Christmas Lunch at In Fusion
The prospect of Christmas lunch out with your work colleagues is usually enough to fill anyone with the slightest bit of dread. Everyone drinks far too much, office politics take over and the food is usually dreadful, too much dry turkey and overboiled sprouts.
So given the opportunity to eat at In Fusion, I leapt at the chance to eat yet more Oriental cuisine.
Entering off a freezing Bute Street, we entered the cosy surroundings of In Fusion and were immediately greeted by the wonderful owner Alice, who treated us all like old friends regardless of whether we had dined there before.
Seated in the quiet restaurant, Alice explained that trade is usually quiet at lunchtime, despite the attraction of competitively priced 2 and 3 Course Business Lunches.
Drinks were served, and as it was Christmas I allowed myself a little wine over lunch (because if you can't drink at a Christmas party, when can you?!) and did not regret it. The Italian Pinot grigio trentino mezzacorona at £14, whilst not the cheapest white on the menu was light and fruity and far too easy to drink!
Once our group was all seated we tucked in to the "Magic and Sparkle Menu", beginning with the Peking Treasure Crispy Duck. Served with Hoi Sin sauce, shredded spring onion and batons of cucumber, we quickly began assembling the little rolls. The duck was indeed crispy and succulent and there was plenty to share amongst us.
One thing about In Fusion is that for a place that is virtually empty they do prefer a quick turn around between courses, so no sooner as we had finished the last pancake but the Oriental Rendezvous arrived. This platter of mixed starters included Prawn Toasts (very good but not particularly prawny), Satay Chicken (succulent and delicious), Barbecue Ribs (so tender the meat slid off the bone), Spring Rolls (steaming hot and packed with chinese cabbage, beansprouts, mushrooms and carrots) and a small pot of Seaweed (served with a mixed salt spice).
Mains were quickly served and I'm afraid this is where it lost it's way a little. The menu we chose had Lemon Chicken, Drunken Prawns in Port and Garlic, Beef Chilli Dance and Duck Plum Supreme.
There was definitely no chicken but there were two prawn dishes (one of which was more curried), three meat dishes that were possibly the beef, duck and maybe a pork dish and a portion of Stir Fried Mushrooms is a peanutty sauce. Despite not being able to identify most of the dishes they were well received, though one diner commented the beef to be a little overcooked. This was all served with a generous portion of egg fried rice.
Dessert was a little bit of a letdown. Our waiter quickly informed us that there was a problem with the freezer so there was no ice cream or sorbet. With the lighter things off the menu, many diners decided to go to the opposite end of the scale - either opting for the Very Chocolate, Chocolate Fudge Cake or the Toffee Banana. After 5 minutes our waiter returned to say the Fudge Cake was off the menu too. At this point I admitted defeat because as much as I adore Banana Fritters I knew that it would just be too much.
This was dissapointing as In Fusion excells at so many other things - with 3 of our diners requiring special menus (Gluten free, Nut Free and Vegetarian) they were catered for spectacularly well with Alice offering alternatives, Vegetarian Crispy Duck (!) and lettuce leaves instead of pancake rolls, or advising customers on which dishes to avoid unless they fancied a trip to A&E.
All in all the food was good and much better than the standard Christmas fare on offer for £18/head.
In Fusion
111 - 112 Bute Street, Cardiff, CF10 5AD
T: 029 2048 8118 or 029 2049 8338
So given the opportunity to eat at In Fusion, I leapt at the chance to eat yet more Oriental cuisine.
Entering off a freezing Bute Street, we entered the cosy surroundings of In Fusion and were immediately greeted by the wonderful owner Alice, who treated us all like old friends regardless of whether we had dined there before.
Seated in the quiet restaurant, Alice explained that trade is usually quiet at lunchtime, despite the attraction of competitively priced 2 and 3 Course Business Lunches.
Drinks were served, and as it was Christmas I allowed myself a little wine over lunch (because if you can't drink at a Christmas party, when can you?!) and did not regret it. The Italian Pinot grigio trentino mezzacorona at £14, whilst not the cheapest white on the menu was light and fruity and far too easy to drink!
Once our group was all seated we tucked in to the "Magic and Sparkle Menu", beginning with the Peking Treasure Crispy Duck. Served with Hoi Sin sauce, shredded spring onion and batons of cucumber, we quickly began assembling the little rolls. The duck was indeed crispy and succulent and there was plenty to share amongst us.
One thing about In Fusion is that for a place that is virtually empty they do prefer a quick turn around between courses, so no sooner as we had finished the last pancake but the Oriental Rendezvous arrived. This platter of mixed starters included Prawn Toasts (very good but not particularly prawny), Satay Chicken (succulent and delicious), Barbecue Ribs (so tender the meat slid off the bone), Spring Rolls (steaming hot and packed with chinese cabbage, beansprouts, mushrooms and carrots) and a small pot of Seaweed (served with a mixed salt spice).
Mains were quickly served and I'm afraid this is where it lost it's way a little. The menu we chose had Lemon Chicken, Drunken Prawns in Port and Garlic, Beef Chilli Dance and Duck Plum Supreme.
There was definitely no chicken but there were two prawn dishes (one of which was more curried), three meat dishes that were possibly the beef, duck and maybe a pork dish and a portion of Stir Fried Mushrooms is a peanutty sauce. Despite not being able to identify most of the dishes they were well received, though one diner commented the beef to be a little overcooked. This was all served with a generous portion of egg fried rice.
Dessert was a little bit of a letdown. Our waiter quickly informed us that there was a problem with the freezer so there was no ice cream or sorbet. With the lighter things off the menu, many diners decided to go to the opposite end of the scale - either opting for the Very Chocolate, Chocolate Fudge Cake or the Toffee Banana. After 5 minutes our waiter returned to say the Fudge Cake was off the menu too. At this point I admitted defeat because as much as I adore Banana Fritters I knew that it would just be too much.
This was dissapointing as In Fusion excells at so many other things - with 3 of our diners requiring special menus (Gluten free, Nut Free and Vegetarian) they were catered for spectacularly well with Alice offering alternatives, Vegetarian Crispy Duck (!) and lettuce leaves instead of pancake rolls, or advising customers on which dishes to avoid unless they fancied a trip to A&E.
All in all the food was good and much better than the standard Christmas fare on offer for £18/head.
In Fusion
111 - 112 Bute Street, Cardiff, CF10 5AD
T: 029 2048 8118 or 029 2049 8338
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