The other night I was in Chelmsford centre and my companion and I felt the worms biting. As I have moaned about before, Chelmsford is a fairly wealthy place but the centre is a culinary dead spot. Whenever I am caught hungry in Chelmsford, Zen Noodle Bar comes to the rescue. The menu is fairly standard fare, with three specials up on the blackboards: this place is not going to win any Michelin stars. However, I do not go there for a Heston Blumenthal-esque culinary extravanganza (seriously, I know someone who went to a fancy Oriental restaurant in Chelmsford and their scallops were served with strawberries...).
I go there because I know what is on the menu,
I know I will like it.
The staff are courteous without being overbearing.
Service is lightning quick.
The coffee is decent- some restaurants struggle to understand coffee
The toilets are clean.
We shared duck spring rolls, he had barbeque roast pork, I had "kon chow" beef ho fun.
Job done.
Saturday 3 October 2015
Thursday 3 January 2013
Cafe Rouge- Chelmsford
I swear this place is getting worse. Our party arrived on a Saturday afternoon and the place was heaving. Did they open up the upper floors? Nope. Did they have enough staff? Nope.
It's a great shame as this place is in a prime location. It is a lovely building with plenty of space. If Chelmsford got its act together and weaned itself off the chain restaurants and managed to attract some independent restauranteurs it'd provide a great premises. Instead we have Cafe Rouge: a ground-floor fit to burst, the deafening racket as we dine cheek-by-jowl and only 3 waitresses.
Seriously. The meal took over 2 hours. I don't mind their food so much; it's not great but it's about as good as you'll get in Chelmsford centre. It depresses me that I could go to a proper restaurant and have an excellent meal for the same price, but then we'd have to drive out of town. Cafe Rouge's menu is not complicated- most of their dishes come with a simple dressed salad and skinny chips. So what the hell was taking so long? Either they were severely short-staffed in the kitchen too or they were having to grow the vegetables from seed. I was not having a starter, so by the time my main course arrived my belly was emitting some odd noises- I suppose there was one advantage to eating in a noisy environment...
In the past I've met up with people during their lunch break for a quick meal. The quick meal has not been forthcoming. I have pretty much given up going there as the quality of the food does not justify the wait.
Tuesday 4 September 2012
Zen Noodle Bar, Chelmsford
3 friends and I were looking for somewhere to eat on Friday night. We were looking for somewhere reasonably priced and with decent food. Simple, eh? No, not really. Chelmsford is not good for eating out- the city centre is awash with mediocre chains and really poor quality independents.
Zen Noodle Bar on Duke Street is on of the only decent eateries in Chelmsford. As you'd expect, it specialises in noodle and rice dishes, drawing on many different Asian cuisines. It would be good choice for vegetarians or those with gluten intolerance are there are many options. I doubt any of the dishes could be found on the streets of an Asian country, but who cares? The food is good!
It was quite interesting that our ex-pat guest found the service a little lacking. He now lives in America and is used to having the waiting staff fawning over him to get a good tip. I find the American-style of service insincere and rather overbearing-give me a minimal service any day! I like Zen's system of having a simple menu and pre-printed order forms, reminiscent of hospital menus. It is efficient and you can dither your meal choices without a waitress breathing down your neck. Oh, and once the meal is ordered, it is cooked very quickly and it served immediately. This is a particular bonus to those who visit Zen during lunch time and don't have time to faff around.
On this occasion I had the duck spring rolls and the pad thai. Sadly, I am addicted to the pad thai and I have had it many times. I have had many other things off the menu and they have all been good, but I keep coming back to the pad thai. I wish I could be a bit more adventurous, but the pad thai wins every time. My partner is much the same with the a belly pork dish or the duck with barbecue sauce.
I really must go more often to explore the menu more...
Zen Noodle Bar on Duke Street is on of the only decent eateries in Chelmsford. As you'd expect, it specialises in noodle and rice dishes, drawing on many different Asian cuisines. It would be good choice for vegetarians or those with gluten intolerance are there are many options. I doubt any of the dishes could be found on the streets of an Asian country, but who cares? The food is good!
It was quite interesting that our ex-pat guest found the service a little lacking. He now lives in America and is used to having the waiting staff fawning over him to get a good tip. I find the American-style of service insincere and rather overbearing-give me a minimal service any day! I like Zen's system of having a simple menu and pre-printed order forms, reminiscent of hospital menus. It is efficient and you can dither your meal choices without a waitress breathing down your neck. Oh, and once the meal is ordered, it is cooked very quickly and it served immediately. This is a particular bonus to those who visit Zen during lunch time and don't have time to faff around.
On this occasion I had the duck spring rolls and the pad thai. Sadly, I am addicted to the pad thai and I have had it many times. I have had many other things off the menu and they have all been good, but I keep coming back to the pad thai. I wish I could be a bit more adventurous, but the pad thai wins every time. My partner is much the same with the a belly pork dish or the duck with barbecue sauce.
I really must go more often to explore the menu more...
Saturday 29 October 2011
Hundreds Seafood Restaurant, Southend-on-Sea: Review
I had a couple of hours to kill in Southend, so decided to treat myself to lunch. I drove along the seafront and saw the Hundreds Seafood Restaurant. I love seafood and assumed that the best place to indulge my cravings was at the seaside. Also, the Hundreds restaurant is a small shack, with the diners sitting in an awning complete with heat lamps. This place looked both quaint and a mess, so I thought that it must be a Southend institution, otherwise the council would have told them to smarten up, right? Afterall, this place is on the beach, just up the road from the rather posh Thorpe Bay. Maybe the food is so good, they don't have to look smart; the diners come back so often, this business hardly need try.
My assumptions were wrong.
I went in and saw that the last two diners were just leaving. I was in this place by myself. I found the waitress rather rude. She seemed to find it a terrible inconvenience that a customer was wanting some grub.
Their lunch menu consists of filled ciabattas, tapas and 8 meals. I didn't fancy a ciabatta, tapas are not ideal for a single diner, so I opted for the sea bass. The waitress abruptly told me that there was no seabass. Or mackerel. There didn't seem to be much fish on the premises really. I opted for the ham, eggs and chips, ordered a cappuccino and took a seat. My cappuccino arrived in a latte glass, and didn't taste very good. It was luke warm and not particularly coffee-like.
I was most disappointed with my meal. This restaurant is not cheap. At £7.95 for a simple meal of ham, eggs and chips, I had high expectations. As soon as the waitress gave me the food I knew I'd made a mistake. The eggs were not fried. They were poached in oil, where the white has no crispiness, colour or bubbles. These are not fried eggs! The ham was very wet and not nice. The bread and butter was a pointless addition to a heavy meal. The chips tasted of oil that needed to be changed.
It tasted like a meal I would have expected in a cheapo greasy spoon or naff chain pub. It tasted like it should have cost £5. It was not a meal I would have expected to be eating at a prime location on the Essex coast.
I will not be visiting again. I will try the chippy opposite.
My assumptions were wrong.
I went in and saw that the last two diners were just leaving. I was in this place by myself. I found the waitress rather rude. She seemed to find it a terrible inconvenience that a customer was wanting some grub.
Their lunch menu consists of filled ciabattas, tapas and 8 meals. I didn't fancy a ciabatta, tapas are not ideal for a single diner, so I opted for the sea bass. The waitress abruptly told me that there was no seabass. Or mackerel. There didn't seem to be much fish on the premises really. I opted for the ham, eggs and chips, ordered a cappuccino and took a seat. My cappuccino arrived in a latte glass, and didn't taste very good. It was luke warm and not particularly coffee-like.
I was most disappointed with my meal. This restaurant is not cheap. At £7.95 for a simple meal of ham, eggs and chips, I had high expectations. As soon as the waitress gave me the food I knew I'd made a mistake. The eggs were not fried. They were poached in oil, where the white has no crispiness, colour or bubbles. These are not fried eggs! The ham was very wet and not nice. The bread and butter was a pointless addition to a heavy meal. The chips tasted of oil that needed to be changed.
It tasted like a meal I would have expected in a cheapo greasy spoon or naff chain pub. It tasted like it should have cost £5. It was not a meal I would have expected to be eating at a prime location on the Essex coast.
I will not be visiting again. I will try the chippy opposite.
Monday 17 October 2011
Loch Fyne, Elton near Peterborough: Review
It was a beautiful autumn afternoon, and I was taking a relative to Loch Fyne for a birthday treat. I was looking forward to it; Elton is a beautiful village outside Peterborough, and the restaurant appeared to be inside an old building.
The service was somewhat frosty and sluggish. We were kept waiting a long time between courses. I opted for the King Prawns with Chilli, Lemon and Garlic to start. It was a very pleasant dish- there was just enough chilli for it to be warming, and enough garlic to be brave. My guest had the smoked salmon and rocket and was very happy with it.
The problems came with the main course. I opted for the talapia with a citrus marinade, new potatoes and samphire. I had mixed vegetables as a side order. I was being brave- I'd never tried talapia before. As it turned out, it was fine, just another white fish. I'm not sure I would have put a citrus marinade on it, especially when serving it with potatoes and samphire. The overall dish didn't really work as a whole. The mixed veg was a disaster. The carrots looked like they'd been peeled the day before and left out- they were grey round the edges. They were undercooked, but not as badly cooked as the broccoli. It was raw!
My guest had the dressed crab with new potatoes and green beans. She was bitterly disappointed- the crab meat was full of shell. A complaint was put in and we were told that the crab was dressed off-site. We were offered another main course, and chose whiting in parsley sauce with new potatoes. This was very good, but my guest felt slightly embarassed because I had nearly finished my meal by the time the whiting arrived.
It was a great shame. The restaurant has everything in its favour- a beautiful building, good parking, a nice village and a reputable brand. Sadly, it does not deliver, with the lack of care with the food and the poor service. I'll be sticking to the Chelmsford branch in future.
The service was somewhat frosty and sluggish. We were kept waiting a long time between courses. I opted for the King Prawns with Chilli, Lemon and Garlic to start. It was a very pleasant dish- there was just enough chilli for it to be warming, and enough garlic to be brave. My guest had the smoked salmon and rocket and was very happy with it.
The problems came with the main course. I opted for the talapia with a citrus marinade, new potatoes and samphire. I had mixed vegetables as a side order. I was being brave- I'd never tried talapia before. As it turned out, it was fine, just another white fish. I'm not sure I would have put a citrus marinade on it, especially when serving it with potatoes and samphire. The overall dish didn't really work as a whole. The mixed veg was a disaster. The carrots looked like they'd been peeled the day before and left out- they were grey round the edges. They were undercooked, but not as badly cooked as the broccoli. It was raw!
My guest had the dressed crab with new potatoes and green beans. She was bitterly disappointed- the crab meat was full of shell. A complaint was put in and we were told that the crab was dressed off-site. We were offered another main course, and chose whiting in parsley sauce with new potatoes. This was very good, but my guest felt slightly embarassed because I had nearly finished my meal by the time the whiting arrived.
It was a great shame. The restaurant has everything in its favour- a beautiful building, good parking, a nice village and a reputable brand. Sadly, it does not deliver, with the lack of care with the food and the poor service. I'll be sticking to the Chelmsford branch in future.
Sunday 16 October 2011
Quince jelly recipe
The quince. The result of a drunken fumbling between a pear and an apple.
Someone I know has a quince tree, but really does not know what to do with them. She gave me a bagfull of quinces to use at my pleasure.
The quince is an odd thing- rock hard, covered in fluff and smelling of apples. I decided to do some quince jelly as it looks beautiful, and was eager to know how one gets a ruby-red jelly from a biege sludge. As it was, it was dead easy. The quince is so rammed with pectin that I believe it would be impossible not to make a set jelly.
Here is the recipe, satisfying in that one does not need a degree in chemical engineering to understand it. You need:
Quinces
Granulated sugar
Juice of one lemon
Chop the quinces into chunks. Cover with water, add the lemon juice and boil the fruit, lid on, until it is very soft. This can take hours. When the fruit falls to pieces, mash the fruit with a potato masher. Strain the resulting mush through a jelly bag or a muslin cloth.
Measure the liquid. Using a pound of sugar per pint of juice, heat the juice and sugar until the sugar is dissolved. (Retain the fruit mush to make quince cheese.) Bring to the boil, and boil for 10 minutes. Behold the colour change from orange to red. After this, test the jelly to see if it has reached setting point. Dot a bit of jelly on a chilled plate and leave for a minute. Nudge the jelly with your finger. If it wrinkles, it's ready. It not, boil for 3 more minutes. Repeat this process until it's set.
Once the set point is reaches, pour into sterilised, hot jars, cover with a wax disk and seal.
The resulting jelly is beautiful and tastes fruity, but perfumed, like it has a hint of rose water. It's quite hard to describe, so have a go.
Someone I know has a quince tree, but really does not know what to do with them. She gave me a bagfull of quinces to use at my pleasure.
The quince is an odd thing- rock hard, covered in fluff and smelling of apples. I decided to do some quince jelly as it looks beautiful, and was eager to know how one gets a ruby-red jelly from a biege sludge. As it was, it was dead easy. The quince is so rammed with pectin that I believe it would be impossible not to make a set jelly.
Here is the recipe, satisfying in that one does not need a degree in chemical engineering to understand it. You need:
Quinces
Granulated sugar
Juice of one lemon
Chop the quinces into chunks. Cover with water, add the lemon juice and boil the fruit, lid on, until it is very soft. This can take hours. When the fruit falls to pieces, mash the fruit with a potato masher. Strain the resulting mush through a jelly bag or a muslin cloth.
Measure the liquid. Using a pound of sugar per pint of juice, heat the juice and sugar until the sugar is dissolved. (Retain the fruit mush to make quince cheese.) Bring to the boil, and boil for 10 minutes. Behold the colour change from orange to red. After this, test the jelly to see if it has reached setting point. Dot a bit of jelly on a chilled plate and leave for a minute. Nudge the jelly with your finger. If it wrinkles, it's ready. It not, boil for 3 more minutes. Repeat this process until it's set.
Once the set point is reaches, pour into sterilised, hot jars, cover with a wax disk and seal.
The resulting jelly is beautiful and tastes fruity, but perfumed, like it has a hint of rose water. It's quite hard to describe, so have a go.
Tuesday 4 October 2011
Steak marinade recipe
Well, I think I must be a genius. We were having steak for dinner the other day, but I'm not keen on the unadulterated steak flavour. I hadn't got time to look up a steak marinade, so I tried to recreate the flavour of the steaks from Cafe Rouge.
I put salt, pepper, oil, chunks of garlic and some smashed-up rosemary into a bowl. I left the steak in the bowl for 30mins, and made sure I removed all chunks of garlic from the steak before cooking.
It was delicious.
I put salt, pepper, oil, chunks of garlic and some smashed-up rosemary into a bowl. I left the steak in the bowl for 30mins, and made sure I removed all chunks of garlic from the steak before cooking.
It was delicious.
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