My Restaurant Tips

Kyochon Chicken
3833 West 6th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90006
USA

+1 (213) 739-9292

Fast food

Restaurant: 1.5/5

Kyochon Chicken is located in the heart of Koreatown. As you can expect from a fast food, there is no real decor and the comfort is minimum. Additionally, parking in the area may be difficult.

Service: 3/5

Service was very good for a fast food: we were served quickly at our table.

Food: 2.5/5

First, we were served radishes in cold water. It’s a nice attention that kept us busy while we were waiting for our diner and later helped to alleviate the amount of chili use on the chicken.

We started sharing a chicken and rice cake combo. The broiled chicken was served with long round rice cakes, peppers, onions and carrots. All of that in a tomato chili sauce, topped with sesame seeds. It was very tasty but very hot.

After the chicken and rice cake combo, we shared a hot combo. The combo comprised chicken wings and drumstick, served with cabbage. The cabbage was topped with mayonnaise and ketchup sauces. It was really good but really really hot. Finishing the dish, my lips were burning while my tongue was hurting.

At the end of the meal, we were served vanilla ice cream. It’s another really nice attention that really help me to recover after eating food that hot.

Value for money:4.5/5

Around $15, including drinks (orange juice and coffee) and tip. Considering the food and the service, Kyochon Chicken offers excellent value for money. I will definitely come back.

The Belvedere
Peninsula Beverly Hills Hotel
9882 Santa Monica Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
USA

+1 (310) 551-2888
beverlyhills.peninsula.com

Modern American Cuisine

Restaurant: 4.5/5

The Belvedere is located at the Peninsula Hotel, in the heart of Beverly Hills. The restaurant, with it’s traditional decor, is really comfortable. The patio at the back of the restaurant is really nice. I highly advise to get a table there is the weather is nice.

Service: 5/5

from the beginning to the end, the service was perfect. They really pay attention to every detail.

Food: 4.5/5

For brunch, you only have to select your main course. You get a selection of starters, served family style, and access to the desert buffet. The selection of started comprised their very famous macaronis and cheese, the organic beet salad, the sauteed prawns, the smoked salmon, the peking duck (carved in front of you in the dining room) and the fruit salad. The macaronis and cheese were absolutely spectacular. Definitely the best I had so far.

The organic beet salad was served with tomato, arugula, nuts and a well balanced sauce.

The sauteed prawns, served with crispy noodles on the top of cabbage, were excellent.

The smoked salmon with it’s mustard sauce was very good.

The peking duck, served ready to eat in pancakes with spring onions and sauce is definitely one of the best.

The fruit salad had nothing remarkable but was pretty good.

As main course, I had the potato crusted chilean sea bass. The sea bass was perfectly cooked with the potato bater being crusty and the fish being juicy and flavorful. it was served with orange quarters on the top of vegetables.

The desert buffet is pretty extensive and should satisfy about everybody. The plum clafouti and the warm bread pudding were truly excellent. Unfortunately, I found the rest of the deserts overly sweet.

Value for money: 4.5/5

Around $100, including drinks (orange juice, water and espresso) and tip. Considering the restaurant, the service, the food and the location, The Belvedere is a excellent value for money. I will definitely come back.

The Dining Room
Radisson SAS Scandinavia Hotel
Amager Blvd. 70
DK-2300 Copenhagen S
Denmark

+45 3396 5858
www.thediningroom.dk

Danish Cuisine

Restaurant: 4/5

The Dining Room is located in Radisson SAS Scandinavia Hotel near the center of Copenhagen. The restaurant has a nice modern decor and is very comfortable. You should reserve a table near the window as the The Dining Room has a fantastic view on center of Copenhagen.

Service: 2/5

Service was good but very slow. As the restaurant was not full, that was quite surprising. They could do with a bit more staff.

Food: 3.5/5

First, I was served bread with olive oil and humus. The humus was very good.

The following appetizer was an artichoke puree. Pretty good but not remarkable.

As starter, I had the smoked salmon. The presentation of the salmon was very modern. The salmon was served with mayonaise, carrot puree and pink grapefruit. Pretty strange at first but it works. That was very good.

As main course, I had veal. The veal was served crusted with sweet potatoes, turnip mash and roasted green plums. That was truly excellent. The combination of flavor works really well.

As desert, I had roasted plums. The plums were served with a caramel ice cream and buisquit. Again, that was truly excellent.

Value for money: 3/5

Around $100, including drinks (sparkling water and espresso) and tip. Considering the restaurant, the food and the current strength of the Danish krone, The Dining Room is a good value for money. I will come back.

Nyhavns Færgekro
Nyhavn 5
1051 København K
Denmark

+45 33 15 15 88
www.nyhavnsfaergekro.dk

Danish Cuisine

Restaurant: 3/5

Nyhavns Færgekro is located in New Hafen, in the heart of Copenhagen. The restaurant has a traditional decor and is relatively comfortable. I highly recommend the very nice terrace, a good place for “flirt and skirts”.

Service: 2/5

Service was good but very slow. As the restaurant was packed, they could have done with a bit more staff.

Food: 2.5/5

As main course, I had the frokoststeak. The steak was served with a very good mustard sauce and on the side a kind of wedges. The meat was tender and tasty. One regret, the wedges were a bit too oily.

As desert, I had the apple pie. The apple pie was served with vanilla flavored whipped cream, mint leafs and tropical fruits. The pie, with it very soft biscuit was very good.

Value for money: 3/5

Around $55, including drinks (beer and coffee) and tip. Considering the location, the current strength of the Danish krone and food quality, Nyhavns Færgekro is a very good value for money. I will come back.

Blue Elephant
Radisson SAS Scandinavia Hotel
Amager Blvd. 70
DK-2300 Copenhagen S
Denmark

+45 33 96 59 70
www.blueelephant.dk

Contemporary Thai cuisine

Restaurant: 3.5/5

Blue Elephant is located in Radisson SAS Scandinavia Hotel near the center of Copenhagen. The restaurant is very comfortable and has a beautiful Thai themed decor.

Service: 1.5/5

The service was very mechanical and the burned menu didn’t add to the experience. On the upside, an orchid is offered to womens when leaving the restaurant.

Food: 2.5/5

I started with a very traditional tom kha gai, a chicken and lemon grass soup. The soup was very flavorful but could have been a bit more spicy.

As main course, I had kai himmapan, a dish of chicken with cashew, green peppers, red peppers, baby corn, pineapple and onion served in an half pineapple. It was good but, again, a bit bland for Indian food.

Value for money: 2/5

Around $80, including drinks (mai tai, still water and espresso) and tip. Considering the food, the location and the current strength of the Danish Kroner, Blue Elephant offers just a fair value for money. I probably won’t come back.

Jensen’s Bøfhus
Södra Förstadsgatan 1
211 43 Malmö
Sweden

+46 (0) 40 97 96 97
www.jensens.se

Steak house

Restaurant: 2/5

Jensen’s Bøfhus is a casual restaurant located in the center of Malmö. The restaurant is relatively comfortable and has a simple pub decor.

Service: 2.5/5

The service was good but a bit slow. Our waitress made genuine efforts to please us.

Food: 2/5

As starter, I had the snack basket that comprise onion rings, mozzarella sticks, potato waffles and cheese and jalapeño nuggets served with spicy tomato sauce and white sauce. While a bit heavy (all deep fried), everything was good.

As main course, I had the favorite steak. The steak, tender and juice was excellent. It was served with a tomato, potatoes and a paprika sauce that was both a surprising and perfect complement to the steak.

As desert, I had the queen’s delight. The queen’s delight is a soft vanilla ice cream topping a waffle and served with chocolate sauce, nuts and strawberry jam. The ice cream was very good but the waffle was a bit too sweet to my taste. The jam, overly sweet, was unnecessary.

Value for money: 3/5

Around $50, including drinks (pear cider) and tip. Considering the food, the location and the current strength of the Swedish Kronor, Jensen’s Bøfhus offers good value for money. I’ll come back.

Thai Edge
7 Oozells Square
Brindleyplace
Birmingham, B1 2HL
UK

+44 (0) 121 643 3993
www.thaiedge.co.uk

Contemporary Thai cuisine

Restaurant: 3.5/5

Thai Edge is located in Brindleyplace, in the heart of Birmingham. The decor is very nice, both modern and Thai. The restaurant is very comfortable. The music was a bit loud and repetitive. While the tiles on the floor are practical, they make the place feel a bit cold.

Service: 3.5/5

The service was very good. Our waitress made genuine efforts to please us. All the staff wears very nice Thai uniforms.

Food: 3.5/5

I shared a “Royal Orchid” menu as it offered a wide diversity of dishes. As starter, the menu offered chicken satay, golden bags, spring rolls, prawn rolls and chicken in pandanus leaves. The golden bags are a kind of fried shrimp dumpling. Everything was good but the chicken satay and the chicken in pandanus leaves were above the rest offering more subtle flavors.

As main course, the menu offered chicken green curry, stir-fried beef with chili and basil, pork with garlic and pepper, stir-fried mixed vegetables and egg fried rice. The egg fried rice was more Chinese than Thai but again everything was good. The stir-fried beef with chili and basil was above the rest being hot and very flavorful. The chicken green curry was very good too.

Value for money: 3.5/5

Around $70, including drinks (still water, beer and espresso) and tip. Considering the food, the location and the current strength of the British pound, Thai Edge offers very good value for money. I’ll come back.

Bank
4 Brindley place
Birmingham, B1 2JB
UK

+44 (0) 121 633 7001
www.bankrestaurants.com

French British fusion cuisine

Restaurant: 3.5/5

Bank is located in Brindleyplace, in the heart of Birmingham. The decor is very modern and the restaurant is very comfortable. You should note that they have nice terraces overlooking the canal at the back of the restaurant.

Service: 3.5/5

The service was very good. Our waitress made genuine efforts to please us.

Food: 3.5/5

As starter, I had the smoked haddock and leek risotto. The risotto was served with a poached egg and mustard dressing. It was both original and very good. The texture of the risotto was perfect.

As main course, I had the rump of lamb. The lamb was served with peas, potatoes, spring onions and bacon. The lamb, perfectly cooked was very tasty. It was well complemented by the vegetables. Very classic but very good.

Value for money: 3/5

Around $80, including drinks (still water, wine and espresso) and tip. Considering the food, the location and the current strength of the British pound, Bank offers good value for money. I’ll come back.

New Diamond
23 Lisle Street
London, WC2H 7BA
UK

+44 (0) 207 437 7221

Chinese cuisine

Restaurant: 2/5

New Diamond is located in Chinatown, right in the center of London. The restaurant is relatively comfortable. The decor is very basic without any real effort. As negative, table cloths are not changed between customers.

Service: 3/5

The service was good. Our waitress made genuine efforts to please us.

Food: 2.5/5

I shared a “menu B” as it offered a wide diversity of dishes. As starter, “menu B” offered prawn toasts, hot and sour soup and crispy aromatic duck. The prawn toasts were served with crispy seaweed and BBQ ribs. The crispy aromatic duck was served with pancakes, cucumbers sticks and spring onions. The prawn toasts were a bit dry but the seaweed was excellent. While the hot and sour soup tasted good, the texture was very artificial. The crispy aromatic duck was excellent.

As main course, “menu B” offered special rice, oyster sauce vegetables, chicken with cashew nuts, sweet and sour pork and spicy beef. Everything was good but sweet and sour pork and the spicy beef were above the rest. Servings are generous, so it’s a lot of food.

Value for money: 3.5/5

Around $50, including drinks (beer) and tip. Considering the food, the location and the current strength of the British pound, New Diamond offers a good value for money. I’ll probably come back.

La Mamounia
20 rue du bat d’argent
69001 Lyon
france

+33 (0) 4 78 28 68 44

Moroccan cuisine

Restaurant: 2.5/5

La Mamounia is located in Lyon city center. The restaurant is relatively comfortable and has a nice Moroccan decor. As a negative, table cloths are not changed between customers. You have to live with the stains.

Service: 1.5/5

While our waitress made efforts to please us, the service was a bit slow. They could do with a bit more staff. When it was time to pay, we found that the card processing machine was broken and had to go to an ATM to get cash to pay. On the bright side, the restaurant conveniently accepts customers up to 11pm.

Food: 2/5

As starter, I shared a tasting plater with eggplant dip, roasted pepper dip and egg bricks (deep fried package of egg enveloped in a very fine flour sheet, similar to an egg roll). While the dips and the brick were good, the presentation was very basic.

As main course, I had couscous with chicken, merguez, lamb chops and vegetables. It was good but nothing exceptional. Actually, the couscous could have been significantly finer.

I had the opportunity to taste the chicken tajine. The chicken was cooked with almonds, grapes and cinnamon. Again, good but nothing exceptional. The kind of dish you could easily do by yourself at home.

As desert, I had Moroccan pastries (gazelle’s horns and almond cigars). The pastries, not too dry, were an excellent complement to the min tea we ordered.

Value for money: 1.5/5

Around $65, including drinks (sparkling water, rose wine and mint tea) and tip. While the location and the decor are nice, the food was average. You can get better and cheaper Moroccan food in Lyon. Next time, I will go somewhere else.