Ian

Hi guys, I have found a restaurant serving genuine Sichuanese food. I took Fuchsia Dunlop to it a wee while ago and she told me she was impressed. They serve Gong Po Chicken, Ma Po Tofu, Double-cooked Pork and other dishes the authentic way. The restaurant's details: Blue Thames Dolphin House Riverside West The Boulevard Smuggler's Way Wandsworth London SW18 1DE Tel: 020 8874 9878, 020 8871 3881 Fax: 020 8877 0693 If you are travelling by public transport, get the train from London Waterloo to Wandsworth Town. The restaurant is 5 minutes walk. It's a large, modern restaurant set by the river. Their current main menu is very westernised and full of Cantonese dishes so the best thing is to call ahead and speak to the owner, Helen Li. All the best, -- Ian

Tamiam, My guess is the black soy is probably the dark soy sauce. Can you tell me some of the recipes it's being used in? Is it being used alongside "Soy", "Thin soy" or "Light soy"? "Breath of a wok" is excellent. You should also try to get a hold of Grace's first book, The wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen - it's great. I assume you've found her website at http://www.graceyoung.com/ I would love to know about your neighbor's book... All the best,

Hi Tamian, In most cookbooks: thick soy sauce = dark soy sauce thin soy sauce = light soy sauce ...but just to make life complicated, there's another thick soy sauce (containing molasses) which is mostly used as a colouring or in hotpots and casseroles. The sweet soy sauce you have is another variant but it's mostly used in Indonesian cooking, not Chinese. I would assume black soy sauce is dark soy sauce as dark soy sauce is normally black while light soy sauce is generally brown. I hope this helps. All the best,

What a great discussion. I'm off to Edinburgh in a couple of weeks. I'm intending to visit a few Chinese places, the Atrium and V&C. Any thoughts on where I could go to sample some really good Scots food? All the best, -- Ian Fenn http://www.chopstix.com/

I'm afraid I disagree but a discussion on the topic is probably off-topic for egullet. All the best, -- Ian Fenn Chopstix Media http://www.chopstixmedia.com/

Hi Jon, I couldn't agree more - but I'm somewhat biased as I build restaurant websites as a freelance web producer. Earlier this month I reviewed several hundred restaurant websites - very few seemed to make a real contribution to the running of the restaurant concerned. The Chez Bruce website - http://www.chezbruce.co.uk/ - is one of the better websites I found during my search but unfortunately it hasn't really been designed to score highly in search engine listings. The same is true of Tom Aikens - http://www.tomaikens.co.uk/ - and The Square - http://www.the-square.co.uk/ All the best, -- Ian Fenn Chopstix Media http://www.chopstixmedia.com/

I rest my case. :-) All the best,

Hey, Thanks for the comments. They've really helped! I must have checked over a hundred restaurant websites over the past week. I wasn't that impressed and your feedback has convinced me that I'm not going mad! The most common problems are lack of ease to vital information (Contact details, location, etc) and a distinct lack of humanity - some are too corporate for their own good! I think many customers like to be treated courteously as individuals when they enter a restaurant. Surely the websites should act in the same way? The use of Flash is an interesting question. In all cases I felt Flash just got in the way as stopped me getting to the information I needed as quickly as I wanted to. Very frustrating. All the best,

As a web producer, this thread interests me greatly. Has the situation changed one year on? Are there any more great restaurants websites out there? If you have a favourite, I'd love to know about it... All the best, -- Ian

I haven't tried the cherry one, but Maya Gold is fantastic. I did try the milk chocolate the other day and for some reason it tasted like roast beef. I kid you not.

I went back to Golden Dynasty and the dim sum had improved greatly compared to my previous visit. I was less impressed though when I took a bite out of a beautiful dumpling only to discover a 3 inch black hair. I called the manager who looked shocked and took the item of the bill immediately. I work in a kitchen so I appreciate things like this can happen but yeeeuuuukkk! All the best,

There are fewer dim sum items on offer at Phoenix Palace but I would agree the standard of cooking is better than at Royal China. Evening meals are good too, particularly the monthly specials. All the best,

I've been to Yauatcha twice and was impressed with the food on both occasions. I guess it just goes to show you can't please all of the people all of the time... All the best,

Last time I went to Golden Dynasty I felt it had a number of original dim sum items for which they should congratulated. Sadly I also felt the cooking wasn't quite up to scratch. Given the posts here, I'll obviously have to pop back. All the best,

I actually preferred the second episode. In the first show there was a lot of swearing and a hint of Gordon's passion. As John suggests, the second episode highlighted much more clearly Gordon's passion for both producing great food and looking after staff who repay him with talent and hard work. I'd work for him at the drop of a hat if he needed what I can offer! All the best,

Since they started mass-producing dim sum, sadly only the specials remain interesting... occasionally. All the best, -- Ian Fenn One man and his wok - http://www.chopstix.com/

Someone who tells me what I need to know. And no more.

Mum-Mum gets my vote. Another I like is The Food Section All the best,

Aww... And I didn't get to point out that I'm a restaurant reviewer who trained as a professional chef. Drat. I really wanted to know from disgusted what he feels I am. All the best,

Suddenly I'm vegetarian. All the best,

I'd be happy to do that for someone courteous. All the best,

I disagree. All the best,

Hey, don't forget that there are some good reviewers out there.

Fuchsia is quite correct. The last one I went to was in Paris, which is only 2 hours and 35 minutes away from London via Eurostar :-) All the best,

I would love to see something official to indicate this ban actually exists though. Ah well. We can't always get what we want. Well, this webpage suggests that the prickly ash is already being grown in North America. All the best,