Pho 68

I’ve been craving dumplings; almost every night since dining at Jabu I have requested them for my dinner. Apparently they’re very easy, I think I should try and make them tonight. With this in mind you can tell my second venture into dumpling consumption has done nothing to put me off, in fact it has only encouraged me to seek them out all the more. Tonight we dined at Pho 68 a Vietnamese restaurant, I was content as long as the served dumplings, and of course they did. Bliss. Fried dumplings for starters begrudgingly shared with Steve and his aromatic crispy pork. Both starters were charming, the dumplings differed from those of Jabu, the frying made them darker and more like tiny Cornish pasties, the frying had given them a slightly charred flavour but ultimately did them no harm. Their contents tasted heavenly, exquisitely flavourful with the distinct taste of ginger and soy sauce. The pork was also nice, I usually refrain from eating anything with a noticeable amount of fat in it, the texture just creeps me out, but here the bite in the pork and the crispy crackling works well with the soft layer of fat, and the taste was great too. That was until I heaped on a molasses smelling dip that was on the table that had an unpleasant flavour of chilli infused tea leaves.
The next course was brought without much of a wait and we tucked into Vietnemese green curry, chicken with lemongrass and chilli and noodles. The chicken was delicious with subtle hints at warmth and sharpness, the curry was more powerful, and unfortunately overwhelmed the flavours of the other dish. The chicken itself was soft and slippery, the prawns in the curry had just the right amount of bite, although the flavours were great they both had a bizarre thickness to the sauce, with a glueyness one associates with gravy not curry. The meal was lovely, with plenty to spare for today’s lunch – and reheating did it no harm I can tell you.
Despite all of these gastronomic treats on show Steve still manages to out do our dining out experiences without fail in our hovel of a kitchen. His pork with actual gravy is better, his curries are even more tasty and he leaves out the gloop factor, if he can master dumplings I'll never have to eat out again, after we've concluded the clock of course.

Jabu

Until last night I had been scarcely able to glimpse inside the huge windows of Jabu, a house serving Beijing cuisine, largely due to their being consistently steamed up whenever I'm passing. The reason for this being that it was a fondue style restaurant where you cook the meal at the table, Steve had already eaten here but had found the whole experience fairly baffling as he’d been unsure what to order and what to do when the food had arrived.
The menu essentials were vaguely explained to us and we were able to make a respectable choice, when the waitress returned to take our order she ensured we had ordered the necessary broths and dipping sauces. We’d also ordered some chicken and spinach dumplings, there were far too few of these to share, which came in a portions of twelve, they were delicious little parcels of savoury delight. I could have eaten more of these, they were a revelation. I’d not had them before, perhaps I’d been put off by their appearance, wan and soggy, they’re not exactly appetising but apparently ‘good things come in small packages’ and ‘appearances are deceiving’ these were wonderful.
The second course was delivered, we’d chosen the fragrant thai and satay soup bases along with various meat, seafood, noodles and vegetables to submerge and cook in the broth. We cautiously placed the uncooked food into the simmering stock and eagerly waited, while plunging raw carrot into our accompanying dips, the delicious sweet chilli and brawny garlic. The beef balls, again not so inviting, once cooked were delectable, as were the scallops. The meal was miraculous; the aromatic soups infusing the raw ingredients, provided exquisite food as entertaining the diners, large groups and parties would enjoy this kind of fun interactive dining experience. We also found the place well priced, you could cherry pick which raw food you’d like so potentially you can make the meal as economical or expensive depending on your pocket. It seems my aversion to chinese food is fading, Jabu is now a London Road favourite, I would definitely return here, with a group of people, it is unquestionably an experience I want to share with friends.

Noodle Inn

Noodle in is one of the few places on London Road that I had previously ventured. The first time was one of those impulsive decisions one makes when in good company and spirits. We purchased a couple of bottles of wine and took them in we had a brief wait at the bar, where they served us our own wine, as they prepared our table. It was busy; the huge windows at the front were steamed up and we were treated like kings throughout the meal. I was incredibly satisfied with the food; it was simple but tasty and served in abundance with plenty left over at the end to take home, it was hastily boxed up and returned to us with complementary ice cream. All in all it was an excellent evening we returned home to finish off our wine and cause a substantial scene as we argued over a bloodthirsty game of Carcasonne.
This initial dining experience was great and I’m not going to befoul the place by abusing it here, it’s hard to expect every dining experience in the same place place to be equally good. Again the place was busy, so much so that we were seated at the end of a long table running the length of the restaurant, I wasn’t a massive fan of this as I could hear literally every word of the foursome we were placed next to, it felt rather intrusive and made me feel uncomfortable.
For starter we had ordered ½ a crispy aromatic duck to share and when she brought it to the table and started to shred it I thought that we’d been too greedy and over-ordered, but I suppose the amount was misleading as we managed to nosh down four or five pancakes each without any difficulty. After rather a long wait our mains were delivered, they were comparable to our past experiences, simple but tasty. I’d ordered sizzling satay prawns which arrived angrily on the table spitting and fussing, Steve’s meal was the triple roastie big plate, and it was big. As always we just shared the meals though I preferred my prawns. The sauce covering my meal was distinctly not satay but nonetheless enjoyable, more like thick gravy than anything else, the sauce on both meals and on previous excursions was identical. After the meal had finished, we waited and waited the plates were finally taken away without the offer of taking away the leftovers. No ice cream was brought and neither was our bill. In the end we were sick of waiting and paid at the bar.
This experience at Noodle Inn was inferior to the previous, but can be blamed upon our eating out so late on a Saturday night, the service was otherwise excellent, the food satisfying but it’s also the best value we’ve had on London Road so far.

Our Big Fatty Greek Wedding at Parthenonas

Instead of just the usual mid-weekly clock last week saw our second outing down London Road as we were entertaining guests and were too hungover to do anything other than share our challenge with our visitors. Welcome Gilly & Rhea to infamous London Road Clock. As perfect hosts we let the interlopers decide where to dine so instead of stopping off somewhere on the ‘noodle corridor’ we bypassed the oriental mecca that is situated on London Road after Zeugmas and found ourselves seated inside the leafy Greek eating place Parthenonas. The atmosphere inside was that of a family owned restaurant, the décor typical apart from a wall of greenery covering the window onto London Road, blotting out reality and transporting you away to a Mediterranean veranda. For starters our guests ordered the meze for two, while Steve and I shared Parthenonas Feta and Spanakopita and I was filled with a murderous rage, barely able to control my anger when I was asked to hand over half eaten delightful feta baked in tomatoes sauce. All of us were left thoroughly satisfied and sated by the first course and were somewhat dreading the following. It arrived and was duly tackled, probably not enjoyed as much as it could have been had we not stuffed our faces/bellies with our starters. The Stifado I had chosen was lovely, though there was slightly too much cinnamon it was positively festive. The leftovers were hastily boxed up for us as we were ushered to the bar, for there was a wedding party awaiting our departure. As we paid we were offered and compelled to imbibe the lethal, traditional Greek tipple Ouzo, apparently it fights swine flu.

Zeugmas Mark II

The second Zeugmas on the clock is literally five minutes walk away from the first. The restaurants were similarly decked out, both no frills with an allusion to Mediterranean style, in the air hung the fragrant perfume of char grilled meat and spices. Again we were presented with bread and olives, again they were greedily consumed as we ordered our meal. Making a distinct point of choosing different meals from our previous venture I chose a chicken dish with a sauce that I can’t remember the name of. It was interesting and very enjoyable but I ended up swapping meals with my co-clocker as his dish was superb. Another chicken dish but this time with a yoghurty rice accompaniment which rocked my tiny little world. The collection of flavours worked perfectly together and despite ordering a starter, which I’d eaten all up, I was able to finish my meal and was indeed left wanting moor.

Thai Punna

The second Thai restaurant so far and we ordered the set menu, now experience should have taught us moderation, instead we ordered the generous three course meal for two at £19 a head. The starter platter was of a great standard, a varied selection of spring rolls, prawn toast, chicken skewers, along with plenty of dipping sauces, one to note was the sweet and sour plum. Next was my favourite Dtom Kaa Gai, the spicy chicken soup. This was okayand I’ve had better, but it’s not an easy dish to get wrong, even I’ve been known to be able to throw this satisfactorily together, with the necessary tantrums that occur when I enter the kitchen. To me this soup typifies and embodies Thai cuisine, an exciting and soothing broth infused with heat and zest which tantalises every part of the tongue, the Thai Punna soup was enjoyable but slightly too vapid to inspire more effusions of pleasure than that. The three main courses, were greeted with fewer still, both of us now looking upon the meal as a challenge to conquer rather than enjoy. My favourite was a very sweet red curry with duck, I’ve decided Thai curries need no meat they are so full of flavour and the meat absorbs the flavour so little it is not required. The other two dishes were rather disappointing, to me they were too greasy and lacked the usual Thai flair. I’m starting to believe that no restaurant will come close to the first in the clock, Baan Thai, I’ll always be disappointed when comparing the following meals to the first, Thai Punna has double the impediment in this regards as it is another Thai restaurant falling significantly shorter than it’s predecessor.

Aroma

Further up the road we entered the gilded Indian restaurant Aroma, safe to say this is by far the largest restaurant we’ve dined in. Within there is not a trace of traditional curry house décor, it’s mien instead modern brothel. Glossy red, white and black, sleek and masculine.
The stand out moment was when they brought the pickle tray with its six different choices, all of which are great and better than any I’ve had before, even the weird chunky orange one that no one ever likes was edible.
The starters were pleasant but the main course was practically toxic, the flavour itself was fine and the meal would surely have been bearable were it not for the gristle and toughness of the meat. I chose the lamb Karahi and it left me feeling vaguely ill, the hideous crunch as you bite into a hunk of meat signals the start of a terrible meal. Only in one other restaurant have I experienced the same thing the atrocious and egregious India: The Restaurant (now closed down) on Kirkstall Road in Leeds. It too was also style rather than substance, serving such dreadful meat is unforgivable in a restaurant so obviously decked to impress. Perhaps if there were fewer puma statues littering the place they might be able to purchase decent meat. It was just terrible and cheap, full of cartilage, tough and unappealing, so after I’d pulled the third bit of knuckle out of my mouth I decided to stop eating it and move onto the plate opposite, King Prawn Karahi. Here again I was woefully disappointed the king prawn seriously overdone and suffering from it, flavourless and dense, practically a crime.
After leaving half the meal I wanted to make a quick exit lest we have to eat another course even more crude than the last. Had we left after the starters the meal would have been amazing but crap produce mixed with lazy chefs left an unsatisfied and slightly nauseated Jane, ug.