Lack of reviews in 2009

In 2009 I discovered Twitter and started to tweet about food, golf and travel so I stopped blogging as I found the immediacy of Twitter much easier to work with.

However, I've begun to find Twitter's 160 character limit a bit constraining for some reviews so in 2010 I will be posting some more blogs for notable restaurants. I will be combining short tweets with some longer reviews.

If you are interested in my witterings about food, golf and travel then you can also follow my tweets at http://twitter.com/pasmyth

Restaurant: Wolfgang Puck Cafe, Orlando

First visit Nov 08
When in Orlando one of the must-visit places is Downtown Disney. It's an artificial village built around a lake and it really comes alive at night.

From the west end at Cirque du Soleil, passing through Pleasure Island in the middle, to the opposite end at the Rainforest Cafe it's about a 3k walk.

The streets are lined with bars, cafes, restaurants and shops. Music from the bars & cafes can be heard as you walk along.

Opposite the Virgin store is Wolfgang Puck's Cafe.

Wolfgang Puck is not well known in the UK but he is famous in the USA for his TV appearances and his restaurants such as Spago in Los Angeles.

I was aware of his reputation for running high-end restaurants so I went to his cafe expecting it to be somewhat exclusive. In fact, when you enter you are immediately struck by the buzz of the place. You also quickly notice that many families with children are dining there. It's got more of a feeling of TGI Friday than a top-end restaurant.

However any comparison with TGIF quickly disappears when you see the menu and the prices. As I was on my own I was given a seat at one of the counters where all the starters were cooked. As a lone diner this is an ideal place to sit as it gives you a chance to watch what's going on and occasionally chat to the chef.

I started with Crab Cakes which were served on a bed of aioli with marinated tomatoes and micro greens (whatever they are). They were nicely cooked with a crispy coating. The aioli was the piece of magic that lifted them out of the ordinary and made them special.

I originally couldn't decide on my main course so the waiter recommended the Pumpkin Ravioli with brown butter sauce, fried sage, port wine glaze, toasted pine nuts and aged Parmesan. He said that this was his favourite dish.

This was probably the best piece of advice that I followed in 2008. The dish was historic. It was perfect in every way. Perfect pasta with a sweetish pumpkin filling with the flavour of the butter sauce and and sage and the crunch of the toasted nuts topped by a sensational port wine glaze.

This must go down as the best dish I've had all year and it is easily one of the best pasta dishes I've ever eaten. Even typing this is making me drool!

I finished off with a key lime pie which, although delicious, was a bit too stodgy for me. I would have preferred something a bit lighter.

Service was excellent throughout. I also chatted to the chef looking after the starters and when I remarked how nice the prawns looked he offered me some. Nice touch.

One of the senior floor walkers came over a couple of times to see how I was doing. I made sure to tell her that the Ravioli was historic.

I eventually left and walked out into the warm evening air and pottered around all the shops. I kept thinking about the ravioli dish and making a mental note to head there first the next time I'm in Orlando.

Second visit Nov08
The next day I was flying home to the UK at 6pm so I most of the day to pass before I headed for the airport. I therefore decided to spend a few hours at Disney Hollywood Studios.

I wasn't that impressed with the studios (not a patch on Universal Studios) and after about 3 hours I had seen most of what I wanted to see. So I decided to head back to Downtown Disney and go for lunch at Wolfgang Puck's again. I was obsessed with the ravioli and I couldn't stop thinking how good it was.

I got there and they seated me at the Sushi counter. I had gone in intending to have the ravioli again but when I saw some people eating tempura prawns, sushi and sashimi I thought I've got to try that.

That was a mistake. Now don't get me wrong, I love sushi and particularly sashimi and this was very good. But it wasn't historic. It wasn't noticeably different from lots of other good sushi bars.

I was sitting there finishing my drink when I saw the floor walker I spoke to the previous night heading my way. She came over and we chatted again and I mentioned that I was heading back to the UK and that I looking forward to coming back again just to try the ravioli.

We finished chatting and I was minding my own business when she reappeared with a take-away container of the Pumpkin Ravioli. She offered it to me for free saying that she didn't want me to leave the US without trying it once again. I was staggered at the gesture. What a nice lady and what a lovely piece of customer service.

I was about to head for the airport so I had the logistical problem of what to do with it. I took the easy answer and ate it there and then. It was every bit as good as the previous evening although this time I was less hungry. However I ate it all and I left the restaurant a sated man.

My only regret was that I never got the chance to say goodbye to the lovely lady who looked after me. Next time maybe!

Third visit Nov09
I was back in Orlando a year after my first visit to Wolfgang Puck's Cafe and I just had to get some more of that Pumpkin Ravioli.

I opted to sit again at the counter where all the starters were cooked. I was on my own again (business trip) so its a great place to sit as you can engage with the chefs. The other great thing is that the chef gave me a couple of freebies to try while I was waiting on my order. What a nice touch.

The Pumpkin Ravioli was every bit as delicious as the year before. Man I wish I knew how to cook this at home. It's the Port Wine sauce that goes with it that is the real secret.

Another great meal.

Fourth visit Nov09
I went to see La Nouba at Cirque du Soleil. It was my first ever Cirque show and I was totally gobsmacked. Amazing show and a must-see if you go to Orlando.

I came out of the show into the pouring rain so I ditched my original eating plan and legged it over to Wolfgang Puck's for another visit.

Again I opted to sit at the counter where all the starters were cooked. And again I got chatting to the chef and again I got a couple of freebies. I love this place!

This time I decided to try something else and went for the Asian-style ribs. These were beyond delicious. The meat just fell away from the bone and the flavour was to die for. In my humble opinion these are the best ribs on the planet and the benchmark by which all others will be judged by me.

Four meals. Four triumphs. This place is the nuts. If only Wolfgang would open up in London!

Restaurant: Chez Hugon, Lyon, France

Every so often in life you have these moments when the planets come together and you have a really enjoyable experience. Dinner at Chez Hugon was one of those times.

Lyon is according to some commentators the foodie capital of France.

It is the home of one of the greatest of all French chefs, Paul Bocuse. He of the Michelin 3-star restaurant at Collonges.

However, to those in the know, the real places to eat in Lyon are the bouchons.

Bouchons are small restaurants, typically family owned, that serve down-to-earth traditional food, much of it featuring offal and other extremities of animals.

Don,t let this put you off though as there will be other traditional dishes on the menu also.

The real authentic bouchons are nearly all small cosy places that exude atmosphere. They are also usually very good value and are generally packed with locals.

Eating at a bouchon was top of my agenda for my trip to Lyon. I was so keen not to miss out that I decided not to book a bouchon for our first evening in case our late Thursday afternoon flight from London was delayed.

I therfore booked our bouchon for Friday evening. As you'll read later this turned out to be a great decision.

Chez Hugon is a classic bouchon. Set down a side street it is small (approx 30 covers) with tables set closely together. The kitchen area is part of the same room, separated only by a partition.

We were greeted by the lady of the house who seated us at a table between two French families. As it transpired we we were the only foreigners in the restaurant for the whole night.

Very soon we were engaged in conversations with the people around us. They saw us looking at their food as it arrived and they helped us make our choices by explaining what their dishes were.

A nice atmosphere was developing as we all chatted away to each other. We tried our best at speaking French and they all happily spoke in English to us.

Bouchons typically have small menus and some choices may not be available if they have run out or they were unablc to get the ingedients at the Market that day. When it came time to order we indeed found that one or two of the choices were not available.

In the end the four of us had two starters to share followed by

2xPoulet au vinaigre (chicken in vinegar)
Quenelles de brochet (pike quenelles)
Langue de Veau (veal tongue)

The highlight was undoubtedly the chicken. It came with a delicious sauce with only the merest hint of vinegar to it.

My quenelles were also delicious if a slightly unusual texture. They came with a deliciously creamy sauce which I think may have been a crayfish sauce.

During the meal our French neighbours were offering us their dishes to try and we reciprocated. We got to taste a number of other dishes all of which I would be happy to eat.

We ordered the house red wine by the "pot", a thick-bottomed pitcher. Very drinkable. It always seems appropriate in places like this to drink what the locals are drinking.

We rounded of our meal by sharing two desserts between the four of us - a tarte tatin and a creme brulee.

During our dessert an old man and woman, who had come in earlier, appeared by the door, guitars in hand. The next thing we know the whole restaurant is singing along to French songs and a party atmosphere has developed.

We didn't know any of the songs but that didn't detract one bit from our enjoyment of the music.

Then the chef came out from the kitchen and did his party piece. It was obviously a rude song judging by the expressions on his face and the peals of laughter from the diners. He had a fine voice and went on to sing a couple of other songs.

The guitarists picked up that we were not French and asked to play a song for us. My wife misunderstood what they were saying and started to hum a French tune she knew. The guitarists quickly picked up the tune and started playing it. Then the whole restaurant joined in.

Great fun. And my wife got a nice round of applause. I think the French were surprised that she knew one of their songs.

After a few more songs the evening drew to a close. And what a cracking evening it turned out to be. Definitely one of the best evenings out in a restaurant for a long time.

This is peasant-style food with no pretensions or concessions to tourists. Go there for a truly authentic Lyonnaise experience.

The bill for 4 came to €147 euros which I rate as excellent value for a brilliant evening.

If you want to try the bouchon experience then I thoroughly recommend Chez Hugon I believe the musicians are only there on Fridays so try and go then.

My only fear in writing this is that if enough people read this review then I might not be able get a table the next time I go to Lyon!

Restaurant: Inamo, London

Inamo is an Oriental fusion restaurant in Wardour Street in the heart of Soho. Its claim to fame is that you do all your food and drink ordering using computer generated images that are projected onto your table.

Each table has a projector above it that projects a sort-of computer screen on your table. One corner of your table has a hollowed out circle in it and this is your mouse control. You move your finger around in the circle and this controls the mouse.

Using the screen that is projected on the table you can choose your food and drink, order the bill, request a waiter and even order a taxi. There is also has an "ambiance" option which allows you to control a set of colour/image combinations that are projected onto the table.

A final option is to turn your table into a game board and play battleships!

The big fear in going to a place like this is that the food comes a long way second after all the new gadgetry. Thankfully in the case of Inamo this fear doesn't materialise as the food is rather good. Given that the chef is ex-Nobu & Hakkasan this should be no surprise.

The menu is presented with options for Small Dishes and Large Dishes. For two of us we chose 4 small dishes and 4 large dishes. This gave us plenty to eat.

As you scroll through the menu each dish is projected on to your plate so you get quite a good impression of what you are ordering.

For small dishes we ordered Wild Boar Roll, Baby Back Ribs, Vietnamese Spring Rolls and Baby Crispy Prawns. Each of these dishes was delicious with the spring rolls and ribs particularly standing out.

For large dishes we ordered Black Cod, Chilean Sea Bass, Pomegranate Duck and Marinated Quail.

For me the stand-out dish was the Chilean Sea Bass. A fine succulent piece of fish. The Black Cod was also good but I've yet to have Black Cod anywhere that beats the one at Nobu (although this one came close).

Overall the food was of a high standard and I would happily return.

If you're a technophobe then I would suggest that you eat elsewhere as the ordering system will probably drive you bonkers. I noticed an older woman at the next table get more and more frustrated with the system and eventually she resorted to calling over a waitress.

For a computer-age person like me it was both easy and fairly intuitive to order. If this is the future then bring it on.

Golf Course: Chateau de la Chouette, Paris

Chateau de la Chouette is situated about 50 minutes drive from central Paris on the northwest side.

Your first impression when you see the course from the approach road is that it is very hilly. And let me confirm that the last (and maybe only) impression you'll have of the place is that it is damned hilly!

We arrived early (10:00am) hoping to get some breakfast. The kitchen wasn't open but the girl at the "reception desk" offered us a sandwich or a croque monsieur. I opted for the croque - big mistake. It was a frozen croque that they managed to burn. And it was as dry as sand. Not a good start.

The "reception desk" is literally that. A desk in one of the chateau's rooms. There's no golf shop as such.

The course started well with a lovely downhill hole. After your drive you are left with a difficult second shot over a stream just in front of the green. Nice start.

After that the memory starts to get fuzzy as a procession of holes come and go, quite a few of them involving water. For the front nine at least the holes are mainly played at the bottom end of the slope.

The 3rd hole was an exception. A climb up the slope from the 2nd green led to a great Par 3. The tee box is high above the shallow green with water in front and a bunker at the back. Nice hole.

Things start to unravel though at the 9th. This is a 370yd par 4 up quite a steep hill. In fact the last half of the hole up to the green really has you puffing.

From then on you really would need to be a mountain goat to enjoy this course. It is just a succession of steep climbs up and down with the lowlight coming between the 10th green and the 11th tee.

I don't think I have ever climbed such a steep hill on a golf course before. I measured the distance on Google Earth and it is about 150 yards from the green to the tee up a ridiculous slope.

This is not my idea of fun. All four of us had to stop more than once on the way up and we were all panting like mad. It was so bad that I could feel the lactic acid in my legs taking over! And none of us was fit to tee off for a good few minutes. Mad.

The back nine works its way up to the highest point of the course and then all the way back down to the lowest point of the course.

In fact the 18th is just as bad as the 9th as you have to work you way up from the bottom part of the course up another steep climb to the green. And then, just to rub it in a bit more, you have another climb to the club house.

Needless to say we were all knackered at the end of the round. I just could not imagine being a member at this club. It would either kill me first or I would go mad from climbing those damned hills.

So in summary - I will not be playing here again. There are far better courses around Paris more deserving of your time and money. If you decide to ignore this advice then bring plenty of crampons with you.

Restaurant: Benares, London

Atul Kochhar trained at the Oberoi Hotel Group in India before coming to London in 1994. He then worked as head chef in Tamarind where he became the first Indian chef to be awarded a Michelin star.

On the back of this success he left Tamarind to set up his own restaurant in Mayfair called Benares where he has since won another Michelin star.

I'd been trying to get a booking at Benares for a Friday night for some months but without success. My penchant for keeping my options open till late in the week doesn't always work well when you're trying to get into one of the top restaurants in London.

I decided to try and book ahead and was fortunate to get a table within a week, probably due to the fact that it was August and lots of people are on holidays.

Atul has made a name for himself on TV over the last year or two appearing regularly on programs such as Saturday Kitchen and The Great British Menu. His food always looks fabulous so it was with a high level of anticipation that I headed there.

The entrance could easily be mistaken for an entrance into one of the many office buildings that occupy Berkeley Square. Once through the door you are taken upstairs to the main bar area. The decor is dark and contemporary and you certainly sense that you are in a temple of food. Having said that, you do feel as if you are sitting in what was once an office building.

As you'd expect, this is no ordinary Indian restaurant. Being a Michelin-starred restaurant you know it's not going to be cheap and in case you're in any doubt then one look at the prices will tell you that immediately. Do not go there expecting to pay high-street curry-house prices.

As we had arrived early (6:20pm) we were told that the good-value lunch menu was still available up to 6:30pm in case we wanted to avail of this. Nice of them to tell us this as it indicates that they are not being mercenary in squeezing us for every last penny.

However I'd waited for so long to eat here that I passed up on all the different menu options and headed straight for the A La Carte as I wanted to try the best of Atul's cooking.

We started with the Gosht Ke Shammi (Ground Lamb Patties Served with Cucumber Yoghurt) and the Tandoori Ratan (Lamb, Chicken Tikka and King Prawn Kebab Platter).

A slight side-track here. For many years my favourite UK restaurant was the Black Chapati in Brighton. It wasn't an Indian restaurant as the name might suggest. They served an eclectic range of dishes one of which was Lamb Patties. For me this was one of their best dishes and either myself or my wife would always order it when we went there. Unfortunately the Black Chapati is no more.

Anyway the point of the above is that once I saw Lamb Patties on the menu I just had to order it. I had this picture in my mind of the fantastic Black Chapati patties and I wondered if Atul could top them.

When they arrived they were nothing like the ones in the Black Chapati so it was actually hard to compare them as it would be like comparing apples and oranges - both nice but both different.

The Benares patties were very tasty without being exceptional. I probably wouldn't order them again but that's probably because I have a lingering vision of the exceptional Black Chapati patties.

The other starter was more memorable. A succulent piece of chicken, a big fat juicy prawn and a mini lamb cutlet all nicely tandooried. This I would definitely have again.

For the mains we had Machchi Amritsari (Batter Fried John Dory with Crushed Garden Peas and Gorkha Tomato Chutney) and Mongsho Ghughni (Roast Romney Marsh Lamb Rump on Rosemary and Garlic Chickpeas) with a side dish of Gobi Mutter (Stir Fried Cauliflower and Garden Peas with Cumin and Turmeric) and a basket of breads.

The John Dory was nicely cooked. It was still succulent inside which is not easy to achieve. Too often fish in batter is overcooked because the fish cooks quicker than the batter. The batter obviously had spices in it as it was much tastier than your average chop shop batter.

The crushed garden peas (i.e. frozen peas) were really delicious and complimented the dish perfectly.

Overall a very satisfying dish but I would not order it again. It just lacked that certain "je ne sais quoi".

The Lamb on the other hand was superb. Perfectly cooked lamb (i.e. pink) on a bed of spicy chickpeas. The flavour from the lamb was fantastic. Absolutely moreish.

The Gobi Mutter was another stand-out dish. A definite must-order for the next time. The breads were also delicious.

The thing that struck us most about the food was the background taste we kept getting long after we'd swallowed a mouthful. The subtlety of spicing and the lingering flavour was far beyond anything you'll experience in a high-street Indian.

As might be expected from a Michelin-starred restaurant the wine list favoured French wines but there were also choices from across Europe and the New World. At the top end there were the expected wines from Puligny Montrachet, Meursault, St Emilion etc.

Given that it was a warm summers evening and that we were having both fish and red meat we decided to opt for the rosé wine. This was a "Rose of Virginia" (at £42) from the Barossa Valley in Australia.

I'm not a fan of sweet wine (excluding dessert wine) and I'm always cautious of ordering a rosé in case it gets too sickly sweet. This wine was fresh and flavoursome but wasn't at all sickly sweet. It worked really well with our meal.

We finished off with a shared plate of three different Kulfis (pistachio, coconut and mango). I thought that these were superb and probably the best kulfi I'd ever had. The crunchy bits accompanying them added an extra dimension to the dish.

The service throughout was generally very friendly and efficient although one of the waitresses could do with spending another few days at Smile School!

Overall a very enjoyable evening's dining. The food ranged from very good to superb and I would definitely want to visit there again a number of times. I think that you only realise how good a restauarant is when you've tried many of their dishes and they are all consistently excellent.

The bill came to £162 with 12.5% service included. Not a shocking price for a Michelin-starred restaurant and I certainly have no complaints about it.

However is Benares five times better than Lahore (my favourite cheap Indian in London where £30 will buy two people a fantastic meal)? No of course it isn't but then it's horses for courses.

If you want a cheap night out with friends then go to Lahore but if you want a romantic evening with your partner or if you want to entertain a client then head to Benares. You won't be disappointed.

Restaurant: Thai Lounge, Lingfield

Lingfield in Surrey is best known as the home of Lingfield Park race course. It's is a bit of a one-horse town (except when it's race day!). Blink as you drive through it and you'll miss it.

It would be a shame to blink though as you might miss out on a wonderful Thai restaurant called Thai Lounge. It's in the High Street so is easy to find.

The first impressions are good. It's obviously had some money spent on it. You enter into a bar area with some comfortable seats. The cocktail bar offers a wide range of cocktails as well as all the usual drinks.

The eating area is situated up some steps from the bar area. The whole place has got a nice contemporary feel to it.

All the waitresses were dressed in traditional Thai dress and had that warm friendly approach that you associate with Thai people. Service throughout the evening was both friendly and efficient.

There were four of us there on a Friday evening and whilst the place wasn't full it had enough people in it to create a buzzy atmosphere.

We all ordered different items from the menu so that we could try as many dishes as possible.

Starters included Goong Phaow (Tiger prawns with herbs & chilli sauce), Satay Gai (Chicken Satay) and a plate of Mixed Starters

I regard myself as a bit of an aficionado of satay as I spent 4 years in Holland eating satay. It's almost a traditional pub dish over there due to the Indonesian influence from it's colonial days. I've also eaten satay as street food in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

The satay in the Thai Lounge definitely ranks high up on my list of best satays. The skewers came with big pieces of perfectly tender chicken. 9 out of 10 for this. (As an aside there is a nearby Thai restaurant in East Grinstead called Mae Ping that serves probably the worst satay I've ever had. Miserable pieces of dry, chewy chicken).

The other starters, with one exception, were all delicious. The exception was the Thai fishcakes which came with the Mixed Starter dish.

As with satay, I am a bit of an expert on fishcakes. I cook fishcakes at home that are very light and easy to eat. They are fat, crispy and tender. My wife says that she can never eat anybody else's fishcakes as they don't even come close to mine.

I don't know what it is with Thai fishcakes but wherever you go in the world you get served small flat things that are like rubber. I know this is the traditional style but I've yet to meet anybody who raves about these. The ones we had here were just as rubbery as anywhere else so low marks for this dish.

Mains included Gaeng Phed Gai (chicken curry), Gai Yang (Thai-style char-grilled chicken ), Goong Phad Nam Prik Phaow (stir-fried tiger prawns), Neua Phad Gra Pao (stir fried beef) and Pad Thai (thai noodles).

Everything was delicious but one dish stood out above the others. The Gai Yang was one of the tastiest, tenderest pieces of chicken I've had in a long while. It's a fairly substantial dish so definitely one for sharing.

Overall this place deserves high praise for its decor, food and service. Easily the best Thai restaurant that I've been to in the Surrey/Sussex area.