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by fizzytom
Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom
July 18, 2003
I read somewhere that the rstuarant is meant to resemble a South American cantina -- can't see it myself, but it's nice. The walls are painted in bold lively colours and there are wooden floors, tables, and chairs. The only downside is that the tables are to close together. We went there for a romantic meal and were quite close to a group of young blokes making the most tremendous din!
My partner started with the "Asian Plate" which comprised a bowl of fragrant Thai broth, a portion of noodles with Thai vegetables and some delicious seafood done Thai style; add to that a tasty spring roll and it made an interesting starter. I chose the red braised pork on a salad of noodles and papaya - the papaya was a great contrast to the spicy red-crusted pork.
My main course was much bigger than expected - Spanish style chicken stuffed with quince and serrano ham on a bed of chorizo paella. Very good but perhaps a little too much on the plate. My partner had the pan-fried fillets of mullet and sea bass which came on a bed of comforting mash which was perfect - creamy and soft, just nicely moist.
The desserts are out of this world. I chose a rich cholate gateau which came with coconut icecream and my partner had the passion fruit cheesecake, but we could also have chosen a chilled cherry soup, several cheescakes, apple pie or a cherry brulee. Other mains on offer covered Morrocan, Lebanese, Italian and more and included fish, meat and veggie options.
A good selection of wines from around the world matches the choice of food and there are beers and spirits available too.
I found service a little too laid back. They tried to badger us into choosing the wine before we had a chance to look at the menu and pick something complementary and when we asked for five more minutes, we were ignored for close to 15!
That said, it did not spoil our enjoyment of great food and wine sampled in pleasant surroundings. A very good choice for our two year anniversary.
From journal The Fog on the Tyne