Como quieras
Monday, May 19, 2008
Good things should never end
I know this isn't food related but it's just toooooo cute not to share... (Foodie purists look away now!)
¶ 2:19 PM 0 comments
¶ 2:19 PM 0 comments
City dining
(from left: Diver caught scallops, herb puree, caramelised baby onions, Alsace bacon, sauce Nero; Sea bass, caramelized pumpkin ,smoked paprika, lemon and garlic oil; St Marcellin, fresh pear, Poil.ne date and walnut bread)
M E N U D U S O I R
AVAILABLE FROM 6PM - 2 COURSES .16.95 - 3 COURSES .19.95
Sweetcorn and potato velout., olive oil and parsley
Rillette of Bresse goose, kohlrabi remoulade, poil.ne melba
Sea bass, caramelized pumpkin ,smoked paprika, lemon and garlic oil
Sauteed featherblade of Longhorn beef, swede puree and red wine shallots
Saffron risotto, ameretti biscuit, parmigiano reggiano
Pineapple carpaccio, coconut glac. and vodka syrup
St Marcellin, fresh pear, Poilane date and walnut bread
¶ 5:11 AM 0 comments
(from left: Diver caught scallops, herb puree, caramelised baby onions, Alsace bacon, sauce Nero; Sea bass, caramelized pumpkin ,smoked paprika, lemon and garlic oil; St Marcellin, fresh pear, Poil.ne date and walnut bread)As I live and work in the City, finding a good place for dinner is a constant crusade. There are a billion eateries, unfortunately mostly only open for lunch and usually never open on weekends. So in another of my more idle moments, I looked around Time Out London for some inspiration.
Sauterelle was what I came up with, close enough to work AND home and to the friend I was about to meet up with (he works around Liverpool St). Better yet, they had a 3-course set menu for £19.95 that looked promising.
The restaurant is housed in the very impressive Royal Exchange which somehow reminds me of the QVB in Sydney (probably because it's a period building converted into a mall with posh shops), on the first floor by the right nearest corner as you go in from the main entrance. The restaurant also has a bar, which was really busy compared to the restaurant at around 8 pm. The restaurant was only half full, and being a Friday night, I just put it down to people wanting to get as far away from work for dinner to celebrate the weekend.
We asked to be shown the set menus, which in typical set menu fashion had some nice things and some things I didn't quite fancy as much. (Objectively though, there was a decent choice - see menu below)
M E N U D U S O I R
AVAILABLE FROM 6PM - 2 COURSES .16.95 - 3 COURSES .19.95
Sweetcorn and potato velout., olive oil and parsley
Rillette of Bresse goose, kohlrabi remoulade, poil.ne melba
Sea bass, caramelized pumpkin ,smoked paprika, lemon and garlic oil
Sauteed featherblade of Longhorn beef, swede puree and red wine shallots
Saffron risotto, ameretti biscuit, parmigiano reggiano
Pineapple carpaccio, coconut glac. and vodka syrup
St Marcellin, fresh pear, Poilane date and walnut bread
Thankfully, my companion Y like some bits I didn't so we effectively ordered one set, and then ordered a la carte and shared. Y had the Rillette in the set, while I had the scallops (£12.50), both were competent and we had a quick wikipedia moment as we found out what rillette was (considering Y is Belgian and French is his first language and he didn't know, I didn't feel all that ashamed wiki-ing it) (fyi, it's very much similar to pate but the technique is different) - a good start when food provides entertainment (admittedly it wasn't trying to).
I had the sea bass, which was probably my favourite thing, I really do love fish with crispy skins! Although nowhere near as sublime as what I had in Can Fabes (see earlier post), it was still fresh and I mopped up all of it. Y had the Roast haunch of Yattendon venison, confit savoy cabbage, swede puree, sauce Grand Veneur (£17) and he seemed happy with his meat. We also shared some purple sprouting broccoli (all the rage in Spring London - I've had this four times already)
Portions are decent so we were pretty full at the end of it, and decided to just have the pear in the set to finish off. This was comforting though a bit lukewarm and quite sweet so I'm glad we shared - too rich for me, though I think Y might disagree and would happily have had this to himself.
We also had half a bottle of white wine and the bill came up to around £90 for two. All in all an enjoyable meal, not too poncy and service was actually friendly and attentive. Was thinking this would be a good place to bring a date to impress ;) especially if you're looking to do so around the City! Set menu is really good value for a place with such setting and for the area, but a la carte might be more prohibitive for regular dining (don't think they change the set menu that often). Even then, it's competitively priced when you compare it to the likes of the Pasternoster Chop House (which has hearty fresh food in a great ambience (more casual and suited for a big bunch of friends) but really quite pricey!).
_____________________
Restaurant Sauterelle
Royal Exchange
T: 020 7618 2483
_____________________
Friday, May 16, 2008
Can Fabes(ulous)
Our Italian waiter with assorted loaves of bread
Part I of Guisantes y Habas: Gelee con una crema caliente, jamon y menta
Pescao de Mercado de la lonja de Blanes - cocido a la plancha con cocotte de verduras
¶ 3:49 AM 0 comments
Our Italian waiter with assorted loaves of bread
Part I of Guisantes y Habas: Gelee con una crema caliente, jamon y mentaPescao de Mercado de la lonja de Blanes - cocido a la plancha con cocotte de verduras
Honestly thought we were on an excursion to a cute village somewhere to eat some rustic hearty (implication: cheap(er)) grub... the result of having not done my homework on the restaurant before. So yes, I looked at the website to figure out how to get there, but no I didn't read the bit about it being a 3 Michelin-starred restaurant...
So there we were in Saint Celoni, some 50 mins by train from Barcelona walking in a small little town before we found the restaurant in a cute little house. We were then ushered into our own private dining room (probably due to the beneficence of having our reservation made by a chef) - with gorgeous wooden beams - truly rustic. Our (Italian) waiter was fantastic, patiently explaining the Spanish menu to us, and his enthusiasm at explaining the bread was just marvellous. No snobs here - plus points!!
So there we were in Saint Celoni, some 50 mins by train from Barcelona walking in a small little town before we found the restaurant in a cute little house. We were then ushered into our own private dining room (probably due to the beneficence of having our reservation made by a chef) - with gorgeous wooden beams - truly rustic. Our (Italian) waiter was fantastic, patiently explaining the Spanish menu to us, and his enthusiasm at explaining the bread was just marvellous. No snobs here - plus points!!
Thank goodness my travel companions CN, NH and RP were really accommodating and didn't even raise an eyebrow (or if they did, they were very restrained or I was too shocked myself to notice their reactions) when we finally sat down and opened the menus. Frankly I was gobsmacked. Just wasn't expecting starters to cost a minimum of €46! (damn the strong euro as well) And with my poor spanish, I first saw the tasting menu and the figure on the page was €250!!! (Turns out that was for the chef's table - tasting menu is actually an almost reasonable €140+) (it's all relative *shrug*)
Having only just had the tasting menu at ABAC the night before, most of our group of 6 were feeling too stuffed to have the tasting menu again. So we opted to have starters and mains, and decide if we could stomach dessert later.
Disclaimer: the names of the dishes below have been translated with my paltry Spanish and may not be entirely accurate, usually having omissions where I can't understand :P
We all opted for various different things, white asparagus with almond milk, onion cream and citrus peel; a two-part starter with the jelly and cold cream (gazpacho like), ham and mint in the picture with a second part being peas, poached egg, breadcrumbs and garlic; foie gras with shallots and salsa oil, langoustines with orange and tender (habitas); prawn ravioli with cep oil...
Everyone loved their starters but having nibbled (in true Asian fashion) a bit of everything round the table, I thought the prawn ravioli and the first part of the two part starter of jelly and cream were what really stood out. The prawn ravioli had a translucent lustre not dissimilar to soon kueh (but of course much finer) and was slippery with the texture being somewhat like a very fine dumpling (xia jiao or har kow). With the cep oil it was not too salty or rich, but tasted really fresh. Sublime.
As to the jelly with cold cream, ham and mint, it was a bit like a gazpacho since it was cold and creamy and had the freshness with the mint. We tried the bits to the dish separately and were unimpressed, but not (that) surprisingly when we mixed everything up, it was goooood. The salmon roe made the dish reminiscent in taste with Tetsuya's salmon sashimi and tobiko rice and the hot weather outside made this instantly refreshing.
For mains we had again tried different things, with the fish of the market, from Blanes market, grilled with a vegetable cocotte being my favourite. My dad loves ordering fish (our Cantonese blood) wherever we go but as much as I LOVE my steamed pomfret, sea bass etc, I usually find fish in European restaurants competent but lacking any wow factor. Here at Can Fabes though, the fish was excellent. The fish skin was nice and crispy, and the grilling with only a light sauce really flaunted the freshness of the fish.
Somehow the other fish dish, rape with snails and polenta paled by comparison - as there were more flavours there and might have been a bit too rich for me. Again relativity was at work, the other dishes were all well executed and yummy in their own way, but I tend to be more impressed when the flavours are milder and more subtle - I also get suspicious of the freshness of my food when it is drowned in rich sauce.
Portions were more than adequate (none of the namby pamby portions one associates with fine dining) and at the end of two courses we were all too full for dessert. But of course it's nice to end with a sweet note and the petit fours ended the meal perfectly. An assortment of tuiles (so thin and fine I could eat them all day and not feel like I've ingested a single calorie), madeleines (which joone normally professes to dislike but thought was really good after I nagged her repeatedly to try - I also do not care for madeleines normally: too sweet), chocolate truffles, marshmallows tasting of fennel, little fruit tarts etc. made us all happy bunnies.
Of, lest I forget, we also had the house cava (so good I brought one home, notwithstanding the risk of explosion after check in on the plane) and the house white (decent, but more forgettable). Joone and I also had a little tasting of their house red (approx €55) as joone was considering buying back, but I guess I didn't think it brilliant enough to pay for.
So what was the damage? Two courses each (with the usual amuses bouche and petit fours), with cava and plenty of white wine round the table came to €160 per person. The meal took about 3.5 hours and was thoroughly enjoyable (brilliant company plus brilliant food = always a winner!) Verdict? Can Fabes is truly fabulous cooking, and worth every euro (once in a long while)... I think it's made its way into my top 5 fine dining restaurants! (How on earth is this ranked below Hakkasan (which I love but simply don't think is as Faaabulous)?!)
Quick go, before someone discovers how amazing it is again and elevates the ranking (and price)!
_____________________
Can Fabes
Sant Joan
6 Sant Celoni
T: +34 938 672 851
______________________
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Barrafina Bites!
I've noticed how much I've been eating out, purely from my dwindling bank balance rather than my waist size (I elect never to own a weighing scale, except an electronic one for baking, and so remain blissfully unaware of the harsh realities of what daily three course european dinners can do to you).
I blame Tesco. I really do. Why can't they (or ANYONE) open a DECENT store near me, instead of that travesty of a Tesco Metro that they have (admittedly) two minutes from my flat? It doesn't even have mushrooms (not when I need them anyway)! Thus due to lack of inspiring ingredients, I find myself unwilling to cook anything besides microwave food, which though an extremely alluring option at work after weeks of the only slightly varying canteen menu, simply can't compete with the likes of all these Time Out Critic's Choices restaurants. Of course there's also the simpler explanation of just not having time to cook, particularly when out on the way to the theatre after work (but I needed some excuse to rant about my local Tesco).
And so it was, last Tuesday night, that prior to a wonderful night at Comedy Camp at the the Arts Theatre Club on Frith Street I found myself queuing for a table at Barrafina at 6 pm. My companion NH was convinced that no one could possibly want to eat that early and that we would get a table, so when we did eventually get there after a leisurely wander from Fleet Street, there were about 12 people in front of us. At 6 pm. This led to our usual conversation topic of how we can't understand (we know of course but understanding is something altogether) where all these people are from? Don't they have to work? Who's supporting this economy?! All the time blatantly ignoring the fact that we've scooted off work early (it's all relative) to be ready to eat at 6.
Anyway, I digress. NH was genuinely shocked, but I suppose he saw it as some sort of sign that it must be good. Though if not for the fact that it was another 2 hours to our show starting, I think he would have protested, and I would have found myself at the Nando's down the road. (no slur on Nando's I love it and just had it last night)
The restaurant only has around 25 seats around a bar, not unlike a sushi counter, so doing the maths, 25 seats, 12 ahead of us, we had a bit of waiting. Thankfully, the waiters do a great job of coming around to take your drinks orders and having some wine helps to keep you from staring too psychotically at diners' backs willing them to leave.
Nonetheless, I found the experience of drinking while waiting rather odd in this particular circumstance. I had always thought tapas were meant to be sort of like bar snacks one had with wine before (admittedly a very late) dinner. Except here the wine was clearly playing the supporting role.
Surprisingly the line does move quite quickly, I have a theory it's because you wait so long you're so hungry, you order really quickly, scoff your food down and therefore you're stuffed really quickly and then you have to leave to have a bit of a walk to digest it all. Either that or my staring at those people menacingly worked.
We took our seats right in front of the tortilla making zone. Fascinating. They make these really cute omelettes that look like large babybel cheeses in little brass omelette pans and then pop them out, pat them to check they're just the right squidginess before serving them! You have to see it to believe it.
Anyway, menu's are on the placemats so off we went, ordering the Jamon and Spinach Tortilla, Grilled Chorizo with Watercress, and one of the specials of the day, the featured Langoustines with Salsa - we thought we'd take it slow since we were still waiting for another friend. And yummmmmm... I'm not sure if it's because we had whetted our appetites gawking at other people's food for 30 mins but the langoustines were very fresh and lightly grilled, so that even the slightly uncooked bits tasted lovely. NH loved the chorizo (though I think he loves chorizo anywhere) and the tortilla hit a spot (moist and tasty and of course with the whole presentation it was hard not to love).
Inspired, we then ordered the Grilled Quail with Al-i-Oli, Chips with Brava Sauce and Pimientos de Padron. Think these were less impressive (again maybe because we weren't so hungry by now), though the quail was juicy and tender. The dishes arrived fairly quickly, so that when our friend arrived, we were already finishing...
All in all, a good meal, but far from cheap. Again everything being relative, this place is (from rusty memory) cheaper than its sister restaurant Fino. And you don't have to book, but then of course the downside is the wait. Another thing is that this doesn't seem to me to be authentic tapas (I'm not Spanish so I can't say authoritatively) but instead tapas for foodies - make no mistake, no one there thinks they're just accompaying bar nibbles - made with whatever's fresh and available (and accordingly adjusted prices for affluent Londoners). The people behind the counters are clearly trained professionals, rather than the bar's wife/mother/sister cooking from recipes handed down from generation to generation.
Nonetheless I really did enjoy myself. Food and wine were good and though the bar seating arrangement means that it's it's best a place for dinners for two and the perpetually long queues means it's not really a good place to really drink and graze (this is my own conscience at work - the staff were very sweet, and never once did they suggest we should eat quicker!). Definitely worth a go if you have time.
Food, wine and service for two around £55.
__________________________
Barrafina
54 Frith Street
London W1D 4SL
T 020 7813 8016
__________________________ ¶ 5:55 AM 2 comments
I've noticed how much I've been eating out, purely from my dwindling bank balance rather than my waist size (I elect never to own a weighing scale, except an electronic one for baking, and so remain blissfully unaware of the harsh realities of what daily three course european dinners can do to you).
I blame Tesco. I really do. Why can't they (or ANYONE) open a DECENT store near me, instead of that travesty of a Tesco Metro that they have (admittedly) two minutes from my flat? It doesn't even have mushrooms (not when I need them anyway)! Thus due to lack of inspiring ingredients, I find myself unwilling to cook anything besides microwave food, which though an extremely alluring option at work after weeks of the only slightly varying canteen menu, simply can't compete with the likes of all these Time Out Critic's Choices restaurants. Of course there's also the simpler explanation of just not having time to cook, particularly when out on the way to the theatre after work (but I needed some excuse to rant about my local Tesco).
And so it was, last Tuesday night, that prior to a wonderful night at Comedy Camp at the the Arts Theatre Club on Frith Street I found myself queuing for a table at Barrafina at 6 pm. My companion NH was convinced that no one could possibly want to eat that early and that we would get a table, so when we did eventually get there after a leisurely wander from Fleet Street, there were about 12 people in front of us. At 6 pm. This led to our usual conversation topic of how we can't understand (we know of course but understanding is something altogether) where all these people are from? Don't they have to work? Who's supporting this economy?! All the time blatantly ignoring the fact that we've scooted off work early (it's all relative) to be ready to eat at 6.
Anyway, I digress. NH was genuinely shocked, but I suppose he saw it as some sort of sign that it must be good. Though if not for the fact that it was another 2 hours to our show starting, I think he would have protested, and I would have found myself at the Nando's down the road. (no slur on Nando's I love it and just had it last night)
The restaurant only has around 25 seats around a bar, not unlike a sushi counter, so doing the maths, 25 seats, 12 ahead of us, we had a bit of waiting. Thankfully, the waiters do a great job of coming around to take your drinks orders and having some wine helps to keep you from staring too psychotically at diners' backs willing them to leave.
Nonetheless, I found the experience of drinking while waiting rather odd in this particular circumstance. I had always thought tapas were meant to be sort of like bar snacks one had with wine before (admittedly a very late) dinner. Except here the wine was clearly playing the supporting role.
Surprisingly the line does move quite quickly, I have a theory it's because you wait so long you're so hungry, you order really quickly, scoff your food down and therefore you're stuffed really quickly and then you have to leave to have a bit of a walk to digest it all. Either that or my staring at those people menacingly worked.
We took our seats right in front of the tortilla making zone. Fascinating. They make these really cute omelettes that look like large babybel cheeses in little brass omelette pans and then pop them out, pat them to check they're just the right squidginess before serving them! You have to see it to believe it.
Anyway, menu's are on the placemats so off we went, ordering the Jamon and Spinach Tortilla, Grilled Chorizo with Watercress, and one of the specials of the day, the featured Langoustines with Salsa - we thought we'd take it slow since we were still waiting for another friend. And yummmmmm... I'm not sure if it's because we had whetted our appetites gawking at other people's food for 30 mins but the langoustines were very fresh and lightly grilled, so that even the slightly uncooked bits tasted lovely. NH loved the chorizo (though I think he loves chorizo anywhere) and the tortilla hit a spot (moist and tasty and of course with the whole presentation it was hard not to love).
Inspired, we then ordered the Grilled Quail with Al-i-Oli, Chips with Brava Sauce and Pimientos de Padron. Think these were less impressive (again maybe because we weren't so hungry by now), though the quail was juicy and tender. The dishes arrived fairly quickly, so that when our friend arrived, we were already finishing...
All in all, a good meal, but far from cheap. Again everything being relative, this place is (from rusty memory) cheaper than its sister restaurant Fino. And you don't have to book, but then of course the downside is the wait. Another thing is that this doesn't seem to me to be authentic tapas (I'm not Spanish so I can't say authoritatively) but instead tapas for foodies - make no mistake, no one there thinks they're just accompaying bar nibbles - made with whatever's fresh and available (and accordingly adjusted prices for affluent Londoners). The people behind the counters are clearly trained professionals, rather than the bar's wife/mother/sister cooking from recipes handed down from generation to generation.
Nonetheless I really did enjoy myself. Food and wine were good and though the bar seating arrangement means that it's it's best a place for dinners for two and the perpetually long queues means it's not really a good place to really drink and graze (this is my own conscience at work - the staff were very sweet, and never once did they suggest we should eat quicker!). Definitely worth a go if you have time.
Food, wine and service for two around £55.
__________________________
Barrafina
54 Frith Street
London W1D 4SL
T 020 7813 8016
__________________________ ¶ 5:55 AM 2 comments
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Mozzarella anyone?
If anyone has had the (mis)fortune to know me back in the day of ICQ, you'd have known that my ICQ nickname was "mozarella" and I was affectionately known by my ICQ friends as "mozzie" which really I think was their way of telling me that I was sponging on them way too often.
(Clearly I had not had the foresight to avoid giving my friends the opportunity of this declaration when I chose the nickname, which came about as I was chowing through a very delicious slice of pizza as I was creating my ICQ account and the cheese inspired me.)
Moving on some almost ten years
(Sorry, that realization almost knocked me out cold. *composing myself*)
Yes, moving on some almost ten years, and my taste in cheese as in many other things, seems to have changed quite a bit. Back then, I was quite fond of the harder cheeses, probably the result of my immature or romanticised perception of cheese - that cartoon emmental favoured by the likes of Jerry or Mighty Mouse. I still love very thinly sliced emmental in my roast beef sandwich from La Fontaine below my office in Hong Kong, and it's not that hard, but I also loved - cheese connoisseurs look away now! - Babybel and Kraft Singles... :)I think I only ever got as exotic as Gouda and Edam (don't laugh).
They seemed such tasty independent snacks, I could eat them without a cracker in sight! But of course I then got to know the wonderful Bries and Camemberts common at all those wine tastings (an all too common university student activity) and Carr's Table Waters became a standard feature of my larder.
Today I am still no connoisseur, and couldn't tell the provenance of my cheese (beast and country) even if it bleated at me. But having recently moved back to London, I am now able to indulge in tasting such varieties of cheeses from such fabulous fromageries as Neal's Yard, which is of course where this bevy of cheeses in the photo are from, from their Borough Market stall.
Thanks to C and R for snaring these British Beauties ahead of our trip to Provence (I think there's still something vaguely ironic about us bringing cheeses to Provence but I haven't quite put my finger on it). They were brought as a gift (or as penance) to our wonderful hosts, C's parents who had to tolerate us in their lovely home for four days. Looking back, I think we should have brought more.
They were labelled on the packaging and C's dad then cut out the labelling and stuck them on toothpicks (oh so cute) though one of the labels must have been lost which explains the mystery cheese. Anyway, the point of this story (not sure if there was one) was that I realised my love for soft cheeses as I dug into that Wigmore... Having said that, it's nice to have a variety of textures so don't think I'll be a cheese monogamist quite yet.
The other point was to use this opportunity to issue an order to my friends... Go forth and seek ye a good cheese shop, start trying loads of different cheeses before buying loads of cheese, have a cheese (and wine) tasting event every week and most importantly, don't forget to invite me.
The End.
_________________________________________
Neal's Yard Dairy
COVENT GARDEN
17 Shorts Gardens, Covent Garden,
London WC2H 9UP
Tel +44 (0)20 7240 5700
coventgarden@nealsyarddairy.co.uk
Mon-Thurs 11am to 6.30pm
Fri-Sat 10am to 6.30pm
BOROUGH MARKET
6 Park Street, Borough Market,
London SE1 9AB
Tel+44 (0)20 7367 0799
retail@nealsyarddairy.co.uk
Mon-Fri 9am to 6pm
Sat 8am to 5pm
_________________________________________
PS C, R and J - if you're reading this feel free to put tasting notes on the cheese. Though J, I know you're still dreaming about that cheese at La Prevote so you might not remember these other ones so no worries.
PPS As a vaguely related but very random thought I've always found the idea of men rolling giant wheels of cheese down a hill incredibly funny, has anyone actually witnessed it? ¶ 9:41 AM 0 comments
If anyone has had the (mis)fortune to know me back in the day of ICQ, you'd have known that my ICQ nickname was "mozarella" and I was affectionately known by my ICQ friends as "mozzie" which really I think was their way of telling me that I was sponging on them way too often.
(Clearly I had not had the foresight to avoid giving my friends the opportunity of this declaration when I chose the nickname, which came about as I was chowing through a very delicious slice of pizza as I was creating my ICQ account and the cheese inspired me.)
Moving on some almost ten years
(Sorry, that realization almost knocked me out cold. *composing myself*)
Yes, moving on some almost ten years, and my taste in cheese as in many other things, seems to have changed quite a bit. Back then, I was quite fond of the harder cheeses, probably the result of my immature or romanticised perception of cheese - that cartoon emmental favoured by the likes of Jerry or Mighty Mouse. I still love very thinly sliced emmental in my roast beef sandwich from La Fontaine below my office in Hong Kong, and it's not that hard, but I also loved - cheese connoisseurs look away now! - Babybel and Kraft Singles... :)I think I only ever got as exotic as Gouda and Edam (don't laugh).
They seemed such tasty independent snacks, I could eat them without a cracker in sight! But of course I then got to know the wonderful Bries and Camemberts common at all those wine tastings (an all too common university student activity) and Carr's Table Waters became a standard feature of my larder.
Today I am still no connoisseur, and couldn't tell the provenance of my cheese (beast and country) even if it bleated at me. But having recently moved back to London, I am now able to indulge in tasting such varieties of cheeses from such fabulous fromageries as Neal's Yard, which is of course where this bevy of cheeses in the photo are from, from their Borough Market stall.
Thanks to C and R for snaring these British Beauties ahead of our trip to Provence (I think there's still something vaguely ironic about us bringing cheeses to Provence but I haven't quite put my finger on it). They were brought as a gift (or as penance) to our wonderful hosts, C's parents who had to tolerate us in their lovely home for four days. Looking back, I think we should have brought more.
They were labelled on the packaging and C's dad then cut out the labelling and stuck them on toothpicks (oh so cute) though one of the labels must have been lost which explains the mystery cheese. Anyway, the point of this story (not sure if there was one) was that I realised my love for soft cheeses as I dug into that Wigmore... Having said that, it's nice to have a variety of textures so don't think I'll be a cheese monogamist quite yet.
The other point was to use this opportunity to issue an order to my friends... Go forth and seek ye a good cheese shop, start trying loads of different cheeses before buying loads of cheese, have a cheese (and wine) tasting event every week and most importantly, don't forget to invite me.
The End.
_________________________________________
Neal's Yard Dairy
COVENT GARDEN
17 Shorts Gardens, Covent Garden,
London WC2H 9UP
Tel +44 (0)20 7240 5700
coventgarden@nealsyarddairy.co.uk
Mon-Thurs 11am to 6.30pm
Fri-Sat 10am to 6.30pm
BOROUGH MARKET
6 Park Street, Borough Market,
London SE1 9AB
Tel+44 (0)20 7367 0799
retail@nealsyarddairy.co.uk
Mon-Fri 9am to 6pm
Sat 8am to 5pm
_________________________________________
PS C, R and J - if you're reading this feel free to put tasting notes on the cheese. Though J, I know you're still dreaming about that cheese at La Prevote so you might not remember these other ones so no worries.
PPS As a vaguely related but very random thought I've always found the idea of men rolling giant wheels of cheese down a hill incredibly funny, has anyone actually witnessed it? ¶ 9:41 AM 0 comments
Friday, March 28, 2008
Back in London (for now!)
Can't believe it but I'm back in London where this blog started!! Literally years of neglect and thankfully still managed to remember the password (after 6 tries).
Unfortunately back to that position I was in in Hong Kong where I don't have internet at home (GASP! I feel like a relic of the past) so will have to update this blog at work when I'm free...
Have been terribly UN-dilligent at making food notes but of course have been trigger-happy in taking pictures of food (ah, the wonders of digital cameras) so what I might do is just post a montage of food photos with very very brief descriptions of what was good and wasn't over the last two years! (This requires a fair bit of work so I am likely to just give up!)
WhatI do promise (this has more probability) to write a post of my upcoming trip to Barcelona, where I will be dining at ABAC and Can Fabes, thanks to my well-connected food pal J (joonelovesfood.blogspot.com) - think we might do a joint post! Till then!!
The Goffle ¶ 10:56 AM 0 comments
Unfortunately back to that position I was in in Hong Kong where I don't have internet at home (GASP! I feel like a relic of the past) so will have to update this blog at work when I'm free...
Have been terribly UN-dilligent at making food notes but of course have been trigger-happy in taking pictures of food (ah, the wonders of digital cameras) so what I might do is just post a montage of food photos with very very brief descriptions of what was good and wasn't over the last two years! (This requires a fair bit of work so I am likely to just give up!)
WhatI do promise (this has more probability) to write a post of my upcoming trip to Barcelona, where I will be dining at ABAC and Can Fabes, thanks to my well-connected food pal J (joonelovesfood.blogspot.com) - think we might do a joint post! Till then!!
The Goffle ¶ 10:56 AM 0 comments
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
It's... alive!
Can't believe that after a year this blog hasn't yet been deleted. Since I'm always one to make excuses, I was busy! But then I wasn't anymore and just got lazy, with the added excuse that I coudn't remember the password... :)
Anyway, not sure if any of my friends still pop in to take a look!
In any case, I randomly made some mooncakes for the mid-autumn festival last week, so I'll put some pictures and the recipe up soon...
Hmmm... need to get internet in my new flat... ¶ 11:21 PM 0 comments
Anyway, not sure if any of my friends still pop in to take a look!
In any case, I randomly made some mooncakes for the mid-autumn festival last week, so I'll put some pictures and the recipe up soon...
Hmmm... need to get internet in my new flat... ¶ 11:21 PM 0 comments
Sunday, July 02, 2006
The Majestic scores!
冰火榴槤 - Deep fried Durian Ice Cream atop Mango Puree
Once again sorry to my friend who's been staring at my Cheng Tng Jelly photos month after month in vain hoping for a new post.
So after dinner with him and my dear JC friends last night, I feel compelled to start my return to these pages with my experience with them at the newly-opened The Majestic.
Apparently there's been some hype about the swimming pool that has holes and looks down to the restaurant. My personal take is that it's more interesting for those who are lounging by the pool to look at what's being served up below, since for those dining, it's just like having an aquarium overhead to look at (that hardly seems AS novel), and the fact of the matter is, it's really rather boring, since the hotel is tiny, and the chance of someone beautiful in a swimsuit at dinner time is rather remote.
Anyway, the decor of the restaurant is rather bizarre. The rectangular high street restaurant tables are placed way too close to each other, though the seating is surprisingly comfortable. There is on the back wall what appears to be a rather odd sculpture, evoking for a friend the word "effigy" constantly, and for me, it just seems like someone's nailed old Polonius on the wall. Not sure if it enhances my dining experience.
There's also the strange plastic tube around the chandeliers, with ugly protruding wires, and a ketupat wall. Pardon my intolerance of the decor, it's just that I've been reading way too many interior design books lately.
Despite this, the food did not disappoint. We started with Drunken Chicken (S$8 per standard portion - probably the cheapest thing on the menu with 8 adequate portions) , served on curled up metal spoons, with ginger and spring onion, the dish was proficient.
What was truly inspired though, was the duck foie gras with Peking duck skin and jellyfish. This was served with the Prawn tempura with wasabi mayonnaise (together S$15 pp), on top of a slice of watermelon, but it was the foie gras bit that did more for me. The watermelon was refreshing, no doubt, but I didn't really feel it matched the prawn. The Peking duck skin was crisp and stayed so, despite it lying on the plum sauce (which wasn't too salty, just right to complement the foie gras) and placing a wee bit of jellyfish, foie gras, and skin on the lettuce leaf - definitely a must-try.
We followed this with the shark bone with fish maw soup (S$18 pp) which was thick and sweet, leaving us with sticky lips, something I aspire my home-cooked soups to taste like. However, this might be more for traditionalist Chinese soup lovers, especially since it's quite pricey.
Next up was the lamb chop (S$16 pp) was tender and juicy, served with a particularly eggy carrot cake (cai tau kweh, of course). While I considered while eating, that the portion was rather small, I've definitely had wayyyy tinier lamb chops, and the taste and texture more than made up for the lack in size. (Especially if we take into mind the individualism which I'll come to later).
A friend who didn't care for lamb had the Beef Striploin (S$14 pp) instead, another recommended dish by the menu, but he was far from impressed and stated the meal was unfortunately going downhill for him as he didn't really like the soup either.
Thank goodness then that for him, the meal was saved by (and for the rest of us, enhanced by) the Japanese Seafood noodle (fried ramen) (S$16 per std portion). This was served looking very much like your average ee-mein noodle at the end of your standard Chinese wedding/birthday dinner, but even as it was brought to our table, a woman at the next table couldn't help but comment how delicious it smelt. The noodles were fried perfectly al dente, coated in oil without tasty greasy, and adequately salt and comforting. With chili padi served on the side, it was cleaned up fairly quickly.
Finally we had 3 of the deep fried durian ice cream on mango puree (pictured above) (S$8 pp) and 1 yam paste (or nee) (S$6 pp). The yam paste was entirely disappointing, so give that a miss, but the deep fried durian ice cream was divine. Chunks of durian in the ice cream, with a coating, just like that of goreng pisang made this the highlight of my meal, particularly when paired with the mango puree (actually 杨枝甘露). It's actually rather amusing, since there are several dessert shops in HK that have 杨枝甘露 (Mango Puree with Sago and Pomelo) as a specialty and also usually have a durian speciality when in season, but I never thought how well the two would go together! An inspired pairing.
So did I have a good meal? You bet. The meal came up to S$80 pp which I felt was hardly cheap, but worth the money. Most of the dishes we wanted were served per person, so it all added up fairly quickly. There's 3 degustation menus, one at $65+++, one at $85+++ and one at $125+++. Unfortunately, we were bent on trying several dishes in combination that weren't on any of those menus. But I think the next time I'm back, I'll definitely try one of the menus.
There aren't many tables at the restaurant, so I can see how reservations would be essential.
Definitely saving this number on my mobile phone...
冰火榴槤 - Deep fried Durian Ice Cream atop Mango PureeOnce again sorry to my friend who's been staring at my Cheng Tng Jelly photos month after month in vain hoping for a new post.
So after dinner with him and my dear JC friends last night, I feel compelled to start my return to these pages with my experience with them at the newly-opened The Majestic.
Apparently there's been some hype about the swimming pool that has holes and looks down to the restaurant. My personal take is that it's more interesting for those who are lounging by the pool to look at what's being served up below, since for those dining, it's just like having an aquarium overhead to look at (that hardly seems AS novel), and the fact of the matter is, it's really rather boring, since the hotel is tiny, and the chance of someone beautiful in a swimsuit at dinner time is rather remote.
Anyway, the decor of the restaurant is rather bizarre. The rectangular high street restaurant tables are placed way too close to each other, though the seating is surprisingly comfortable. There is on the back wall what appears to be a rather odd sculpture, evoking for a friend the word "effigy" constantly, and for me, it just seems like someone's nailed old Polonius on the wall. Not sure if it enhances my dining experience.
There's also the strange plastic tube around the chandeliers, with ugly protruding wires, and a ketupat wall. Pardon my intolerance of the decor, it's just that I've been reading way too many interior design books lately.
Despite this, the food did not disappoint. We started with Drunken Chicken (S$8 per standard portion - probably the cheapest thing on the menu with 8 adequate portions) , served on curled up metal spoons, with ginger and spring onion, the dish was proficient.
What was truly inspired though, was the duck foie gras with Peking duck skin and jellyfish. This was served with the Prawn tempura with wasabi mayonnaise (together S$15 pp), on top of a slice of watermelon, but it was the foie gras bit that did more for me. The watermelon was refreshing, no doubt, but I didn't really feel it matched the prawn. The Peking duck skin was crisp and stayed so, despite it lying on the plum sauce (which wasn't too salty, just right to complement the foie gras) and placing a wee bit of jellyfish, foie gras, and skin on the lettuce leaf - definitely a must-try.
We followed this with the shark bone with fish maw soup (S$18 pp) which was thick and sweet, leaving us with sticky lips, something I aspire my home-cooked soups to taste like. However, this might be more for traditionalist Chinese soup lovers, especially since it's quite pricey.
Next up was the lamb chop (S$16 pp) was tender and juicy, served with a particularly eggy carrot cake (cai tau kweh, of course). While I considered while eating, that the portion was rather small, I've definitely had wayyyy tinier lamb chops, and the taste and texture more than made up for the lack in size. (Especially if we take into mind the individualism which I'll come to later).
A friend who didn't care for lamb had the Beef Striploin (S$14 pp) instead, another recommended dish by the menu, but he was far from impressed and stated the meal was unfortunately going downhill for him as he didn't really like the soup either.
Thank goodness then that for him, the meal was saved by (and for the rest of us, enhanced by) the Japanese Seafood noodle (fried ramen) (S$16 per std portion). This was served looking very much like your average ee-mein noodle at the end of your standard Chinese wedding/birthday dinner, but even as it was brought to our table, a woman at the next table couldn't help but comment how delicious it smelt. The noodles were fried perfectly al dente, coated in oil without tasty greasy, and adequately salt and comforting. With chili padi served on the side, it was cleaned up fairly quickly.
Finally we had 3 of the deep fried durian ice cream on mango puree (pictured above) (S$8 pp) and 1 yam paste (or nee) (S$6 pp). The yam paste was entirely disappointing, so give that a miss, but the deep fried durian ice cream was divine. Chunks of durian in the ice cream, with a coating, just like that of goreng pisang made this the highlight of my meal, particularly when paired with the mango puree (actually 杨枝甘露). It's actually rather amusing, since there are several dessert shops in HK that have 杨枝甘露 (Mango Puree with Sago and Pomelo) as a specialty and also usually have a durian speciality when in season, but I never thought how well the two would go together! An inspired pairing.
So did I have a good meal? You bet. The meal came up to S$80 pp which I felt was hardly cheap, but worth the money. Most of the dishes we wanted were served per person, so it all added up fairly quickly. There's 3 degustation menus, one at $65+++, one at $85+++ and one at $125+++. Unfortunately, we were bent on trying several dishes in combination that weren't on any of those menus. But I think the next time I'm back, I'll definitely try one of the menus.
There aren't many tables at the restaurant, so I can see how reservations would be essential.
Definitely saving this number on my mobile phone...
__________________
The Majestic
New Majestic Hotel
31-37 Bukit Pasoh Road
Singapore 089845
Tel: +65 6511 4718
__________________
¶ 8:12 AM 1 comments
It's not been deleted!
Just read my previous post, and felt rather ashamed at my broken promise :p
This past year has gone so quickly, I can hardly believe it. In a way, I'm thrilled to finally be starting work again after so many years of postgraduate study. In relation to this blog, let's just hope that this will not mean any less time to search out good food spots, but rather that I'll have some sort of increased budget to spend on food!
And yes, my blog has yet to be deleted! I guess this means that I'll just have to start writing again... :D ¶ 8:01 AM 0 comments
This past year has gone so quickly, I can hardly believe it. In a way, I'm thrilled to finally be starting work again after so many years of postgraduate study. In relation to this blog, let's just hope that this will not mean any less time to search out good food spots, but rather that I'll have some sort of increased budget to spend on food!
And yes, my blog has yet to be deleted! I guess this means that I'll just have to start writing again... :D ¶ 8:01 AM 0 comments
