Jon Tseng

That's Bjorn van her Thingymejig to you sir! NB two weeks til Noisette cracks off... http://www.gordonramsay.com/corporate/late.../newsitem9.html

You'll find almost every haute joint has a variation on steak and potatoes for precisely this eventuality, so you should be fine almost anywhere, with the exception of Lecture Room ro Fat Duck. Think about the Wolesley. It doesn't meet the criteria for fabulous or starry food, but if you want an object lesson in how to to run a slick front of house and satisfy both volume and quality its hard to beat. J

Loved the old multi-purpose-patisserie-boulangerie-traiteur-chocolatier shop selection Now unfortunately lobotomised since the refurb. Wouldn't be surprised at the food - the takeout was pretty nice in its day J PS surely Gascon cuisine rather than Bordelais?

I've got this nagging note in my head which says the Quanjude duck was RMB164 back in 1997. Then again could have been 128 or 168. That was for the posher one where you went and picked your duck from the hanger and marked it with a brush before the roasted it Either way doesn't look as if prices have moved much at all! l8tr J ps, yeah RMB40 sounds like a *sh*tload* for a niuroumian. Heck that would get your three big mac meals right?

One modification that has worked in the past is roasting at a very low temp (c150c) for 2-3 hours and then blasting in hot oven grill just at the very end to crisp it up. keeps the meat moister. we use shoulder. J

inter alia J

Had that baby once at the Restaurant Hyde Park back in the day. It was on the cheapo lunchtime set. Toothachingly sweet though - pastry chef had dumped far far too much sugar in. The stripes were nice though (went well with the wallpaper, if I recall) J PS Welcome Sticky!

Actually I think they have - by hook or by crook - come up with a perfectly reasonable menu. There is a decent mix of hot and cold dishes, cooking methods (marinade, pan-fry, braise, patisserie) and ingredients (with the exception of the fish-then-fish start - but note how the fish dishes are enormously dissimilar). The only real criticism I can see is that it isn't massively summer-seasonal. It is more an autumn menu. If I were nit-picking it may also be a little heavy in the middle (Turbot, Oxtail, Venison all hearty) - depends on the portion control I guess. On a practical note with two cold dishes, plus an oxtail component you can prep ahead it is also eminently suited for a banqueting situation (viz souffles). All in all I'd be very happy to have that menu. It is neither boring dull, nor off-the-wall radical. It however is recognisably British. J

Note that the commercial candied flowers do, basically, seem to be 99% coloured/flavour sugar with a sliver of drive out petal inside - snap one in half and see tasty, but more akin to sugar cubes than fresh blooms J

Booths at borough sell tubs of "edible flowers" Obvious lavender is a classic with all sorts of creams, ice-creams etc. La Trouvaille in London do it with lamb. Don't know if Daniel Patterson's "Aroma" book may have any ideas. Its mainly about essential oils (some floral). Does that count? Still waiting for the Elder to come out in Denmark Hill so I can (hopefully) make some cordial... ta J

I disagree this is the nadir of telly chefs. Far from it; a flawed series certainly with the problems focusing, as has been noted, around pacing and choice of presenter. Nonetheless there is much to recommend it: 1) (Generally) good chefs putting thought and effort into assembling seasonal banqueting menus. You get a reasonable idea of the thought process behind each dish. 2) It is interesting seeing name chefs what is basically a tarted up cookery competition scenario - its the sort of thing chefs enter into fairly early on in careers to build cv points, experience and gain recognition but something you rarely see senior chefs trying their hand at. 3) Jenny Bond immensely irritating, largely because she gives the impression, either unintentionally or not, of knowing nothing about the subject in hand. But thankfully the judging panel have enormous credibility, although their egregious disagreements sometimes feel a little manufactured. I don't think anyone here can quibble with their breadth of genuine industry experience and track records. 4) Worth the price of admission seeing Galston Blackiston kick AWTs ass. Astute shoppers will note he has also just released a cookbook, although flicking through it at Borders it appears worthy but uninspired. J

Wolesey is everything Quags should be The recently much beloved arbutus is a ten minute walk from st james up shaftesbury ave ta J

Ah, I was wondering what he's been up to since MiB II sorry... J

On the pricing point Bar Shu is pricing itself above the market, sometimes significantly above. I have a nagging suspicion this may rebound on them - it will probably affect casual footfall custom in soho who a) only want sweet and sour pork and crispy aromatic duck anyway and b) can find this cheaper elsewhere in Chinatown. Unless it can build a sustainable franchise as "the sichuan place" and get away with charging more it may struggle. The comparison is with eCapital which tried to be different as the "the shanghai place" but over time seems to have emphasised this less and less. On the other hand I suspect they are running cheaper prices to get local custom in. Basically whenever I'm there I get chucked in the basement with loads of mainland chinese all having very similar communal pots of some kind of stew or another. I suspect they are getting a cheap deal as a) everyone seems to be having the same thing and b) think it unlikely mainlanders could afford the menu prices. Unfortunately my putonghua isn't good enough to verify this. ta J

Bin to BS twice Going to Arbutus tomorra Both on Frith St right? Would make an interesting double-header if one is hungry ta J

Thats the Martin Beragatsui (sp) signature, rite?

Pretty sure that means they'd chop it up in the kitchen, so you'd get what? a plate for skin and a plate of meat rather than the whole quack.

It its called "Blue Belt" and trying to serve tepid French "Tapas" on a Japanese Kaiten Belt, that's quite a likely sign. J

Ah ok... understand now... sort of like pain perdu (aka eggy fried bread)... you need to let it soak in milk a bit to sog before you fry I think the salad you mean is panzanella... tomateoey bread and other gubbins On a mildly related note there is a wonderful dish from Xi'an in China called Yangrou paomour (sp) where you break chunks of flatbread into little niblets into your bowl (the smaller the pieces the better) and then ladle a delicious steam mutton broth over the top. heaven in a bowl and dirt cheap locally even better, in fact than that 49p hamburger... l8tr J

Unfair - as total outlay is more like four or five quid, esp given you'd have to buy a decent sized block of butter, not just a scrape. Not convined by tinned tomatoes on toast - the problem is all that juice tends to soak into the toast and make it soggy. Maybe it'll work with a fried slice? Beans on toast maybe - important to use cheap and nasty margarine. Doesn't taste quite the same with propah butter (same logic applies to bacon butties) Actually for cheap tastes I'd nominate 49p McDonalds hamburgers when they have them on special cheapo offer. Four for two quid Mmmm... Teenage hanging-around-in-the-shopping-centre nostalgia. Yes slightly controversial I know but then again I think I'm the only person who know who desperate wanted to go and buy a McD's hamburger after reading Fast Food Nation... J

Theres a degustation which is a smidgen over E200 on its own I think alc would be more expensive In think prevailing opinion is to strongly advise going alc rather than tasting - to be honest alc the dishes are split into so many small bites that you effectively get a tasting anyway, and the dishes on the degustation are a bit duller Dunno budget E250-400 a head depending on booze? Don't think about the price, just regard it as a sunk cost, squeeze your eyes shut tight and dive in... J

Not for a long time, although I would add I had the best fry-up of my life at that service station. We were on the way back from an ice-hockey match. The match had been in Hull. The road-trip was about six hours. Face off had been in the vicinity of midnight. We lost 23-0. We stopped off at the services for a bite just before getting back to Oxf. I think it was about 5am and we were all a bit gaga by then. Best damn fry-up of my life, although I daresay it had nothing to do with the food... J

Go to Locanda Locatelli The full alc is normally available. if you want something lighter theres no cheapo set but the pasta starters are reasonably priced if you super-size them. Alternately for gastronomy + lively go to Hakksan or Yauatcha J

Royal China along the block one usually stuffs oneself for fifteen quid ok, maybe not ticking the civilised box J

Just went and picked up/scoffed eleven assorted macaroons just in case damn they're good. by some way the best in London AND less then half the price of Laduree How u keeping suze? J