Afghan Kitchen Islington Green review - obviously, presentation isn't the key here

Address: 36 Islington Green
London N1 8DU
Tel: 020 7359 8019
Nearest Tube station: Angel

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: Below £20pp
Service charge: 12.5%
Taste: ***
Service: ***
Ambience: **
I'm tempted to say that it's all in the somewhat overpriced rice but that would hardly be fair to its rather decent meat dishes. The modest setup is located just across Essex Road opposite Islington Green. Interestingly, despite its prominent location, you could walk straight past it without realizing. It could be due to its understated façade (the restaurant’s name appears not on its front but on a column inside the restaurant), simple furniture or even the plain food counter. If you have not guessed it already, it's Afghan Kitchen I am talking about.

Despite hearing good reviews (both online and offline) about Afghan Kitchen, I have never stepped foot into the restaurant. Beside the reasons above, I am not exactly a fan of large communal tables - there are two large ones on Afghan Kitchen's ground floor. The last thing I need is having a stranger spit into my plate and elbow me with his wild gestures. Not saying that someone would but just in case.


It so happened that Wife met up with L the other day and L suggested having lunch at Afghan Kitchen. The meal must have been fabulous because Wife called me up at my mobile immediately after the meal and went on and on about how good the 'curry' at Afghan Kitchen was. I would not have given it much thought if not for Wife finishing the call with,"You must try it."

Since LO's arrival, the number of times we eat out has decreased drastically. I recall a time when I actually had a backlog of restaurant reviews and tons of photos just queuing to be posted on London Chow. No more. I think American in London understands exactly what I'm saying (read her first paragraph of Delaying the Inevitable). But after awhile, things got a bit better and I actually compiled a list of 6 tips on bringing your baby to restaurants. Regardless, we tend not to stray too far when we eat out these days. Thank gawd I'm in Angel; imagine if I were to be in, I don't know, Canada Waters for example.

Forgive me, I digressed. So there we were standing outside Afghan Kitchen at precisely 11.30am on Saturday morning. A "Closed" sign was hanging jovially on the restaurant's door. Peering through the glass door, I saw that Afghan Kitchen would only be opened at 12pm so we went to have a stroll at the Tesco Metro just beside it in the meantime. Well, Tesco Metro isn't exactly Asda. After making three rounds of the entire store and memorising half the prices, we stumbled out exactly thirty minutes later.

As we made our way into Afghan Kitchen, a staff greeted Wife warmly, "Are you here for the lamb spinach again?" Well, lamb spinach it should be then. Not that we had much choices anyway; if memory serves me right, there were only three meat and three vegetarian main dishes to choose from on the menu. And we were to have that with rice only (bread is served only in the evenings).





Afghan Kitchen makes no pretence that it uses a microwave to heat up your food. In fact, all the food has been preprepared and dished out onto huge ceramic tubs placed unceremoniously behind an unadorned glass counter. In that respect, it reminds me of the manner Food Lab, which is just down Essex Road, serves its pasta.



Afghan Kitchen's food isn't exactly pretty either as you can see from the photo of the qurma suhzi gosht or lamb in spinach (£6.95) above. It was essentially chunks of lamb dunked in gooey spinach topped with oil. This traditional Afghan dish (I did a search online) actually tasted much better than it looked. But I couldn't help but think that it was the rice (£3.50 per serving) that did the trick. I could have sworn that there was coconut milk involved in the cooking as it tasted faintly like the nasi lemak (fragrant rice) that I grew up eating. Afghan Kitchen's lamb in spinach could very well be a lamb kambing, only less pungent and healthier.



Its lavand-e-murgh or chicken in yoghurt (£6.95) wasn't too much of a looker as well. The only way to differentiate this and lamb in spinach is perhaps the colour and the slice of lemon floating on its surface. I thought that the chicken was a bit dry but nothing a huge spoonful of oily yoghurt couldn't solve.

A pity on the tea though. We would have thought that with the list of seemingly authentic Afghan dishes, there would be some traditional Afghan beverages as well. Nope, regular breakfast tea at 80p a pop. No fruits or sweets were served at the end of the meal. Instead, we were handed a wad of chewing gum each. As I was chewing my heart out, I relished the thought that the gum is still officially banned back home.

I still dislike dining on canteen styled tables. The meal at Afghan Kitchen didn't change that a bit. It helped that we were the only customers during the entire meal so I survived unscathed. Given how near Afghan Kitchen is to our home, we would probably return again. However, I couldn't help but feel a bit sore for forking out £7 (exclusive of 12.5% service charge) just for plain rice. That's a tad dear even for rice cooked in coconut milk.

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The origins of sushi - how does sushi come about

I have not met anyone who isn't in love with this single dish that is almost synonymous with Japan. Unsurprisingly, it has been ranked 4th by CNN in a recent compilation of the 50 best food in the world. Some might get a bit squirmy about popping in raw fish but there are always cooked varieties such as shrimp Nigirizushi (boiled shrimped sushi) and unagi (eel) sushi. For the vegetarians among us, tamogoyaki (egg omelette) sushi and inarizushi (rice stuffed in aburaage bags) are always welcomed. A quick dip into shoyu (fermented soy bean sauce) with a dab of wasabi and it is good to go. A perfect finger food if you are looking for a fuss free meal. Some events have even taken to sushi catering as a result.

However, like most delicacies, sushi has a humble origin. Contrary to the popular belief, sushi did not originate from Japan. Different sources have named with China or Southeast Asia where the making of sushi was first documented. As a means of preserving fish, gutted and cleaned fish was wrapped and fermented in rice for several months before being consumed. The fish itself served as a important protein source while the rice, having done its job, was simply discarded.


This way of preserving fish found its way to Japan only at around 8th century AD. It still exists in its oldest form as narezushi in Japan till this day. However, a more popular form of sushi (hayazushi) took hold in Japan in the Edo period (1603 - 1868). Instead of having the fish alone, it is often consumed with rice seasoned with vinegar, vegetables and dried preserved foods. Even then, each region began to develop their own style of preparing hayazushi, depending on the local produce and their seasonal availability.

In the 1800s, mobile food stalls took over the sushi scene in Edo (the present day Tokyo). The quickened pace of life then demanded food that can be consumed easily. By then sushi had evolved to simply draping a slice of fermented fish over a oblong mound of rice. Ironically, it was the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 that helped spread this form of sushi (nigiri-zushi) throughout Japan when former nigiri-zushi chefs having lost their jobs migrated to other parts of the country.

Hanaya Yohei (1799 - 1858) was generally credited for being the father of modern sushi. The fish used in sushi during his time was hauled in from Tokyo bay. As refrigeration hasn't been invented, spoilage of fish was a concern. Instead of fermenting the fish, a process that could take months, Yohei either cooked his fish slightly or marinated them in vinegar before serving them on vinegared rice balls. In this form, they could be eaten on the go with either chopsticks or simply fingers. In fact, as these were served on makeshift stalls on the streets and due to their relatively short preparation time, they were probably the first fast foods the world has seen.

While the concept is similar, Yohei's sushi was still departure from what we are accustomed to. While the popular sushi variety still consist of draping a fish slice over cooked short grain rice, the fish is no longer fermented or even preserved with vinegar for that matter. Freshness is the key here. Fish, once caught, is flash frozen only to be thawed just before being serve so as to preserve its freshness. After the Japanese government outlawed street sushi stall over hygiene concerns, sushi can only be found in restaurants and its preparation has since become an art with sushi training schools set up and some of its chefs achieving almost celebrity status.

Since then, dish that started as a simple slice of fish fermented in rice has gone on to the conveyor belt in the equivalent of sushi fast food restaurants and even delivered to the comforts of one's home (check out sushi delivery in London). Sushi is hardly just some fish and rice. It's a dish that has its fair share of evolution over hundreds of years. Think about it when you next bite into one.

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Sitaaray Drury Lane Holborn review - pure Bollywood cinematic magic

Address: 167 Drury Lane
London WC2B 5PG
Tel: 020 7269 6422
Nearest Tube station: Holborn

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: Below £40pp
Service charge: 12.5%
Taste: ****
Service: ***
Ambience: ****
M likes it. It is easy to tell why. "That's a really famous movie," he tipped his head towards a poster as we walked into Sitaaray. We turned a corner and were greeted by dozens more, one could barely see the wall. I know I had to get M along when I receive the invitation from Sitaaray. Obviously, I had made the right call.

I have always loved Bollywood movies since as far as I can remember. When I was a kid, Bollywood movies were often telecasted at an unearthly hour of 4pm with the implicit understanding that only retirees and housewives would watch them. They didn't take into account the school children who would rush home just so that they could see the mustachio hero dodging bullets and even tossing back the occasional grenade. Never mind that the great majority of us didn't understand a single word in the dialogue, the action was all that mattered. Well, I had done my fair share of dancing around trees back then. Enough said.



Sitaaray is a dream come true for any Bollywood cinematic fan. Walls adorned with film posters and actors' photos aside, there are villains and heroes themed rooms on its first floors too. Unsurprisingly reservations are strictly necessary for these rooms. Not only that, every single item in Sitaaray's cocktail menu is named after some Bollywood movie.



I could on about that but let's talk about the food instead. Sitaaray functions on the buffet styled dining. For dinners, customers can choose to go with the vegetarian (£22.95) or non-vegetarian (£22.95) menus. Handy if you are not quite sure of what Indian dishes to go for. Once you have made your selection, each item on the menu will be brought to your table (more than ten items in each menu). Call that a taster and you would be able to request for more of the same kind thereafter.

To sample Sitaaray's entire menu, M and I went for both the vegetarian and the non-vegetarian options. As the dishes came one after another, M enthralled me with bits of trivia of the more popular Bollywood movies. "See that guy in the poster?" he beckoned to one of the more prominent ones just above the entrance. "We call him Big B simply because he is household name back home," he carried on wistfully. For the uninitiated, he was of course referring to Amitabh Bachchan.





The meal went past in a blur but there were some notable items. dahi batata puri (translates literally to yoghurt potato deep fried bread) left a deep impression. The chaat comes in a good size and you can just pop it into your mouth whole. Pierce the crispy exterior and the yoghurt potato mixture will ooze out instance. Fabulous.



We were rather impressed with the two fish items on the non vegetarian menu - pudine fish and amritsari fish. Amritsari fish would probably be the equivalent of the battered cod that we are all so familiar with, only more tender and infused with carom seeds. Pudina fish is chargrilled fish tikkas layered with a mint and green chilli paste. The result is a soft flavourful bite.





I am never a fan of grilled chicken for those that I have encountered more misses than hits. Once left in the grill for too long, the resultant piece is both dry and tough. Sitaaray's chicken archaari (flavoured with pickling spices) and chicken chakundari (marinated with a spicy beetroot mix) were done just nice. A hint of soot on the surface and tender as ever within. We would probably ask for more of those if not for the fact that we were stuffed by the end of meal.









We had a chat with Sajeeb, Sitaaray's affable head chef, later on and M, after complimenting him for the tasty spread, asked him why the vegetable nilgiri kurm were surprisingly crunchy. I was none the wiser but that apparently shouldn't be the case. Sajeeb quickly acknowledged that and pointed out that he tweaked the menu only quite recently after receiving some feedback.



As Sajeeb and M were deep in conversation discussing the finer points of Indian cuisine, I sat back and sipped my Mother Nature (a non-alcoholic lassi named after the 1957 film by Mehboob Khan). The sweet Punjabi drink brought a quick cool to the "heatiness" of the meal.

As we walked out of Sitaraay, I asked M what he thought of the meal. "It was good," he exhaled while patting his stomach. Knowing him, that was pretty high up on the complimentary scale. I took a glance back at Sitaaray. It didn't feel like a meal. It felt like we had just finished a movie. And a darn good one at that.


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10 quick tips when buying wines - get more value for money

Photo by Iguanasan

Wine is perhaps the most complex of all foods or drinks, in that there are simply so many different ways to enjoy it. Many people dedicate a lots of time to studying wine, learning subtle taste differences, and even traveling to the world’s most renowned vineyards. For some people, these are fun activities that can lead to a fruitfully thorough understanding of wine. However, for others, wine is nothing more than a choice between red and white. So, before you pick up your next bottle from your local shop or Marks & Spencer online, here are 10 quick tips when buying wine for casual wine drinkers interested in learning a bit more about their wine.

1. Research – There is plenty of literature and advice on the Internet regarding wine. You can even join clubs or sign up for mailing lists that provide regular wine buying tips. This can save you from simply guessing when buying your next bottle.

2. Plan Your Whole Meal – If you are buying wine for a specific occasion, you will want to purchase the wine last. This way, you know what kind of meal you are having, and will be able to seek advice about what wines pair well with whatever food you will be having.

3. Know Where To Shop – Do not simply assume that the closest grocery store has an adequate wine selection. There are many smaller shops that offer a wider range and better wine than most chain grocery stores. Find one that you like, and get to know its selection.

4. Do Not Get Caught Up In Price – Cheap wine is not necessarily bad wine. In fact, more and more, vineyards and stores are putting out very high quality wines at very affordable prices. Do not assume you have to spend lots of money to enjoy high quality.

5. Consider Shopping Online – An extension to tip number 3, you may also want to look online, as there are a number of wine stores with enormous selections and affordable prices.

6. Try Different Regions – Wine is produced all over the world, and there are many highly respected wine producing regions. Make sure to try wine from all over the world, as it can open your eyes to new tastes and preferences.

7. Experiment – You don’t have to blindly try random wines, but trying new things, or things you aren’t sure if you will like, can lead to a broader understanding.

8. Taste First – Look for wine tasting events in your area – they are fun to attend, and are a great way of getting quick exposure to a variety of different wines.

9. Relax – Wine can be overwhelming, especially due to the number of “experts” out there. Just remember that everyone starts somewhere, and you will be able to simply enjoy getting to know wines.

10. Trust Your Taste – Advice is valuable, and popular opinion counts for something, but ultimately your wine experience is about developing your own taste. Trust your preferences above all else!

This post is brought to you by Marks & Spencer. Have you got any other tips to share? What's your favourite wine?

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Canonbury Kitchen Islington Upper Street review - plagued by bad location

Address: 19 Canonbury Lane
London N1 2AS
Tel: 020 7226 9791
Nearest Tube station: Highbury and Islington

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: Below £15pp
Service charge: 12.5%
Taste: **
Service: ***
Ambience: ***
It was one of those typical English summer day - light drizzle punctuated by spots of sunshine and the occasional downpours. To be fair, the downpours over in London can at best be considered as light drizzles back home. Here, you could still walk a mile through one without a brolly and not having your underwear soaked through.

Wisely, we decided against straying far from home on Sunday so we ended up at Canonbury Kitchen for brunch. I call it brunch not because Canonbury Kitchen calls it that but I had deliberately starved myself of breakfast after putting on a whopping 2kg in a fortnight. Regardless, that should up my appetite for the carbonara that I would order at Canonbury Kitchen after that.

I have always wanted to check it out since we chances upon it over a weekend. But it was on of those restaurants that did dinners only so we ended up at Sea Fish - a sorry excuse for a fish and chips restaurant.



Having had her lunch at Canonbury Kitchen earlier on Friday, Wife told me that the Italian restaurant is now opened for brunch (11am-4pm) from Fridays to Sundays. So there we were with LO in tow, braving the rain for our brunch.

Since its opening around six months ago, it seems that business has been a bit slow at Canonbury Kitchen. The owner whose name I neglected to ask told me that "they do most of their business in the evening". Shouldn't that be the case? I mean, the restaurant didn't use to open for any other times, did it? Presumably the slow business due to the fact that Canonbury Kitchen isn't on Islington Upper Street but on Canonbury Lane, a street that runs perpendicular to the main thoroughfare.

If it's not doing so well in the location department, you would have thought that it would fare better either on the price or food factor. A quick look at its somewhat short menu shows that most dishes go for around £7 to £9. Very reasonably priced for a decent restaurant in the area I supposed. Foodwise, it turned out to be a mixed bag.



As mentioned, I was gunning for Canonbury Kitchen's carbonara. After having decent one at Dolcetto earlier, I was hungry for more. In more ways than one, the carbonara (£7.50) at Canonbury Kitchen reminded me of a recipe an Italian friend passed me. "Absolutely no cream, just egg and milk..." she told me firmly. The spaghetti was tossed in an eggy mixture (much like bits of scrambled eggs). Those who are in search of authenticity in their carbonara would probably love this. It didn't do it for me unfortunately, particularly when the spaghetti hadn't been properly drained and the chef was overenthusiastic with the salt.



The veal Milanese (£8.50) came either with chips or salad. Though Wife asked for chips, the dish arrived with some lettuce and onions slices. We didn't realized that that was the salad and asked a staff whether the chips would be arriving soon. "Ah yes" was the reply and a plate of chips appeared minutes later. We found out that the chips set us back by a further £3.50 when the bill arrived. Believe me, we did query the bill but the staff mumbled something along the lines of we weren't clear with our orders.

We would have been less sore about it if the veal tasted fine. It wasn't. It was halfheartedly cooked and limp. "Should have gone for the pasta," Wife muttered.



Dessert was apple strudel (£5). Warm chopped up apples filled the thin pastry complemented by a generous scoop of vanilla ice-cream. With a sprinkle of softened pine nuts dispersed in the strudel, the dessert was fabulous.

Canonbury Kitchen's food isn't brilliant. Not by a far stretch. But I've seen worse restaurants in the vicinity having more customers on a Sunday afternoon (yes, I'm talking about Sea Fish). Its location and lack of publicity aren't helping matters a bit. They have put up a small billboard along Upper Street pointing towards the restaurant. Only time will tell how well that'll work.


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Dolcetto Islington Chapel Market review - it's the simple dishes that matter

Address: 18 Chapel Market
London N1 9EZ
Tel: 020 7278 2825
Nearest Tube station: Angel

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: Below £10pp (set lunch)
Service charge: N/A
Taste: ****
Service: ***
Ambience: ***
“It’s good...” There was a hint of surprise in Wife’s voice as she tucked into her spaghetti bolognese. To be fair, we didn’t expect much of our lunch at Dolcetto. It was a sunny afternoon with temperature just over 25C with clear skies overhead, atypical of the English summer. We heard from L that Tai-An, which is a local Vietnamese pan-Asian grocery store at Chapel Market, has taken up the shop space beside it and set up a Vietnamese eatery.

When we reached Tai-An at around 2pm that day, we realized that everything on the menu is pre-prepared and laid out on the counter, much like the ‘economy rice’ back home. As the food was prepared a couple of hours before (they open for lunch at 12pm), it looked rather unappetizing and that was how we ended up at Dolcetto, which is a couple of doors down.

Things didn’t look very promising with Dolcetto either. It was empty for one. Granted that it was well past lunch time but I do get a feeling that Dolcetto caters more for dinner than lunch. There was a lunchtime promotion going on - £7.95 for a pasta or pizza with drinks. The surly waitress (she did warm up considerably later on) quickly informed us that the deal applies to only those “non-seafood” items. A quick glance through the pasta menu revealed only two such dishes – spaghetti bolognese and spaghetti carbonara, unless I have missed something, everything else come with either prawns, squid or fish.

Enough justification on how we ended up with spaghetti bolognese and spaghetti carbonara. Unlike La Forchetta, Dolcetto is upfront about serving all its pasta al dente and offers the option of having your pasta cooked for “a longer time”. Never fans of half cooked pasta, we took that up.



The pasta were served after us baking under the sun for fifteen minutes. Like I said earlier, the spaghetti turned out much better than expected. The pancetta in Dolcetto’s carbonara was generous in portion and retained its juiciness, nothing like the overcooked ones that I have come across in lesser restaurants. The carbonara sauce was thick, creamy and easily clung onto the spaghetti as I twirl it round my fork. It’s not the healthiest of pasta dishes but it was worth every single calorie.



Suffice to say that Wife was taken with her spaghetti bolognese as well. A clear indicator was that she actually cleaned up the dish. Being a more discerning eater, she would baulk at the carbo even though she was hungry. I did manage to wrangle a mouthful from her plate. Like its carbonara, Dolcetto’s spaghetti Bolognese come with a generous portion of thick meaty sauce.

Dolcetto, which can easily passed for a high street restaurant, looks a bit out of place along Chapel Market with the likes of Dehli Grill, a couple of diners, which menus are literally carbon copies of each other, a McDonald’s where a fist fight broke out when I was there chomping on my burger, and now Tai-An, which is more an eatery than a restaurant. In other words, Dolcetto is more of a La Porchetta. More notably, it does have its fair share of regulars who pack the place every evening.

Stefano Fraquelli, the owner of Assaggini at Haymarket once imparted his wisdom about running restaurants. “A good restaurant just have to do a couple of dishes well and more importantly they must taste as good every single time.” Well, carbonara and spaghetti bolognese are literally the staple for Italian restaurants and Dolcetto’s more than decent. “Is it your first time here?” the waitress asked as she handed over the bill. Yes, and I’ll be back again.

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Phoenix Palace Baker Street review - more style than substance

Address: 3-5 Glentworth Street
London NW1 5PG
Tel: 020 7486 3515
Nearest Tube station: Baker Street

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: Below £20pp
Service charge: 12.5%
Taste: **
Service: ***
Ambience: ****
Phoenix Palace is known to many Londoners as the very 'Chinesy' restaurant near Baker Street. With its Chinese lanterns, curves wooden dividers and other artifacts including a Guan Gong idol, Phoenix Palace indeed triumphs over Royal China, which actually is on Baker Street.

Interestingly, Phoenix Palace is known to Singaporeans as the Chinese restaurant in London with the picture of our former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong (or Chok-Tong Goh in this part of the world). While I didn't note whether that photo is still up on the celebrity board, I did notice the ornamental fish tank tucked in a corner though; anyone who dines in a restaurant with a toddler in tow would know that a fish tank with attractively coloured fish that you have no names for can easily occupy the little one long enough for you to gobble down your food.

Obviously, I get less opportunity to practice my Mandarin in London and seize every opportunity to do so. I greeted the harried looking host at Phoenix Palace in Mandarin who promptly replied us in English. Subsequent attempts of using Mandarin were rebuffed by him as well – another reason for me to brush up my Cantonese.

We were fortunate to have reserved a table earlier in the morning as Phoenix Palace was packed throughout our meal. There was a persistent queue of hungry customers who had only the celebrities’ photo board to occupy them.

Among the common searches that descended on both London Chow and London Expat is the search for “child friendly restaurants in London”. Ironically, Chinese dim sum restaurants in London are generally considered child friendly even though their staff typically pay no heed to children (unlike The Blue Legume), neither are there free balloons for the toddlers (unlike Giraffe). Chinese restaurants, especially popular ones are noisy, tipping towards rowdy. You can count on the din to drown out any baby’s cries. So yes, in that respect, Phoenix Palace is child friendly.



We were feeling a bit adventurous so we went for one of the specials – crispy fried seafood wrap (£4.20). The wrap looked very much like a flattened spring roll. With rice based glutinous gel made up the bulk of the filling, the only seafood I notice was the small prawns, which fell out of the wrap. The sweet sauce that came with it hardly masked the fact that the wrap had been fried in old oil.



Barbecued pork buns or charsiew buns (£2.80) were up next. I have acquired a rather unsightly habit when consuming this snack that I had since I was a kid. Instead of reaching for my chopsticks, I tend to handle the bun with my fingers, tear it apart slowly, take a whiff of the fillings before taking a nibble followed with a huge bite. Not exactly the most gracious dining habit, I'm afraid.

Phoenix Palace charsiew buns didn't quite deliver. The dough was fluffy enough but that was about it. The charsiew filling had that unpleasant synthetic taste that reminded me a bit of the ones at Joy King Lau.



We couldn't resist the salt pork and century egg congee (£4.40). We thought the serving was quite generous until we noticed that the consistency was rather watery. Saltiness was just right and there were actual slices of century eggs, not the misery bits like what we had elsewhere.



We should have stopped there but thought that the congee called for some fried dough (£2.80). Like I said, we shouldn't have ordered it as it was terrible. Instead of lightly crisp, it was downright brittle and hard. To make things worse, it was deep fried in, you got that right, oil that should have been discarded. So what we ended up with was two small sticks of hard dough that left a queasy taste on the tongue.



As a stomach filler (or 'main' if you will), we asked for seafood horfun (£10.80). It's key for a horfun to have that 'smoky' taste and that was clearly missing in Phoenix Palace's. Furthermore, the horfun were still clumped together and that added to the misery. Prawns, squids and scallops were fresh but that did little good. For a decent one, I'd probably head to Royal China instead.



Egg tarts (£2.80) was our final dish. Other than the fact that they came out lukewarm, the tarts are crumbly and custard silky. That was perhaps one of the decent dish that we had at Phoenix Palace that afternoon.



In his Times column, Giles Coren was rather taken by Phoenix Palace's dim sum. He was lamenting that he would need to wean his son of them. Really, it shouldn't be too difficult. On a serious note, though the dim sum fare at Phoenix Palace cannot compare with the likes of Hakkasan, a full meal would cost a fraction of what it would cost at the Tottenham Court Road one Michelin star Chinese restaurant. And yes, Phoenix Palace is definitely more child friendly than Hakkasan.

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The Royal Oak Pub Columbia Road review - easy to fall in love with

Address: 73 Columbia Road
London E2 7RG
Tel: 020 7729 2220
Nearest Tube station: Hoxton

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: Below £20pp
Service charge: N/A
Taste: ***
Service: ***
Ambience: ****
We found ourselves heading towards Columbia Flower Market on Sunday afternoon, not for the flowers really but for Brawn, which Giles Coren pointed out was rather decent. When we eventually reached Brawn, we were promptly informed by the staff that they are serving only set lunches for the day and handed us the menu. We took a quick glance at the menu – it cost £25 per person for a three course set and annoyingly it didn’t offer any choices for the mains. That explained why there was only one table occupied at 1pm with a couple nursing their wine at the bar.

So we made our way down along Columbia Road through the crowds looking for good deals. We’ve recently gotten a vase at home as it would probably be nice to have some flowers given that it’s summer and all. But with stall owners bellowing, pushing their wares, and people coming from all over London, not to mention the tourists, it takes quite a bit of an effort to get a good deal. Regardless, the short hop from Brawn to our next choice The Royal Oak took us longer than expected – our fault really, we stopped to gawk at some brilliant blooms.



Curiously, The Royal Oak looked every bit like a cross between a family orientated pub and a place where a fist fight can break out anytime. A well worn bar counter dominated the pub with tables arranged around it with ample natural lighting from large windows lined the façade. I was about to bring LO towards the jukebox at the back when I realized that it is a cigarette vending machine. A fully tattooed guy grimaced when I walked past him but upon seeing LO, he broke into a toothless grin, “What a cute one you’ve got there.” She’s always the crowd pleaser.

Though there’s seating available all the way to the rear (there’re even some outdoor seating towards the end), I would definitely recommend securing a table in the main dining area just beside one of the windows by Columbia Road to catch some action while tucking into The Royal Oak’s hearty offerings.



“Order at the Bar” was scribbled over the menu chalkboard perched high on a wall. Despite having a disappointing deep fried squid the day before at Providores, I was game to give it another go. And fortunately I did as well. The Royal Oak’s deep fried squid (£6) retained much of its chewiness. The alioli didn’t overwhelm the lightly battered squid a bit. A serving of dressed rockets lent its peppery taste to the mix. Fantastic.



My roast beef (£15) though a bit on the pricey side was one hearty meal. A couple of thin sliced beef with its sides slightly burnt, greens and carrots chunks, all that with a homemade Yorkshire pudding settling on the top. The Yorkshire pudding must be homemade as it was a bit on the tough side. No complaints there though as the gravy would eventually soften it down a fair bit. I was pleasantly surprised to find some bacon cuts hidden below the greens. This is a good one to go for if you are on an empty stomach.



Lamb chops (£14) was more toned down compared to its bovine counterpart. The choice of gravy, if you could call it that, was rather curious. It was essentially yogurt with some light chilli emulsion. That and some sliced courgettes filled the peripheral of the plate. We would probably give this a miss if we were to return to The Royal Oak again.

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow was playing when we stepped out of the door and into the bustling flower market again just in time to pick up some last minute deals as the stall owners were packing up. It’s easy to fall in love with The Royal Oak. Even though pubs have a way of outlasting every other businesses, you don’t really get pubs with such character and yet serve up some decent food these days. Stop by for a bite the next time you are at Columbia Flower Market. I know I will.

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Providores Marylebone High Street review - missing the mark

Address: 109 Marylebone High Street
London W1U 4RX
Tel: 020 7935 6175
Nearest Tube station: Regent Park

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: Below £30pp for a light meal
Service charge: 12.5%
Taste: **
Service: ***
Ambience: ***
It was one of those unplanned meals when I didn't have my camera along. As you can tell, relying on my 3G iPhone was a bad idea. 

It seems that everyone is into tapas these days; the Spanish dish has become the defacto name for all 'small plates' dishes in restaurants. And that's the case for Providores and Tapa Room, a creation by Peter Gordan, a New Zealanders by origin, at Marylebone High Street as well.

With London enjoying some good weather of late, we decided to have a late afternoon snack outside one of two tables at Providores. I was mildly amused that the waitress refused to let us have a peek of the menu stating as a matter of factly that food is served only after 4pm. Fine, I had to wait for five more minutes for the menu then while enjoying our mochaccino and cappuccino.

At £2.80 each, Providores' coffee is really good, flavorful without the acidity. I can see myself returning for some coffee whenever I'm in the Marylebone area.



When we eventually got hold of the menu, a few items caught our attention almost immediately even though the words on the menu could be spaced out more. Glazed baked duck char siu bun (£6.50) came with a 'chilli jam', which turned out to be sambal. The spicy chilli paste made using pounded up dried shrimps (or hei-bi) is wildly popular in Southeast Asia and even over there a good one is hard to come by. Providores does it wonderfully well with a mild initial taste with a strong dried shrimp aftertaste. After encountering Peter Gordan’s pork belly dish at Singapore Takeout earlier, I’m not surprise about the quality of sambal (‘chilli jam’ just doesn’t have the same ring to it) churning out from Providores’ kitchen. It is, in some way, better than the one at Modern Pantry.

The bun was filled with shredded duck seasoned with char siu sauce, which is a combination of five-spice, honey, hoisin, soy and honey. The bun itself is a thin dough baked to almost crisp. I thought the generous filling was a bit overwhelming. The sambal, which usually goes with fish dishes, didn’t really complement duck. Likewise sambal and char siu sauce just don't mix. A pity really.



I’ve got this unhealthy obsession for fried squid after having a really good one at Morito and will always order it if it’s found on the menu. I felt a bit cheated by Providores’ deep fried Cornish squid (£6.30); it reminds of something that could very well be coming out from a lesser restaurant. Not only the squid was tough, there was no texture to speak of and the batter was overly salty. The alioli didn’t do the dish much justice too. On a side note, I encountered a much better fried squid at The Royal Oak along Columbia Road (more on that later) the very next day.



I was a bit hesitant when Wife pointed to the deep fried banana fritter (£7.60) on the menu. The deep fried banana (or goreng pisang) is a favourite Malay snack back home. After having a golden syrup doused deep fried banana at, well, The Banana Tree, I have developed a phobia of ordering it in this part of the world. Providores’ deep fried banana fritter came stuffed with azuki bean and rice with a mandarin sorbet on the side. It does sound enticing, doesn’t it? If only it tastes as good as it sounds. It turned out that we didn’t really get the flavour of the filling as we were trying too hard to grind the tough banana fritter down to bits. On hindsight, we should have just cut through the banana fritter and just go for the filling. But that’s not how the dessert is supposed to be consumed, is it?

Earlier, Wife was told by a New Zealander that he loves Providores’ breakfast. After our almost weekly breakfast at Caravan, I have no doubt that Providores does a mean one as well. However, its tapas dishes (or at least those that we had) did let us down a fair bit.

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