Bliss or Miss? | Shoryu Ramen

I recently visited a little gem I frequent on Regent Street, London named Shoryu Ramen. Since its opening in November 2012 they have been offering their Hakata Tonkotsu ramen, a recipe which was specially designed by executive chef, Kanji Furukawa. 

Shoryu translates to mean 'to bring good fortune'.

I find Shoryu to be an understated, modest establishment, however its popularity speaks for itself. You cannot reserve a table ahead of time and frequently I spot a line that reaches way outside into the busy streets of Soho. A ringing endorsement in itself and an indication of quality before you even enter the front door!

Their menu is refreshingly simple - as their name suggests, they mainly offer steaming bowls of ramen, amongst other small plates and of course, steamed buns!

I HAD to try their steamed buns as this delicious creation is one of my latest favourites. For those yet to discover these beauties, a steamed bun - as the name suggests, consists of a variety of fillings, encased in a pillowy, fluffy steamed-dough bun

I opted to try two different variations, the Char Sui barbecue pork belly (left) and the soy marinated chicken Karaage (right). Now I'm never short of an opinion, but I REFUSE to pick a favourite, they are both unbelievably spot-on. The pork belly was packed with flavour and smothered in charred-sweet sauce, which married well with the crunch of the salad and the softness of the bun, whilst the contrast of the crispiness of the chicken against the cloud-soft bun was to die for!

You just simply have to try these, plus they offer more variations on their menu, namely; their ginger salmon Tatsutage, their tiger prawn Tempura, and their vegetarian-friendly, grilled Halloumi & Shimeji mushrooms.

Quite honestly, after those two delicious helpings of steamed buns - I really couldn't imagine tackling their rich, generous serving of Ramen - I had to give myself a break! 

But I finally opted for their Kotteri Hakata Tonkotsu - their signature 12-hour ramen, but with a richer, meatier broth. 

I loved this dish, it has variety, balance and is the exact antidote to a hectic day, rushing around London. This steaming bowl of warmth allows you to take a much-needed pause.

Ok, I will admit that I had to take half of this serving home to enjoy, however I'd argue that after the flavours were able to muddle for even longer it made for an even more delicious serving. Don't be ashamed to take your ramen on the tube home!

Shoryu Ramen isn't the least expensive establishment you can visit, but its comforting simplicity, packed with flavour keeps me coming back. A would definitely recommend this to anyone who is an Asian-food lover. Or to anyone who has yet to try their first bowl of Ramen or steamed-bun - this is a great place to start!

...And a tip to any Ramen-lover on a budget - you can take a ramen, steamed-bun and a drink to go for just £12 with their go PACKAGE. 

I've only ever visited their Regent St. location, but why not visit their other restaurants located in Soho, Carnaby and Liverpool Street? Does anyone have a preference? Let me know!

Happy Slurping!

Tweets about @shoryuramen @laurajreeves

Bliss or Miss? | Ai Sushi

Location
London, UK

Food&Drink
Lycée Juice
Ebi Maki (8 pieces)
Gyoza (4 pieces)
Tuna Maki (6 Pieces)
Soft Shell Crab Maki (8 pieces)

Total
£28.20

I always have time for sushi and this impromptu visit to the Ai Sushi in North London gave me a perfect opportunity to sample their versions of Japanese classics.

Ai Sushi is everything a Japanese joint should be, with cushions on the floor, bamboo sprouting out of the ground and copious helpings of soy sauce and green tea.

The menu has everything I would expect from a Japanese menu, a variety of delicious starters, maki, nigiri, sashimi and hot dishes. I however had sushi on the brain.

(Not sure what these items mean? Check out the handy sushi guide at the bottom of the post!)

Those of you reading along to my blogs will know as soon as I see Lycée on the menu I will order it, so of course I selected this delicious juice to accompany my food.

My first order was the ‘Ebi Maki’ - crunchy prawn and avocado wrapped in sesame sprinkled sticky rice. I have to say this was the winning dish of the night for us.

We also sampled some Gyoza, these came bursting with freshly prepared chicken and vegetables and were a nice addition to the sushi, I do however prefer my gyoza more crispy.

We also tried their soft-shell crab Maki, this was also a winner with the delicately sweet crab meat, complimenting the dense mayonnaise and light cucumber.

Just to finish off, we selected to try some Tuna Maki - incredibly simple with maki filled with just a small chunk of tuna meat, it was a good addition to round off the meal to ensure fullness with an inexpensive dish at £3.60 for six pieces.

The food was delicious and the service was excellent, very attentive and friendly - I would say the price point was medium and Ai Sushi definitely get points taken off as they have an illusive ‘all you can eat’ menu which was available, but we were not made aware. I feel this is something we would have certainly opted for, it’s just a shame we missed out on that opportunity.

None the less, tasty sushi, friendly service in a cute, authentic environment. 

I also thought I’d attach my Sushi infographic - for those Sushi beginners out there!

Bliss or Miss? | Dürüm

Location

London, UK

Food&Drink

Cherry Juice

Ispanak Boregi (Pastry Filled with Feta Cheese & Spinach)

Ali Nazik Kebap (Grilled Aubergine, Garlic, Yoghurt, and Lamb Beyti)

Keskul (Almond-based Milk Pudding)

Total

£21.35

Dürüm is not fancy, glitzy or glamorous. There is no ‘tasting menu’, no ‘amuse-bouche’ and no one will take your coat to the cloakroom. What Dürüm delivers is pure gastronomic, authentic ocakbasi bliss, from people who love and care about food for people who love eating it.

For those who are familiar with the term ‘ocakbasi’, it just simply refers to Turkish cuisine cooked on a fired grill and Dürüm deliver it perfectly. 

All dinner guests at Dürüm are laden with their delicious flat bread, which is incredibly moreish especially when accompanied by their homemade garlic mayonnaise and tomato and chill sauces.

Glancing over their menu, it proves hard to select just the right choice with 33 starters and 48 main dishes. Now this seems extensive and a large menu is always a warning sign for me because it rapidly diminishes any chance for freshness, however Dürüm’s palette of ingredients is actually very simple, with aubergine, green pepper, tomato, garlic, yoghurt, rice, chicken and lamb making up a vast majority of the menu. It is the multitude of flavour combinations that Dürüm present before you that makes dining choice tantalisingly impossible!

For starters I opted for their feta and spinach pastries, they were soft, warming delights and generous in their portioning. As you can see from the photos, the food comes with a no-frills attitude or presentation, just freshly prepared, deliciousness.

As usual I find it hard to decide what to choose to eat, and I find this especially difficult at Dürüm to select just the right combination of fresh ingredients for me. I let my love of aubergine guide me to the ‘Ali Nazik Kebap’, a yoghurt laden, meat-rich platter served on a bed of grilled aubergine.

Now, I must warn you to only think of venturing into Dürüm if you are ravenously hungry, because the meals are not dainty and you will not want to waste a morsel of the pure piquancy. 

Upon speaking to a couple of members of the wonderful staff, you not only get a feel for its family-run business environment, but the pure passion and enthusiasm for authentic quality that is a shared mantra throughout. Quality is the raison d’être and they do not appear to cut corners with this, with their meat freshly delivered every morning from local producers and every inch of their menu freshly prepared. The beautifully, vibrant and simple taste is the result and a taste that makes you hooked from the very first visit.

Uncompromising quality comes at a price, but Dürüm does not hurt the pocket, Dürum’s family run environment makes you feel looked after and they are truly generous in their portions and their discounting. Eating in the restaurant automatically earns you at 10% discount and the kind staff even gave me my dessert for free, which i just had to take home after hitting an almighty ‘food-wall’ after the previous two courses. My dessert, an all-time favourite of mine of ‘Keskul’ or a set milk pudding was beautifully smooth and comforting, with a sprinkling of cinnamon lacing the light, almondy milk.

Two people, three courses each and a £40 bill to show for it. Dürüm get it right and provide addictively delicious food, generosity, friendly customer service at an unbeatable price. Without a doubt, I award them a,

MY YELP RATING

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Bliss or Miss? | Inamo St. James

This is a restaurant I’ve been looking forward to reviewing for a long time and it is after my second visit to Inamo St. James that I write about my visits. 

My first visit to Inamo was for my Father’s Birthday and I was so shocked by the service that I tweeted them. With all due credit to them, they responded and offered me a chance to experience Inamo again with a £100 cover to sweeten the deal. I have to hand it to their managerial staff members here, they sure know how to resolve an issue and really listened to me and that is something I prize so highly.

And so it was time for take 2, we went back to Inamo for another try. I was first attracted to Inamo because of its modern and unique concept. For those of you that aren’t familiar with how they work - at Inamo your menu is projected down onto the table and each user has a cursor that is operated by touching a little pad on the table and with this you can: browse through the menu and see the dish projected in front of you, change the colour of the table, order food, play games, spy on the kitchen and call the waiter. It is definitely a concept that works and I enjoy being able to order food and drink, as and when I please.

Lycée is my favourite fruit and so anything flavoured lycée, I will immediately try, especially when combined with vodka! So I ordered the Lycée Martini, it was nicely balanced and I definitely would order it again.

Moving onto starters, I opted for the continental classic of satay chicken, I have to say that Inamo’s rendition really does hit the mark and I did appreciate their hint of coconut sprinkled onto the sticky chicken

I am definitely a self-confessed sushi-holic and so I opted, not for a main course, but for two further starters of sushi. I ordered the soft shell crab maki which was delicious, I just wish there was more of it! The dense and creamy avocado complimented the sweet and soft crab meat beautifully.

The tuna maki was also very nice with the tuna meat wrapped around the sushi roll I definitely prefer this more meaty rendition than a small chunk in the centre

So the food was good, it was tasty - but what about the service? After all, this is what really sets apart a good experience from a bad, a positive from a negative and ultimately the decider for me, as to whether to return and to recommend.

I have to say that once again the service fell so flat for me and this was something I consulted my party of 5 people about and they all agreed. The serving staff just simply don’t listen to you. I know that the unique concept cuts out half of their customer contact because they don’t actually take the orders, but it feels to me like Inamo have skimped on their customer service training because of it. 

The staff are incredibly forgetful and do not follow through with requests, such as my sister requesting a glass of water and when the staff offered me soy sauce to go with my sushi, I very audibly said, ‘yes please’ and without a word this member of staff turned around and walked away. This confused my party immensely and made for a very frustrating experience once again. This is two of many, many plunders.

The only request that the staff members have been quick to follow up with on both visits was bringing the bill over and I just feel like for a restaurant with everything else in place, why can’t the staff make you feel comfortable, valued and frustration free? Especially at their price point. Their gracious offer of £100 covered half of the bill and I was glad of it because I would not have felt comfortable for paying the normal price for the experience.

So thank you Inamo, for one more chance. The restaurant looks lovely, the food is yummy, but the service just hits way below the mark for me and has made for two visits I will remember for the wrong reasons. 

It is with regret I award this restaurant with so much potential a,

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Bliss or Miss | The Alto Lounge

I always enjoy taking the trip back to my hometown (Reading, UK) to visit my friends and family and a couple of days ago I had the opportunity to visit one of my favourite little treasures, the under-stated ‘Alto Lounge’ in Caversham with my Mum.

The Alto Lounge provides a quirky, unique feel with its cosy, rustic and relaxed atmosphere. The menu absolute sings to me with everything from cinnamon french toast, to burgers, hotdogs, curry and tapas.

There’s something for everyone and the most important facet of all, they are so flexible and accommodating. My Mum unfortunately has coeliac disease (and so can’t eat gluten), and the staff ensured my Mum that they would bake her fries in the oven instead of frying them to ensure zero cross-contamination. Brilliant. A really refreshing change from the dumbstruck look she normally gets.

Sitting in the candle-lit ambience, my Mother was able to relax in the knowledge that she would be enjoying food that is safe for her and I searched the menu, spoilt for choice.

Typically I couldn’t decide what to have, this time it was between Macaroni Cheese and a Hot dog. But then I came across, ‘The Real Mac’ - ‘A pork frank topped with truffle mac and cheese, sautéed portobella mushroom, onions and Swiss cheese’. Perhaps peculiar for some, but it completely suited me, so was an easy choice.

Customer service was impeccable and the food was delicious, I simply had to try a dessert and opted for the warming, sticky toffee pudding. The menu described, ‘Sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce and vanilla ice cream’, I asked if I could have custard instead and of course this was not a problem for them. I was not disappointed, it was indulgent bliss.

The Alto Lounge is an absolute hidden treasure in Reading, the family-friendly, flexible customer service and quirky, ornate decor may fool you into thinking you’ve stumbled across a one-of-kind, independent hang-out. But there are in fact over 40 lounges over the UK - I’d love to visit a few others to see how similar they are and I implore you to find your nearest: thelounges.co.uk The website is actually really cool too.

Without a doubt, bona fide, bliss

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