Zizzi, Essex. CM14 4AN

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

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-.

______________

LIVEBAIT, London. WC2E 7DN.

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.

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!

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