I’m not going to say no to going to a restaurant which serves fried ice cream, even if it did appear that it was served with tomato sauce last time … I actually think Haozhan is one of the better Chinese restaurants around with a slightly twisted menu but, best of all, very decent service! Gladly tonight there were no missteps in the service – it was all once again very friendly, efficient and helpful.

Prices are a little higher than some of its surrounding counter-parts in Chinatown but I think its fair value for money, but very good value for money with 2-4-1 with my Taste London card!

I only came here with Pat less than two months ago but Sandra really wanted to try it out and I was helpless to resist.

At least I got to try some different dishes now though I couldn’t convince Sandra to try the Coffee Smoked Ribs which I still really want to try! Sandra is a huge seafood fan so as a starter, alongside the not to be denied gorgeous Chilli Quail which Pat and I loved last time, we had Tom Yum Prawns: King Prawns tossed in a Tom Yum infused mayonnaise sauce topped with red onion, mango, chillies and salad cress. The complication in this dish was that we only got three cones of the stuff and the cones are not easily divisible in half!

For our mains we had an absolutely gorgeous Cheese Lobster. Yes not what you think you’d typically order in a Chinese restaurant but gee it was tasty. Lobster baked with cream cheese cheddar, French Echire butter, milk and diced ham Portugese style this required 20 minutes prep time … which was totally worth the wait! We also had a a fish which I can’t remember what it was! But it was pretty delicious!

We finished the meal with a deep fried ice cream each and made sure to ask for the sauce on the side. To be fair to Haozhan, whilst it still tasted a bit like ketchup, the sauce actually turned out to be an extremely concentrated strawberry sauce – its just that I don’t think they added any sugar!

A lovely experience at Haozhan again.

Before you let your imagination run away from you dear reader this post is about … food. I hardly ever go south of the river (and that’s not yet another euphemism) so more than likely one of the main reasons I’d be in Clapham is for food! Fantasia was one of Rache’s favourite brunch places when she used to live in London and I can see why – cheap (very cheap!), decent portions, and quite good grub – my eggs benedict actually came with salad, a nice one at that! (although I was a bit greedy and still added a sausage and hash brown. Heh heh)

Had a catch up with Sandra and Kelly today at Plum Valley and now officially I think I’ve eaten on every floor of the restaurant! Ha ha! Food was, as usual, very lovely and so very filling. Great value on the top table deal.

Koya is a new little Japanese cheap eats that has popped-up in Soho. The menu is simple – noodles, noodles and noodles (with sides of tempura and maybe a few bits and bobs …) Those not familiar with Japanese noodles you get all sorts: fat ones, thin ones, flat ones, round ones, ones made of wheat, ones made of buckwheat, served hot or cold there’s quite a selection.

Koya is an udon shop and it’s a no fuss venue with simple tables and chairs which are crammed fairly close together though strangely there is a big amount of empty space down the middle of the front room. The staff are all genuine Japanese too which was very welcome because they were all so very friendly, efficient and humbly polite! Such a Japanese trait! Although for the most part the customers at Koya were a mixed bunch Jenny and I got to sit next to some proper Japanese customers – one lady, once she was finished, actually said thank you for sharing the table with her.

Man I love the Japanese – they are so polite!

So, Koya – my problem? I’m not a Japanese noodle fan! but I still found options on the menu for me. I went for one of the non-noodle dishes on the menu – gyudon which is basically beef on rice. It was good but the tempura that we got to accompany our meal, perfectly lightly battered, was nicer.

This is not a eatery where you will spend very long eating your meal (though there is no pressure for you to vacate upon finishing its not the kind of place to really linger, especially when you see the giant line out the door and also when you find you’ve sat through two rounds of people finishing their dinner …) but you will spend a long time here. Riddle? Well, if you like noodles then there’s not doubt that you’ll be a Koya visitor time and time again.

Hey – on another topic – I like how Jenny’s and my nails went together. Very summery!

Lunch at what I think were the National Dining Rooms!

It felt so civilised in there but the best bit about lunch? Getting out of the cold and rain!