Review: Maxwell's, Covent Garden

I went to Maxwell's during my Christmas/New Year break. I was craving for some good American food and did some googling. Maxwell's came up and upon a quick look at the menu,- they had what I love so much - Pulled Pork Sandwich. There's just something I absolutely adore about juicy hot shredded pork sandwiched in a soft pillowy bun, with some cold coleslaw. Yums!

Anyways, Maxwell's also does a weekly promotion on Mondays, called 'Monday Madness', where some of the dishes are discounted up to 50%! A bargain I have to say, especially for a restaurant in Covent Garden. The cocktails sound delicious too. So we decided to try it out on the following Monday.

We booked a table for half 7. When we arrived, the restaurant was packed and there was a queue. Even with the booking, we had to wait for our table (not impressed) for about 15 minutes or so. I could tell that they were understaffed, however the lady and gentleman at the front desk were very polite and apologetic.

Once seated, we didn't waste our time. I was looking forward to the pulled pork sandwich and Z was going to have steak. Alas, they didn't have the pulled pork sandwich on that day!! Upset is an understatement to how I felt at that moment. I went for my second choice, a chicken and bacon sandwich. Yes, sounds boring, but it had fried onions in it! ( LOVES!)

My chicken and bacon sandwich. Look at those fried onions!

The portions were massive! I did think they would cut down on the portions, as it was 'Monday Madness' but nope- I was well happy :) The grilled chicken was juicy and goes very well with the bacon and fried onions. I did notice that one side of the chicken was overdone however. The sandwich/burger came with a side of fries and coleslaw. Both were pretty good- the fries were crispy and fluffy in the inside.

Z said his steak was good- he had no complains :) It came with half a grilled tomato, a mushroom and fries. I thought it looked a bit dry, but Z enjoyed it.

Z's sirloin steak

I don't have pictures of our cocktails, they were ok but I noticed they were not very alcoholic. Guess I can't complain with them being only about £5 each. I wouldn't say that they were something to write home about.

Overall, our meal at Maxwell's was good, both in taste and value. The meal came to about £30. I might go back to try the pulled pork and perhaps the ribs to give a better judgment. The restaurant comes across as a good place to bring some friends around, it had good atmosphere but it wasn't too loud that you can't have a good conversation. Definitely worth trying if you're in the area, especially if you're there on a Monday!

Maxwell's8 James St, London WC2E 8BH (nearest tube station: Covent Garden)

Disclaimer: This entry is not a sponsored post, and is entirely based on my personal tastebuds. I have not received any monetary or non-monetary payment to write this post.

Thai Food: @Siam

On Sunday, I met up with a dear friend of mine, Y for a long awaited dinner. It's been SO long since we last met up, with our busy schedules, it was hard to find time that would fit both of us. She suggested @Siam, located in Soho, London.

Before dinner, I googled it, and visited their website; wow, it looked posh! It didn't look like something I was used to; I also tend to avoid posh looking restaurants when I'm looking for Oriental/South East Asian food. My experience so far has indicated that if you're looking for good quality food of oriental/south east asian food, fine dining isn't the way to go.

However with @Siam, I was wrong. When I stepped into the restaurant, the place looked more like a cosy family restaurant, rather than a fancy posh place. There were a few patrons there already at 6, but the place was mostly empty. We were seated at a small corner of the restaurant. Y was seated in front of a silver sparkling statue of Buddha. I was facing it! So I was being watched when I was tucking in :)

Prawn spring rolls

We both ordered a starter and a main each. Y got a voucher off the Time Out website, that gave us a 50% discount off our meal. Always a plus for me :) For starters, Y ordered prawn spring rolls. The prawns were wrapped in rice paper, and deep fried till golden. I thought this was really good! It was served in a crispy edible shell (which reminded me of papadom), and sweet chilli sauce. The shell was rather bland, and a bit greasy. However I don't think it was meant to be eaten, more like a decorative piece on the plate. I'm certain that the sweet chilli sauce was shop bought, however, I love sweet chilli sauce, so no complaints there from me.

Thai fishcakes-sorry for the slightly blurry pic!

I ordered Thai fishcakes for my starter. When it came (also with sweet chilli sauce by the side), I was a little surprised that it looked a lot like slices of fishballs you can get from a chinese supermarket. I'm not sure it was made in the restaurant, but it was yummy indeed. They had a hint of lemongrass too.

Y's pad thai

For main, Y order a chicken pad thai, while I ordered tofu green curry. I'm a huge fan of tofu :) Y's pad thai was DELICIOUS! It had a slight sweetness to it. Yums. It also came with pieces of tofu and crushed peanuts by the side. Y was a tad disappointed there weren't slices omelette at the top. I don't eat Thai food very often, so I wasn't aware whether that is a common (possibly essential?) addition.

Tofu green curry

My tofu curry was rich and very good. It had some pieces of bell pepper, green beans and chunks of baby aubergine. Quite substantial. I had my curry with steamed jasmine rice. The curry was very drinkable; it wasn't too spicy, and I thought that the balance of flavours were very good. The curry came warm; I was expecting it to come a little hotter. The curry didn't come with the rice, so I had to order it separately.

Overall, it was an enjoyable dinner! Service was efficient, and the dishes came relatively quick. Portions were good sized, not massive, but more than enough to fill you up. The starters were about 6 pounds each before discount, the mains, about 10 pounds. The entire came to about 20 pounds, after the discount, and I thought it was very worth it :) The food was great, and the company-even better! :)

@ Siam
48 Frith Street London W1D 4SF
T. 020 7494 4511


Disclaimer: This entry was not a sponsored post, and is entirely based on my personal tastebuds.  I have not received any monetary or non-monetary payment to write this post. 

Misato

Misato is a no fuss little cafe located in Chinatown, London. There's always a queue, but believe me, it's worth it. Food comes in large portions (which is always a plus for me), and always piping hot. I can't really comment on the authenticity, but the flavours were good, and I never leave the cafe feeling dissatisfied.

Chicken karaage with rice, salad and a dollop of mayo

I ordered the chicken karaage, deep fried juicy pieces of chicken, that came with some steamed rice and salad. The salad was very simple; it consisted of sliced lettuce, some tangy dressing, and a single cherry tomato. But it fulfilled the role of a compulsory vege side dish. I was extremely hungry (I had this meal at about 2.30pm) and this hit the spot.

Z ordered a serve of tempura, which consists of vegetable (aubergine, sweet potato and mushroom) and prawn tempura. The batter was crunchy, and oh so good!! The tempura came with some sweetish, salty dipping sauce.

Z also ordered a bento, that came with a generous serving of salmon cooked in some teriyaki-wine sauce. The sauce was so delicious! I plan to order that the next time I go to Misato.

It's not fancy at all, far from it, but service is quick and efficient. If you're keen on fuss free, good, affordable Japanese food, Misato is definitely the place to go to.

First post!

I've always wanted to start a food blog, and always seem to find the excuse not to. Too busy with work and studies, not a great cook anyways etc etc. But I was thinking in the shower just now, why wait longer? Why have so many excuses to start a food blog? I've been eating yummy meals recently, and have been taking some photos as well. I LOVE food, and actually count it as one of my hobbies. Documenting it all sounds like a perfect opportunity to share my love for food.

Right, now enough of the waffle, and here goes my first post! I actually had this meal some time ago, in New York when I went to visit Z. I was in Central Park, and when it was lunch time, wandered around to find some food. I ended up at TGI Fridays, hungry, and rather tired, as I had been walking for close to 3 hours!

This was what I had! Italian sausage, spinach and cheese ( I believe it was parmesan, but I can't quite recall now) omelette with spicy potatoes. It was delicious, and really hit the spot! The egg was creamy, and the addition of spinach gave it the healthy edge. The potatoes were fluffy, but was crispy at the edges. Yums!One disappointment was the sausage, I thought it was a little on the dry side. The portion was huge, as expected of TGI's and I didn't manage to finish this unfortunately. I can't recall how much it was, I believe it was c. USD 15. It also came with some bread. Well worth it me thinks!

I also found it interesting that the calorie content of each dish was disclosed in the menu. I have yet to see this in the UK. It'll probably stop me from ordering dessert! (or at least think twice:p)

That's all for my first post. I will endeavour to post as often as I can, this shall be one of my New Year's resolutions :)