The Trishaw: Restaurant Review

Showing posts with label Restaurant Review. Show all posts

Superstar BBQ | London

Posted on Tuesday, August 25, 2015 by aipheng

Everyone loves BBQ and more so in the summer!! As soon as I was invited to review Superstar BBQ, the newly opened Korean BBQ restaurant, I couldn’t say no. As busy as we all are, there’s always time for a meal.

Transformation of Tottenham Court Road Station | Image via Crossrail

In the area that used to be known as Centre Point Koreatown has now been victim of the Tottenham Court Road Station’sCrossrail Project. Along St Giles Street was where one can get the most authentic Korean food in central London. It is a real disappointment as my favourite cosy little Assa is one of them!

Central St Giles | Image via Panoramio

It was quite comforting though, knowing that there’s a new Korean in the vicinity. Superstar BBQ is located at the Piazza of the colourful Central St Giles, designed by the architect Renzo Piano who also did the famous Shard.

We visited Superstar BBQ on a Saturday afternoon and were greeted with smiles as we entered. Surprisingly, it was rather quiet. I suppose it is still very new, plus it’s the August holiday season!

The lunch menu was a mixture of BBQ and the usual Bibimbap. We ordered the BBQ lunch obviously. And were fed rather well with lots of smokey BBQ meat, but it under performed in our opinion. They tasted nice but not to its capacity it could have been. Korean barbeque is usually packed with so much flavour; it does a ‘Wham bam boom’ in the mouth. Not this one though. It was lack in flavour and probably not marinated for long enough. The sauces provided were lack of punch too.

The highlight from this meal was the ‘Korean beef tartare served with pears’. It was very tasty, unique and refreshing all at the same time, something I have never yet tasted so far. I would definitely go back for this fabulous beef tartare!

**Disclaimer: I was invited by Superstar BBQ to review the restaurant. Everything written above is my own honest opinion and will not mislead you in any way or form.

Superstar BBQ

4 Central St Giles Piazza

St Giles High Street

WC2H 8AB London,UK

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East Street | London

Posted on Tuesday, May 19, 2015 by aipheng

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

Posted on Thursday, May 14, 2015 by aipheng

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

Posted on Wednesday, April 29, 2015 by aipheng

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.