When we first bought the Bristol flat, the location was a combination of necessity (proximity to railway station), feel of the place (I often arrived back late and needed to feel safe in the area), luck (I got a flyer through the door the day I had taken a decision to start looking) and the fact that there were a couple of good pubs nearby that me and the boy had frequented and liked.
What we were less prepared for was a nearby Chinese restaurant called "Dynasty" which was set up in an old commercial building and perched atop a brilliant Chinese supermarket which I had been using for a long time.
The day we moved (well, part moved) into the flat had been incredibly busy and hard work (as moves always are) and because I hadn't actually let my house go yet there was none of the usual "box of things to open first in order to make a quick dinner".
In fact, the only place we had the energy to go to was Dynasty. We'd tried it a few months before and were decided less than impressed with the food. We'd chosen the set meal, for speed, and it had been rather uninspiring. Nevertheless, we were knackered, and really hungry so we decided it was the least worst option. This time we chose off the proper menu and were absolutely wowed! We became regulars and always greeted so enthusiastically by the FoH manager, Calvin that when it closed for the area to be flattened and redeveloped, we were devasted.
Fast forward a couple of years.
I'd noticed that there was a huge Chinese supermarket with a restaurant at the edge of the "Ikea/Tesco" retail park. The reviews were great. It's defintely not a proximity thing but we had been thinking about plans that might include a visit.
Yesterday, the weather was lovely so we thought we'd like a bit of a walk to beer-destination of choice. I suggested Fierce and Noble as we'd not been there for a while, and it includes a little amble. The Boy was definitely up for that so we struck out.
The walk was pleasant and the sun was quite warm in the brewery's courtyard when we arrived. The board of draught offerings was a little bit sparce but they had plenty of cans. We got a couple of pints and sat in the yard. It was really nice being back there. It's a little homespun when compared to most of the other brewery set-ups but the beer is good, the people friendly and we quite like a bit of variety.
Whilst musing on the beer, I suggested we might try the Eastgate restaurant. He liked the idea a lot - albeit wondering whether the walk home might be a little long (for me, not him). I was up for it.
We left the brewery and headed over the Eastgate. It's not a road I've ever walked before (I might have travelled by road, but I don't even remember that) - and felt like a bit of a drery slog. Then we saw the building and assumed that we'd be able to get in on the side we saw. As we got to it, we realised there was an additional long slog around the boundary to get to entrance.
Then it was up a looooonnnnngggg flight of stairs to get into restaurant. It was huge...and mostly empty (7pm on a Thursday).
Staff were quietly friendly and soon we had two enormous menus to peruse. We noticed immediately there were some interesting dishes - good sign. We also noticed it was quite pricey.
We ordered.
The starter (smoked shredded chicken) arrived and it was definitely not a good start. Tough, largely flavourless and we couldn't finish it.
We both started to get a bit twitchy.
The mains arrived. A great improvement. Szechuan green beans with pork and chilli was absolutely gorgeous. Prawns with yellow bean sauce OK but a bit overly sauced. Fried rice - generous and well cooked. All in all, most of the food was fine and we finished most of it.
The bill was a bit of a stunner though - almost twice the price of our regular Chinese restaurant in Eastbourne and, green beans aside, definitely not worthy of it.
Has this been somewhere closer (like Dynasty) we would probably have given it a second go - but for the price - but the 5 mile excursion definitely means we won't be making plans to go back.
You definitely have to try these things and be happy you've done so. But next time I think we'll reprise Mayflower in the Bearpit instead.
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