‘freshly grilled vegetables’, the staff merely scooped it out from a couple of serving dishes that laid in the open near the main entrance. That said, we love the virgin Poland balsamic vinegar dribbled over the vegetable selection and decided it tasted almost as good as Ottolenghi’s.


My bruschetta Napoli was rather disappointing. The bruschetta arrived limped and chunky tomatoes laid on barely held on to it. The garlic olive oil barely registered. It was a far cry from a similar one that I had at Camino.



It was quite apparent that Wife didn’t like her linguine alla carbonara. She found the cheese overwhelming and declared it ‘too creamy’ for her liking, and went on to pile it on my plate.



I guess she took comfort at the sight of my arrosto di maiale in glassa con patate al forno, which was dismaying to say the least. The three pieces of roasted pork, which were barely marinated, tasted more boiled than roasted. The potatoes (roasted as well) tasted better but not that much. I was famished at the point in time having skipped breakfast and even that failed to improve my appetite.



While Santore’s ambience has a good feel to it, it is definitely catering for a large turnover of customers. A very affordable set lunch also means that other respects may be lacking – water marked glasses and jugs for one. Even its toilets have got this ‘public’ feel about it. Well, just walk down the wobbly (cantilever) staircase to take a look.

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Domino's online pizza delivery - a perfect meal at the end of a long day

By TT, London Chow's regular contributor

With autumn here and the long nights closing in, all I want to do after a long day's work is to sit down in front of the telly with a piping hot supper. But some days - I just don't have the energy to rustle up something myself and that's why I am pretty pleased when asked by Domino's Pizza whether I would like to review their online pizza. Comfort food delivered to my doors - what more can a girl ask for?



Domino's is a brand which needs no introduction. Think pizza delivery and Domino's springs to the mind. Its two pizzas for the price of one meal deal on Tuesdays is such good value and would allow one to savour 2 flavours at one go - I simply must go for that deal.


Domino's Premier - chorizo galore 

The website was ridiculously simple to navigate, the only tough thing was to make my choice from the extensive menu of pizzas, sides and deserts. I finally decided on Domino's Premiere (toppings consist of chorizo, pepperoni, steak and pastrami together with Domino’s tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese) and Meltdown The Revenge (toppings consist of cheese slices, mozzarella cheese, meatballs, ground beef, jalapenos, sweet chilli peppers, bird eyes chillies and American style mustard).


Meltdown The Revenge - meatballs to die for

I was very impressed when within 30 minutes of me placing the order, the pizzas were delivered to my door, steaming hot. Domino's pizzas come with an interesting creamy mayo like dip for the crust which works a treat. I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of flavour, I thought they would probably be better than the supermarket varieties but no better than the high street varieties but I was proven wrong - I was blown away by the full on flavours of the pizzas, which is probably due in no small part to the fresh ingredients used (proudly proclaimed on Domino's website). I am particularly fond of Meltdown The Revenge, the meatballs embedded in the dough were delicious and went very well with the cheese and peppers. Beware though, it is really as spicy as the description cautions, I am a spicy food lover and even I have to run for a cup of tea to wash the spice down.

2 pizzas being too much even for me and my gluttony friends, I had plenty of leftovers for my dinner the next day. And they still taste smashing after being reheated in the oven. I am now a convert - Tuesdays are my new Fridays!

TT, who is a regular contributor to both London Chow and Singaporean in London, is always on the lookout for good London deals. 

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Aji Noodle Bar Japanese Canteen review – strictly for tourists

Address: County Hall, Westminster Bridge Road,
London SE1 7PB
Tel: 020 7734 2223
Nearest Tube station: Waterloo, Westminster

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: below £15 pp
Service charge: N.A.
Taste: **
Service: ***
Ambience: **Wife and I have in the past studiously avoided Aji Noodle Bar Japanese Canteen at along Westminster Bridge Road all this while because of a single review we came across sometime back. The reviewer was taken aback when he was asked whether he would like to have soba or udon for his ‘yakisoba’. He has never come across yaki (stir fried) udon – udon is typically boiled or served in soup, never stir-fried.

Neither have we.

It’s funny how desperation can drive people into doing seemingly unimaginable things. Jumping off a moving train for one, asking strangers for change is another, or even place a booking on Toptable for dinner for two and the half people at Aji Noodle Bar on a weekday. These days, we crave certainty and this is as close to that as possible.



Aji Noodle Bar was half very nearly empty when we marched in at 8pm. There was a table occupied by a family of tourists, with children still wildly excited about their London Eye ride, a harried looking mother and a father who looked like he would rather be elsewhere. Two well dressed ladies who couldn’t be more out of place occupied a smaller table. A tour guide with his retainers sat on another, a low budget tour apparently. And of course, there was a table by the side with a conspicuous ‘Reserved’ tag placed on it. Obviously, that was ours.

We avoided noodles

We didn’t feel like having noodles after the review so we went for the curry rice dishes instead. A crime I know but you could manage rice with a single hand wielding a spoon while hanging onto the Little One on the other hand, chopsticks on the other hand is a tad trickier.



My chicken katsu curry (£7.95) turned out much better than I expected. While it’s not exactly like the one at Tokyo Diner, Aji Noodle Bar’s curry is creamy, not powdery like Wagamama’s and was way ahead of Wasabi’s.

Lightly battered chicken breast was served. Though it tasted a bit flat, it was more meat than batter, which is more than I can say for the same dish served elsewhere.



Wife ordered white fish katsu curry (£7.95) simply because she has ‘not seen battered fish with Japanese curry before’. That bit of adventurism didn’t quite paid off. Aji Noodle Bar’s white fish was taken directly out from the freezer and thrown into the deep fryer. The interior was still mushy when served though the curry quickly overwhelmed any taste that the fish might have.



The ebi fry (£2.95) didn’t quite make the mark as well. Two strands of reconstituted prawns (still mushy within) and mayo, enough said.

While its chicken katsu curry wasn’t too bad, I’m sorry to say that my only take away from the meal was the 200 points in Toptable. This one is strictly for the tourists.

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Bocca di Lupo and Gelupo Gelataria reviews - two Italian sisters in the heart of Soho

Address: 12 Archer Street,
London W1D 7BB
Tel: 020 7734 2223
Nearest DLR station: Leicester Square

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: below £30 pp (for full portion)
Service charge: 12.5%
Taste: ***
Service: ****
Ambience: ****I was at the West End the other day pondering my lunch options before the play. I recalled that Gelupo Gelataria which has received rave reviews was just round the corner from where I was but I can't very well just have gelato for lunch can I?

The solution to my dilemma presented itself in the form of Bocca di Lupo, Gelupo's sister restaurant just opposite Gelupo's, which as I discovered later has earned itself a name as the trendy Italian restaurant in Soho. Lunch and desert, I had got it all sorted and was rather pleased with myself.



Bocca is small and cozy with a very stylish yet welcoming interior with snazzy lighting and tasteful full length artworks on the walls. None of the safe but bland corporate look here. Even the decor of the washrooms usually a much neglected feature in restaurants was well thought out as evidenced by the culinary equations on the mirrors and the sandy tiled walls which give the washroom a warm Mediterranean feel. In fact a customer was so taken with the washroom that she was gushing about it to her server.The open kitchen is right at the front of the restaurant and if you so fancy you can be seated on one of the bar stools at the counter and see the chefs at work on your upcoming meal. I think a similar concept is deployed at now defunct Eastside Inn and thought it was brilliant entertainment especially for lone diners.

I was very happy with the service at Bocca which was excellent throughout. I was greeted warmly on arrival and shown to a table at the back of the restaurant. I was rather surprised but thankful that I could have a table so quickly given that I did not have reservations and it was after all a Saturday.



Bocca has an ala carte menu as well as a separate lunch and pre theatre menu. I opted for linguine with clams, mussels, langoustine and prawns with little tomatoes at £12, and was rather pleased with my choice when it arrived. The broth was intensely flavoured with the seafood and was suitably rich.

If however you are one who does not like to get your hands dirty this dish is probably not for you as one has to prise the shells of the langoustine open to get at the meat. The lady serving my table thoughtfully brought a bowl of water with lemon for me to cleanse my hands right at the outset of the meal so clawing at the one langoustine on the plate is fully expected. I am not sure whether it is worth the effort though. The meat is so puny I can barely taste it. All the flavour has probably gone to the sauce. At 12 quid for a small portion (and 24 quid for the large portion), I was also rather disappointed to see just the one langoustine. I won't describe myself as a big eater but I would have starved if I had that alone for lunch. Thankfully there was a complimentary starter of savoury and crusty bread accompanied by olives and olive oil so I was satisfactorily filled up by the time I left to find my desert opposite.



Address: 7 Archer Street,
London W1D 7AU
Tel: 020 7287 5555
Nearest DLR station: Leicester Square

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: below £3 for two scoops
Service charge: N.A.
Taste: ***
Service: ****
Ambience: N.A.I was very pleased to find that Gelupo Gelateria had a wide variety of flavours of gelato and sorbets on offer. Other than the usual suspects such as chocolate, they have interesting flavours like honey and avocado. The staff was very friendly offering me a taste of the honey and avocado sorbet before I made my decision. While it was refreshing I thought the honey overwhelmed whatever there was of the avocado in the sorbet. For 3 quid, you can opt for any 2 flavours in a cone or cup. I decided to go for the traditional flavours of chocolate and expresso (which interestingly is milk free and also available as a desert at Bocca). While the chocolate and expresso gelato taste marvellous individually, together they were not really good bedmates but that is really down to a poor choice on my part.

Other than gelato and sorbets, Gelupo offers Italian produce in the deli right at the back. I spotted some interesting confectionery in the fridge and made a mental note to try those on my next visit. The place was teeming with people when I left so while the shop has some stools by the counter having your gelato on the go might make for a more enjoyable experience unless it is winter in which case I can't imagine why you have gelato and gelupo probably has to rely on it's deli products and hot drinks which it offers to survive.



TT, who goes around London discovering bits of London, is a regular contributor to London Chow and Singaporean in London.

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Camino review (Canary Wharf Westferry) - tried and tested formula scores once more

Address: 28 Westferry Circus,
London E14 8RR
Tel: 020 7239 9007
Nearest DLR station: Westferry

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: below £35 pp
Service charge: 12.5%
Taste: ****
Service: ****
Ambience: ***"Where is it?" asked Ab as I stepped out into the typical London drizzle. "Well, if I have read the google map correctly, it should be next to Royal China," I replied. By it, I was referring to Camino, which has opened up another branch at Canary Wharf's Westferry.

"One thing's for sure though, I shouldn't have finished that all-day brunch at Wetherspoon this afternoon," I added, patting my stomach,"Not exactly the best way to start another meal with an almost full stomach." Ab trudged along silently (he cleaned up a fish and chips earlier).



Having been to the other Camino at King's Cross, I was looking forward to Camino's invitation to its new branch at Canary Wharf. HP, who has this knack of sniffing out good eating places dragged us over to King's Cross sometime back with a firm "you must try this". And I was glad we did. Other than a jug of sandrine, I recalled with fondness Camino's Arroz Negro con calamares (or simply black rice) and grilled gambas among other tapas dishes. Thumping loud music with people shouting trying to get themselves heard, Camino was teeming with the working crowd when we were there on a weekday evening.



"Here we are!" I exclaimed, collapsing my umbrella and giving it a few good flings. The crowd at Canary Wharf's Camino was a far cry from King's cross' on a Friday evening. Then again, we arrived before 7pm on a Friday night, hardly the time for dinner yet. The persistent drizzle isn't exactly a crowd puller too.

Unlike King's Cross' branch, Canary Wharf's Camino has less space to play with. The entire floor area is seperated almost equally into bar and main dining area. There were a couple of souls lingering at the bar counter while only two other tables were occupied at the dining area. Ab and I quickly settled down on a table by the window.



"Would you like a drink to begin with?" Adrienn (the waitress who served us) asked. It didn't take long for her to realise that neither Ab nor myself are into wines, much less Spanish ones, which Camino is known for. "Some cava perhaps?" Adrienn ventured. We took her suggestion and went for the platinum brut, masia bach (£3.95 - 125ml). I gave it a slight twirl round the tongue, refreshing and yesty. The dismal weather outside didn't bother me too much thereafter.



Starters come in the form of pan con tomate (£2.75) and jamon iberico (£7.25), another recommendation by Adrienn. The pan con tomate or tomato bread is essentially grilled bread drizzled with olive oil and topped with chopped tomatoes. Camino's organic version was grilled just right. The tomatoes, which Ab pointed out was chopped and crushed, was spread over a thin later over the grilled bread, thus softening the crunch. A pinch of sea salt was sprinkled on its side to add that bit more taste to it.



The pan con tomate was of course to complement jamon iberico. Thinly sliced ham from free range acorn fed black pigs and cured for 36 months - you'll be hard pressed to find anything better than that. There was the tough yet full flavour imbued into every single slice. More importantly, its saltiness was subdued and that went well with pan con tomate.



Txigorki (£5) was a gamble. Ab balked at the sight of goats' cheese and muttered something about cheese coming from the wrong sources. To be fair, not everyone likes goats' cheese. Fine, given a choice, most of us would give it a miss. But the thought of sundried tomatoes with oregano on basque styled bread was rather tempting.

I thought that Camino can go easier on the layer of goats' cheese. Let's put it this way, if you are not a fan of goats' cheese to begin with, this wouldn't make you one.



The crowd pleaser was up next. Arroz Negro con calamares (£6.50) never fails to put a smile on my face. Calasparra rice cooked with squid ink and cuttlefish to give it its unmistakable colour and consistency. The calamari on top added the chewiness to the thick black rice. Oh, it was served pipping hot too and was still as good as I remembered it to be.



I loved the pinchitos morunos (£5.75). the lamb skewers had got the light yet smokey taste. Flavoured by just a bit of sea salt, I quickly cleared my stick. Ab was more reserved about this one,"It's too chewy. Tenderness' good but it's way too chewy."



Presa iberica (£9.50) was perhaps the highlight of the evening. Iberico black pig shoulder grilled to a crisp on the outside and still pinkish in the interior, ever so lightly salted, sliced and served with a dark sweet sauce. Adrienn told us that it was sherry based. Boy, this tasted heavenly. Even Ab was nodding his approval as we quickly cleaned it off. For my next visit, this would be the first one that I'd go for.



For dessert, I went for the crema catalana (£4.50). It did looked like the typical creme brulee when it arrived at our table. The catalan custard cream, however, tasted richer and had more depth than your run of the mill creme brulee.



Ab's tarta de santiago (£5) was an tart made with almond essence with a slight helping of almond nuts on the side. While it looked somewhat unspectacular, a small cup of warm milk helped brighten up the dessert a bit.



It was nearer to 9pm towards the end of the meal and the dining area was barely a quarter filled. The drizzle outside had died of a natural death and two couples were huddling outside determined to grab a smoke. The lights at Camino were dimmed a bit and the volume of background music was toned up slightly. There was a nice relaxing atmosphere all round with Wharf workers gradually filing in for a round before heading off for the weekend. Admittedly, Camino's location isn't exactly at the heart of Canary Wharf but its tried and tested formula might just win the day yet - provided the weather holds up.

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Sasa Sushi review - Angel's Japanese restaurant let down by its location

Address: 422 St John Street,
London EC1V 4NJ
Tel: 020 7837 1155
Nearest Tube station: Angel

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: below £15 pp
Service charge: 10%
Taste: **
Service: **
Ambience: ***Sasa Sushi is usually one of the first places where I bring visitors to. Not because it serves fabulous food but because it’s a mere minute’s walk from Angel Tube station and you’ll generally get seats at the Japanese restaurant – even for Friday and Saturday nights without having a prior reservation.

You mean it’s that bad?

Not really for Sasa Sushi does have its fans. The mother-in-law of a friend of mine who stayed over in London for a couple of months was gushing about how value for money Sasa Sushi’s lunch bento set (£10.50) is. By that, I assume that she was referring to quantity and not quality.



For starters, the staff at Sasa Sushi aren’t Japanese. Fine, that’s stereotyping but I strongly believe that this does apply specifically to Japanese restaurants. The Japanese has got this thing about perfection and service which transcends to their food. At least that’s what I have observed thus far.

Enough rhetoric, let’s talk food

Wife ordered the tempura udon (£8.50) and as usual she requested the tempura to be set aside from the udon. The waitress didn’t seem to understand that. Another staff, whom I can only assume to be the head waiter, overheard Wife’s request and replied, ”all our tempura is set aside.” What bliss.



While she didn’t find Sasa Sushi’s tempura udon fabulous, it was comparable to Tenshi’s. Of course, it can’t be compared to Koya’s. Still unconvinced, we looked over at JM who started tucking into his order.



JM’s expression after taking a morsel of tori karage (£9.50) said it all. “I’ve not tasted a karage saltier than this,” he mumbled. He pointed his chopsticks at it and asked me to try it. I bit into a piece and all I could taste was flour and salt, not even chicken. Incidentally, we had a fabulous karage at Necco just a day earlier. That tasted way better and is going for only half the price.



My katsu don (£8) was decent I must say. The layer of egg was still runny, which is the way I like it. Portion of pork was generous and not too tough. But it can do with less salt really.



The softshell crab roll was one of the better ones that I have tried. While the rolls that I had at Tenshi is flavoured primarily by soy sauce, Sasa Sushi’s came across as more subtle. There is of course horseradish if you would like to add some kick to it. The lightly deep fried softshell crab was not too compactly rolled in either.

Sasa Sushi vs Tenshi

So how does Sasa Sushi measure up to Tenshi, the only other Japanese restaurant serving Angel Islington? While Tenshi, which is fully staffed by Japanese, thrives on service, the quality of food (or at least the dishes that I have tried) is actually comparable to Sasa Sushi’s.

Although Tenshi is at a better location, right smacked in the middle of a hosts of other restaurants, Sasa Sushi with its larger floor space offers a better ambience. My verdict? Head to Sasa Sushi if you’re not in a hurry. Now, if only they can cut down on their salt.

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