Bargain Bite: Kama Lounge

Bargain Bite!

So after being back home in London over the summer I've ventured back to Cardiff for my second year of University. After packing the car, travelling and unpacking everything again, food - and lots of it - was very much in order.

Just down the road from my new house is the Kama Lounge, Noodle Bar. I've been here a few times now and think it deserves a little accolade for being a damn good place to get hefty but extremely tasty portions of rice or noddle dishes for a fiver.

The food isn't stodgy like your average take-away joint which is handy because these guys also do home deliveries/take away.

You can pick and choose the ingredients, sauces, type of rice or noodles or get set boxes.

In particular the Schezeun noodles, Singapore noodles and Thai green curry rice dishes are worth ordering.

Schezeun noodles

Singapore noodles

Thai green curry with jasmine rice

The side dishes are also quite large so it's best to share one portion.  The tempura vegetables were well cooked and accompanied by a thin sweet chili sauce.

The decor inside the bar-come-restaurant is a bit hodge-podge-charm and the staff are laid back but very helpful. I would say that it is more often than not visited by students who would rather avoid the fast food outlets littering the streets of Cathays but it's perfectly suitable for non students who like a good meal too.

Cha Cha Moon

I've been struggling with whether or not I should include Cha Cha Moon on the blog - mainly because the places I do put on here are places I want to recommend going to rather than to avoid.

Don't get me wrong, the food at Cha Cha Moon is fine, but in general the good points don't seem to outweigh the bad enough. I'm on the fence with this one, and here's why:

Good Points:

• From outside to the interior, the decor looks as though you've stepped into a high-end fine dining restaurant, but luckily you've entered a place which doesn't cost the earth.

• Alan Yau - the man behind Wagamama - opened this Chinese noodle bar alternative in 2008, and to many people's surprise with an astonishingly cheap menu. On average £3.50 per dish, result!

• The produce they cook with is good quality, especially the poultry and prawns. My chilli prawn lao mian had some of the juiciest king prawns I've eaten in ages.

Bad Points:

• The prices haven't stayed that low and the dishes average to about £7. This isn't extortionate but then the quality of the food hasn't gone up with the prices. So rather than a cheap eat which leaves you well fed and feeling smug for saving pennies, you get an average meal for an average price.

• For a noodle bar, the quality of them aren't particularly appetizing. The noddles are served in big clumps which are difficult to separate and eat...

• Unless you're going for lunch, expect to wait in a long, snail's pace queue tailing outside the restaurant.

So, three good points, three bad...and I'm still on the fence.

Maybe if you've been (either to the Soho or Queesway branch), you can help me out and decide for me as to whether Cha Cha Moon is remarkable enough.