Dinner At Junior Poon Chinese Restaurant & Wine Bar In Clevedon
Published On Thursday 22 Aug 2024 by Sticky Beak
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Often, life can get in the way of the more enjoyable things we like to do, but on this occasion The Mans’ day job allowed us to combine work with pleasure. After some meetings and training, we checked into our room at Best Western Hotels’ ‘Walton Park’ venue, freshened up, and headed out into Clevedon for a bite to eat.
Clevedon is a beautiful little coastal town and there are some lovely eateries, cafes and bakeries to take advantage of; we’ve eaten previously at Scoozi Italian (which is superb), so we wanted, ideally, to try somewhere else to have dinner. Junior Poon is a Chinese restaurant that also has a wine bar downstairs where food is served Tapas-style, if you want to swerve more traditional dining.
His Nibs and I headed down the stairs into a beautiful open-plan space whose bar was the focal point. It has a very atmospheric feel down in the bar, thanks to dimmed lighting and lamps at each table that cast a subdued, warm glow in their immediate vicinity. A lovely chap greeted us warmly and said to find a seat and then come back when we’d decided what we wanted. Junior Poon has lots of nooks and crannies in which to sit and we found one right at the rear of the venue; a low archway provided the entrance to a snug cave-like corner, complete with domed ceiling, dark, squishy sofas and a low, wooden table.
Obviously, the menu downstairs isn’t as extensive as the one in the more formal restaurant upstairs, but there was still more than enough choice to keep us pondering for a while as to what we wanted! Eventually, we settled on the Chef’s Imperial Mixed Platter for Two (£22), adding Sliced Chicken with Peppercorn, Salt and Chilli (£9.50), Crispy Lamb with Spiced Garlic Sauce (£9.50) and Three Delicious Seafood Noodle (£11). Junior Poon also has a range of offers on, and we went for the ‘2 glasses of wine for £6 when ordering any Tapas Mixed Platter’; had it not been a weekday, we might have gone for the ‘Bottle of Wine of The Week for £20 (usually £30)’ deal, as that is great value by anyone’s standard.
Having made our choice, The Man went back up to bar to order, and the young man soon returned with our glasses of wine. There were a couple of other tables taken, and another couple got occupied whilst we were munching, and we’d also spotted that the restaurant was pretty busy as we’d walked up. Music and a gentle stream of chatter gave a nice buzz to the wine bar, and we sat back on the sofas, relaxing before our food arrived.
It wasn’t long before the Imperial Mixed Platter was being placed before us, along with side plates, cutlery and napkins. Presentation-wise, the platter looked wonderful: all the dishes were in neat sections and large Prawn Crackers decorated the outer, with a bowl of Sweet and Sour Dip in the middle. Both of us started in on the crunchy Prawn Crackers, dipping them into the vibrant sauce, and smacking our lips at its punchy flavour. Our first dish to be devoured was the pair of Crispy Wantons, and they really were wickedly crunchy on the outside and filled with a soft, mashed Prawn mix.
As we tucked into the sliced Lamb, we both remarked how similar it tasted to the Mongolian Lamb that Lotus Lounge in Alfreton (Derbyshire) do; turns out that it was Mongolian Lamb…no wonder it was familiar to our palates. We were very happy that we’d ordered a second, separate portion of this, albeit quite unintentionally! The Man Bird divvied up the plentiful Crispy Seaweed between us and then I piled on the Bang Bang Chicken and its accompanying Spicy Peanut Sauce. One of the things we both liked was the mix of hot and cold dishes on the platter; it made for a nice change. The Chicken was nice and juicy; in fact, all the meats were cooked perfectly.
The Sliced Chicken with Peppercorn, Salt and Chilli was absolutely amazing! Popcorn pieces of tender Chicken breast were not at all greasy on their crisp outers, which allowed the seasoning to really zip in the mouth - a really nice dish. His Nibs had hesitated at my suggestion of the King prawn, Squid and Mussel combo in the noodles, but I said that I would happily pick out the Mussels, so he relented. Chef had served the Mussels in their shell, so it was easy-peasy for me to pick them off quickly and savour their juicy, pleasingly firm flesh. Nestled in amongst the generous portion of mixed vegetables and noodles were plump, sweet-tasting King Prawns and scored tubes of Squid that remained wonderfully tender. Everything was spiced delicately, making our platter and extra dishes a truly marvellous feast that left us satiated and content.
Both of us said that we’d happily return here, though we’d be torn between trying the upstairs restaurant or going back into the wine bar for Tapas; I guess that’d depend on our mood at the time. Either way, Hot Wings are happily given to this Clevedon venue.
If you find yourselves at Clevedon (or Bristol or Weston-Super-Mare for that matter, as they’re both close by) then ring 01275 341900 or visit www.juniorpoon.com for menu details and current offers. Junior Poon is closed on Monday, Tues-Thurs does evenings only 5.30-9pm, Fri-Sun opens for lunch Noon-2pm and then for dinner 5.30-9pm.
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