Suzi Edwards

You'll be wanting to book a trip to Chicago very soon then.

That's the badger. Thanks Jon. Has anyone been? Gary?

I would book. Dinner at the Ebury the other week definitely needed as a reservation, as would the Drapers on a weekend. I think you could eat downstairs at either without a reservation, but you might find yourself waiting. I'm a bit OCD about reservations - hence why I'll never eat at the Anchor and Hope in Waterloo, another gastro pub you might want to consider. What's your list looking like at the moment?

That's interesting feedback on the wine. I didn't feel my wine service really worked and considered it a lowpoint of the meal. However, quibbles aside I'm really, really glad you enjoyed it so much! I can't wait to go back, guess I need to find out when the menu is changing next. There's another restaurant nearby (Windemere?) which I want to visit. Begins with a G..Maybe a Gy. Can anyone remind me? Has anyone been?

Didn't really like Anthony's. Not a popular opinion I'm guessing but I thought it lacked consistency and atmosphere and he service was pretty poor despite good intentions, some excellent technique and some interesting food. I guess I need to write about it, but I'm more interested in writing about places I like, not places I don't like. Overall, I'm not surprised it didn't get a star and I came away feeling that I had travelled a long way for a not great meal. My brother was flabbergasted that I'd taken him there. The last place I took him to was WD-50 and he was scared and amazed in equal measures. Could just be one of those meals where expectations were sky high though, so maybe they never had a chance of delivering. I also know that I've been spoiled recently. Maybe I need to recalibrate my expectations :-)

Why is that Samantha? Maybe you would like to post a report of your last visit on the Aikens thread?

Thanks for the tip, I'll include them from now on. If anyone else has any ideas for good sources, please PM me.

This week we have a new source for your delectation, those lovely people at The Evening Standard once you've registered. We'll start with the bad this week... Victor Lewis-Smith is in Harrogate this week, but finds little to constructive to say about Betty's Tea Room in Harrogate. Marina O'Loughlin discovering that The Grand Salon at Homage in the Waldorf is And she wins my award for "Simile of the Week"Jay Rayer finds little that he can't get two minutes away at The Chinese Experience on Shaftesbury Avenue. But he can't be all wrong as he agrees with me about the thickness of the dumpling wrappers. Giles Coren gets physical at Champney's Health Farm in Bedfordshire But let's move onto the more positive... Richard Johnson enjoys a flash of shin at The Black Boy's Inn, Hurley, Berkshire Interesting review from AA Gill in the Sunday Times when he visits Iranian restaurant Mohsen in W14 Jan Moir explores one of eGullet's favourites, Le Champignon Sauvage in Cheltenham Finally we have Fay Maschler onSoho Spice in, erm, Soho (Wardour Street)

Jan Moir gets all superlative about this place in this week's Telegraph

Jay Rayner in disagreeing with eGullet shocker! He reviews The Chinese Experience in this week's Observer.

Victor Lewis Smith add his two-pennorth about Betty's in Harrogate in the Guardian

This is incredible, thanks so much for sharing. I'm interested in your use of Granny Smith's apples- I had always believed you would use Bramleys. Have you tried experimenting with other varieties?

What a lovely post! Welcome to eGullet! I too returned to Shanghai Blues last week and was able to deflower a friend of his Shanghai Soup Dumpling virginity. The look on his face as he supped the soup was almost as good as the dumplings themselves. Well, perhaps not quite. We concentrated on seafood this time as they say it's their speciality; steamed crab with garlic, black bean and dace, scallops with abalone sauce and then some bok choi with garlic. The crab was sublime, served roughly chopped into huge sweet chunks, just perfect messy finger food. The scallops were perfect specimens, coated in a rich, deep sauce and served with shitake mushrooms that were a great textural compliment. Even the rice was great! Drinks beforehand in the bar were less sucessful and I have a sense that the bar is just bedding in. The cocktail list is short and kind of strange. There are several cocktails made with spirit I'd never heard of before (and am having a mental block on at the moment. Begins with an X) I tried a sort of mojito that basically tasted like children's cough medicine, so I quickly moved onto champagne. My friend had "Purple Bubbles" a vodka/cassis cocktail that slipped down too easily, but that looked like something you'd serve at a children's party. I hadn't noticed before, but the room is huge, with a mezzanine floor and another large room off to one side. It's dark and sexy, just perfect for winter nights, but I do wonder what its charms would be like in the summer or during the day. However, for the moment, Shanghai Blues is my favourite restaurant within hopping distance to my office. It's expensive, and I'm not convinced it's at Hakkasan levels yet, but I would rate the dim sum at the same level and I'd like to go with someone who knows a lot more about Chinese food than I do (Jon!!!) to try out some more of the menu. On my two visits I know that I've liked everything I've eaten so far.

Yep, sorry, thought I'd said that but clearly fingers don't know what the mind is thinking today. It is really, really, really good though. And certainly a cheaper option that Ramsey, for example. As meals go it could be a dual blow out/Indian option.

I can recommend the following from personal experience. Indian: Rasoi Vineet Bhatia Mela Chowki Gastropub: Drapers Arms The Ebury There is a thread about the Gastro Pub survey that you might find useful.

I believe that to be true. Given that I have eaten Ramsay's food and that of his proteges a number of times and greatly enjoyed it, it follows that he must fundamentally be a good man and that the temper he is renowned for is for the sake of expediency in the kitchen alone. ← Or perhaps the temper he is now renowned for is for the sake of a carefully crafted media persona. IMHO Ramsey is no longer a chef, he's a celebrity.

Well, it's not so much that he cares but we were chatting about it as I was teaching him how to make paella and it came up. I actually think there might be something to this. If you think about the social demographic of people who travel to Spain vs those who travel to Italy and France you'd probably find a significant difference in the amount of times they eat out in the UK. You'd also find a significant difference in the food they eat while they're away. If you've ever travelled around the tourist areas of Spain, maybe even if your only trip was a pilgrimage to El Bulli, you can't have failed to notice that the restaurants are mainly of the scampi and chips/burgers/full English variety. This is why when you go to El Bulli your main alternative food choice is Rafa's, pretty much the only other restaurant in Roses that doesn't have a badly spelled menu in five languages outside the door. Actually, that's a red herring Dirk. There are very, very few Japanese restaurants outside of London, especially compared to say, the number of Italians, Chinese and Indians. So, the second two are there because of immigration patterns, the former, possibly because of holidays.

Allan did a great thread about confit duck. The same for tatin would make me very, very happy....:-)

Have you decided whicj menu you're going to go for? Whereabouts are you staying?

I notice you use tobiko (topiko?) in your recipe. Do you know where you can get wasabi tobiko in London?

I'm very interested in the avant garde movement. Call it molecular gastronomy, culinary constructivism, whatever you want. How does Michelin view the current avant garde movement in cookery? Is there any tension between what its customers might traditionally look for in the guide and its ability to recommend the most experimental chefs to its readership? Also, how much is Michelin affected by global trend in food?

I stumbled past this place the other night and decided to pop in after a very long day. I think the words "shanghai soup dumplings" must have caught my eye as I was hurrying along, but clearly I was compelled to go in. The restaurant decor is more Hakkasan than Royal China, and if reports are to be believed, the refit from library to restaurant cost £2.5m. They are clearly just bedding in at the moment, so they're offering 40% off the food bill, but early indicators suggest this might be a place worth keeping an eye on. I'm going back on Tuesday, so I'll post more about the food then, but from my snacks last week I prefered the soup dumplings to the ones at The Chinese Experience. Shanghai Blues, 193-197 High Holborn London

I've said it before and I'll say it again; Terry Durack has become my favourite reviewer. I don't always agree with him (and I'm glad we ignored his advice about the scallop starter at RVT as it was very good) but he is consistently on the money. Does anyone know any bio info about him?

This place has been getting fine reviews. Has anyone eaten here yet? I loved Terry Durak's review from The Independent, especially his query about whether this might be a watershed restaurant for British cuisine. Although, I wonder if he's forgetting St John when he writes that. Do we think that British food is looking up?

Try www.anthonysrestaurant.co.uk