Hawksmoor review Covent Garden Seven Dials steakhouse - scores on food, ambience and service

Address: 11 Langley Street
London WC2H 9JG
Tel: 020 7856 2154
Nearest Tube station: Covent Garden

Ratings (out of 5 *) Price: Below £20 pp
Service charge: 12.5%
Taste: *****
Service: *****
Ambience: *****
I have to realize how lost I would be without my phone. More precisely I would be utterly lost without my phone's GPS function. Just the other day, Wife and I wandered up and down Langley Court looking for Hawksmoor branch at Seven Dials only to find out that it's at Langley Street instead later on. Not that we mind really as we ended up at Dishoom for lunch instead.

This time round, I was determined to get it right and pinpointed Hawksmoor's location before setting off.

Tucked behind an ongoing renovation, Hawksmoor's main entrance would be hidden from view if you were to approach from Coventry Garden's main thoroughfare. Once you are through the heavy doors, you would be greeted by a friendly pair of receptionists in a decent size lobby - it was obvious that Hawksmoor was anxious to avoid the same issue in its restaurant at Commercial Road and the Seven Dials' branch was built for a horde.

As if that was not enough, there was a lift that for those who couldn't manage the two flight of stairs down. Not only that, Hawksmoor proved to be one of the most baby friendly places we have been to. The moment we were sat down, a staff very helpfully towed out a 'Stokke' highchair without prompting. Now, for the uninitiated, a Stokke chair is one of the sturdiest in the market; each Stokke "Tripp Trapp" costs around £120 and is built like a tank. The friendly gentleman who brought it to us joked that he tried sitting in one of those and verified that it was sturdy.

But we aren't particularly concern about baby highchairs here are we? Let's talk burgers then. Having verifying that Hawksmoor's steak is among the best in London, we were at the Seven Dial's branch for a sole purpose and that was to try out its famed Hawksmoor burger.



For £15, the burger comes with the choice of either beef dripping chips or triple cooked chips. The former, which sounded more sinful, was the natural choice for me. The lights were a bit dim when the burger came but I can assure you that the real thing looked tons better. Boy, was it heavenly. 100% Longhorn steak patty (cooked to medium rare at my request) topped with a melted cheddar cheese, some lettuce sandwich in two slightly crisped bread toasted till slightly brown - it was pure ecstasy (sorry Albion).

I was a bit sceptical with Wife's choice initially. When her kimchi burger arrived, I took a peep under the bonnet. Well, the burger looked very much like the Hawksmoor version save for a couple of kimchi slices just above the bottom piece of bread. Wife took a small bite and proclaimed that kimchi went surprisingly well with beef. I helped myself to it and concurred. It is an acquired taste really. Kimchi brought out another side of beef that no ordinary pickles could. No question for kimchi fans but if you aren't one, it'll take some getting use to. But I would urge you to go for that if you are bored of the same o' burger.

Wife and I are still quite amused about what happened when we were ordering dessert. The burgers with chips turned out to be more substantial than we thought but we thought that we had to try some dessert. We had some trouble deciding between peanut butter shortcake salted caramel ice-cream and mini sundae (we simply couldn't force down both), and decided to ask the waitress for a recommendation.

"Mini sundae!" the waitress quipped without any hint of hesitation and a wide grin. "Ok..." Wife continued," so should we go for the cornflakes, sticky toffee or..." "Sticky toffee!" the waitress volunteered before Wife could utter the word "chocolate". So there you go, our choice for dessert made with minimal fuss.

You know what they say about desserts. They are sinful, no doubt about that. However, there's always a safety catch. The most sinful ones invariably taste awfully sweet so you'll know when to stop (well, most of us do). But in all honestly, they should ban Hawksmoor's mini sundae. The mini sundae was one of those sneaky ones that didn't taste all that sweet but it did taste downright sinful. It's hard to describe really but the sticky toffee did its job well.

With the number of quality restaurants that have sprung up over at Covent Garden's Seven Dials' vicinity, we are looking for excuses to drop by every other weekend. Would I return to Hawksmoor again? Defintely. Would I recommend it? Absolutely. Well, you'll know what to go for when it comes to dessert.

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Bar Shu review London Soho Sichuan restaurant - dan dan noodles if nothing else

Address: 28 Frith Street
London W1D 5LF
Tel: 020 7287 8822
Nearest Tube station: Leicester Square

Ratings (out of 5 *) Price: Below £20 pp
Service charge: 12.5%
Taste: ***
Service: ***
Ambience: ****
One will never run out of places to dine at London’s Soho. The streets running perpendicularly north from Shaftesbury Avenue are lined with independent restaurants that you’ll be spoilt for choice.

We meant to go to Yauatcha for its Taste of Yauatcha a couple of weeks back but were told that the place was full (it was one of those spur of the moment thing). Instead, we cross a couple of streets and ended up at Bar Shu instead.

A friend who has been to Sichuan claimed that Bar Shu’s Sichuan food is the best she has come across outside the province. Having not visited Sichuan before, I can’t make the same observation but I was immediately taken by Bar Shu’s interior décor when we stepped in for an early dinner that Sunday.

Chinese opera masks and wooden carving art adorned the wooden panels that lined Bar Shu’s walls. There were even little touches such as a metallic water basin (half filled with water) put against a wall, which added to the entire feel. The wooden lined bar could be an exhibition piece on its own though the bottles of alcohol on display looked awkwardly out of place.



Bar Shu’s menu, which was filled with attractive photos, made the dishes look rather appealing; Chilli Cool’s gaudy menu faded in comparison. Also, I found out later that there was a dining room towards the back of the ground floor. A large round table that could easily sit ten, that is perfect for a private event.

“You must try the dan dan mian (noodles),” Wife urged as we flipped through the menu. She did lunch earlier at Bar Shu with a friend and promptly declared its dan dan noodles the best that she has tasted thus far.



Bar Shu’s dan dan noodles (£4.50) didn’t disappoint. Its thick noodles weren’t starchy and its broth tasted surprisingly clean and light despite its chilli oil base. It easily surpassed the one served at Chilli Cool.



We felt a bit adventurous and went for the sweet potato noodles (£4.50). The ultra starchy dish came in sour and spicy soup. You don’t really need a pair of chopsticks for this as a spoon would easily suffice. I struggled to tug at the soft slimy thin vermicelli like noodles. Would probably avoid this the next time round.



Twice cooked pork (£8.90) was a bit too dry for our liking. Not only that, it tasted somewhat mild bordering on being bland. Not for anyone who is looking for some ‘Sichuan kick’.



The bear’s paw was underwhelming. It was drier compared to the same dish at Empress of Sichuan. The only saving grace was the dried bean curd having soaked up the spicy sauce provided some flavour to the dish.



We went for sweet potato cakes (£4.50) for dessert and waited for long time for it to appear – longer than the time we spent waiting for all the rest of the dishes. Unlike the main courses, Bar Shu’s sweet potato cakes turned out better than expected. Red bean paste encased by soft sweet potato cake, the freshly prepared dessert is a must eat at Bar Shu.

Bar Shu, a stone’s throw from Shaftesbury, sits on an excellent location. Not only that, it boosts a second floor with windows overlooking the intersection between Frith Street and Romilly Street. Couple that with its refreshing Chinese decorated interior, it is set to capture any spill over crowd from Chinatown. One thing to note though, you would be asked for gratuity when paying the bill, just be mindful that 12.5% has already been added to the bill.

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Dishoom review - London Bombay Cafe minus the humidity

Address: 12 Upper St Martins Lane,
London WC2H 9EF
Tel: 020 7420 9320
Nearest Tube station: Leicester Square /
Covent Garden

Ratings (out of 5 *) Price: Below £15 pp
Service charge: N/A
Taste: ***
Service: ****
Ambience: *****
Having been informed by Toptable that there was no table available at Seven Dials’ Hawksmoor, we decided to head down to Covent Garden regardless and try our luck. As it turned out, I didn’t manage to find Hawksmoor and my phone conveniently decided to go on strike and hang on me. There was a slight drizzle that afternoon so we decided to retrace our steps and opted for a late lunch at Dishoom instead.

Dishoom, modelled after the Bombay cafes first started by the Persian immigrants, has been the talk of many fellow London food bloggers since it opened more than a year ago and with good reasons too. The first thing that struck me was the stack of colourfully spray painted bicycles heaped next to its entrance. The bustle was unmistakable once you stepped through its doors. Even at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon, there was a small queue building up in the small waiting area (with sofas, magazines and newspapers no less).



Fortunately, someone finished their meal soon after and we were led to our table just in front of the roti/naan preparatory area by a very upbeat and pleasant staff who looked as if we just made his day. I took a quick glance at Dishoom thoughtfully laid out menu that depicted the traditional Bombay cafes’ settings. With its tri-bladed fans revolving lazily high up on its ceilings and scores of family photos framed and displayed, hanging lamps, not to mention its Brentwood chairs, Dishoom looked like a scene cut out from what I imagined to be a Bombay café. The only thing missing was the humidity and flitting shadows cast by the whirling fans above.

It was apparent that much effort was made to recreate the Bombay café setting at Dishoom, right down to its toilet cubicles (I found out later) in the basement where shelves of Indian ointments, many of which I have used as a kid, were displayed in a sealed glass cabinet.

Despite having scores of staff rushing around, we waited for quite some time for our orders to be taken. Not that we minded really as the Little One was quite taken by a staff flipping roti before laying it on a heated metal domed surface. Someone eventually did come over. After apologizing profusely, he introduced himself as Daniel and promptly took down our orders.



The lamb samosa (£3.90) was the first ‘small plate’ to arrive. By all accounts, Dishoom’s samosas were one of the better ones that I had come across. Crispy skin lightly deep fried with clean oil with substantial minced lamb filling, it made a good finger dish. I couldn't help but compare that to the vegetable variety at Delhi Grill. 



I was a bit sceptical when Wife ordered the desi fish fingers (£3.90) and was I glad she did. It was a joy sinking my teeth into the chunks of battered and cumin marinated fish that came with a mild sweet and spicy dip. They were a bit limp but that just meant that we were looking at fish fillet and not meshed up or reformed fish.



The lamb boti kabak (£7.20) came marinated with red chilli, garlic and ginger. The grilled chunks of lamb retained the smoky aftertaste but was not overdone. The dish was presented with a small clump of coriander and some red onion slices. An interesting combination, which only served to enhance the lamb’s flavour.



We had a garlic naan (£1.90) to top it up. While fragrant and flavourful, I couldn’t help but think that it was a tad over burnt. Some bits of garlic tasted bitter as a result.



Dessert came in the form of gola ice (£1.90) and kulfi on a stick (£2.50). Gola ice reminded me of the ice-kachang dish back home. Essentially syrup doused over grated ice, the cold dessert (often succulent sweet) was a hot favourite back in tropical Singapore. Wife caught a glimpse of a replica of the green metallic ice grating machine at Dishoom drinks counter and promptly pointed it out to me. “Haven’t seen that for quite some time,” she reminisced, ”Don’t think that they actually use it though.”

Dishoom’s gola ice could be grated finer and the passion fruit/ginger combination was a bit over the board for me. It could sure do with some condensed milk but I suspect that would be hardly the traditional way of doing that.

Kulfi on a stick was a mango concentrated elongated cone shaped ice-cream impaled on a thick stick. Its almost sweet milky texture was a welcome change to gola ice.



The unlikely star of the meal, however, had to be the house chai (£1.90). It was sweet with just the right tinge of spice. Thick enough without being irritating to the throat, it was without question the best chai we have ever come across. If anything, we would return to Dishoom just for its house chai. An indulgence but it was that good.

A sentence in the Dishoom’s menu read “All dishes would be dishoomed to your tables”. Intrigued, I asked Ab the very next day what Dishoom meant. He explained that it was nothing but the exaggerated sound effect of a punch thrown. Looking slightly bemused that an Indian restaurant has named itself that, I wouldn’t be surprised that he would be making a trip to Dishoom pretty soon to check it out.



A welcome addition to the Seven Dials area, which was unfortunately known more for its tourist traps, Dishoom is one of the few restaurants that I would honestly recommend to anyone who is in the area and looking for a decent meal at a reasonable price.

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Alisan review Wembly Chinese dimsum restaurant - fabulous century egg and pork congee

Address: Wembley Retail Park,
London HA9 0EG
Tel: 020 8903 3888
Nearest Tube station: Wembly Park

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: Below £15 pp
Service charge: 12.5%
Taste: ****
Service: ***
Ambience: ***I have heard that Alisan at Wembley serves a mean dim sum but the journey required to get there puts me off. So when one wintry snowy day I was offered a ride up to Wembley to join some friends on a dim sum feast I quickly seized the chance.

Due to poor traffic conditions it took us almost an hour and a half to get there and we were famished by the time we arrived. In our state everything tasted like manna to us! Though when our appetites have been appeased a bit, and we were in a better position to appreciate the food for what they were, we agreed that the dim sum at Alisan was a cut above the offerings of Royal China , our benchmark for acceptable dim sum.

I loved their congee something which Royal China does not even have on its menu which I have always thought to be rather strange. Isn't congee a crowd pleaser that all self respecting Cantonese restaurants should serve? I had mine with century egg and pork and am pleased to say that it was perfect, smooth with just the slightest touch of graininess for texture it was the ultimate comfort food for a cold winter day.

The usual favourites were competently executed. Xiao long bao had skins of just the right texture which with one bite yielded the delicious broth within. Cheung fan was smooth and was a delight with the fresh prawn filling. Their exotic creations were just as delightful, of which my favourite would have to be the yam croquettes with scallops. Who would have known that sweet yam paste would have worked so well with scallops? It was simply genius.

Not everything was perfect however. The cheung fun with fried dough in it was disappointing the fried dough tasting flat and of hardly anything. The beef hor fun was ordinary nothing to shout about. These were but minor glitches in an otherwise perfect meal. Now if only they have a branch in Central London!

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Hana review Holloway Japanese restaurant - relaxing atmosphere and friendly service

Address: 150A Seven Sisters Road,
London N7 7PL
Tel: 020 7281 2226
Nearest Tube station: Finsbury Park

Ratings (out of 5 *) Price: Below £15 pp
Service charge: NA
Taste: **
Service: ****
Ambience: ****
For some reason, I rarely venture beyond Islington & Highbury Tube Station along Holloway Road. I finally found the chance to when our desperation for The King's Speech drove us to catch the movie at Odeon Holloway Newbies showing. For the uninitiated, the Newbies showing is exactly like the Baby Club at Screen On The Green. That's probably the only reason why parents with little screamers remain sane.

Two hours later, we were out on the street feeling a tad peckish. "Was searching on Urbanspoon and saw that some Japanese restaurant by the name of Hana is nearby," Wife volunteered, "Fancy some Japanese?"

We took a turn along Holloway Road into Seven Sisters Road and proceeded up along the road. In all honesty, the vicinity, with its motley mix of shops, looked hardly the place for a Japanese restaurant much less a decent one.

We did eventually reached Hana, which was located at the far northeast of Seven Sisters Road. Imagine our surprise when after walking past some dodgy looking Chinese takeaways, Hana turned out to be a proper well lit restaurant with ambience that would give some of the better known Japanese cafe cum restaurant in London a run for their money.

With soothing Japanese songs, which sounded suspiciously like lifted from the tons of Japanese serials I lugged from back home, Hana looked every bit like where you would like to unwind after a long day at work. There was a small sit down bar just in front of the sushi where customers getting takeaways could grab a beer while waiting.

The gentleman who served us was all smiles when he brought us the menus. I found out later that Hana was family run. It figured though; the service was really personal and our little one just couldn't stop giggling at the lady proprietor, Mrs Song.

Let's talk food shall we? 

In a bid to stick to my diet, I went for the chicken karaage and tofu teriyaki.



Hana's chicken karaage (£4) though generous in size reminded us of the disappointing one that we had at Sa Sa Sushi. It looked and tasted powdery; instead of chicken thigh meat, Hana used thin slices of breast meat, hardly appetizing and a far cry from Necco's.



The tofu teriyaki (£5.80) was likewise nothing to shout about. Thin slices of deep fried soft tofu doused with teriyaki sauce, a sprinkling of sesame seeds with a handful of stir fried beansprouts and sliced onion cushioning beneath them, the dish could be right out of the 'zi-char' dishes at the coffeeshops back home.





Two good size shrimps and a couple of vegetable tempura coupled with seaweed and strips of fried tofu skins in udon, I thought that Hana's tempura udon at £8 was quite good value. Its soup was subtle, just the way I liked it. Wife was certain that its udon was factory made though. These days, every single udon dish that she cane across had to be benchmarked against Koya's.



We also got ika sushi (£3 for two) and ikura sushi (£4 for two). While the salmon roe was fabulous, the sushi fell apart quite easily showing that the rice weren't soft enough.



The golden chestnut ice-cream (£3.50) came highly recommended by Mrs Song. The ice-cream tastes of golden syrup - I should have realized by its name. There were bits of chestnuts interspersed in the two scoops of ice-cream, which added some texture to them.



While Hana is a pleasant Japanese restaurant bar in Holloway vicinity, I get the feeling that it is more of a local eatery albeit its wonderful ambience and friendly service. That said, Hana remains a shining beacon in that part of Islington.

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Market Coffee House review Spitalfields Brushfield Street - cosy English cafe restaurant

Address: 50/52 Brushfield Street,
London E1 6AG
Tel: 020 7247 4110
Nearest Tube station: Liverpool Street

Ratings (out of 5 *) Price: Below £20 pp
Service charge: 10%
Taste: ****
Service: ***
Ambience: ****
Given a choice, I would prefer very much to work in the City proper than Canary Wharf, not least that the Wharf area reminded me of a more staid Raffles Place back home. I’m sure you would agree that the Square Mile comes up tops when it comes to dining choices. That’s especially true when it comes to the Bishopgate area.

Over at Bishopgate, you have choices ranging from small Japanese outfit like Tsuru to traditional English like St John Bread and Wine and steak houses such as Hawksmoor. One particular restaurant cafe that I normally frequent is Market Coffee House.

Market Coffee House, which sits in the intersection of Brushfield Street and Crispin Street used to be more of a coffee place than a proper sit down restaurant. Customers looking for a cuppa would queue up at the counter to place their orders, very much like Starbucks et al. Recently, Market Café has upped its game and converted itself into a full service restaurant.



We dropped by the other day for a quick dinner. In the absence of burgers on the menu (at least I didn’t see one), I opted for the salt beef sandwich (£10). While it tipped towards the pricey side, the salt beef was rather substantial and packed a mouthful.



A notice stuck on Market Coffee House's entrance caught Wife’s attention - “6 oyster fritters!” and she ordered just that. We were amazed at how small the dish was. Half a dozen of oyster fritters were stacked on top of one another on a small plate, which was too small even for a tapas. The presentation could be less stark. At £12 per portion, surely Market Coffee House could throw in some salad leaves?

That said, those oyster fritters were soft, light and lemony. An absolute delight in the dead of winter. This would be a great finger food accompanied by a pint or two.



Market Coffee House took on a different setting as the day drew dark. The cosy setting complemented by the dim lighting and heavy wooden interior gave it a comfy feeling that we could all afford when the temperature dipped across London. Perfect if you are looking for a quiet dinner for two.

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Yauatcha review London Soho dimsum - A taste of Yauatcha, Yauatcha tasting menu

Address: 15 Broadwick St,
London W1F 0DL
Tel: 020 7613 3222
Nearest Tube station: Leicester Square/
Tottenham Court Road/Oxford Circus

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: Below £35 pp
Service charge: 12.5%
Taste: ****
Service: ***
Ambience: ***After a revamp of its menu sometime back, Yauatcha had its fair share of brickbats. Not only it no longer served macarons, its dim sum menu had shrunken considerably with a noticeable increase in prices, which we noticed in our previous visit to Yauatcha. For a period of time, Yauatcha seemed to have lost its glitter.

We were walking past it the other day after making our rounds at Oxford Street when we noticed something amiss about Yauatcha. Its macarons and cakes were back in the glass display counter again.

On closer inspection, there was a new addition to the menu - a taste of Yauatcha, essentially a tasting menu for two including the likes of baked venison puff, crystal dumpling wrap with pumpkins and three styled mushroom cheung fun, all for the price of £28.88 (excluding service charge). On our previous visits to Yauatcha, we would end up forking out around £25pp so that sounded like a fantastic deal. The only catch was that it was only available between 3-6pm Mon-Fri. We made a reservation for late lunch the next day.

Yauatcha has never been known to please those looking for a Chinese dining experience. If you are looking for the full works, you might be better off at Baker Street's Phoenix Palace where gaudy red was the theme colour with polished wooden panels and large Chinese lanterns adorning the entire seating floor - very much like a more affordable China Tang at Hyde Park Corner. But there was never a doubt about the quality of dim sum at Yauatcha.

Taste of Yauatcha not only allowed us to get a sampling of a variety of dim sum dishes, it did away with the trouble of deciding who should be getting the 'third piece'. Dim sum lovers would know that dim sum dishes are often served in threes for some reason and that made sharing between groups of two or even four rather bothersome. Every single item in Taste of Yauatcha came in twos and to make our job easier, Yauatcha even separated all items into two sets.

Now come the downside. Everything was served at once. No longer could you afford to leisurely enjoy the experience of 'yum cha' or 'the act of drinking tea' in Cantonese. Do that and you would risk your dim sum going cold, effectively spoiling the meal. There was some obvious changes in Yauatcha service staff as well; the staff were predominantly Cantonese and their service were somewhat perfunctory.

We found ourselves finishing our tasting menu within thirty minutes flat. It reminded me of the so called dim sum meals still found in some hawker centres back in Singapore where all items were precooked and everything will be served the moment you were done ordering.

That said, Yauatcha was still as good as ever. My favourite include the chicken taro croquette and roasted duck pumpkin puff. While the items on the tasting menu might not change in the foreseeable future, it would give you a taste of Yauatcha and to me, the restaurant still reigned as the king of London dim sum.

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Food Lab review Islington Essex Road - rustic Italian restaurant with a homely feel

Address: 56 Essex Road
London N1 8LR
Tel: 020 7226 1001
Nearest Tube station: Angel

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: Below £15 pp
Service charge: N/A
Taste: ****
Service: ***
Ambience: ****Having grown a bit tired of pub brunches in Islington, we were out and about looking for something different when we thought of the Food Lab along Islington Essex Road. “Strange name,” I muttered under my breath as we pushed through the door. Can’t really blame me, can you? It’s hard to be credible with a name like that especially for an Italian café and restaurant.

It marveled me how Food Lab managed to squeeze in that much seating within such a confined space. The ground floor would bound to be filled to the brim with baby buggies during weekend mornings and some desperate parents even carried theirs down the flight of stairs to the basement seating area, which wasn’t much larger. There was a motley collection of toys for toddlers tucked in a corner at the basement. Worn out by bites from salivating mouths, constant poking and yanking, these toys (or the remnants of it) weren’t exactly in the best of condition. Then again, where else in Angel Islington can you find a restaurant that provide a play area for kids?

Bach was playing softly in the background that morning. There was this rustic feel to the entire place; jams lined shelves were stacked up on one wall while wines and pasta on another. Jugs filled with carrot shavings and mint leave scented drinking water were placed strategically against the wall. Furniture included rickety wooden tables and straw chairs. It could very well be the family run village cafeteria.

I fell in love with the place almost immediately.

The service, while all smiles, had all the characteristics of a small setup. Some orders were missed and waiting time was a tad long. The Today’s Special board scribbled “Every dishes!” and the menu were filled with names like Super Lasagna, Vegetarian Lasagna, Full English - Italian style.



I was naturally curious about the Full English – Italian style (£8). To be honest, I wasn’t sure what was so Italian about the full English breakfast. Well, the beans were a bit mushy, probably homemade, and instead of plain toast, there was some crinkled bread. Maybe that was it. I was given a bottle of Tesco brown sauce for the dish, which went against the image that Food Lab portrayed.



Wife ordered tagliatelle con zucchine e basilica fresco (£8). Competently done, the tangy sauce that tagliatelle was tossed in gave the dish a welcome twist.



We were clueless about Italian pasties and we weren’t quite sure what pastry and cake (£2) we ordered as we basically pointed to some on the counter. The harried staff didn’t seem to be in a position to tell us what they were. The pastry and cake came nicely presented laid on a square slate. An apt round up to a relatively satisfying meal.

We were so taken by the Food Lab that we went back for a couple of dinners and brunches quite soon after. It didn’t disappoint at all. In the evening, the restaurant with its candlelit tables took on a wholly different ambience – almost romantic. Just one thing though, Food Lab had this thing about displaying pasta dishes in plastic takeaway containers lined up in the glass display counter, only to be heated up when ordered. It would be great if they could just display them in proper plates instead.

The last time I was there, an Italian family totting a London guidebook was dining in its basement. From the looks of it, they were enjoying their meal quite a bit. If it is good enough for people in the know, it is good enough for me. An asset to the high street chain stores ridden Angel Islington, Food Lab is definitely a keeper.

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Of food, comments and nostalgia

Image by Artist Xiong

As you might have already noticed, I don't get a whole lot of comments on London Chow. Some say that the number of comments on a site is directly correlated to the number of readers the site has got. If that's true, my entire audience would consists of a grand total of two. And that's the very reason why I get a bit excited whenever I get a comment; the next comment would mean that my audience has increased by a whopping 50%!

Wife has warned me to leave the Little One out of my posts. In fact, I suspect she would very much prefer me not to mention her at all in the posts. I find it difficult to comply really. Firstly, I almost never eat alone. Secondly, it would be odd to just write about the food and ignore the company you're with. After all, the food placed on your table is really just part of the entire dining experience, isn't it?

The best meal that I had was at a porridge stall in Chinatown back home when I was a kid. Every now and then after Dad knocked off work, he would bring Mum and I to that particular stall perched on the side of the road just beside an open drain. By all accounts, it wasn't the most exalting dining experience but I loved it. I remembered balancing on a high stool sipping the piping hot porridge while Dad recounted to Mum about that happened at work that day. I brought Wife there years later and would have brought the Little One as well if not for the fact that the stall is no longer there after a government initiative to clean up the local hawkers' act.

How often do we go back to the same place over and over again trying to capture the nostalgia long gone only to leave disappointed even though the dishes are exactly the same? That's why I do place quite a bit of emphasis on things other than the food itself.

Fine, what's the point of me sharing all that, you might ask. Well, my review on Ottolenghi received its first comment (yes!) sometime back. It was made anonymously. Anonymous commentators are really wildcards, you never know what you're going to get. Unlike some, I do publish all comments (like I said, I don't get alot of that). This particular one found the term Little One "sickly saccharine" and asked what was wrong with the word "baby". I left that one unanswered. I am still thinking of a smart reply. Meanwhile keep the comments coming and here's wishing you a sumptuous year ahead!

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