Archives for April 2018

Brat is Tomos Parrys (relatively) new Restaurant in Shoreditch having opened just over a month ago. It has already received superlative reviews from many well read and infamous Restaurant critics, and my reservation for this Saturday just happened to coincide with Giles Corens review appearing in The Times the very same day. I read Giles column with avid interest (as I do every Saturday), Mr.Coren being my “go to” reviewer and my literary food hero, if that’s not to strong a phrase.

So now I have the opportunity, within 24 hours, of comparing our experiences – it’s David versus Goliath , Giles with a readership of probably millions and me of approx 12 – if I am lucky ! Giles starts his review in somber mood trying to get us to feel sorry for him explaining that he has the unfortunate life experience of only going to wonderful new restaurants only once, due to his occupation of Food Critic. This compells him to find new experiences to report and write about for his readership, and therefore precludes him from enjoying, for a second time, some of the most wonderful dishes he has been fortunate enough to savour on his first visit. Sort of understood Giles, but there is nothing to stop you doing this in your spare time as I do, and I have a full time job and go to school from 9 to 5 , 5 days a week too ! I will be happy to arrange repeat visits for you, and even accompany you if you need them to be organised ? 😂😉

Anyway back to Brat. Tomos Parry was the wonder kid who was receiving stellar reviews and visitations from the rich and famous at Kitty Fishers, Shepherds Market when it opened in December 2014. Then he left and whilst I have no clear idea what was behind this, it has culminated in the opening of his new venture in Shoreditch named Brat, apparently being the slang name of Turbot, the signature dish of the new restaurant. It is a joint venture with Ben Chapman whose company owns the Smoking Goat next door, in a building that was, until recently, an old East End Strip Pub called The White Horse ( memories I have of that place !)

It is a 1930s building with the entrance through a small door, outside of which there were a queue of people when we first walked past (just before 6) which I assumed were eager punters without reservations.

Upon entering you continue along a corridor and up a steepish staircase to the upstairs dining room where I immediately spot Mr.Parry busily at work at the open fireplace/ wood fired oven/ coal area. The room is inviting , all wood, bar down one side for walk ins, and all the cooking being performed right in front of you within an area basically doubling up as kitchen and pass, space being at a premium. Indeed so close to the oven/ grill was our table we were feeling as smoked as the food by the end of the evening – but that’s not a complaint.

As recommended by Giles I started the evening with an amontillado and tonic, and boy oh boy what a refreshing nutty thirst quencher it was , especially as I had been shopping vintage clothes with my wife for the past 2 hours and was completely parched. Thereupon the menu appeared with a list of snacks, starters and mains all of which I would have happily eaten – that’s just how inviting and intriguing (albeit at the same time seemingly simple) the menu is. Narrowing it down to just a few dishes to share was extremely difficult but we went for the Oysters Roasted with Seaweed, Langoustines, and at Giles behest, as he commented that “it was the greatest new dish invented in this country in decades” the Chopped Egg Salad with Bottarga. The latter not being something I would  have rushed to order without Giles’s revelatory recommendation.

The Oysters were maybe one of the best Oysters I have eaten, lightly smoked, and just warmed through to give an even more satisfactory mouthfeel than an Oyster normally provides. Langoustines were very lightly roasted/steamed ? with Rosemary so that there were almost raw. The meat was soft and silky sweet as anything, and by sucking on the head you had just a hint of the rosemary coming through.

The aforementioned Egg Bottarga combination was indeed a great combination, served on rye sourdough with a little parsley and cress running through it. Unsure if it was “Epochal” as quoted by Giles – it had the feeling of eating very underdone scrambled eggs with salty fish eggs running through it, all in a very positive and enjoyable way, with the crunch of the toast complimenting the softness of the topping.

We had not ordered other starters nothwithstanding the temptations on offer as we were saving ourselves for a 1.2 kg Turbot retailing at £55 which I thought we just could not miss , understanding it is the star of the show. ( You can also spend £65 for a 1.6kg Fish for sharing between 3/4. )

There appeared to be a bit of a run on Turbot at that precise time as ours took sometime to appear and I am guessing there is just not enough space to accommodate that many Turbot over the raging coals at one time. They are roasted in special “cages” seemingly purpose made for them, and after being exposed to the wood charcoal fire they are rested for a short time in the wood oven and then basted in their own gelatinous juices with an oil style Pil Pil emulsion before being presented at your table.

 

 

Mr.Parry personally delivered ours to the table explaining the backbone had been cut out and that we could eat the burnt bones on the frill as well, comparing them to Pork scratchings, Fish style,recommending we sprinkle sea salt on them first. Indeed I did try them in this way and it was possible to crunch through some of them redolent indeed of eating a salty pork rind. My wife immediately cut the fish head off and dived in to all of the meat around that, this representing her favourite part of most fish! It was, I must admit, orgasmic meat, with the flesh sliding off the bones that were left intact, and the browned flesh and skin emitting the smokiness of the cooking process in a “please sir I want some more” way.  The only accompaniments on offer with the fish were a Tomato salad and smokey potatoes. We went for the Pink Fir Apple Potatoes which had been roasted skin on, and were gnobbly and gnarly, good, but I would have preferred them to have been crunchier on the outside, softer inside and even smokier, but a minor criticism. Could you oblige Mr.Parry ?

Our plate,when we were finished,consisted of just a few bones scattered around as we had decimated the fish and both of us were sated and very satisfied. Indeed so much so we could not sample the desserts of which they were only four on offer including a brown bread ice cream which I fancied but restraint entailed.

I had been drinking a couple of glasses of red Samaur as recommended by the Sommelier to go with the fish and it was light and fruity and went very well with the meaty Turbot. (£11 a glass).

I spoke to Mr.Parry on the way out and relayed my joy of the Turbot and also commented on the fact that the Beef Chops looked ominously fantastic too but that I could not have tackled one after the Turbot. He commented that he has had couples doing just that – finishing off a £1.2 Kg Turbot and following up with a steak. Maybe these are couples who, like Giles, are afraid they will never repeat the visit here and focus on eating everything on the menu in one gargantuan food frenzy ?

Brat is what restaurants should be all about, the whole experience crying out to be enjoyed again, with a menu you were desperate to tick off every entry leaving you no option but to organise a repeat visit ASAP. I will be – but I guess I will not be seeing Giles !

Rating – Food Blazingly Hot Pan 5/5 

Service -Almost Blazingly Hot Pan 4.5/5 (delay on the Turbot) 

Brat, 4 Redchurch Street, Shoreditch,E1.

 

 

 

Back in October we treated our friend Alex to a birthday Lunch at José  Pizarro in Broadgate Circle which was part of a special American Express sponsored event called “Desert Island Meals” where numerous Chefs were asked to Host and present their favourite meals at a special lunchtime service.

Therefore José was present at a very pleasant lunch where he served some of his favourite meals. This enabled me to meet with him and also approach him with the possibility of gaining some work experience at one of his restaurants. He said that of course he would help and gave me his personal e mail address. It was not until March that I followed up, but José answered with 24 hours and cutting a long story short I was offered 3 days work experience at his main restaurant in Bermondsey Street., all being organised via his Deputy Chef  –  Adri.

So I found myself at 8am on Saturday at the restaurant to complete an 8 hour shift and was greeted by Carlos and another Jose as Adri would not be present on the day. They showed me around , gave me a Pizzaro Chefs jacket and apron and set me to work. Basically I was prepping along with the other staff various bits and pieces including :

– dicing a few bags of pears as uniformly as possible for a pear compote

– being given a large chunk of pig skin and having to cut off as much of the remaining meat and gristle etc as possible to create a very thin layer of skin for being roasted into pork scratching – much more difficult than you could imagine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

– prepping a large tub of chicken livers to ensure no sinew or greenish bits which can taste bitter

Also I was given the job of making the marinade for their roasted cauliflowers that consists of picking the leaves of loads of Thyme,Oregano And Rosemary. Cutting up shallots and then blitzing them with Olive Oil and Salt, before sieving and then coating each cauliflower with the sauce and bagging them up in Vacuum bags for use later.

It was a fairly varied day and quite interesting. The team were great fun albeit I had language difficulties as Carlos is Peruvian, Jose Spanish, their English not perfect and both have very strong accents. This meant me insisting they repeated themselves on numerous occasions and they probably felt I was deaf or stupid !

Sunday was a totally different experience as I was working from 2pm  to 11pm and found myself working at the Pass and the front of the kitchen for the whole shift. The restaurant has an open kitchen where people can even sit at the bar running along the length of the kitchen so you are visible to the customers from every angle. Adri was working on Sunday and paired me with Alex (who is English) who was working alongside Carmen (Spanish and great fun) , the two of them basically running the kitchen for most of the day/evening.

They got me involved in many tasks and I was helping to plate up desserts and prepare other simple cold things like the anchovies for service, Cannelloni and the charcuterie. Indeed we were running short on the charcuterie so I was taught how to use the butchers slicer and was tasked with slicing up loads of chorizo, Lomo and Salami. When I was told I had to wear a chainmail glove I realised how dangerous this machine could be but thank good no injuries to report !

It was amazing watching Carmen work as she had so many pans on the go at the same time whilst also preparing various fish and Meat on the plancha – everything she plated up looked amazing and her timing and organisation were a sight to behold. When she had a spare minute to talk I established she had been training in Spain for 4 years including experience in Michelin starred Restaurants in San Sebastian. This compared to Alex who is an ex Art dealer and only joined the team 3 months ago without any formal training. They however worked well as a team with Carmen explaining her skills to Alex, who in turn was helping her improve her English. Their dynamics were quite fun and I really enjoyed my time spent in their company. I could imagine learning a lot from Carmen in a short time should I have the opportunity. She also got me preparing more of the pig skin, and actually said my first 2 pieces were amazing, albeit me third let me down, but I was stupidly happy to receive a compliment from someone with her abilities !

The kitchen was fairly busy during the course of the day as the London Marathon was on and there were a lot of people milling about in the area. When the kitchen closed at 9.45 people were still streaming in hoping for a meal but Carmen refused them in her very direct Spanish style!

At around 10.30 we started clearing down and transferring all of the unused garnishes and foods etc to new storage boxes , clingfilming and returning them to fridges, before a massive cleaning operation ensued involving every millimetre of every surface being scrubbed and disinfected which was somewhat time consuming.

Adri released me just before 11pm advising that it would still be another hour before he inspected all and the team would be going home, showing again the long hours involved for the staff. Adri told me that he is very thankful for the way Carmen runs the kitchen and he could not do it without her. He was very pleased with the support I gave and said I could return any time to help – they always need an extra pair of hands. I joked with him that of course he was happy with free labour but I knew that many of the staff there were working for only £7.50 an hour, so rewards are not so high even if you are not working as slave labour disguised as work experience.

I enjoyed my weekend at a Pizzaros and in many ways it was more educational, and I felt more useful, than down in Padstow due to it being a smaller environment where all hands on deck was more appreciated. I also enjoyed seeing the customers enjoying the fruits of our labour- it gave me a weird sense of satisfaction that they were appreciating something we were responsible for producing.

So a big thanks to all of the team at Pizzaros and to the man himself – Jose – for allowing this experience to happen. Good luck in the future chicos and chicas  !

 

 

When Restaurant Story opened in Tooley Street, SE1 in 2013 I was hugely excited. Not only was Chef Tom Sellers riding high on the Hot List, but also the restaurant was being set up literally 3 minutes walk from my flat. When it received a Michelin Star within 6 months of opening I was also really pleased for Tom as I had already eaten there twice, and I was spreading the news about my new favourite local boasting that I was on trend and really in the know.

A few additional visits introducing other friends to the restaurant were hugely enjoyable and everyone I took also seemed to fall in love with it. Now it is time for Story to freshen up and presumably entertain a new look.  During this period of refurbishment Tom and his team have curated an “Event” which takes the form of a Banquet style Dinner in a space in Southwark street themed on Robin Hood And his Merry Men. Tickets for the evening were selling at £75 per head and went like hot cakes such is Mr.Sellers standing in the restaurant world.

Expectations were therefore high for my band of 4 attending Friday night, to the extent we were even considering donning  green tights to fit in with the Forest theme. Thank god we saw sense and did not ! Would not have been a pretty site. First impressions were a bit of a WOW factor as the upstairs setting had long tables set out with impressive candelabras, Antlers,  sheepskin rugs scattered around and shrubbery so abundant you felt you were expected to go tree climbing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Onions and Apples were festooned around the place and the ambience was very exciting. We were a little early arriving and clearly the staff were still busying themselves in preparation, therefore I was not too perturbed in organising ourselves at this stage and approaching the bar area and organising our first drinks of the evening – a themed punch which contained Aperol,Pastis, Gin,milk of some kind and a grapefruit twist. £22 for a jug, and whilst a little sweet for my usual liking tasted quite pleasant and quite alcoholic. This had to be paid up front as apparently there was no method of toting up the drinks bill for each individual booking which I found a little strange and lacking in organisation, but OK we could let that slide.

Thereafter we sat at our table with no attention for the next 45 minutes other than the supply of a welcome drink, – Mead – another sweet offering. Again we were compelled to organise some more drinks at the bar ourselves, and sat wondering where the food was, where were the menus and indeed were disturbed by the the lack of wine menu too. All we had was a dish of butter and what looked like a pot of grain mustard to keep us company.

Suddenly a tray of bread arrived, which at least enabled us to sample the butter, which,by the way, was excellent. A waitress then finally showed some interest ( after we had stolen a wine menu from the couple next to us ) and we ordered an Italian Nebbiolo- Eugenia Bocchino 2015 which seemed quite expensive at £60, but the cheapest wine was £45 and most of the cheaper bottles had already been marked unavailable which also seemed odd. Cutting to the chase none of us liked the wine, it was extremely tannic, weak and quite unpleasant. It felt much too young. When we asked for an alternative all sorts of shenanigans ensued which resulted with me at the bar yet again being told by a young Italian female sommelier that all Nebbiolos were so tanic and we should have expected this taste, and this particular example was a best seller in Italy. She did not seem to appreciate we felt the wine was unpleasant – and for the quality, crazily overpriced – and even asked me to “cool down” when I was just reasonably explaining our dislike of the wine. I drink quite a lot of Italian wines including Nebbiolos and none had tasted this unpleasant , normally I am a fan hence I did not agree with her overview of the style.  Eventually she saw sense and agreed to take the wine back and offered us a Spanish Syrah for £45, which again was not on the menu as the featured bottle on the list was – wait for it – unavailable ! How can a wine list be so sold out and disorganised , and quite frankly so expensive with most wines around the £90 mark.

Not a good start to the evening and we had not seen or smelt a starter yet!

When food did eventually appear it was in the form of a large dish of “a fish in a sauce” which had been given to our neighbours with no explanation other than – Fish- and they were asked to take their share and pass it down to us. Now maybe some people would be happy with this style of dining but I get anxious about sharing plates even with best friends! I get concerned they will take more than their fair share of the best plates and be more generous on the not so appetising dishes. So what can you expect from strangers – and if you felt they had been greedy how do you tackle them ? You cannot start shovelling food off of their plate onto yours explaining that they need to weigh out their portion more accurately – or can you? Is this the done thing with sharing plates or has this sharing plates phenomenon in the restaurant world really gone too far now ? As one of my friends commented “ I feel like we are getting their sloppy seconds!”

The dish itself was probably smoked haddock in some kind of buttery cream sauce which was nothing special, but we did not have any idea as to its real ingredients die to the lack of menu and no word from the waiting staff other than FISH. Next up was something served up in a marrowbone, salty fish in a crumb of some sort.

Good. 20 minutes or so this style followed but with a whole array of meat dishes arriving more or less all at once with waiters giving some dishes to us directly some to our neighbours with no explanation other than “Lamb” or “ Guinea Fowl” or “Rabbit Pie”!

Were the waiters just not interested in explaining the dishes or had they not been properly briefed? I am guessing that they were all part time hired for this one event and maybe other than “Antonio” whom I recognised from STORY I am guessing none of them were part of the Sellers team. In any case I personally do not like the idea of food being plonked in front of me that I need to share with strangers, not have much idea as to what it is, and furthermore having no idea as to the number of dishes to expect making it difficult to pace your voraciousness. Lastly the dishes were nothing that special and heavily meat laden.

There was also a huge bowl of salad which was hardly touched being out of proportion to the rest of the food, and due to all dishes arriving like London Buses there was of course no room on the table, so we ended up balancing dishes on one another. Admittedly there were some hits, beef cheeks were falling apart due to the slow cook and had a nice depth of flavour and the rabbit pie was great comfort food.

After this massive intake of animals from the forest we were offered Carb rich desserts which were quite disappointing. A tiny carton of blackberries arrived to share giving us the sum total of 3 each – followed by custard and then 2 additions – brioche style bread and butter pudding and a pear tart which seemed to be on a bed of frangipani. Ice cream also arrived which we desperately tried to decipher- vanilla but with underlying taste of what – Mushroom or Beetroot ? Whatever, it was unpleasant.

There it all ended with some tables seemingly in for the long haul and getting noisily drunk whilst we left somewhat underwhelmed by the whole experience. It was all a bit style over substance, with average food, expensive wine and uninterested serving staff. If this was Tom Sellers trying to make money whilst the main restaurant was being refurbished,  it was not exactly stealing from the rich and giving to the poor Robin Hood style, rather stealing from everyone to contribute to our brand new sleek and shiny new Restaurant. This could potentially damage the Story brand, and to be honest if I had never been to Story and this was my first experience of Toms food I do not think I would be racing to visit there. Friar Tuck would not have been amused !

Rating

Food – Warm Pan 2/5 (more personal care and attention required)

Service – As above

Decor – Very Hot Pan 4/5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our usual Band of four ended up in Tredwells after a recent visit to see the fantastic cinematic adventure that is “The Quiet Place ” . A highly original film, with a simple concept, but one that – especially in the second half of the film –  rapts up the tension, with hardly any respite, to the level of fingernails penetrating your best friends arm to bruise level ! I dare you to see it ! We certainly needed a drink after that !

Tredwells is a Marcus Waring venture close to Leicester Square (Seven Dials) opposite the infamous Stringfellows. Marcus will always have a special place in my heart as his restaurant in the Berkeley Hotel hosted my wedding Lunch  some 11 years ago. Tredwells is a lot less formal than his flagship restaurant, even so it boasts a Michelin Star, and this visit represented the second of mine within the last few months.

Upon entering there is a bar on the right running the length of the ground floor restaurant with seats available at the bar for even more casual dining. There are tables scattered around, all dark wood and white table clothes and some booths for parties of 4 or more. We were shown to the back of the restaurant to a very cosy looking booth and immediately felt very comfortable. Apparently – according to their website – it hosts live music on Sundays- and is quite a large space overall, comprising of 3 floors, including a lower ground floor that can accommodate upto 150 standing and 60 seated.

The menu is one of those that you scan through and feel like you would be happy with anything and everything, and after a quick discussion, and taking into consideration the time, we decided to bypass the starters (other than bread) and opt for Mains,  but with various Sides on order – a number of which had attracted our attention. We all felt we needed a drink after our nerves had been shredded at the Cinema and chose from Tredwells Selection, a Sicilian, cantina Volpi , Nero D’Avola which was, unusually, on tap, at £31 for a large Carafe. A good price and a decent wine, quite young and maybe not as powerful as I would have liked, but smooth and a little spice and fruit flavour. Easily drunk,so much so, we had to order another Carafe very shortly.

Food wise – our table soon filled up with the mains and Side dishes, and thankfully our table was large enough to accommodate all. My choice was Iberico Secreto Pork which was very unusual in its presentation arriving under a duvet of red radicchio sprinkled with White salted ricotta and using blood orange segments as little pillows. At first I was unsure as to the mix of tastes, the bitterness of the radicchio mingled with the saltiness of the cheese, and citrus cutting through from the Oranges. However the more I progressed into the meal the more I enjoyed its originality and I felt that actually this was an unusual and excellent dish. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other Mains sampled were the Creedy Carver Duck Breast with mushroom, Tamarind, Spelt And black garlic – good but a little salty and non existent mushroom flavour. 

Roasted Monkfish , Anchovy, Crispy Chicken Skin, and Asparagus was voted a 5 by its recipient, loving the saltiness of the chicken and anchovy with the beautifully cooked fleshy Monkfish.

 

 

 

Finally Gloucestershire lamb rack, chickpea, harissa, watercress and Creme fraiche. The Lamb had been prepared perfectly, a fantastic pink, great flavour, however the chickpea was adjudged a little dry as it came in a block which mystified my friend at first, not clear on its reason for being there and the style of its preparation. 

These Mains were accompanied by some great side dishes with highlights being the Lamb fat roasted Hispi cabbage, Smoked Potato and Gruyere croquettes and Truffled Mac and Cheese. Isn’t everything truffled these days ?

Hispi cabbage appears to be “de rigour” on most good restaurants menus at present but this was a punchy version having been roasted in meat fat and combining textures of chewy barley and crunchy hazelnuts on top. Very enjoyable.

The Mac and Cheese was luxuriously rich and you can never go wrong with croquettes !

Mains ranged in pricing from £18 to £33 (which was Halibut) And Sides all between £4-6.

Desserts wise the menu was quite extensive with 12 offerings and we chose a couple for sharing being the Salted Caramel soft serve with Honeycomb, and the Pump Street Chocolate Clementine and Pine Cream.

The soft serve was a bit like a glorified Mr.Whippy Tub – no bad thing- with broken chunks of Honeycomb scattered over it- more like retro comfort food than fine dining.

I do not know where Pump Street is or why this Chocolate ganache was named after it, but the taste was strong and dark and it went well with the fresh clementine purée – a bit like Clementine Humpty Dumptys perched on a chocolate wall. Could not get the pine taste in the cream, so this was maybe superfluous.

The service was very good and we felt well looked after even if the Sommeliers humour was lost on one of my French friends – I think lost in translation –  and the overall menu is comprehensive with enough attractive alternatives to entice you back to try other dishes you had no room for this time around.

Unlike the film experience we were quite loudly enjoying ourselves, and it was not out of place with the atmosphere of the restaurant – maybe being in the back helped – but certainly we would have been rapidly attracting the attention of many murderous aliens in the environment of the Quiet Place  !

Whilst a couple of things did not work, the overall quality and experience was very positive, and it would be interesting to experience the atmosphere here during a live music event. The bill came to £250 for 4 including 2 large carafes of wine, a glass of White and Water. Not cheap but not crazy money for the location and quality – I think we will be back !  Thank you Marcus.

Rating

Food 4.5 – Almost Blazingly Hot Pan 

Service 4.5 

Tredwells, 44 Upper St.Martins Lane,WC2H 9HY.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Birthday treat was a visit to A.Wong – a High Class Chinese restaurant in Victoria that had been on my radar for some 6 months or so. Giles Coren of the Times had fawned over it and if he says it’s good who am I to disagree ! Other friends of mine had also been sending me photos of what they were eating – always a gastronomic pain in the stomach !

Andrew Wong has been one of the Hot Chefs in London over the past year or so, and this restaurant gained its first Michelin star in October 2017. It only takes 70 reservations in the evenings and 40 at lunch, and apparently can have upto 60 people on the waiting list even mid week. Mr.Wong is a busy man, presently soon to be opening his second restaurant in the City at the Bloomberg Centre. It will be larger, rumoured to accommodate 150 covers, and the concept will be a little more casual with faster moving food and clientele. In the meantime Andrew spends most of his life in Victoria and says ultimately,  even with the new location, Victoria will be his home.

Like many or most Chinese restaurants the decor in A.Wong is modest – think wood/ clean lines and a few brightly coloured chairs thrown here and there to break things up.

There exists a “Taste of China” Tasting menu for £75 and an A La Carte for the evenings. At lunch they focus on Dim Sum, whereas in the evening the only way to try the Dimsum is to order an A.Wong Dimsum basket which we promptly did. 2 of them to receive 3 pieces each. This included a wonderful Shangai steamed dumpling with ginger infused vinegar.

It simply exploded with flavour in your mouth with a broth bursting out of the delicate “pastry” as it literally disintegrated in your mouth – just don’t cut into it on the Steamer – Please ! You will lose all of its beautiful innards!

The other components of the basket were a Pork and Prawn Dumpling topped with Pork Crackling- can’t go wrong there in my book – and a clear shrimp dumpling with a citrus cloud ? I wondered what the cotton wool ball on top of it was supposed to be !

Next up we ordered a Crab Claw with cured scallop and wasabi from the snack menu (£9) which was a beautifully presented Crab Claw and on the side a clump of basically raw scallop in a spicy sauce, both of which were a hit.

Difficult to share the Crab Claw but somehow we managed. Lovely compacted crab meat with a crisp breadcrumb coating on the outside, which when cut into exposed the white crab meat inside.

As mains we selected the Garlic Steamed Lobster with Mung bean Noodles and Superior Soya which at £15 represented the most expensive Main dish. I did not get a look in here as my wife declared it was the softest lobster she could remember eating and quickly polished the lot off. In the meantime I had ordered Crispy Chilli caramelised, Beef Tartare And carrots.

Left – Crispy Beef – not what you maybe used to !

Right – Garlic Steamed Lobster – I did not get to taste !

You will be familiar with crispy chilli beef from your local Chinese, a glutinous – if not enjoyable – dish of sticky beef sticks ! This was a whole new ball game – almost like a light tempura surrounding the beef, only just crispy then, swimming around in the dish were its friends – petit brunoised tartare, crunchy carrots,and some yellow flowers – provenance unknown.

The 2 textures worked well together but was I missing a sauce of some kind ? Maybe ?

Another main course followed which I chose as it was on the tasting menu- Anhui province red braised fermented fish belly – upon arrival I established it was Cod fish belly. It was served with a little paintbrush and some sweet chilli sauce which we were told to paint onto the belly under the nasturtium leaves on top. Delicately prepared, with the cod difficult to pick up being so silky and soft. But delicious.

2 more courses followed before we could go on no more. The incredible looking “goldfish” dumplings with seared foie gras, crunchy bacon/ pork on top with chive flower oil, and finally a crab and seafood filled braised leave, shallot powder and cockles.

The goldfish looked too beautiful to eat and was the most instagramable dish so far. It actually contained minced prawn which when eaten with the melting foie gras and crunchy salty pork was one of the highlights of the menu for me.

Dont know about chive flower oil, I think it was lost amongst all the other strong tastes.

The seafood dish was also quite excellent and quite a large portion, but the braised leaves difficult to cut for sharing.                                                                                           Please don’t eat me sir ! please !

Could we do dessert – but of course , not 1 but 2 !  In fact there are only 3 desserts on the menu. We chose their iconic Tea smoked banana, nut crumble and slow cooked pineapple and chocolate and also the Coconut Water Ice , blackberries, Xinjiang mulberries yoghurt and Mochi. Wow that is a mouthful just to type ! The tea smoked banana involves a golden half sphere being melted by pouring on hot chocolate and is an impressive sight. However I could not understand where the tea came in and also was confused by the different textures on the plate. Maybe my taste buds or brain had given up on me by then !

 

Having said that I really enjoyed the refreshing Coconut Ice and my wife loved the Mochi hiding within. My palate was cleansed now and the ice and berries had woken my taste buds anew.

I have not mentioned drinks , we had chosen to bypass wine as the evening had turned Chilly, and preferred some warming Sake and therefore chose some kind of a Red Dragon branded liquid with Almond undertones (if I recall correctly)  but I am not the worlds greatest expert on Sake. Just know how to drink it !

A.Wong does not represent the Chinese food you will necessarily be familiar with but is fine dining haute cuisine excellent value Michelin starred quality cooking. With a couple of small exceptions I believe the food we enjoyed was the best Chinese I had experienced in London, but appreciate it is still Western styled and not representative of the food you would eat in China. But I have visited   China  – been there, seen that, done that, and I prefer this – and Victoria is that much closer  !

Rating

Food – Blazingly Hot Pan 5 

Service – Very Hot Pan  4 ( although our Waitress was helpful and efficient again experienced a long wait for the bill )

£150 for 2

A.Wong, 70 Wilton Road, Victoria, SW1V 1DE ( 5 mins walk from Victoria Station)