A Wong

I've been very blessed with food throughout my life, I must say. Wherever I go in the world, I eat. Like many orientals, we tend to have this tradition of going Yum-Cha on Sundays (or your family day), what's Yum-Cha? It translates to "Drink Tea", tea as in Chinese tea.

So to my surprise, I've only discovered this Chinese restaurant in Pimlico called A-Wong. As Chinese as I am, I immediately said "Ah-Wong" in my Chinese accent on my head. It was opened two years ago (when I was almost a graduate) and it was such a surprise as it had recently popped up on my social media feed and I am extremely active on social media.  Nonetheless, I went to visit during a lunchtime earlier this month with my other half who took a day off just for me. (Yes I am spoilt).

This A Wong is located in Pimlico near Vincent's Square, the closest station is via London Victoria Station. Google Maps mentioned it will be approximately a 15 minute walk, I travelled from Knightsbridge so I had the super luxury of commuting via an Uber.

I wouldn't have noticed A Wong's existence if it wasn't for social media and even if I walked past the same street, I would think it was a restaurant that doesn't do much maintenance. The exterior provided some outside seating but the trees would need a trim in my opinion. Thankfully when I entered the restaurant, it was more pleasant. I entered and see a semi-open kitchen on my right hand side with the busy chefs working and steaming the dim sum and cooking the foods and I was taken to my reserved table.

The furniture was very casual and modern (don't expect a fancy fine-dining environment). Their bar is right in front of the entrance which you could say, is reasonable. My partner pointed out that Marco Pierre White was there too dining, so it should be impressive. The Dim Sum was impressive, and creative. The food was very simple, and the portions are small. In other words, small portioned simple food that's cooked in a fancy way and presented on big plates.

Some of the dishes were in fact very delicious, but I felt that they may be trying a little too hard to be high-end with the presentation on the food and plates. We ordered all four desserts that they offered and the waiter had to run back and forth informing us that there were two out of four desserts that were sold out. There were some dim sum that was sold out already at 2:15pm and it was the same for desserts. Personally it was a big disappointment because the waiter should be informed of sold out desserts prior giving the customers the menus and he had to run twice to let us know which two desserts were missing. On top of that, we ordered a simple vanilla ice cream which never arrived and was placed on the bill.

I was very eager and excited to order the "Chocolate ball" aka the Tea Smoked Banana, Nut Crumble, Chocolate and Soy Caramel. The name does not do the dessert justice. I enjoy fancy desserts that has it's own character so when it arrived I was happy but honestly, the name does not suggest the chocolate ball. I remember back in April when I've eaten one at the Savoy it was AMAZING so I had hopes for that dessert, but turns out, it wasn't as good. I disliked the Soy Caramel sauce but the presentation was reasonable but not worth the "hype" at all - you don't know what that crumbling chocolate ball is about until you tried the one at the Savoy.

In terms of pricing, it looks cheap until you looked closer you would discover that they charge "by the piece". I was shocked when I saw one dish was £1.60 in the beginning, baring in mind that 9/10 venues charge their dim sum around £3.20 - £3.40 for 4 pieces and in higher end places it would be the higher if it's located in Fitzrovia or Belgravia venues.

The customer service was rather non-existent if you asked me, the staff would not go up to your table to check on you every once in a while (unless it's to replace the used plates for new dishes) and the staff look a little too occupied with their mobile phones to care about customers. Three quarters of the time, the staff were walking around Marco Pierre White's table rather than the other's. Yes I understand he is a very important customer but it doesn't mean it's acceptable to neglect the other customers who are paying the same price only to be neglected most of the time.

I enjoyed some of the dishes but at the same time, I have doubts I'd want to return again because I don't want to be disappointed with half of the desserts being unavailable and lack of attention given to the table. But it's worth a try if you want to try some creative desserts.

They are available for booking via "opentable", I've tried to book it on a Friday for the following Tuesday however, the system told me it was unavailable for bookings and I wasn't given any help on social media until the following Monday after writing an e-mail. If a restaurant do not wish to allow people to make bookings via OpenTable or if the restaurant do not wish to pay commission to OpenTable for every table booking I would suggest to not bother being on OpenTable or Social Media as I got ignored over the weekend purposely. But that's only my opinion, perhaps the restaurant was too busy by tweeting that they were "food tasting" to acknowledge normal diners such as myself. But I'll stick to my usual Dim Sum venues next time.


Here's the photos to the food I consumed.

Smoked duck and jellyfish and pork crackling salad

"Breakfast in Causewaybay" sticky rice roll,
crispy dough stick and lava floss

Quail egg croquette puff with ginger and spring onion

Shanghai Steamed Dumplings with Ginger infused Vinegar.

Yunnan mushroom, pork and truffle steamed dumpling

63 degree "tea egg" with shredded filo and a thick
Chinese incense on the table in front of us

Steamed duck yolk, custard bun

Clear Shrimp dumpling with sweet
chilli sauce and Citrus foam

Some steamed crab with ginger and spring onions

The lemon fingerbowl 

Pork and prawn dumpling with cracked pork piece on top

Tea smoked banana, nut crumble, chocolate and soy caramel  

Beijing Yoghurt with chilli bbq pineapple
and sichuan pepper ice cream 

Visit them: 

A Wong

70 Wilton Road, Victoria, London, SW1V 1DE

Han Kang

Lunchtime is probably one of the most upsetting time for most office workers whose offices are located far from the popular areas. I am based in Tottenham Court Road (at the moment..) and the choice for food is insane. From fast cafe chains to fast food chains and even small independents to Michelin star restaurants. My choice is unlimited.

I have been a loyal customer to Han Kang which is located in Fitzrovia, in other words Hanway Street. They are a small independent Korean restaurant located on the small street of Hanway Street, it's next to a Japanese restaurant so people such as myself who is a lover of Japanese cuisine has had a difficult choice.

I enjoyed the lunchtime menu as there is a choice of traditional Korean dishes at reasonable prices - baring in mind we ARE in central London. I ordered the Doeji bulgogi, which is the Stir fried pork marinated in chili sauce with rice. I enjoy the chili sauce from Korean dishes because they are never spicy but you can taste the hint of spice within the dish - something very different compared to the likes of Szechuan dishes. Although the pork was a little oily, it fit perfectly with the steamed rice. Fortunately for me, the meal also included a cup of miso soup and I am a very big fan of miso soups. I was also provided with radish and Han Kang style kimchi.

Since learning the fact that every Korean restaurant that serves kimchi, often marinated the vegetable themselves I had started to enjoy every kimchi piece I eat. Every family would also marinate their own. I used to always question why kimchi tasted different every time I dine in a korean restaurant but after learning about kimchi, I know why.

Find Han Kang:
16 Hanway Street, W1T 1UE

Beast London

As the elevator doors open, you are greeted with two main fridges – the Himalayan-salted meat hanging on your right hand side and the Norwegian king crabs (and a number of tamed lobsters!). We were allowed to open the fridges and smell the meat- the smell was not your average “meat” smell! We also called in Beast’s “crab expert” who professionally took out one of the king crabs and gave us a quick introduction about the crab and allowed us to “pick up” the crab before we were taken to our seats. Beast’s wooden benches, long share-able tables and those - elevated above the table – chirpily-placed candles above immediately induce the images of a typical Harry Potter-styled dining room.

The concept of Beast is simple: you can choose from their standard set meal or their normal menu. For their set price of £75 you get both the Angus Beef steak and the Norwegian Red King crab (from near the Russian border), not forgetting the substantial amount of sides and started as well as a choice of desserts. They also have an impressive wine menu for you to choose from, if you did not look at the menu, fear not, the wine fridge can be seen from the dining area.

It is not your average restaurant - you would go to Beast for the atmosphere it brings rather than the food – although our sole intention was for the King crab! You will be sitting next to or opposite other diners, this is to share the noise of chatter and to build on the experience of a feast.

Beast London is very transparent in what they do. I had to walk up to the menu to have a look at the menu and I was approached by one of the waitress asking if I would like a kitchen tour of how it's made. It's very different especially in the UK, where they don't cook live crabs. But it was a very new experience for me especially holding a live crab which happens to be heavier than my laptop. 

The dessert were simple, compared to other restaurants, however I wouldn't be surprised seeing as the mains were so fancy, having some simple desserts would make a difference and to balance out the meal. Although this restaurant was opened in May 2014, it is still very busy as I tried to make a booking via Opentable 4 days before the meal and I wasn't shown any table until 2 weeks later than my ideal date. Until I called up of course. But it is worth booking in advance as the restaurant got filled up with customers really quickly.

My partner and I enjoyed the dinner, in my opinion I think it's a place for gathering, for those who doesn't mind getting their hands dirty to eat. For me, it's my partner. I don't mind showing the messier side of me in front of him. But it is worth going back again. :)

Kai - Mayfair

I have been keen to try out this Michelin starred restaurnt for a while, I am a lover of Chinese food however the curiosity kicked in when I was searching on Opentable (previously Toptable) and found the restaurant.

I was lucky to get taken there and it looked pretty simple to me, in terms of interior-wise, I entered the restaurant where the entrance had apples on the walls either for decoration or to clear our palette (the sense). There are some artistic wall paintings and the restaurant is aplit between the ground floor and basement and there are strong use of mirrors and classic decorations all around, it gave me a feeling of the trendy modern. This is very Mayfair-like and by far different than Chinatown restaurants.

No. 33

As it had received a star I would be expecting there to be exciting dishes with fancy names and ingredients, my partner looked at the menu and pointed out this particular dish which I am sure many orientals and Chinese dish lovers would recognize - the Special Fried Rice, known as 'No. 33' which is their version of the dish but this particular dish is served with the ultimate luxury of thinly sliced Kagoshima Wagyu.

To me, it looked like some nigiri rolls from a Japanese restaurant, however it was very nice, I found it a little salty though however the Kagoshima Wagyu were very nice indeed, although I am unsure on whether it was worth the £59.

Roasted Peking Duck

This is a classic Chinese dish with the pancakes, cucumber, spring onion and the sweet 'duck sauce'. I have had much  better pancakes in a non-Michelin starred restaurant however Kai's version has their signature chilli sambal made with red chilies, shallots and yellow bean. It is semi authentic, in experience-wise as in Beijing and many restaurants in Hong Kong they will show you the duck as a whole and slicing the pieces right before your eyes, however they only showed us the whole duck and slice it in the kitchen.

Sweet and sour Pork

I am a loyal fan of the comfort food, sweet and sour pork. In fact I always order it in Hong Kong, it varies from each restaurant and traditions however their version has a ot more flavor in the pork and I do enjoy the melon cupping the dish.

Wasabi Prawns

A simple dish made with milk wasabi mayonnaise, mango and basil seeds. I like this dish as it was full of flavor and the wasabi didn't coat the taste of the prawns.

 

Mo-Po' Spicy aubergines and home-made tofu

Kai's version was created by chef Chen which was handed down from the 19th century, it is a vegetarian dish with a spicy Szechuan dish of home-made  bean curd and aubergines. I like how the tofu was rightfully proportioned in size and the sauce wasn't as spicy as I had hope it to be but it was full of flavor and I like the taste of aubergine with the tofu. 

Chilean Sea Bass and spicy miso

This is their Chilean sea bass dish in a light miso broth with hints of the Szechuan spiciness, it was pleasant and however I didn't taste the spiciness in the dish the way my partner did, it could do with some extra spiciness flavor in my opinion.  

Here are some extra dishes we had during the meal.

Desserts

We manage to have quite a lot of deserts, this was what it looked like when the waiter bought the desserts to us. 

Durian & vanilla soufflé, salted caramel

Yes you've read right, my first time having a Durian (and Vanilla) soufflé, it had durian tuile and with salted caramel  sauce poured inside (if you like the mix). It was delicious, I will definately order this dessert again if I am  back. It didn't smell awful as many durian-dislikers would usually say and the mixture of bitter and sweet taste goes really well.

Valrhona chocolate fondant with pistachio

This Iranian green pistachio ice cream  is rolled in pistachio crumbs, cocoa crisp with chocolate fondant. The chocolate fondant didn't taste sickly however I didn't enjoy the pistachio ice cream on this occasion, not too sure why but the taste didn't taste how I would thought out to be.

The Petit Fours

The waiter spoke quite fast and I didn't catch all the little cakes however one was chocolate, coconut and pistachios and I am unsure of the three but I too photos from both sides and it looks very cute.

What made the meal experience so special was not only the food was delicious (and with some interesting ingredients) but the service was really good. I ordered a Silver Needle tea and had the waiter coming over a number of times to top up my tea, I am used to people on the same table to top up my cup or I do it myself but knowing I am being looked after in such a way was really good. They were very polite and patient and know their drinks and dishes well.

This restaurant would suit those who are looking for an alternative Chinese restaurant for dinner, definitely a "pay-day" meal or if you are looking to spoil yourself or a loved one.

65 South Audley Street, London, W1K 2QU.

020 7493 8988

www.kaimayfair.co.uk

Goodman City - Steak

As I had been constantly walking past Goodman at the Old Jewry I have been interested in visiting this restaurant for a while - probably because whenever I walk past the restaurant (every day in fact) I am hungry so my stomach has picked up it's senses to let the partner know I want to dine there soon.

We had finally picked a day to visit this steak house and discovered they have restaurants in three locations, as we were staying near the City side as we were going to Vertigo 42 straight after we picked the City restaurant.

The decoration was pretty simple but more beautiful than any other steak houses I had visit before, I enjoyed how the friendly staff had explained the menu to us and the "blackboard" for the different steak cuts, the weight and price. As an individual who has been bought up in the food industry and been exposed to delicious food I had been tempted to try out wagyu beef, it has been in the media every so often and every time it has been, you are guaranteed some "beef expert" comes out to explain about the grading and the types.

We ordered a Pan-fried scallops, pea puree, pancetta with Tarragon to share and I had the Australian Wagyu Sirloin whilst my partner had the Porterhouse. As an amateur, I first questioned what Porterhouse was for, turns our the T-bone and the Porterhouse are both steaks of beef cut from the short loin, Porterhouse steaks are cut from the rear end of the short loin which means it includes more tenderloin steak along with a large strip steak whilst the T-bone steaks are cut closer to the front. It sounds complex to me.

 Pan-fried scallops, pea puree, pancetta with Tarragon

Australian Wagyu Sirloin

Australian Wagyu Sirloin (inside)

Porterhouse steak

I am a lover of scallops and it was delicious, my partner saved me an extra one as being a scallop addict I do like to eat quite a lot of them if I can. My first experience of eating a Wagyu beef was an Australian one rather than a Japanese one. I had discovered that the Australian Wagyu Associstion is the largest breed association outside of Japan and the wagyu cattle are grain fed for the last 300-500 days of production as well as certain wagyu bred in the Western Australian region often have red wine added to their feed.

It doesn't taste like any other steak I have attempted to make or tried, although I love the steak my partner makes, this steak was quite delicious. My photos doesn't do much justice however it was rather smooth when I had taken my bite (I did order a medium for mine - I should order a medium rare or more of a rare next time), it didn't stick to my teeth (yay) and it doesn't give off this "beefy taste" some steak usually have when you consume the meat.

I would return next time for a celebration meal, but until then this is a meaty but delicious and filling meal.


11 Old Jewry,
London 
EC2R 8DU
http://www.goodmanrestaurants.com/

The Rivea @ the Bvlgari hotel

Located inside the prestigious Bvlgari Hotel The Rivera is located Knightsbridge - and at the edge of Hyde Park The Rivera is a beautiful yet wonderful restaurant. I have always dreamt of visiting the Bvlgari hotel as it screams in luxury and elegance. I was fortunate enough to book a table there to dine in this wonderful place.

The restaurant was beautiful, I enjoyed the princess-y staircase and can picture myself wearing a beautiful dress walking down the stairs (but in reality I wore simple shoes as I am likely to tumble down and a LBD). The staff were friendly at reception and at the restaurant, although I was amazed at the scenery I was a little confused about the shoes the waiting staff wore - converses, but we cannot judge but the service was great.

My dinner date and I had around  7 dishes between us. I cannot recall the number of dishes we had but we were welcomes with a basket choice of bread (that was freshly topped up after a while), an exciting choice of bread sticks with different sauces.

What I found amusing is how little the dishes were, I was a little confused when I was told for two people we should ideally order 6-7 dishes.

Here are the photos from the meal:

A beautiful chandelier for the table in the other room. 

A pano view 

Table lay out

The bread sticks and the different sauce options

Sea bass carpaccio

This was quite an interesting dish, I am not much of a fan of raw Sea Bass as I tend to have them steams in a Chinese way, the texture was nice. The fish was thin which almost looked invisible, and it gave an interesting taste when I had the pine nuts after. 

I forgotten the name of this dish, however I did remember not being too fond of it.

Stuffed tomatoes, parmesan and marjoram

I've never been a huge fan of tomatoes whether they are in salads or cooked, however the stuff tomatoes - I would say it was a little too juicy for my liking but in my opinion it was pretty basic and simple for me.

Pappardelle pasta, girolles, tomatoes and basil

I've always enjoyed having a pasta whenever I visit an Italian restaurant, however the pappardelle pasta does taste very home-made and different to the other pasta I have tried before in different restaurants that were not home (or in-house made). The sauce was tasty although I personally appreciate it more to be a little saucier (I am a sauce fanatic), the tomato was nice however as I previously had the stuffed tomatoes, it does seem a little overwhelming with my tomato eating. The mushrooms were nice (I love mushrooms).

Seared beef fillet, vegetables and girolles

I wasn't too sure of what to make of the seared beef fillet because by the time we ate the dish, we were pretty much full, however the taste was reasonable, although I did think it was a little too well done to my liking I wasn't too sure - my partner enjoyed trying the dish. The vegetables were nice however, I did appreciate more of girolles on the dish.

Blue lobster with Provence artichokes

I do enjoy this dish, it was a put together strangely if you ask my opinion, however the claw was a little smaller than I had initially expected but the taste was good.

We were given a mini biscuit as we were paying for the bill, which was quite an interesting mini gift from the Rivea, I didn't enjoy eating it though as much as I had been eager to consume the biscuit as it had a taste of almond which I didn't appreciate much of, my partner enjoyed it, I assume the biscuit was made in-house as I tried it the following day and it was soft and still smelt rather fresh.

It will be quite a nice decent visit for a couple or for after work, I visited the Rivea after work on a rainy day (typical London) and it was nice to enter the hotel then walking down the stairs to a almost different world.

Rivea, Bulgari Hotel, 171 Knightsbridge, London SW7 1DW

Tel:020 7151 1025