food / drink
DRAGON COURT CHINESE ***
Capital Retail Park, Leckwith, Cardiff. 029 2022 8866 Much like its inconspicuous setting next to Les Croupiers Casino in Leckwith’ s Capital Retail Park, Dragon Court Chinese offers an unassuming menu which rejects the well-worn buffet-style Chinese dining formula in favour of a varied selection of adventurous dishes that refuse a reliance on traditional Chinese classics. Without a chicken chow mein in sight, choose your own live lobster from a nearby tank, or sample diver scallop in their shells with garlic and vermillion. There’ s an abundance of meat dishes as well as a healthy selection of vegetarian and vegan dishes. The restaurant’ s decor is fairly typical, but also comfortable and perfectly suited to large groups with big tables allowing plenty of space for sharing and socialising. For two people, the table setup isn’ t ideal and not especially intimate, but the welcome is friendly and attentive with numerous staff members hovering in anticipation of our empty glasses. To start we opt for some excellent Hunan satay beef and Vietnamese spring rolls to satiate our early hunger. To follow, an intriguing Mongolian lamb dish completed a gluttonous three-starter selection. The crispy Mongolian lamb is neatly matched with a sticky plum sauce, spring onions and half an iceberg lettuce with which we were able to wrap all our ingredients into parcels to create a crisp and very refreshing starter to our own taste and arrangement. For mains we selected a Mandarin fillet of beef in an intense and rich“ fruity wine sauce”. Although nicely cooked, for our taste it proved a little cloying toward the end. We also opted for a main of pan-fried pork fillet with lemongrass and spicy herbs. Refreshing and well cooked, the dish came with our choice of fried noodles and bean sprouts. Overall, Dragon Court provides filling, well-executed Chinese cuisine with enough variety and adventure to excite inquisitive palates. GARETH LUDKIN
ITALIGO ***
8 Church Street, Cardiff. www. italigo. com Open since April, and early enough that you can drop in and eat pasta or calzones for breakfast if you choose, Italigo’ s more-or-less USP is‘ Italian fast food’. There are, I suspect, mental and / or cultural blocks that make this problematic for some. Italian cooking is( stereotypically) thought of as prizing slowness and patience, whereas you can pop in here and have your meal within five minutes. If you order a quicker pizza, you’ re probably in a kebab house, and if you order quicker pasta, it probably went from your fridge to the microwave. Obviously, Italigo are attempting to up the ante somewhat, but how do they fare? My two afternoon visits, both alone to affect the air of a high flyer on the go and definitely not because I have no friends, present me with nice untreated wooden decor and not very many other customers. From the pizza menu, I order a Tina – crispy pancetta, free range egg and rocket. It’ s pretty good – the tomato sauce is substantial and tastes of actual tomatoes – and seems much less salty than the pepperoni one Buzz sampled previously, plus its base is crispy without tipping over into cream cracker consistency. Two days later I pop back for some pasta bolognese, on a‘ by your basics shall ye be judged’ tip. There’ s nothing much wrong with it, apart from being somewhat stingy with the parmesan, but it’ s where one’ s Britishness kicks in, in that I keep thinking I could make this at home. It’ s still better fast food than most of Cardiff city centre’ s other options right now, though. Also, I can’ t really review a can of fizzy pop, but I just want to give a shout out to lemon San Pellegrino. NOEL GARDNER pic: ROBERT HORNUNG
HEDLEY’ S RESTAURANT ***
3-4 Bron-Y-Mor, The Knap, Barry. 01446 733398 Given the heatwave of late combined with a family celebration, we decided on a stroll to the local restaurant Hedley’ s. Nestled in the idyllic setting of The Knap gardens; opposite a lake and near the sea, the location is perfect. Hedley’ s is known for its fish selection and BYO wine policy, which, as most restaurants drastically overprice their wine, is always a winner. Ioan and Prisillia, the team behind the restaurant, are bright, breezy and accommodating. Ioan is the chef and Prisillia front of house. Between the group of us, sea bass, steaks, lamb shank and sea bream were ordered with various sauces and side orders. All came with seasonal vegetables and a huge basket of bread. My sea bream was cooked well but unremarkable and the general consensus from the table was mixed: the lamb shank very good, the steak cooked to perfection and the fish, largely cooked well but a little bland. On each visit, and there have been a few, the food is generally OK to good, not spectacular but not dreadful. The main disappointment is the restaurant decor; it’ s in some serious need of upgrading and the ladies’ toilets could do with a good clean. Inside the restaurant it’ s drab and dated with varying degrees of beige and brown the main colour in abundance. It’ s such a shame as an overhaul would give it a whole new lease of life. With so much choice now available, diners can pick and choose where to dine, and for such an idyllic spot, it needs to raise its game. ANTONIA LEVAY
BUZZ 30