rewani

Dim T, 2 More London Place, Tooley Street, London, SE1 2DB (Second visit)

2010-08-05T01:38:00.004+01:00

I am surprised with how I "may" actually become a regular to some restaurants. Emphasizing the word may as I'm always up for trying something new rather than going to same places. This time I had visitors from abroad, they preferred asian cuisine. London Bridge branch of this restaurant has a great view of Tower Bridge especially at night when it is lighted. Getting off the tube/bus at London Bridge you walk by the Thames on Queen's Walk in order to reach the restaurant which is good in both ways: On the way there you enjoy the promenade, on the way back it helps you digest all that food you have just eaten!
As starter: edamame beans (naturally good as it's hard to mess it up), duck spring rolls and satay chicken (both are disaster)
My guests have chosen crispy duck which is basically Beijing-style duck slices that comes with onions and pita. I go for udon noodle prawn teriyaki. Prawn was a bit blunt but the noodle tastes good and it is filling without giving you discomfort in the stomach.
I picked chocolate bento box as a dessert. Brownie and vanilla ice cream comes in a mysterious black box. I like these sort of little gimmicks that add to your dining experience. Some guests chose mango sorbet, I tried a bit as well, absolutely great. If you want something a little lighter you could choose this over brownie. And the picture is the fruit that went into the chocolate fondue dip :=)

Chez Gerard, 38 The Market, Covent Garden Piazza, WC2E 8RF

2010-08-05T01:19:00.004+01:00

It is great to have an affordable French restaurant in central London. I have been to this place quite a few times and always enjoyed the food. Staff are very nice people. A quick search on Chez Gerard restaurants tells me that it is one of the 11 branches of the group and this particular branch alone generates GBP 5million annually, not bad, eh? :=) Also it is quite amazing that they have around 6o staff in this restaurant serving to 250 covers. Respect! I've always admired hospitality businesses.

This time we went there for a friend's birthday on a pleasant weekday afternoon. This is my favourite Chez Gerard branch as it has a roof top balcony overseeing Covent Garden.
As students we like smart deals such as their "prix fixe" where you can choose either a starter-main or main-dessert. The picture is goat cheese starter dish. As a main, I usually prefer steak-frites. They know how to cook proper medium rump steak. Although I'm quite interested in the vegetarian movement I cannot help when it is good red meat. I could maybe give up on chicken but not steaks, well sea food is hard too:)
Although our waitress recommended tart au citron (lemon tart) as a dessert saying it's quite popular, unfortunately we don't agree with her. Next time, I'll go for somethnig chocolatey, you can't go wrong with that!

Manorom Thai, 16 Maiden Lane Covent Garden London WC2E 7NJ (Second visit)

2010-08-05T01:18:00.000+01:00

Well, another visit, as promised, however good food combined with a heated conversation on London job market is the reason to forget taking a picture again. We had the set menu again. Everything is the same except that spicy chicken soup is getting better and spicier every time! I literally burst into tears when ambitiously trying to finish it, not even mentioning my friend's face going into different expressions with every sip :)

I think the soup so outperforms all other dishes that I lose my objectivity in evaluating them. Well, the chicken in the curry dishes is not soft rather crunchy. Steamed vegetables are alright. Finally gotta stop giving canned lychee fruit as the dessert.. Prices increased 2-3 pounds as well. Well I would go there again for sure as I like its cosy atmosphere quite calmer than the rest of Covent Garden restos.
Posted by rev at 10:13 PM

Abeno Too, 17-18 Great Newport Street, London

2010-04-20T23:14:00.010+01:00

It's been 2 years since I last had okonomi-yaki...good old osaka days :) I was walking around when I bumped into this sweet restaurant in leicester square. Wow, they actually have a specialised okonomi-yaki place in London, I'm such a beginner to the London restaurant-scene, I guess they have everything!
Ok, what is okonomi-yaki? It is a savory pancake that is cooked on the hotplate of your own table. It is topped with mayonnaise, katsuobushi(shavings of smoked tuna) and aonori(seaweed flakes). Sounds different huh?

Monday 2pm, obviously not a peak time, we are one of the only two tables :) We picked the lunch set menu that comes with a miso soup, okonomiyaki and seaweed cucumber salad. Our preference of okonomiyaki was Shinshu Mix which contains chichen, cheese and asparagus. Luckily it was diner-style, i.e. the cook prepared it for us, otherwise I don't think I'd be able to fry the pancake thoroughly.
It was a dear friend's birthday. Without making him realise, I asked our lovely waiter(chatty and amicable lady) to bring a dessert with a candle on top. She recommended Sakura-jima sundae, which I loved. Quite weirdly my friend didn't like chocolate much(!), so I might have had the most of his dessert :=)
Having the dish cooked in front of you is fun and it is filling!

Tibits, 12-14 Heddon Street (off Regent Street) London

2010-04-20T22:35:00.007+01:00

People! see me published at the restaurant web-site :=)

http://www.tibits.co.uk/e/about-us/media-roundup/

This vegetarian restaurant has no menu but "the food boat" which is basically an open buffet with some 30 dishes to choose from. They are GM-free and made with fresh, seasonal produce sourced from the UK and Europe. There are asian, indian and mediterranean dishes such as hummus, tabouleh, dahl, cheese-jalapeno balls, falafel, flat bean salad, mushroom salad... You fill your plate from the buffet, weigh it at the cashier and pay accordingly. For dinner "boat" price is 21pounds/kg. A plate like the one in the picture weighs around 500g.
I learned from the lovely lady at the cashier that they change the mains every 3 months (i.e. seasonal), but they keep the classics like jalapenos and dahl all year round. By the way there are some desserts as well but was too full to even have a look :) My plate had way too many tastes altogether therefore I choose not to have a drink/juice in order to focus on the dish.
Such a healthy and wholesome dinner!

Manorom Thai, 16 Maiden Lane Covent Garden London WC2E 7NJ

2010-04-20T22:13:00.005+01:00

As a regular of covent garden, I was quite ashamed not having discovered this street. Manorom is a small, really small restaurant with less than 10 tables I suppose. It was deserted when we got there on a thursday evening around 6pm. You know when a restaurant is empty, one can't help but have prejudice for low quality/mediocre taste. Only 5 minutes after we put our bums on the chairs, the place was packed!
We preferred the 3-course dinner set menu. For less than 15 pounds we had awesome (seriously no words to describe it) spicy chicken soup, hearty portion of sweet and sour prawns, jasmin rice, veggies in oyster sauce and lychee desert. Amicable staff, good taste, great value.

Soon after this first visit I have taken another friend to this place on a friday evening and it was fully booked for the night. Apparently people have discovered this place already! If you haven't, consider it for your next time in covent garden:=)

Yes I was so hungry, I even forgot to take a picture..this gives me the excuse to go there again!

The Real Greek, 60 - 62 Long Acre, Covent Garden, London

2009-10-25T19:14:00.006Z

To start with let me say this place is good food for value. Especially if you are into mediterranean cuisine you'll like it. As a beginner to greek cuisine I can't tell whether the dishes taste traditional but anyways they taste great. You can really feel that the ingredients used are fresh fresh!
In the picture you see Cretan Meal Deal, you choose couple of mezes and a main. Enjoy sharing!

After all I think a-la-carte items should be a little more cheaper. If you were to order meze individually they cost around 3-4 each. So you feel obligated to choose the sharer to get more value but then again the sharer options are limited to cheaper menu items.
I would still go there to try other dishes.

In my second visit I tried Soutzouki Souflaki; spicy beef sausage on flatbread topped with tzatziki. Intense taste and aroma but don't worry not that spicy plus yoghurt topping helps tone it down.

My third, fourth and ...visits followed as I got addicted to this place. Steamed baby potatoes are tasty and the red wine is fine. What I like about this place the most is manager Roman, such a fun guy! He must be tired as his restaurant is busy pretty much the whole time but he never shows. He is always cheerful and willing to have a few words with you :)

Tas Restaurant, 22 Bloomsbury St, London, WC1B 3QJ

2009-10-25T18:52:00.003Z

My first Turkish restaurant visit in the UK. More to come!
The long and feastish lunch began with the starters (mezes). Honestly I didn't like any of them. When I see the dishes I could tell what they are but then they taste totally different than what I normally expected! As for the main, I chose Hunkar Begendi (lamb on a creamy-aubergine sauce). That is one of my favourites in turkish cuisine. Here the sauce was well prepared however the meat, I couldn't eat...I could never know that I would forget all about my disappointment in the main dish by the time I had my first bite of the dessert. Baklava was alright. But the chestnut and cream was a blast! It's a retouch to the chestnut candy; lighter and still full taste. As you can see in the picture, the display is also nice huh?
I will try some other main dish before a final verdict :)

Dim T, 2 More London Place, Tooley Street, London, SE1 2DB

2009-10-25T18:36:00.003Z

Again a chain restaurant..
Location is lovely, if you get a window seat you could enjoy the view of Tower Bridge, cool!
Atmosphere is informal and elegant. Little dim at night though..
As a main I enjoyed my prawn sweet coconut rice noodles. Probably the tastiest and most filling noodle ever!
As a dessert we had fruit and marshmallow chocolate fondue, you can never be wrong about chocolate :=) Though I never had marshmallows before in my life, my friends were so nice not to make fun about it :))
The washroom is cleannn. Haha they also followed this invisible-door trend I see nowadays. Although it may seem like a brown wall, if you are lucky you can discover the door before it's too late :P They also play good music in there ;)
Prices are also moderate, worths a visit!

Hummus Bros, Victoria House 37-63 Southampton Row, WC1B 4DA, London

2009-10-11T22:28:00.004+01:00

First of all this place is innovative in the sense that they use hummus which is usually a side dish as a base for mains (veggies, chicken, beef etc.). The hummus is a little creamy than I expected and it comes with a medium piece of pitta bread which is usually enough.
Chunky beef is my favorite along with mushrooms. Can't wait to try the guacamole next time! Though I don't understand why they treat tzatziki as a topping for mains rather than as a side dish...
One negative comment for the menu is for tabouleh and baklava, both are very dry.
Aloe vera juice is energizing, love it!
They bring complimentary salad/dessert and mint tea which is a lovely treat :)
Great value for money.

Ping Pong Dim Sum, 45 Great Marlborough Street, Soho, London W1F 7JL

2009-10-11T21:57:00.006+01:00

Waow waow waow! What a great dinner!

Totally packed on a saturday night, luckily we had reservation for our group. The atmosphere is humble for its elegant décor.
This place eliminated the one big problem in chinese retaurants i.e ordering the right thing on the menu, by giving out a card where you mark the buns you want.
The dough covering the steamed buns is almost see-through, very thin which without stuffing your stomach with carbohydrates makes you feel full.

Vegetarian sticky rice parcels are wrapped with bamboo leaves, very light and fragrant.
The only feature that the place lacks is the chinese wheel-type tables. They have round tables alright but it doesn't help much if you ordered 15 boxes of buns and that there are 6 people trying to reach them :)
The prices are reasonable for such high quality food. Definitely going there again!

ÇokÇok, Beyoglu, Istanbul, Turkey (second visit)

2009-09-01T14:07:00.002+01:00

After the disappointment from my first visit I didn't consider giving this restaurant a second chance. However I felt responsible after the anonymous comment to my entry, and went there again to give a fair rating after all.
There are mainly international customers which I perceived as a sign of quality and taste but it simply doesn't address my gusto.
This time I only had a main dish. Fried noodles with prawns (pad thai kung sod). Isn't fried noodles supposed to be a dry dish? Noodles were wet and sticky (maybe because of the sliced watery tofu pieces) The dish came with dry chillies and roasted peanuts on the side which made the dish edible. The prawns didn't taste good.
I have only positive comments about the place: service personnel are nice and softdrink prices are moderate.
Not going there again, sorry.

Köfteci Ramiz, Kazasker, Istanbul, Turkey

2009-02-08T18:54:00.004Z

Although on a sunday night, the restaurant was very crowded.
The restaurant specializes in meat balls(köfte). Contrary to the traditional style, meatballs are served over a bed of bread (pide): I find it very practical, so that you don't have to tear off the bread with your hands. The meatballs are delicious! The side dish is simple-only tomatoes and pepper. The red pepper sauce wasn't tasty and could have been a little more spicy.
The salad bar is satisfactory. But of course, piyaz (cold dried beans) makes the best accompanying vegetable for the meatballs.
The menu includes couple of other meat dishes and desserts.
I had kadayıf and kemalpaşa tatlısı, the latter was amazing.
The prices are very moderate, even cheap for the high quality ingredients.
My only negative comment would be for the service. The staff didn't seem to be experienced. The place was very crowded and the staff couldn't keep the pace with the orders. For a fast food outlet, the rate of service is very important for customer satisfaction and we heard some customers grumbling...Since this restaurant is a new store of the chain, I'm sure the service quality will get better shortly.

Sarovar, Fürstenstr, Munich, Germany

2009-02-06T17:02:00.005Z

It was a sunday evening therefore the place was peaceful and not crowded.
We ordered the easiest dish to the middle to share. We had sarovar thalis (mixed platter) which included various Indian delicacies such as beef masala, chicken tandoori and tikka...
We had extra rice and nan(flat bread) as usual.
Had lychee juice, it was good.
Staff was very friendly: Indian style:) We were asked if we would like mango liquor after the meal. It was a sweet shot, hopefully helps digest the large amount of food we had:)

Le Cap Breton, 2eme Arrondissement, Paris, France

2009-02-06T16:35:00.006Z

As I cried for crepes to my french friends, this was the place they brought me to. Although we had a reservation, we still had to wait for some time. The place was simply packed. Because it is near the Opera, it's a pretty popular destination for after-show diners.
The savory crepes were meant to be the main dish. They lacked flavour.. A very thin crepe dough was simply topped with cheese, tomato etc. Maybe it didn't address my taste, because everyone around me seemed to enjoy their dish. The portions were french size, not much filling :)
The sweet crepes as dessert were not sugary at all. They were basically made from savory crepe dough and topped with chocolate, honey etc. I would like nutella, banana crepes sold at street counters much better :=)
But Cidre Bouché Brut (french liquor) was delicious and it is a good company to the meal. We had two big bottles of it!

Le Mouff'tot Mouffetard,5eme Arrondissement, Paris, France

2009-02-06T15:37:00.004Z

A hidden gem in rue Mouffetard.
What makes this restaurant affordable is that they have fixed meal options.
I had a regular meal which included a starter, main dish and a dessert. I had avocado and shrimps as starter, meat as main dish and chocolate mousse as dessert. For approximately 15 E that's a good deal!
The menu includes many different dishes, seafood is the highlight, recommended.
Staff is friendly. After lunch, we were even offfered coffee for free :) Doesn't happen that often in bars these days.
Inside there is a bar counter where you can get a few drinks in this gloomy room.
It has a very small WC, attention for ladies wanting to refresh their make-up.

Happy Moons, Bağdat Cad.,Istanbul, Turkey

2009-02-06T14:47:00.005Z

You are out, alone or with friends, looking for a trendy and cheap place to eat and chill. This is the way to go. Menu has numerous fast food dishes along with more meal like options.
They are all very filling; actually I'm still trying to figure out why they serve gigantic burritos:=)
Mexican dishes are satisfactory, they come with classical side dishes like sweet mash and beans.
Their summer hit is home made lemonade with mint leaves.
Coming to the atmosphere, they have cool american-style decoration. The music is never too loud.
Especially young people's choice.

Japon Kültür, Taksim, Istanbul, Turkey

2009-02-06T14:31:00.004Z

Cheap Japanese food in Istanbul?
As students we cannot afford the Japanese restaurants in five star hotels, so can this be the way out? Well, unfortunately lower prices came along with bad taste:(
Soba, Udon: no flavour at all..
Sushi: we had three platters of various sushi. It wasn't anything special, and what is that sauce on top of sushi ?? I think that sauce goes well with japanese salad not sushi...
Tea: nice that they had the tea biscuits, however tea flavour was not satisfactory..
They have tables and also tatami room but these soesn't compensate for the disappointment in food.

Le Bistrot d'Henri, 6eme Arrondissement, Paris, France

2009-02-06T14:04:00.004Z

What is special about this place?
It is small
It is cozy
It is original
Maybe more importantly, it has the best meat and wine ever!

It is situated in a small street. If it was not our French friends, we would have never found this place.
First of all the restaurant is very french, menu is all french, staff speaks french. It can be hard for tourists to order, but it doesn't matter, order something and it will taste great anyways! Our french friend ordered three dishes to the middle and we shared. Meat was cooked medium-just enough to enjoy the flavour.
Accustomed to labeled wines, we found it weird that the wine came in a plain bottle with no labels. However the first sip, the first glass and those that followed(!) proved it again and again that their home-made wine tasted awesome.
We were lucky to sit at the table by the window near the entrance where you get the best view of the street. The staff is very friendly, he asked us if we liked our meal and he was kind to try to understand my french:)
Lastly, such a great dinner comes at a moderate cost as compared to paris bistros.
A spot not to be missed out in your paris trip :)

ÇokÇok, Beyoglu, Istanbul, Turkey

2009-02-06T13:30:00.004Z

Those who crave for decent Asian food in Istanbul know what I mean when they finally hear that a Thai restaurant is opened. It's been a year, I headed with a group of friends to this restaurant in search for some traditional Thai dishes.
The place is well-decorated, reflecting the Thai style. Definitely try the second floor where you can sit on the mats for a real Thai experience:) Attention: It is dark inside the restaurant
The menu seems to have it all which got us even more excited. However the dishes lacked flavour. Red and green curry didn't taste real Thai, maybe because adjusted to Turkish taste...And where is Thai aubergine in the curry?? Chicken satay is such a disaster! It tastes like sis kabap with a weird sauce.
Lychee dessert: Great, or is it?! It should have been indicated in the menu that it was canned fruit, so pretty disappointing for the ones expecting fresh lychee.
One very positive comment about the place: They have quite a lot of various tea flavours-from the classics like jasmine to oolong and many others. Tea comes with a small pot, well brewed and kept warm with candle light at the bottom.
Restaurant is pricy especially considering that you can eat much better Thai dishes in Asia for one fifth of the price!

Sarı Köşk, Emirgan, Istanbul, Turkey

2009-02-06T13:03:00.005Z

Looking for smart prices in a richly decorated setting, Sarı Köşk is the place to go!
Weekend brunch is their specialty. Brunch buffet has anything you can imagine for a hearty breakfast. Brunch is around 20 TL (all you can eat style!) Attention: Tea is included in the price, but orange juice comes at a cost.
Easily accessible with public transportation.
Situated in the lovely Emirgan grove, the restaurant offers a quiet meal by the nature.
After the breakfast, take the path down the villa to digest and to freshen up. There are picnic spots along the way.
If you are in the mood for some cultural activity try the nearby Sabanci Museum.

Num Num, Kanyon AVM, Istanbul, Turkey

2009-02-06T12:49:00.008Z

+ Good value for price
+ Entertaining menu with creative text
+ 4-people tables are large and comfy
+ Dishes are filling
+ Although packed on a saturday night the staff is still caring :=)

- Not a place for a chillout, very loud music!
- Gotta work more on the desserts.

Kitchenette, Palladium AVM, Istanbul, Turkey

2009-02-06T12:32:00.009Z

+ Menu was kept quite simple -only 2 pages- which decreases the decision time.
+ Nice dish presentation
+ Although there was a smoking section in the restaurant, you could feel no smoke, very well ventilated.
+ Birthday cake was delicious!

- It was very expensive considering that they offer neither creativite recipes nor high quality service. Main dishes cost around 25-30 TL, even soft drinks are 7 TL which is ridiculous!
- Turkish tea was charged although it came in the form of an offering.