World Foodie Guide 2007: The Highlights + Lowlights
Dec 31st, 2007 by admin
Since its birth on Squidoo as a mere lens, and subsequent graduation to WordPress three months ago as a young adult, World Foodie Guide has grown rapidly. I’ve made friends with fellow bloggers and readers from all over the world, and discovered some truly amazing food blogs along the way.
The highlights this year certainly include all the recipes, which have been generously donated by family and friends. Some are my mother’s personal recipes for Chinese dishes that you may not have come across in restaurants, or even other Chinese homes. I’ve definitely rediscovered my love for Chinese food in 2007!
I’ve also decided which are my current favourite restaurants in London – Yauatcha, Barrafina, The Wolseley and Roka. Each is consistently brilliant in terms of quality, creativity and service. Amazing food can also be found in the most unexpected of places – such as Crispy Duck, a down-to-earth Chinatown restaurant, Jinkichi, a small family-run Japanese restaurant in Hampstead and Kiasu, a Malaysian-Singaporean eaterie on Queensway.
The lowlights – certain restaurants have not lived up to expectations, charging far too much for the privilege of eating their food and subjecting diners to indifferent or rude service. Michelin stars also clearly do not guarantee a memorable, worthwhile or even average dining experience. I name Nobu London, a real disappointment. Gaucho was also a let-down, particularly after I gave it a second chance following a poor meal in 2006.
Next year, I’d like to eat out a little less in London, if only to watch my weight, and cook more at home. Not only do I want to try some of the delicious recipes on World Foodie Guide, but I’d also like to add more to the collection. The Larder is the other area I’d like to focus on, by doing more research on the origins and background of certain foods, particularly Chinese. I also want to travel more and write about restaurants that I discover in other countries. This was after all the original reason for starting World Foodie Guide.
Finally, I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has been reading World Foodie Guide, whether as a regular reader or someone who has simply come across it through a restaurant or recipe search. Happy New Year and all the best for another fantastic year of food in 2008!
Lovely roundup – the photo of the pan fried dumplings has me drooling. (Hope the are vegetarian!
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They are indeed! My vegetarian husband wouldn’t have it any other way! Have a look at the post on How To Make Steamed and Pan-Fried Dumplings, which describes the fillings we used. We’re going to make some more next weekend…Happy New Year!…Helen Yuet Ling