hollow_legs's Profile
Chef change @ Golden Day, Chinatown, London
I went in Dec. 2010 and while the food was good, I thought Ba Shan's was much better, though pricier. It would be interesting to see if the chef change was after then; it's cheap enough to warrant a return.
Chaconia, Trini on Deptford High St - London
So many great places in deptford to explore! Thanks for the heads up - looking forward to trying it.
L'Anima (London)
Having never been to L'Anima, I can't really comment but I think with the advent of new and really great Italian restaurants (Zucca, Trullo, Tinello) which are a fraction of the price, L'Anima has gone off the boil a bit.
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L'Anima
1 Snowden Street, London EC2A 2DQ, GB
Cheap and delicious [London]
Moolis in Soho is excellent; indian roti wraps with delicious fillings.
Tayyabs in Whitechapel is cheap, amazing Pakistani food; it's very very popular though so get there early, around 6pm or be prepared to queue. Nearby Needo Grill is supposedly as good.
Chilli Cool is in Bloomsbury and it does excellent Sichuan food. Similarly, Golden Day in Soho does Hunanese food.
If you could only eat one meal in London...
Yashin Sushi in Kensington - I've never been as it's so expensive but I've heard nothing but rave reviews. Otherwise, definitely the Ledbury - I've been three times this year and it's been nothing short of excellent.
(SE LONDON) Old Kent Road eateries
There seems to be a lot of weird and wonderful places in Elephant & Castle and the Old Kent Road - does anyone have any recommendations in particular? I've been to Dragon Castle a fair few times; keen to explore the area further.
M & Z, Fitzrovia, London
Salted duck was just a bit like cold salty duck. Perhaps I didn't 'get' it. The sauce for the pork was quite sweet, no heavy flavourings other than soy and sugar.
Critique my list please! Montreal chowhounds in London for a week
The Ledbury does one of the best value lunches in London, and is my favourite place ever - £33 for three courses I think. I would go there over Robuchon / Claridges any day.
Iberica, Gt Portland St, London
I really enjoyed the croquetas there but the black rice was undercooked and the service was hilariously bad; we had to play a game of charades for tap water as our waiter seemingly couldn't understand a word of English.
M & Z, Fitzrovia, London
I tried this place out for lunch today after reading this - it was unquestionably a complete disaster.
Arriving at 1:15, we asked for a main menu instead of the £4.80 one plate rice or noodle dishes. Salted duck, grandmother's braised pork, three slivered vegetables and steamed rice for two of us. The salted duck appeared after 15 minutes, and after having eaten that, we proceeded to wait 40 minutes. the pork appeared, 10 minutes passed and I asked where the rice was. The answer was that they had run out of steamed rice but could give us egg fried rice instead.
I asked why it had taken so long. They told us there were too many people there. I asked why they had that many seats (all of about 20...) and they were stumped.
We had to leave to return to work. To be fair to them, they boxed up the pork for us to take away and didn't charge us for it.
Lithuanian Food in London
Hi everyone,
I'm taking part in Eating Eurovision, whereby 25 bloggers drew countries out of the hat and has to go research that country's cuisine, preferably from a primary source.
I drew Lithuania.
I know nothing about Lithuanian cuisine, so can anyone recommend anywhere for me to try? I have to go tonight!
Many thanks in advance.
IN PRAISE OF TOMOE
Sadly I must've ordered wrong. The deluxe sushi set, while tasty and fresh, was only 11 pieces and I left £18 lighter and still hungry.
St. John or Bread & Wine
I've only been to St John and not the bread and wine, but I'd say the latter. More informal (not that St John is formal), tapas-sized plates so you get to try more on the menu, and cosier.
Two Izakaya (Tomoe and Asakusa), London
Excellent! Thanks for the report - I'm having lunch at Tomoe tomorrow.
Chilli Cool - Oh my God the Service is Bad
Do you think the chinese diners had maybe booked a table?
WANTED: Unusual London restaurant. Dead or alive.
Brilliant. I've been dying to go for AGES!
WANTED: Unusual London restaurant. Dead or alive.
I went to Hibiscus for lunch on Thursday, and it's not particularly different or wacky.
How about Chilli Cool, or Snazz Sichuan? They're both Sichuanese restaurants, and they both do hot pots - so you get wire baskets, an array of meat and seafood and you cook it yourself in a bubbling pot of broth. (Let me know if you do go cos I'd love to join).
[London] Trip Report (Tayyab, Alounak, St. John, L'Autre Pied, Hereford Road, La Petite Maison, and more)
Vegetarian or no, it's a shame you didn't try the tindi masala - it's a favourite of mine. Thanks for the reports, they've been great.
Cupcakes in London?
I have to say I was extremely underwhelmed by Lola's when I had one in Selfridges; dry, sickly sweet and I couldn't finish it.
London with a group, on a Saturday
I've heard that whilst Snazz Sichuan is good, Chilli Cool in Bloomsbury is better, but I haven't been to either.
Easy vegetarian soup
I recently made a minestrone style soup by sweating down a soffrito, adding chunky peppers and a bit of chilli, passata or tinned tomatoes and some veg stock. Chunk a handful of broken pasta bits, stock and then I finished it off with shredded savoy cabbage.
"British" Restaurants & Cookbook Stores [London]
I've been to Launceston Place, and it was my most fondly remembered meal from 2008. The presentation (we had the tasting menu) was beautiful, and the staff look after you incredibly well. It does come at a price, but for the chef (Tristan Welch, ex Petrus) it's still a good price. Lunch is a good deal at £18 for three courses set menu.
For something a bit cheaper and a bit more rustic, I'd recommend the Anchor & Hope in Southwark. It's a gastro pub and the food is excellent, although you can't book and sometimes have to wait for a table (we waited an hour on a Saturday night). Still, the waiting staff are lovely, the food generous and delicious.
St John's is also very good - I haven't been the any of the others on your list but I know of people who have raved about Wild Honey.
Chez Liline, Finsbury Park, London
Thnks for the recommendation - I have many friends who live in Finny P and we always struggle to think of where to eat. What are the prices like?
Good Beers on tap in South London
Ah good point - I missed the NYC-hound bit. Nevertheless, the Brew Dog beers are very good, Punk IPA is my favourite.
West [London]
I've heard a lot of good things about Petersham Nurseries in Richmond: http://www.petershamnurseries.com/cafeandteahouse.asp
Good Beers on tap in South London
It's not in any of the areas that you've listed, but The Rake in Borough do great beers - Sierra Nevada specifically, and Brew Dog beers.
What is your favorite "ethnic" food to make?
I've been cooking Chinese food for a couple of years now, but more specifically Sichuan food - fish fragrant aubergines and Ma Po Tofu are my favourite. Also, I've been starting to make dim sum which, while time consuming, is very satisfying.
