East Street | London

 

Gyoza and Bulgogi

Bulgogi

Chap Chae

Chicken Pad Krapow

I’ve walked pass East Street dozens of times and each time, I was curious. Finally, we made it here. East Street is made to convey the South East Asian street food experience which I think was almost spot on. The colour, décor and noise felt like home. We ordered the Korean bulgogi of marinated grilled beef and griddled gyoza (dumpling) to start. Then we moved on to Thai Pad Krapow with rice and Korean Chap Chae for mains. The best of the lot was the Pad Krapow and the rest were a little disappointing for me. The bulgogi tasted nice but was dry, gyoza was lack of flavour and Chap Chae was just ‘meh’. My Spanish friend loved them though. Maybe I am just being a tad picky with my food.

Although the food was not up to par for my standard, we still enjoyed our time there. It was a very casual, fun and exciting place. I can see how many will like this place. It is the perfect place for cheap food off Oxford Street after a full day of shopping and possibly spending lots of money on clothes that we would probably only wear once. I might actually give it a second try next time, with a different selection from the menu. Maybe Nasi Goreng. Who knows. I will let you know my verdict again soon.

East Street

3-5 Rathbone Place
W1T 1HJ London,UK

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Bill's | London

Photo via Bill's

Photo via Bill's

Photo via Bill's

The first time I came across Bill's was when I visited a friend in Oxford. We had brunch there and was impressed by the concept of the restaurant and quality of the food. Just this week, P and I was heading towards Kingsland Road for some Vietnamese but ended up at Bill's in Hoxton Square. It was the terrace that attracted us since it was a rather sunny day. We have learnt to soak up as much Vitamins D as possible while in London as you never know what the weather's installed for us the next day.

We started from the terrace and later moved indoors as it became chilly. That did not stop us from enjoying the evening of well cooked food with quality ingredients. Kale chips was a good healthy start to snack on while our hungry tummy waited for the rest of the food. The pork ribs was tender and succulent with chips that's crisp and fluffy. The coleslaw could have been more moist. It was on the dry side. The fish and chips was good though could have more crisp on the batter. Our happiest moment was when we had our dessert alongside a glass of port. The eton mess was refreshing and not too sweet but the warm treacle tart with honeycomb ice cream was star of the evening! The tart itself was enough to make me return for more.

Bill's is worth visiting especially for a cosy and casual dine out plus a little romance. The staff was a joy, very friendly and nice. They were still very nice when I accidentally knock off the glass on the table behind me while I was wearing my jacket. I'm still not sure whether it was the port's fault or just my pure clumsiness.

Bill's Restaurant - Hoxton Square

1 Hoxtp Square
N1 6NULondon,UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 739 7689

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Hakkasan | London

It is always exciting dining at Hakkasan. The last few times I dined at Hakkasan was for dim sum brunch. Since P has never been there and that I haven't been back in a while, we made a dinner reservation for the OpenTable exclusive special offer. It was a pretty good deal at £35 for 3 courses and a cocktail each.

We were served a dim sum platter and crispy spring roll each to start with. The dim sum as always, are delicately made and presented in small bamboo steamers. The mains we chose were Pipa Duck, and Roast Silver Cod with champagne honey sauce served with seasonal vegetables and steamed rice. The mains were small but don't be fooled by it cause we were pretty full by the end of our fabulous dessert from the a la carte menu. The Coconut Semifreddo was presented ever so cutely like a halved coconut, and my Banana Caramel Delice was a delight with salted caramel and peanuts.

The staff were lovely and very friendly, all with beautiful and genuine smile. It makes the evening very special. The ambience was although busy, was rather romantic. Definitely a great place to bring your date.

Loving the colours of our Dim Sum Platter

Crispy Duck Roll

Pipa Duck

Roast Cod

Coconut Semifreddo

Banana Caramel Delice

The OpenTable Exclusive Offer will be ending 31st May. So hurry up and impress your date before offer runs out.

Hakkasan Hanway Place

8 Hanway Place
W1T 1HD London,UK

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Smack Deli

To all LOBSTER LOVERS,

Burger and Lobster opened a sister restaurant not long ago. The best part is, it is now cheaper to eat lobster! The concept is all about lobster roll served as fast food. You will have to order at the till and collect your order, like you would at Starbucks or McDonalds. The only difference is that the quality is far higher than any fast food place I know. 

“Lobster roll is the new burger!”

£7 for a lobster roll to go and £9 to eat in. That’s pretty cheap for some quality lobster. I have to say, the portion is pretty generous. The lobster chowder, I suppose was made from the lobster cooking liquid plus all the shells. Though nice, it lacked a little acidic punch and depth in flavour. The courgette fries were the star and a must have. It was very crispy and so much lighter than a standard potato fries, it worked really well with the lobsters too. The one pound lobster which is served cold is really good too with lemon mayonnaise.

Ambience in there was trendy, casual and relaxed. Lobster without the fancy pants. Liking it!

Smack Deli

26 Binney Street
W1K 5BN London,UK

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Roux at the Landau | London

The beautiful and glorious interior of The Landau at The Langham Hotel. (Image via Langham Hotel)

Roux at the Landau sees Albert Roux and Michel Roux Jr, the renowned father and son in the culinary world work together for the first time in 19 years. Knowing the magnificent Roux family, they pride themselves of perfection in every aspect. The kitchen and front of house are both equally important. It is of no surprise they chose the best to represent them. Chris King has been chosen to be the restaurant’s Chef de Cuisine. He is a Roux protégé who has worked for over 5 years at their 2 Michelin starred Le Gavroche. Even Franco Becci, the Restaurant Manager has been carefully picked to ascertain an excellent dining experience.

The impressive entrance to Roux at the Landau

As I entered through the door, I was greeted with an insane collection of wine through the glass cabinets.

Amuse bouche with nori crisp

Risotto

Braised featherblade beef

The glasses were printed with a horses which I find cute. The restaurant has horse themed decoration to remember historical memories of it accomodating stagecoach horses. 

Artisan cheeses

Lemon meringue parfait with early English blackberries was my favourite of the night. It is similar to Baked Alaska, one of my favourite dessert.

 Petit fours were tasty except the less impressive brownies.

With The Rouxs seeking for perfection, it is of no surprise that while we were there, service was immaculate and attentive yet not intrusive. We ordered their promotional 3 courses menu for £35, which was of a good deal. The dishes were well executed with elegant taste. Though the food was made well and ingredients carefully picked. I must say, some were great and some did not live up to a Roux standard we were expecting. But with this promotional price, it is actually of very good value. 

Smile..

A very good value quality food, ambience and excellent service. 

Frown..

Some of the tastes did not live up to the Roux standard but it is just a very high expectation that we have set since it carries the Roux name. On a general point of view, food was well executed. 
Note: Don't get me wrong here, the food and experience was great. It is just that I have crazy expectations from one of my favourite chef, Michel Roux Jr.

Will I return?

Yes of course. Perhaps a la carte next time. It is possibly more impressive.

Roux at the Landau

1C Portland Place
W1B 1JA London,UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 76965 0165

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