All reader reviews by BillS

Loon Tao

Very nice won ton soup, followed by stingy, microwaved crispy pork and duck rice, with tea at 80p , service charge, lots of waitresses milling about, circa £10.

Poor duck - two bits edible. Crsipy pork very salty and hard, not much pork flavour. Orange slices at the end, and soup at the beginning, rescued this lunch. Note, if you order half and half, like me, rather than pork OR duck on their own, you pay extra, despite getting a stingy combined portion.

Saturday, October 29, 2011
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 1

Hung's

I agree with Bryan Goh's review a few reviews down, as that has been my experience with this friendly, efficient little restaurant at lunchtimes over the past several years.

I am sad that foreigners have had a bad time here.

Perhaps if you order the realtively cheap stuff like me you get better deals

Personal recommendations are the Ho-Fun flat noodles with beef, green peppers and chili in black bean sauce, yet to be bettered in Chinatown for its tender beef, noodle soups featuring roast duck, barbecue pork, or beef tripe, or combinations of two of those ingredients. The beef tripe noodle soup is excellent on cold days with chilli oil (free on request) on the side. Mixed half and half with duck, the noodle soup also good but beware little bone splinters as the duck is so tasty. The won ton and prawn dumplings are nice here and I was very impressed by the flavour of their crispy pork in a crispy pork and duck rice.

Tea is better than average.

Saturday, October 29, 2011
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10

Crispy Duck

A beautifully done Won Ton Soup with four fat wontons of delicious prawn/pork balance, nice stock.

Roast duck and rice microwaved to nuclear hotness was disappointingly mean portion of bony, fatty duck with no chunk easily edible, due to hidden bone in even the two good chunks, and rice still steaming halfway through. Sauce a bit sweet, and scarce. Nearby diner asked for more.

Tea was 80p, and service on top. Which made it close to £10.

It is proving surprisingly hard to replace Tai Ka Lok or Lee Ho Fook for generous, tasty duck and rice in Chinatown.

Saturday, October 29, 2011
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5

Scott's

Had a very fresh plateau de fruits de mer with lobster here, and my wife separately enjoyed her 6 oysters and halibut with garlic mash and baby broad beans. For fines de claires, the oysters were a bit small, but they tasted good. The wine, 2009 Ch de Fonscolombe Blanc, went well with both. Service was initailly slow to get going, but once it started, was pretty faultless.The one weird note - they ask if the Plateau de Fruits de Mer, £47 worth of crustaceans, is a starter. This is not the first time that Ive been asked that here, and it is needlessly confusing.. Unless you are a killer whale, the answer is no, it is a main course. And even then, it will pay to have skipped your breakfast.

Sunday, August 14, 2011
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8

Tai Ka Lok

Says it is closed for refurbishment, but the windows are whitewashed so you cant see in. They refer you to the Golden Pagoda in cards in the window. Meanwhile the friendly younger waitress now works at the Young Cheng in Shaftesbury Avenue, and says the old chefs retired.

It looks a bit closed - July 2011.

Saturday, July 16, 2011
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7

Terranostra

Really good restaurant, but waiters say it will be closing down at end of June, with a view to relocation.

Old Bailey area a bit dead at night, nearby Balls Brothers not what it used to be, but with light nights the Old Bailey itself an impressive building, street has stone seats and little quiet area opposite Old Bailey if you are early..

Would recommend stuffed squids, veal steaks "nodino di vitello", Terre Brune red wine. And is a nice vibe in hot weather when the large window to the street is open.

But go soon.

Have eaten here only three times, always superb food, gentle unobtrusive service, and baffling lack of custom, though a high proportion of Japanese.

Monday, May 30, 2011
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8

Kerala Bhavan

Returned in May. Sad to report formerly excellent Masala Dosa now contains bland yellow mashed potato, lacked curry leaves, onion, mustard seeds and accompanying coconut chutney no longer had chillies and mustard seed kick. Sambar accompaniment very good. The Dosa itself excellent, crisp, but dull filling made it boring to eat after first half.

Sweet Lassi not cold, sugary frothy bland. Ho Hum.

Fish curry with Cassava most excellent, tender fish in delicious sauce, offered hot or medium.

Service nice and keen to please.

Place still good but go for the curries maybe?

Wine list not very descriptive at all - but some bottles on display if you look in front of you when you leave the gents.

Monday, May 30, 2011
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6

Tai Ka Lok

This is very good basic restaurant in my experiences here over past four years of regular visits at lunchtime.

They do a range of barbecue ,meats, hanging in the iwndow, with rice for £5.60.

They also do that with weirder stuff like tripes, wings and items in trays below as well as the ducks, pork, chickens, goose, cuttlefish hanging up. You get a free clear bone soup also.

On fancier food - they are very good at crispy duck with pancakes, also choi sum with garlic.

I have never really used the menu as have not got past the barbecued meats and rice and choi sum if with a friend stage.

Excellent on that level.

Saturday, February 13, 2010
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8

Young Cheng (Shaftesbury Ave)

This Young Cheng is one of three quite distinctly different Young Chengs. The one on Wardour Street is the buffet branch, though they also do a la carte, and the Lisle St do a range of dim sums as well as a slightly different menu to this one.

This branch is the busiest and at lunchtime you should expect to "share table". In return it does a free bone soup, and a main plateful of rice or noodles with a long variety of possible options. Service is busy and efficient, the ladies must be fit as chairs and tables quite close together. The place is crowded by Chinese people and local workers. It is a good place at lunch for good fast wok cooking and usual barbecued meat and rice options, plus some malaysian recipes. I do not recognise the review of an £8.90 minimum charge and a meal including turnips listed below, but have only ever been here at lunchtime for the lunch menu, which is very good value.

Saturday, February 13, 2010
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8