卡村饭馆 Cardiff Restaurant, Salisbury Road: review
On November 2, 2024 by The Plate Licked CleanThere’s no denying East Asian food is having a moment in Cardiff right now. Here on Salisbury Road alone you’ll find Savour, Mini Kitchen, Hong Kong café North Point and the Taiwanese QBAO. Add the city centre’s Chinese Fast Street Food, and Jianghu less than half a mile away in Cathays, and the city’s options
StreetSmart: an open letter to restaurants in Wales
On October 31, 2024 by The Plate Licked CleanStreetSmart. What is it, and how does it work? A registered charity which has run for a quarter of a century, StreetSmart raises funds to help the homeless by adding a voluntary £1 donation to restaurant diners’ bills during November and December. Now in its twenty sixth year, over 600 restaurants have signed up across
Smokey Dave’s, The Robin Hood, Pontcanna, Cardiff
On October 19, 2024 by The Plate Licked Clean‘Wednesday to Saturday: Brisket Pulled Pork St Louis Ribs’ reads the sign in the lounge. Well, it’s to the point. Hand-painted by Smokey Dave himself, it is a no-fuss, just-the-good-stuff hint that things have changed at The Robin Hood. Pub kitchen residences can be remarkably fruitful things, and mutually beneficial. Spread the risk of running
Basil and Curry Thai Kitchen, Caroline St, Cardiff City Centre: review
On October 12, 2024 by The Plate Licked CleanIt was probably Malai Thai’s set lunch set menu which put them on the map. It was a revelation at the time, the idea of eating freshly stir-fried Thai food- off a plate, too- at a price (£6.99 with a drink at first, though it crept upwards as hospitality challenges mounted) which typically means a
Tonka, Hastings: review
On August 21, 2024 by The Plate Licked CleanSometimes, you meet someone who just really loves feeding you. Tonka: on the face of it, a little Hastings seafront cafe. The sort of place you might happen across as you walk the promenade, instantly feeling at home in this little room with its fourteen seats and windows picked out in plum, deep green and
Sunday lunch at Asador 44, Cardiff
On August 17, 2024 by The Plate Licked CleanWell, this is long overdue. The local lack of anything like a traditional Spanish Sunday lunch has long bothered me. I don’t get that peculiarly British insistence on the Sunday roast. I don’t have that emotional connection to them that many do, that strangely predictable appetite for the same thing every Sunday, world without end,
This blog is a very simple thing.
I won’t try to sell you any hand lotion, exercise programmes, coffee syrups or Patagonian nose flutes. You won’t find tips on dating, ‘wellness’ or yoga mats.
I write because I love it (and food, as indicated by my increasing girth). Greed happens to be my Deadly Sin of choice, but at least it is never shy of providing me with subject matter.
A simple thing, then: all you get is me wittering on semi-coherently about places I’ve eaten at; hence a ‘restaurant blog’ rather than a ‘food blog’, although there are a few recipes scattered throughout.
From mezze to Michelin ‘fine dining’ and all points in between.