Category: review

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Going Vegan at Wagamama

When I was staying in London for a few days I went off to Ealing to get something to eat. I did think about going back to Polka, but it was closed on Mondays. Reinata was another place I had considered, but they had gone back to their Winter opening times, so wasn’t open in the evening until Thursday. After spending way too much time walking around Ealing I decided I would visit VanTan again. I had enjoyed my last meal there, so after looking at the menu outside and choosing the Braised Fish Claypot. This was described as braised fish steak caramelised in a sweet savoury sauce with steamed rice. I was given a warm welcome, and handed a menu. Alas though the fish dish was on the menu outside, it wasn’t on the menus at the table. Rather than have something else, I decided I would head off to Wagamama instead. 

I had an equally warm reception at Wagamama. I was shown to a bench and I had a look over the menu. I chose three dishes at Wagamama. Generally I would have two, but was feeling peckish, and it was difficult to choose.

The first dish I chose was the crispy chilli mushrooms. A vegan version of the crispy chilli squid. This was coated and fried crunchy oyster mushrooms. They were dusted with a red pepper powder and served with a chilli and coriander dipping sauce.

The crispy chilli mushroom was nice, not as nice as the chilli squid, but was tasty.

The second dish was one I have had before, which was the mixed mushrooms bao buns. This was mixed mushrooms with crispy panko-coated aubergine, creamy vegan mayonnaise. topped with coriander.

I did feel the mushroom bao buns could have had a lot more mushroom in them, what mushroom was there was slightly overpowered by the crispy panko-coated aubergine.

For my main dish I had the silken tofu gochujang rice bowl. This was something I hadn’t had before. It consisted of silken tofu coated in a spicy gochujang sauce with bok choi, pickled cucumber, snow onion slaw and red onion. It was served on a bed of sticky white rice. finished with spring onion, sliced red chilli, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds and red pepper powder.

This was an interesting dish, and when it arrived it surprised me. Why it surprised me I don’t know. I guess I was expecting more of a hot tofu dish with rice, whereas this was more a salad with rice and deep fried tofu.

The silken tofu was excellent. I really enjoyed the dish, there was a nice mix of different textures and flavours. The bok choi was a little tricky to eat with chopsticks and there wasn’t a knife to cut it either.

I didn’t plan it, but all three dishes were vegan. Overall I enjoyed all three dishes and would certainly have them again.

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Doing the Polka again, one more time

I first went to Polka earlier this year and actually had two excellent meals, I enjoyed my first meal so much, I went again the next day.

On previous visits to Ealing I had noted the Sowa restaurant, but had never gone there. The proprietors of that place moved to some nice new premises in Dickens Yard and renamed themselves to the Polka Kitchen.

So when I was back staying in Ealing, I decided I would make a return visit. The menu was the same. I looked over and thought about what I would have. There are only three starters on the menu, a beetroot dish, black pudding, and a steak tartare.

I went with the steak tartare. I had really enjoyed this the last time I was there.

It looked just as pretty as it did before. It consists of steak tartare and was served with egg yolk, pickled cucumbers, onion, and mustard seeds. This was such a pretty plate of food. Alongside I was given some sliced Polish bread. The steak was tender and fresh, I liked the addition of the pickles, and egg yolk. The pickled mushroom was a nice, and I enjoyed every mouthful. It was just as good as I remembered from the first time I had it.

As there was a (short) delay with getting my starter I was given a shot of Polish vodka on the house, which I quite enjoyed.

For my main course I had originally wanted the pierogi filled with goose meat, but that wasn’t available, so I went with the wild boar pierogi in a mushroom sauce. I did think about having one of the dishes I had before, but I hadn’t tried the pierogi before, so went with that dish.

The pierogi were nice and soft, but still had a bite to it, al dente. The pierogi filling had a robust strong flavour. The pierogi came with a mushroom sauce. I would have liked to have had more sauce.

Overall the food was delicious, and the service was excellent, friendly, warm, and welcoming. Though I’ve had a lot of things on the menu, I do think I will visit again.

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Soup and a Scone

I was visiting Lytes Cary Manor, a National Trust property in Somerset. After visiting the house and walking around the garden I popped to the cafe.

I went with their soup and a cheese scone deal.

I think the soup was carrot and coriander, there wasn’t a sign, and I forgot to ask. The soup was nice and tasty. It was thick and warming.

The scone was fresh and also tasty.

My main complaint, was that the soup was served in a card pot, but the scone came on a china plate. I would have preferred my soup in a china bowl.

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What should I have?

I was in Bristol and looking for some lunch. As it was a Monday there was no Finzel Reach or Temple Quay street food markets. I headed off to the St Nicholas Market to see what was available. There is a wide choice of places to eat there, though not all are open on a Monday. As per usual there was a long queue for Matina for their excellent Kurdish wraps, even with the recent “dramatic” price increase. I remember the time they were less than a fiver, now they are over eight pounds each. Well I suspect costs have risen for them, they had to rise at some point, but they appears to be rising quite a lot over the last couple of years.

I still have to try the MOMO bar, but decided that wasn’t going to be today. I did consider going for the Low and Slow barbecue box, but in the end headed to La Lola.

The last time I ate at La Lola I had the crispy squid, but wasn’t too enamoured with their chipped potatoes, which were like thick crisps.

This time I went for their seafood paella. I was served quickly, and this a good looking paella with a nice amount of seafood, which included prawns, squid, and mussels.

paella

This was a delicious paella, lots of flavour. 

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Fries of Mine

I wasn’t really that hungry walking around the streets of Amsterdam but I was a little peckish. 

A few places caught my eye, but the prices were, well not eye watering, but not in my budget. 

I noticed that Ter Marsch & Co was quite popular, so looked at the menu, they did burgers. I wasn’t in the mood for a burger, but the signature fries looked interesting. You could also see into the serving area and I liked how they were making the signature fries.

I decided to go for the Fries of Mine, which had been winner of best fries 2020 (in the Netherlands). This was fries with truffle mayo, grated parmesan cheese, cheese-nut crumble, diced pork sausage, and fried parsley.

Despite the queue, it moved quite quickly and it wasn’t too long before I was ready to place my order. I ordered my fries at the counter and then took a seat. When my fries were ready, my number was called and I collected my fries.

They looked fantastic.

I was provided with a little wooden chip fork, personally I would have liked a bigger fork. The twice cooked chips were hot, with a crisp outside and fluffy inside. The topping was generous, but not overpowering. You could tell it was just the right amount as by the time I finished the box of fries, there was a small amount of topping left in the box. I never felt as though I was just eating plain fries.

This was a lovely place to eat fries, it was rather cosy, but that just added to the charm of the place. The service was welcoming, friendly and efficient.

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to have, but I really glad I went here and I enjoyed my signature fries.

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Funghi di Bosco

I was looking through my email when I saw that there was a message about a pizza special offer for 7.99 and to try out some new pizza. I checked the Pizza Express app on my phone and saw the pizza offer.

I was thinking about what to do for lunch, so headed to Pizza Express at Cabot Circus. There was plenty of room, and I was given a warm welcome. I wasn’t exactly in a hurry, but I wasn’t really in the mood for a long slow lunch, so was pleased with the speedy efficient service.

I looked over the menu, and didn’t see any new pizza, well maybe I misread the email. The last time I was at Pizza Express I had the Fiorentina, so this time I wanted to have something different. I did quite like the idea of mushroom pizza, so decided to order the Funghi di Bosco on a Romana base.

The pizza arrived quite promptly and looked good.

Pizza

There were plenty of mushrooms. I liked how they used chestnut mushrooms; I much prefer chestnut mushrooms, personally I think they have a nice texture and flavour. The base was nice and thin, I do like the Romana base.

What was amusing was the email was actually from Bella Italia and not Pizza Express. So Bella Italia had new pizza on their menu. Well maybe next time I am out for lunch and fancying pizza I will visit Bella Italia.

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Mixed Grill at the Gardens

Entrance to a hotel

We were on holiday at the Cerro Mar Gardens in Albufeira in Portugal we made a couple of visits to the hotel restaurant. On my first visit I had an excellent swordfish dish.

On our second visit, I was tempted by the cataplana, but it was for two, and everyone else was choosing different dishes. I even considered just having the cataplana to myself.

Cataplana is a traditional Algarvian dish cooked in a special copper pot of the same name. The ingredients typically include onion, red and green peppers, tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, tarragon, parsley, white wine, and a variety of meat or seafood, such as cubed pork, chouriço sausage, chicken, fish, prawns, clams, or other shellfish.

In the end I went with the mixed grill. This was steak, lamb, chicken, sausage, and two kinds of pork. It was served with fries and a tiny salad.

I thought the swordfish was excellent, this dish, not so much. I was rather disappointed. Maybe it was too simple, but the cuts of meat were rather thin and were overcooked and slightly dry. I would like to have had more salad. The fries were okay. That really though sums up the whole dish, it was okay, nothing special.

I wish now I had ordered the cataplana.

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Finally made it to Reinata

Dickens Yard

In March I had a conversation at a meeting with a colleague who  had recommended Reineta in Dickens Yard in Ealing. So in April, when staying in Ealing, I had headed out to Reineta having decided what I would order. You can imagine my disappointment when I went there to find it was in fact closed. It was only open for dinner on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I wasn’t in London on any of those days… Instead I went to Côte.

Back in June I was in London, staying in Ealing. It was a Tuesday, so hadn’t even considered Reineta, but was pleasantly surprised to see that Reineta was open. Well guess where I ended up.

This is very much an informal place to eat, very relaxed.

It was a warm evening, so I sat outside and looked over the menu. Alas the choices I had seen on the (online) menu back in April were not available. I went with two dishes.

The first was a salad with Isle of Wight tomatoes, avocado, pickled red onions and grated manchego cheese.

This was a simple dish, but in some ways too simple. I wasn’t overly impressed with the flavour of the tomatoes. I did enjoy it though.

My second dish was the octopus. This was grilled marinated octopus served with mixed peppers, sliced potatoes and “choricero” pepper.

This was an excellent plate of food, very tasty and quite substantial (for a tapas dish). I really enjoyed the dish. The octopus was tender and full of flavour. I liked the sliced potatoes and the pepper.

Overall these were two delicious plates of food. I would like to have had some bread with the food though.

I enjoyed sitting outside and eating, something that is often challenging to do in the UK with all the weather.

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Visiting The Old Siam

I was up in York for a few days and was looking for a place to eat close to where I was staying.  I had noticed The Old Siam when I had gone for a walk along Micklegate. This was a Thai restaurant with wooden floors and batik wall hangings.

When I arrived it was quite busy, but I was given a warm welcome. I was shown to my table. I liked the atmosphere of the place, and there was a real buzz about it. The wooden furniture offered an informal dining experience which I liked.

There was quite a lot of choice of different Thai dishes on the menu, but in the end I decided to go for the salt n pepper soft shell crab as a starter followed by the mixed seafood pad cashew nut as my main course.

The salt n pepper soft shell crab was soft shell crab in a tempura batter with garlic, salt, pepper and served with sriracha sauce.

The batter was nice and crispy and I liked the crab, which had a real crab flavour. Sometimes when I’ve had battered soft shell crab, the crab can be somewhat tasteless. This time I could definitely taste the crab. The sriracha sauce was a little too spicy for me. However, despite that I really enjoyed the crab.

It wasn’t long before my main course arrived. This was stir fried light battered mixed seafood with roasted cashew nut, carrot, onion, red pepper and mushroom. Alongside I had a serving of sticky rice.

This was a nice dish. There was a good mix and portion of battered seafood. I did think the batter as a little thick in places, but there was a nice crunch. The sauce was nice and there was a good amount of cashew nuts. The sauce was nice and it worked well combining all the aspects of the dish together.

Overall I really liked the food here, the service was excellent, warm, and friendly. I was tempted to go again, but I know if I am up in York again, I will try and visit The Old Siam.

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cha han shichimi tofu

The Wagamama at Cribbs Causeway has been extended and expanded since I last went there. It is now much bigger, but it is just as popular.

With no system for booking a table, we queued, waiting for table to be free. The queue moved quite quickly.

We were shown to a table and I looked over the menu. I have had yasai yaki soba quite a few times recently so decided to go with something different. I had the cha han shichimi tofu. This was  stir fried brown rice cooked in a sweet and sticky sauce with shichimi tofu, mushrooms, red onion, red pepper, cucumber, sweetcorn and edamame beans. topped with coriander cress, crispy fried onions and Japanese pickles.

I really enjoyed the dish. This was a vegan dish, and over the last few years when eating at Wagamama I have usually picked the vegan dishes. I think part of the reason is that the “meat” option is not very inspiring, usually chicken, but in the main the vegan options are really tasty, and cheaper! You could have had this dish with chicken, but the tofu option was £1.50 cheaper, and in my opinion the shichimi tofu was really good. The crisp outside was nice and crunchy with some spice, the soft tofu was a lovely contrasting texture. The rice and sauce was delicious, and actually the tofu in this case was more of a garnish than a core component of the dish. I would like to have had more mushrooms, actually I think their new crispy mushrooms would be a great option on this dish.

I was a little disappointed that our food didn’t arrive at the same time, I know that is the operating model for Wagamama, but even so the delay between our dishes was quite lengthy. My son had his dish for quite a while before my food arrived, and then there was a further delay before the final three dishes arrived. Not as bad as another table, where their side dish arrived well after they had finished their main courses. So much so they had to take it home.

I think part of the issue was that the restaurant had a lot of Deliveroo type orders so was busy cooking those. Similar experience I guess to when we went to Edinburgh.

Overall we had a nice meal, the place was busy, but the service was attentive. It was noticeable though how the number of takeaway and delivery orders were impacting on the service to the customers who were actually sitting down in the restaurant. We know that there has been a huge growth in the demand for these services during the pandemic, but I am not so sure that restaurants have worked out how to manage the whole process, especially now that there are more people going out to eat in the actual restaurant.