Mamak Corner - The Del Boy of Chinatown

The Only Fools and Horses reference isn't there to suggest that their menu has any equestrian dishes on it, although there is certainly something a little shady going on at Mamak Corner. This Malaysian (but also unconvincingly also Chinese) restaurant, situated at the very end of Stowell street has a lot going for it. Their venue is very attractive, with it's whole crispy ducks in the window and clean finish. The waiting staff are very friendly and there are some really tasty dishes on the menu that differ greatly from the typical Chinese dishes elsewhere on the street. This is of course thanks to their Malay orientation, which they need to be more proud and forthcoming with...why the hell are you competing with Chinese cuisine on the only street in Newcastle that has as many of them as Downtown Beijing?!

The menu is definitely worth sampling and despite the bewilderment riddled within, you can bag yourself something truly delicious. However, make a wrong choice and you can easily be chowing down on a dish that's got a worse bone to meat ratio than a carcass, or bits of fatty meat that may turn you to the dark side (Vegetarianism)! But for the adventurous, this is merely just another challenge to be conquered and enjoyed. The main thing that lets down Mamak Corner, is that although it has a stunning bar, well equipped with a variety of spirits and wines...they don't serve alcohol?! This makes the Fat Spoon very very upset. It's all very well not serving alcohol for whatever reason, but don't lure in the Friday night club with your malicious J2O-serving deception and tea-drinking treachery! We won't ask how the lost their alcohol license...

With this being quite a set back for the restaurant, dinners may choose to opt for visiting this place under lunchtime arrangements. And that can be well accommodative with the variety of special offers, including super cheap set menus, karaoke and even... happy hour drink offers?! At least their confusion is consistent. This is definitely somewhere that could be great, also needs Gordon to come along and give it a huge kick up the backside. 55%

Sohe - Asian Amalgamation

Not all of Newcastle's culinary action resides in the city centre, a number of fantastic fine dining experiences have started to set up shop a little further out. And many of them, like Sohe, can be found in Jesmond, however there is something quite special about Sohe. It has dared to go in a direction that many others have tried but generally monumentally failed to achieve, Asian fusion. Fusion cuisine can be dirty word in cuisine. It's often an excuse to cut corners, utilise cheaper ingredients or just force flavours together that would rather have a fight. No, melting blue cheese on to my lamb tagine is not cooking innovation, it's vulgar and despicable. However, the creators of Sohe's elaborate menu know exactly what they're doing.

Their very successfully accomplished classic Thai, Indonesian and Malaysian dishes are delivered with contemporary class on par with many of Newcastle's heavy hitters. Yet they achieve this without deviating from the originals too heavily, keeping the hardcore Nasi Goreng and beef rendang fans very happy. Dishes that refined looking, that even your grandma would be keen to tuck in, but should she linger in the spicy sauces too long, she'll be hit in the dentures with a fist full of Asian amazement. They don't stop at savoury either, with the fusion incorporation extended to some fantastic desserts.

The restaurant itself is even more alluring and quite possibly the sexiest restaurant of Newcastle. They have combined a huge variety of decor components that should be visually offensive and burn your eye balls out of your skull. But somehow they've achieved another element fusion here, an explosion of vibrancy that creates an exciting dining atmosphere as well as a elegantly lively bar area. The service is very good and although the menu is a little pricey, they do offer diners club discounts. They even have a Vietnamese coffee machine that looks like R2D2 after it won the Euromillions. 91%