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Address: 32-40 Wellington St, Central District, HK
Telephone number: +(852) 25221624
Website: http://www.yungkee.com.hk/
Date of visit: March 2010
Approximate cost per head for 2 courses: $300 plus (approx $11.30=$1)
Comments on wine list/beer: Australian wine at under $200 a bottle and more..
Summary:
Yung Kee is a world famous restaurant, it was voted by Fortune magazine as one of the top 10 restaurant in the World in the late 60s. It had hosted the lunch meeting of Chris Patten (Governor of HK) and Helmut Kohl (Chancellor of Germany) in which they ate their way through 40 courses. They also provided the chefs for the first visit of the Chinese President to HK. If you go onto their web site, you will find pages of accolade.
On the night we went, we were offered a tight corner table – its not easy to get in before 9pm. The place (3 floors) were completely full. The owner has done so well out of this restaurant that he now owns the building which houses the restaurant and hundreds of apartments on top of the restaurant,
Yung Kee is famous for its roast goose. Nearly anyone who went there has the goose which starts at around $160 for a portion. The whole goose is just under $400. We had the goose which was superb. That was the highlight of the meal. We next had Garupa (white fish) in a wine sauce and King Prawns in a garlic sauce. Both dishes tasted similar except for the texture (prawns v fish). We also had the special fried rice and some sauté green vegetable. The rice was very good but the prawns and fish were very bland. Most main courses are around $100-$200. The whole lot was wash down with a few bottles of San Miguel.
Overall, I was not impressed. They are trading on their name. Maybe it’s because I didn’t order the abalone, sharks fin etc. A few days later we met an Australian couple who had exactly the same view. Our conclusion: go there and eat the goose as an appetiser, then move onto another restaurant for the rest of your meal.
Service was all right but not great. The waitress insists on filling my beer glass until it overflows. I suppose that they sell more beer that way.
E
I went to this year’s Hong Kong 7s international Rugby Tournament last week.
The exchange rate is approx HK$11.3 to £1. This makes everything very expensive. You are looking at around £6 for a 330ml bottle of beer in a hotel. Beer at the HK stadium was $52 for a pint of Carlsberg. A glass of house champagne in Felix (Peninsula Hotel) was $180 + service charge.
By the way, the HK stadium was sold out for the 2.5 day tournament. The capacity is 40,000. The local paper reported that over 1 million pints were consumed during the tournament. I estimated that 20% of the attendees were under age. Now work out how much each adult drank.
Eating out, the average price is around £30 a head.
Amongst the places I visited are:
Yung Kee, Peninsula Hotel, Mandarin Hotel, Park Lane Hotel, Spring Deer, Dan Ryan, the Peak Lookout, Spring Deere, the Outback etc.
There will be detailed reports over the next week on this gastronomic tour as well as advice for anyone who is interested in visiting HK.
The initial view is that a few places are trading on their “historical prominence” and is not that great.
Location: Constantia Uitsig, Cape Town
Web site: www.constantia-uitsig.com
Telephone number: +27 (21) 794 2390
Date of visit: 8th March 2010
Approx. cost per head: £30
Comments on wine list/beer: Extensive list of own estate-produced wines, plus a comprehensive list of all the top SA producers
Media link:
Review:
As a regular visitor to South Africa, I was keen to experience La Colombe, which has recently been voted Best Restaurant in South Africa, as well as being named in the Top 50 Restaurants in the World. My birthday gave us the perfect excuse.
The restaurant is part of the Constantia-Uitsig wine estate, set in the beautiful area of Constantia on the south side of Table Mountain.
Being summertime in SA, the restaurant sets its tables out around a charming tree-lined courtyard. Menus are presented on blackboards and easels which are placed by your table while you peruse the tantalising array of locally inspired dished on offer.
My wife decided to start with a Crab ‘club sandwich’, a magically crafted and presented dish of succulent crab meat, thin crispbread and delicately herbed salad leaves. I opted for the seasonal salad of crayfish and sweetbreads – delicious! We accompanied our starters with a glass of the estate’s own sauvignon blanc.
For our mains, Jane went for the risotto of wild mushrooms, rustic and creamy, and accompanied with pungent parmesan crisps, while I chose the Assiette of Karoo lamb, cooked three ways – a succulent slow-roasted crown, rich confit shoulder, and crispy sweetbreads. The mains were wonderfully complemented by a 2006 Boekenhoutskloof Cabernet Sauvignon (Platter 5 star).
Deserts followed, adding a crowning finale to a quite superb meal. Jane chose a cold soup of grated frozen strawberries – perfect for a hot afternoon, whilst I was tempted by a parfait of cashew and praline – sublime.
All in all, a truly memorable meal – even the coffee was roasted to perfection, and accompanied by salted caramel chocolates.
I have been a regular traveller to SA for more than a dozen years, and if there is a better restaurant in the country, I am yet to find it. I will be back in the Cape in October and I’m already planning a return visit to this very special place in Constantia.
Paul Plant.
Address: 224 Piccadilly London W1J (HP
Telephone number: 02079300488
Website: www.criterionrestaurant.com
Date of visit: 17 March
Approximate cost per head for 2 courses: set meal £16.95 for 2 courses, £19.95 for 3 courses (restricted time – lunch, before 7pm and after 10pm). A la carte £30 plus
Comments on wine list/beer: Interesting list. You can pay serious money or pick up a reasonable bottle for £25. Very high markup.
Summary:
I went with my cousin who has just arrived from Singapore. It was St Patrick’s day and all the pubs that display anything Irish are bursting at the seam.
We were due to meet at the Roundhouse (Garrick St). However it was closed for refurbishment.
After hitting an non Irish pub and had some awful Green King beer, we arrived at the Criterion.
The Criterion is housed in a beautiful hall approximately 100 years old. The ceiling is fantastic. It is now under the management of Marco Pierre White. 224 Piccadilly is sited about 20 meters from EROS.
The restaurant was about half full with most of the diners doing a pre-theatre meal. The cut off time is 7pm – we just missed it.
We ordered foie gras and scallops to start with followed by rib eye steak and a pork combination (loin and belly). The whole lot was washed down with a bottle of 2005 Salice Salentino reserve at £24. I happened to know that you can get the 2007 reserva for around £6 a bottle (trade price) from Enotria so the mark up here is around 300-400%. We had tap water that was delivered with a smile.
The foie gras (£11.50) was pate rather than slices of liver. From the look of it, its duck rather than goose. The king scallops with coral (£13) were reasonably sized and you get 3 with a lovely mushy black pudding as well as a piece of crispy black pudding.
The main courses were a bit disappointing – size not taste. The steak (£20.50) was served with mash potato and green beans. The steak was about 6ozs and the mash and beans were served in a small ramekin. Now I normally expect some sauce or something wet to go with the mash potato but there were nothing, not even a small salad with dressing.
My pork (£21) was served on a rectangular plate with a piece of belly of pork in the middle, sitting on a spoonful of mash potato. The pork was the size of a large stamp. The loin (6 thin pieces) were about the size of a 50p coin. There were also 2 bits of green beans and two “large” pieces of crackling, arranged like helicopter blades on top of the pork belly. I ate the lot in less than 2 minutes.
Looking around, I noticed that our neighbours who had the set meal were offered fairly decent portions. One had a whole skate wing and the other fish and chips – the fish was bigger than everything on my plate put together and there was a big pile of chips. As our main courses were more expensive than the 3 course set meal, I think that a bit more vegetable and potato would improve the value but then it would probably destroy the presentation.
Our conclusion is that the food was fine and the service was very good. You get a nice basket of bread as soon as you sit down. BUT, the set meal is BETTER value.
Eddie
Address: 6 Malvern Road, Powick, Worcester WR2 4QP
Telephone number: 01905 830 750
Website: www.cromwelklstandoori.co.uk (not working, under maintenance?)
Date of visit: 13 March 2010
Approximate cost per head for 2 courses: under £15 for starter, main plus rice
Comments on wine list/beer: cobra and a very cheap wine list
Summary:
Let’s get the wine out of the way. On the night we went, the place was full and most people were drinking cheap wine (£12 a bottle). I don’t think that spice and wine works together, so I never have wine with an “Indian” meal. Champagne just about works.
This is an interesting restaurant as it’s the first and only building on the way to Malvern as you enter Powick. The car park is often used by the Police (day time) for their mobile speed guns. This is one place that I would not recommend that you drink and drive as the car park is often also used by the police when they are having a break!
The place is called Cromwell for obvious historical reasons. The interesting fact is that this is the first “Asian” restaurant I have come across that does not use an “indianish” name. To make sure that the customers are not fooled, there is also a huge sign with the word “Indian” on it. But then, the people who operate its are Bangladeshis not Indians. They also do steak, scampi etc just in case you do not eat “spicy” food.
The menu has all the usual Indian restaurant favourites but it also has a section on fish and Bangladeshi dishes.
We ordered chicken karahi and chicken chashi (on the menu, it said that it’s a Bangladeshi dish cooked in special sauce), pilaw rice, sag and bindi bajees.
The chicken dishes tasted quite nice but I am not sure of the “differences”. The bindi was chopped up finely and was excellent – in fact this is one of the best I have had for sometime.
All this was washed down with 3 pints of cobra and the total bill came to £33.
The fish dishes look very interesting and there were 2 fishes – roop and ayre – that I have never heard of. Must try it next time.
By the way, they are only open from 5.30 to 11.30. They do not serve lunch.
Eddie
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/7421326/Britains-best-delis-markets-and-farm-shops.html
I’ll get the book and tell you what I think.
Eddie
March 2010
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/7448933/Aylesbury-ducks-really-deliver.html
Very interesting artricle. Try the “preserved” or confit of duck.
Eddie
March 2010
Address: 3 Queens Walk, Reading, RG1 7QF (Queens Walk is next to the Penta Hotel)
Telephone number: 0118 959 7700
Website: www.pepesale.co.uk
Date of visit: 10 March 2010
Approximate cost per head for 2 courses: £20
Comments on wine list/beer: Peroni on tap. Very good value Italian list with a good selection of Sicilian/Sardinian wines. The manager, Marco, is a real foodie ad he knows his wines. Ask him for a recommendation. He usually offers something around £20.
Summary:
Pepe Salle has been around for near 10 years. Its previous incarnations (different owners) were French and Portuguese. Both lasted only a couple of years.
I used to come here a lot when I was working across the road. This is my first visit in nearly 12 months.
The first impression is that there is no change. It is still brightly lit with the restaurant on 2 levels – separated by 4 feet of stairs. The “downstairs” dining room is bigger and tends to be noisier as the sound bounces off the walls and the tiled floor.
For starters, we had gamberoni arrabbiata, avacardo e fungi and the special of the day, oyster mushrooms cooked in garlic butter and served on crisp thin bread (carta de piano)
The mushroom was cooked just right – still el dente and juicy not shrivelled up or chewy.
For main course, we had ravioli ricotta, mallorreddo (small spiral pasta served in a sausage meat and spicy tomato sauce) fegato al balsamico (calves’ liver) and spaghetti bottarga (spaghetti with shaven mullet roe cooked in garlic butter).
Pepe Salle is a Sardinian Italian restaurant; their best dishes are mushrooms and pasta. When in season, Marco regularly forages for wild mushrooms. I have had great English porcini mushrooms here. Their pasta is always cooked right and comes with great sauces. My regular dishes are the ravioli and spaghetti bottarga.
The whole lot was washed down with two bottles of vermentino di gall – crisp and fresh at £18.90 a bottle.
The bill for 4 including bread and side salads came to £126.60 (excluding service). The food here is still as good as ever. They remain my favourite Italian.
Eddie
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/6662217/Food-Books-of-the-Year.html
Interesting collection. Thge Rick Stein book is pretty good but is it authentic? For example under Beef Shatkora (p 266), the ingredients include grape fruit and tomato ketchup!
Eddie
March 2010
Address: The Street, South Stoke, Oxfordshire RG8 0JS
Telephone number: 01491 872 415
Website: http://www.perchandpike.co.uk/
Date of visit: 4 March 2010
Approximate cost per head for 2 courses: £15
Comments on wine list/beer: Brakspear and a pretty good wine list for a pub.
Summary:
This is a 17th century pub in a small village off the B4009 Goring-Wallingford road.
It’s a walkers pub – there is always a stack of wellies and boots outside the front door. I strongly recommend that you book on a sunny weekend – lunch time.
There is a circular walk at the north end of the village (approx 4 miles) along the Thames to North Stoke and back . Access to the river is via ferry lane. During the wet seasons, the path can get very muddy and you will be better off with wellies. Park at the pub and walk down The Street towards the North End. Ferry Lane is on the left at the end of The Street.
The best way to describe this place is that they serve large portions of good basic home cooking. On the day we went, I had the steak and parsnip pie – top crust pie with a thick strong gravy, lean pieces of meat – and chips for £9.45. Beer is around £3 a pint.
Another table was full of walkers who had the beef baguette (£7) which could easily feed 2 – per portion.
This pub has changed hands several times since I first visited in the 80s. The current landlord is a charming man and I wish him the best.
Eddie