The choice of location in Chiswick on the Gunnersbury border is a bold move. This makes it a restaurant you have to want to travel for, and on the whole it was worth the trip. The décor is modern, inviting and relaxed, with an open kitchen that adds a further interactive appeal to the dining room. The staff was enthusiastic, informative and helpful.

The menu is compact in choice and is priced according to the number of courses you order. There is also a 7 course tasting menu. We kicked off with a cheese biscuit appetiser with a raspberry topping. The biscuit was light and airy, and the raspberry was pleasant.

Cheese biscuit

An amuse bouche of umami flan with seaweed was stunning. The savoury notes of the umami in the form of a set cream were accentuated by the earthy flavour of the seaweed. This was a dish worth of a Michelin star.

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A Dorset crab ‘tart’ with a sesame crispbread and Granny Smith cream was lovely and fresh. The biscuit provided a wonderful textural crunch, with the apple adding a sweet acidity to the crab. There was an airy dexterity in the tart which was quite bewitching.

Dorset crab tart with Granny Smith

I couldn’t fault the wonderful freshness and the quality of the ingredients in a dish of Cévannes onions with pear shavings and beurre blanc. However, on the whole, I found this course dull and unexciting conceptually.

Cévannes onions with pear

Poached rock oysters were meaty and juicy. The accompaniments of watercress jelly and beetroot reduction worked well with the oysters, although the jelly was a little cold against the warmth of the oysters.

Poached rock oysters

A duck egg ‘meurette’ was beautifully cooked. The yolk was a luscious golden colour and was firm, yet soft. The meurette was scrumptious and boasted of a bold and rich beef stock flavour. This was a lovely dish.

Duck egg meurette

Roasted Sika deer with pan juices and wood sorrel was pink and perfectly cooked. Smoked mash potatoes were light on smokiness but nevertheless were wonderfully creamy and tasty.

Roasted Sika deer

Roasted grey partridge was gamey and tasty. A watercress sauce, similar to a purée in texture, was a nice touch. But for me, this dish screamed for a jus of some sort, without which, the partridge almost felt dry. Jerusalem artichoke served roasted and in purée form, was wonderfully tasty. The dish came with an optional side of partridge offal in the form of brains and a yummy heart and liver paté on a crostini.

Roasted grey partridge

Side of partridge offal

A variation of lemon in the form of meringue, custard, sorbet and confit was amazing. The sorbet was sharp and zingy, and the gentle acidity coming through from the other variations of lemon provided a fantastic counterpoint to the sorbet. This was a superbly balanced and refreshing dessert.

Variation of lemon

Hedone chocolate, a layered dessert with an almond dacquoise, ganache, praline and a chocolate glaze was very tasty and well made. But it seemed to lack for a biscuit-y crunch and a deeper chocolate-y richness which could have made this dessert amazing.

Hedone chocolate

This meal was not without a few minor questionable points, and I didn’t entirely agree with all of the dish compositions. That said, Hedone was conceptually interesting and particularly admirable for its single-minded focus on the use of quality ingredients. And the cooking was fairly fault-free and cannot be considered anything less than exceptional for what is a debut restaurant. Hedone is a restaurant worth applauding.

Website: http://www.hedonerestaurant.com

A modern, ‘Westernised’, dim sum house, Ping Pong is pitched as serving dim sum with a twist. I quite like Ping Pong because this chain of dim sum eateries is fun. Ping Pong might not be the first place that springs to mind for traditional dim sum eating, but they exude a chilled out contemporary vibe which makes the eating experience pleasant. Also I delight in drinking their flowering teas which bloom as the tea brews, the effect of which is visually arresting.

We tried a number of dishes from The Chinese New Year menu which is available until 6 February. Starting with a sweet basil seafood soup (£3.95) in a tom yum Thai-style – the soup wasn’t particularly spicy, but it was tasty for its sweetness. However the mussels in it were not good.

Sweet basil seafood soup

Lamb spring rolls (£5.75) with a five herb marinated lamb and cabbage were really delightful. The lamb was fragrant, and the cabbage had a certain bite to it which was delectable for its textural crunch. These came with a wu xiang sauce made from garlic, onions, vinegar and soya which worked really well with the spring rolls.

Lamb spring rolls

A seafood wrap (£3.95) of fish, prawns and cabbage was well made. Topped with a seafood sauce, lime purée pearls and chilli, I enjoyed these rolls, although I found the heat coming through from the chilli a touch overpowering against the delicate flavour of the seafood.

Seafood wrap

A braised beef rice pot (£6.50) was dry. What makes a pot dish like this work is lots of sauce to go with the rice, and there basically wasn’t enough of it. The beef could have also been more tender.

Braised beef rice pot

We also tried some other items from the a la carte menu. Crispy prawn balls (£3.95) with its deep-fried shredded pastry were yummy for its super crunchiness. Duck spring rolls (£3.45) were also appetising, but I would have preferred a bit more duck in the filling.

Crispy prawn balls

Duck spring rolls

We also had my perennial favourite, har gau (£3.75 – prawn dumplings with a translucent pastry). These weren’t bad, but a stronger prawn flavour, a firmer texture in the filing and a touch more sesame oil would have made these really good. The chicken shu mai (£3.45) did not hold up as these collapsed on contact and were a bit bland.

Har gau

Chicken shu mai

Also on the New Year menu was a chocolate fondant (£4.75) with a milk ice cream. This was delicious for its chocolate-y runny goodness. The delicate lightness of the ice cream was a nice match of the richness of the chocolate.

Chocolate fondant

I enjoyed this experience and some items were particularly yummy. Like I said, Ping Pong is kinda fun. You also get the sense that the produce is really fresh. Not everything was quite spot on, but then again, I have been to many other dim sum places in London where the quality is mixed.

Website: http://www.pingpongdimsum.co.uk//

Corrigan's Mayfair

I must confess I didn’t have the best experience when I first tried Corrigan’s Restaurant. Having already eaten at Bentley’s and Lindsay House (Richard Corrigan’s previous one Michelin starred restaurant which now houses Gauthier Soho), I had expected better. But lots of positive comments since have convinced me that perhaps that experience could have been an anomaly. Anyway, things were set right last week when I went to try the spice menu at Corrigan’s which is available until 29 January 2012.

Arum Kapil from the spice company Green Saffron kicked off proceedings by providing us with a short cooking demo in the kitchen and a fantastically informative talk on spices. Arum advocates using fresh spices at all times and buying in small quantities so that they remain as fresh as possible. His love and enthusiasm for fresh spices was extremely compelling. That and all the wonderful aromas we got to smell during the demo now mean all I want to do is cook Indian food!

Arun & Richard

The Corrigan’s spice menu is available at the bar, and diners can choose 3 dishes for £25, 5 dishes for £35, 7 dishes for £45 and 9 dishes for £55. We started off with Vietnamese oysters which were absolutely divine. As one would expect from a master seller of oysters (think Corrigan’s oyster bar at Bentley’s), the oysters were luscious. And the dressing, with its aromatic hints of ginger, chilli and crunchy deep fried shallots made the dish amazing.

Vietnamese oysters

A Cornish crab salad was resoundingly sweet and tasty. The use of cardamom and rosewater provided a lovely, fresh contrast to the crab.

Cornish crab salad

“Lord Lurgan’s” broth with a chicken oyster, bhuna spices and coriander was a touch too salty, but prawns served with spiced chickpeas (the chickpeas being a signature side dish from the Lindsay House days) were wonderfully fragrant.

Prawns with spiced chickpeas

Roasted lobster was sweet, if a little soft in texture. It came with an appetising sauce made with lots of lovely ingredients such as lemongrass, coconut milk, ginger, chilli, garlic and saffron.

Roasted lobster

A crisped grey mullet with a panko and parmesan crumb topping, muhammara (a red pepper dip) and romesco relish was lovely. Made with lots of flavoursome peppers, the muhammara packed a rich, punchy flavour.

Crisped grey mullet

A dish of hot crispy frog’s legs with garlic and spinach was wonderful. The meat was juicy and tender, and the batter was wonderfully crispy with a hint of spice.

Crispy frog’s legs

Hardwick mutton Rogan josh was very tender. The sauce was well spiced, rich and creamy.

Hardwick mutton Rogan josh

A kebab a la Turk consisted of lamb and livers. The lamb was extremely tender if a little bland. The livers were very strong in flavour.

Kebab a la Turk

To desserts, and the chocolate soufflé with cinnamon was to die-for. I loved, loved, loved the rich, chocolate-y gooeyness of this expertly made soufflé. The sweetness was well judged and the mixture was not too egg-y.

Chocolate soufflé

A warm spiced cake with slivers of grapefruit and lemon curd was also fantastic. The spices in the cake gave off hues of wintry warmness. The crust on the cake was also super crunchy which added a wonderful texture to the cake.

Warm spiced cake

I found the spiced ice-cream a bit of an oddity and too powerfully spiced with its use of ingredients such as cinnamon, clove, liquorice, 5-spice and star anise. But despite this, this was truly a wonderful meal.

I still think that the a la carte menu at Corrigan’s is pricey. But this spice menu is a pretty good deal. Nine dishes are satisfying enough for two people and this only costs £55. And those Vietnamese oysters – I would eat those again and again any day.

Website: http://www.corrigansmayfair.com/index.htm

We kicked of our meal with a spicy soft shell crab (£5.95) coated with a crunchy semolina batter. The crab was yummy, if a touch oily. Accompanying the crab was a sweet fig and prune sauce which worked well with the crab.

Spicy soft shell crab

Plump pieces of pan seared scallops (£5.50) with a mango and tomato salsa were decent and nicely cooked, but slightly lacked for seasoning.

Pan seared scallops

Rajasthan Laal Maas (£12.95), a spicy lamb curry with roasted red chillies and pulao rice, impressed. There was a nice richness in the sauce and the spicing was well done. The lamb was also very tender.

Spicy lamb curry

A generous portion of Goan style sea bass with rice (£12.95) was tasty. Pan fried and served with a sauce made from coconut and mustard seeds, the fish was fresh and of a good quality, although I would have preferred it to be slightly less cooked for greater moistness. The sauce, with a gentle hint of sweetness, was a good match for the dish.

Goan style sea bass

From the grill, a coriander and green chilli marinated wild African jumbo prawn (£9.95 each) with Goan spiced salt and a pickled lemon dressing was pleasant, but did not boast of a strong flavour of spices.

African jumbo prawn

A side serving of sesame baby aubergine with mustard and curry leaf sauce (£3.50) was particularly gratifying for its gooey richness. It again produced a hint of sweetness.

Sesame baby aubergine

Less successful were the desserts. A mango brûlée (£4.50) turned out to be more of a mushy mango concoction and was not particularly creamy. It was also too sweet. In contrast, a pistachio kulfi (£3.50) was creamy, but lacked for a robust pistachio flavour.

Mango brûlée

Pistachio kulfi

This was a decent meal, made more so by service that was particularly attentive and thoughtful. The prices were reasonable and its ambience makes it well placed as part of the Camden dining scene. It’s a respectable choice if you happen to be in the area, the kind of place you might go to for a fun night out with a big group of friends.

Website: http://www.namaastekitchen.co.uk/

The interior of the restaurant is just as pleasing on the eye. There is a separate bar area and lots of wooden touches throughout the restaurant to round of its cosy appeal. Stopping by for a Sunday lunch, I was pleasantly surprised the quality of the British cooking. A dainty looking dish of caraway cured sea trout (£7) was lovely. The tanginess in the side of pickled cabbage worked well with the fish, and the use of dill added a lovely fragrance to the dish.

Cured sea trout

Prettily presented, a starter of vension tartare (£7) was meaty and flavoursome. Pickled girolles added a nice acidity touch, and the use of celeriac and cobnuts provided a fresh crunchiness to the dish.

As far as roast lunches go, the roast rump of Hereford beef (£17.50) was probably one of the better ones I have tried in the London. The meat was tasty and tender, and it didn’t have some the fatty sinew that can be found in some of the poorer pub grub versions. Sides included purple sprouting broccoli which had a nice crunch to them, but the roasted parsnips were a little underdone, and the roast potatoes could have been crispier.

Hereford beef

Herdwick mutton leg (£17) had a rich gamey flavour to it and was cooked to a medium-rare tenderness. Accompaniments of carrots, turnip puree and savoy cabbage were also tasty.

A warm chocolate tart (£6.50) oozed with lots of melted chocolate-y goodness in a way which would have delighted any chocolate lover. A very good honeycomb ice cream was served with the tart.

Stem ginger parfait and spiced crumb (£6.50) was creamy with a zingy freshness to it from the ginger. But the spiced figs served with the parfait was a little too firm and could have been sweeter.

Stem ginger parfait

The service at Manson was relaxed and efficient, and the vibe was friendly and relaxed. The food was really good, well presented, accomplished and fairly priced. This is a great little place and a joy for the Parsons Green area.

PS: Happy New Year!

Website: http://www.mansonrestaurant.co.uk/