QBAO Noodles Bao, Cathays, Cardiff: restaurant review
On April 28, 2024 by The Plate Licked CleanQBAO, then. Cathays, Cardiff. I sit at the window and think, I see why I’ve seen this place called a ‘hidden gem’. To be fair, the signs are all there. There’s the location in Cardiff’s heavily populated student area, cunningly concealed on the junction of two streets with busy footfall. There’s the eye-catching two-tone lilac
North Point Hong Kong café, Cathays, Cardiff: review
On April 19, 2024 by The Plate Licked CleanNorth Point, named after the district the owners grew up, is Cardiff’s new Hong Kong-style café. Husband and wife Anson and Claris were born there, just before the 1997 handover to China which ended 156 years of British rule. They moved, fell in love with Cardiff, wanted a new challenge, and here they are on
Orchard Road, The Sea Dog, Hastings: review
On March 31, 2024 by The Plate Licked Clean‘Please allow me to introduce myself/I’m a man of wealth and taste…’ preens Mick Jagger as the Orchard Road table fills with bowls and bamboo steamers. Well, he’s half right, I think as I congratulate myself on coming here for the third time in as many weeks. Clearly, I’m in need of some restraint: but
Chennai Dosa, Canton, Cardiff: restaurant review
On March 10, 2024 by The Plate Licked CleanChennai Dosa arrives in Cardiff as a fully-formed idea. With branches as far afield as Birmingham, Coventry, Manchester, Croydon, Leicester and more, the prospect of their take on Southern Indian meets Sri Lankan cooking might have a few local rivals worried. Based on my two visits, they shouldn’t lose any sleep, at least not until
591 by Anatoni’s, Canton, Cardiff: review
On March 7, 2024 by The Plate Licked CleanI don’t have anything new to say about Victoria Park’s 591 by Anatoni’s. Don’t worry, though: no one else has, either. Local pizza reviews trudge a well-worn path. Almost 3 years ago, reviewing Scaramantica, Tony Frawley’s former place, they were already ‘…a well-worn route to Review Predictability via Cornicione Parkway and Airy Crust Central.’ But
Wavey Bar, The Courtyard, Hastings: review
On February 20, 2024 by The Plate Licked CleanWavey Bar sits opposite Hastings’ True Crime Museum on Hastings seafront. That would be a gift to any writer if it turned out to be a disappointment, an easy but snarky segue into a hatchet job. Happily, this review will be anything but: Wavey Bar is the kind of place which gets under your skin
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.