My preference is for the former, and today's breakfast table will have found me eyeing the whisky bottle and wondering how well Johnny Walker would work with a hemlock chaser. For any of you tempted by the adventurous approach, but lacking the time or money for exotic travel, my advice is to find a
For those without the stoicism to plough gamely on, there are two approaches to the horror of the new year. You can take to the dressing gown and slippers, and trudge around moaning about the Scandinavian lack of light. Or you can boldly embrace the unfamiliar in the hope of banishing the weltschmerz
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But then my passion is gutsy, scary food that cauterises the tongue. From the instant drainage of blood from his face as he examined the menu, it was clear my friend discount ugg boots does not share it. "Oh my," he muttered as the words "Whelks & sliced pig's ear in chilli oil" met his gaze. "We can have crispy duck, can't we? Tell me we can have some crispy duck."
It is testament to the cooking that he swiftly grew to love this restaurant. An aesthetic triumph it is not, but the dragons and lanterns on the walls, giant ethnic vases and marble-effect tiled flooring raise it above the ultra-utilitarian, and it has a warming buzz even when a third full. Meanwhile, the service is both endearing and eccentric, the waitresses speaking little English but imbuing our baffled exchanges – 10 minutes to order hot rice wine, yet only 10 seconds to order beers when the wine revealed itself as hot discount ugg classic cardy boots – with charm and good humour. I especially liked the sad face drawn into the first "o" of "Sorry, out of order" on the door of the disabled loo. Small consolation for those obliged to slide downstairs to the other loo on their fronts, perhaps, but a touching show of contrition all the same.
The first compliment to be paid the food is that it comes in barely credible amounts. Apart from the half of impeccable crispy duck and a freebie bowl of chicken and sweetcorn soup (watery and bland, as befits a palate-cleansing quasi-sorbet), the portions were at least three times bigger than normal.
Voguish though it has become, Szechuan cooking remains a rarity outside
So were the flavours. "Poached slice beef with chilli oil" was code for a gigantic bowl of tender beef, cabbage, carrot and gloriously textured tree ear mushroom, all half-drowned in a menacingly dark, bubbling liquid laden with garlic, ginger, Szechuan peppercorns (the nuclear missile in the spice arsenal) and that chilli oil. An absolute classic of unctuous delight. Sweet and sour fish with rice was also majestic, the subtle, tangy, orangey sauce much the best of its kind I've had in years.
The last thing you anticipate from even the finest Chinese chef is the showing of respect to the veg. Here, though, the french beans were "wonderful. All spicy and perfectly crunchy," cooed my friend. Barbecued lamb skewers weren't great, and barbecued quail never came at all, but that was a relief given the insane generosity of the serving of spectacularly good "dry fried chilli chicken authentic style".
Not all dishes will be to all tastes, but there are more than enough unthreatening ones for the lily-livered, and I'd be amazed to find food of such splendour in such quantities at such prices elsewhere before the gown comes out to mark the arrival of 2011.
Authentic everything about wholesale ugg boots this brilliant little restaurant certainly is, and assuming the dress code has nothing insolent to say about moth-eaten towelling robes and Ugg slippers, I'll be back very soon to explore the recherché. Braised sliced sea whelk and pork tripe slices with hot pepper, anyone?
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