mouthful of delight

fundra
Originally uploaded by chowen

No one knows better than the girls about the wondrous chocolate things. The satisfying scent of cocoa, oh how it can numb your mind.

I've come across many in my life, truthfully, a well-balanced pleasure is hard to fine. They can be too dry, too sweet, too plain, too boring... This, however, is like a gem only to be noticed by the experienced. Dark chocolate coating with a firm texture that is cake and bread; centered with a soft, smooth chocolate mousse accompanied by a hint of walnut. Powered cocoa on top.

This chocolate fundra doesn't come cheap, but you must remember you're buying not the cake, but its dazzlement within.

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Baker & Spice
75 Salusbury Rd
London, NW6 6NH
020 7604 3636
Chocolate fundra: £4.50


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the real light lunch

The real Greek
Originally uploaded by chowen

This is a nice little restaurant tucked away in a corner just crossing off the busy streets in Covent garden, it's always packed and one can only envy the people inside with all the eating, clinking of the beer glass behind the see through glass window.

Finally on a quiet Sunday afternoon, served by a waitress who looked half-asleep, we ordered what we've wanted to try, the Mezedes Sharers. The 5-tier plate rack with different dipping sauces, accompanied with fresh pita bread and Greek beer; it was the ultimate brunch.

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The Real Greek
60-62 Long Acre
London
WC2E 9JE (020 7240 2292)
Souvlaki for Two and beer: £25

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Nostalgia...or not

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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fry up

English breakfast
Originally uploaded by chowen

Once in a while I find myself eating at the so-called tourist trap, sometimes on purpose, often unintentional.

Countless photos of Princess Diana taken with the cafe owner and of herself, it looked though her namesake was one of the Princess's very locals. Old style furnitures with a layer of grease that seemed to attach on just about any surface.

We went for the traditional English breakfast which turned out to be the ultimate salt experience. So the poached egg and beans were up to scratch, but you hardly need any skill to get that right.

If it weren't for the atmosphere, we would be much better off eating at home.

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cafe Diana
5 Wellington Terrace, London, W2 4LW

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fancy that

De Kas
Originally uploaded by chowen

When we arrived at the restaurant I thought we had come to the wrong place. Crossing the wooden bridge to the glass-walled restaurant right in the middle of a park, it was not only surrounded by grass, but greenhouses too.

No menu, no what-shall-I-have's, no fuzz. The dishes depended entirely on what was harvested that day; apart from the ultra-fresh greens, it wasn't totally vegetarian, luckily. Two types of starter came; salad and impressively juicy scallops decorated with pansy petals, so delicate that it felt almost wrong to eat it. While waiting for the main, we munched on gigantic olives that were as big as the nose.
With the raised expectations by the exotic starters, the roast/poached veal with boiled root vegetables main seemed somewhat dull.

Wine, food, more food, dessert, and more dessert. I had little idea that the best was yet to come - a pot of fresh mint leaves brew. The whole leaf swayed gently in the glass pot with its stems; the light green reflected the stars above through the glass ceiling.

There was more to it than the home-planted specialty.

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De Kas
Kamerlingh Onneslaan 3, 1097 DE Amsterdam
Set meal with wine for two: €130

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with a twist

The Crab Inn
Originally uploaded by chowen

Thatched roof, old styled wooden chairs and tables, patterned curtains draped over the windows. This is one of the stone-built traditional pubs in Shanklin, Isle of Wight; one of the oldest as well - listed in the Doomesday Book. Such an interesting fact that the history of the place could go back as far as 1086.

Naturally we went for the "classic" pub food; sausage and mash, beef ale pie, and after the last disappointing fish & chips experience, I took another dare. The beer-battered fish that came was so big that it sticked out of either side of the already long plate, and awed the devourer into silence. The chunky chips were reassuringly comforting, and the boiled peas only so-so. With the mouth full, yet the hands were busy digging into friends' plates. The ale steak pie was the best of all; chunks of prime beef marinated and cooked in the special gravy sauce, were oozing out of the home made pie pastry that soaked up just the right amount of the juice, yet was not soggy; striking an excellent balance.

Luckily, yet unfortunately, Isle of Wight is a tad far to get to, or I would be having more than I meant to.

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The Crab Inn
94 High Street, Shanklin, Isle of Wight, PO37 6NS
Fish & Chips/Beef & Ruddles Ale Pie £7.95 each

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over-rated

Rock & Sole plaice
Originally uploaded by chowen

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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