New Taiwanese restaurant Keelung was very hyped up even before its opening, where its boss also owns a few other major restaurants in London Chinatown.
Having grown up with Taiwan night market food, and even though I know it would never be the same in a restaurant, curiosity got the better of me and I dragged a friend along to Keelung.
The menu that featured a photo of the Keelung harbour listed a mixture of typical Taiwanese market dishes and confusingly, typical Chinese dishes. There was also a star-chart of chef's recommendation v.s. how to cook your food, I did not give it a second look nor did I bother to try and work it out.
We went straight for the steam buns (siao-long-bao), fishcakes, beef noodle and rice paste. My friend, an expert in beef noodle, said it was too dry and not tender enough. Steam buns was so-so - the restaurant next door actually does it better. It was juicy as how it was supposed to be, other than that, I was getting no chemistry.
I was half-expecting the restaurant decor to pair with the down-to-earth street food but the mini vineyard near the main entrance was making a louder statement that "we are obviously targeting the non-Chinese customers"; something's not quite right.
All in all the restaurant is giving Taiwanese food a bad name, and I restlessly test and prove the theory time and time again: good food lives in the memory, and it just doesn't work when you know better.
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Keelung
6 Lisle Street, Leicester Square,
London WC2 (020 7734 8128)
Mix-match dishes with ice tea for two: £35
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Showing posts with label London. Show all posts
Showing posts with label London. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Nostalgia...or not
Monday, March 10, 2008
over-rated
I've passed this place for a numerous of times and it always looked so busy inside. Not a big fan of English cuisine, it took a while before I finally set foot in it.
The restaurant was cozy and "traditional" looking (and smelling); although basement was somewhat dark and lonely. Known for its fish & chips, there were many types of fishes on offer; from cod, haddock to other types of white fishes like plaice and skate.
While we sat and waited between the tiled walls; I suddenly noticed the people sitting around us have all come with a guidebook or map; is it as known amongst the locals as for tourists?
The verdict? My ideal choice of haddock as the fish was fresh, and had a sweeter taste than the meaty cod. Apart from that, the batter was stale, chips were cold and the mushy peas unimpressed. Not at all what I had in mind.
Who am I to judge a place that existed long before my time? To be complete honest, I've had better.
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Rock and Sole Plaice
47 Endell Street, London, WC2H 9AJ
Standard Fish & Chips £10
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The restaurant was cozy and "traditional" looking (and smelling); although basement was somewhat dark and lonely. Known for its fish & chips, there were many types of fishes on offer; from cod, haddock to other types of white fishes like plaice and skate.
While we sat and waited between the tiled walls; I suddenly noticed the people sitting around us have all come with a guidebook or map; is it as known amongst the locals as for tourists?
The verdict? My ideal choice of haddock as the fish was fresh, and had a sweeter taste than the meaty cod. Apart from that, the batter was stale, chips were cold and the mushy peas unimpressed. Not at all what I had in mind.
Who am I to judge a place that existed long before my time? To be complete honest, I've had better.
-----
Rock and Sole Plaice
47 Endell Street, London, WC2H 9AJ
Standard Fish & Chips £10
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Sunday, February 03, 2008
posh dimsum
I have been to Royal China restaurants before, their dim sum is delicious and reasonably priced. The Royal China in St. John's wood, however, boasts a rather posh clientèle. Unlike the usual big pot of tea-leafed tea you get, here they separate the tea pots (one for tea, and the other for filtering tea leaves) and is served in elegant tea-cups on little saucers.
The food also has the pricey spin to it; there is a lot more scallops and lobster options on the menu. We ordered the vegetables which are cooked in stock with Chinese medicine herbs, egg tarts are served with bird nests (another expensive delicacy). Steamed dumplings contain crunchy water chestnut bits which add that refreshing flavour that you normally don't find in dim sum dishes.
The bill came to a whopping amount, no surprise with the tea comes at £4.60 per person and the delicious vegetable at £13.
Indeed, there is no such thing as the free lunch.
Royal China St. John's wood
68 Queen's Grove, London, NW8 6ER
Average for two: £50 (15% service charge added to final bill)
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The food also has the pricey spin to it; there is a lot more scallops and lobster options on the menu. We ordered the vegetables which are cooked in stock with Chinese medicine herbs, egg tarts are served with bird nests (another expensive delicacy). Steamed dumplings contain crunchy water chestnut bits which add that refreshing flavour that you normally don't find in dim sum dishes.
The bill came to a whopping amount, no surprise with the tea comes at £4.60 per person and the delicious vegetable at £13.
Indeed, there is no such thing as the free lunch.
Royal China St. John's wood
68 Queen's Grove, London, NW8 6ER
Average for two: £50 (15% service charge added to final bill)
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Friday, February 01, 2008
chefs in sight
Looking for an alternative to Japanese food? Abeno serves traditional Japanese styled cabbage-based pancake that comes with seafood mix, beef or vegetarian options.
The waiter brings out the freshly prepared minced-mixture in a bowl, and cooks it on the hot plate in front of you. We ordered the beef (super deluxe ₤17) and the bacon in an egg envelop as a side, of which the meat turned out to be rather chewy. The beef steak was cooked in front of us, with the strong-armed waitress chopping it into smaller chunks using two metal paddles, and then topped with Japanese mayonnaise and the sickingly sweet thick soy sauce.
On the slightly-burned cabbage pancake, the beef itself was juicy but hard. It might help to use a different part of meat, or simply not have cooked it for so long. The pancake itself contained so many different ingredients that you just couldn't tell what was what anymore. Despite some bits in charcoaled colour, it still felt much like an healthier option.
The small restaurant only comprised of four tables and a bar area, and sitting by the closed window doesn't really help with the smoke-intense seating area. Will I go back there? Sure, and I'll remember to wear an old jumper this time.
Abeno
47 Museum Street, London, WC1A 1LY
Average for two: ₤35
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The waiter brings out the freshly prepared minced-mixture in a bowl, and cooks it on the hot plate in front of you. We ordered the beef (super deluxe ₤17) and the bacon in an egg envelop as a side, of which the meat turned out to be rather chewy. The beef steak was cooked in front of us, with the strong-armed waitress chopping it into smaller chunks using two metal paddles, and then topped with Japanese mayonnaise and the sickingly sweet thick soy sauce.
On the slightly-burned cabbage pancake, the beef itself was juicy but hard. It might help to use a different part of meat, or simply not have cooked it for so long. The pancake itself contained so many different ingredients that you just couldn't tell what was what anymore. Despite some bits in charcoaled colour, it still felt much like an healthier option.
The small restaurant only comprised of four tables and a bar area, and sitting by the closed window doesn't really help with the smoke-intense seating area. Will I go back there? Sure, and I'll remember to wear an old jumper this time.
Abeno
47 Museum Street, London, WC1A 1LY
Average for two: ₤35
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