March 11, 2012
Lucky Chip - Hackney, London

☆☆½

Lucky Chip is a small burger company operating out of London’s east end - Netil Market on a Saturday, and the Sebright Arms on a Sunday. They offer a range of American style gourmet burgers ironically referencing Hollywood celebrities, such as ‘The Kevin Bacon’ (bacon cheeseburger) and ‘The Clint Eastwood Veggie Burger’ (portobello mushroom, roasted peppers, aubergine, cheddar), along with classic sides such as chilli cheese fries, all available with truffle oil.

Lucky Chip’s burgers have become increasingly popular amongst the residents of Hackney, which may explain why the unsuspecting Sebright Arms is so overcrowded with grumpy hungover people on a Sunday. Unfortunately, these crowds will ultimately mean that you will have to wait for minimum 20 minutes until you get your food, that is if they haven’t run out of food prematurely. My visit to the Sebright Arms today was planned tactfully, due to this very situation happening to me the week before. Usually they will run out of burgers at approximately 4pm, an hour before they officially finish, so if you want to sample their delights, you’ll have to arrive early. Today, I decided to order the cheeseburger with a side of cheese fries.

By the time the food arrived, I was feeling quite impatient. They had also predictably run out of food an hour early, to the disappointment of the people sitting around me. The burger itself was really very good. You can’t find food like this in the UK - it felt reminiscent of something you might find in a roadside diner or an In-N-Out Burger. Unfortunately, the cheese fries were a huge let down. Usually cheese fries will come smothered in gooey nacho cheese, which is pretty gross, but also amazing. These came with grated cheddar cheese sprinkled on top, which grew cold quickly and made the fries clump together unpleasantly, leaving behind a thick residue of oil. Its the kind of thing you eat at home when there’s nothing apart from basic food elements in your house.

I think Lucky Chip is definitely worth a try, but until they get their act together and meet the demand, I probably won’t pay them another visit for a while.

http://www.facebook.com/Luckychip

6:42pm
Filed under: Burgers Cheeseburger England Fast Food Food Fries Hackney London Lucky Chip Netil Market The Sebright Arms United Kingdom In-N-Out Burger 
February 4, 2012
Kokoro Ramen - Melbourne, Australia

☆☆☆☆

This week, Laneway Festival brings me to the lovely city of Melbourne, where the sun shines eternally and hip coolsters walk the streets in shades and flip-flops. This is my first time in Australia, and much like New Zealand, I am again surprised to notice the strong East Asian presence. 

Upon walking into Kokoro, you will be taken by surprise with a loud greeting from several Japanese members of staff, which to a non-Japanese person will sound like a combination of birthday celebrations and death threats. Its quite a relaxed environment here; you are immediately seated and given a menu, which of course mainly serves their signature ramen dish, however on the other side you will also find a selection of rice dishes. The layout of the menu is very simplistic (which is probably useful for a ramen civilian such as myself), and offers several different types of stocks and meat combinations to choose from. You will also notice on their menu that the restaurant prides itself on having no MSG content in their food, so you can rest assured that you won’t feel sick and have to lie down afterwards.

Today I decided to go for the pork belly in soy sauce based stock. The food was prepared in about ten minutes, and arrived very well presented. The pork was really tender, and the noodles were incredible. They were surprisingly fresh, it would probably be hard to find noodles as good as this outside Japan. Also, it wasn’t over-oily, which can sometimes make you feel horrible afterwards.

I paid 15 Australian Dollars for this meal, which is about £10. Maybe a little bit on the expensive side, but it is worth it. If you’re ever craving noodles in Melbourne, this is the place to go!
 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kokoro-Ramen-Melbourne/264114240312996

9:07am
(Notes: 12)
  
Filed under: Australia Dining Food Japanese Melbourne Noodles Pork Ramen Restaurant Kokoro 
February 4, 2012
Bongane - Auckland, New Zealand

☆☆☆½

I was recently brought to Auckland for the popular Laneway Music Festival, which takes place every year in Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. Auckland has a really strong East Asian influence, so there are lots of Japanese, Chinese and Korean places to choose from. Today, I decided to try a restaurant at the less hectic end of Queen Street, called Bongane. 

I was seated downstairs in a small basement, which felt a little bit weird. You’re given a complimentary starter when you sit down, which is pretty good. Personally, I really enjoy free food, especially when its given to me by a Korean person. For the main course I ordered the classic Korean dish, ‘Bi Bim Bap’ served cold, as it was way too humid outside to eat hot food. It came quickly, and it looked really good too. There wasn’t much to get wrong, it tasted like what it was - beef, vegetables, various other things, and an egg. But it did taste really fresh, and you could eat the whole thing and not feel really bloated and lethargic afterwards.

I guess the only negative aspect about the experience was the music playing in the background. I just hate Korean pop when I’m eating. I love it when I’m riding on the bus or taking a shower, but I’m way more into classic Korean restaurant music when I’m eating, waterfalls, panpipes, etc. Clearly ambiance isn’t this restaurant’s strong point, but the quality of the food makes up for this.

The bill came to 12 New Zealand Dollars, about £6, which is actually really cheap for what you get.Definitely take a visit here if you’re ever in Auckland!
 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bongane-Korean-resturant/114522558631840

9:00am
Filed under: Bongane New Zealand Auckland Korean Bibimbap Queen Street 
January 16, 2012
The Blue Legume - Stoke Newington, London

☆☆☆☆

The Blue Legume is part of a restaurant chain based in London that has branches in Stoke Newington and Angel. I paid a lunch-time visit to the popular Stoke Newington restaurant on the quaint and fashionable Church Street on a cold and wintery day. On a weekend, all the residents of Stoke Newington will come out for lunch with their offspring in tow, so you may want to come on a weekday to avoid the rush. 

The food here isn’t particularly French, the name most likely being a hilarious pun. Brunch is probably the best meal to eat here, the menu mainly offering a wide range of breakfast classics, also with a few paninis and salads. Today I decided to try their Grilled Halloumi Salad, which came with spicy sausage, red onions, garlic croutons and a mustard dressing.

I was seated in the center of a conservatory at the back of the restaurant. The waiters don’t really have much room to move around, so I became slightly paranoid that they would drop spaghetti on my head. The close proximity may also mean that you could be forced to overhear another table’s obnoxious conversation, which could be bad if there are screaming babies involved. The salad came quite quickly despite the lunchtime rush, and it was really well presented, with the halloumi and sausage delicately placed on top of a bed of rocket, spinach and watercress. Everything tasted pretty fresh, and the grilled halloumi was nicely balanced with the rocket.

The bill came to just over £10, which I found quite reasonable. Annoyingly, I couldn’t pay by card, which meant that I had to walk all the way back to the high street to try and find a free cash point. But apart from that, the food was tasty, the service was fantastic, the toilets were clean, the chairs were comfortable, the people were beautiful… actually, its a ruddy marvelous place. Just make sure you bring some cash with you.
 

www.thebluelegume.co.uk

8:27pm
(Notes: 26)
  
Filed under: Angel Halloumi Islington London Lunch Restaurant Review Sausage Stoke Newington The Blue Legume Food 
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