Category: UK

May 12, 2013

Spring Menu at Morgan M

During the Easter weekend, I managed to get a small part of the vegetarian crew back together again to enjoy the delights of the very reasonable Morgan M. This place is amazing value and I have no idea how they do tasting menus for so cheap.

We went for the spring “From the Garden” tasting menu. Five courses for only £48. Yes, you still have to pay service, and yes the drinks are extra on top of that. For the quality of the food though, it’s still great value.

Here’s our menu details but I won’t bother trying to write about each dish beacuse each was really great, and was focused on chatting and catching up with everyone that I didn’t really have a chance to take any notes.

Mojette Bean Soup, Carrot, Basil Leaf, Parsley Oil

Early spring salad of artichoke soubise, broad bean and confit tomato, pine nuts and lambs lettuce

Canneloni of “Paris” mushroom julienne, Parsley root Purêe and Broth

Beetroot Glazed with balsamic vinegar, goat’s cheese and pine nuts biscuit

Rhubarb Confit, Pain de Genoa, Rhubarb and Jurançon Ice-cream strawberry coulis

I’m glad to see that they were very busy on a Saturday evening. Much busier than when I went here last time on a Monday evening.

April 15, 2013

Hawksmoor Air Street

Out of the great steak places in London, Hawksmoor is one of those that are consistently good and although, not cheap, is great value for the quality of the food and the service you get. We had a dinner booking at Hawksmoor Air Street, one of the latest expansions of the steak restaurant located near the bottom of Piccadilly. It’s outfitted with a larger number of booths, polished floors and significantly more suited customers to go along with it all. I can only imagine their city outlet would compete with them on this. Nevertheless the food did not disappoint as you can see in the photos below.

Name: Hawksmoor Air Street
Website: http://thehawksmoor.com/airstreet
Found at: 5a Air St London W1J 0AD

April 14, 2013

The Secrets to Perfect Pork Belly

There are a lot of techniques that make a pork belly successful. I recently cooked with for dinner with some friends and, I think, it turned out pretty well:

In order to make a good roast pork belly, you want to ensure the meat is soft. That means slow cooking the meat for a long time. However, you also want a crisp skin. A crisp skin only works with a high temperature, but you have to balance out both of these aspects. Here are a couple of principles worth noting after doing some reading on the internet:

Dry the skin – There are many different ways of drying the skin. Scoring the skin helps more heat get in, and more fat to escape, leading to crisper skin. Salt naturally draws out moisture and will help. Some argue that oil is not needed. I tried a little bit figuring at high temperatures, it’s slightly like frying. Pouring freshly boiled water onto the skin “shocks” and helps draw out more moisture, if you then follow it up by leaving it in the fridge uncovered for a while.
Roast the skin at high temperature – I cooked the pork belly at high heat to start off with to start the skin drying out. I protected the rest of the meat from the heat by putting foil around everything but the skin. I then dropped the temperature, and then towards the end, raised it again.

Here’s a picture of the pork belly, skin sliced, having been drenched with boiling water and then rubbed with salt and left in the fridge to uncover. Before putting into the oven, I patted it down with kitchen paper, added more salt and a little bit of oil before putting it into a hot oven.

Serve with some roasted vegetables and greens!

April 10, 2013

Pear Crumble

Although apple crumble is probably one of the most well known “crumble” desserts, the concept translates very well to other fruits similar to it. Plum, rhubarb, cherry are all good types, but my favourite is the pear crumble. Crumbles are great for a proper winter dessert, and I love the contrast of hot and cold elements when you combine it with custard that has been sitting in the fridge or a plain vanilla ice cream. Even a hot custard works just as well with these sorts of puddings.

There are plenty of variations worth trying including stewing the fruit beforehand to produce a crumble with more sauce, or try cloves *and* cinnamon for a very festive treat. Here’s the recipe that I have used for a crumble pretty reliably:

Ingredients for the base

6 pears (for four people) – Find good cooking pears if you want more texture
20g brown sugar

Ingredients for the topping

100g butter
100g flour
3 tablespoons oats
1 tsp cinammon
30g brown sugar

Method:

Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips. Or cut the butter into the flour with a knife. It should look a little like breadcrumbs afterwards.
Mix in the oats, cinnamon and brown sugar. The oats give the crumble more texture. Try Demerara sugar for some more bite.
Peel, core, and slice the pears into fan-like fingers. Arrange in layers until you at least cover the bottom of the dish you are using
Sprinkle the 20g of brown sugar on top (not too much otherwise it’ll be too sweet)
Cover the pears with the crumble topping and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 180oC until it’s brown
Serve with your choice of accompaniment. Serves four people.

And now in pictures:

Measure out the butter.

Add the flour in.

With some cinammon.

Now with a knife, cut the butter into the flour, or rub it in with your fingertips. Your goal is to coat the butter with flour and minimise the amount of gluten.

Now add the brown sugar.

And muesli. Mix together, and top your cut up fruit.

After baking, enjoy the result. Serve with custard. I prefer the hot-cold contrast and decadence to have crumble served with ice cream.

February 28, 2013

Breakfasting at The Delaunay

One of the very well praised restaurants to have popped up in central London is The Delaunay. It’s a European cafe/restaurant located just off the side of the strand. The cafe portion is unmissable with large windows viewing into a very grand reception, whilst the entrance to the restaurant is slightly inset from some formidable gates.

As a meeting breakfast place, I find this to be a good option because it opens at 7am. Most other places in central London open at 8am, and if you happen to be working in the area that is fine, but hard if you need to further your journey. It’s easy to meet for an hour meeting and then be on your way for a normal day.

Operated by the same people behind The Wolseley and Brasserie Zedel one expects the service and the food to be up to high standards. And it is.

Although we weren’t asked for our coats to be taken, the restaurant has plenty of space and numerous coat stands near most of the tables. We were seated promptly and then asked if wanted some drinks. Juices are reasonable, although I found the £4.50 they charge slightly excessive. Stick with the Americano for the same price, but greater quantities.

Whilst we talk about price. Many of dishes are extremely reasonable. Porridge for £4.75 (yes, it is a restaurant), plain pancakes £6.75, or with bacon £9.50 or blueberries (pictured above) for £9.75. Perhaps you just want some muesli for £4.25. All amazingly great value considering the atmosphere and the execution (three pancakes is plenty!).

At the other extreme, you do pay dearly if you want any of the benedict/florentine/arlington eggs. £7.25 for the cheapest (single), or up to £17 for two. Yes, it’s quality, but it’s terrible dear. Having said that, service was very prompt, the atmosphere extremely grand and a wonderful place to have an early breakfast during the week. Note that the place fills up with suits by about 8am, so it’s definitely the in-place to have some business meetings. I prefer just the leisurely breakfast there.

Name: The Delaunay
Website: www.thedelaunay.com
Found at: 55 Aldwych, London, WC2B 4BB

February 26, 2013

Michelin Starred Food at Morgan M

I have been wanting to eat at Morgan M for some time. The chef is well known for previously running a Michelin-starred restaurant and their clean, French approach was now available just down the road on the hidden side of Smithfields market. I met Luca here for a way to catch up – we both enjoy our food and always tempted to try something new.

Unlike several other restaurants it the area, Morgan M was surprisingly open on a Monday evening. We totally won out by being able to enjoy the food, although the area is quiet on a Monday evening and we didn’t see the restaurant have any other guests the rest of the evening. It’s definitely not a reflection of the food, or the decore – both being very good and also reasonably priced.

We both decided quickly – the seasonally changing menu six course tasting menu is a steal at £52 (obviously more with accompanying wine), and you even get to choose between two alternatives in some of the courses. The bread was fantastic – even that had a choice of two and was obviously fresh out of the oven, slightly warm and a superb crust.

Our first course, cream of turnip and white truffle, glazed button onions definitely set the tone for the entire menu. A warm appetiser, made from in-season ingredients helped to fight against the cold outside and ready our appetites. Though not a big bowl, it’s size did not reflect upon the massive flavours contained in each mouthful.

We diverged at the next dish, Luca opting for the ravioli of snails in Chablis, garlic froth, red wine jus

I wanted to order the crayfish and lobster cannelloni with tarragon, Jerusalem Artichoke Soubise, Shellfish Cappuccino . Although dangerously looking like something you wouldn’t normally see at the dinner table, the cannelloni was divine. Each mouthful burst with the taste of the sea and the last bite wanting for me. Generous with the amount of crayfish and lobster, I have no idea how they make their money with this dish on the menu (I hope they do make money so I can go back and try some others)

Our next dish was a Seared fillet of John Dory, carrot and ginger risotto, lemon and saffron broth. The piece of fish was large – much more than what I expected to have from a tasting menu and cooked well with its skin crisp but still full of moist flesh. The clever ginger and carrot dish helped lighten up the risotto, and my worries for an excessive, overpowering taste were fortunately not met.

We both ordered the same dish out of the next selection. Slow cooked boar, celeriac purée, braised root vegetables, sauce civet. It wasn’t the strongest tasting boar that I’ve had (a good thing) but the meat was tender and fell apart easily and was exactly what I wanted to eat as a main dish on a cold winter day. The braised root vegetables, though cooked still had some bite and the celeriac purée really brought the whole dish together.

A short intercourse of dessert was a light vanilla rice pudding, orange tuille and was strangely the star of the evening. The flavours really burst out of this simple dish and the rice pudding cleverly made light by turning it into a type of ice-cream (it’s going to win my heart over). Combined with the crunch of the well executed tuille it had a contrast of textures that made consuming it a pleasure.

We split at the other dessert course as well. Luca ordering the orange segment salad marinated with Campari, pain de gêne, grand manier ice-cream. It looked really good though I didn’t taste it.

Even though I am not the biggest souffle fan, I still ordered the blueberry and pistachio souffle, blueberry sorbet and pistachio creme anglaise. An impressive, light souffle arrived and a little bit of table-side dining when the waiter struck the souffle lightly (it remained fluffy) before pouring in the pistachio creme anglaise. Though skeptical, the flavours worked wonderfully. I should really have had no doubt.

A really wonderful evening with hospital service, amazing food and good surrounds. Go now, support it’s business and enjoy the great valued-meal there.

Name: Morgan M
Found at: 50 Long Lane, London, EC1A 9EJ
Website: http://www.morganm.com/

February 20, 2013

A Sketch Gallery Experience

Although I have drunk a number of times at the very ritzy, interesting Sketch bar, I’m yet to eat there. The gallery restaurant sits in between the main foyer and the egg-shaped cocktail room (you need to visit the toilets for an interesting alien-like experience) and this is where we ate. There’s is a good reason I haven’t eaten at Sketch as well – because all of the art-themed decore and beautiful surroundings, the unique and its in-the-heart-of-Mayfair location definitely reflects in the prices you pay for the food and drink.

I believe the Sketch Gallery restaurant is the more casual of the two dining locations. The other being a more upmarket restaurant that holds a Michelin star although I don’t really know if it is more formal or fancy. I’m just guessing.

What’s fascinating about the Gallery restaurant is how everything is totally unique – and it’s the interesting attention to detail to ensure that nothing is repeated. The theme goes right all the way through, and I can appreciate the effort. Cutlery, drinking vessels, tables, chairs, all of them completely different. Even the salt and pepper shakers at each table are different.

You could argue this makes replacing broken or missing items much easier, but each item is still pretty high quality. Anyway, on to the food. Bread and butter doesn’t come for free, but at least it was pretty good quality. It really should at £4.

We started with two different dishes. I tried the Chantilly Lace: black rice, basmati rice, lobster bisque, red pepper, horseradish cream (£13). The allure of a good lobster bisque is something I can’t really resist and it was very well executed as well. I did find the double rice combination a bit strange, and would have preferred more bisque and less rice. Still very good.

The other starter was the Foie gras terrine, girolles in vinegar, cranberry chutney, quince paste and pistachio (£24).

The Poached, roasted and lacquered pork belly, crunchy red cabbage, salad was actually reasonable at £20, although I only had a small taste. The pork belly was tender, not too fatty and still full of flavour.

I had ordered the Roast wild venison saddle, and lemon purée, quince paste, shoulder of venison stew, Jerusalem artichokes (£30) and boy was it good. The venison stew was probably the best part of the entire dish although the venison saddle was cooked extremely well (rare!) and still very tender. I just love anything that is so soft, full of flavour and the stew was the perfect vehicle to carry all the other flavours.

We opted to try a couple of sides as well. The strangely sounding (and just as strangely tasting) gnocchi with green curry sauce (£5) and a stack of onion rings (£4) very well executed. Each ring perfectly crisp and a decent sized onion strip inside.

Although none of the desserts really jumped out at me, I figured I wouldn’t be back for a very long time, so it was worth trying something. Just like the main menu, it took me a while deliberating over the crazy choices. They all sounded so complicated and the result sounded quite confusing. In the end we asked for a couple of recommendations and ordered them. The one that I didn’t order, the Sketch Chocolat – Salted butter caramel, sacher sponge cake, guanaja chocolate mousse, orange ice cream. (£10) was probably the best. The orange ice cream by itself was one of the best parts.

I didn’t really want to order the same although that one appealed the most. Instead, I had the Cheese cake – Elderflower sponge cake, cheesecake cream, ‘bono’ shortbread, candied lemon, pear sorbet (£8.5), a lighter and more delicate dessert that was completely the opposite of what you think of when you are ordering a real cheesecake. It was still a very pleasing dessert, though not the best I’ve ever had.

Sketch Gallery is definitely best reserved for one of those special occasions. The price definitely adds up for the meal and that’s not even including the drinks that would add significantly more if you want to try all their amazing cocktails. Still, it was a great experience and I think that’s what they are all about.

Name: Sketch Gallery Restaurant
Found at: 9 conduit street, London W1S 2XG
Website: http://sketch.uk.com/

January 13, 2013

Christmas Pig at St Johns

For the past two years, I’ve missed a Christmas time tradition run by the former Burger Tuesday crowd but this year I was free to join in on the annual Christmas pig tradition. As I mentioned, the group has got together to order the whole sucking pig at the Michelin starred St John Restaurant (although Chris ended up reserving the original St John restaurant because the Spitalfields one ended up all booked out. )

We had a pretty large table to share the pig – somewhere between 12-14 people and reports from previous years implied that we wouldn’t really have any problem devouring the whole pig. I started with a Gin and Tonic as others downed some beers, and we tucked into the generous sourdough bread slices and yummy British pats of butter (not enough for the table that we ended up asking for more).

The pig comes with a set menu, or at least it did around this time. Trying to order a set of starters and desserts for such a large group is hard, let alone plan in things appropriately for the main event. Our starter was an interesting salad combining fairly raw cauliflower, broad beans, parsley and a very strong vinaigrette. Although a number found it strange, the vegetables were probably a great way to start the appetite without filling it with meat.

We consumed bottles of this nice red wine.

The pig arrived at a table just off in the near corner where we were allowed to take photos before they carved the pigs into smaller pieces for distribution. The pig flesh was soft, moist and amazingly tender. The only strange thing was that the crackling wasn’t very… crackling. It turned out to be a lot more chewy and moist than what I had hoped for.

The pig came served with a generous heaping of potatoes and cabbages. Both perfectly cooked and full of natural flavour. I’m happy to report unlike stereotypical cooking, the vegetables were not overcooked or anything like that.

Some of the people who came along in the evening, including Chris who organised the entire night. Well done!

The remains of one of the pig legs.

And some more of the Burger Tuesday crowd celebrating the annual Christmas pig.

And yes, it was quite a big table… with more people.

For dessert, they ended up serving one of the largest pies I have ever seen served.

Naturally served with custard, although they should have served more with it. They only had two small jugs of custard with it and it disappeared very quickly.

We could see the kitchen from our table. Even the use of the white board, indicating some of the changes to the dishes or the different wines on offer for the evening. Early on we could even see the suckling pig hanging around in the kitchen, just waiting to be served.

Remnants of our wine.

And finally the outside of the hotel.

A marvellous meal with some great company.

Name: St John, Restaurant
Found at: 26 St. John Street, London, EC1M 4AY
Website: https://www.stjohngroup.uk.com/

December 28, 2012

Christmas Meal at Galvin at Windows

Another year, and another Christmas meal with my Italian friends. This year, I offered a choice but the group consensus was to try Galvin at Windows Restaurant and Bar. We first met at the Bar, located on the 28th floor of the Hilton Park Lane.

The bar itself was heaving from people visiting for the Christmas spirit. It’s very comfortable, and if you are happy to wait, there are quite a few places to seat with table service with minimal standing space at the bar. The drink selection, impressive and although quite pricy are very well made by their mixologists. I turned up slightly early, waited at the bar for about ten minutes and then was offered a table when everyone else arrived.

As you can see, you get a pretty good view standing.

The bar itself is also just a decadent. The lighting is dim without being dark, and a golden circle highlights the busy bar area where waiters and waitresses alight their table’s empties and collect a few more orders to drink.

Enough about the bar. As we were here to celebrate Christmas. We had a look at the a la carte menu, but finally agreed to settle on the tasting menu. It’s expensive but I think it was a good special occasion to spend it on.

Here’s Luca enjoying the atmosphere.

The bread basket arrived – a classic white plait, small baguette and some brown bread served with a creamy mound of butter. A simple selection, but well executed.

A small amuse bouche arrived, a small mouthful that was part mousse, part sweet and some other ingredients that I’ve sort of forgotten now. I do remember it being very good though. Rich, but just enough to get the palette going.

Our first dish from the tasting arrived, a scallop ceviche, kohlrabi, cucumber, ruby grapefruit and soy. We had the wine pairing, and a relatively sweet wine came alongside this one as it helped bring out the natural sweetness from the scallops. A light dish, well seasoned and tart on the palette but that really all came together.

Here’s the wine that came with this dish.

Our next course was a ballotine of foie gras, kumquat puree, spiced salt and a vanilla brioche. I’m not a huge fan of foie gras – it’s just a little bit rich for me, and the taste doesn’t really do justice to the intense farming process necessary for me. I’ll eat it, but not be one to order it. A brioche pairing works well – although I think having a slightly more toasted brioche provides a nicer texture contrast against the softer flesh.

Our fish course was a poached fillet of Cornish brill, a herb potato crust, Enoki, shellfish and dashi broth. It’s a strangely Asian inspired combination that came from this French kitchen, but one that worked really well. I particularly liked the crust – a soft potato breaking out from a toasted topping then made way for a soft, white flesh. Each bite covered with a salty, earth broth that I just wanted to drink every drop.

Here’s a photo of Marco enjoying his dish.

Our next course was going to be a meat round, so they wheeled out the fancy knifes.

Toni appreciating the weight in the cutlery.

In the end, we didn’t really need the knife since the venison was so soft. Slow cooked saddle of Scottish venison wrapped in Alsace bacon, braised shoulder beignet, red cabbage, watercress and sauce grand veneur. As you can see in the photo, our beignet ended up being more like a croquette, but one that was burstig with flavour from the softly cooked, shoulder. The venison literally melted apart, and the bacon a good addition to season the meat. This was definitely agreed upon as one of the best dishes of the night.

Of course the venison goes with a glass of red.

After the venison, they brought the menu back to ask us whether or not we wanted the cheese course.

Naturally, we said yes. It was our first Christmas meal of the season after all.

An impressive selection of cheeses accompanied with all the usual fruit, chutneys and cracker selection. Very nice.

Our first round of dessert arrives, a lemon posset, strawberry juice and Breton shortbread. This was one of the best posset’s I’ve ever eaten. Super creamy, full of citrusy notes and perfectly paired with a strawberry juice with a tart sweetness that complimented it all. The shortbread was a nice contrast to the posset as well.

The final dessert arrives, after we are getting really full. It’s a white chocolate mousse, blueberry compote and green tea ice cream. Both of the components were relatively light – green tea has a light flavour and white chocolate mousse much better than a heavier plain or dark chocolate mousse would have. A nice course to finish the tasting.

Of course we have espressos to help us digest, and they come accompanied with petite fours.

Finally, our bill arrives with an impressive jar of marshmallows. We try one.

Service impeccable, food very well executed and a great dining venue for special occasions.

Name: Galvin at Windows
Found at: London Hilton Park Lane, 22 Park Lane, London, Greater London W1K 1BE, United Kingdom
Website: http://www.galvinatwindows.com

December 27, 2012

Breakfasting at Caravan

It was a fairly rainy day that I met up with a colleague to talk breakfast about the new client I was going to join. We decided to meet somewhere close to my work, and decided on Caravan. It’s a great place that roasts its own coffee, has a great brunch offering on weekends and just a nice atmosphere all around.

Although tempted by lots of the different offerings on their menu, I started with a flat white whilst I waited for my colleague to arrive.

Well made – a perfect “heart” and all the things I look for in a well made flat white – not too hot, creamy milk foam, and a good combination, I probably could have gone for a second coffee.

Breakfast finally arrives – I went for the caramelised banana served atop a hearty bowl of porridge. The porridge was perfectly stodgy and there was plenty of banana caramel to go around without being too excessive – it was pretty sweet after all, but just enough for the entire bowl.

Name: Caravan Restaurant
Found at: Exmouth Market, London, EC1R 4QD
Website: http://caravanonexmouth.co.uk/