Japan 2012 - Kaiseki Dinner at Ôgami

Kyoto is - amongst many other things - famous for its Kaiseki dinners, a traditional Japanese "Set Menu", consisting of a decent number of small dishes served consecutively, all prepared to the highest standards with regards to presentation, quality and freshness. I have been longing to try one of these dinners and while my original idea to enjoy such a dinner in the Ryokan I was staying in did not come to fruition (I think I needed to book a Ryokan in the $400 plus category to be offered that pleasure - that would be excluding the food), the front desk staff member of Ryokan Sakura, a young man with rather good English language skills, booked me into a small restaurant in Gion and enabled a fantastic culinary experience. The young man did not only make the booking for me and briefed the taxi driver by means of a Google Maps printout, but he apparently also instructed the staff at the restaurant about my lack of Japanese language skills - the chef and his apprentice were going out of there way to make me feel comfortable and to explain the food they presented, despite their very basic English language skills. At times, they would even consult an online dictionary to translate the odd word! But not to worry, with my basic Japanese (90% of which consists of food and drink related vocabulary, purely coincidentally of course), their basic English, lots of gestures, smiles (as we were progressing from dish to dish, probably more like an amazed, delirious grin in my case) and bows we managed to communicate well enough. The food was just as good as any of the food I had in the top restaurants I visited in other parts of the world, the presentation was absolutely stunning, the flavours spanning the whole rainbow of sensory colours you can imagine, the quality of the products flawless, the mixture of textures exciting and sometimes surprising... I could go on and on, let's just say that it was as good as it gets. I ordered two very nice Junmai Nihonshu flasks (served in an ice water bowl - excellent!) with the dinner, which were charged at 4,400 Yen, and the food should have been charged at 11,500 Yen, but for some reason I got a discount and only paid 14,000 Yen in total, which is an absolute bargain. The sensei presented me with a bill of 4,400 Yen to begin with and only if I protested vehemently (by pushing 20,000 Yen towards the chef, who only wanted to take one note of 10,000 of me) did his apprentice spot the mistake and pointed it out to his master. If you are looking for a Kaiseki experience where you sit on the floor on tatami mats, and perhaps get some touristy Geisha show thrown in for good measure, this is not the place to go - the restaurant consists of a long bar with perhaps 10-12 chairs at it, and the kitchen right behind the bar with the chef, his apprentice and a dish washer / helper preparing the food right in front of your eyes. The sensei was constantly apologising for his lack of English, and I was constantly apologising for my lack of Japanese and yet I like to believe that thanks to my exaggerated (and yet genuine!) gestures of appreciation of his art, we established an understanding. I just felt so sorry for the small team of three since I was the only guest on that evening, and yet one they couldn't properly gauge with whether he was just stuffing his face or actually rate their work. They also managed to cook up quite a generous portion of rice (flavoured with anago, sea eel - absolutely delicious, especially due to the brownish crust that had built at the bottom of the clay pot) and the chef and I agreed that it would be too much to polish this all off (him by sticking out his non-existent belly and patting it, me by patting my already properly stuffed gut), so they offered a take-away - two neatly wrapped up leafs, containing snack size packages of fragrant rice!

The place isn't easy to find, there is no sign in Latin letters anywhere, and if you are peculiar about your food and need to know what you are eating (and don't speak Japanese), you might be in a bit of trouble. On the other hand, if you like to be a bit outside of your comfort zone, enjoy different foods and have a bit of a sense for adventure, go for it! Oh yes, and if you're of the non-meat eating kind (Martin G., pay attention now!), this is perfect - lots of fish, tofu and veggies, no meat. None at all.

I have included pictures of the different dishes that were served on the evening, as well as a picture of the front (the entrance is on the left, next to the elevator door - no idea what's in the back on the right, but they showed me where to go!) and a picture of the business card (all in Kanji, but print it and a taxi driver can take you there). Please write a comment of you also went there and let me know about your experience (great likelihood with the constant readership of 2 people or so this blog enjoys...)!




Pic #1 - Right: White fish on plum sauce with young ginger and fresh wasabi. Left: Sweet corn porridge (for lack of a better word) with some quite umami (delicious) gelatinous stuff hidden beneath, topped with an ebi (prawn).




Pic #2 - Right: Cucumber purée with some white stuff (grated Yam, I imagine), and some bits and bobs (notice that most of the first few dishes come with freshly grated wasabi - wonderful). I had instructions to stir it all up (I am normally good at that anyway) and then spoon my way to the bottom - which I happily did! Left: A jelly (again quite umami, not unlike the sauce you get with Agedashi Nasu for example) with some bits of tako (octopus) in it, and some other very tasty yellow bits which I have no idea what they were - some fruit / seed / veggie I guess?




Pic #3 - Nihonshu, the way it should be served!




Pic #4 - Sashimi of tai (translated as Red Snapper by the apprentice, after he had consulted the Internet) and o-toro (outstanding melt-in-your-mouth fat tuna belly - best I ever had, and I had my fair share!)








Pic #5 and 6 - A clear soup (wonderfully flavoured, rich and aromatic - the chef gave the apprentice quite a bollocking since he didn't get it right, and then fixed it by cranking up the gas flame that I thought whatever was in that pot must be nearing nuclear fusion) with white fish (not unlike suzuki), a shiitake mushroom, Japanese chives, some clear gelatinous strip with a bit of red spicy sauce on it (to keep it separate from the soup, I imagine) and the best tofu I ever had in my life (you can imagine by now that I had my fair share of that, too). The dish, in all its simplicity, a work of genius! And look at the presentation, too - of course they would make sure that the lid would align perfectly with the bowl!




Pic #7 - Translated by the staff again as "Sweet Fish" (as they presented the two little buggers to me swimming alive in a wooden bucket full of water, minutes before they were skewered and put over a bed of hot charcoals) with some fresh green herb-based sauce and some white yam-purée like stuff (bottom dish), and a tomato mayonnaise (it was not really mayonnaise but had a by similar consistency) topped with a fried soft-shell crab - great contrast of crispness and soft textures in both dishes! The chef made sure to let me know not to eat that branch of leaves served with the fish, by the way - very caring!








Pic #8 and 9 - Language issues not withstanding, I interpret this dish to be titled "Variations on Edamame". The presentation blew me away (they prepared the dish behind the counter, withdrawn from my always closely observing eyes) and as the simple edamame (the soy been pod in front left, leaning on the little leaf-wrapped package) with its slightly rough shell has some flavoursome and nutritious soy beans inside, so did all the other bits on the plate, uhm in the basket, have something rather delicious inside their shell - the ceramic pod on top had some horenso (spinach), pumpkin and some fish I can't properly remember now (sensory overload, I guess) in it, the blossom (I guess that's what it was?) on the right hosted a piece of tako, and two bits of veggie and the bag, as you can see in the second picture, had a piece of sushi in it that is typical for the region, cured saba (mackerel) on rice, often wrapped in a persimmon leave - surprisingly durable due to the cured fish and vinegary rice.




Pic #10 - Pieces of hamo (pike conger) in a thin soup with tofu and vegetables - wonderfully flavoured broth (again), tender bits of fish, fresh lime squeezed directly into the pot, giving the soup a zesty tang to it, and a fully flavoured sauce to dip the fish and tofu into. Absolutely lovely.




Pic #11 - Kani (crab - of a rather hairy kind!) with a nice umami jelly to the right (I was scraping the loose bits of kani into this jelly - no idea whether that was the idea, but it worked for me) and another purée like dish, topped with a white snow fungus (which I ate before at Hakkasan in a sweet soup with Nashi pears!!). I was in culinary Nirvana by now.




Pic #12 - Finally - the rice! I was asked somewhere between pictures 6 and 7 (I think) how I wanted my rice, with tako, anago (sea eel), kai (mussels), or something not fishy at all that I forgot now, and I went for anago. Good choice! The rice was cooked in a clay pot on a gas flame and the nice brown crust you can see is the pinnacle of rice cooking (in my book anyway!) The anago lent the dish a nice earthy, sweetish flavour. The oshinko mori-awase (mixed pickles) were greatly varied and of a perfect crispy texture and the miso-shiro was - sorry to say it again - the best (at a margin!!) I ever tasted, it had an unusual fresh, almost citrusy twist to it.




Pic #13 - As if that wasn't enough, they finished me off with a dessert of mango and coconut sorbet and a pineapple jelly (hiding behind the mango sorbet in the picture). Good, but with desserts not really featuring heavily in the Japanese cuisine, not at the same amazing standard of previous dishes.








Pic #14 and 15 - Said business card.


Pic #16 - Look for this place!

Food Review: UPDATE - Shanghai Blues, London

I thought I'd post a quick update on this restaurant, since I've been back there today for another round of Dim-Sum. I arrived just after 2pm (after I stood disappointed before Hakkasan's closed doors - they are currently refurbishing) and got a table for one without any problems. Indeed, over the next hour or so there were quite a few more guests arriving for a late lunch. I can't really revise my views I expressed in my previous review; the food is very good but not perfect (one example, the Mu-Err mushrooms that came with the beef balls from the Sat/Sun specials menu were rather cold) and a great option for those who like it a little spicier (which is rather rare when it comes to Dim Sum in London). The service is friendly but not the most attentive (today's highlight were the scallop dumplings which were upended on the table as they arrived - the waitress removed them right away and placed a new order, after apologising, but didn't think about wiping the table. I'd still upgrade my rating to a 7, if not a 7.5 - just because it's not as good as Hakkasan, it's still significantly better than any of the Dim Sum places I tried in Chinatown.

Piemonte - Osteria Boccondivino, Bra

As a founding member of the SlowFood movement, surely not accidentally located right next door to the SlowFood offices in a central pedestrian area of Bra, the Osteria Boccondivino celebrates the principles that have made SlowFood so successful - authentic regional food made from local produce, supporting traditional ingredients. The restaurant is linked to the Osteria dell'Arco in Alba and if you have been there before you will notice right away - the ambient is rather similar and the hundreds of wine bottles in the glass front wine cooler are reminiscent of similar views in Alba. The latest when you get to the Panna Cotta, you will recognise that the same recipe has been used here (it's rather unique with its unusually creamy texture, copied by myself by adding a big helping of Mascarpone after the cooking process... - not sure whether that's what they do here, but it leads to similar results). This was our last culinary stop before going back home today and you could tell that appetites had been somewhat quenched by now. Only two bottles of wine (between four of us - I was driving) felt almost anticlimactic... We also were less experimental in our choices and perhaps everyone just went for their favourites instead - and here they are:

- Lardo, Salsiccia di Bra e Carne Cruda, lard, raw sausage from Bra and the hand-cut raw veal, all at top quality and pretty much as good as they get.
- Uovo in cocotte con Tartufo Bianco d'Alba - a raw egg cooked in cream and topped off with a crust of parmiggiano and freshly shaved truffles; stay away if you can't deal with runny eggs, otherwise this is probably the best way to enjoy white truffles.
- Agnolotti "al plin", the traditional Piemontese mini-ravioli, stuffed with veal, rice and cabbage, and served with butter and fresh rosemary; again top-notch, difficult to make this much better.
- Coniglio "Grigio di Carmagnola" all'arneis - a good example for the work SlowFood does, this grey rabbit is a local variant that was about to disappear and was reinvigorated by SlowFood. Cooked in Arneis (a local white wine), simple and good.
- Faraona al rosmarino con Tartufo Bianco d'Alba - oven roasted Perlhuhn topped with black truffles, great autumn-earthy aromas, very tender meat, great dish.
- Tre sorbetti di frutta - sherbet made from lemons, grapefruit and tangerines, very refreshing with clean fresh fruity tastes.
- Torta di nocciole con zabaglione, hazelnut cake (famously made without any flour) with (cold) Marsala cream, very traditional, very rich!

Prices are reasonable but our bill was slightly misleading; with a total of 8 truffle dishes being ordered (plus all the other stuff, some of which listed above) but only two bottles of rather basic wines and a round of Passito (sweet dessert wine) we ran up a total of 365 Euros. Very friendly and competent service and a nice atmosphere in combination with the flawless food make this a safe bet and a place to come back to, just as it's sister-place in Alba.

Piemonte, Osteria dei Sognatori, Alba

This family restaurant is situated only minutes from the Alba market and is an ideal place to go for a simple lunch after you have done your shopping. The Osteria dei Sognatori (Tavern of Dreamers) offers limited choice but great value for money if you don't mind the Italian equivalent of pub grub. Between the four of us we shared two litres of the house red (Barbera d'Alba), plenty of Antipasti, four Primi, three desserts, coffees and water and paid 120 Euro. The food included:

- Vitello Tonnato, veal with tuna sauce (more mayonnaise than tuna, but very nice meat)
- Bagna Cauda, cauliflower and kohlrabi with the typical anchovi / garlic / olive oil sauce
- Toma al tartufo, local chesese with truffles and a sprinkle of olive oil
- Insalata di pollo, chicken salad
- Warm sausage with stir-fried cabbage, greasy but tasty
- Tajarin al Ragu, pasta with meat sauce
- Risotto con tartufo, risotto with truffles

as well as three rather mediocre puddings.

The service was run efficiently and very friendly by two young ladies and while this certainly wasn't our best culinary visit during our stay, it makes for a nice change - and a bit of a break for your wallet!

Piemonte - Bottega di Rosanna, Neive

Since I started visiting Piemonte in 2002 and came back year after year, with only one exception, every time I went I would visit the Bottega di Rosanna in Neive. Previously called the Bottega dei Quattro Vini and located just opposite the town hall in Neive in the basement of another municipal building, Rosanna and her husband Marco are running a small Enoteca that sells exclusively wines from Neive and offer a small range of simple dishes, limited to a handful of Antipasti, a couple of Primi and about four Dolci. I haven't been coming back for the culinary highlights so much, but predominantly because of the very warm and friendly service and the extremely reasonably priced wines, providing a great opportunity to sample a good range of local produce - the bottles are sitting on shelves spread throughout the room and you can casually browse for your next bottle. Who needs a wine list, right? I can't help the impression though that Rosanna has become a bit light at the upper end of the spectrum - while in the past you would find the best producers from Neive on the shelves, represented with several of their fine wines (such as the Master of Neive wines, Sottimano), these great wines have disappeared from the shelves and she is rather catering for the lower price ranges up to 20 Euros per bottle. I believe the Bottega di Rosanna still merits our annual visit; try the following when you're there:

- Acciughe al verde, salted anchovies in a pesto-like herb sauce, wash 'em down with a bottle of Roero Arneis from Bruno Giacosa
- Lardo con miele e nocciole, lard with honey and hazelnuts
- Insalata di Toma d'Alba, green salads with local cheese, hazelnuts, and pomegrenade
- Vitello Tonnato, thinly sliced veal roast with tuna sauce
- Salumi e Formaggi, local cold cuts and cheeses, simple and nice

Dependent on your appetite, choose from Tajarin with Ragu or butter and sage, or the rich vegetable soup. We usually skip dessert and have a café instead which is being served with a biscuit topped off with some whipped cream...

Piemonte - Osteria Del Vignaiolo, La Morra

This little gem can be found in a tiny village called Santa Maria, which is just 4km outside of La Morra on the way to Alba. It's a burgundy red building on the right and provides seats for about 30-35 guests. Its brick vaulted ceiling and a fire place provide a comfortable atmosphere, and the service is very attentive and friendly. The Osteria Del Vignaiolo is located in one of the best wine regions in Italy and is surrounded by Nebbiolo vines, producing some of the finest Barolo. The young chef is a master of oven roasted meats, but also features a few fish dishes on the menu, such as smoked eel, Loup de Mer and Marlin. Here are some of the highlights we sampled today:

- Insalata tiepida di coniglio, salad of rabbit, perhaps the best starter on the menu, perfectly flavoured, with tender bits of rabbit meat.
- Scallops with artichoke - flash-pan-fried, with great roast aromas, a light and extremely enjoyable dish.
- Tajarin al tartufo bianco, pasta simply served with butter and white truffles thinly sliced for you at the table - a Piemonte classic.
- Stincho di agnello, oven roasted lamb shank, absolutely gorgeous tender meat full of good flavours, top notch!
- Ossobucco de cervo, venison shank, again very tender but a little dry (typical for the very lean venison really).
- Coscia d'anatra con Arneis, duck leg cooked in Arneis, a typical local white wine.
- Tortino caldo di cioccolata, warm chocolate soufflé, of course still liquid inside.
- Tarte Tartin di mele, an apple tarte, served with gelato di fior de latte, lovely milky ice cream.
- Ravioli di cioccolata, chocolate ravioli in a slightly overpowering cherry sauce.

The wine list offers great choices in all price ranges, the puddings are served with a complimentary glass of Moscato d'Asti and with five of us sharing three starters, five Primi, four Secondi, five Dolci, two bottles of white, one bottle of Barolo and some coffees and limoncello, the bill at 370 Euro (including 160 Euro for truffles, fairly priced at 4 Euro per gram) was great value for money. This is surely one of our new favourites and top ranking restaurants in Piemonte.

Piemonte - Pane & Vino, Cherasco

Pane & Vino is a small Trattoria in Moglia - if you arrive in Cherasco from the A6/A33, you might drive by it without noticing because it is not in the historic town centre of Cherasco but right next to a petrol station before you climb up the serpentines to Cherasco. What it lacks in location it makes up in quality and authenticity of food! Emiliana and Rosanna rule in the kitchen and are true to the traditional Langhe cuisine, particularly to the Cherasco speciality, Lumache (escargots). There is even a Lumache set menu available! Between the five of us we sampled a good selection of dishes and let me mention just a few of the highlights:

- Lumache con panna e Fontina - escargots cooked in cream with lots of fresh herbs and a little garlic, topped off with a crust of Fontina cheese, a great antipasto, with lovely flavours and surprisingly mild escargots (probably owed to the cream).
- Fagottini - a crèpe pouch filled with salsiccia, veggies and cheese, perhaps the best starter we sampled, boasting rich hearty flavours and solid cooking crafts(wo)manship.
- Tajarin con sugo de salsiccia - the famous local pasta (made with 30 egg yolks) with a salsiccia sauce with a massive twist, being spiced with cinnamon and clover - not everyone's cup of tea but an inspired dish!
- Lamb chops in a herb crust - not grilled but fried "Milanese-style" in a heavily herb-enriched herb crust, very different and very yummy.
- A selection of 8 regional cheeses, with a very crumbly Castelmagno, a well matured Peccorino and a wonderfully creamy and nutty Blu d'Aosta being the stars of the ensemble.
- Pere cotto - pears cooked in a rich red wine reduction with cinnamon ice cream, my personal all time favourite (the red wine pear) with yet another lovely twist provided by the full flavour of the home-made ice cream.
- Panna Cotta con frutti de bosco - a fantastic Panna Cotta, with a rather runny texture and an amazing milky flavour (rather than the usual firm vanilla cream), perhaps the best I ever tried (only rivalled by my own recipe)!

The menu isn't extensive with about 5 different choices for each course but offers great local cuisine - Rosanna and Emiliana in the kitchen are not afraid to use spices and a good pinch of salt and Flavio, who provides a friendly and competent service, knows his way around the wine list and isn't afraid to disagree with one of my choices, based on our previous preferences, and recommend a different wine instead (which was a good thing, too). He also has a tendency to leave a few bottles of Grappa on his guests' table (if they wish) so you can sample a few. The five of us had about four courses each, shared three bottles of wine and the usual extras (water, coffee, grappa, etc) and came away with a bill of 225 Euro - that's Italy as we love it, great local food and wine at very affordable prices.

Food Review: schwarz (Heidelberg)

The Gault Millau Guide is suggesting that "schwarz. Das Restaurant" (that's the exact - if you ignore the typeface - presentation of the restaurant's name) is the best restaurant in Heidelberg, awarded with 16 out of the 20 possible points (although the guide always insisted that 20 points are reserved for God - if he ran a restaurant anyway...). One might expect Heidelberg's best restaurant to be located near the old castle (Schloss) or the old town centre (Altstadt), but instead it is within spitting distance of the main train station (Hauptbahnhof) inside a modern tall office building that's wrapped into an energy efficient glass hull. After checking in with the restaurants separate reception desk in the lobby, we are sent to the 12th floor in a glass elevator that already raises (no pun intended) expectations; the ride is not for people with high anxiety though.

schwarz presents itself with a modern interior and great views over Heidelberg and the surrounding areas (including a very tall industrial chimney standing right between the restaurant and the castle. The maÎtre'd greeted us in a friendly way and was slightly surprised when we chased our order for an aperitif with the question what Gins might be available to chose from. With a mildly puzzled look he suggested there would be a Frederiques (the spelling is owed to the distinct French accentuation of the word) and, of course (this was suggested with an almost undetectable disapproving scoff) Gordons. We felt adventurous and went for the unknown French gin, only to find out a minute later that it was indeed Hendricks, as the head waiter confirmed with an apology. We were very happy with that turn of events, but since the gin was served just with ice and tonic, I asked whether it would be too much trouble to be served with a couple of slices of cucumber. When I saw the surprised look I hastened to add, rather undiplomatically, that Hendricks was usually served with cucumber. The maÎtre'd complied without hesitation, but seemed a little wary of what other strange demands we might come up with during the next couple of hours; indeed, I couldn't help the feeling that he was a little hurt in his professional pride to be found to offer a service short of perfection.

The lunch menu offers limited choices but changes on a weekly basis. With a couple of choices each for starters, main dishes and desserts, a 2 or 3 course menu option offering different dishes and a daily special, there are still sufficient choices to be made. We decided for the à la carte option and ordered Vitello Tonnato, perfectly cooked to medium-rare (more rare than medium) and served thinly sliced with a light tuna sauce and some rocket and fragrant cocktail tomatoes, and Scallops on a pineapple curry, in my view the by far best dish we experienced on the day, due to it's imaginative nature, perfect balance of fresh, tangy flavors and impeccable preparation and presentation: the roasted scallops sat on a handful of pineapple pieces flavored with a Vietnamese-style curry boasting the fresh aromas of lemongrass and ginger, with the sauce presented in a "spuma" that is probably about to go out of fashion again but nevertheless worked perfectly for this dish. The touch of genius were the baby shisso leaves (the purple variant) that gave the dish yet another exotic, fresh flavor that accentuated the other aromas in perfect harmony. A 19 points dish in my book, to use the Gault Millau scale on this occasion. The main dishes consisted of saddle of lamb served on a pleasantly crunchy mix of beans with potatoes (a good dish with a slightly overcooked lamb that was closer to well-done than medium, but still juicy, tender and full of flavor) and a suckling pork shank in a rich dark-brown sauce, nicely glazed and with very delicate, tender meet that practically fell of the bone, served with cabbage and a dumpling. The main course offered classic dishes updated to the modern ways of cooking and prepared with professional attention and unquestionable craftsmanship. The brilliant inspiration that was evident in the scallop starter was not to be found here, but then again one cannot expect a miracle when enjoying what would typically be served as a business lunch at a very reasonable price of 20 Euro for the main course (the starters ranged between 9 and 12 Euro and the desserts were in the same price category). We ordered a 2003 Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) Auslese from the Pfalz region from the extensive wine list, which offered good value for money at 59 Euro for the bottle and managed to convince my rather skeptical friend David that the Germans can actually produce a decent bottle of red wine! By this point the maÎtre'd had lost his initial caution after the "Hendricks incident" and allowed us to order the dessert from the Set Menu (apple tarte with raspberry sorbet - yummy) - but just because we were nice!! I decided to have the Tartlet of Nougat with Baileys Ice Cream, the latter not very imaginative and even available from Häägen Dasz if I'm not mistaken, the Nougat Tartlet though being surprisingly delicate with a wafer thin biscuit crust filled with light, nutty nougat mousse - here was that creative energy at work again! We finished with a couple of espressos (my choice of a single espresso was greeted with a playful scoff of the maître'd, suggesting that only a lightweight would give the double espresso a miss) and we were presented with a bill of 173 Euro that we felt provided good value for money.

My final comments are dedicated to the service staff: although the restaurant was almost empty, the staff found the exact right balance between being attentive and keeping in the background. It would have been tempting to "over-serve" us, which did not happen once and we appreciated the efforts of the excellent maître'd to make up for his Hendricks "mistake", again without going over the top or getting disconcertingly nervous. I will look for an opportunity to return for the 7 course tasting menu (120 Euro) and will wait with applying a score until then (if pushed, I would probably go for a 7.5/10 for now, as a result of the average between the two "9" dishes and the other "7" dishes).

Ratings

I have reviewed and changed some of my previous restaurant ratings - the more reviews I wrote the more did I struggle to apply fair ratings. What I have tried now is to apply ratings that reflect the positioning of a restaurant in it's appropriate segment - for example, Mikuni, a Sushi & Izakaya type restaurant, deserves a 9/10 because it offers great quality and value for money in this category; The Bengal Lounge is the best Indian Restaurant I have been to and probably deserves an even higher score in that category (I will know for sure when I have sampled a few more comparable restaurants), and so on.

Food Review: La Grenouillère

La Grenouillière is a modern French restaurant just outside Montreuil-sur-Mer, a coastal town about 70km south of Calais. Which makes it the perfect destination for a casual lunch if you live in the London area. You might disagree given the myriads of good restaurants one can enjoy in London, but London is London, and France is France! Yesterday was the second time I made the trip with a friend and fellow gourmand and it was just as enjoyable as the first time around, although quite different in some regards.

La Grenouillière dares to be different. Sometimes a little too much so, as I will point out in this review, but mostly in a pleasant and entertaining way. We were curious about what we might expect this time around because last year we had been presented with some truly inspired food experiences such as a little heap of smouldering fresh juniper branches with a lobster tail hidden within (great fresh smoky flavour), a scoop of grass-green ice cream inside a crystal-clear sugar glass ball thrown on to your plate where it would shatter into pieces or, with coffee, a hammer and chisel taken to what looked like a piece of lava rock left as decoration on the dining table and what was really a Turkish Delight-like substance dyed grey through the use of squid ink. In addition, the restaurant had closed earlier this year for a major refurbishment so we were curious what it would look like.

As we arrived we went to sit in the lounge for a drink (G&T at and a glass of Champagne at a rather steep price of €15 each to find the cozy little area mostly unchanged. While we had our drinks we were presented with the menu in form of a crumpled up piece of flimsy A4 paper (one of the less inspired attempts at being different), an idea which was continued in the presentation of the wine list which was printed on the same flimsy paper and folded in half as a collection of loose sheets. While nibbling on some complimentary bread with herb-infused crème fraîche and very young raddish plants (the whole thing, including the still tender leaves - rather pleasant), we decided to go for the 8 course tasting menu for €85 (supplement of €12 for an extra cheese course) and proceeded to the dining area. Last year the restaurant consisted of a number of smaller interconnected dining rooms. This is now replaced by a large open room with a big glass front looking out into the garden, furnished with modern but comfortable light brown leather chairs and ovally shaped tables which also seemed to have a leather top in the same colour. In the middle of the room was a strange contraption which we suspected to be a hoax, or some would perhaps say a piece of modern art. There is also a spaghetti salad of wires hanging under the high ceiling feeding electricity to the small LED point lamps scattered around the room. One corner of the dining hall opened up into the showroom-type kitchen so we could watch the kitchen staff as they prepared our food in a calm and controlled manner, always a good sign I like to believe. The atmosphere of the restaurant has changed significantly since we came last year - a rather traditional French country restaurant (and I mean the premises not the food) has turned into a modern food temple. I have to admit that I preferred the previous setup, so call me old-fashioned!

We ordered a bottle of Pouilly-Fumée Prédilection 2009 from Jonathan Didier Pabiot at €86 and a bottle of Château Soutard Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé 2000 at €124 (both very good wines and normally priced for a Michelin-starred outfit: both wines retail for around 40-50 Euro), the former decanted and placed in an ice-bucket inside a leather-bag that was hung on the wall and the letter just opened and left to breathe in the bottle - an informed choice by the sommelier as we agreed on later. So, without further ado, here comes the food!

Bar, Nectarine - thin slices of raw fish, very thin slices of fresh nectarine, a drizzle of olive oil and a little bit of pepper. Nice, a good start.

Eau de Mer, Avocat - a cube of ripe avocado flesh with a thin slice of raw fish hidden inside and some sea water (I would say it was water flavoured with Wakame algeas, salt and olive oil - then again, maybe it was really sea water). Good, not great.

Courgettes, huîtres - a massive half oyster shell (haven't seen them that big since Hawaii) with a raw fresh oyster inside, a thin slice of courgettes and some other green bits I can't quite remember now... Very good flavours, great presentation, but don't make the mistake we made: we were only given forks or spoons up to this point (and for the rest of the lunch as we realised later on), no knives, so in the effort to be good sportsmen we tried eating with the fork only. While you got away with that until now, you really needed a knife to cut the oyster and courgette at least in half so you can enjoy them together (unless you want to risk choking on them). We reckon that what was until then used as a butter knife (which was unusually sharp and big for that purpose anyway) was meant to be used as our all-purpose knife for the day. That is an attempt at being different that I find rather daft to be honest.

Petit pois - four types of peas: pea gnocchi, pea shoots, pea jus and pea powder (!!). The most inspired dish so far, quite clever!

Saint Pierre, épinard fraise - the latter is a spinach-like plant carrying tiny little berries which look more like raspberries than the strawberries lending their French name. This was cooked very briefly and served with a small filet of John Dory: a very nice, well rounded dish. Unfortunately did the little red fruits provide much more colour than flavour - the eyes were pleased but the palate somewhat disappointed. Therefore a little anti-climatic and not one of my favourites of the day.

Vachette ferrée, salicorne - the only meat dish in the menu was reminiscent of a dish that was served last year, too: then, a plate with many little leaves of different herbs was served (to achieve the "what the f..." effect I suppose), shortly after followed by some flash-grilled thin slice of marbled beef served from a carving board. This year, the herbs were replaced with some samphire, the meat and the presentation were the same. The beef was tasty and cooked rather rare, a good simple dish.

Les fromages - a selection of good cheeses, not the best I have seen, but absolutely fine. No frills (fruit, honey, chutneys, nuts, etc) attached, a little disappointing given the restaurant's ambitions.

Marjolaine, citron - lemon curd, arranged in a cigar-shape on the plate, with lots of marjoram-sprinkled mini-merengue sticking out of it. Original, very yummy, great dish! The best in my opinion since the more you tasted it, the more you wanted to have more of it!

Pêche, lait de vache - wonderfully sweet and aromatic peach wedges with a milk based cream, milk powder and some whipped cream on the side. A seemingly simple but rather clever combination of best quality fruit and varied textures of rich milky flavours. Right up there in my top three dishes of the day.

"Deux Espresso et deux Cognac" (each coffee charged at €5.50 and each Cognac at €18) were accompanied by some slightly different petit-four: one being absolutely brilliant, little fresh rhubarb sticks covered in and served sticking out of a bowl full of crushed almond dragées, and a quite overpowering generous portion of what looked like tiramisu but was really rather rubbery chocolate-streaked marshmallow...

All in all a great day out, a nice lunch but in comparison to last year less ingenious and occasionally even a little pretentious at what seemed to be noticeably increased prices (I believe then menu last year offered ten courses at just under €80 and drinks seemed quite a bit less pricey, too). Maybe La Grenouillière was listed a little too early in the Top 100 Restaurants of the World (ranking at 78)...

I find it difficult to apply my rating - last year it was certainly a 9/10, with mostly lovely food, brilliant ideas, a great atmosphere and providing very good value for money. This year I must take it down a notch. 8/10, mostly still that high because of the very friendly and charming service.

Location:Montreuil-sur-Mer, France

Food Review: Porters, London

Porters is supposedly one of the London institutions; situated smack in the middle of the West End, only a few paces from Coven Garden and Leicester Square, it promises "traditional English food at it's finest". Well, it only partly delivers.

One of the reasons I think you are better off with many pubs in the area is the selection of Real Ales. Although there are some interesting bottled ales, if you want draught you have the choice between Fuller's London Pride (which I actually like, although not my favourite) and... Fuller's London Pride! The menu looks reasonably appealing with a good choice of pies and some classics such as Lamb Shank, Fish & Chips, Steak & Kidney Pudding and traditional puddings (=desserts if you're from abroad) such as Spotted Dick (playfully dubbed as "not what you might think" on the menu) and Eton Mess.

When my Steak, Guinness and Mushroom Pie arrived I was impressed with the towering puff pastry covering the somewhat small bowl containing the dark brown stew. Appearances can of course be misleading and the pastry was big but not really all that special (the pastry covering my Steak & Ale pie I enjoyed at the pub right next to the Tilford Cricket Green the other day - the name escapes me right now - was much more delicate and "fluffy"). The stew was alright but not plentiful and with an overpowering almost mouldy undertone of old rosemary. My friend ordered the lamb shank which was massive and the meat pleasantly tender and nicely flavoured, but unfortunately the gravy was not unlike the thick Chocolate Custard that covered the Chocolate Pudding that my friend ordered to fill him up proper - in other words very rich and strangely sweet. The chips were average (even my local Chip Shop - The Big Fry in North Camp, Farnborough - can do better than that) and the veggies were plain and boring.

When we got there (8pm) the place was full and noisy (I would guess mostly pre-theatre guests if I had to wager a bet), then got rather empty and quiet only to get busy and noisy again around 9.30pm with what seemed to be predominantly Southern European tourist who made the best of the "kids eat for free" offer - I think there were more kids than adults in the group! Four of them actually shared a table between themselves and I was strangely haunted by images of "Lord of the Flies"... All kids only drank tap water, so you get the picture why I am saying that they made the most of the offer...

3/10 - You can do better than that in the West End, just pick almost any random restaurant in Chinatown...

Food Review: Shanghai Blues, London

Shanghai Blues comes highly recommended as a top-notch place for authentic Dim-Sum and fine Chinese dining in London. It's just a short walk from Holborn tube station and when it comes to the food certainly delivers the goods! I went on Sunday lunchtime for a Dim-Sum lunch and wasn't disappointed. If you are a constant reader of this blog (and judging by the feedback there are only three of those, the famous Trinity of Me, Myself and I) you can imagine that the next question has to be how Shanghai Blues compares to my benchmark Dim-Sum restaurant, Hakkasan.

The long and short of it that Hakkasan's position on the throne was never threatened! While the food at Shanghai Blues is very good, Hakkasan's is yet a little better. The biggest differences are found elsewhere though: Hakkasan is about perfection which they pretty much achieve. Hakkasan's ambience is classy, like a great film set; Shanghai Blues is a strange combination of different styles and while not unpleasant somehow "off". I normally start my lunch at Hakkasan's with a fine cocktail (great Martini variations); at Shanghai Blues, the cocktail menu was rather unappealing. One offers perfect service, the other just good service (one good example is that Hakkasan serves your Dim Sum in manageable rounds while Shanghai Blues just plunked all seven dishes on my table as they came out of the kitchen). Soy sauce was only served after I asked. No spoon. Paper napkins. I rest my case.

Back to the food: in addition to some of the classics (Cheung Fun, Ha Gau, Char Siu Bao) there are some less common dishes to be found, such as Salmon Dumplings with Gold flakes (the latter look good on the dumplings but are of course completely pointless offering no taste or nutritional value), Shanghai Shui Jiao in Exotic Chilli Sauce (nice spicy dish served with green leave veggies), Chicken Dumplings in Superior Spicy Soup (very good, very spicy and not recommended if you don't like hot chillies or garlic) and Tai Chi Dumplings, Ying/Yang patterned large steamed dumplings with a pleasant duck-based stuffing. There is a decent selection of teas, which is served in rather small tea pots and tiny tea cups, but constantly refilled with fresh hot water.

Usually I would tell you to go to Hakkasan and forget about this place. Here's why I would still recommend Shanghai Blues for two reasons:

1) If you're on a budget, use the special offer on Saturday lunch times and all day Sundays: 50% off the food bill!
2) If you are getting a bit bored with Hakkasan's fairly static Dim Sum menu, this makes a good change once in a while - and you will appreciate Hakkasan's aim for perfection even more!

6.5/10 - Before you risk a random Dim Sum experience in Chinatown, come here on a Saturday afternoon or Sunday and get very good food for about the same money.

Food Review: The Royal Oak, Paley Street, Maidenhead, UK

The Royal Oak is one of ten pubs in The UK which hold a Michelin star. The pub is located on a quiet country road near Maidenhead, providing ample parking. As you step in you get that nice feel of an old traditional English pub that has been refurbished to today's standards. The first difference you notice is that there aren't that many beer pumps at the bar (I spotted only two to be precise, one offering London Pride and the other an Ale I did not recognise). As you move through to your table (booking recommended!) you may then notice the wine fridge and the wine bottles lined up on one wall (if you know your wine you will notice a couple of Chateau Petrus and Chateau Mouton-Rothschild among them). The tables are pub style without table cloths and overall you begin to get the feeling that you are in for a fine meal in a relaxed atmosphere.

We started with a Hendricks & Tonic and ordered a Scotch Egg (£3.50) and Rabbit on Toast (£3.25). The latter was simple and yet very delicious, with a nice crunchy base, some sea salt and topped with rabbit meat that reminded me a little of French Rillette (although not as greasy). The Scotch Egg was clearly prepared with home-made sausage meet and a quails egg, yolk slightly runny - a perfect interpretation of a classic snack. While we enjoyed the "Ouverture", we were studying the menu which was a bit different from the one we had seen online. We learned later in the evening that the menu changes very frequently (the menu was indeed showing the day's date) dependent on availability of seasonal products, etc. Most starters range from £9.95 to £12.95, with one exception, English Aspargus with a soft boiled gull egg, pea shoots and Hollandaise (£19.95). I decided to give that one a try and wasn't disappointed with the fresh, crunchy green asparagus, moistened by the gull egg (which had a bright orange-red yolk and a pleasant mild taste) and cleverly spiced up by the pea shoots. My friend David ordered Wood Pigeon, Ham and Middle White Pithivier with green peppercorn sauce (£10.50), which was described to us as a "Pigeon Wellington" - a UFO shaped pastry sitting in a nicely balanced peppercorn sauce was filled with perfectly cooked pigeon breast, wrapped into an aromatic dry-cured ham: a great dish and the better of the two starters. Since we had ordered a very nice bottle of red (Chateau Crozet-Bages 1998 for £150 - we had the last bottle!) we gave the very appealing fish dishes (£21 to £32) a miss and had a meat feast: David ordered the Peppered Haunch of Denham Estate Venison with Creamed Spinach and Sauce Poivrade (£25) while I went for the Cornish Spring Lamb Cutlet, Braised Shoulder and Kidney, Chump Potatoes and Roasting Juices (£28). The venison was cooked medium-rare, as ordered, and came with a lovely thick sauce, full of flavour. We both agreed though that the lamb was the better dish since there was just more to it: the pink lamb shank was tender, juicy and of such quality that even the thick strip of fat enclosing it was very enjoyable; the shoulder was as delicate and yet full of flavour as you can wish for and the kidney just melted in your mouth. The juices were indeed just that, so rather than a thick gravy the chef bathed the meats in a wonderful concentrated lamb jus that was so good that I had to fetch the spoon from the potatoes to wipe the last bits of sauce from the plate... By that time I had already eaten much more of the warm home baked bread than I was planning to, hence the spoon! Impressed with the quality of the food, we were now looking forward to our dessert (£8.50 to £10.50): we ordered Cox Apple Tarte with home-made Vanilla Ice Cream and Warm Vanilla Rice Pudding with Bramley Apple Doughnuts - both were very much in the "Comfort Food" category, with a no-frills approach but flawless execution. The Cheese board was looking very appealing but we were both pretty full by that time and gave it a miss. Strangely, the list of Digestives was as unimpressive as the Wine list was exclusive: in comparison to the wonderful wine list that includes some rare vintages of the greatest names (at prices of up to several thousand pounds, but yet significantly cheaper than in most other Michelin-starred restaurant) just as well as more affordable yet appealing bottles from as little as £20, the Digestives list is rather uninspired and somewhat short.

9/10 - The Royal Oak offers beautiful food (predominantly prepared from locally produced ingredients), a great choice of wines, friendly and efficient service and a nice relaxed ambience, all at a very reasonable price. I will certainly come back!

Food Review: Toan, Frankfurt/Main, Germany

As promised in my Mikuni review, here is the second of my two favourite restaurants in Frankfurt: Toan is the Vietnamese owner and head chef of the restaurant of the same name - in his kitchen he produces some of the most gorgeous food you will find in Frankfurt, certainly not the most complicated and sophisticated dishes, but nevertheless offering wonderfully combined flavours and aromas in a great variety. If you haven't tried Vietnamese food before, imagine Thai food taken up by about 20 notches... You will find spicy dishes, owing their heat to red chillies of various "seriousness", but also a large range of mild or medium spiced dishes, fragrant from lemongrass, coriander, mint and many other aromatic ingredients. Soups are even better than in Thailand (Tom Yam fades to insignificance next to some of the Vietnamese soups) and the salads are not unlike the ones you can find in Northern Thailand, but yet different and often more delicate.

The restaurant's website is in German only, unfortunately, but the standard menu and the suggestions menu are available in Vietnamese, German and English. Here are my top favourites: Canh chua tôm, an absolutely unique and irresistible soup; Pho, the traditional rice noodle soup with beef - best enjoyed as a main course if you're not too hungry (or binged on too many starters already); all of the dishes listed under "Cold Appetizers" - the salads (and the summer roll is basically a rice noodle salad rolled into rice paper) are all in their own league and all worth trying; the baked sole which is served with a ginger sauce - even most of the best Italian restaurants in Frankfurt will struggle to prepare a better sole; Bo La Lot, grilled beef in lot leaves, a mild but again very aromatic dish; and from the suggestions menu: Muc nuong toi, spicy grilled squid, served with a crushed black pepper, salt and lemon dip; Vit quay sot me, duck with tamarin sauce - simple, but very well prepared; and Ga nuong la chan, grilled boneless chicken legs with lime leaves, served with mixed veggies and garlic rice. The online menu is missing page 2 from the suggestions menu (probably because it includes frog legs, which may upset some people) but includes another gorgeous dish, stuffed chicken legs with tamarin sauce, an absolutlely brilliant dish. These are just my personal highlights though because they are either very difficult to find elsewhere or just especially well prepared - you will also find classic curry dishes, stir fries, chicken saté, spring rolls, etc. which are also very good. Ah yes, and my oldest daughter and I disagree on the best pudding (there isn't much choice but these two are very nice): grilled banana in coconut milk (my favourite) or Banh bi, a sesame / coconut ball with vanilla ice cream.

Toan is located near the Frankfurt Zoo and easily reached by Underground (U6, U7 to Zoo) or car (if you really can't find a parking space in the road, go to Parkhaus Zoopassage. Prices are very moderate given the quality of the food and there is a good choice of Cocktails. I have never looked into the Wine list but if you're interested just post a comment and I will check it out next time I go.

9/10 - I have tried a good number of Vietnamese restaurants, including "extensive research" in Vietnam, and this is as good as it gets - I dread the day when Mr. Toan will retire!

Food Review: Mikuni, Frankfurt/Main, Germany

Mikuni is one of my two favourite restaurants in Frankfurt (the other is Toan, a brilliant Vietnamese restaurant - a separate review will follow). Mikuni, located at Fahrgasse 91, is conveniently located between Konstablerwache and the Museum for Modern Art. Its interior is typical for a Japanese Izakaya, in other words rather bleak. There is a Sushi bar with about 10 seats, I guess about 25-30 seats at bare wooden tables and a little Tatami area (I have been told that you pay a little extra to sit there, which may well be true given that I have never seen the area being used). The food however is fantastic - the two Sushi masters operate behind the bar and prepare the best Sushi within a 180km radius (Düsseldorf is just outside that circle and there are some serious competitors there). The seafood is always fresh, of the best quality and served in very generous portions - unlike in the typical "escalator" type Sushi restaurants, where you get a big box shaped machine-produced rice parcel with a thin slice of pre-cut fish on top, at Mikuni you have to look for the comparably small hand-formed and hand-warm rice ball (ever eaten Sushi straight from a fridge? The thought alone makes me shudder) under the massive slice of fish. The Toro (fatty tuna belly) is probably the best you find in town, the Unagi (grilled eel) a must (it will be warmed briefly before being served, so go for it first), the Hirame (Fluke) best enjoyed with lemon and a pinch of salt... ah, I could go on but you probably get the picture.

Mikuni has much more to offer than just Sushi though - beyond the obvious (Sashimi, Donburi, etc.) there are a large number of typical Izakaya snacks (as a starter or to go with your Beer, Sake or Shochu), ranging from standards such as Edamame (green soya beans) and Wakame Kyuri-Su (seaweed and cucumber in mild vinegar) to more exotic dishes for the daring, involving ingredients such as Nato (fermented soy beans - a very acquired taste), grated yam root (very mucilaginous which can be challenging for some) or squid intestines. Of course you will also find classics such as various types of Kushiyaki (aka Yakitori), grilled fish, Tempura, Soba, Udon and so on. If you have tasted your way through the menu, ask for the daily specials, which are written in Japanese on individual pieces of paper behind the bar; you will be rewarded, dependent on seasonality, with wonderful specialities - amongst my favourites were White Aspargus with Miso Sauce, Japanese Cucumber with Miso Paste, Fresh Oysters with a special Japanese sauce, half a grilled Head of Hamachi (Yellow Fin Tuna), Lotus Root and Pumpkin Tempura (with salt and lemon) and - very special - Monkfish liver, pressed into a sausage form, sauteed, cut into slices when cooled down and served in a light vinegar with cucumber.

Drinks range from green tea (free refills), Japanese and German beer and wine to Sake and Shochu. Prices aren't cheap, but then again they never are with good Japanese restaurant. If money is a problem stick with your Yo Sushi and Sushi Circles of this world because you won't be enjoying going back to these after you tried this original Japanese food. Alternatively, go at lunch time and enjoy a cheap "Mittags-Sushi", which comes at 12 or 14 Euro I think, including a Miso soup.

9/10 - Great value for money - I do go there once per week, and I miss something if I don't!

Food Review: Bengal Lounge, Farnham, UK

So here it finally is, my first restaurant review. The Bengal Lounge, located in Wrecclesham just outside Farnham, Surrey (approx. 35 miles Southwest of London) is my favorite 'Indian' restaurant in the area (if you wonder why I put Indian in inverted commas, just focus very hard on the name of the restaurant and try to figure it out. Hint: the clue is in the first word).  Together with a good friend who shares a common interest in good food I have sampled quite a number of curry houses in the wider Farnham / Guildford / Farnborough area (I was indeed introduced to almost all of these by said friend), but this one does offer the best food, especially when it comes to vegetable dishes. Check out the menu on their website (follow the link above) to get a feel for what's on offer at what price - this isn't the cheapest in town, but it is worth every penny! I would strongly recommend the Bengal Chattpoti (spicy chick peas, potatoes and half a hard-boiled egg - the best starter on the menu IMHO) or the Maas Biran (Bangladeshi fish with caramelized onions) as a starter and my favorite main dish is the Chicken Tikka Rezella, tender pieces of chicken in a thick lamb mince sauce with fresh green chillies - I'm salivating as I am writing this... The best part though are the veggie dishes: Bada Gobi, stir-fried cabbage with fresh green chillies, is divine, the Sag Bhaji (spinach) is beautifully dry (as opposed to swimming in oil as so often in other curry houses) and yet full of flavor and the Shatkora Dall, lentils with the shatkora fruit, a bangladeshi bitter lemon, is an acquired taste but I absolutely love it!

The service is friendly, the ambience pleasant and we have never been served a bad dish, despite our rather experimental ordering (I wouldn't dare ordering Honey King Prawn or a Bengal Fish Curry in most other curry houses I have been to! The prawns by the way were surprisingly tasty, but with the tangy taste of Tanzanian honey, which is not everybody's cup of tea...)

Ah yes, and here's another exception: this is the only curry house where I have a pudding almost every single time I go: Zorda Shemai - a home-made dessert made from vermicelli, milk, dried fruit and spices. I know, it sounds lame, but it's great - not too sweet, not too filling, very nice!!!

9/10 - I would drive 50 miles return, once per week to dine there!