VicAsia, Albert Park

The scene is subdued and sophisticated, but the food is where the action is. This feels like the best Chinese food I've ever had.

We shared the 5 course tasting menu for $50 per head. Light and crispy tempura calamari with coconut, scallops with ginger and spring onion, grilled prawns with almond sauce and the most divine Patagonian toothfish (my favourite piece of fish in memory) were absolutely gorgeous, if leaving us still a little peckish. Then 2 slices of steak marinated in a sweet plum sauce with Chinese greens and a bowl of fried rice (complete with its own bounty of big, juicy fresh prawns) saved the day.

A very respectable wine list completes the picture, with lovely wines by the glass for around the $10 mark.

In the end, we had just enough room for a stroll along the beach with a scoop of Jock's ice-cream (hokey pokey with massive chunks of real honeycomb).

I feel a habit coming on.

VicAsia, 95 Victoria Avenue, Albert Park, Melbourne (ph 613 9690 2390)

Empress of Sichuan, Chinatown - A quick happy snap

In a week of madness, it's comforting to know that some things keep getting better.

Empress of Sichuan remains my favourite Sichuanese restaurant. Our last meal of seabass with blackbean and chilli, spicy pork and juicy duck with pickled cucumber (they were out of bitter melon) was sublime. It also has a great wine list and friendly staff. Time to try it if you haven't already.

See my previous review here.

Empress of Sichuan, 6 Lisle Street, Chinatown, WC2H 7BG

Dumplings' Legend, Chinatown

Sometimes you just need to while away a lazy Sunday afternoon eating dim sum.

Last week, I wrote about Leong's Legends, a decent Taiwanese restaurant in Chinatown which recently opened a dim sum offshoot, Dumplings' Legend, just around the corner on Gerrard Street. Reading comments on my post about LL's excellent Siu Loung Bao (or Xiao Long Bao) brought on cravings. It was time to investigate the newbie's offerings.

On the site of the former Golden Harvest, the downstairs room is large and airy with white walls and minimalistic touches. It's fresher looking than some of its neighbours - quite like an Asian St John's in terms of decor. We were lucky to be seated at the front, where the whole wall is a window and the sunshine flitted in over our lunch as we watched the characters of Chinatown amble by. Upstairs is more poky, but does the job.

We arrived about 2pm - prime time it seems. The dining room was packed and a small queue was growing rapidly. However, 3 dumpling makers were at work behind a glass panel at the entrance, rolling, folding and stuffing delicate dumpling wrappers. It's mesmerising to watch while you wait - although I do wonder how long it takes before RSI sets in.

"Whatever", you say. To the food, the food...

Our knobbly cheung-fun arrive first - three generous, slinky, slug-like noodles stuffed with ample slices of sea bass and picked vegetables. A fair price at £3.30. The next table orders the spicy stir fried cheung-fun which looks good and appears to be a popular choice around the room.

Steamed sticky rice in a bamboo tube is delicious but so thick it borders on congealed - a decent set of biceps is required to scoop it out (£4.50).

Barbecued pork buns are excellent - fluffy and filled with big, juicy splashes of sweet, red barbecued meat (3 for £2.50).

Crystal prawn dumplings are small, pretty things, sweet and plump - but nothing which stands out above the norm here (£2.50). Chicken wrapped in banana leaf with Chinese is a highlight - deliciously moist, with satisfying chunks of chicken and Chinese sausage (£2.20).

Finally, out come the pork Siu Loung Bao, for which Leong's Legends are renowed (£6.00). At Dumplings' Legend, they're also fantastic - the little smurf's hut shaped wrapper is quite delicate and so you have to be careful not to pierce it, spilling broth onto the table. It snuggles a parcel of meat within as well as a warm soupy broth which explodes into your mouth on first bite. These should be an essential part of your dim sum order here. The accompanying soy sauce contains thick slithers of shredded ginger - a lovely touch.

We finish with a serve of 3 tiny egg tarts (£2.20) - these are TPG's thing more than mine. They're nothing special, but I quite like the fact they don't taste overly eggy,

Service is efficient and friendlier than you might experience at some Chinatown restaurants. We paid around £15 per head including tea and service, although we could have done with 1 less dish and 1 less pot of tea (at £2.20 each) had we not been feeling so greedy.

Both Leong's Legends and Dumplings' Legend highlight their "highly recommended" dishes with 2 stars on the menu. Interestingly, "Legends specialties" are distinguished with 1 star. I'm not sure what the distinction means.

Dumplings' Legend is good, and it's already popular. I think it may become my cheap and cheerful dim sum restaurant of choice when those Sunday afternoon cravings set in.

Dumplings' Legend, 15-16 Gerrard Street, Chinatown, London, W1D 6JE

Leong's Legends

Leong's Legends is one of the better places to eat on a small budget in London's Chinatown.

Decor is simple but smart - dark wood, low lighting; it's like a busy teahouse. The Taiwanese fare - while it might not always blow you away - is a cheerful skip ahead of most of its near neighbours. And it's a nice change in style from the tide of Cantonese restaurants in the area.

Service is fairly swift and impersonal, but not rude in my experience (although there have been reports of frostiness in the past) - which to my mind is perfect for a good value, tasty meal in Chinatown. I'm not expecting anyone to fold my napkin when I go to the loos.

TPG can not go anywhere without trying the duck. The crispy, aromatic duck has good flavour, if a fraction dry on our recent visit. A plentiful serve of pancakes, spring onion, cucumber and a sweet hoisin sauce accompany it.

The ma po tofu adds some spice to our table - it definitely has a kick. The ginger chicken is sweet and tender, with crunchy slithers of ginger and onion to liven up the textures. The sweet, tender braised pork belly is also one to try.

Leong's Legends is any easy contender for a regular budget haunt in Chinatown. It has a good reputation for dim sum too, and particularly the xiao long bao (steamed soupy, meaty dumplings). Just watch out for the queue if you arrive during prime time. Expect to pay just over £20 for 2 people.

Other favourites are the slightly more upmarket Empress of Sichuan and - for bargain basement - Young Chen.

Leong's Legend, 4 Macclesfield Street, Chinatown, London W1D 6AX (Tel: 020 7287 0288)

There is also a newer Leong's Legends branch in Bayswater.

Hakkasan, Fitzrovia

Buttermilk bavarois

For his birthday this year, The Peanut Gallery chose to be taken to Hakkasan. I can only guess it is no coincidence that the papers announced the next day that it is the most expensive restaurant, per minute of dining, in London. Uncanny.

Hakkasan seems to be one of those places - you'll either love it or you'll hate it. I'm firmly in the love camp.

Soaring ceIlings, dim lighting and dramatic, dark wooden decor reminded me of Buddakan in New York. Unlike in New York, where great grub and a spectacular setting often go hand in hand, it's so rare in London for such a fabulous fit out not to mean the food is complete rubbish.

I have heard rumours of too cool for school service and door bouncers - there's NOTHING I hate more. Although they're glamorous with some gorgeous kit for uniforms (I'd wear those blue dresses on a night out) we found service at all times to be efficient, but quite friendly and helpful. I suppose the area when you first walk and face the line up in could be a tad intimidating. It feels like entering a night club and you have your name ticked off a list before you even step inside.

But we quickly warmed up to it with a few martinis at the bar (lychee for me, classic for the birthday boy). It's fun place for some great cocktails, even if you don't stop for dinner.

Sesame prawn toasts



Crispy duck salad

 Once seated (for our strictly 2 hour time slot of feeding - we arrived early to linger at the bar for a while first), we started with prawn toast and a duck salad.

The large, bulbous sesame prawn toasts are in a different league to anything I've had in a long while. They're fleshy and sweet, topped with sesame and served with a side of fried seaweed and enoki mushrooms. (£13.50)

The crispy duck salad mixes moist strips of duck with crispy fresh greens, pomelo, pine nut and shallots. Very nice, if a tad forgettable. (£19.50)

Stir fry pepper beef

 

Roast duck with Chinese herbs


Our main serving of roast duck with Chinese herbs is soon pronounced by TPG, serious duck addict, to be the best he's ever eaten. It's full juicy, fatty flavour is spiced up by some generous seasoning, and the texture of crispy skin against moist juicy meat is spot on. (£21.00)

Moist chunks of peppery, stir fried, rib-eye beef with merlot come spilling from a delicate, spindly nest. Again, big flavours and execution is just right. (£18.80)



Warm coconut rice pudding


Desserts are artistic creations. Naturally, TPG has the warm coconut rice pudding with mango caviar and black sesame crunch. I have the gorgeous buttermilk bavarois with blood orange jelly and fresh blood orange. (£8.00 each). Both are stunning, with interesting, indulgent flavours - a party in your mouth.

Hakkasan, under chef Tong Chee Hwee, has held a Michelin star since 2003. The food is excellent and the atmosphere is buzzing. Yes, Hakkasan is expensive - expect to upwards of £50 per head for food, and prices can of course soar if you get stuck into the cocktails or the wagyu (there's pair of £58 wagyu dishes). However, you can experience the glamour and some great Chinese food for a fraction of the price if you go for dim sum. It's fresh, interesting and the flavours pack some serious punch.  I'll be back.

Hakkasan, 8 Hanway Place, Fitzrovia, London, W1T 1HD (Tel: 020 7927 7000)

If you're interested in dim sum, you can see my review of the dim sum at Hakkasan's sister restaurant, Yauatcha, here.

Yauatcha, Dim Sum in Soho

Sometimes, when one needs comfort food on a lazy Sunday afternoon, only dim sum will do. And as if to prove that comfort and style need not be mutually exclusive, there's Yauatcha. (There's also my new Massimo Dutti heels, the mildly glam-in-an-officey-way exterior of which belies a sensible, I'm-on-the-wrong-side-of-30, cushioned inner sole. But I digress.)

Yauatcha is a modern dim sum tea house with a refined air and a Michelin Star held firmly between its chopsticks. Formerly owned by Alan Yau, it proves to be surprisingly good value (say, around £25 per head) - particularly if you stick to dim sum and tea. Although I caution that the bill does start to stack up if you opt for larger dishes and wine.

The ground level, where we enjoy our lunch time dim sum, feels bright and fresh, with shades of blue and a large fish tank lining the entrance. Downstairs, is more dimly lit and clandestine - a popular option for the evening crowd.

We start with some roasted blue tea, the Fuijan Wuyi Yan, Shui Xian (£4 per pot), which we chose on the basis that other options are more expensive and our waiter tells us they all taste fairly similar. It's rather bland, and doesn't really improve with the food. Choose another one.

Dim sum comes in sets of 3 (reflecting the number's association with good luck and the word "alive" in Chinese superstition, but often resulting in heavy negotations for me and the TPG.)

The beautifully presented scallop shui mai (£7.50) is a treasure-like bundle of juicy scallops and prawns topped with gleaming jewels of roe. The winter melon dumplings look like pudgy carrots, but are an enjoyable taste of Thai winter melon, black fungus, straw mushroom and gong choi (£3.80).

The sticky rice in lotus leaf with chicken and shrimp (£4.80) is good (but not the greatest) but then the char sui bun (3 for £3.50) is fantastic (a must) - and also great value compared to the lesser morsels you might get for around the same price in Chinatown.

We steer off the dim sum menu to try the Szechuan seafood claypot (£17.00) - a fresh and colourful mix of prawns, (slightly too chewy) squid, peanuts, mushrooms, snowpeas, baby corn and chilli. TPG was more of a fan than I, but possibly because I think this a dim sum haven for me and I'm reluctant to diverge to the larger dishes unless it's for something extraordinary.

Our warm vanilla rice pudding with banana sorbet and caramelised pineapple (£7.50) is absolutely gorgeous, even if the pineapple was a little hard to negotiate. Handmade chocolates and macaroons are also on display - I tried a selection of 4 chocolates for £3 which were reasonably nice but no match for the pudding.

One possible hitch to any long, lazy, Sunday afternoon plans you might be hatching is that we were warned our table had to be returned after 2 hours - although no-one policed that once we sat down. We paid around £30 per head for our meal.

Yauatcha comes with my seal of approval for dim sum with a touch of glamour on the side. I was so impressed, that I've already booked us into Yauatcha's big brother, Hakkasan, next month.

My only regrets are that we missed the bulging, glistening har gua dumplings and the blue swimmer crab salad with sesame dressing, both of which we had to suffer through others enjoying on the next table. As if we need another excuse to go back.

Yauatcha, 15 Broadwick Street, Soho, W1F ODL (Tel: 0207 494 8888)

Chilli Cool, Kings Cross / Bloomsbury

To say Chilli Cool is a no-frills restaurant is something of an understatement. But then, the aftermath of eating Sichuanese food over a white table cloth would just be humiliating.  This is a place to load up a big table with friends, feast messily on plates of spicy, chilli laden food and wash it all down happily with a beer or three. And watch out for the oil slicked floors.

First things first. The crispy pig's intestine. This dish has won the adoration of many a trusted food blogger and I wanted to love it too. It wasn't to be. Fried slivers of intestine, mixed with bright peppers, silken spring onion and gleaming lashings of chilli was a pretty picture of Sichuan goodness - but like an angelic looking child smiling sweetly on a sunny day, before breaking out into a full blooded, high pitched, screaming tanty, its looks belied the real truth, people. Slice by slice, it tasted precisely how one can only imagine a big old sweaty pig's arse would taste - after a long day at the trough. And it's a taste that not only lingers, but starts off more like a faint smell of arse, and then just when you think it's gone, it slowly creeps up on you and blows up in all its full arsey glory about 10 seconds after swallowing. A faecal creeper. Just not my thing. While I'm sure this dish is all about texture, these specimens were stiff giving way to a slightly disappointing softness, rather than living up to the crisp and chewy morsels I was expecting. However, others rave about this dish and I'm generally not a huge fan of offal so perhaps it's just me.

Nevertheless, our other selections made up for this initial disappointment and assured us of the potential within Chilli Cool's repertoire.

Dry fried green beans with pork mince and chillis were salty, tender and wrinkled like an old woman after a long bath. Not all that spicy (until I overdosed on 1 too many of the accompanying fried chillies) but lovely flavours and thoroughly enjoyable in all its simplicity.

Our whole sweet and sour sea bass delivered in black and glistening finery. Crispy flesh gave way to the moist meat of the fish which has been baked and smothered in a sticky, sweet soy based sauce topped with finely shredded strands of spring onion and fresh chilli. We were not expecting this dish to be all that spicy, and it wasn't, but a lovely, fresh option to balance out some of your meatier dishes at Chilli Cool.

Chilli Cool is good enough to go back again, next time with a table full of hungry accomplices which is the best way to sample a variety of dishes at places like this. But it's not up there at this stage with some of my favourite cheap eats, like Cay Tre (Vietnamese in Shoreditch). Nevertheless, I was impressed by the look of other plates making their way to surrounding tables, and any luke warm feelings may be more down to my menu selections than the competence of the restaurant. I remain confident there are plenty of gems still to be sampled (like the sea fragrant aubergine and the impressive looking spicy hot pots).

Expensive restaurants probably only get one chance to blow you way. However, this is a place that students go to feast. At just under £20 per head with a beer each, rice and service, it's not going to break the bank to go back and experiment with our selections at Chilli Cool again.

Chilli Cool, 15 Leigh St, Bloomsbury, London WC1H 9EW (Ph: 0207 383 313)

Empress of Sichuan - Chinatown, London

The emperor may be wearing no clothes, but the Empress of Sichuan knows how to dress up a plate.

Based on the fringes of Chinatown, near the Prince Charles cinema, the Empress Of Sichuan looks a little prissy on the inside compared to some of her neighbours. Normally elegance is not an advantage in my book of tracking down no frills, gutsy but good Chinese fare. There are wine bottles on formal display and enough room between tables to make it near impossible to surreptitiously eye off the meals on neighbouring plates - almost. There are even linen napkins. 

However, service immediately puts the heart at ease - it is friendly, non stiff and helpful (despite the occasional language barrier).  Waitresses have a little more time to talk through your options than they do on Gerrard St, where they're often shrieking out "fried pork, crispy duck!" before they've even completed the 180 degree turn from your table.

Wines by the glass are as cheap as chips. I enjoyed a couple of glasses of the Hazy Bay Chenin Blanc (Sth Africa 2008) while TPG chose a zingy Gerwurtztraminer Verdelho from Opal Ridge. Both were around £4 - £4.50 per glass and got our night off to a happy start.

Our bowl of sliced, spicy chicken (pictured above) - so full and juicy - came first, wallowing in a bowl of flame coloured chili oil, with a hefty smattering of sesame seeds and coriander. At £6, this was good value and 100% more enjoyable than the version I've had at Soho's trendy Bar Shu in the past. It was swimming in oil, but somehow this seemed nourishing rather than greasy.

Our whole steamed seabass was gorgeous. Hunks of delicate, moist fish balanced beautifully with the subtle flavours of the ginger and spring onion. It would be hard not to choose this again next time. At around £20, it could easily feed 3 people. Or us.

Our bears paw tofu was delicious, although being thinly sliced and quite dry, I'm not sure I prefer it over chunkier cut styles which retain a softer texture. Braised with scrumptious slithers of pork and big, slippery cloud ear mushrooms, this was another fiery delight with contrasting textures.

The Empress of Sichuan is all substance over style, especially when compared to some of the trendier looking Sichuanese players which have answered the call for this fiery cuisine nearby. She's playful, but chef Kang Dong (who hails from Chengdu) keeps her on track, focused on what we're really there for: delicious, comforting, flavourful food in an ambience that doesn't steal anything away from the plate.

She's not the cheapest option in Chinatown but, in just one bite, you'll understand why.

Our bill came to around £60 for 2, with wine, steamed rice and service. And I'll be back. Oh-ho yeees [rubs hands gleefully]...


Empress of Sichuan, 6-7 Lisle Street, London WC2 (020-7734 8128)


If you're interested in Sichuanese food in Soho, you might be interested in my earlier review of Bar Shan. Bar Shan has funkier decor that EOS, but I think the food at EOS has the edge.

Young Cheng: He's the man - China Town, Soho, London

It was the suggestion of 3 types of roast meat, a dish which was not on the menu, that first drew us hungrily to Young Cheng for Sunday lunch last weekend.

Sidled up next to the Mayflower on Shaftesbury Avenue, somehow Young Cheng had been completely off our radar. However, one glimpse in the window revealed a tiny but bustling hive of lively China Town action.

Young Cheng is packed with feasting and chattering Chinese people in every nook and cranny, tucking into bowls of noodle soups, roasted meats on rice and what seems like every possible Chinese "one dish meal" imaginable. It's no frills, super cheap, and I love it.

On both occasions I have dined there, we've found ourselves tucked into a tiny cranny downstairs. Not for claustrophobics (and quite amusing if you're dining with 4 burly blokes), but for the rest of us, this only seems to add to the atmosphere.

For Sunday lunch, I found myself crashing TPG's blokes' day. Over some manly banter about 1 armed push ups, we started with an absolutely delicious bowl of bone soup - swimming with hunks of meat off the bone, onions, carrot, potatoes and a moreish broth - and is always the free starter at lunch time. Nice work.

We followed up with the main draw card - 3 styles of roast meat on rice. Our plate of rice came loaded up with lashings of juicy roast duck, slices of roast pork and big rectangular chunks of crispy, fatty pork belly. With this we shared a plate of Chinese broccoli with garlic sauce, and endless Chinese tea. Now, this is what Sunday feasting is all about.

Tasty and satisfying, our bill came to less than £7 each.

TPG and I backed up lunch with a lazy Sunday night dinner last night (a week after our first visit). We had a hankering for noodle soup and Young Cheng seemed to be calling us.

I had been leering at the prawn dumpling soup of an old man sitting near the front door, and it did not disappoint - a plentiful and heart warming bowl of generous prawn dumplings, thin noodles and spring onions nestled in lovely clear broth. Exactly what the doctor ordered - for just over £5.

TPG had spied a laksa nearby (there are a handful of Malaysia options) and ordered it with pork (which is not on the menu but they happily offered to do it for him anyway). It was slightly too far on the oily side, but still completely delicious and mighty in size - for £6.

We could hardly eat it all, and our entire bill, with Chinese tea, came to £13. Service is fast, but helpful and on both occasions we've managed to enlist the service of a super smiley waitress - although their are some clearly more brusque options working the floor.

There are a couple of other branches of Young Cheng in China Town, some offering the dreaded buffet - I cannot vouch for them, and the Shaftesbury branch seems to be a cut above, so don't be confused.

For a cheap and cheerful taste of China, in the midst of the sometimes disappointing warren that is China Town, I heartily recommend Young Cheng - my new big man of China Town.

Young Cheng, 76 Shaftesbury Avenue, Soho, W1D 6ND
 

Ba Shan, Soho (London)

It's a woman's prerogative to change her mind. Or at least, that's the line I've been using to justify my sudden change of heart about Ba Shan. Of course, this is much to The Peanut Gallery's inordinate frustration, since he has been expelling much hot air trying to convince me to return for some time.

I first visited Ba Shan many months ago and my studied and thoughtful synopsis was something along the lines of "wottever". Perhaps it was just that my loyal heart was already dedicated to its older sibling, Baozi Inn, or maybe my expectations were set impossibly high by a load of good sentiment on the foodie grapevine (although opinions are now passionately divided). But it's all by the by now, because I've given Ba Shan another burl.

It all came about because Tim doesn't like Baozi (wottever). So, amidst a frenzied craving for Chinese food, we offered up Ba Shan as an alternative.

In contrast to the clattering throng at most of the Chinese restaurants across the road in China Town, Ba Shan was almost eerily quiet when Tim, the lovely Sarah, TPG and I settled into position on Saturday night. The restaurant is divided into a series of separate crannies, each with their own theme and character, although I prefer the corner room with the windows overlooking the noble (cough) street scenes of Soho.

Ba Shan specialises in Sichuan street food and "xiao chi" (small eats). The food from this Chinese province is known for its spiciness and the liberal use of chili, garlic and peanuts. The menu offers a large array of salads, small meat dishes, dumplings, noodles, buns and vegetarian friendly plates.

We ordered up aplenty, all the while pretending to show consideration for Tim who is dancing with the devil (the Atkins diet) during his 6 week wedding countdown. But we can't all suffer...

We started with the five spiced beef salad with coriander and garlic, which I loved - colourful, fresh and tasty, if a little lacking in spice. We gave short shrift to the whole tawdry Atkins notion by stocking up on some chashou (Sichuan wontons) with spiced soy sauce, chilli oil and garlic, which were full of meat and flavour. Next came the unusual gutoie, a pan fried series of long wontons, golden and crisp on the bottom, filled with juicy pork and chive filling.

The twice cooked pork then presented itself (one of my favourites), followed by the spicy Sichuanese noodles (which were spicy by name, but not quite enough by nature) and a fairly run-of-the-mill beef stir fry.

I had urged that we try a couple of servings of the lotus leaf buns (soft, steamed dough filled with pork). The fact that they were unexpectedly bright, Kermit green, did not put us off. However, the overwhelming dill flavour reminded me more of a McDonald's burger than was likely intended in the recall of ancient traditions by our Sichuanese chef.

The best dish of the night was the spicy kung pao chicken. Despite our best efforts to spice it up, this was the only truly fiery dish of the evening. The chicken was delicious, as were the plentiful large peanuts and hot chillis immersed within.

Overall, the food was tasty, enjoyable and worthy of return. However, more spice is required in most of the dishes promising chilli if it is to live up to its full Sichuanese promise. While Baozi Inn remains my sentimental favourite, I certainly prefer Ba Shan to its other sibling, Ba Shu across the road, although I can almost see TPG shaking his head - so, perhaps I should give that one another go too. And we found it to be reasonable value, coming in at around £15 per head (with endless tea, but no alcohol).

Of course, the lack of desserts could have been a major drawback. Unless, of course, you happen to be nearby to one of the best Italian gelati shops in town. Just as Tim's ketosis was starting to take hold, we settled in up the road for a scoop or two. And as free late night tastings of chocolate cake and Nutella crepes were offered our way, the last words I heard muttered were a resounding salute to what the Atkins diet could do with itself.

Ba Shan, 24 Romilly Street, Soho, London, W1D