meemalee

I've just been in Japan for a fortnight and I really didn't want to leave. But when I was on the plane back to Blighty, I decided to count my blessings, one of which is a little Vietnamese cafe near my office called City Caphe . Open only at lunchtimes, I've got through many a long morning at my desk by day-dreaming about City Caphe's food. The day-dreaming continues as I wait in their queue which stretches out the door - it's a dratted constant, but it's worth standing there, even in the rain. Sometimes I press my nose against the window, Charlie Bucket-like, to stare at the gorgeous steaming dishes that others are already enjoying. The queue continues to wind inside, but rather charmingly, they have a selection of books for the hungry punters to pass the time. I'm not a bread person, but even I adore City Caphe's banh mi, and their summer rolls are the best I've had ( apart from my own ) - packed with prawns and herbs, though there's a tofu ve...

The way we were ... I have to admit, I've been feeling like I've lost my blog mojo for the past couple of weeks - that's what a surfeit of festivity can do to you. But a thoughtful article by Taccuino Spuntino (aka Russell Norman of Polpo and Polpetto) about how complaints should be dealt with prompted me to get back into the saddle. Do read it. It's reproduced from the latest Fire and Knives food quarterly. I was particularly intrigued by what he said about Heston Blumenthal - specifically Russell had attended an industry Q&A where Blumenthal was asked whether he thought food or service was more important in a restaurant. 'Without missing a beat, he replied, “Service. Every time.” He explained that you can mess up the food in a restaurant but still turn the situation around with gracious service, by compensating the customer, offering alternatives, bringing treats and bending over backwards to make them happy. But no matter how brilliant the food is, if you ...