Chung Ying Central

We arrived at the restaurant on a busy Saturday evening around 8pm and were shown to our table quickly. I spent the first 5 minutes moaning to Laura about the absence of any real ale on the drinks menu. I had to have lager :(

For food, Laura and I  both opted for a dim sum and a main each. Laura went for the shredded squid with chilli dipping sauce . I went for something different that I had never tried before and I have also seen this dish in my 'Street Food' recipe book. I went for chicken feet in black bean sauce. Not only did my starter arrive a good 5-10 minutes after Laura's starter but I then put Laura through her worst nightmare and was chewing and  pulling tiny bones from my mouth. I will  admit that I found it very difficult to eat, but the flavour was excellent. The 2 dishes were chosen from the dim sum menu and were very reasonable at £4 each.

For the mains I went safe and ordered lemon and honey chicken and Laura went for crispy shredded beef in chilli sauce (and side portions of steamed rice and vermicelli Singapore style noodles. When the food arrived I was left waiting for my main dish for an extra 10 minutes again.  The food was nicely presented and the portions were very generous.

Service in general was ok but I did find one of the waitresses quite rude and she seemed really fed up when serving and taking our orders. They were also unapologetic about my extended waiting time for both courses!

Overall, I  enjoyed my dishes and drinks and I wouldn't let the below average service that night stop me from returning again, especially as Chung Ying Central also have a two for one menu available 4-7pm from Mondays to Saturdays. The food is affordable and I think it makes a decent place to visit after work or even for those who fancy some Oriental cuisine!

Meat Liquor

My girlfriend and I spent the last 2 days in London visiting friends. Whilst being dragged down Oxford Street and into various shops I managed to persuade Laura to stop for some food. We ventured off round the back streets in search for pub grub.

We eventually came across MEATliquor and were intrigued by the outside appearance. The windows were blacked out and there was a red led light above the door which read MEAT! (How can you go wrong!). Upon entry I immediately liked the vibe; the restaurant was very dim and the decor was almost like a biker bar that you would find on route 66! The music was mainly pumped up american country songs which suited the decor well.

We were seated immediately and soon had our drinks order taken and brought to us. I went for a 'Hobo' Beer (£4.20) and at 5.1% was crisp and refreshing, perfect after being stuck in Primark for 30mins!

The menu was decent enough and there seemed to be enough choice if you were a fan of burgers, I would have liked to see a bigger variety of 'grill' foods. I went for the 'Rib Licker' a boneless rack of ribs in a bun with sweet pickles, onions and BBQ sauce. Laura ordered the 'Dirty Chicken Cheeseburger, a deep fried chicken breast, lettuce, mayo red onion e.t.c. We also ordered a side of fries.The food took 20 minutes to arrive which I thought was pretty good considering it was relatively busy.

Our food came and both meals were served on a single tray. Laura's burger did not come with  plate which was different but added to the vibe. I think mine came on a plate due to the sheer amount of sauce oozing out of the bun. Both meals were tasty and what you would expect from a burger- the meat was good quality and well cooked and there was a variety of meaty and salty flavors which went well with the fried onions and pickles.The meat was very succulent and tasted great. The bun soon became very soggy and the whole burger ended up disintegrating in my hands, I was glad that I was given plenty of paper towels because I ended up with sauce everywhere. I even had to resort to using a knife and fork which I am slightly ashamed of!
Laura's 'Dirty Chicken' was also very tasty and had plenty of flavour and the red onion relish was particularly good.

Overall the experience was good and I was happy we went. Would I go there again? Yes, I would go there again but maybe just to have a drink  and appreciate the west country atmosphere.I think for the price paid the burgers should come with a portion of chips or at very least a bit of salad!
I have paid a lot less money for burgers of a similar quality.
We enjoyed the atmosphere, the service and the drink.....the food could be better.