Bishopsgate Kitchen review Liverpool Street - a bit of this and that

Address: 230 Bishopsgate
London EC2M 4QH
Tel: 020 7392 9200
Nearest Tube station: Liverpool Street

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: Below £20pp
Service charge: 10%
Taste: ***
Service: ***
Ambience: ****
"Look! There's Chelsea," Wife tilted her head to her left. Chelsea? I have only heard of one Chelsea. "She looks exactly like her picture on Daily Mail," Wife confirmed my suspicion. That was all well and good but I was really more interested in what was on the menu and my growling stomach didn't help a bit.

Bishopgate Kitchen is a newish restaurant at the junction of Brushfield Street and Bishopgate. You could almost make out the legs of cured ham stringed up at the preparatory counter through its glass facade.

I was getting a bit restless having been asked to wait for a table. Couldn't blame the staff really as the restaurant was packed, both tables and countertops by the glass facade.

We eventually got a table beside two suits, one of whom was discussing about his three mortgages (I didn't mean to eavesdrop but you could hear him a couple of tables down). Having looked at the menu while waiting, we quickly placed our order, sat back while enjoying the fuzzy warm sunshine pouring into Bishopgate Kitchen.

Fifteen minutes later, the man without three mortgages had left. Chelsea too. Our food had yet to arrive. Despite having three staff on the floor, it was rather difficult to get their attention. They were obviously overwhelmed as some customers simply left cash on the table and left.



If you think that Bishopgate Kitchen is a tapas joint, you would be sadly mistaken. Barring a small selection of cured meat and 'counter dishes', its mains included the likes of 28 day cured steak as well as burgers. Its Bishopgate burger (£12) with its rump and bone marrow pattie was nothing extraordinary. It did come with home made chips though. Sadly, they were barely warm when served. I wasn't the only who found them so, the lady sitting behind me actually asked for her chips to be sent back to the kitchen because of that. If you can't do without some pickles for your burger, take comfort that it comes with an entire pickle.

We also asked for some Serrano ham (£5) for good measure. The five long slices of Spanish cured ham lined up on a wooden platter were almost silky to the palate. And it went particularly well with the baked Monte Enebro goats' cheese with honey (£5.50).

Adding honey to goat's cheese is a stroke of genius for the cheese's slight pungent taste is tempered with thick sweet (thought not overly) honey. Served pipping hot, it is the perfect dip even for the lukewarm chips.

Pudding was a rich chocolate torte (£5.50) with mascarpone, toasted hazelnut and fruit compote on the side. I'm never one for fruit compote but Wife was done with it pretty soon with it so I guess they couldn't be that bad.

As it drew towards 2pm, the crowd has thinned considerably and the staff finally managed to catch a breather and looked more cheery as well. Bishopgate Kitchen with its healthy buzz is probably a good place to talk shop and maybe grab a drink or two over some cured ham. But you might want to avoid it if you are in a hurry.




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Pride of Siam review Exmouth Market - takeaway masquerading as a restaurant

Address: 50 Exmouth Market
London EC1R 4QE
Tel: 020 7833 3383
Nearest Tube station: Angel, Farringdon

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: Below £15pp
Service charge: N/A
Taste: *
Service: ***
Ambience: **
Can you recall the times when everything seems to tell you that you're going to regret a decision but you go ahead with it anyway? For me, dining at Exmouth Market's Pride of Siam was definitely one of those times.

We were strolling along Rosebery Avenue looking for dinner that evening. In fact, we were looking for something Thai to be precise; lightly spicy yet refreshing to the palate would be a great roundup for the day.

The obvious local choice would be Isarn. But we thought better of it as we were just there the day before. On our way to the Exmouth Market, I actually pointed out Lakorn Thai to Wife. I have always wondered how it managed to keep its doors open all this while - I have never seen more than two tables occupied in the entire restaurant over the past few years. Often, one of these tables would be occupied by staff having their dinner. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if the staff consume more food than paying customers every single evening.



The cardinal rule: never walk into an empty restaurants, especially if every other restaurants along the road are filled to the brim. I could never forgive myself for breaking that one rule a couple of minutes later.

Pride of Siam was empty. Well, other than the smiling staff of course. To make matters worse, Santore, Moro, Morito, Caravan and even Necco had customers spilling out from them that evening. Not a single soul at Pride of Siam. It looked like a very bad dream.

"...it was painfully obvious
that Pride of Siam is
takeaway place
masquerading as a restaurant.""Let's give it a go," I suggested. I don't know what came over me when the words tumbled out of my mouth. I convinced myself that it was due to the elephant Pride of Siam have on their signage, a natural affection towards the huge beast I suppose (forgive me, it is the only sane reason I can think of).

I should have seen the writing on the wall. £9.95 for a three course meal and yet Pride of Siam was eerily empty. And isn't Thai supposed to be the new Indian, a cuisine that Londoners love?

To give Pride of Siam some credit, its service though a tad less forthcoming was rather obliging. And no, the restaurant served neither fresh lime juice (naan manaaw) nor lemon grass tea, "just the normal soft drinks, tea and coffee" a staff helpfully informed us.



There wasn't any choice for the starters if you are going for the fixed price menu. They come in the form of spring rolls and tod mun kaow pod (deep fried corn cakes). To be honest, they were rather good. The corn cakes were lightly packed, fried and crumbled nicely in the mouth. Spring rolls were pleasing as well. They were packed with vermicelli and loads of pepper. They might be a challenge for those who can't handle spices. I actually began to wonder why there weren't any more customers coming through that door.



Things became more apparent as everything went downhill from there on. The second course, if you can call it that, was a tiny bowl of soup. I had tom yum kai and Wife had tom yum hed (tom yum mushroom), the only two choices on the menu. Both were spicy upfront and there was no follow through. I think I have said enough already.



I asked for green curry chicken for my main. Something wasn't quite right when it was served. The smell was, well, sweet in an odd way. A quick sip of the curry confirmed that the cook was overzealous with the coconut milk. The result was overwhelming. I could only remember a worse one that we had at Miso Noodle Bar.



If that was bad, Wife's phad Thai was worse. Cooked in tomato sauce (probably something from a ten litre tub), it reminded me of something churned out in one of those dodgy back-alley stall back home. Bland chunks of chicken seemed to have been tossed in as an afterthought. Wife, who was most certainly famished left it almost unmolested.

In our earlier enthusiasm, we ordered the deep fried prawns and squids. Imagine out relief when we were told that they have forgotten our order (which we immediately cancelled without hesitation). Even so, we were the only customers there, it would have taken quite a bit of effort to misplace the order.

It seemed that Pride of Siam was doing a thriving delivery service though. There were two delivery men coming in and out of the kitchen while we were there. To me, it was painfully obvious that Pride of Siam is takeaway place masquerading as a restaurant. That evening, we left the restaurant feeling still as hungry and thoroughly disappointed.

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Jamie's Italian Angel Islington review - hitting all the right notes

Address: Angel Building,
409-411 St John's Street,
London EC1V 4AB
Tel: 020 3435 9915
Nearest Tube station: Angel

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: Below £25pp
Service charge: N/A
Taste: ****
Service: ****
Ambience: ****
I recall reading an interview with Jim Skinner, CEO of McDonald's, a couple of years back. The interviewer threw him an open ended question about the secret behind McDonald's success. Skinner's answer was rather enlightening, he answered in a straight face (according to the interviewer),"Real estate." Apparently, while McDonald's business is primarily food, they would always make it a point to identify the prime location to start a new restaurant whenever they are looking to expand. To Skinner, location is the main concern. Regardless of how good your food is, you customers have to not only know where you are but be able to reach you without jumping through hoops.

Jamie's Italian newest addition at Angel Building hit the bullseye on this. Right smacked at the intersection between Islington Upper Street, City Road, Pentoville Road and St John Street, Jamie's Italian is going to draw the crowd away from the stretch of restaurants on Upper Street and St John Street.

You might have noticed that the visits that I made to Jamie's Italian at Canary Wharf weren't exactly pleasant. So we were almost dragging our feet when we walked into the restaurant. To be honest, as there was a spot of sunshine that afternoon, Wife and I were making a beeline for Moro at Exmouth Market for some tapas. What stopped us on our tracks was a Jamie's coffee van (one of those small ones for takeaway) parked just outside Jamie's Italian. We merely wanted to find out how Jamie's Italian coffee compares to Caravan's.

Apparently, they just dished out the last coffee of the day minutes before and were packing up. But the staff helpfully pointed out that we can get a takeaway. So we figured out that we might as well stop for lunch instead.

"The newest Jamie's Italian
seemed quite bent
on merchandising."
A rather charming gentleman brought us the menu. No surprises there for it was exactly the same one at other Jamie's Italians. One thing was quite glaring though. The newest Jamie's Italian seemed quite bent on merchandising. Jamie Oliver's cookery and recipes books lined an entire shelf, which doubled up as a wall divider. Not only that, wine glasses, tea towels, mugs, t-shirt, oven gloves, aprons and even the table napkins were for sale. In case you are wondering about their prices, the price list will come together with your bill.

Determined not to go for Jamie's Italian's carbonara and angel's hair (see previous review), we got a linguini and a burger with an aracini to share.

The smoky scamorza aracini (£4.95 for three), crispy rice balls filled with smoked mozzarella an porcini could be a bit less dense. But compared to da Polpo's, the ones at Jamie's Italians had a more intense flavour. If you are not a chilli person, go easy on the dip.

Burger Italiano (£11.25) came in the form of a tower. Balancing it must have taken a fair bit of effort (think playing Jenga with meat, burger and layers of greens). Everything was balanced on a tiny wooden platter with room for a cup of chips (if you have ordered it).

The chips free burger came with British beef topped with fontina cheese, crispy salami, soft lettuce, tomato salsa, dill pickles, chilli & fried onions. The fried onion slices were fairly interesting; while I've had onion rings before, having them crispy was a first for me. They did taste good. While chilli were used. Again, you might wish to watch out for those if you can't handle them.

I had to have some chips with my burger so I went for the funky chips (£3.25). Frankly, I've got no idea why they call it that. Why not call just call it like Byron does - skin on chips? While they were a bit salty, the fresh garlic and parsley liberally sprinkled on them made them much better than Byron's.

Wife had a half size prawn linguini (£7.25). Serves with pan-fried prawns marinated with garlic, and tomatoes, rocket, fennel and (you got it) chilli, The sourly, spicy and peppery concoction was just right on the palate. As Jamie's Italian's pasta is all made in-house, they would be a bit more raw in texture. But we thought it came through very well in this dish.

With this much space to play with Jamie's Italian at Angel Building has a bit of everything - a good size bar, tabletop and high stool seating, comfortable lounges, alfresco dining, and the regular furniture found at its Canary Wharf branch. Even its toilets have been tastefully done up. Interestingly, while there is a lift installed to enable wheelchair, the restaurant chose to conceal that behind a sliding door. Perhaps it is to discourage kids to have a go at it, who knows? With Stokke highchairs lined up in a corner, I guess that makes Jamie's Italian baby friendly.

A welcome addition to the dining scene at Angel, Jamie's Italian managed to hit all the right notes. I wouldn't be surprised if there is already a queue during the weekends. And if you have to ask, Caravan's mocha still tastes better.




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The Fellow review King's Cross gastropub - duck hearts on toast anyone?

Address: 24 York Way, London N1 9AA
Tel: 020 7833 4395
Nearest Tube station: King's Cross

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: Below £25pp
Service charge: 12.5%
Taste: ****
Service: ***
Ambience: ***
What caught my eye was the the The Fellow's display board placed along York Way. Boardgames and wifi said it. I'm a sucker for boardgames and used to spend hours over the likes of Agricola and Ticket to Ride at boardgame cafes back home. I even dragged Wife along on some occasions an I suspect she has never forgiven me for that.

So there we were on a Sunday afternoon just on our way back from Sean Smith's Frontlines exhibition at King's Place looking for a pitstop and The Fellow looked like a place as good as any.

Right at the top of the menu was a notice stating that still water comes free. Already things were looking good. Sunday roasts was the order of the day. Wife went for the beef while I fancied some lamb instead.

"The duck hearts seem interesting," Wife noted. And the duck hearts were added to our order. I can perfectly understand why innards isn't everyone's cup of tea. Well, Wife and I grew up in families that were rather adventurous with good. Livers, hearts, stomachs, tongues, intestines (both big and small) were the norm on our dining tables. I believe there was even sheep's brain somewhere along the way. Well, they are basically protein, iron and of course cholesterol so it isn't too bad when you think of it that way.



If you have not tried any innards thus far, The Fellow's pan-fried duck hearts on toast (£6) would be a good place to start. Juicy, tender and springy, the duck hearts are tossed lightly in butter and served on a thick toast. Look at it as a meaty bruschetta and I assure you that you'll never look back.



My roast leg of lamb (£14.50) was a spread. The Fellow's Sunday roasts are all served with duck fat roast potatoes, root vegetables, greens and Yorkshire puddings. If I have to point out one thing brilliant about the dish, it would have to be the mint sauce. It was smooth with a generous sprinkle of finely chopped mint leaves. Slathering that flavorful mint sauce on a chunk of the lamb is something that I can get used to.

I have long given up on ready made Yorkshire puddings purchased from supermarkets. Freshly made ones aren't that regularly shaped but that's the whole point; you don't know what you would end up with. If done right, homemade Yorkshire puddings are lighter on the palate and would trumped factory made ones any day. And the ones churned out at The Fellow's kitchen were exactly that.

Wife weren't too impressed by The Fellow's roast topside of beef (£15). Came with a healthy scoop of horseradish cream, it just didn't hav the same kick as the lamb and its uberlicous mint sauce. I thought that it could be less tough.

After the meal, I spread The Sunday Telegraph (compliments of The Fellow) with an English Breakast tea in my hand. A group of six took up a table behind us. One of them went to the counter and came back with Scrabble and began setting it up. Belong long, they were quibbling about the legality of a certain word. A perfect way to spend a nice Sunday afternoon.

While The Fellow isn't exactly a family pub, it definitely feels inviting and big thanks to the staff's friendly service. And I do mean it when I told the bartender that I'll be back if only for the duck hearts.




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Best roti prata in Singapore - Prata Wala at Nex Shopping Centre

Prata Wala at Nex Mall in Singapore

Address: Nex #02-K5/K8, 23 Serangoon Central
Singapore 556083
Tel: +65 6795 2530
Nearest MRT station: Serangoon
Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: Below S$5pp
Service charge: N/A
Taste: ****
Service: ***
Ambience: *
I would have never imagined that I'll say this one day. But here goes, the best roti prata (Indian pan fried bread) in Singapore is actually found in a shopping mall (horror of horrors). I have always thought that street fare should belong to the streets and there is no way a roti prata prepared in the comfort of a mall would match up to those from stalls in hawker centres and coffeeshops. I couldn't be more wrong.

Unless I have been looking at the wrong places, there is hardly a good roti prata to be had in London. Awana with its live prata flipping came close and the only other place I can think of is perhaps Satay House Malaysian Restaurant. Even so, both places seem to go all out to add fancy touches to their prata (i.e. cutting them into quarters and stuffing exotic fillings into them) to justify charging you over a fiver for them. All the rest seem to be merely popping a ready made prata, which by the way taste nothing like the real deal, into an oven. That explains my obsession with the pan fried bread.


It has become a ritual that we would hop on a cab to Jalan Kayu for a late night supper the moment we touch down at Singapore's Changi airport. Since my army days, that short stretch of road is probably our favourite haunt for roti prata and murtabak (essentially a larger roti prata with meat fillings).

While we were glad to find that Thasevi, the stall that we normally visit because it's the closest to Seletar Camp, was still as crowded. Teeming with off duty army personnel, cab drivers taking a breather and those simply looking for a bite, you would be hard pressed to find an empty seat at Thasevi during suppertime.

However, over the years, Thasevi's roti prata got soggier while the price edged up. Besides, despite the overwhelmin number of staff, you literally have to grab their arms to get their attention. To be honest, other than the nostalgia factor, I can't see myself returning there again the next time I'm back home.

The other one would be Casuarina Tree Curry Restaurant just off Upper Thompson Road. The quality has been relatively consistent over the years. But I have always thought that their roti prata is a bit too crisp (almost brittle) for my liking.

Enter Prata Wala. I must have been away from Singapore for too long for Prata Wala has set up shop at Jurong Point, Tiong Bahru Plaza and the one at Nex Shopping Centre must be its newest addition. We caught sight of it after a rather satisfying meal at Tontei Pork Restaurant and returned the very next day just to check it out.

Though you are required to order at the counter, the roti prata is prepared only when you have ordered it. It would take a couple of minutes longer but they are well worth the wait. Crispy yet chewy would best describe it. More importantly, the curry that came with it was thick and not overly spicy. Unlike the other more famous prata joints, service at Prata Wala was prompt an polite. At $2 a pop, what's there not to like? If only Nex would tune down their blaring background music a bit.

Other than the fact that its opening hours is affected by that of the mall's, Prata Wala is seriously giving the prata shops at Jalan Kayu and Casuarina Road a run for their money. No prizes for guessing where I'll head to the moment I touch down at Singapore's Changi Airport.

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Tontei Pork Restaurant review Nex Mall Singapore - who says good restaurants can't be in shopping malls?

Address: Nex #B1-79, 23 Serangoon Central
Singapore 556083
Tel: +65 6634 7116
Nearest MRT station: Serangoon
Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: Below S$30pp
Service charge: 10%
Taste: ****
Service: ****
Ambience: ***
Shopping malls are never in short supply in Singapore. It seems that there is one major one every single time we fly back for a visit. Last time round, it was the Ion, which occupied Orchard Road's prime estate opposite Le Meridian Hotel. I could never figure out my way around that labyrinth.

The time, it's Nex. No, I didn't miss out any letter and the monster of a mall now dominates the northeastern end of Singapore. I stop counting after the fourth floor and I think there's at least two basement for I could never figure out whether the MRT station opens into the ground floor or basement.

It's also home to a cineplex, which is deliberately placed at the most inaccessible part of the mall. Unless there is another route right up to the mall, you would need to figure your through the myriad of shops; it reminds me of Heathrow airport terminal three. Woe betide those who turn up just in time for their movies.

I must getting on my years as the loud music, typical of Singapore's shopping malls, was getting on my nerves. Famished, we went up to the information counter and enquired about Nex's fine dining options (we decided to spoil ourselves a bit). Looking a bit puzzled, the staff pointed us to Ajisen, a chain restaurant the equivalent of London's Wagamama. Fine, maybe a bit better but you get the idea. Anyway, we wandered around a bit and stumbled upon Tontei Pork Restaurant and settled for it.

The staff was all smiles as we stepped into the empty restaurant at around 7pm. After flipping through Tontei Pork's very fancy looking menu, we settled on two of the sets.



My croquette & sushi zen set ($20.90) came with tenderloin cutlet and minced croquette a couple of sushi, chawanmushi, miso soup and fruit. That's the thing I like about Japanese set meals, you actually feel healthy just by looking at them. Chawanmushi, a smooth steamed egg custard dish with shrimps and mushrooms in them is something that is hard to find in London. We tucked into that (a very nice one indeed) with relish.



The croquette was battered and fried just about right. Its mushy potato based filling just melts in the mouth.



Interestingly, the set also came with salads, which citrus sauce was accompanied by a small bowl of roasted sesame seeds with a small mortar and pestle. I actually got to grind the sesame seeds myself. A whiff of the sesame seeds' aroma as I did that nudged my appetite in the right direction.





Wife went for the mixed katsu with mushroom sauce zen set ($23.90). Mixed katsu include pork loin, tenderloin cutlet and prawn tempura. It is pertinent that the prawns used are fresh in a tempura and Tontei Pork didn't disappoint. Special mention must be made of the mushroom sauce. Flavourful with the right consistency, it was an absolute delight.



Tontei Pork Restaurant tucked in a corner of Nex demarcated for Japanese cuisine was a surprise find. Perhaps it was its very obliging staff (we were served by a young man whose name I neglected to ask) or it was one of first proper meals that we had in Singapore, that dinner at Tontei Pork Restaurant was a surprisingly pleasant one indeed.

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Candlenut Kitchen review Singapore Peranakan restaurant - just like how it's done at home

Address: 25 Neil Road
Singapore 088815
Tel: +65 6226 2506
Nearest MRT station: Outram Park
Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: Below S$50pp
Service charge: 10%
Taste: ****
Service: ***
Ambience: ***
"What?! You spent that much on a beef rendang?" YQ exclaimed during our lunch at Moro. Understandably, no one spends S$35 on beef rendang in Singapore when you could probably get the dish for a fraction of that at a hawker centre. Interestingly, no one would bat an eyelid blowing £20 on a fish and chips at a fancy London restaurant while you could get one for just £3 at a local chippy.

Well, with a little one in tow, we didn't get many chances to dine out while we were in Singapore a couple of weeks back. And we intended to make it count. We figured that we should give European cuisine a miss since London probably offers better options at a more reasonable price so we went local instead. And what could be more local than the Peranakan cuisine?

The word Peranakan originates from a unique culture when the indigenous Malay community in the present day Malaysia intermarried with the Chinese who settled here in the 15th century. Peranakans are mainly known for two things - their unique traditional long dresses (baju panjang) and beaded slippers (kasot manek) as well as their cuisine. In fact there is a saying that one would be fortunate to have a Nonya (Peranakan lady) for a wife as Nonyas are known to be great cooks.

Wife came across Candlenut Kitchen after searching online for where to eat in Singapore. Its owner, Malcolm Lee, an up and coming chef in Singapore's culinary scene, is apparently known for his no frills but good and honest food.



As it was a last minute decision, we called for a reservation only hours earlier and were surprised to find that tables were available even on a Friday evening. We found out later that 7pm on a Friday night is too early for dinner as the place eventually got filled up towards the end of our meal.

A number of items caught our eyes immediately when the menu was presented. As I had imposed a 2kg weight increase over my two week stay in Singapore (my weight invariably shoot up after every trip back home), we had to restrain ourselves.

After placing our orders, a bowl of keropok appeared on our table with a small serving of belachan. For lovers of this spicy tangy dip, Candlenut Kitchen's belachan alone warrants a visit to the restaurant.



Starters came in the form of ngoh hiang and kueh pie tee. Ngoh hiang is a favourite dish of the carnivorous me. The meaty bite with the occasional crunch lent by bits of water chestnut never failed to cheer me up. That was before the days when people start to question where the minced meat within came from. Candlenut Kitchen's ngoh hiang ($8.80) was stuffed with minced meat, prawns, sliced pork belly, black mushroom and water chestnut, served wrapped in a lightly fried crispy beancurd skin. I never knew that ngoh hinge can taste so light yet bursting with flavour. Even Wife became a convert.



We caught sight of the factory made pastry cups (still in their sealed plastic containers) used in Candlenut Kitchen's kueh pie tee ($6.80 for four) on the way to its washroom. That took away the magic somewhat. Even so, the braised turnips with pork belly fillings topped with prawns coupled with the slightly moistened pastry cups made the dish unforgettable.



The ayam buah keluak ($18) is purported to be the Peranakan's signature dish and we had to try it. Apparently, the keluak nuts (two per dish) are the main items here, not the chicken chunks. A small needle spoon was even provided to scoop the softened nut from its hard shell. Unsurprisingly, the chicken chunks took on a heavily smoked nutty taste. I thought that the chicken could be more tender and there was a silent agreement the nut itself ($2 for an extra nut) is an acquired taste. It reminded me of a thicker and more bitter bone marrow.



The dish that we had been waiting for finally arrived. The beef rendang ($35) was made with beef cheeks from corn fed cows aged 120 days. The meat cooked in its own fat was tender, not flaky or dry, which I suspect the normal beef rendang also offered at half the price would taste like. The accompanying coconut gravy was spicy with the ever slight tinge of sweetness, which is exactly what it is supposed to be. The gravy itself screamed out for rice and fragrant white rice is offered for $2 per person (free flow).



All that required something soothing to wash down. The barley drink ($2) was just sweet and thick enough. There were some barley at the bottom of the cup to show that it didn't come out from a can.



A Peranakan meal is incomplete without either a coconut or durian dessert and we went for the latter. The chilled durian soup ($7) was essentially durian ice-cream (made in-house) in durian purée. The tiny portion left us longing for more but good things do come in small portions. The rich and creamy durian purée cut through our rendang tainted palates and the ice-cream just accentuated that.

There was a bookshelf full of cookery books on the way to the washroom. I have no idea what Markus Wareing and Gordan Ramsay have to say about the Peranakan cuisine but theirs were among the most well-thumbed tombs on the shelves.

While we were there, I couldn't help but notice that most if not all diners weren't local. Candlenut Kitchen isn't exactly the most affordable Peranakan restaurant in town. It gave us the feeling of dining in an aunt's place who happened to be a brilliant cook. There were some attempts to spruce up the place with some Peranakan traditional blouses and beaded shoes but the restaurant, which is housed in a shophouse, can be described as cosy at best. That said, a staff helpfully informed me that they are tremendously busy during Saturdays evenings so it would be prudent to call for a reservation if you are thinking of dropping by then.

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Moro review London Exmouth Market - good food and excellent service makes it a joy

Address: 34 Exmouth Market, London EC1R 4QE
Tel: 020 7833 8336
Nearest Tube station: Angel, Farringdon

Ratings (out of 5 *)
Price: Below £15pp
Service charge: 12.5%
Taste: ****
Service: ****
Ambience: ***
Wife thought that I should cut to the chase and just state that our meal at Moro was fantastic and be done with it. She sees no point in me going round in circles and then come to the same conclusion. "If there's anyone reading your post at all, they would just want to know where's good to eat and that's about it," she concluded. I hate to agree with her for I hardly read beyond a couple of sentences on restaurant reviews. Well, if there are photos, I'll probably just scan through them and only stop to read about a dish if a photo caught my fancy. I'm that shallow. That said, now that you know my take on Moro, you might as well go through the entire piece. I promise you it wouldn't take you more than a few moments.

YQ was in town again. I find it harder and harder to impress him with London's cuisine these days after pushing up the bar with Ottolenghi and Nopi earlier, which I've not found the time to write about. Luckily for me, there is a myriad of restaurants within walking distance from my place. As we felt like having a light bite that afternoon, what could be more apt than tapas? It was a tough choice between Morito and Moro really. In the end, we opted for something new and headed to the larger setup.

It might be the jetlag, but YQ had a cursory glance at the menu and would rather I make the call. And that I did. I couldn't help but recall Morito's tapas menu when I scanned through its parent restaurant's. Moro's was painfully short and less interesting. Granted, Moro's much more than a tapas bar that Morito is but I was somewhat disappointed that the baby squid that I had tasted many moons ago at Morito wasn't offered at Moro. After asking for some recommendation from the very helpful waitress, we settled on some tapas dishes and two starters to share.



The tapas dishes arrived quite soon after one after another. The pimeintos de Padron (£4.50) was an apt start. I have read that eating these small green peppers from Padron, which are lightly fried in olive oil, is the luck of the draw, a Russian roulette if you will; while most are mildly sweet, some pack enough heat to fire up your gut. I was fortunate perhaps, for I managed to dodge the really spicy ones.



Grilled chorizo (£4.50) was up next. Nothing too fancy about this one and it was done competently. While a few lines of charring showed where the grill was, it retained its juiciness and that was what mattered.



We reserved our praise for the butifarra and alioli (£4.50), which arrived soon after. Perhaps the most widely eaten sausage in the Catalan cuisine, the butifarra was infused with herbs and the flavour came through vividly even though I layered the morsel with a healthy wallop of alioli. I dislike my sausages tightly packed but would loath to have something that crumbles the moment I cut into it. This one had it just about right.



The crispy lamb with hummus and flatbread (£8.50) is perhaps one thing that the roti prata (or roti canai) stalls back home should really look into. It reminded me of the lamb murtabak, only much better. The flatbread was interlayered with lamb bits and the hummus completed the dish. Give me hummus over curry for my murtabak anytime. The pine nuts generously sprinkled over the hummus were of course an added bonus.



Wife and YQ were quite taken with the grilled quail (£8.50) and for different reasons too. Wife was commenting on how the quail remained so tender despite spending some time on the grill - we had some really tough ones before. YQ, on the other hand, marvelled at the addition of grapes to the mix. That and the almond sauce added a smoky sweet taste to the quail.

As we were the only customers out in the open along Exmouth Market, the staff made it a point to head out every now and then to make sure that all was fine, waving to LO in an attempt to wrangle a smile from her. Well, more importantly, YQ was satisfied. As we marched down Exmouth Market for some good o' Caravan coffee, I was furiously thinking of where to bring him when he next visits.




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