Ho's Restaurant, Leeds

I had a monumental craving for noodles on Friday. I'm heading off on an exploratory pho mission this Friday, but just couldn't wait a whole extra week. Only a massive steaming bowl of noodles, meat and broth was going to satisfy. Ideally noodles of a substantial, carbolicious, chewy nature.

I'd noticed before that Ho's has an extensive menu in Chinese and wondered what delights it might be hiding beyond the standard stuff on the English menu, so thought I'd give it a try.

Things didn't get off to a very promising start, the conversation with the waiter going something like this:

Me: Is the Chinese menu different to the English one?
Him: Yes
Me: Has it got any noodle soup dishes on it?
Him: No
Me: Do you do any noodle soup dishes?
Him: Yes
Me: What?
Him: Duck or char siu or beef, thick or vermicelli egg noodle.
Me: (wishful thinking) Any hand pulled noodles or other noodles at all? What sort of broth? Any spicy versions?
Him: No. I can bring chilli oil.
Me: err ok, char sui and vermicelli then please.

When I say unpromising I don't mean to sound ungrateful, his English wasn't great and I think he was trying to help. Unpromising as I didn't think Ho's was shaping up to be the place of my noodle dreams.

So here's what arrived, and it certainly satisfied my craving. The noodles weren't brilliant, but were at least properly cooked so they retained bite throughout. The broth was a little one dimensional but still tasty in a generic umami sort of way. The char siu pork was the highlight, a generous serving, very tender and sweet, the marinade having permeated right through the flesh. A couple of stalks of pak choi rounded things off, providing a bit of colour and health.

Not bad, and reasonably priced at £7.50 for the noodle soup and £1 for a large pot of Chinese tea. There's a lot that warrants further investigation at Ho's though. They obviously don't specialise in soup noodles, but I'd like to know what's on the extensive Chinese menu, and I've a feeling all of the roast meats will be good. There's also a fairly extensive dim sum menu available at lunch and a bakery downstairs.

I grabbed a custard tart from the bakery on the way out, which turned out to be lovely. A light, eggy filling and exceedingly light, almost ethereal pastry. Really good. I'll definitely be back to sample the pork buns and the intriguing sounding sausage bread (as recommended by Jools, cheers for that).

6/10 for the noodles, but 8/10 for that custard tart


115 Vicar Lane
Leeds
LS1 6PJ

Laynes Espresso, Leeds

Ever since opening its doors on New Station Street a few months ago Laynes Espresso has been getting rave reviews. On Saturday I had half an hour to spare between trains so thought I'd go and see what all the fuss was about.

Having done so I can wholeheartedly add to the chorus of praise. Everything about the place was very, very good. A flat white coffee and a slice of Bostok came attractively served on a sort of wooden platter. Attractive, but functional too, taking up much less space than individual plates and saucers. A great idea in a very small room.

The coffee was wonderful, also beautifully presented and tasting divine. I'm no coffee expert, but this was definitely the best I've had in Leeds. Rich, smooth and complex.

I'd never heard of Bostok before, and a quick internet search suggests it might be Canadian? Wherever it's from it's delicious. A thick slice of brioche, spread with a sort of almond paste/cake mix and a few raspberries, baked, then dusted with icing sugar. The almond stuff forms a sort of crunchy, sweet crust that gives way to rich, buttery brioche, the raspberries adding occasional bursts of tart fruitiness. Really, really lovely.

Service was friendly and the prices are more than reasonable. The coffee was £2.00 and the Bostok £1.80. Don't waste your money in Starbucks or any of the other chains. Go here. It's far, far better and costs less too.

9/10

16 New Station Street
Leeds
LS1 5DL

http://www.laynesespresso.co.uk/