The Diary of a Foodie

These food blogs are made up entirely from my own personal views. I do not work for, or get paid by any of the establishments that I mention.
It is a personal account based on a personal experience, and should be treated as such.
Please use the search box to search for your favourite style of food.
If you would like to suggest anywhere for me to try, please feel free to get in touch.




Thursday 16 December 2010

Chopsticks/Chinese/Didcot


Sorry followers, no food photos for this blog due to technical issues (i.e. forgetting camera!!)

We fancied a Chinese meal while in Oxfordshire, and this buffet style restaurant was suggested.
No private parking, but on an evening you can get parked on the street outside.

The price on the website on a Sunday evening was £12.95, but once in it was actually £14.95.

Nice & clean inside with some lovely decos and a water fountain, along with a huge fish tank. Quite pleasant surroundings.

The buffet states you can have two starters per person, or 5 starters between 4 of you.

A selection was ordered including some Vegetarian Won Tons. These were the worst thing I have ever been served in a restaurant. They had one half of a cashew nut in the parcel (I checked each one, and one half of a nut in each!!) and they were so over cooked and burnt they just crumbled. However the seaweed was lovely. We asked for a sweet & sour sauce for dipping the starters in and was told we would have to pay £1.00 extra for each pot !!! So much for all you can eat!

For a second course there was a choice of 5 options, but you could only order two between four people. Once the Satay Mushrooms was ordered for the fussy vegetarian (me) there was just one option left for the other three. Although there was plenty of food, and the mushrooms were really nice.
When the second course plates were removed I put my fork on the empty plates to go to the kitchen, the waitress took it off, holding it by the prongs, and dropped it on the tablecloth in front of me. Obviously I was supposed to keep it for my main course, but once she had had her fingers all over the bit that was to go in my mouth, it kinda put me off a bit, so I put it back on the plate. She promptly picked it back up, again by the prongs, and again dropped it in front of me on the tablecloth, without a word.

The main course orders were taken after we had finished the second course. The waiter took the order, went into the kitchen and brought it all straight back out with him. It was unbelievable, and frankly concerning.

I had ordered Vegetable Curry without onions or peppers, and it was colder than luke warm and gritty, like the curry mix had not been mixed in properly.

I had to re-order rice and noodles as they all came with onions, this time they took ages to arrive as obviously they had to cook them from fresh, but the noodles were chewy - never had chewy noodles before, they were not very nice.

Hubby said his food was nothing better than mediocre.

The staff were a pain in the bum, you don't mind being asked once or twice if everything is ok, but we were asked constantly, while we were having starters we were asked four times by four different serving staff, and this pattern continued throughout the meal.

So, would I go back? No, food was poor, service poor. Certainly not worth the money.

In case you want to try, here are the details:

Chopsticks
126, Broadway,
Didcot,
Oxon
OX11 8AB

Tel: 01235 813333



Wednesday 15 December 2010

At Thai/Thai/Oxford


Sorry followers, no food photos for this blog due to technical issues (i.e. forgetting camera!!)

During a trip to Oxfordshire, and upon recommendation, we decided to try this Thai Restaurant on Oxford High Street.

Parking is a nightmare in Oxford, especially in the town centre.

The restaurant is up a good set of stairs, no good for disabled or people who find steps a struggle.
Inside it's a little "unkempt", could do with someone in to tidy up trailing cables and to do a splash of painting to freshen it up.

The toilets were up another flight of stairs, with a really grubby carpet, and beside the toilet was a pair of stained rubber gloves (obviously used for cleaning the pot) which was quite unpleasant !!

Nice modern tables and chairs though.

The staff were obliging, happy to help, drinks orders were taken and prawn crackers delivered as soon as we arrived.

I fancied Vegetable Tempura for a starter, but it wasn't on the main menu, although it was on a Special menu further into the menu. I asked if I could have it and they were more than happy to make it for me. Pity about the couple of peppers I bit into when I specifically asked for no onions or peppers though. Otherwise a lovely, tasty dish.

For main I went for Pad Thai, I love this dish and have it a lot, but this one was magnificent. The best one I have ever tasted. Delicious. And they got the "no onions or peppers" bit right too.

Total bill for 4 people was just £80 ! This was for 4 starters, 4 mains, 2 sides, 2 soft drinks and a bottle of wine.

Would definately go back as the food was fabulous, but they do need to have a bit of a whip round with a hoover & duster.

Here are the details for you.

At Thai
129A High St,
Oxford
OX1 4DF
01865 245603 ‎

Tuesday 14 December 2010

Dil Raj/Indian/Abingdon


Sorry followers, no food photos for this blog due to technical issues (i.e. forgetting camera!!)

During a trip to Oxfordshire, we were invited out by friends to The Dil Raj, Indian restaurant in Abingdon, near Oxford.

We did book, and good job as it was quite busy, although it looked like a few of the tables might have been Christmas parties so it might not always be that busy.

On sitting down we were offered Poppadoms and our drink orders were taken.

Poppadoms were crisp, tasty and served with 6 different, gorgeous dips in a revolving dip tray.

I started with a Vegetable Samosa - two gorgeously crisp triangles stuffed to bursting with tasty vegetables, they were huge and served with a beautiful dressed salad.

They were followed with two side orders, rather than a main course, of Mottor Paneer (Peas with Indian Cheese) and a fabulous dish - Gobi & Pumpkin (Slow cooked cauliflower with tasty pumpkin immersed in mixed seeds and spices ) which was amazing !

We shared Rices and Naans, both of which was delicious.

Prices were great, and the house wine, which was a lovely Chilean Merlot, was only £10.50 a bottle.

Total bill came to £105 for 4 people, poppudums, starters, rices, bread, 3 bottles of wine and 2 soft drinks.

Will definately be back someday.

Here are their contact details.

Dil Rajh
6 Ock Street
Abingdon
OX14 5AW
01235 553 305