373 Kensington High Street
W14 8QZ
Tel: 020 7603 8887
Date of Last Visit: Sunday, November 12, 2006
The Victim: Kristi
The Damage: 8 quid
The Background: K and I had spent the afternoon at the BBC Good Food Show–where we got a look at Gordon Ramsay from afar and helped ourselves to delicious cava, rum drinks, kingfishers, and popcorn. It was not as fun as Vive la France, but that was about France and this is not.
Anyhow, tired of nibbling, we headed over to the Hare & Tortoise, which was just a hop-skip-and-jump away from Olympia. K had been wanting to try it for a while.
The Starter: We started off with some edamame, which seemed a little old and furry and reheated. And no salt crystals. I was slightly disappointed, but edamame is edamame is edamame, so I was still relatively happy.
The Mains: K felt like spring rolls, so that’s what she had. I felt like Chicken Katsu Don, so that’s what I ordered. K’s spring rolls arrived in all their deep-fried goodness, in direct contrast to spring, which suggests a certain lightness and peacefulness of being. My katsu don arrived soon afterwards and it was, precisely, rice and fried chicken and a little big of scrambled egg and onion. Now I am no expert, but when I have had this dish before, there’s been more to it than white rice and fried chicken and two onions and a dabble of egg. I was saddened. I ate some chicken and then we left.
The Verdict: Never to return.
4 comments
Hare and Tortoise is not a Japanese restaurant babe.
Micca,
Firstly, thanks for calling me Babe. You’re the best. On Sundays, I don’t feel so Babe-a-licious, particular when I spend the day in Knightsbridge surrounded by tall and chronically hungry Scandinavians.
Secondly, you know it’s funny–I sat here the other day thinking–what should I file Hare & Tortoise under? The word Oriental really bugs me. So there’s Pan-Asian? So I went to their Web site–http://www.hareandtortoise-restaurants.co.uk–and pondered it. There not much Korean or Vietnamese on there, so that pretty much left me with China and Japan, and they’re just not Chinese. The edamame, the Japanese salad, the udon, and the katsu don made me err towards Japanese. So then I checked London-Eating, and they have it under Japanese. And then I checked TimeOut and they, I quote, say “The culinary emphasis is Japanese…” So hence my choice. If I ever go back (which I probably won’t, but I believe firmly in the principle of never saying never), I’ll ask more questions.
Thanks for reading!
You could, and perhaps even should, try the Hare & Tortoise in Holborn (Brunswick Square). Have been there lots of times and always came out happy.
Granted, it was more fun before when Brunswick Square still looked like a bombed out part of Lebanon. Taking your friends there and they wondering with a slightly scared look in their eyes where the HECK you were taking them only to see their impression change completely once the food was served.
Try the spicy chicken sticks.
I write a really raving piece on it almost exactly a year ago. They have dropped since, but I still ilke them.
http://manne.typepad.com/tummyrumble/2005/12/hare_tortoise_m.html
// Manne
You could introduce a ‘pan-asian’ category, after all, you do have a ‘global’ category and a ‘miscellaneous’ category.
Glad you didn’t find my use of the word ‘babe’ over familiar.
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