The Food Diaries

Aqua Kyoto Terrace, London

A swish, hyper-central location London venue, perched high up over the city - David Yeo’s Aqua is indeed a sight to behold. The interior may be dark, glam, and even a tad scary (lots of long mirrored hallways), but the exterior roof-top terrace could instead be mistaken for sunny Ibiza (well, at least on one of those rare, warm and glowing summer evenings). There is a terrific cocktail and Japanese grazing menu (sushi, bar nibbles), however, I stuck to a sunny white Rioja and imagined myself in an altogether different location - already deep into my summer holidays.

You may also be interested in:

SAF, LONDON (VEGAN/RAW FOOD RESTAURANT) >

Saf - Vegan/Raw food in the heart of Shoreditch

Saf restaurant is the perfect combo of super inventive/super healthy food and a fabulous cocktail and drinks menu (they infuse their bourbons and make their own bitters). In the absence of a personal chef (now where did she go?) I will give their new recipe box for the iPhone app a go - though with the amount of effort that goes into every dish produced in the restaurant, it may be a while before I abandon my restaurant visits.

Here are some dishes on the menu:

Some Asian starters: Vegetable maki (parsnip rice, ume plum pickle, avocado, peppers, radish, sunimono and orange ponzu soy), Mushroom gyoza (woodear mushroom, organic tofu, water chesnut and black vinaigrette).

Some Italian mains: Lasagne (raw bolognaise, sage pesto, olive relish, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, macadamia ricotta), Fettucine Alfredo (salsify, daikon, oyster mushroom, truffle cream, black truffle, nut parmesan). The latter dish was absolutely stunning in look and taste - crisp and fresh, yet deep in flavour. I think my Italian friends would have a heart attack - (nut parmesan?! no turnip pasta?!).

Dining out on Lobster at Westfield London

Along with the blossoming lilac, late spring in Canada also delivers lobster in abundance. So much so that I remember when I was growing up in Ottawa that you could buy the smaller variety of fresh (and live!) lobster for as little as $25/dozen. My mother being the ambitious French home cook that she was would lug a large and wriggling bag of live lobsters from the LaPointe fishmongers, boil them up (sometimes she stored them in the fridge for a while and would forget to mention it, giving us the fright of our lives when hunting around for a pot of yogurt), and then plonk them on our plates. I can probably pull apart a lobster blind-folded as a result, though as a child it felt like a hugely daunting exercise.

Anyway, I’ve got a guest entry today, courtesy of Stuart Hacking who recently sampled the lobster on offer at LPDJ Westfield Shopping Centre in West London:

It is a French restaurant called LPDJ at Westfield. I had been told that you get a whole Lobster for about £16 but when we got there they had a deal on of a whole Lobster for £12.50 (picture attached). I had not eaten lobster before but I was assured this was good value. They also do a fantastic New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc to accompany it. The service was excellent and the restaurant had a feel of a more up-market establishment which you wouldn’t necessarily expect to find at a large shopping centre. I must admit wearing jeans and trainers I did feel a little under dressed.

Franco Manca in Chiswick - spreading the word on authentic Italian pizza

How long does it take to bake a Neapolitan-style pizza in a wood-burning oven? 4 minutes? 2 minutes? 40 seconds?

Apparently it takes all of 40 seconds to bake a perfect pizza - and that’s exactly what Franco Manca in Chiswick delivers.

For those of us daunted by the trek to a hole-in-the-wall in Brixton - which does not take reservations, which closes early on a Saturday, and with queues out the door, the second branch of Franco Manca in Chiswick is a godsend. Still a trek for some, yet still worth the journey - they take reservations, have sociable opening hours, plenty of seating, good and inexpensive organic wines, and of course chargrilled and crisp pizzas.

The jury is of course still out till I receive a report card from my fussy Italians (when is an Italian not fussy about his/her food?) - but on the basis of my first visit, I would happily ignore any criticisms the Italians could put forward.

The Dinner menu at the Passage Cafe - a teeny French restaurant in Clerkenwell, London.

I must have walked by this place a thousand times without noticing this little cafe (it took a peek around the Time Out Restaurant Guide to stumble upon it).

The Pig’s Trotter Mixed with Vegetables, Turnip Puree, Seared Foie Gras, Port Sauce and Truffle Oil (phew!) was lovely - and a total bargain too.

Katarina who runs the front of room is lovely and super efficient (she promptly replied to my late email request for a table that evening).

We had to rush off to a gig so did not get beyond a main course - but I can’t wait to go back for a more leisurely meal.

Spicy sausage and sprouting broccoli pizza @ Pizza East, Shoreditch, London

The jury is still out amongst my Italian friends on the Pizza East pizzas. They all consider them to be amongst the best pizzas they’ve had in London but they are somewhat perplexed by the almost fried look and taste of the crust. Not quite Italian enough for them I guess. (and don’t get Jamie Oliver started on the subject of Italians and their conservatism around food! Read more about that debate here).

It’s a shame actually that Pizza East emphasises the pizzas so much, as their other offerings - especially their wood burning roasts such as roast chicken for two and braised beef cheeks are really very good indeed.

They also do a fab red and golden beet salad with red and white endives and pecorino cheese shavings. Now that’s a recipe I must try and recreate at home soon.

Pierre Herme opens macaroon boutique in London!

Ok - I’m not sure who forgot to send me the press release that celebrated pastry guru Pierre Herme made his debut in Selfridges 3 weeks ago, but this is very important news.

His milk chocolate and passion fruit macaroon easily makes my Top 5 best sweets of all time. A truly great dessert is identified at first bite, when you suddenly realise something truly important was missing from your life but you never knew what it was.

Can one have too many macaroons in one day? I’m not sure that is possible. Earlier the same day I popped into Laduree (another French institution now available across the Channel) where I was treated to their pistachio and coffee macaroons. Typically I had “sweetly” complained about something or other and the manager swept these onto the table. An easy way to get a smile on my face

Top 5:

- Pierre Herme milk chocolate and passion fruit macaroons

- Poilane’s caramelised apple puff pastry tart,

- Crumble (rhubarb, apple, plums - any combo will do)

- Pacojet ice cream

- Homemade madeleines

Crab cakes @ Wagamama

Wagamama was opened nearly 20 years ago by the genius that is Alan Yau (I like to call him the Ang Lee of restaurateurs as he has moved across many food genres - Japanese canteen food, Honk Kong style Chinese Hakkasan, retro modernist Japanese Sake No Hana - and more recently super authentic Italian deli and bakery Princi).

Us Londoners, with a Wagamama in every part of town take for granted the speedy service, the super fresh ingredients, the clean tastes, the honest prices and the accessible menu.

Byron Burgers

Dinner with the girls at Byron Burger. A relatively new burger joint in the cool new Westfield shopping centre in Shepherd’s Bush London. I’m super fussy with burgers eaten outside of the US but these were fab, as were the courgette fritters, the A & W soda, the aioli mayo……

There are seven branches dotted around London.

Ottolenghi!! Upper St, London

Lunch at one of my favourite spot ever - Ottolenghi. Big clean white space and communal tables. Large displays at the front of the food on offer. Right-hand side is full of vibrant salads, roasted vegetables, and beautifully prepared meats and fish. Left-hand side groans with giant meringues, plum tarts, chocolate fondant cakes, banana caramel cheescake, croissants, and my ultimate favourite - passion fruit and lemon curd meringue tarts. Yotam Ottolenghi himself made an appearance - always a good sign.

Dinner and Drinks in Shoreditch, London

Dinner at the always inspiring Saf Restaurant (a vegan restaurant where much of the menu is cooked under 48°C). Surprisingly for a vegan restaurant, the cocktails and wine menu are equally inspired. If I had a personal chef, I would eat Saf-style vegan food everyday and would be the happiest and healthiest person on the planet!

What we ate:

- Vegetable maki (made with parsnips)

- Beetroot ravioli (see photo above)

- Pad Thai

- Pumpkin risotto (one of a very few dishes cooked above 48°C)

What we drank:

- Black Forest Martini (cherry bark infused Woodford Reserve bourbon, framboise,
cointreau, cassis)

- Jasmine Pearl Martini (Jasmine green tea vodka, organic peche, lemon juice, raw
cane sugar syrup)

Then onto Callooh Callay Bar (remember Alice in Wonderland’s Jabberwocky poem?) where the cocktails are equally inventive and the staff super welcoming and friendly.

What we drank:

- Full Marks (Maker’s Mark, walnut liqueur, dark cacao liqueur, whiskey barrel bitters, port)

- Prosecco Cobbler (Prosecco, Triple Sec, Apricot brandy, Maraschino, lemon, orange, and pineapple)

- Rockin all Clover (Beefeater 24, raspberry and Earl Grey syrup, lemon, Maraschino, egg white)

Full Marks Cocktail

Full marks (pun intended) go to Andrea the bartender at Callooh Callay (a fab spot in Shoreditch, London), who came up with this award-winning cocktail. It is a concoction made up of Makers Mark Bourbon, Dark Cacao, walnut liqueur, whisky barrel bitters, and port and marasca cherries.

Here’s my attempt to recreate this at home. I managed to track down the walnut liqueur and the rare whiskey barrel bitters (!), but am still searching for the mascara cherries (had to make do with the somewhat nasty and artificial maraschino cherry).

Results? It more or less looks and tastes the part, but really, is not up to par with Andrea’s, which is much darker and complex in flavour. I may have to pay the bar a visit very soon.

Cinnamon Buns @ the Nordic Bakery, Golden Square, London

A quick pit stop at a lovely Finnish cafe hidden in the backwaters between Piccadilly Circus and Oxford Circus. Finnish cinnamon buns fresh out of the oven, perfumed not only with cinnamon but also cardamom. You won’t be finding me making these - I would eat them all straight out of the oven!

Hix Bar - Drinks in Soho, London

The Hix Bar on Brewer St is an ecclectic hideaway with a speakeasy feel. A perfect way to ignore the January Blues. My superb Avenue cocktail was conjured up expertly by the friendly and sexy in-house mixologist team. Our lovely Brazilian waitress Claudia took great care of us throughout the evening; finding us a new home when we complained of a draught and plied us with lovely foodie freebies such as Finnan haddock cakes with horseradish cream and posh pork scratchings with apple sauce to make things up to us. We also ordered off-menu (a request from a memorable previous experience) a roasted marrow bone with a herbed bread crumb topping. January diets are so 2009.

Other speakeasy bars to try in London: Callooh Callay, Lounge Bohemia, 69 Colebrook Row