Howdy! It’s hard to believe that we’ve reached the halfway mark of the year – already. I guess you don’t really think about the fact that it’s the sixth month of the year unless you sit down and think about what events you have coming up. At work it’s already starting to turn into holiday season, many of my colleagues are getting ready for adventurous holidays. I’m a big believer of two holidays a year minimum, one mini break and one big one.

Unfortunately that won’t be happening this year because I’m saving to buy a house (I’m growing up!) so I’m taking the opportunity to do things in the UK that I usually wouldn’t think about trying – essentially I’m flying the flag for brilliant things you can do in the UK using your tastecard to save money – particularly handy if you’re saving for something big like a house!

I recently visited All Star Lanes in Brick Lane East London, a boutique bowling alley which opened its first branch in Holborn back in 2006. The chain (I guffaw when I say this because everything about the individual venues spells anything but) now has five venues dotted across London and now in Manchester.

All Star Lanes, Brick Lane

Gone are the days that I remember, where bowling alleys were lets face it – chavvy and located in retail parks or on motorways and generally in downtrodden areas – some of them still are – no names shall be released from my lips. When I think of some of the food I’ve eaten at such bowling alleys I shudder. All Star Lanes summed it up perfectly: “food that would make a ready-meal taste gourmet”. Chicken in a basket. Burgers where the patty was as flat as a pancake and was probably deep fried straight from a freezer. How did I do it? How did I consume such tripe washed down with a carbonated (flat) cola?

When All Star Lanes opened their first branch they changed that perception and revolted against fruit machines. It offers a refreshing take on great tasting and lovingly cooked American diner food, lively friendly atmosphere and music. Somewhere to proudly invite your friends/family for a meal. It prides itself as a restaurant first and foremost with the addition of being able to bowl, play pool or use one of their luxury booths for karaoke. The Brick Lane location alone caters for 154 restaurant covers and boasts a wide variety of dishes on the menu and beverages including an impressive cocktail menu.

The restaurant of All Star Lanes Brick Lane

There’s a great lounge area to the side of the bowling lanes with a second bar.

I popped in one Monday after work with my boyfriend Sam as a way to wind down from being stuck in the office all day. Being a Monday it was the perfect day for us to visit as it was quiet and gave us a good opportunity to catch up without too much noise. We played one round of bowling and moved onto the restaurant for dinner. Note how I’ve not said much about the bowling at this point. It was OK (I lost). I am a sore loser. Actually I think the lane was a bit lopsided as my bowling ball kept slipping into the side of the lane. They must get that sorted… ahem.

The lanes are very different to what you’d expect from a bowling alley. There aren’t many lanes, it’s very intimate. There is also a waitress offering a drinks service. You can also enjoy bar snacks such as sandwiches, chicken wings and olives whilst bowling.

Sam had a vanilla milkshake and I had a Gin & Elderflower “Julep Jar” which is Bombay Sapphire Gin, Elderflower Cordial, Mint and Fresh Lemon – except – I don’t like drinks with lots of ice so had it strained into a martini glass. I first had this cocktail at All Star Lanes in Westfield, Stratford last month, and now it’s my favourite drink – extremely refreshing.

All Star Lanes takes prides on their drink selection – particularly the craft beers and cocktails. As I visited they were actually just in the process of launching a new drinks menu. I can’t wait to visit in the future to road test some of the new cocktails!

Once we’d wrapped up our game, we moved onto the restaurant for dinner. The menu is vast. It’s typically American style, in fact the whole experience is American retro themed down to our lovely waitress Cathy who was dressed in 50′s cum hipster uniform with tattoos. She was extremely helpful with suggestions and guidance on what we might like. Cathy recommended the ribs which Sam ordered. I chose a burger as it had been around two months since I’d had a burger and I’d eaten a light lunch so felt I could justify such a mammoth dinner. I didn’t fancy a starter to myself so we had popcorn squid to share.

So… about that popcorn and squid. It’s created quite a reputation at All Star Lanes. So much so, it remains one of the most ordered items on the menu.  The presentation was quite fancy although I wasn’t quite sure I understood the theme. It was presented on a chopping board with an aioli dip accompanied with chopsticks and a Chinese take out box! The squid was probably the best I’ve tasted in a LONG time.

Popcorn Squid & Aioli

The mains looked pretty impressive and we appeared to have chosen well as Cathy told us that the ribs and burgers were also a favourite on the menu. The rack of ribs featured on the chefs choice menu.

Sam had opted for sweet potato fries as an upgrade from the standard fries. The dish also featured a massive portion of coleslaw (don’t be fooled by the greenery on the photo below – it’s all hiding!). The coleslaw was very much part of the meal rather than a garnish. The meat was very tender and fell off of the bone. Just look how shiny the BBQ glaze is!

Full rack of BBQ baby back ribs with coleslaw & fries

I was very pleased with my burger, particularly because it featured blue cheese – an additional topping that I had requested. I love blue cheese on burgers. I also love gherkins and I had a nice couple of slithers on my bun – I think the bun was a brioche one. It was perfectly fluffy and had a shiny texture. I stuck to normal fries. They were sliced with skins on and perfectly crispy. The quantity was perfect.

Hamburger with blue cheese topping

Both stuffed we couldn’t bring ourselves to order dessert, although the selection was definitely tempting; rocky road sundae, brownie with bourbon toffee & clotted cream ice cream, banofee jar cake – I can feel my fingers getting fat just typing!

Our meals had filled us up but we weren’t at the point of bursting – it made me even more pleased that we’d shared a starter as I wouldn’t have been able to manage all of my burger. I’d managed to clean my plate. Chuffed.

Before we left I asked Cathy if I could take a photo of her because I loved her retro outfit so much, she kindly obliged. Hi Cathy!

Our lovely waitress for the evening, Cathy.

Seeing as I’m saving myself so much cash by not taking a holiday I definitely think I’ll be making a few trips here on my way home throughout the summer – weather pending. The Westfield branch is less than 15 mins from my home!

All Star Lanes offers 2 for 1 meals across all courses for a maximum of two diners per card. Bookings must be made in advance. Fridays, Saturdays and December is excluded.

The 2013 food festival season is officially in full flow despite the unseasonal weather this year. I am picking all of my favourite regulars to visit including Taste of London and Feastival. I’m also ear-marking a selection of food festivals that I haven’t visited before. I went to my first a couple of weeks ago – Foodies Festival in Hampton Court.

When I heard the weather was going to be good on our second May bank holiday of the year I set about looking for ideas of things to do with my friend Yvette and her six year old son Dylan. The Foodies Festival was taking place all weekend, so we decided to make a day of it. Of all the foodie events I’ve been to, I can easily say that I enjoyed this festival the most – and the reason why is simple, it was the first festival I’ve visited with a child and it completely changed the perspective of the day. We treated ourselves to VIP tickets as opposed to standard and it was worth it. The good thing about this festival is that you could turn up on the day to buy tickets on the door and it wouldn’t cost any extra to the prices quoted on-site. It was clear when we arrived that a lot of people had decided to do this as the queue when we was almost a mile long! With the VIP ticket you receive the following benefits: goody bag with samples, access to the VIP tent, complimentary glass of bubbly and complimentary vouchers for a restaurant of choice. What a treat!

Once we gained entry we disappeared into the VIP tent for our complimentary glass of bubbly and recuperate after our long journey.

Bubbly consumed, the first (and only!) priority was eating as Yvette and I had both skipped breakfast in anticipation of the food we were going to try.

We walked around the outskirts of the festival visiting stalls and sampling some of the food that was on offer for visitors to try, cheese, pâté, dips and fudge! We decided it was time for lunch. Yvette opted for a Pulled Pork roll with salsa verde from Jamie Oliver’s stand. It looked great and I had a little sample of it. The pulled pork was perfect consistency and did not soak the bread beyond sandwich eating ability.

I decided to visit Cigala who had an array of dishes on offer and were happy to let me try before I bought – the seafood salad was amazing and had a selection of prawns, mussels and cockles. Perfectly refreshing for a sunny afternoon lunch. They gave me such a fantastic portion of the seafood salad that I felt like I should choose another dish as I’d already experienced this one through a taster. I opted for the chicken skewers with rice and sweet pepadew peppers garnished on top.Very tasty. Dylan ate most of it!

Lunch over we visited our first cookery session, for children! It was entitled Gastronomic Experiments with Soup. In this session they were teaching children how to make tomato soup. Around 15 children gathered into three groups and participated in experiments with taste and smell senses. Watching the children make tomato soup was very interesting as it was from scratch and each child in the group had a job. Adding tomatoes, tipping in mascarpone, tearing in basil, all children were encouraged to feel involved and it was fantastic to watch. All groups tipped their concoctions into one big pot and the cookery teacher took it into their kitchen to blitz into a soup.

The final task for the children was making butter – simply by shaking a jar of double cream until it formed butter. Amazing. I learned so much from a 30 minute session!

Walking around the festival was no mean feat. There were so many stands to explore and activities to stop off and try. Such as the environmentally friendly cleaning brand Ecover who had a mock up toilet!

The weather had brought everyone out to enjoy the sunshine, it was hard to believe we were in the UK!

The best view was from the top deck of a double decker Pimms bus.

The range of beverages on offer suited all tastes. There was lots of gin on tap and fantastic cocktails.

The Sipsmith Summer Cup was my favourite drink. It consisted of Sipsmith gin blended with infusions of Earl Grey tea, Lemon Verbena and Cucumber.

There was a St Lucian Chairman’s Reserve stand serving rum shots and drinks – Yvette had a mojito.

We sampled a taste of France with sweet crepes for dessert. There was as much enjoyment watching them being made as eating them.

Of course I couldn’t come to a food festival and NOT have oysters. So I had two lots!

British Sausages offered some of the tastiest succulent sausages on offer. I managed to nab on of their last pork and jalapeño ones before they ran out!

At this point I was feeling quite stuffed. We all were. Collectively between us we had consumed pulled pork rolls, chicken kebabs, seafood salad, crepes, popcorn, oysters, lots of cheese, pate and other samples, a hotdog and a sausage. Phew!

We also spotted a few celebs. John Torode – one of the presenters of Masterchef was there with his partner and winner of Celebrity Masterchef 2010 Lisa Faulkner.

We also met Charlie Brooks of Eastenders fame who was more than happy to pose for a photo with Yvette and Dylan.

We left the festival at 6pm, the trains from Hampton Court were every half hour and we had to travel from Surrey back to Essex. Walking past the River Thames, we marvelled once again on our unseasonal weather, it had been a fantastic day and the sun was still beaming down as we walked to the station. We couldn’t have planned a more perfect trip.

Today I read about the artist Salvador Dalí. Do you know who he is?

If so, you must be a lover of art. If not, you will know of his face when you see this photo.

Twirly mustached Dalí was quite a well known man. Born in 1904. Lived to 1989! Pretty impressive for that generation. Respected by many; art collectors, appreciators and artists too. Also the inspiration, along with his muse Amanda Lear for the naming of the bar/restaurant I visited last week.

Salvador & Amanda opened its second Spanish Tapas inspired restaurant in Bloomsbury in late 2012. A more toned down almost grown-up version of its predecessor in Covent Garden, London.

I have previously visited the branch in Covent Garden – but it had been at least six or seven years since I had been – and when I did visit, I hadn’t eaten, only drunk Sangria. A lot of Sangria.

Truth be told – I have never been a fan of Spanish food – not until recently. The explosion of restaurants offering sharing plates and tasting menus has made this style of dining extremely popular. My reasons for not being an early adopter of tapas food is a silly one.

I don’t like sharing food. Honestly – now that I’ve said it out loud it sounds even more embarrassing. My line is “Joey doesn’t share food” echoing Joey Tribbiani from American sitcom Friends. He doesn’t like to share food. I don’t like to share food. It doesn’t however mean that I don’t want to taste YOUR food. Yes I’m one of those. I’ll order something from a menu, I won’t want to share it with you – but I’ll expect you to let me try your dish.

I’m getting better though, and I was very excited to be visiting Salvador and Amanda with my friend Hannah to have a “careers catch up”.

Finding the restaurant is very easy as it’s situated in Bloomsbury, a two minute walk from Holborn station. Entering it’s clear to see that we’ve left the confines of the West End and entered a slightly city vibe. Salvador and Amanda had an air of a slightly smarter clientele dressed in between “creative” and “city suit”. We were warmly welcomed into the venue by the assistant manager Stefan and seated at the back of the restaurant. The seating varies between private booth (which can be reserved for celebrations or special bookings), higher tables and stools and lower tables with bistro chairs and a long leather seat. The wooden rustic feel of the restaurant adds a Balearic charm – most of it sustained from reclaimed wood from Norfolk beach sheds. The walls on the stairwell are lined with various photos of the bars influence. There is a restaurant on the first floor which is more of a formal affair.

salvador and amanda

The cocktail menu is extensive with a wide variety. The cocktail I fancied was not on the menu – this wasn’t a problem as our waiter had said to us that they would be more than happy to make a cocktail that wasn’t on the menu. I ordered a Dirty Martini with Gin and Hannah had a Caipirinha.

Dirty Martini

Caipirinha

The offer with tastecard allows 50% off the total food bill (specials excluded). The Tapas menu had SO much variety we didn’t know where to start. Our waiter also told us what the specials were – which although not included with tastecard, we couldn’t help but choose one because it was so irresistible. We were truly stuck on what to order and resolved to choose four dishes each to share – with a little help from our waiter I think we made excellent choices. The food was served quickly. Something I expect given the fact they are all small plates.

Pork crackling

Chorizo lollypops with quince aioli

Pan fried shell-off prawns with garlic and chilli

Crispy potatoes sautéed with piquillo peppers and a free range egg

Andalusian style crispy baby squid with black aioli

Iberico ham, poached egg and asparagus (a special – not included on tastecard)

Wilted spinach, roasted peppers and pine nuts, served on a pizza dough base

galician style roasted cod with samphire, cockles and chilli

The thing I like (yes I’m quickly coming around!) about sharing, is that initially as the food was placed on our table I was wondering how Hannah and I were going to manage all of this food – it was just so overwhelming having EIGHT dishes delivered to our table. The flavours in each dish complemented each other. All dishes were very tasty and enjoyable – we happily cleared all of our plates, there were definitely a few highlights that we enjoyed more than others.

The chorizo lollipops were unique, neither Hannah or I had experienced chorizo with a batter before. “Danny would love this – anything deep fried!” Hannah commented referring to her boyfriend who originates from “up north”.

The cod with cockles, samphire and chilli was amazing. I had only experienced samphire for the first time in my life last year – since then I hadn’t seen it in my supermarket or on many restaurant menus. When I get the opportunity to try it I order it everytime. It was Hannah’s first time trying it and she really enjoyed it too. Hannah also noted that this was the first time she’d had cockles in their shell – usually they are served out of their shell – cold (seaside style).

I usually find patatas bravas so boring and bland. It’s just potatoes with paprika sprinkled on top of it as far as I’m concerned. Having said that I am still yet to visit Spain where I’m sure it would be a completely different fare. To avoid disappointment, we ordered Patatas Crujientes Con Pimientos de Piquillo Huevo. Que? I hear you say. Well in plain terms it was crispy potatoes with a soft fried egg in the centre and sprinkled with piquillo peppers – reminiscent to Huevos Rancheros.

The overall selection of food is great – perfect for both meat and non meat eaters. The selection of vegetarian food is vast and I found that there was something to suit all tastes.

By the time we had finished our mains the bar was becoming quite busy, especially for a Wednesday night. Most tables had become occupied with guests.

Surprisingly after eating our mains, we still had space for dessert (we chose to share one) and drinks – we couldn’t come to a Spanish tapas restaurant and NOT have sangria.

churro style donuts with vanilla ice cream sprinkled with pecan nuts

This was more than enough for Hannah and I to share. We really couldn’t manage a dessert each…

But we had space for one of these each

Classic Sangria (red wine, blackberry and lime juice, lemonade)

Salvador & Amanda offers 50% off the total food bill when dining from the tapas menu. This is valid for a maximum of four guests and excludes Friday and Saturday. Specials are not included in this offer. Bookings must be made in advance.

Are you interested in discounted hotels, theatre offers, money-off food festival entry, free cinema tickets or to be in with a chance to win fantastic holidays?!

Well, we’re proud to announce that tastecard+ is here! We’ve been working hard to bring you brand new offers and giveaways, exclusive access only to tastecard members.

As a tastecard member you are entitled to take advantage of all the fantastic deals tastecard+ has to offer, however you do need to register on tastecard+ to claim the offers (details how to do this are explained below). If you’ve not yet purchased a tastecard, now is the perfect time to get involved. Not only can you take advantage of 2-4-1 or 50% off food in restaurants up and down the country; but now you have access to FREE or discounted entertainment tickets, getaways, and so much more!

So, here’s a helping hand to help you on your way to making the most of our new features, and finding yourself some amazing special offers and exclusive giveaways…

To make sure that these deals remain exclusive to our members we would like you to register your details and validate your tastecard membership number with tastecard+ which will create a tastecard+ account online. This means we can keep our offers exclusively members’ only rewards, and continue to offer you the best deals and the most exciting giveaways!

The first time you try to claim an offer through tastecard+, you will need to register your tastecard membership number in order to gain access. Getting started with tastecard+ is as easy as 1-2-3.

1.Register – 2. Validate – 3. Claim!

To get started, you will need to click the ‘Register here’ button under ‘How to claim this offer’. Please see the below screenshot of tastecard+ offer showing “Register here” button – this is not a live registration form. If you click this image you will be redirected to the registration form, alternatively keep reading for further instructions!

This will redirect you to a registration page (see image 1 below) where you will need to enter the email address associated with your tastecard membership, first name, surname and create a password. You then need to click register to be taken to validate your tastecard membership.

Alternatively, you can sign in using Facebook or Google+ which will only access your email address and name associated with your Facebook or Google+ account.

1. Register with first name, surname, email address and password

Note: This is not a live registration form, if you click this image you will be redirected to the registration form

2. Validate your tastecard with membership number and surname.

Note: This is not a live validation form

To complete your registration, simply input the membership number and surname shown on your current tastecard, and click ‘Register Card’. Once your card is registered, you’re all set to start claiming your offers…

3. Click to claim your offer!

Note: This is a screenshot example

Ready to start browsing our tastecard+ offers? All you need to do is click the tastecard+ link on our homepage or click the link below to go straight to our brand new tastecard+ homepage! Once you have found an offer or giveaway you want to take advantage of, simply click ‘Get the Offer’ to see full details on how to claim.

Last week I thought I’d check out Bar Soho in the area which is officially my favourite part of London.

I have for a very long time had a strong love affair with Soho, London. It all started in 2004 when I worked for a large music and DVD retailer at their head office in Film House on the infamous Wardour Street. Many of my evenings were spent frequenting pubs in the area and eating in and around Soho.

Old Compton Street, where Bar Soho resides is particularly well known to Londoners for good and bad reasons. It is known as the centre of the gay community in London and acts as a hub for all ages, cultures and gender. It is also the location of where a nail bomber targeted a gay pub in 1999. The area has changed massively in the last 10 years or so and it is a thriving road with much history. On a typical summer evening it is not uncommon to see people spilling over the pavements outside of pubs and bars socialising and catching rays of sunshine. It’s everything I love about London. Everyone is so friendly and most are creative types working for start-up companies, film production houses and of course the many tourists that visit. I really hope I always work around here.

In all of the years I’ve been walking up and down Old Compton Street it had never occurred to me to visit Bar Soho, partially out of stubbornness (I have my regulars, that’s where I stick to) and partially because I couldn’t see inside to understand why I should visit… Until they had a facelift. Bar Soho has recently undergone a much needed refurbishment. I hadn’t seen what the bar looked like before but I heard it was more shabby than chic and needed a bit of a spruce. I was more than happy to take a look inside to show you what it looks like.

Typical of most of the bars in Old Compton Street, when the weather is nice, Bar Soho opens its doors giving a warm welcome to passerby’s – there are a couple of doormen monitoring the entrance to ensure everything stays “nice” and they have a couple of tables outside for guests to sit outside should they wish.

Step inside and you are welcomed and reminded that you’re not just in any bar in London – you are in a bar in SOHO and that fact is unmistakable as Bar Soho has paid homage to the history of sexy Soho and all that Soho stands for. From the art work on the ceiling, red neon lights on the wall and drinks/food menu with retro covers which look very Playboy circa. 1970. I love the fact that they have carefully thought about where the bar was and the clientele that might visit and have intended to keep the vibrant historical feel of the infamous reputation it has gained since the 1700’s (yes clearly I remember that far back…).

The music at Bar Soho is very loud. Either you are not supposed to talk, or you’re supposed to compete to be louder than the music. Either way the music selection was very good which made the fact that you had to shout over it a bit more pleasant as there’s nothing worse than shouting over music you don’t like. They have a fantastic selection of drinks to suit all tastes – the fact that there are two menus for drinks and one small menu with two pages for food very much tells you what they want you to concentrate on during your visit. With my two companions we ordered a punch cocktail to share which was delivered to us in a large white hat with “Bar Soho” adorned on the side and about 50 straws – even though there were only three of us! It was lovely and never ending because even after we’d finished the food we still had lots to get through.

The evening food menu is simplified but all the staples are there. Burgers, Hot Dogs, Nachos, Platters and Chips.

Let me explain one thing to you. Unless you are coming here for lunch (lunch menu is from 12pm to 5pm daily) you are unlikely to visit for a sit-down meal. It’s just not that kind of establishment. You come for drinks and the food is there to soak up what you’re drinking. You wouldn’t be happy if I told you otherwise as I only speak the truth and I know what I am like.

If – like me you go out after work, start having a couple of drinks only to start seeing double and then remember that the tin of tomato soup you had at lunch wasn’t quite such a good idea before drinking, this is where the beauty of Bar Soho steps in as they have all of the right dishes to line your stomach. Even better – it’s not rubbish food that you’ll regret the next day. The food is very tasty, cooked extremely well and negates the need to have a dodgy kebab on the way home. Bonus!

RUSTIC PLATTER
Mini cheese burgers, mini steak pies, Cumberland chipolatas, herb crumbed chicken and giant wedges

JUMBO HOT DOG
Served with mayo and skinny fries

BAR SOHO BURGER
Served with cheese, bacon, mayo and skinny fries

My guests and I particularly enjoyed the chipolatas, mini steak pies and the Bar Soho burger. The chipolatas came served with a mustard like dip which complimented each chubby meaty bite. The mini steak pies (seen just in front of the mini sliders) was a novel idea. They were like little canapés and had great flavour for such tiny things. I was very impressed with the burger as it had been a while since I’d had a decent one where I’d enjoyed the actual patty. I was sceptical as I bit into it particularly as it looked somewhat simple with little filling other than cheese and bacon, but as I started to chew and swallow I realised that looks aren’t everything and as my two friends looked on expectantly I reported back to confirm that “it tastes like a proper burger”. Just as well too seeing that I’d chosen the signature burger of the bar!  I like hotdogs a lot – I fear though that the hotdogs I like are the ones that are on street corners of New York. Bar Soho’s hot dog was good but I wished it had onions. It was slathered in mustard though which got my vote as I love French’s American mustard.

I loved visiting Bar Soho and I will be coming back now that I know how close it is to where I work and is more welcoming post refurb. Unusual for a tastecard location, you can use the card with up to 6 people and get 50% off your food bill at this establishment – amazing! I was happy to spot that we weren’t the only group using a tastecard – the table next to us did too!

We weren’t the only ones using tastecard at Bar Soho

Bar Soho offers diners 50% off the total food bill. A maximum of six people per tastecard booking. Guests must book at least 30 minutes in advance.

Join the UK’s largest festival of food and drink at Brighton Hove lawns this weekend, May 4,5,6^th.

Watch top chefs cooking live, 100+ speciality food and drink producers, masterclasses, tasting sessions, pop-up restaurants, Vineyard, BBQ and Beach area, VIP tents and dining areas and live entertainment.

T&Cs –

2 Tickets with Showguides £18 – Quote “BRIT241” when booking at www.foodiesfestival.com

2 VIP Tickets £65 – Quote “BRITVIP” when booking at www.foodiesfestival.com

A VIP ticket includes a free glass of champagne on arrival, access to the VIP tent throughout the day, a taster meal from one of the pop-up restaurant tents, a goody bag, access to the private bar, reserved seating in theatre  masterclass sessions and great views of the entertainment stage.

Last week I visited celebrated pan-Asian restaurant Chino Latino. The restaurant has received much hype as it’s considered an alternative to a popular celeb haunt in Mayfair, London, and was featured in a national tabloid newspaper earlier this month.

Chino Latino sits within the Park Plaza on the River hotel located south bank of the River Thames, but it is anything but a typical hotel restaurant as my friend Natasha and I discovered.

The name Chino Latino makes one wonder what sort of food is on offer as the name has influences of two cultures. The food draws upon influences from China, South East Asia and modern Japan whilst the bar is deemed to have the Latin flavour.

One theme is consistent throughout our visit – an ethos Chino Latino encourages – to LOVE, SHARE & ENJOY.

Left: Chino Mojito. Right: Royal Mojito

Our evening began with a couple of signature cocktails. Both Mojitos – but very different in their taste and presentation. I opted for Chino Latino’s signature cocktail, the Chino Mojito with Havana Club rum shaken with limes, mint, sugar, lemongrass and coconut milk. Coconut milk and lemongrass in a cocktail! I was a bit dubious before receiving it, not sure what to make of coconut milk. I was expecting it to be filling and perhaps a bit overwhelming, nevertheless it was the signature cocktail and I do love trying new things. It was completely surprising and not heavy to drink at all. I could not taste the lemongrass but that wasn’t a bad thing – it was a garnish rather than being in the actual cocktail. Natasha had a Royal Mojito which our waiter told us was the most popular cocktail ordered. It was pretty much the same as mine but without the addition of lemongrass and coconut milk and topped with champagne instead of soda.

Just before we were ready to start our pan Asian journey, we were given hot towels to clean our hands before eating. Well we were told they were towels – but they were small white discs which looked more like mints in a bowl. As our waiter poured hot water on the disc and it started to expand, our eyes widened. The disc was becoming a towel – WOW. “I haven’t even started eating yet and I’m already impressed by the towels!” Natasha exclaimed.

Beginning our pan-Asian journey, Natasha and I decided to embrace Chino Latino’s desire to “SHARE”.

Beetroot, yuzu cream cheese, port reduction (v)

Seared white tuna

Crispy soft shell crab California roll

We had three starters to share which were all brought out at once. This was fine as they were all cold starters and it allowed us to sample from each one for different tastes. Our first starter of Beetroot with a filling of yuzu cheese with a port reduction glaze was delicate and extremely unique. Their shape reminded me of macarons with their circular shapes and fillings. The filling of yuzu cream cheese perfectly complimented the beetroot. Beetroot is one of those vegetables you either love or hate – luckily Natasha and I both loved it. Accompanying this were two other starters – Crispy soft shell crab California roll and Seared white tuna, both of which were fantastic. The California rolls were very flavoursome and great to share as sushi rolls can sometimes be overwhelming to eat because of the rice – this wasn’t at all. The tuna was sprinkled with crispy shallots which were very moreish – although Natasha appeared to become a bit frustrated trying to pick up the tiny shallots with her chopsticks – then this happened whilst she was eating her California roll…

Oops!

Moving onto our second courses, we shared just two dishes to further whet our appetites before our main courses – grilled scallops and samosas. The scallops were impressive to look at and eat. The size of them was very generous, they were grilled with yuzu aioli which gave them a very crispy texture and then sprinkled in wasabi peas. Despite the crispy texture the centre remained very moist. The samosas were pleasant. It was a choice we had made which was slightly outside of the box as it didn’t have the same Asian influences as the other dishes however the crispy texture filled with the unusual fusion of crab and pork was really succulent.

Grilled scallops, yuzu aioli and wasabi peas

Pork, crab and glass noodles samosas, green pepper yogurt dipping sauce

Despite five dishes, we still weren’t full! The balance of ingredients in our starters meant that we were satisfied but eagerly anticipating our mains, which we had again decided to SHARE.

Sirloin steak on hot rocks, soya, mirin, garlic

Black cod, spicy miso

We could hear our sirloin steak travelling over to our table before we saw it, as it was sliced and placed on super hot rocks and accompanied by a soy sauce combination which our waitress asked us if we’d like her to pour it onto our steak. We said no as we would do it ourselves. This spectacle was another WOW – our second this evening. The way the stones were arranged on the plate and slices of the steak slightly overlapping on top of them was a vision. Alongside the steak we had black cod which appears to be the trendy fish to eat these days (move over sea bass) and was made popular by aforementioned famous Japanese restaurant in Mayfair, London. It was definitely the winning dish of the evening. The texture and large chunks of white fish were delectable – especially with the sweet slightly spicy miso that accompanied it. We poured our soy, mirin sauce over our steak and more sizzles and steam occurred as the red meat integrated with the hot rocks. Both dishes were accompanied by jasmine rice which was perfect for sharing and a perfect choice for our mains because they had so much flavour, it fitted well with the rice. We were feeling a bit light on the vegetable front so ordered some bok choi to accompany our mains.

Sizzling steak with a soy mirin sauce poured over

The starters and mains were extremely plentiful and although we were reasonably full after our mains, we weren’t at the point of loosening a belt hook which was fantastic. Asian desserts are well known to be healthy and fanatical about fruit – Chino Latino didn’t disappoint as we opted for the Exotic fruit platter. This was our final WOW for the evening, as I’m sure both Natasha and myself expected a plate of different fruits to be delivered to our table – but what we actually had delivered resembled a fusion of fruits I’d be more accustomed to being served on a summer holiday abroad.

Exotic fruit platter

For a taste of something different and to maintain that healthy light feeling, this is perfect – it’s also a great way of tasting new fruits you perhaps wouldn’t have the experience of trying elsewhere – fitting my methodology of try something you wouldn’t have at home when dining out. I’m sure it had been over a year since I’d last had a lychee!

Leaving Chino Latino, we spied the bar which was looking at little on the quiet side, it was a Thursday evening though – the restaurant was pretty busy as we left so I anticipated guests moving on from the restaurant to the bar to enjoy the fantastic cocktails.

As the evening drew, the restaurant became busier

Chino Latino is a lovely restaurant with enough “WOW” factors to entertain a plethora of guests. It’s the sort of restaurant you tell your friends about – it’s not the sort of place you would stumble across because it’s inside a hotel – but don’t let that put you off, as once you’re inside you could be dining on top of a skyscraper viewing the Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong.

Chino Latino offers diners 2 for 1 on meals across all courses ordered. A maximum of two diners are allowed per tastecard. This restaurant is happy to accept a party of 4 with 2 tastecards, subject to availability. Diners must book in advance.

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