nik "777" t.'s Profile

this review is only for lunch.

i do believe that dinner offers much more in terms of izakaya dishes which was not on the lunch menu.

they do lots of sets and i must say that they looked good value for money.

my friend ordered a sashimi set which goes for 13 quid.
4 types of fish, 3 slices each and a bowl of rice. everyone gets a cold tofu and pickles to start.
my friend commented that the rice wasnt of the good sticky japanese rice stock.

i decided to be greedy and ordered the 30 quid sushi and sashimi platter!
7 pieces of nigiri sushi, 6 pieces of sushi roll and a good assortment of sashimi.
on hindsight, the platter was enough for the 2 of us.
i actually struggled to finish it.
the fish was thick cut and fresh.
but somehow i was underwhelmed by the types of fish that were included.
they were nothing exotic but mere run of the mill variety.
perhaps my expectations were too high and i was also expecting to eat izakaya styled food.

nevertheless, i would still rank donzoko the highest of the japanese restaurants i've tried in london. possibly more 3.5 stars than 3.
and yes, london really ranks lowly when it comes to good japanese food!

i guess i should come back here again for dinner sometime.

had a hard time identifying the correct restaurant to review!
they have so many maroushs all over edgeware road!
based on their website this is maroush IV.
but on yelp it is cafe maroush.
rather confusing indeed.

anyways, our initial destination was a persian restaurant along connaught street.
but my friends were rather worried about repercussions from the iranian-british row and decided against going there.

the alternate was to be maroush gardens but they were not opened yet.
so somehow we ended up at cafe maroush.

as it was my friend's treat i left the ordering to them.

we basically had 3 types of dips.
2 of the chickpea variety and one eggplant based.
am not a big fan of hummus so cant say very much about it.
the freshly baked breads that goes with it was nice though.
the eggplant based dip tasted slightly burnt so that didnt do it for me as well.

the salad was very fresh and minty.
plain olive oil and lemon dressing.

then came the charcoal-grilled chicken wings!
it was really well grilled indeed.
crispy blackened skin with a moist shiny tender interior.
then balance the charred taste with a light lemony fluffy foam.

the main course was a mixed grill and then a lamb cutlet with fries.
but after the heavenly wings, the other dishes just doesnt come close.
the fries were well fried but the lamb was a little overcooked.
the mixed grill items dont even come to mind. forgettable.

service wise was slow.
they just opened and were taking their own sweet time dressing up.

"when the seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea", so says eric cantona!

so when i first saw seagulls swarming billingsgate fish market, i knew this is the place to come for your fresh seafood fix!

not only were there seagulls but hoards of people even though it was already 6.40am.
you see, they start as early as 5am and we were definitely not among the early birds.

armed with our buckets for carrying our expected loot, we were well prepared for our catches of the day.
the buckets will really come in handy as it will keep your boot clean too!

in case you are wondering, they do retail to the general public.
of course, they would prefer you buying more than what you need, but the fact that they sold us 2 pieces of salmon fish head for 1 quid should encourage you to come here! a plastic bag was also provide, what a steal!:)
the salmon fish head must be the best buy, plenty of flesh was still attached.
according to my friend's mom, she will make a nice fish head curry out of it!

lots on offer, lots to see.
all kinds of seafood cheap as can be!

3 crabs for 7.50 quid??
fillets of cod at various sizes and various prices.
the ones we bought were 8 quid per kg.

fresh as fresh can be, sea bass, great looking turbot, even grouper!
lobsters, scallops with roe(with or without shell), squid, smoked salmon, fresh salmon, monk fish, prawns, sea snails etc.

the market was relatively clean but wet.
most fishes are not gutted but you do get some stalls selling gutted ones.
take your time to go from stall to stall before committing your purchase.
some stalls are fresher, others are cheaper!

there are also 2 cafes on site.
one right by the entrance and another at the opposite end.
we dropped in at the one at the other end after our fishy exploits.
small cosy little cafe offering full english breakfast!
the walls are framed with interesting photos of people who have visited.

we shared the mix grill breakfast( baked beans, grilled tomatoes, chips, beef pattie with grilled onions, sausage, bacon, egg, toast and coffee, 5.50 quid) and a haddock breakfast( haddock, 2 poached eggs, toast and coffee, 7 quid).
good for 4 persons! additional tea was only 50p each.

not quite your tsukiji fish market but certainly billed as the largest fish market in london!

perhaps the best looking tube station in london!

but definitely the nearest one to the all england lawn tennis club.

thematic decorations here, create a special atmosphere like no other.

you have lawn-like floor carpeting for the platform area.
seats are specially printed with names of tennis greats.
life sized tennis players and netting lines the fencing on both sides of the platform.

upgrading works are on going to get it ready for the olympic games in 2012. basically the addition of a lift from the platform to the exit level, removal of shops and ticket gates.

you can take a nice stroll along wimbledon park rd or bus no. 493 to get to the club.

felt like having some congee but ended up having a lot more!

nice, flavourful congee, cantonese style.
had the house special which was basically a mixture of meat and other parts.
the congee was of good consistency but ingredients were slightly overcooked.

the beef brisket noodle soup was nice but alas it did not come with beef tendon.
the noodles were al dente and soup tasty.

wanton soup was freshly made with prawn, chives and meat.

the beef hor fun with black bean sauce, which my friend had, also looked yum.

according to my friends, the fried rice with diced chicken and salted fish is delectable.

it's a small setting but a comfortable environment.
friendly and efficient service.
they even gave a 1 pound discount as we did not have small change!

apparently, kiasu, hung tao and kam tong along the same street are all owned by the same owner.
not too long ago, due to a rental dispute, all three shops were temporarily shut.

the company was so good that we chatted till closing time which was 11pm.

at an average price of 5 pounds a dish, i would say they are cheap and good!

excerpts from a spelling bee contest...........

judge: semplice.
contestant: semplice?

j: semplice.
c: semplice? may i know the language of origins?
j: italian.

c: semplice? can i have the definition please?
j: adv. & adj. Music. In a simple or plain manner. Used chiefly as a direction.

c: semplice? any alternative pronunciations?
j: no, just  semplich

c: use in a sentence?
j: i went to semplice for lunch and they have a really good, value for money set menu, priced at 16 quid for 2 courses and 19 quid for 3 courses! of which offers a grilled swordfish that was fresh, firm and flavourful

c: semplice? a one michelin star restaurant?
j: yes! the one with heavenly risotto alla milanese! smooth, rich, al dente, lightly infused with saffron and made decadent with melt-in-your-mouth bone marrow!

c: semplice? where they use Fassone, a special breed of beef, bred only in Piedmonte. and they use beef only from the female, for its tenderness.
j: yes! that's why the texture, taste and colour is special! one bite of the Fassone carpaccio, 'Alba style' and the elegant flavour lingers in your mouth.

c: semplice? any other notable mentions?
j: yes, their freshly baked breads are lovely, especially the olive bread! the black squid ink gnocchi in spinach sauce blends seamlessly colour, texture and taste. for desserts, their interesting selections offer something for everyone.  

c: semplice? do they have good service?
j: yes, they were all very attentive, accommodating, efficient and friendly.

c: semplice? S-E-M-P-L-I-C-E!!!
j: that's right! well done and i bet you will remember that name for a long time to come!:)

china city now stands where poons restaurant used to be.

3 storeys worth of food and karaoke!

the ground floor is purely dedicated to food.

the 1st and second floor is a mix of both, with communal seating as well as private rooms.

for larger groups, it makes sense to choose the private rooms on offer. it's more comfortable and of course offers you privacy to practice your karaoke skills!

The Tang Dynasty Room was what we were offered.
a large table comfortably seats 12 and it also comes with a lounge area, with sofa sets, for you to belt out your favourite tunes.
so whilst waiting for everyone to show up i hoarded the mic.
the selection of mandarin songs was very impressive.
not so for english ones.
what was most impressive was the sound system.
very professional indeed!
the kinda system that will improve your karaoke merely by using it.

as for the food, it is not the best that money can buy but still slightly above average.
we started with individual portions of soup and the diced melon seafood soup was tasty and refreshing.
for our banquet, we had a whole roast chicken, a whole roast duck, spicy dried fried beef short ribs, kale fried with garlic, honey fried eel, salted eggs prawn, clams with bean sauce, salt and pepper fresh oysters, clay pot braised pork belly, scallops with asparagus in xo sauce and lobster noodles.
of notable mention were the oysters, duck and eel.
things to avoid are the roast chicken which was way too dry and didnt taste fresh, and the clay pot braised pork belly which tasted like the canned stuff.

you must be wondering why we ordered so many dishes?
well, they have a minimum spending of 250 quid for 4 hours use of this private room. so we tried real hard to order the expensive stuff yet keeping in mind not to go over 250.
it might sound expensive but when divided by 12 or more persons it is actually rather economical.
in the end, including tea and dessert, we hit 250.60!
not too bad huh?
do note this 250 required minimum spending figure is excluding service charges.

all in all, it was a memorable experience and definitely a good place to have a karaoke gathering!:)

nice, clean cafe.
airy and spacious.

staff's level of english is below average.
but service is efficient and quick.

ordered the all day breakfast with sunny side up egg.
my friend asked to substitute sausage with extra egg.
after a few blank stare, she finally understood what he wanted.

my all day breakfast included sausage, bacon, egg, baked beans, toast, coffee and orange juice.
all for 4.70pound! very good deal indeed.

you can see visually that it is well cooked.
generous portion of baked beans that was rich and tasty.
i had 3 slices of bacon and no egg initially.
a mistake that was quickly corrected.
they didnt take away the extra slice of bacon but my egg was over-easy instead of sunny side up.
the toast was nice and brown and what i like is they spread the butter on the bread for you. not good if you dont want butter though.

orange juice is standard stuff.
coffee is acceptable diner standard but not the watered down version.
i polished up my plate within minutes.

a fellow diner did not have enough money and they actually allowed her to leave the cafe to get money.
very trusting indeed but not misplaced as she did come back to pay for her breakfast!:)

being a sunday night, this was the nearest option for me to grab some groceries.
it certainly helps that this a true 24hrs joint.(one star)

for those with donuts craving, they have a krispy kreme corner just for you!

the baby plum tomatoes and the brazil nuts that i bought were surprisingly lovely.

the availability of numerous checkout counters won it another star.

now for what i dont like:
1) the shop layout is cramp and very messy!!!
2) it tends to be way too crowded.
3) limited product offerings

maybe this is not a fair review, as i personally like to take my own sweet time and go from aisle to aisle to peruse what's on offer.
whereas in here, i feel very rushed and cant do my thing in peace!
just an efficient express that's not an enjoyable experience.

you cant help but fall in love with jo malone.
celebrities and beauty journalists alike, clamour for jo.
the way she looks and the way she smells!!!
she is luxuriously lavish and a mere visit to the shop will awaken your senses, yet leave you feeling a zen-like calmness.

additionally, this outlet and the one on sloane street boasts an exclusive treatment room each(only 5 in the UK) and offers jo's legendary treatments.

the service and packaging of their products are simple yet pleasingly appealing.

finally, for those who sign up as a registered online member, a complimentary hand & arm massage awaits you. The treatment includes a gentle exfoliation, a relaxing massage and an intensive moisture mask, all wrapped up with a delicious spritz of a jo malone cologne.

p/s: in case you are wondering, they also offer fragrances for men:)