All reader reviews by delmontebanana

K J Restaurant

Being a Korean food fanatic, I was very excited about trying out KJ with my girlfriend, having passed it several times to visit the Korean supermarkets along the high street (and the big Korea Food store along the A3).

Parking was ok on Sunday evening, but I would imagine it to prove quite difficult on weekdays/Saturdays.

The menu (from the window) seemed quite nice, quite a large selection of authentic Japanese and Korean cuisines, both cold and hot dishes.

So in we went. First thing you will notice is the 3 large, curtained cubicles on the left for private tables of 4+ people, then you have the main area which is a good size and relatively spacious. The deco seemed a little plain with barely anything on the walls, quite a few of the lights had blown and not replaced which seemed to make the place slighty dreary and uncared for. I also thought the private rooms ought to of been put at the back of the restaurant rather than the front as there was a group of noisy, and evidentally drunk, Korean chaps singing at the top of their voices in the box.

Service-wise was excellent on first impressions. We were greeted and seated with minimum fuss and maximum smiles and speed.

We ordered the mixed Tempura (prawns, various vegs) and Yuk Hwei (raw beef sliced, sliced pear, raw yolk!), Kimchi for starters.

The tempura was amazing, in fact I could even say one of the best I've ever had. Very light, fluffy and fried to the perfect crustiness outside and softness inside. The Yukhwei was quite good as well (my gf tried some for the first time as well and thought it was ok :p) however not as good as HanKang of TCR. The Kimchi seemed a bit of a let down. Considering Kimchi is probably the cheapest and easiest to make, the portion size was pitiful.

For main course we had Ox tongue and Bulgogi (beef strips marinated) for barbecue and 2 bowls of rice. All was excellent and perfectly cooked by yours truely:P If you're scared of cooking on your own, the waitress will happily cook it for you by your table.

Warm sake and green tea for beverages. Both excellent, however the sake needed to be reminded as I think the waitress left it on the bar and forgot.

Other comments would be the cutlery didn't match at all which was quite strange and they have very cute little cat Soy sauce pots. :p

Monday, February 11, 2008
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7

Hungs (formerly Crispy Duck)

I've been to Crispy Duck pretty regularly for the past 8 years and they haven't let me down once! Top quality food, very friendly waiters/waitresses (watch out for the not so friendly spikey white haired old man with glasses on the top floor - I dont like him) and top value.

The menu is relatively simple, but you can guarantee for the price you pay (£5-10 per head) you won't be disappointed with the great taste and portion.

By far the easiest place to get good nosh after a bar/club crawl as well, since they're open til 4am! :D

Friday, September 21, 2007
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10

Baburchi

First thing you would notice when you go into Barburchi is the deco, which is pretty outstanding with nice lighting and good use of the narrowly shaped restaurant. The service was ok, nothing spectacular, as the waiters did not seem too over-friendly nor unfriendly.

I was particularly amused at the prices on the menu considering the fact that Leytonstone is one of those East London towns where value for money is definately something shop-owners concentrate on to beat the competition. For a standard dinner set with drink I was looking at £15-25 (per head), this would include 1 rice, 1 curry, 1 nan and a bottle of beer. Next door you could have a meal for 2 for that price.

By this point of the review, you probably think I'm a scrooge or something, but I just believe in value for money. If a restaurants meal, service and atmosphere all went nicely then I wouldn't mind taking/prying out 100 quid from my wallet (even though a few flies would flutter out first). BUT, the food was very average. I had the Rogan Josh which was in a very small portion (just less than a handful) and all my collegues dishes were a similar size. Taste-wise, they got all the flavours right, but I've definately had better for cheaper elsewhere.

All in all, I feel that Barburchi probably belongs in the City of London where the richer people could pay more for less and probably still write good reviews for it.

Monday, September 25, 2006
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 3

Gili Gulu

I've been here on several occasions over the past few years and have never been let down by the food, however the service has always been average at best, since the waitresses/waiters there really couldn't care less whether you enjoyed yourself or not.

I found out that they have stopped serving sashimi with the buffet menu on my last visit which was dissapointing, but the tempura soba and noodle dishes were still included.

For the price you have to pay, especially for Japanese cuisine let alone a buffet, Gili Gulu is truely remarkable for. Just don't go there expecting top class service and you will enjoy yourself.

Oh and starve yourself for a meal beforehand so you can eat more ;)

Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10