Almeida Restaurant (Islington), 30 Almeida Street, London, N1 1TD

Excuse me while I dust this blog off ...

I know it's been a while, and if anyone is still reading, thank you very much. Because it's been quite cold, we've not really been trying out many (if any) new restaurants. We also spent a week skiing at Risoul in France and although I thought I'd get a good week's worth of food posts from it, turns out we didn't eat out much after all (it was really expensive eating out). Who knows? Those pictures of Brie on strawberry jam and raclette might be brought out when material runs low (which is about now).

Anyhow, after weeks and weeks of eating pretty much the same stuff, interspaced by some interesting ways of cooking instant Kimchi noodles (I love those noodles), we finally came out of the winter hibernation mode to meet with some friends. As I've pretty much given up on finding new places to try, it was with much pleasure that I accepted my friend's invitation to have lunch at Almeida; a restaurant located off the main Upper St of Islington on Almeida Street.

It's quite an unassuming restaurant from the outside, and if we weren't looking out for it, we could've easily missed it just walking by.

Immediately inside the restaurant is a small reception counter where the coats are taken, pleasantries are exchanged with the dining guests, or in our case, pictures taken of the flowers by the table.

Our friends were delayed by either the tube (the ever punctual Jubilee line) or a tyre puncture, so despite us being 10 minutes late, we were still on time! Sitting around on the sofa, I checked out the property magazines lying around (maybe they're trying to get diners to live in the area ...?) and promptly put them down again when I saw those prices. Maybe it was my incessant picture snapping from the sofa or the bored looks we had, but the waiting staff were constantly there asking if we needed a drink, if we were OK, etc. Good service from the start hey.

When our friends arrived, we were shown to our table right in the middle of the restaurant. Usually, I only dine out at dinner time which explains why from the months of November to March, the pictures on this blog get rather ... orange. Whenever I get the chance to actually have lunch on a weekend, I try and compensate for dodgy photography skills by asking for a table where the light shines brightly. This one didn't disappoint.

OK, before I continue, let's just set the scene and say the only bad thing I have to say about this place. To set the scene - we had 3 girls from the same school who were meeting up socially for the first time in a long time (ie lots of talking).

These 3 girls were there with their 3 partners who were trying to get a word in edgeways (ie not successful). Despite all the talking and not talking, I still noticed how long it took for the food to get to us in between courses. The main course took a good 20 mins to half an hour to get to us, I dare say. I mean, I wasn't timing it or anything (not socially accepted while trying to maintain a conversation) but it was long enough for us to pause in between conversations to go, 'Hmm it's taking a while, isn't it.'

So there, I've spat out the only negative thing I have to say about this place, so now we can continue on with the post - full of sunshine and good vibes.

We were there on the Toptable deal where 3 courses and a bellini cost £27.50. Without the deal, 3 courses on its own costs £26.50 while you could have 2 courses for about £22. And because we HAD to have a good deal, we HAD to order 3 courses. Oh the things I go through for good deals.

Oh, and a quick peek into the kitchen is always interesting.

Starters:

Crayfish, avocado tian, confit tomato, lemon olive oil

I was torn between having this one and the one I eventually ordered (the beef tartare). I have this stupid thing (dunno if I've mentioned it before) where I go to a restaurant, pick out the thing I really, really want to order, and then order something else. I don't know why I do this - some stupid self-depravation thing maybe, but I then feel almost better about myself because I think, 'Ha! The one I really, really wanted must be really, really bad for me, so if I don't order it, and order something I might not really want instead, it must be better for me.'

Yes, men of the world. That is why ladies are always taking the chips off your plate.

But anyhow, this time, because I was kinda hungry (had funny tum the day before. OK, too much details) I decided to go with the caveman option and order the raw, minced beef (more on that later).

The boyfriend decided on having the charcuterie plate (full of ham and other meats, how yummy) but then when the waiter came to take his order, he ... ordered the wrong thing.

So, this dish is pretty much feeling rejected and unwanted by now, but apparently it tasted quite OK. I had a try though it was only a small bite, and well, what can I say? It tasted like crab with some avocado. Nothing extraordinary but neither was it bad. It just did what it said on the tin.

Is that no longer sufficient in today's demanding, over-achieving world? Yes, it is.

East Anglia fillet beef tartare, Melba toast

So this was what I had when I was feeling quite caveman-like. Say what you like, but to me, beef tartare tastes like BigMac.

(You posh noshers in the back row can pipe down now. Nothing to gasp about. It's fact.)

Why fact? Well, think of it this way. They have the same ingredients - beef mince, gherkins, tomatoey things, and onions. The only difference (OK maybe not the ONLY difference) is that one is cooked while the other is caveman-like roaaaaaaaarrrrrrr (raw, I mean).

And there's a raw egg on it also. But if you just take into account the taste and not the texture, it's almost similar. Because I like BigMacs, I like beef tartare. Simples.

This one was lovely. I couldn't tell the difference between a normal beef tartare and one made from East Anglia fillet of beef, but maybe that was what made it good. Maybe if it had been made with West Anglia rump of beef, it would've been nahhhs-ty. It was almost lean (from what I could tell), and each mouthful tasted of nothing but fresh, good quality beef. I consumed this almost in one.

Papillon Roquefort, chicory, red chicory and watercress salad, toasted walnuts

A friend (who was sitting across the other side of the table from me) had this, so I could not reach out to try some. It looked good though.

Main courses:

Slow roast belly of pork, chantenay carrots, pomme puree, sauteed spinach, sauce aux epices (sauce with spice)

How lovely is that? I briefly considered ordering this and then told myself off for giving in to such luscious temptations. It sounded good, it looked even better, and the friend who was having it said that it tasted like roast pork (which it is), but I mean 'siew yuk' (Chinese roast pork).

Uh huh. I should've ordered it. Slices of tender roasted belly of pork with crispy scratching. Not easily achieved, but they managed it here.

Roast rib of beef, Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, seasonal vegetables

The fiance decided to go traditional, and being the only English in the group, he went back to basics and ordered the roast beef. I had a taste of it, and rather liked it because from the one mouthful that I had, the beef was tender, meaty-flavoured, and pleasant enough.

The potatoes looked really crispy and fluffy from where I sat, and I looked on longingly as he ate them one by one. When I asked his opinion of the dish, however, he said that while it was good for what it was, again, it just kinda did what it said on the tin.

It didn't have anything of a wow factor about it, but that could also be a good thing because if you're gonna serve roast beef, and then mess about with it, I know some people who'd have real issues about that.

Breast of Barbary duck, pommes dauphinoise, creamed Savoy, sauce au poivre

Said friend who was sitting across the table from me was the one who had the duck. I raised the question during the meal about what exactly was a Barbary duck, and thought he'd know because he's French, and don't the French know everything about food?

Anyhow, no one at the table knew what Barbary duck was, so I consulted Wikipedia but found only references for Muscovy Duck. Strange, I thought. Usually Wikipedia has EVERYTHING about ANYTHING.

A few more searches on Google produced the same baffling returns - Muscovy duck, referred from Muscovy duck, and so on.

Finally, from http://www.tititudorancea.com/z/muscovy_duck.htm - 'In some regions the name Barbary Duck is used for domesticated and "Muscovy Duck" for wild birds; in other places "Barbary Duck" refers specifically to the dressed carcass, while "Muscovy Duck" applies to living C. moschata, regardless of whether they are wild or domesticated. In general, "Barbary Duck" is the usual term for C. moschata in a culinary context.'

Eh ... huh?

Forget I asked the question. It was duck. It was roasted / fried / cooked in some fashion. And I heard it was good.

Baked wild halibut, coco nib and herb crust, sauteed spinach, mushroom veloute

(Note: I've been doing quite a lot of research on Wikipedia for this post. The latest one is on what a 'coco nib' is.)

So, while eating the dish, the only thing that occurred to me was that here was a beautifully fried piece of fish, and I don't know what they did with the herbed crust, but it sure was green and tasted fabulous.

Then, when I was writing this post and had to put the name of the dish down, I started wondering what a 'coco nib' was. A quick search on Google showed that the most common spelling for this was 'cocoa nib' which was described as being the edible part of the cocoa bean. 'Coco nib', on the other hand, didn't come up with many explanations aside from references of how they were used in fish crusts and that.

So, my conclusion is that it's some kind of cocoa bean product which has been mixed in with herbs to form the crust for the fish. There wasn't any particular taste that jumped out from the fish but again, that could be one of those things where if it wasn't in the dish, then it would've tasted less full.
What I really liked about the dish was the mushroom veloute. It tasted (pardon the really unsophisticated references here) like the best version of creamed mushroom soup I've had, and boy oh boy, were those mushrooms juicy!

Each delicate piece of mushroom was delightfully plump and produced this almost squelching burst of mushroom goodness when I bit into it. I could've had more, loads more, and savoured each one with an almost misty-eyed look of chomping satisfaction.

Dessert:

Apple tarte tatin, creme fraiche

The fiance said this was the best part of the meal. I might have had agreed if I ordered this for dessert, but I didn't. I tried a good few mouthfuls of it, and there's no way I can describe it aptly to give it the full credit it deserved. But I'll try.

The pastry was crispy on the outside and very chewy and lovely once you got to the middle. Each mouthful was sticky and chewy and it had the hallmark of a pastry well made. The apple pieces were perfectly baked - so creamy and yet still fruity, and there was not a hint of over / under cooking about it. If I were Goldilocks, this would be the one declared a winner. Oh dear, it's not even lunchtime yet and I'm salivating just thinking about this.

Hot chocolate fondant, honeycomb ice cream

The prettiest dish of the lot. How cute is that! It looked good, and I'm sure it tasted good too as the friend having it seemed to be having a really engrossing good time eating it.

Glazed passion fruit tart, yoghurt sorbet, passion fruit jam

This was what I had. When I ordered it, I dunno what gave me the impression that it would resemble a tart; you know, kinda like an apple tart but with passion fruit pieces on top of it. It might not even BE possible to have passion fruit pieces, I don't know, but when it was served, I almost thought they gave me the wrong dish. Upon closer inspection though, it was a passion fruit tart, with a very thin layer of pastry on the outside, and the most creamy, luxurious passion fruit filling within the tart.

The texture was similar to that of lemon curd, and it had a similar fresh tang about it. It was so luxurious that for one moment, I thought I was having a lemony, passion fruity creme brulee, complete with the slightly burnt crispy sugar topping.

To sum it up, the food here was very enjoyable; with nothing but the freshest of ingredients cooked extremely well. The service was pleasant and prompt, though the time in between courses could've been a little shorter. For what we paid (about £36 each including water and tips - we didn't order any wine) it was a little on the pricey side but considering the location of the restaurant and also the good company we had that day, it was a meal well worth it. You should give it a go if you're there.

Brasserie Blanc, 71-72 Walton Street Oxford OX2 6AG

One of our good friends recently got married in Oxford, and took us out for a great meal after the registration ceremony. So, I don’t know the prices of any of these things, but I’m sure the website will tell you a whole lot more.

Brasserie Blanc is kinda like the lighter version of Raymond Blanc’s other restaurant, The Manoir. While I’ve not dined at The Manoir, I can say that the food at the Brasserie Blanc is reaaaal fine. So much so that despite having only had Nando’s, greek coffee and some carrot cake two hours before this meal, I kinda ate almost everything from the three-course menu, and then wanted the meal to start all over again.

Located on Walton Street, the Brasserie is well-placed among other restaurants and bars, and, surprisingly, most of them weren’t of the high-street chain variety. While Monsieur Blanc does have other similar restaurants in locations across the country, it’s not one I’d heard of before, so I wouldn’t deem this to be high-street chain, not just yet.

We had a group of about 25, and the restaurant had allocated a long stretch of the side of the restaurant just for us. Despite telling us that we had to be in by 6.45pm, and out by 8pm, they were most accommodating to us, and we finally only started our meal at about 7.30pm (when all the guests had arrived), and left at about 9.30pm. Not a frown from them, but when they finally started to clear the end of our adjoining tables, we got the hint and left.

Table all set, with bread baskets at the ready.

Olive oil on the tables, but it would have been nice if we’d been given plates for the bread as one of us wanted to have the oil with the bread, but had no where to pour the oil onto, aside from the table.

Mmmm, carbs.

Someone ordered this, the bf, maybe. Summer minestrone - and even though it was the best looking version of the dish I’ve seen, it’s just not that … mmmmm-ish, is it. Kinda like, if someone ordered this, you wouldn’t exactly be going, ‘Man I wish I ordered that.’ Nope.

He said it was quite nice though. I’ll take his word for it. 

This was my celeriac salad, shallot & poached egg - so mouth-wateringly delicious I want to have it all over again. The egg was poached to wobbly perfection, and the celeriac … oh the celeriac.  

It was spicy, crunchy, tangy, slightly naughty (mayo maybe?) and when the yolk drizzled all over it, it just formed the best mouthful ever.

We thought that one of the kids would be turning up but they decided to stay over at a friend’s place instead, so the chicken and chips dish that was ordered for the little ‘un came to us hungry ‘uns instead.  

This was another of my dishes - confit pork collar, caraway cabbage, roast tomato sauce. The pork required some masterful cooking, and that was exactly what it got. Slow-cooked to perfection, the meat was so tender and flavourful, each mouthful a delicate blend of taste and texture. The sauce sat beneath the meat like a little happy camper, basking in the glory of the meat, and the potatoes … boy were they fantastic when dipped ever so slightly in the sauce.

Nyum nyum.

Summer vegetable risotto – same comments as per the minestrone. Might look nice, but I’m not gonna wanna try your dish, so thanks but you go ahead and enjoy it.

Cold poached salmon, new potatoes, lemon mayonnaise – good reviews so it must have been nice, though not as nice as the pork, I’m sure.  It’s a tough one to compete against.

Poached apricots vanilla ice cream. Apricots I just don’t get. It’s a little bit like a peach but not as tender, and tastes slightly … hmmm? This was poached well though, and made it more tender. 

Chocolate marquise, hazelnut custard. A terrine of chocolate, with a centre of almost pure chocolate. Really enjoyed this although the outer bit could have been less soggy. Somehow, because the middle bit was just so chocolatey, it was slightly weird having to get to the chocolate through the soggy sponge. I still enjoyed it very much though.

Thanks so much to MH and EK for the wonderful meal, which we thoroughly enjoyed. The best bit was the company though, so here’s wishing you both a very happy marriage!

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Bar du Musee, Greenwich, London

Most museums have coffee houses attached to them, sort of like a revenue generator and a place for bored, non-cultural types to have a chat, a coffee and a nap. There is a Maritime museum in Greenwich, but this doesn’t quite explain why Bar du Musee is French.

The only thing French about Greenwich is the fries from McDonald’s (not sure if Cafe Rouge counts as French?).

If you’ve never been to Greenwich, I suggest you make a trip here. Obviously, if you’re not from around the same region, district, country, continent, ignore that suggestion. Some people describe it as a mini-Bath or a medium-York.

If you don’t know what Bath or York looks like, then, possibly the entire paragraph above was pretty much useless to you.

When it’s bright and warm in Greenwich, there are tourists about everywhere. Students from Europe come for school trips, chic types hang out at the chic type boutiques (all one-off chic non-mass produced type attire) and poodles come out in full force.

One sunny day, we decided to check this place out. Having had gone past it many times previously, peering in curiously wondering what on earth was in there, we decided that enough was enough. French or English, croissant or iced-buns, we’d try it out.

Inviting until you try to figure out which of the doors went to the cafe, the restaurant of the tea room.

The first thing you see when you are in the cafe is this chandelier. There are 3 of them in there, confirming the fact that you will be paying more for your tea here than you pay for an average meal elsewhere. Nevertheless, let’s not be biased before we’ve even looked below the chandelier.

Below the chandelier is the price board, confirming for a fact that you will be paying more for your tea here than for an average meal elsewhere (because I am a cheapskate and eat at cheap places).

Once in the restaurant, you look around at what the other tables are having, and immediately wonder why you just couldn’t be generous enough to fork out that little bit more for a nice meal here.

Instead, we just ordered a cup of tea and a lemonade, and because it looked so good, a piece of raspberry cheesecake. This just goes to show that standards are ever still so low, and the pocket strings are possible tighter than before (freebies?).

Look, wouldn’t we have had liked to enjoy a meal here? Indeed we would have. Instead, we sipped our tea and Coke slowly, savouring the lovely ambience.

I’m not sure if this was actually the raspberry cheesecake we ordered but it sure didn’t look like any cheesecake I’d had before. It sure smelled like raspberry, but texture-wise, it was more like a mousse-y spongey cake.

Would I come back to this restaurant? Well, considering the fact that we didn’t actually have a meal in here, I wouldn’t say I’d eaten here, but I’d sure like to try the restaurant out. Great ambience for sure.

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St. Germain, Farringdon

How'd you like your steak?
Raw. With a bit of gherkin, please.

Steak tartare

My friends had some discounts (half price = very good deal) for French restaurant St. Germain, and so, on a windy and cold Friday night, I set off from my office towards Farringdon. Farringdon is located North-East of London central, and is about 2 hours from town (kidding kidding, it's about 1.5).

East London, to alot of people here, is like the unchartered territories of the Hikurangi Trench in New Zealand. Where? I hear you say. Exactly.

Once you're at the station, you turn left at the exit, and the first thing you see is a group of about 100 London workers, happying the hour away. I stood there for about 10 minutes, waiting for my friends to arrive while enjoying the cold crisp air that was slowly freezing my ears off.

After 10 minutes, I knew what it felt like to be a post-box. People keep walking into you.

Anyway, moving swiftly on (like those people who kept walking into me), the restaurant is on the left of the bar (as you're looking at it). This is the extent of my directional skills. If, by chance, those 100 people don't happen to be at the bar as you exit the station, you might have to get a map.

St. Germain is a wine bar as well as a restaurant. What this means is that upon entering the restaurant, you first see alot of wine bottles, and alot of people having wine. This fact alone is enough to convince me that this is a wine bar.

The next thing you see is the restaurant. There are menus and candles, and the place is dimly lit. This fact alone is enough to convince me that this is a restaurant. I am further convinced when the waitresses come by to ask for my order.

There have been alot of comments in the London papers these days about the lack of service in London. Those people have obviously not been in this restaurant as the service is faultless. The waitresses are cheery, always smiling at you, and even when faced with 7 diners (the discount only allows 6 diners), they allowed us to use the discount vouchers, and that is good service in my books.

So, what's for starters?

I had raw moo-moo's with a bit of Melba toast. It was my first time eating steak tartare, and here's where my vast experience in food reviews come in handy.

It tastes like a Big Mac (raw version). Now this is in no way an insult to the chef, nor it is an unfavourable review of the food here. It's just the closest description I could come up with. The steak was very fresh, and very tasty, and I particularly liked the bits of gherkin chopped into the steak. The portion size was that of a main course, and I felt quite full by the time I was done with that.

Fried goats cheese

The other dish ordered was fried goats cheese. I'm not sure if I like that as much as I liked the steak tartare because it was just mushy cheese, fried.

Grilled plaice with prawns

This was my main meal, and the portion size was pleasing. A whole plaice, with some sauteed prawns on the top of it, accompanied by some frites. Where else better to try French Fries than in a French restaurant? Conclusion: Not much difference from other fries at all.

Poulet ... something?

Chicken stew, almost. Tasty, but on the dry side.

Oysters

Another friend ordered the oyster. When the waitress was setting the table, she placed what looked like a champagne holder thing, but with only the frames, if you can imagine that, on the table. For a while, we didn't know what this was. It was 1 foot high, as far as we could tell, had nothing in it.

Then the oysters came, and the plate was put on top of this holder thing. What was the purpose of that? Not a clue.

Creme brulee

Many of you would associate this dessert with French cuisine. That's where I stop and say,

'Vouz vouz trompez'

This should mean 'You are wrong', however, the online English-French translator came up with 'You are mistaken' instead. No choice here.

There is an English version of this dish called 'Cambridge Burnt Cream'. This was the dessert served in Trinity College, Cambridge and some are in the opinion that the French version of the dessert came after the English one.

Obviously, I don't know which one came first, so I don't have any opinions to add to this.