Vietnam Oriental 许永蕟

Went out with 3 other friends for lunch on a Sunday afternoon at this Vietnamese & Chinese Restaurant located in Cuttysark.

Ordered for myself Noodles with spring rolls, fried pork mixed with fish sauce. Think is only 6.50pounds for a bowl that can be easily shared by 2 girls.

 

Dint take pictures of the rest of the food we had. Fried Carrot Cake taste good though it really look terrible. Chee Qiong Fan with You Tiao is good too. Though somehow i felt that the one i ate at Lotus is better.

Nearest Tube : Cutty Sark DLR

Cuisine Type: Vietnamese, Chinese

Address: 18 King William Walk Greenwich London SE10 9JH

Verdict : For the price i am paying, food is pretty good.. Will be back...

101 Thai Kitchen

Headed back to London after drinks at Old Neptune in Whistable.

As we had rented a car for the day, headed to West London for dinner since we usually hang out in the East.

Headed down to this thai restaurant as recommended by a Thai friend of mine. Actually if not for the recommendation of my friend, i doubt i would ever find this place.

The restaurant name

Pad Thai - The closest to the ones i ate in Thailand so far. Others i tried in London used tomato sauce.

Duck Curry

Green Curry - I wouldnt recommend ordering fish as their fish wasnt exactly fresh and had some fishy smell.

Fried basil chicken - very spicy and hot, but really good with rice

Pork shoulder slices - this is good

Left out the Tom Yum soup that we had. Was not too spicy nor sour, just right. Service wise was good and food came pretty fast.

Address: 352 King Street, Hammersmith, London, W6 0RX

Nearest Tube: Stamford Brook

Verdict: Best Thai food i had in London so far. And it is not expensive. Just right for my pocket. Certainly be back.

Tiny Tim's Tea Room @ Canterbury

I love afternoon tea.... Scones with jam - my all time favourite. While researching on the day trip, stumbled upon reviews of this place and since i am the organiser of the trip, made this the place we are heading for lunch.

The sign board hanging outside the shop

Menu - Taking random shoots while waiting for the food

Trying to take an artistic shot

Scones on display

Lovely display of pastries, cupcakes and scones

Lovely, pretty cupcakes - Not really sure if it is for display or for sale

Chocolate Drink

Afternoon Tea Set for 2

Egg Omelette

Scone

The afternoon tea set seemed little and not filling, but after only having 1 scone, was really really full. The only guy in our travelling group agreed. The cakes and pastries as seen at the top of the afternoon tea set was pretty tasty. The lemon pastry thingy was really refreshing. The chocolate fudge cake has really good chocolate used. The biscuit beside the scone, i dint really like, maybe as i don't like fruit cake/pastry stuff. Personally i love the place and the scones but my friends say they have much better ones on their visit to cotsworld and on the way to somerset. Better ambience and better scone and pastries. I haven't been to cotsworld, so till then, this scone is my favourite.

Website: http://tinytimstearoom.com/
Address: 34 St. Margaret's Street, Canterbury, Kent, CT1 2TG, United Kingdom
Tel: 01227 450793
Verdict: Great for a all girls afternoon chat and chill as afternoon tea needs to be enjoy. For us, who slotted the place in amidst our day trip, was kind of rush. But then again, i will do the same again if i were to go on the same itinerary trip.

Barshu @ soho

Having tried Sichuan Folk, which the chinese name is Barshu to, i thought that this outlet at Soho is the same as i ate a couple of weeks back - Only found out that it is different when i paid the bill and ask the waiter. Hence i suggested having dinner with my friends here on a friday night.

As it is pretty crowded, reservation is an absolute must. Even when you make reservation, you have to finish your dinner within 1.5hrs. So there we are from 7pm to 8.30pm. We were reminded by the waiter, politely though, that we need leave 8.30pm so we better start ordering our food and not wait for our friends (2 of them were late due to work commitment).

 

Menu - Logo of the outlet



Ordered this chicken which i thought was the mouth watering one that i had at sichuan folk. It was ok, but not something that i would crave for. A little too oily.

四川口水鸡

Fish is pretty fresh and does not have the fishy smell. Think is better than the one i have at sichuan folk.

水煮鱼 

Dint take pictures of the rest of the food we had, but basically the 嘛婆豆腐, which taste really really funny (all 5 of us feel so). The 辣子鸡 has too much dry chilli and the chicken cannot be found, those pieces found are very small pieces which is like only the fried skin and hardly has any meat. Taste good just that plate was huge but portion in reality was little. The vegetable we had was normal.

Address: 28, Frith Street, London W1D 5LF
Website: http://www.bar-shu.co.uk/
Nearest Tube: Leicester Square
Verdict: Pretty expensive as compared to sichuan folk (the blog entry - http://nufndoof.blogspot.com/2011/01/sichuan-folk.html) which i feel has food that taste better and is cheaper. 5 of us and we each paid 26pound for 1 fish dish , 2 chicken dishes, 1 tofu and 1 vegetable. Pretty steep right?

The Narrow

Went to this Gordon Ramsay Pub Restaurant at Limehouse for Valentine Day dinner with a couple of my friends.

The pub and restaurant

The entrance

Was kinda having really high expectations since it is tag - Gordon Ramsay.  Had this as my appetizer, crayfish with shrimp. Think it has too much mayonnaise in it for my liking. My friends had potato and leek soup which they say was good. 

Crayfish and Brown Shrimp Cocktail - 8.50 pounds

Another friend ordered this.. which i cant remember if it is nice.. muahha...

Smoked potato cake, fried duck egg and grain mustard dressing - 7pounds

For my main i had chicken - the only chicken main on the menu... Think the chicken was a little too salty for my liking.. My friends agreed on that too... But credit must be given that the chicken was really tender... and bacon was nice but again salty...

Pot-roasted corn-fed chicken with smoked bacon, baby onions and red wine - 16pounds

My friends ordered the beef... "Nothing compares to Gaucho" in their words... So guess the beef is so so too.. But note that Gaucho is easily 30pounds while this is only 19pounds... So you kinda get what you pay for..

Stout-braised dedham vale beef with mashed root vegetable and crispy parsnip - 19pounds

Having been through the appetizers and mains, wasnt really expecting much for desserts.. BUT, dessert was great... Especially the Rasberry Crumble and also the Bread Pudding... The chocolate Fondant is normal but was good... Forget to take picture of the bread pudding.. But note that the dessert menu for dine in and pub menu is different... we had the dine in dessert menu.. which i understand from my friends is more extensive and better...

Chocolate Fondant with Ice Cream

Rasberry Crumple with Ice Cream

Tube: Limehouse

Cuisine type: British

Address: 44 Narrow Street, E14 8DP
Verdict: Ambience is cosy and nice with views of Canary Wharf. Be back maybe only for the drinks with friends at the pub.

Deville Restaurant @ Mandeville Hotel

Had dinner at Deville Restaurant @ Mandeville Hotel on a friday night with 2 other girls.

The interior of the restaurant from my angle. Pretty quiet for a friday night.

Was served the bread and this entree in which taste really good but i cannot really remember what it is already. Think is some shrimp thingy with orange and tomatoes. It really taste much better than the picture of which my poor photography skills took.

For starters i had the soup, which i thought was a little bit common. Nothing special.

Cauliflower and sorrel soup - 6.75pound

My friends had the grain fed duck with wood pigeon terrine - 10.75pound , which per the waitress was awarded michelin award for it. I tried a little from them and wow it really taste good. Think everyone should try it.

This is by far one of the best mains i had in my short 4months in london.. The orange sauce you see in the picture below is really good. The Scallops and prawns are very fresh and juicy. The fish is normal but with the sauce, really think is heavenly. Just blogging this makes me want to head back to eat this main again.

Grey mullet and seafood chowder - 18.50pound

My friends being huge fan of lamb ordered this. Tried a small piece - The lamb is tender while not having that lambish smell (if you know what i trying to say). They loved the dish, but i think my main is better...

Sussex lamb cutlet cassoulet with herb roasted potatoes and mint - 19.75 pound

And we ended the night with desserts. Dessert was normal, good but nothing to wow about.

Black chocolate fondant, roasted marshmallow - 7.25 pound

Strawberry chocolate mousse tart and pistachio parfait - 7.25 pound

 Posted this picture as our water was more expensive than the wine we had for that evening... But then again it is evian, paul smith label water...

Tube: Bond Street
Website: http://www.mandeville.co.uk/deville.html
Address: The Mandeville Hotel, Mandeville Place,W1U 2BE
Cuisine Type: British
Verdict: Love the food. Definetely be back for my grey mullet and seafood chowder even without my tastelondon card 50% off the price for all food items discount. Guys go try it... But do bear in mind, if you are hungry, try not to eat there, as it takes quite long for the food to be ready though there was like not much customers around..

Bar Ciao

Headed down to this ice-cream place with my friends after dinner.

As i was really really full and dont take cream nor sauces, i made ordered only 1 scoop of ice-cream on a cone.

Below is the picture of the ice-cream my friend ordered. Not sure if it is good, but how wrong can ice-cream get... But personally i like my ice-cream with no toppings, so no comments for now.. But my friends loved it... And is like their loyal supporter sharing this place with every single one they know... So guess it must be good..

Website: http://www.ciaobellagelato.com/

Address: 17 Charing X Road, Leicester Square, London WC2H 0EP

Verdict: Will be back as it is in Leicester square and will be a good place to hang out with friends over ice-cream after dinner at Chinatown

Harbour City Restaurant @ Chinatown

Being the Chinese New Year Eve, meet up with a group of Singaporeans for reunion dinner at Harbour City Restaurant. Was just too hungry so took only like a few picture and gave up.

Felt that it was just very very normal chinese cooking which most of us can whipped up. Nothing special. Had like prawns (maybe only 6 or 8 pieces) steamed fish, sweet sour pork chop, oysters in spring onion, one roast duck, braised pork, steamed chicken, 2 vegetables, egg fried rice and a plate of noodle for sharing. And guess what the bill came up to 288pound for 10 people with no detailed breakdown of the bill. No wine, no shark fin, no scallops... Some of the pictures are below.



Fish is ok, oysters fried in spring onion wasnt exactly fresh.



This is pretty good actually but again portion is small

Steamed chicken that is really tough

Sweet and sour pork - Portion is pathetic right?

Nearest Tube: Leicester Square
Address: 46 Gerrard Street, Chinatown,W1D 7QH
Verdict: With so many more restaurants to chose from in Chinatown, dont think i will be back there again.

巴蜀之家 Sichuan-Folk

Went to this sichuan restaurant for KTV and lunch on a Saturday afternoon. Just opposite Spitalfields market. Forget to take pictures as was just too hungry...

Food was really good. I really love the 巴蜀怪味鸡- sichuan folk special favoured chicken. The chilli oil with the peanut sauce is just so heavenly.. Had the 四川辣子鸡- fragant chicken with dry chilli too...Think this dish is ok, a little too much dried chilli and cant really find the chicken.. But its ok.. And also the 水煮鱼 - boiled fish slices...

Remember that i had this spicy fried pork slices which i cannot remember the name of the dish but was really tasty, and also this minced pork with bun dish that was also good...

Tube: Liverpool, Shoreditch

Website : http://sichuan-folk.co.uk/

Address: 32 Hanbury Street, London, E1 6QR
Verdict : Great food, really spicy, oily like the usual sichuan food and songs were pretty updated.

Update : Do not mix this restaurant up with bar-shu at Soho area as they are not the same. Been to both, and i prefer this one.

Azura Terrace Resturant

Was asked to organised dinner for saturday evening. Hence being the lazy me, i chose the restaurant in the hotel opposite where i am staying. Futhermore, i had the tastelondon card, which gives me 50% off all food prices from the Alacarte menu.

Ambience is great with the restaurant playing soft music with views of the O2 and river thames. Lighting is soft and it is not crowded at all. Service was excellent and right down to the smallest detail. When we asked for tap water (not bottled nor distilled), the staff asked if we prefer it with ice or without, and then went on to ask with lemon or without.

My friend had the 10oz rib of rare breed Yorkshire pork, parsnips and sweet potato, spiced apple chutney- 14.25 pound. I had a small piece of it and the apple sauce on the pork makes it so good. I will order that the next time i go.

Another friend had the 28 day matured rib eye steak from Dillon’s farm in County Londonderry, served with grilled vine tomatoes caramelized shallots, chips & roast garlic butter - 18.50pound. As i cant eat beef, comments are extracted from him. He says not bad. Good but as usual Gaucho is better. Ha..

I ordered the salmon as per the picture below. Salmon pretty fresh with no fishy smell which i am super sensitive to, and the sauce is not too oily. Anyway with the 50% i am getting, no complains really, as it is only 7.25pound after discount.

Scottish organic salmon, sautéed leeks and tarragon, cherry tomato and basil salsa - 14.50pound

Another friend ordered this fish main. Her food taste better than mine too. Is it that people's food always taste better?

Pan Roast fillet of pollock spiced with harissa, lemon soused shallots, red pepper sauce - 14 pound

Another 2 gers ordered Wild mushrooms risotto, black pepper and parmesan crisp, basil oil - 11.50 pound. Not really for me as i am not a fan of risotto, but they say it is one of the better risotto that they have. And it is never easy to cook up good risotto.

Oh ya, the fries as sides are good. The salt on the fries are my absolute favourite. Make me eat non-stop though i am actually full from my main.

And lastly ended the day off with Desserts. Looked at the pictures i took. The desserts look and taste great. The cheesecake simply melts off in your mouth. One can just keep eating it without feeling the "too much" / "yucks" feeling (if you know what i trying to describe). Oh ya, for those who dont eat ginger, no worries, coz the cheesecake with the ginger bit is the base which was too hard for us to scoop it up. So you actully dont taste the ginger if you dont eat the base.

Baked pear in cider, honey & cinnamon, sweet vanilla cream - 6.25 pound

Ginger cheese cake with cranberry and orange compote - 6 pound

The chocolate tart is good but it just simply pale in comparison to the 2 other desserts above.

Bitter chocolate tart, kumquat & cardamom marmalade - 6.50 pound

And the night ended with us heading down to the pub nearby for drinks..

Address: Radisson Edwardian New Providence Wharf, 5 Fairmont Avenue, London, E14 9PQ
Website: http://www.radissonedwardian.com/london-hotel-gb-e14-9pq/gbcanary/dinings
Nearest Tube: Blackwall
Verdict: Wonderful company, great service, good ambience, tasty food, mouthwatering desserts AND 50% off using my tastelondon card. Will definetely be back!!

The Luxe @ Spitalfield Market

Headed down to Spitalfield Market on a Sunday afternoon. Pop by the Luxe for brunch/lunch.



Mocha - My daily doses of caffine

 

Eggs Benedict - Taste ok, pretty decent and good for the price, how wrong can i get with poached eggs.

Burger - Fries taste good, burger is not bad per my friend

Breakfast set

Nearest Tube: Liverpool Station
Address: 109 Commercial street, E1 6BG
Website: http://www.theluxe.co.uk/
Verdict: Crowded yet service remains good and prompt. Food is decent and would be considered really good for the price you are paying. Love the mocha i had. Would be back and would recommend to my friends.