Charmaine Mok reviews

Thursday, October 23, 2008 - Good dim sum can result in diners waxing lyrical about the restaurant responsible for days. And in the Chinese community, word of mouth travels quickly. Within weeks of Yum Cha opening, local families and savvy Chinese students had laid claim to the tables at prime dim sum time (12-2pm), despite the restaurant's less-than-shiny-and-new facade. (Inside, it’s a different story, with handsome wood detailing and a golden Buddha statue reclining in the centre of the room.)

Thursday, October 16, 2008 - There’s something a bit too civilised about this tapas restaurant. Instead of finding raucous, happy punters knocking back mouthfuls of sherry around an upturned barrel, you find muted – almost solemn – diners picking away at their jamón with dainty knives and forks, with thick linen napkins on their laps. For most Spaniards, the very idea of booking ahead for tapas seems absurd.

Thursday, October 09, 2008 - For the most unsociable of diners, Inamo is the ultimate experience whipped straight out of cyberspace. Interaction between diner and waiting staff is virtually eliminated by way of individualised computer screens set into the tables and projected by giant, silkworm-like monstrosities looming above diners’ heads; staff cruise about, stopping only to plonk down the desired dishes, quickly retreating into the shadows.

Wednesday, October 01, 2008 - Some might say the interior’s evocative of a temple, as it’s embellished by intricate vintage trinkets from Kyoto. The surroundings are suitably poetic in the way that Soseki himself might have approved of; for example, the smell of cedar wood and the rustle of a young waitress’s kimono as she quietly led us through the restaurant. It certainly sets the scene for exploring classic Japanese gastronomy.

Thursday, August 28, 2008 - Buddha Bar has taken the mystique of the East to new highs; the brand’s iconic buddha statue dominates the ground floor restaurant, where svelte European waitresses glide about in their clingy cheongsams...The restaurant buzzes but this is the kind of place where food takes a backseat, try as they may to convince us that pan-Asian cuisine is back in fashion. We settled for a perch on the upper balcony bar, where the service seemed more amateur and less polished; the bouncer was the most gracious employee on our visit.

Thursday, August 07, 2008 - There’s something conspiratorial about the whole thing. Just when you thought the Chinatown dining scene was torpid, two outstanding restaurants – first Baozi Inn, and now Leong’s Legends, both boasting relatively unknown regional cooking – burst on to the scene with the stealth and cunning of bandits. Which, if you think about it, is a fitting metaphor for the title of this Taiwanese newcomer.

Thursday, May 29, 2008 - Cha Cha Moon is Hong Kong-born restaurateur Alan Yau’s take on a mein dong. But instead of focusing on the myriad of noodle dishes found just in his home town, it’s a culinary journey careening around all corners of China, plus neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia for good measure. There are beef noodles from Taiwan and prawn noodles from Penang, while Sichuan dumplings and Singaporean char kway teow sit alongside spring onion pancakes from the north. To the moon and back, indeed.

Thursday, April 17, 2008 - We have a confession to make: after our excellent meal at Franco Manca, the staff (jokingly) made us swear to keep the place to ourselves. It has the feel of a secret rendezvous, the sort of place you'd walk past while ogling at the exotic Afro-Caribbean goodies on show in the surrounding stores (tropical fish, bootleg reggae tapes and stacks of yams line this part of the market).

Wednesday, January 23, 2008 - The concept of 'Mongolian hot-pot' has dubious origins, with fanciful tales of Genghis Khan and his soldiers boiling broth in their warrior helmets before battle. Nevertheless, versions of this dip-and-eat cuisine have proved to be a hit across China and the US. Little Lamb - not to be confused with the better-known Little Sheep chain - has opened this first branch in the UK.