Friday, 28th June 2002
M.E.N. Review: Man-Zen Oriental Restaurant
WHATS in a name? Well, a very great deal judging from the way companies have thrown cartloads of cash at rebranding exercises. One2One is now T-Mobile, British Steel changed to Corus and so on.
Some re-brands then spend another shedful on reversing the process. British Airways painted its fleet's tailfins in meaningless patterns and painted them all out again and Consignia is being consigned to the waste basket by the Post Office.
Perhaps craziest of all, the accountancy firm PriceWaterhouseCooper paid consultants £75m to come up with a new name: Monday. I know PriceWaterhouseCooper Consulting hardly rolls of the tongue, but Monday? Don't they know people don't like Mondays?
And to think these people are supposed to be in the business of advising other firms how not to spend their money.
Which brings me to Evergreen. Evergreen is supposed to last forever. It didn't. Maybe Westlife and Pop Idol Will Young have something to do with the leaves dropping off. At any rate, Evergreen, the long-established Chinese Restaurant in Hale's main street is no more.
Enter Man-Zen Oriental Restaurant to take its place. No, I don't know what it means, either - could be Evergreen for all I know - but since what really matters in the restaurant game is location, location, location, the change of monicker, together with the venue's change of ownership, probably counts for a lot less than a change of address would have.
And in the main street of this village of many restaurants and serial diners-out, Man-Zen truly has location in triplicate. The place is large, as before, but the décor has become more hip; stylish black, gold and garnet red with artwork suggestive of, rather than beholden to, the Far East. Very tasteful, very chic.
The initial thought that the change would also usher in more of a pan-Asian menu, however, is not really carried through despite its considerable length. The fare is still firmly rooted in China - Cantonese, Pekingese and Szechuan dishes are all reasonably well represented - but the odd interloper creeps in here and there (Tom Yam Gai soup, char-grilled satay, Thai fishcakes and Thai crispy chicken making token appearances). There is, however, a wide array of fish and seafood choices and vegetarians are very well catered for with 32 items across the range of dim sum, starters, soups and main courses.
We started with soft shell crab with chilli and garlic (£4.50) and steak rolls stuffed with garlic and coriander in black pepper sauce (£5.50). And if you think that's a lot of chilli, garlic and sundry other fiery spices, you're right.
And we didn't flinch at similar robust flavours with the mains either. Never let it be said that Chinese food has to be bland. The soft shell crabs were delicious, crispy (well you wouldn't want them too crunchy now, would you?) and their fine flavour did not submit to the chilli and garlic's keen, clean bite. The steak rolls were good, too - also slightly crisped outside, then succulent in their rich peppery sauce.
For the main courses we explored part of the comprehensive fish and seafood choice which includes lobster, sea bass, Dover sole, monkfish, scallops, king prawns and cod. We shared (one of the great bonuses of Oriental eating is that you don't have to swap plates) wok-fried halibut steak with spicy Szechuan sauce (£9.90) and fresh squid with chilli and garlic (£6.80) with a serving of soft noodles with bean sprouts and spring onion (£3.20).
The plentiful squid came fried in a light batter and was dryish - benefitting, in fact, from the rich and subtly peppery Szechuan sauce that accompanied the halibut. This came as a steak that fell into thick, meaty chunks, though one had to beware of the odd bone. Filleting fish with chopsticks is a highly practised art.
The wine list is an up-to-date trawl through the popular spots of both old and new worlds; house selections are Spanish and Australian, £9.50 the bottle, £2.50 the glass and a Tiger Beer is £2.50. We had a fresh fruity Aussie chardonnay for around £12.
Cooking : Pan-Chinese rather than pan-Asian with exceptional fish and vegetarian choice.
Style : Modern with touches of gilded grandeur.
Plus : Appealing wine list.
Minus : They're too eager to pour it.
Value : Par for the course at this level; we paid a shade above £50 including drinks and a 10 per cent tip.
Man-Zen Oriental Restaurant is at 169 Ashley Road, Hale, Altrincham (0161 928 1222). Open Mon-Sat 5.30pm-11.30pm; Sun noon-10pm; Sun buffet noon-5pm. Designated no smoking area.
|
