Come Dine With Mei

Zizzi, Essex. CM14 4AN

2010-03-01T12:32:00.012+00:00

Zizzi

72 High St,

Brentwood,

Essex.

CM12 4AN

http://www.zizzi.co.uk/

Food Style: Italian

Clostest Train Station: Brentwood

Parking: Available on/off the High St. Car Parks are also available

Recommends: Saving enough room for dessert, the Mela Croccante and Torta Cioccolata are definitely worth trying.

Avoid: If you don't want Italian style food

Review:

Firstly, yes Zizzi's is a big chain, but unlike Pizza Express for example, they offer so much more in terms of atmosphere, menu choices and taste, as well as what I believe is value for money. I must admit that until quite recently Zizzi's was my preferred restaurant chain of choice (prior to that it was ASK), but having been knocked off by a Non-Italian chain I can safely say that whenever a discussion about where to eat Italian (at a chain restaurant), Zizzi's is definitely a place you should consider.

I particularly love the Brentwood branch of Zizzi's, due to the large windows to entice customers from the street, and circular staircase leading to the spacey upper floor that provides extra seating when necessary. Having also been to the Charing Cross branch, if I were to describe the atmosphere in colour form it would be a warm orange/yellow. The mood setting is open relaxed and informal, so that it's a perfect setting for a birthday celebration, dining out with family or friends or on a date. I always judge a restaurant by their toilets, as well as their food, as I strongly believe that toilets (and kitchens) must be kept sparkling clean and reflect a restaurants hygiene. (Restaurants with fancy sinks get bonus points!) For this, Zizzi's certainly lived up to my expectations, in providing enough space in the cubicles, maintaining the cleanliness and sink design!

The Risotto di Pesce contained plenty of seafood - the abundant tiger prawns were succulent and moreish and the salmon absolutely divine. Both were cooked to perfection as was the rest of the dish, apart from the rice itself which was a tad 'bitty' quite similar to undercooked rice. I also have a feeling that the chef wanted me to get my vegetable quota for the day completed as my dish contained alot of courgette slices. However overall, I would order this again, and have done previously so it's mostly luck of the draw but it doesn't distract from the dining experience on the whole, so in all "no big deal".

Other things worth mentioning:
-Offers: As much as anyone does, I love looking out for the numerous food offers available. Lucky for me, the recession provided numerous choices where dining out was concerned, so much so that I perhaps helped to try and eat our way out of the recession? Even so I would still dine here without any vouchers but they do help and may fund another visit back! Watch out here for the BOGOF, Buy on get one for £1, two for £12 etcetc deals on offer.

-Dessert: YUM! 99% of the time I always opt for the Baked Apple Crumble, due to the large portion and the "freshly baked out of a oven in my thatched cottage in the country side" feeling it provides. However the Chocolate Melt, Torta Cioccolata and so on are equally as yummy, which often results in me tasting other desserts on offer (courtesy of my family.)

Rating: As far as chain restaurants go, it is trickier to rate compared to smaller chains (i.e ~10 restaurants in the country) or single restaurants but on the other hand it is far more accessible - you don't need to visit somewhere specifically as chances are there will be one closer to you. Due to the feeling of everyone always feeling happy and satisfied after our meal, the numerous money saving offers available, the atmosphere and most importantly wanting to go back again, I give it an A. (Scandalous to give a chain restaurant an A I know, but on this one I will not budge!)

Princi, London. W1F 0UT

2010-02-27T15:14:00.029+00:00

Princi

135 Wardour St,

London.
W1F 0UT

http://www.princi.co.uk/

Food Style: Italian
Closest Stations: Piccadilly Circus (Piccadilly, Bakerloo), Leicester Square (Piccadilly, Northern)

Recommends: Pumpkin and Cheese Salad. I also have it on good authroity that the pizza is very good, a statement which I hope to confirm in due course.
Avoid: Peak Times. Seat availabiility is limited at best, and this popular eatery filles up quite quickly from around 7pm.

Review:
In Soho, located off the main street (Shaftesbury Av) and China Town, lies an area that I had admittedly not explored. Yes it is home to numerous sex shops and the gay community, but as I discovered it also consists of many eateries that I (and my blog) would have been oblivious to had it not been for my friend suggesting Princi. The area somewhat reminded me of the Rue des Rosiers in Paris, especially as I notcied a few brasseries around. The lesson to learn here is not to get stuck in a rut and become too comfortable, but to seek new experiences as you never know what you may find.

I was greeted by bakers kneading pizza dough by the window, which is always a nice homely sight. Heading inside, the main area reminded me of a canteen, but not in the bad sense. Along the sides there were rows of desserts and main meals all on display to make your choice of narrowing down the selections that little bit harder (See below for photos). I was reminded of Parisian patisseries with the mouthwatering desserts, but instantly noticeed the cheaper prices. Desserts ranged from pistachio mousse to chocolate and pear cakes and strawberry millefeuille (millefoglie in Italian). The mains varied from pastas to salads, pizzas and focaccias, the latter three looking expectionally delicious. There are hot drinks and fresh fruit juice combinations available.

The Rigatoni was, in my opinion better than the big restaurant chains and alot cheaper but not by an extreme margin. If there was anything to criticise, it was that the food was warm, but didn't have the 'just out of the oven' warmth. The mackerel and stuffed aubergine dishes were also tasty and for a split second I could imagine myself in the Italian sun dining al-fresco. However, the highlight goes to the Pumpkin and Cheese Salad. I believe the large pumpkin chunks were roasted in olive oil, honey and perhaps drizzled after with balsamic vinegar. The chunks retained its solidness, avoiding the mushy-ness and combined with the flavour it is something worth going back for. For dessert, I settled on chocolate cake, which was very rich indeed and worth sharing with somewone, simply because as delicious as it was, it was near impossible to finish the whole piece.

Other things to mention:
-Free Bread Baskets: At around 7pm, bread baskets were put out on the counters so watch out for these. I managed to taste three types of bread - walnut, raisin, and salty/cheese. All of which were amazing.
-Card Payments: I was able to pay for my £3.50 dessert via card. Anywhere that accepts a balance of under £5 on card payment without a surcharge automatically gets a thumbs up from me.

Rating: I will definately return, and while I can see the food choices getting boring after a while, this is easily rectified as the food menu gets rotated (so I am told. This may pose a problem, where you may find what your favourite choice may not reappear for a while, but as you will want to return there often enough there is no danger of missing out. To pay for a main and dessert at £9.50, which is very good and on top of this of a higher quality than comparable restaurants, combined with the relaxing and cosy atmosphere gives this place an A-.

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LIVEBAIT, London. WC2E 7DN.

2010-02-22T20:20:00.004+00:00

LIVEBAIT
21 Wellington St,
Covent Garden.
London
WC2E 7DN
www.livebaitrestaurants.co.uk

Food Style: Seafood
Closest Stations: Covent Garden (Piccadilly), Charing Cross (Northern and Bakerloo)

Recommends: Seafood. Steak is also an option but given the choice why would you, its a Seafood restaurant after all!
Avoid: If you don't like fish on the raw side or if you don't like seafood (and steak!)

Review:
A short walk away from Covent Garden, located in a fairly quiet street but still within close proximity to the numerous theatres close by lies LIVEBAIT. Many theatre goers pop in for a quick bite to eat before the 7.30pm shows. (You can book online if you wish)

I have been here a couple of times before, the first time by random change and the second just before seeing Lion King in the adjacent theatre. However, being too young (and having not fully developed my palate) I couldn't remember much apart from 'The Seafood is good!' so the fact that there is currently 30% off food (until 31st March) seemed a good reason to go.

I settled on the Pan Fried Smoked Haddock fillet and poached free-range egg served with parsley mash and a wholegrain mustard sauce. Presented with the sauce acting like a blanket on my food, and unable to actually see what was under it without moving it aside, all was forgiven as it was a delightful looking and tasting sauce indeed. The Parsley Mash was not too creamy (a la Michelin restaurants), and not too 'chunky', just perfect to complement the smoothness of the Haddock. The Haddock seemed to be lightly cooked, and flaked easily to show the translucent middle (think sashimi).I don't particularly like eggs, especially with a runny yolk so I can't comment on that, apart from it looked as though it was nicely done.

Other things worth mentioning:
-The bread (free): 6 slices of a baguette accompanied by butter and an anchovy paste, which was divine!
-My friend found a deep fried hair tangled in one of the Deep Fried Calamari Rings, so as always keep an eye! The manager was super apologetic and offered a replacement and when this was denied, a dessert. My friend declined any sort of food, and the manager took this off the bill.
-Service: The food was delivered in a timely manner, which I always find pleasing. And the manager was very hospitable when my friend explained that they didn't feel right to pay for the chips, seeing as though the meal was ruined and this (as well as the cover charge when asked) was promptly removed with no question.

Rating: B+(+). A bit on the pricey side with main meals from £11-£19, oysters/lobster etc more, but let's be honest this is seafood after all so it's not unexpected. I would go there again, but for the calamari a la hair it doesn't deserve an A. The extra '+' is for the helpfulness of the manager though.

Yi-Ban, London. E16 2QT.

2010-02-21T16:52:00.002+00:00

Yi-Ban
London Regatta Centre,
Dockside Road,
Royal Albert Dock.
London
E16 2QT
www.yi-ban.co.uk

Food Style: Chinese (Dim Sum)
Closest DLR Station: Royal Albert and Prince Regent
Parking: Plenty of parking spaces available

Recommends: Mango and Tapioca Pudding, Fried Squid
Avoid: Over-ordering fried items

Review:
Having realised that I have actually visited this place before, after recognising a nearby hotel and the restaurant building itself, my expectations were somewhat lower than usual as I hadn't recognised the name or area until that precise moment of entering the front door.

The restaurant itself reminded me of a warehouse converted to a makeshift restaurant, however the fact that it did overlook the River and City Airport did balance this out. Many of the tables catered for the larger families (think 10+) but it was still in the Chinese New Year celebration period (Year of the Tiger by the way) and I could see families exchanging red packets.

Their Dim-Sum menu was quite varied and had my favourite dish (Sticky Rice) so automatically got two thumbs up. As usual food was over ordered, resulting in half the items being bought in doggy bags, but I am pretty certain that this is mainly due to the fried items being over oily and quite sickening. Having ordered around 5 different spring roll type items etc it was quite clear that the fried items were more oily that one would expect and so instantly off putting.

The Sticky Rice was around average, but seeing as it is my favourite dish and so far a Canadian Restaurant has only lived up to my high expectations this isn't so bad. The Dumplings and Cheong Fun were okay, I am pretty sure that if you buy these (frozen/ fresh respectively) from supermarkets it tastes the same if not better.

Other things worth mentioning:
-Mango and Tapioca Pudding: Gorgeous as it actually tasted of Mango, and had lovely sweet pieces of mango in it.
-Fried Squid: The batter was crispy , not too heavy and flavoursome and the squid cooked perfectly.
-Yam Croquettes: They came out cold in the middle, and had to ask to get them replaced
-Waiting Time: We booked, and as it was CNY this might not be an accurate reflection but there were families waiting to be seated after we left (~3pm).
-Service: Questionable, after ordering two noodle dishes, 3 dim sum items etcetc they have all been brought out together in other places, but here it seemed to just be unorganised and quite annoying. ALSO, its a good idea to remember what you ordered, as we have to keep on reminding them that we ordered 2 more dishes etc.

The most important part (?). Well coming to ~£22 per head is not bad at all, and alot cheaper than other places, and easy to get to. However, after leaving with your guts all slicked up in oil and not wanting to think about food for about a week I think it's not a place you'd want to go to every time you want some Dim Sum.

Rating: B. Average. It's somewhere I would go to again if invited, but I wouldn't suggest there myself.

Hello 2010 Post!

2010-02-12T19:04:00.003+00:00

It has been brought to my attention that I am not updating my blog as much as I should be. Consider this now a new year's resolution!

Food is always a priority in my life and although I will try to cook quite often enough to blog, I will always be eating out and having my opinions on said restaurants or food related items bought from various places. So I have decided to (slowly) remodel 'Come Dine With Mei' to said review blog AND create another blog (cleverly named 'Come Cook With Mei') for my cooking adventures.

P.S Happy Belated New Year, and also Happy Chinese New Year for 14th Feb! And lastly....Happy Nom Nom Nomming all :D

GUEST POST, written by a certain duck..'Who ate all the pie?'

2009-12-05T16:56:00.000+00:00

As mentioned, guest post (not hard to tell due to the very different writing styles!). The first of many I hope, as that also means I get to taste the delights of sugar, chocolate a buttery goodness before deciding what is worth writing about!

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With winter here it is the perfect opportunity to make the ultimate comfort food: a scrumptious banoffee pie! That is a buttery biscuit base covered in caramel and banana slices topped with cream.

I began by crushing a pack of hobnobs placed in a sealed bag with a rolling pin. A fun way to release any pent up anger! I then combined the biscuit crumbs with melted butter, pressed the mixture into a cake tin with a removable base and after placing it on a baking sheet, cooked it in the oven for 10 minutes.

So far so good...

Now after allowing the lightly toasted mixture to cool I was supposed to gently release it from the tin, instead I choose to throw it on to the plate. Result: the biscuit base shatters and with it my dreams of producing a perfect banoffee pie.

But of course I won’t be beaten. The only option was to break up the base into crumbs, press it into the tin and cook in the oven again. Once it had set for the second time, I decided to leave the biscuit base on the base of the cake tin so it would not crumble and not risk making the same mistake again.

OK so disaster adverted for now...

Next it was time to make the caramel. Easier said than done. I needed to use a tin of condensed milk to make this. It soon became apparent to me that there was no ring pull to open the tin so a tin opener would have to be used – something, I, a recent university graduate, had never done before.

I rang around for advice on how to use a tin opener (I have no shame) and even tried to get Google to help me but still I was unable to get the tin open. A corkscrew, a knife and scissors were also tried to get the tin open but still no joy.

Eventually I managed to cut a hole in the tin using the tin opener and was then able to pour the milk out through this hole. Success! Unfortunately, an hour had now passed. Clearly I am embarrassed at my ineptitude and I realise this inability to use a tin opener probably technically makes me retarded.

Anyway now I could actually make the caramel by stirring butter and brown sugar on a medium heat then adding the condensed milk and stirring continuously until the first bubbles appeared, removing from the heat once it came to the boil. The caramel was then spread over the top of the biscuit base and chilled for an hour. Sliced bananas were then arranged evenly over the caramel.

We are getting there... Remember, you cannot rush perfection.

The last stage was to make the cream. I decided to add a little twist here and make a marbled chocolate cream as I did not think the banoffee pie was sickening enough yet. This was done by whipping together double cream and icing sugar until soft peaks are formed then adding melted milk chocolate with a spoon to create a marble effect. The chocolate cream is then placed on top of the caramel and sliced bananas.

Adam’s Banoffee Pie. Done.

Verdict: Not bad for my first attempt at a banoffee pie. It did not look hugely appetising but looks can be deceiving as the taste was pretty good. The biscuit base was a little too crumbly for my liking but we know where that went wrong. The caramel was definitely toffetastic and worked well with the biscuit and bananas. The milk chocolate cream was probably a bit too much but it was meant to be comfort food so I can be forgiven for that. Tasters seemed to enjoy it - “très bien” was one response, “j’aime” another and “j’adore” a third but most importantly I have now been shown how to use a tin opener. Now the world is my oyster...

Victoria Sponge

2009-12-05T16:45:00.000+00:00

Hello my TWO followers, oh yes, I know who you are ;-). Boy do I have a surprise for you, a guest post written by one of my readers which I have been requesting for a few weeks now, as well as a baking update from me.

Victoria Sponge:

The first cake was executed with as much precision as I could muster. I must admit I did make a tiny mistake (which I rectified!) but had not mentioned this at all during the all-important tasting period. Hmm, thinking about it my guinea pig tasters would be any wiser if I didn’t make this public knowledge. HOWEVER, this is a baking blog and I intend on being honest so this was the mistake: Instead of adding four eggs I added two to the mixture. I only realized this after putting the cake mixture into the cake tins and realizing that it was lacking in moisture. I then proceeded to beat the two missing eggs and mix this into the cake mixture. Not a pretty sight I can tell you, I lost all hope that this stage of the cake being a success. The other mistake I made (which was known at the time) was forgetting to oil the sides of the cake tins. At this point I decided to keep my fingers crossed and thanked god for ‘practice runs’.

The smell from the oven did a good job in masking my mistake(s), and actually you couldn’t have told the difference. The cakes smelt divine and were removed from the pans easily enough! With assistance from a Duck, the jam (Hartleys Rasberry) and Buttercream (I think it is worth mentioning the interesting sieving technique I saw here. Instead of shaking the sieve against one hand, I saw the art of pushing icing sugar through the sieve. Hilarious!). Finishing touches were made and the resulting cake eaten.

Result: YUM YUM YUM

The second cake was made identically, the ‘learning from your mistakes’ somewhat worked when it came to the amount of eggs needed and the oiling the pan sides not so much. I was nervous as that cake smelt quite eggy, but was reminded that it was no different from the first attempt.

Result: I wish I could say something, but as I didn’t taste it due to being a present I can only go from the feedback received….No one died. Take that how you wish!

Muffin Maker Mei

2009-11-12T22:26:00.000+00:00

To make up for being lazy, I am recalling a couple of baking stories before getting on with the Muffins...

1) Brownie Attempt 3. It looked like a brownie, it smelt like a brownie. HOWEVER, I could only call it a brownie 2 days after because I think it was a bit undercooked. Having said that, it was edible and definitely a success. I will be trying to bake brownies using another recipe to see if I can get a better result.

2) Chocolate and vanilla shortbread rolls. - Let's not even go there! Another case of not following the recipe. Taste tester quote after shoving a shortbread cookie in his mouth: Its like a dry wall blocking my mouth!

I should mention that the above two were make using the Green and Blacks Recipe book. I will be sticking to my Children's Baking Book from now on..

Muffin Attempts - Lemon and Blueberry
After a shaky start, and adding a few more minutes cooking time (I have yet to master the big fan oven) I am proud to call this best muffins made yet. The blueberries were not as sweet as I hoped, but this may be due to it being winter, or being bought from Waitrose instead of Tescos as per last time. The muffin itself was light and fluffy, and had a hint of lemon and blueberry but could definitely done with more lemon and sugar to create that taste bud explosion.

Conclusion: Call me Muffin Maker Mei from now on! Seriously though I need to try different blueberries, and add a smidge bit more of sugar. Also sort out the oven as half of the tray were looking amazing, and the rest rather anaemic!

p.s. A certain duck like friend made very good truffles today, probably on par with the muffins. I need to get cracking with perfecting these recipes otherwise title of pastry chef may be lost forever...

2009-10-08T14:36:00.000+01:00

I think before I recall my recent brownie making tale, I should describe my history with making brownies. So here we go..

Brownie Making Attempt 1 (3 years ago):

Definitely not successful, in fact it shouldn't really be classified as baking let alone a brownie making attempt. I distinctly remember measuring everything correctly, and then adding more flour because I decided the mixture looked too 'wet'.

Mistake number 1. Thinking I could do better than the recipe, leading onto
Mistake number 2. Too much flour.
Mistake number 3. Adding more eggs to make it the 'right consistency' after looking too 'floury'.

Result: I remember thinking, 'I wonder how this is going to turn out!', so to have it be edible was success in my eyes, even if it was tasteless. My two food critics thought that it was alright as a cake, but being my sister (who is bound to say good things) and a very hungry uni student, I am somewhat inclined to say there was some bias, even if the 'brownie' cake did eventually all get eaten.

Brownie Making Attempt 2 (1 month ago):

Thought it best to play it safe this time with Ghirardelli's Triple Chocolate Brownie Mix. You would have thought if a Costco Demonstrator could whip up a batch of brownies with minimal effort, then where could you possibly go wrong?! That my friend, is where it all goes down hill..or at least for me. I'm not even sure where I went wrong.. all you needed to add was water, oil and eggs!
I did grease-line the baking tray with butter instead of using the old greaseproof paper, and I must admit I misjudged the baking tray size. The baking tray did look like some very thin brownies would be coming out of the oven..

Mistake number 1. Greasing the baking tray (?)
Mistake number 2. Wrong sized baking tray/not using an additional brownie mix packet.

Quote: They're brownies? OH I thought they were cookies'

Result: A 'Brownie' cookie that you could just about eat immediately from the oven. Eating them two hours later..hello cement-like cookie, goodbye teeth!