China City
White Bear Yard
25A Lisle St
Chinatown
ph 0207 734 3388
Chinese

Sunday 7.30pm September 2001

Ade, Tan, Ben, Grant, Aaron & Stacey, Aunty Janice, Aunty Eva, Kathy

Compared to most other Chinese restaurants this one is a godsend, being greeted and having a waitress come to the table promptly is highly unusual. There was a wedding going on upstairs so everyone was in good spirits. When we arrived the vast restaurant was empty with a few tables, but later around 9pm the place was full.

It can be annoying when people make a big fuss of refusing to order and the decision making to someone else, but then later say what dish they like when asked!

Aaron did well, ordering on behalf of the more assertive amongst us. The roast duck (½) was very good, cooked to perfection. We found kai yuk - under the name of braised pork belly with preserved vegetables - that tasted soooo good. Prawns in a spinach type thing was a little bland, the chicken and cashews was good, the gai lan was good, and can't remember the rest. We were all comfortably full. The bill was surprisingly quite low considering the billions of pots of tea we drank. Cost: £10 pp.

7.5/10

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Café Naz
45/48 Brick Lane
London E1
Ph 0207-247-0234
Indian

Sunday 8.30pm, 9th September 2001

Tan, Annette, Rosina, Ben, Ade, Kyle, Kyle's cousin Amy

Café Naz is advertised as contemporary Bangladeshi cuisine, and the restaurant is indeed very modern and slick with tinted glass, blue neon, and blonde wood flooring. We were shown towards the bench seats near the window but we helped ourselves to the centre table in front of the screen showing a Bollywood film.
Annette and Rosina had been here before, and this visit did not disappoint them. The food was spicy, not too bad.
Cost: £15pp

5.5/10

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Empire
near the Holloway Odeon
Chinese

Easter Monday 9pm-ish, April 1st 2002
Tania & Grant, Annette, Rosina, Ade & Ben

This overpriced Chinese diner served up some of the worst Chinese meals I have ever had. The Tiger Prawn curry tasted hot but made up of small prawns, the Sweet & Sour Pork and the Salt & Pepper Squid was OK, but the seafood chow mein was cold, the mixed vegetables only consisted of mung beans and a few bits of carrot and baby corn. Service friendly and tables clean however.
Cost: £9 each including a bottle of house red.

3/10

Gilu Gulu
Covent Garden somewhere
Japanese

Friday 9pm, 19 October 2001

Tan & Grant, Ben & Ade, Carolyn & Jay, Vanessa

Quick sushi was what we were after, and Tania and Grant thought of this place. At £13 for an all-you-can-eat buffet, it seemed good value.
The sushi is so-so, nothing great - the tamago was watery, the miso soup was greasy, unagi and salmon sushi only passable.
Generally the service was unfriendly, and we did not think a tip was deserved as it was virtually self-service. The only thing worth eating was the spring rolls.
£15pp

4/10

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New World
1 Gerrard Place
Chinatown W1
ph 0207-734-0677
Open 11am - midnight 7 days
Chinese

Friday 7.30pm 5th October 2001

Tan & Grant, Vanessa, Jacqui & Ivan, Ben & Ade, Katie, Katie's friends

Our group got there late after being at a wine bar for hours drinking many cocktails - New World was perfect for the visitors from NZ and gweilou amongst us, and knowing that we wouldn't be remembered at our next visit, I didn't mind that the group was rude or loud. Food was devoured quickly and all the dishes were picked clean, the Aromatic Crispy Duck was the big hit of the evening.

5/10

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Pasha
Upper Street
Middle Eastern

Tuesday 8pm, 18 September 2001

Ben & Ade, Ala

We went to Pasha after having to wait for a table at Gallipolli, our first choice. Pasha was relatively more quiet but no less pleasant. In fact it was more conducive to being able to talk.
The food was as good as it always is at Pasha - the mixed mezze was typically delicious. My shish kebab was tender and tasty, very enjoyable. The only downside is that they ran out of fresh mint to make their lovely mint tea.

7.5/10

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Young Chen
22 Lisle St, Chinatown, London WC2
Chinese

Wednesday 7.30pm, 10 October 2001
Canto class

There is a special menu where you can order virtually whatever you want and it only cost £8pp. We must have been ripped off every other time! The hitch is, that the special menu is only in Chinese!

Décor: not too bad, quite clean and tasteful blue and gold.
Food: Not bad but not great, a little tasteless. Jenny thought the hot pot bean curd and vermicelli tasted funny; it seemed OK to me but it was a bit gluggy and wasn't very tasty. Generally all right though.
Cost: £8pp

6/10

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Disclaimer: Please note reviews of restaurants are the personal opinion of a particular dining experience only. The writer is not a professional food critic and dining encounters are experienced in the role of a customer and the meal is paid for out of one's own pocket (or Ben's).

All content and images are the property of Adrienne Wong and may not be used or copied without permission. © 2002