Archive for ‘Food Reviews’

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February 23, 2015

East St (@EastStreetEats) [Food Review]

If you’re shopping in Central London particularly around Oxford St/Bond St make sure you pop in to cure those weary feet and get your eat on, or before your about to head into Soho for drinks with friends. East St is perfect for a quick and tasty dinner! The menu will also suit most people as it’s quite varied.

This little gem of fresh pan asian cooking is just situated off Oxford St, closer to Tottenham Court Road end, and brings a mixture of street food from Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Japan and Korea. It brought me back to the time of eating at the Hawker markets in Singapore or the street food stalls when I went to Bangkok, and I wondered as I sat down how authentic it was going to be.  Street food in these countries for me is completely different to eating in restaurants and I hoped they would capture the beauty of it. 

After a shopping trip with my brother (well half way through) and me knowing it was going to be a very long day ahead we decided to go here, and saw they also had an express lunch menu with 4 main dishes to choose from for £6.95 each and the option to go for a few more for £1 extra and to add a starter for £2.50 extra. Pretty good value for money if you ask me, although there wasn’t much choose.

He went for the express lunch choosing Gomoku Yakisoba – Ramen noodles wok-fried with prawns, chicken breast, peppers, julienne carrot and bean sprouts, garnished with toasted nori and pickled ginger and added Gyoza’s for us to share. Gyoza’s or dumpling are (in this case) Griddled dumplings of minced pork, bamboo shoot & spring onion, with a soy dip. These were tasty and light and didn’t taste like they were brought in an oriental supermarket like most restaurants. The noodles from Japan were a huge portion and tasted fresh and there was the right amount of meat, vegetables and noodles.

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I opted for the Nasi Goreng rice with prawns which is an Indonesian dish of spicy wok-fried rice with lime leaves, chilli, and onion flakes. This was very delicious and even when I was getting full I didn’t want to put the fork down. It’s quite a simple dish to make at home as well, you just have to get the elements right. Simple is sometimes the best for me especially when the ingredients used are good ones.

I recommend this place as a quick pan asian pit stop when your in the area especially if you like stir fry’s, curries, rice dishes and more full of flavour.

Where To Find

3-5 Rathbone Place, London, W1T 1HJ      02073230860    http://www.eaststreetrestaurant.com/

 

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February 18, 2015

Boom Burger (@BOOMburgerLDN) [Food Review]

Situated in West London on Portobello Road, Boom Burger is the new burger joint that has got everyone talking, from locals to further afield. After working the day in Kensal Rise, I walked down Ladbroke Grove and found my way to the the place, after being told by two different people to go for the normal burger and the other person the jerk chicken burger.

Let me first tell you a little bit about Boom Burger it’s described as a ‘Gourmet Burgers and cocktails with a Jamaican twist in a colourful space with a Caribbean vibe’. The founder is Josh de Lisser a young chef born in Jamaica who got his cooking influences from his family in Montego Bay.

Meeting a friend we went inside and I was quite surprised at how small the menu was, this I wasn’t expecting. To be frankly honest I loved it, I hate going to a restaurant and seeing a page full of desirable food and not being able to choose what I want because I want it all! The only downside looking around me was how small the place was and places to sit were sparse, luckily for us we came pretty early for dinner and it wasn’t busy. We ended up having a huge table to ourselves which could have seated 6 people 8 at a really tight squeeze.

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The food itself was delectable, I went for the Boom Burger, their signature beef burger covered in cheese and bacon jam which was a winner for me. My friend went for the Jerk Boom (chicken) which had fried plantain, rocket and mango & paw paw sauce. The jerk chicken was shredded and came in a brioche bun and was so packed it was almost impossible to eat. The Boom Burger was simple but incredibly tasty and unlike any beef burger I ever had. I was considering the Fish Boom though which consists of pan fried red snapper.

We ordered plantain fries and and normal fries as our sides which were huge portions and we couldn’t manage to finish our meals. The jerk wings and saltfish chilli fritters are definitely what I’m going to be ordering next time to mix it up a bit! There is also a choice of a Pork Boom, Veggie Boom and a Brunch Boom along with Jerk Salad and Fish Salad to keep most people happy who want to come and sample some tasty Jamaican influenced food.

The drinks menu is another thing that won me round at Boom Burger where rum cocktails take precedent and the ‘rum n thing’ cocktail for me straight away. You can also go for favourite like rum punch, pina colada or so sorrel.

This place is great to meet for a relaxed lunch or dinner if you need to get in and out of quickly and is very informal and fun. It’s delicious and inexpensive. What more could you want?

Where To Find

272 Portobello Road, London W10 5TY    020 8960 3533     www.boomburger.co.uk

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January 22, 2015

Drunken Monkey (@DRUNKENMONKEYE1) [Food Review]

Going to meet work colleagues for dinner at Drunken Monkey, a place I had strolled past many many times before on Shoreditch High Street and hadn’t even noticed, I was a bit dubious about it being a good Chinese as they are hard to come by. I walked in and was impressed with the layout, sort of pub meets restaurant making it laid back, and the ambient lighting with cool, funky music playing in the background. I sat down and waited quite a long time before the waitress came over to take our drinks order for the two of us whilst we waited for the rest.

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When the other 6/7 people arrived we turned to the menu starving and decided to order portions of Singapore noodles some with prawns and some with chicken and drunken monkey noodles which come with pork and chicken and are thicker, less spicy noodles along with chilli salt fried squid, honey smoked crispy chicken, spring rolls and egg fried rice keeping it simple.

The chilli salt fried squid is a firm favourite of mine whenever I go to a Chinese restaurant and Drunken Monkey did not let me down, the seasoning was just right not too hot, not overly battered and not over salted and the squid was soft not chewy. Both noodle dishes were delicious too, unlike some noodles I’ve had which are bland, these were full of flavour and had enough vegetables and meat in them and the portions were huge.

The honey smoked crispy chicken was also a generous portion and at only £4.90 was so nice people kept grabbing for the bowls not wanting it to disappear before they had more. I normally don’t like mixing sweet and sour dishes but I have to say this was quickly becoming a firm favourite for me too especially teamed with fried rice.

Most of us drunk Rumba Brava’s all liking the idea of rum mixed with passion fruit (well I think it might have been just me) which were strong but deliciously sweet at the same time and went well with the food. Afterwards I was given a long island ice tea for my birthday which had passed and that too went down a treat.

The only bad thing I have to say about Drunken Monkey was the service was slow, but the food and drinks came pretty quickly once ordered so it kind of made up for it. I’d love to come back and try there dim sum menu too maybe for lunch as we had the main courses mostly and sample more of there menu, but I left thoroughly impressed. Get down there on the weekend in the evening also and you might catch a well known DJ as they have ones from around the world playing. Good food, music, cocktails what else could you want?

Where To Find

222 Shoreditch High Street, London E1    020 739 9606    http://www.thedrunkenmonkey.london/

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January 13, 2015

Bayou Soul (@BayouCamden) [Food Review]

Southern American cuisine is something in London that is quite hard to come by, so while scouring the Internet for one I came across Bayou Soul which opened in June 2014, so is still fairly new. Located in Camden in Inverness Street the small door leads to a rather large restaurant situated in-between bars/restaurants and the inside was warming and inviting, as well as the staff.

We sat down and were told there were happy hour cocktails still available, but instead opted to share a bottle of the house white wine, which can often be unpleasant, but upon tasting it was crisp and fresh. The cocktail list was vast and you can also just come here to sit at the bar sample the cocktails and have some nibbles casually.

Looking at the menu full of Creole cooking that all looked comforting and heart warming it was hard to decide what to pick. For the starters we decided on the B.B.Q shrimps & biscuits and Louisiana crab cakes & crawfish beignets (fritters). The king prawns came on a steaming hot dish cooked in garlic, white wine and chilies with biscuits on the side to soak up the remainder of the sauce. The prawns were a good size for two sharing and were juicy and succulent and full of flavour. The crab crakes and crawfish beignet starter was slightly disappointing or us as the crab cakes were on the fishy side and the beignets were overly battered and I couldn’t see much crawfish. The mango salsa and avocado emulsion really helped the dish out.

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For the main I was torn between the Gumbo; a slow cooked casserole, Louisiana style served with rice cooked with peppers, onion, celery and spices with a choice between prawn & chicken that I would have gone for, chicken & sausage or crawfish & catfish, Jambalaya with the same choice which is described as a Creole Paella or the lobster & crawfish mac & cheese. I chose the later which intrigued me and was under the New Orleans Mama’s Home Cooking section and was told by the waiter this is what he advises his customers to order.

My companion chose the buttermilk fried chicken with 3 pieces which is served with a side and homemade gravy. The lobster & crawfish mac and cheese pie was delicious, creamy and cheesy and the lobster and crawfish added that extra texture and taste that made a simple dish into something a bit more special. The buttermilk fried chicken was ok, not the best I’ve had and the skin underneath wasn’t crispy so that was a bit of a disappointment but the crispy layer on top was tasty and the chicken was moist, so I just picked the skin off.

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The meal was a good price considering we had a bottle of wine and 2 starters and 2 mains and the food overall was a good quality. The kitchen also has ribs, burgers, steaks, and more to chose from and the variety of the menu is appealing. There is live blues & soul music on a Wednesday and Saturday which I reckon would be packed on those days. Bayou Soul is definitely worth a visit but needs some slight improvement on some of the food.

Where To Find

20 Inverness Street  020 7284 0989   http://thebayoucamden.com/

 

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January 4, 2015

Clutch Chicken (@ClutchChicken) [Review]

My first blog of the year and I’m going to start by writing about one on my main passions and one I’ve never written about before…eating out. I absolutely love it to the point in my late teens/early 20’s my mum used to questions how I could afford to eat out (at good restaurants) at least 3 times a week. Admittedly I have slowed down now to about once a week or once every two weeks.

With the opening of so many American style diners and restaurants across London, Clutch has became one of them opening in mid 2014 off Hackney Road in East London and it has begun to rule the roost. It’s described by them as ‘The home of guilt free fried chicken’.

Looking at the menu which consists of brunch, dinner, sides and sauces it wasn’t too difficult to digest and they say it is a healthy way of frying the chicken with groundnut oil for you health conscious eaters.

Clutch

The concept is basically having three ways to prepare the chicken; a bucket with coatings of either sweet soy garlic or peppery buttermilk, love me tenders with either curry leaf & sesame or parmesan & lemon and wings with sour & spicy chilli or honey & sesame. We went for two half buckets with both flavors; sweet soy garlic and peppery buttermilk. We were debating over the love me tenders (goujons) with parmesan & lemon, as my friend so rightly put it “what could go wrong with chicken fried in cheese?”

The sides we went simply for one portion of twice fried fries and one of coleslaw. The sauces which were £1 each we chose roasted garlic & crème fraiche and chicken gravy. The sauces we chose went perfectly with the coatings we chose as the food arrived and we realised the peppery buttermilk which was a dry coating definitely needed the gravy and the chips tasted excellent with it too. The sweet soy garlic chicken was suited perfectly with the garlic crème fraiche.

I definitely favoured the peppery buttermilk chicken as I loved the crispiness of the batter with the tenderness of the chicken, whereas my friend favoured the soy garlic which was more of a sticky coating.

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Drinks

 The drinks menu was more painful to look at as it had so many good options of cocktails to choose from. We went for a simple elderflower and prosecco which was light and bubbly and went down a treat with the chicken.

Take note also there is a bar hidden away in a room behind the restaurant where you can also order food.

Worth a try?

 We couldn’t even finish our chicken only eating 2 bits each from each bucket and taking 2 bits each home! The bill came to £30 each which is quite pricey but then we did have two drinks each too so it’s quite reasonable when you add that. The chicken is definitely worth the price and I will be going back to test out the brunch menu too!

Where to find

4 Ravenscroft Street, London E2 7QG 020 7098 0808 http://clutchchicken.com

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