Mochi Mochi
Kouzu

Kouzu

21 Grosvenor Gardens London, SW1W 0JW, N14 4TY, United Kingdom

Tea • Asian • Steak • Seafood


"My family of five dined at Kouzu while on vacation. Each of us felt a very strange vibe at Kouzu. We were seated in a corner of the first level by a woman who then took our drink orders. There was only one or two other tables filled. My son ordered a soda—a coke. She said they didn’t serve any soda in the restaurant. Really? So he instead ordered a water. She proceeded to bring a large bottle of water that she opened in front of us. I asked what it was—that he wanted just a tap water in place of the soda they didn’t carry. The server then left the table. Another gentlemen came around and sort of took over. I asked him why they didn’t carry any other drinks except water—he said oh we have lemonade coke, Diet Coke etc. The next strange thing was the menu. They gave us ample time with the menu and when they came to take our order I asked what a certain thing was—he said oh that’s a priz five menu that’s different! This menu has never been passed out to us. This was a sushi restaurant and what is nice—and needed quite honestly—is a rundown of each item as it’s placed on the table, as the majority of us ordered a la carte. This didn’t happen. I will say the food itself was delicious, however, the strange vibe we got coupled with the sizable price tag would deter me from patronizing this restaurant again if given the chance."

Royal China

Royal China

24-26 Baker St, Regent's Park and Marylebone W1U 7AB, London, United Kingdom

Asian • Chinese • Dim Sum • Noodles


"After having some quite dismal experiences around Chinatown, we decided to have a brunch in a more posh area with well reputed Dim Sum. It was pure bliss for a foodie. I have tried Dim Sum many Places outside Hong Kong but this was the closest I have come so far. When we arrived, there was a waiting queue not unexpected on a sunday, but getting a raffle ticket , and told the wait was approx. 20 mins quite agreeable they have a Picture menu , and it looked VERY promising so checking out the Hood for a little while in Londons first snow of the year, was only whetting the appetite. When we came back, it was not a long wait until we were led to a table, seated, and presented with menues When it comes to Dim Sum, I always feel like one of everything please but wisely we settled for doing 2 rounds favourites first, then a exploratory second round just to fill up any suspected crannies in the tummy. We started off with Prawn Chive Duplings deliciously fresh steamed, and crunchy prawns perfectly cooked then Prawn Dumplings also perfect crunch off to Minced Pork Dumpling with Shrimp a staple any Dim Sum cannot do without Honey Roast Pork Puffs, warm crunchy pastry with a tangy filling, then my all time favourite Cheung Fun with Prawns, a dumply chewy roll with a dark soy sauce do dip in and some Pan Fried Gyozas all enjoyed with steaming Jasmine Tea a feast fit for an Chinese Emperor. The tummy was feeling the effort here, but stil too many tempting items on the menu round two was considered and given a go ahead. Scallop Dumplings a tender taste spiced nearly to perfection, a second og at the Cheung Fun this time Honey Roast Pork, some Sesame Prawn Rolls, which was the suprise of the day crunchy, sesame nutty and super crunchy prawns it formerly exploded of taste in the mouth I lack words to describe it. Rounded of with Glutinous Rice in Lotus Leaf, steamed and tasty. We split a Mango Pudding in the end I dont think either of us would have been able to finish one off alone. Tasty, and definitely something I will try to play around with in the home Kitchen as well. It was`nt cheap but then again if you value whats on your plate by quality and tasty experience I would say this was a good buy! Next time in London, I`ll definitely be back!"

Bulgogi

Bulgogi

54 Chertsey Road, Woking I-GU21 5BG, United Kingdom

Cafés • Mexican • Seafood • Fast Food


"I came in for dinner after calling the restaurant to make a reservation and to ask if they have vegan vegetarian options on the menu. I was told there was. We were enjoying our dinner until I found pork inside my kimchi stew. On ordering the stew there is ‘NO PORK’ option on the order form, which I ticked. We informed the waitress who came back and apologised for the mistake which was made by the chef in the kitchen. Apparently the waitress wrote NO PORK on the order but the chef missed this. We don’t eat pork as it is forbidden in our religion so it was very upsetting for us. The waitress offered to make the dish again without the pork this time, but we refused and wanted to pay and leave as we were really upset. When the bill came they omitted that one dish but gave no discount and added the 10% service charge on the bill! We asked to speak to the manger but was told she couldn’t come out as she doesn’t speak English. The gentleman who came out instead laughed and said the kimchi soup has no flavour it without the pork! The lack of remorse and understanding or basic care of rectifying the situation even though they could See how distressed we were was appalling. After we complained to the staff and complained about them adding service charge to the bill they reluctantly omitted the service charge off the bill. I will never recommend this place for anyone vegan vegetarian or with any allergies or food intolerances be it religious of other to come here."

Eat

Eat

34-36 High Holburn, London I-WC1V 6AA, United Kingdom

Soup • Fish • Meat • Breakfast


"When I was invited to visit Kintan a small international Japanese chain , London’s first Japanese BBQ restaurant in their words , I was intrigued. London is a bit sushi obsessed and I’m glad these guys have opened up to break the monotony. The outside of this restaurant is quite plain and you would be quite oblivious to what it holds. You wouldn’t think much of the place unless you enter and you’re taken in by the huge open space that stretches out and the modern Japanese inspired decor. There’s a wide selection of seating. From conventional dining tables to booths. Our table was fitted with a built-in grill. I love the whole concept of cooking at your table. I know some people would have a different opinion “why should I cook my own food in a restaurant?!” but I think it’s a lot of fun and great for dates! ; unless you’ve never cooked in your life, in which case…NO! They have an extensive menu but it’s all split up by times of the day so you won’t be drowning in options. We went for the premium option from their dinner menu because we are fat pigs and wanted to try most of their dishes. At a price tag of £44.50 per person this isn’t cheap so save it for a special occasion if you must. But if you’re like me, then whatever- go treat yourself! :P Also be warned, make sure you come with an appetite or else you won’t be able to finish everything in this set dinner. With 6 starters, 7 mains and a dessert course- you’d definitely want to be rolled back home. While waiting for our feast to begin, we looked around. They had a NY based architect come and design their interior and it looks great. Open, spacious and a little Japanese touch here and there. We ordered our drinks and my friend ordered their special sake. He gave it a thumbs up! Very quickly, our starters starting raiding our table. First off was a town full of edamame beans with a generous sprinkle of sea salt. I love edamame beans as they are a perfect snack option too! The Kintan Salad was surprisingly delicious. I’m not a salad person but that special Kintan dressing transformed this plain salad dish into something I kept on eating. It was fresh, crunchy and the right amount of dressing to make it extra special. But I had to control myself as there were far more dishes on their way. Their service is quite efficient. Hot Oil Seared Salmon was delicate in taste but if dipped in the oil mixture became more powerful. My taste buds were having too much fun to stop! Garlic fried noodles looked great and I was having food envy by looking at them even when our food had not arrived. But sadly it had pork in it so my friend got to eat ALL of it. Sad times. They were devoured quite quickly so I suppose that’s a good sign ; I absolutely loved Tuna Tartare Volcano which was a fried block of rice topped with tuna tartare mixed with their special marinade. O.MY.GOD! Why did I order so much food?! The only criticism I have for this dish is that the rice base was too thick and it should be made thinner. Otherwise the starters are enough to fill you up. There’s no way 2 people can finish everything :P A portable table was placed next to us and it got filled with meats of all sorts, prawns and scallops! We were in meat heaven. With our grill ready and sizzling- we started cooking the marinated meat. The great thing about their grills is that they’re fitted with special parts that suck out all the smell and smoke of the grill. Otherwise sitting there would be quite unbearable! So lucky for us, we were quite content with BBQ-ing our own meat :D Their meat is sourced from UK, US and New Zealand and you can tell it was of high quality and fresh because it didn’t take long to cook. It was tender to the bite and the marinade was just perfect so we hardly used the dipping sauces. The one’s that stood out for me was the Filet Mignon- Yuzu Ponzu and the Premium Kaibi Short Rib. The scallops and prawns were okay. They did not stand out much in terms of taste. The meat dishes are clearly the heroes of this menu. There was also a selection of vegetables to BBQ which we barely touched except the mushrooms. Sorry mom! :P I also did not fancy BBQ-ing a huge piece of onion. If they were cut into smaller pieces then I might have but I had plenty of salad and edamame to fill in for my 5 a day. Khe khe khe! By this time, I was slouched in my side of the booth. Ready to give up. I could not eat another bite even though the succulent pieces of meat were beckoning me to not give up on them. Phew! That was one joy ride. We took a little breather before the dessert course and I went for a little walk around the restaurant. There is so much seating in this restaurant and they had more downstairs. There were a couple of people sitting there but it was so cold and lack of heating made me shiver. I don’t know how people could sit there in the cold and eat. I bet the BBQ helped! I came back to our dessert course sitting on the table- the assorted mochi ice cream. Mmmmhmm! they were presented elegantly and looked delicious. One thing I would commend Kintan is on the level of care they put into serving their food. While their serving plates were hot for hot food, the platter for their dessert was chilled so even if you took your sweet time in eating your dessert, it wouldn’t melt. Now that’s how I like my dessert to be served- chilled to perfection! The mochi ice cream was quite interesting and one that I’ve never eaten before. The three different flavours were encased in a round shell of jelly with different flavours and textures. Inside each was a different flavour of their ice cream- green tea, caramel and sesame seed. It was the perfect end to the meal and quite refreshing after eating all that meat :P My favourite out of the three was the sesame seed one ad least memorable one is the green tea. Green tea shouldn’t be a dessert! But before we could call it quits, we were also treated to the Kintan special ice cream. Again, super chilled bowl and a scoop of their ice cream topped with black honey and soya dust. Yummmmy!"