Duck
Ping Pong

Ping Pong

Unit 6870 London Designer Outlet, Park Boulevard, Wembley, United Kingdom

Pizza • Asian • Coffee • Chinese


"So I did Ping Pong twice in a week. Once with a friend because it was local (St Paul's) and second, because I was at Wembley for a concert and it was the one with the smallest queue. Ping Pong has never really been a draw for me in the past, its never been a case of I MUST GO THERE. I have passed it several times when in Westfield Stratford and settled on Bumpkin, Busaba Eathai, even TGI Friday's. I am starting to come around to dim sum. With recent visits to Hakkasan, Bintang and Mama Lan, these tasty Chinese style bite sized pockets of goodness are growing on me. Ping Pong spaces are always quite big. I love the dark wood and rich chocolately interior. I live for the island seating, watching the Chefs do their thing (not at all locations). For now, I will focus on Wembley, simply because I was impressed with the seamless service regardless of the fact that it was mad busy with concert goers everywhere. We queued for 45 minutes which is to be expected with 65,000 people in the area. This was made up of actually standing in the queue and then having a drink at the bar. The system they have is good, they take your mobile and call you when your table is ready. This is the only way for them to successfully navigate through the traffic of bar customers and queuing hungry people. At the bar, my only negative so far was that the wine was not chilled so we needed ice. Diluted wine is not a good thing. Once we were sat, our waitress was unaffected by the demanding clientele in her section, was chirpy and attentive. The sequence of service was flawless. Drinks arrived promptly, food arrived as it was ready. The food was good. All the staff floated around the room, appearing to be in control. If there was tension, I could not see it. This site is obviously built for volume on days like this and they have the right team to facilitate it. In terms of food, I will amalgamate both dining experiences as they were on par. We went all out ordering duck spring rolls, prawn on toast with mango salsa and soft shell crab. There was also prawn and chive dumplings, I had black prawn dumpling. Honeyed chicken and mushroom rice pot and vegetable sticky rice completed the banquet. I think that Ping Pong lends itself well to sharing. There is so much goodness, it would be rude not to share. I will continue my dim sum journey and if Ping Pong happens to be in the vicinity, it will certainly be considered for another visit."

The Hawk

The Hawk

Hawk Hill, SS11 7RJ, Chelmsford, United Kingdom

Pub • Steak • Vegan • Vegetarian


"We visited today and glad we had booked! We received a very warm greeting at the door and were shown to a good sized table with large comfortable chairs. Even though the beamed ceilings are low it did not feel claustrophobic. The decor is tasteful, and everywhere was clean and neat. The tables are not too close to each other and positioned so that it didn’t feel like a canteen. We were greeted warmly by a lady who took our drinks order. These arrived swiftly. Our food order was taken promptly and we were impressed that she checked for any allergies first. We went for the roast with a trio of meats. There were chicken, pork and beef. Each of these were cooked to absolute perfection. Homemade Yorkshires was a welcome change compared to most pubs. Large, crisp and light. The crackling, potatoes, stuffing, and roasted veg were all delicious. They were cooked to perfection and so well seasoned that nothing needed salt or pepper adding. We ordered the trio of veg and potatoes to share, because they sounded so delicious (and they were) but we probably didn’t need to. The BEST Dauphinoise we’ve ever had! Bottomless gravy was another welcome change. Our very friendly, efficient and helpful waitress Aimee checked back on us swiftly and then regularly. Everything was just perfect with the main course, and despite feeling full we forced down the trio of desserts to share, and the too tempting Baileys Chocolate Martini! The ambience was perfect too. No loud music or chairs scraping, due to carpets. All of the staff seemed genuinely happy to be there and our waitress Aimee is a credit to the business. (We were the party with the nippy dog sorry). The plate of treats for our dog was a lovely touch too. We have already booked for the very reasonably priced Christmas meal. If it’s this good on a busy day then we are very confident for our next visit. Highly recommended."