Comments on: Restaurant critic vs Food blogger: Who do you trust? Part two

By: Foodbydick

Foodbydick — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 07:54:44 +0000

Do what you want. A blogger, as is with a writer, is only as good as their content. Prove me wrong but bloggers do not get special priveleges to take photos and “bona fide” critics dont even take photos. Most bloggers murder food with their photos equivalent to dropping trou and taking a massive curly on the plate of giles coren.

Good luck with your crusade.

By: S Lloyd

S Lloyd — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 04:39:09 +0000

Great article and one that directs me back to the original reason about why I decided to publish my own food web blog: the lack of trust in some food critics and some bloggers. Many years ago, I used to rely a lot on their scripts to chose restaurant only to face some hidden realities that ended annoying me and forced me into great caution: it started with couple of restaurants where I was not allowed to take photos whilst some food critics and food bloggers were allowed such priviledge. It was a 1st wake up call where I realized that some things were not ticking right under the hood: some were abviously allowed things that others would not. Then things got even easier: many did not even mind hiding their agendas with writings such as ”I walked in the restaurant and they recognized me”" or ”I told the wait staff that I was recommended by a friend who happen to bring them a lot of customers”. I mean, I had no other choice but to find out on my own. As I always remind to my readers: at least, what I’ll get is exactly what you’ll get! I remain anonymous all the way (not even showing up my face on the web so that restaurant staff do not recognize me), ensuring to enjoy an experience that anyone will get.

By: vivi

vivi — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 20:53:35 +0000

this is absolutely off topic.
but i think giles coren looked pretty damn hot in the BBC programmes on what they use to eat back then……i think it was victorian era where he had a moustache. I thought he was pretty hot/funny there lol.

Although i trust bloggers if they are blogging about thier own culture of food. =) thats a big big point for me. I would trust a chinese blogger over a caucasaian blogger for chinese restaurants just because its their cuisine.

By: Mien Tay, Dalston « An American in London

Mien Tay, Dalston « An American in London — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:09:27 +0000

[...] London Eater, by the way, has been writing thoughtful posts on why we trust food bloggers even though some of us aren’t exactly inconspicuous at restaurants (so query the consumer advocacy of someone who’s drawing special treatment perhaps as much as a professional reviewer would), and most of us visit a restaurant only once before sharing our opinions. Exhibit A: soft-shell crab at Mien Tay in late June 2008 [...]

By: Foong

Foong — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:14:03 +0000

Hmmm….I’d say any reviews from a food blogger or a food critic is purely subjective. This is because everyone’s taste buds are different, thus the saying ‘one man’s meat, another man’s poison’.
A case in point would be the wonderful ‘king of fruit’ – durian. If you ask 10 Malaysians, not everyone will agree that the fruit tastes good and probably each and everyone will say different things about that single one fruit.
And then there’s the aroma.
Some likened it to dirty wet socks and clogged drains while others likened it to rotten fruits or leaked gas.
So, in my opinion, all reviews are true – in the perspective of the reviewer. It is quite another thing for the reader cause the reader may not have the exact same taste as the reviewer.
Remember Zimmern eating the beating heart of a frog? He thinks it tasted good but I doubt most of us will think that!
That’s why, though I love reading food reviews, in blogs or anywhere else, I always do it with an open mind.
Just my two cents.

By: Kang L.

Kang L. — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 22:43:41 +0000

Charmaine, Vivi, foodsnob, genuiness, doug and annie:
Thanks for the extensive comments! You guys just sparked off some pretty interesting points and got my debating juices flowing.

i’m going to consolidate my reply as a part 3 follow-up post to this discussion

By: vivi

vivi — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 20:38:03 +0000

okie, im upset now. my essay got accidently twice =_=. so heres my shorter shorter version of what i wanted to say:
i trust some bloggers over critis, since bloggers are more like us
use a range of sources, both bloggers and critics
everyone experiences different situations at the same restaurant, (for exmaple me at leongs legends was bad, but some other blogger experienced good)
take a risk and try it for yourself

By: genuiness

genuiness — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 20:21:51 +0000

Kang, I personally would place more emphasis on the opinion of food bloggers and word of mouth of my friends than restaurant critics. I have absolute disdain for critics who are so up their arses. e.g. Giles Coren who spends 95% of his review talking about everything but the food. People like AA Gill who will give a bad review simply because a restaurant doesn’t give them preferential treatment. And as you rightly pointed out, many restaurants do give critics preferential treatment – looks of ‘on the house’ treats and free meals.

The other problem with food critics is that some of them (though not all) base their review on the cheaper lunch menu which may not be a true reflection of the cooking at the restaurant. For example, the Good Food Guide describes Le Gavroche’s set lunch as ‘much cheaper, perhaps using a few less fanciful ingredients’ is perhaps missing the point. Nor is judging a restaurant like Hibiscus solely on their (experimental, chemistry class 101) lunch menu truly representative of the level of the cooking at the restaurant.

As with everyone, each person has their own preferences and area of expertise. Hence, I might agree with a guide book with regards to say French cooking, I find their opinion on say Malaysian cooking (where I come from) to be wildly off the mark. Is it to say the guide/critic is wrong? Maybe.. maybe not. Of course, Malaysian food has to adapt to the taste and preferences of people here – so while it may not be authentic, it is a good intepretation of it.

As such, I place more weight on food bloggers that share similar preferences and taste with me. Foodsnob is a good example – I have found that we generally share the same opinion when it comes to different restaurants so it is easier for me to make a decision when I am uncertain about a restaurant. Case in point – I was pretty undecided about going to Ambassade de l’Ile having heard mixed reviews of it (including of course the infamous Giles Coren review where he kept harping on about the decor because he didn’t like the colour purple was shameful) but decided to book it for my girlfriend’s birthday based on foodsnob’s recommendation and was definitely not disappointed.

p/s Charmaine… you could always do what Gordon Ramsay did in one episode of Kitchen Nightmares ie have some unassuming person come in for the booking and order for you and do a switcheroo halfway through

By: Douglas

Douglas — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 23:22:44 +0000

‘Trust No One’ (?)

By: Loving Annie

Loving Annie — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 17:49:09 +0000

Good Saturday morning to you Kang,

This opened some great discussions !
I would agree with you on the great bowl of noodles vs. michelin restaurant paragraph totally. Good point made there – food is at the heart of what makes greatness for some things.

Charmaine brought up some thoughtful points as well.

So glad I found your blog – you are stimulating my brain as well as my appetite

Loving Annie