Nose to tail eating: St. John Hotel

Fergus Henderson’s nose to tail cooking philosophy summarises quintessential great British cooking. Most excitingly, he now deserves a big congratulations for receiving the surprising first Michelin star for St John Hotel in Soho this month. The menu that consists of hearts, livers, trotter, marrow and kidney is likely to be stomach turning for some, but for me the exciting use of offal was the draw card.

The best way to do a St John meal is in a big group of non-fussy eaters and share a bit of everything. We ordered a veritable feast for five.

Devilled Pig's Skin and Smoked Cod's Roe was incredible, crispy yet melted on your tongue, salty with a little heat from the paprika. The saltiness of the smoked cod roe complemented this perfectly, but could easily stand as a strong dish on its own.

Another highlight was the Snails, Duck Heart and Lovage. I was surprised when my English born dad who we were dining with shied away from the duck heart claiming it reminded him of English boarding school offal. Luckily that didn't deter us more adventurous foodies who dove right in. The dish was an interesting concoction of garlic and soft textures from the heart and snails, definitely worth a visit.

Unfortunately, the Rabbit and Borlotti Beans was a disappointment. The rabbit was under-cooked, making it chewy and difficult to separate from the bone. The Chicken and Trotter Pie for Two (or more like a family of four) is definitely worth splurging for. The pastry was crisp and buttery, with a creamy gelatinous filling.

Desserts at St John are outstanding. Based on our friendly and informative waitress’s recommendation we ordered the Baked Cheesecake with Fig, Honeycomb Ice Cream and a serve of 6 Madeleines to ‘take home’. I’m going to take a big stand and say this is may be the best cheesecake I have ever eaten. It cannot even be described, but oh my, the baked goats cheese with sweet fig syrup is not something you are going to want to share, I'm salivating just writing about it. Equally, the Madeleines were crispy on the outside, warm, soft and fluffy inside, and moorish as hell. Needless to say, they didn't make it home.

Foraged and found, a little bit of Noma in London: North Road

In the same year Noma prestigiously reaffirms its number one restaurant in the world rating, London's very own Danish invasion, North Road is awarded a Michelin star less then 18 months after opening.

Christoffer Hruskova, who has recently moved on from North Road took much inspiration from Noma. North Road's decor is simple and post modern in it's scandanivian design, paired with the unique and adventurous Nordic style of cooking using a myriad of unusual and foraged ingredients.

Having not experienced much in the way of haut scandanivian cuisine I praise North Road if only for it's welcomed and thorough introduction to a style of food I won't experience anywhere short of a trip to Copenhagen.

Each course on the tasting menu was interesting, ingenious and intriguing with lots of raw textures, natural sweeteners and curious smoked and salted flavours.

Our three orderves compliments of the chef were each a work of art on a plate, preparing us for what was to come. Smoked potato filled with fish protein mayonnaise, marinaded quails eggs and pork scratchings to remind us of North Road's British influences. Each of the three mouthfuls were perfect with fierce flavours.

First on the tastings menu was deliciously fresh raw Doeset crab served natural and dressed with apple vinegar. Scottish Lumpfish roe with buttermilk snow, onions and burnt chicken skin. This dish was perhaps the only thing I didn't like about the meal, the buttermilk snow over chilled the dish and added an unsettling texture to the roe, and I personally found the burnt chicken skin bitter. I look at this dish as a brave addition to the menu as its certainly not to everyone's taste.

The heavily smoked native Dorset lobster with raw wild and cultivated vegetables packed a rich, strong smokey flavour. The fresh and smooth melting texture of the lobster was compliemnted perfectly by the crunch of the raw vegetables. This dish was devine and I think I would re-visit North Road just for it. The asparagus three ways with wild garlic and a salted pheasant egg yolk was technically impressive. When pierced the runny egg yolk that had been perfectly detached from it's white mixed with the garlic and pine dressing to create a thick and creamy sauce. To the eye this was one of the more simple dishes, yet one of my favorites.

We were starting to feel like this meal would go on forever, and were more than happy for it to. After a change in wine to accompany a heavier meat we were served the lamb and sweetbreads topped with sea kale. The dish was uncomplicated, resting on the strength of the perfectly cooked lamb.

Each of our four desserts were ingenious. Barley, pine, malt, hay and sea moss were infused together to create concoctions including an edible rock and cotton candy tree with edible soil.

Hruskova took the simplest of flavours and added ingredients you never even thought edible and created flavours unlike any other in a contemporary, delicious and truly memorable meal.

My London Foodie Bucket List

Having recently realised just how often I walk past restaurants and say "I need to go there" I thought it would be beneficial to start a London foodie bucket list... So... Here it be. In no particular order other than that in which it comes to mind:

Pitt Cue Co - after I gorged myself on ribs at the first Southbank pop-up I am now eager to hit up the permanent location in Soho

Burger & Lobster - for the lobster burger, and with Soho soon to open and TAKE reservations I have no excuse

Roganic - to experience the two year pop-up by Simon Rogan while it lasts

St John - and I'm talking all three meaty locations

The Corner Room - new Nuno Mendes

10 Greek Street - all the way from Wapping Project, having heard nothing but good things

Bubbledogs - James Knappett, Sandia Chang & posh hot dogs and champaign

Dach and Sons - sliders close to home

Lima - More Peruvian comes to Soho (prior to my trip to Peru)

The Riding House Cafe - to join the brunch club

Pollen Street Social - contemporary artistic tasting, let's see what all the hype is about. There must be a reason it was awarded it's first Michelin star just months after opening

Viajante - the Numo Mendes' real deal Michelin star affair

Hix at Tramshed - steak or chicken, and that's it

The Ledbury - fellow Aussie Brett Graham's two Michelin star in Notting Hill

Upstairs at the Ten Bells - the semi-permanent stay-on from pop-up kings Young Turks (now with Giorgio Ravelli of The Ledbury)

La Bodega Negra - more street food, this time Mexican

Da Polpo - more Russell Norman

Polpetto - relocating Russell Norman, Polpetto will complete my Norman full house

The Admiral Codrington - for Burgerac' s number one rated burger in London, of course

Duck and Waffle - coming soon 24 hour dining that sounds god damn cool

Barrafina - younger, sexier tapas from Fino

Hawksmoor - more meat. How have I not been here yet?!

Dabbous - even though it's starting to feel like I'll never get a table

Dinner by Heston - because it's Heston Blumenthal

The Wolseley- another brunch addition, this time for the eggs benedict

Hibiscus - for the entire two Michelin star experience

Wild Honey - Because I've heard nothing but good things

Jose & Pizarrio - if I'm going to try his tapas, I may as well try both restaurants

Yauatcha - because I can't get enough dim sum and I feel I should see what Michelin star dim sum is all about

Bibimbab - for cheap and cheery beef bibimbab in soho

Tonkotsu - for what is apparently the best ramen in London

Ducksoup - because I'm excited by the ever changing menu

STK - for a New York steak. Coming soon

Wishbone - I guess because I'll try anything Scott Collins (MeatMarket, MeatLiquor) does, even though I don't like fried chicken

Story - no information disclosed but I'm assured it is coming soon. Because I like books and I like food, I also really like Thomas Keller's CV

I think that's it, for now. Feel free to let me know of anything I have missed.

Image: Viajante. courtesy of London Eater.

More meat: MEATmarket

Since I still haven't stopped talking about MEATliquor, I thought it was about time I drag a fellow burger junkie to MEATmarket.



MEATmarket is your typical fast food burger joint. Unlike MEATliquor which is as much about the experience as the food, the service and overall atmosphere of MEATmarket was slick and fast, with shiny steel counter tops in a long corridor venue to swiftly move in and out. Not quite an experience, but quirky and fun all the same.

I couldn't bring myself to break away from the Dead Hippie, which brought a freakish amount of happiness to my mouth the first time around, whereas burger junkie number two ordered against my rave review and went for the Black Palace.



The Dead Hippie was almost as good as my first one. Juicy and meaty with lashings of cheese and sauce, just a bit more greasy than MEATliquor's. I've put this down to the fast food nature, straight off the grill, into a bun and wrapped in paper with no time to rest and let just a bit of the excessive fat drip off.

The Black Palace was massive, the bun barely containing it's immense meaty patties. Without the dead hippie sauce the thick double patties made the Black Palace a straight up, fuss free meat lover's dream. If I've not made my point, choose this one for beef!

I'm loving the MEATeasy, MEATliquor, MEATmarket bandwagon, I think I'll stay put for a while. Or at least until a new burger craze surfaces in London to satisfy the cravings.

A god damn fit burger: MEATliquor

I was late to the party with MEATliquor, but my god was it worth the wait.

These burgers, are quintessential food porn that quite shamefully I spent a week drooling over photos of. And it wasn't just the photos that amped me up for this birthday meal, the word on the street is that these burgers are the bomb.

To start, entirely unnecessarily we ordered the chilli fries, chilli chicken wings and deep fried pickles to share between 6. This was a hell of a lot of food, and was gluttonously delicious. The chilli on the fries, topped with runny cheese, jalapeño and mustard looks like a heart attack in a bowl but were a moorish highlight for me, where as the boys will have dreams about the chicken wings soaked in chilli sauce for days.



Burger time, it was almost Dead Hippies all round. This burger was so delicious its hard to find the words that aren't just yummy noises. Two insanely meaty patties sat on top of pickles and lettuce, covered in cheese, dripping 'special' sauce that was essentially what Big Mac sauce would be like if it weren't from McDonnalds. As you eat this burger juices drip down your arm and you don't even care, all you want to do is get it in your mouth and moan "oh yeah".



Ive heard about the ghastly queues MEATliquor experiences, but at 2.30pm on a sunny Saturday there was absolutely no wait. With such high expectations we could have easily been disappointed, yet all 6 of us have been raving about the meal since... and that was 4 days ago.

Salvation Jane: the newest addition to the Aussie brunch club

Being one of the many Australian expats living in London I feel I can often be a breakfast and coffee snob. This sentiment based entirely on having been spoilt with good coffee and creative and innovative breakfast menus from all across my sparse homeland.



That said, London is becoming a strong competitor but is still in need of more good coffee and breakfasts that aren't a variation of a british fry up. And so it seems my fellow antipedians agree, Australian and Kiwi owned and run restaurants are popping up left, right and centre. Thankfully, most recently the big sister of one of my personal favs Lantana in Fitzrovia finds home in Shoreditch.

Salvation Jane is a lot bigger than Lantana, and boasts a far sexier and stylish interior. The menu is similar in it's creativity, exciting me to see my favourite pork belly beans alongside new offers such as smoked haddock hash cakes. After we dove right into a flat white, we ordered. Sauteed mixed mushrooms on grain toast with poached eggs and lemon herb feta, Smoked haddock hashcakes w fresh spinach, poached eggs and dill mayo, and for myself - the girl who can never make a decision - a bit of everything with scrambled eggs on sourdough toast with a side of the beans, streaky bacon and roasted mushrooms.



Stealing a mouthful of the haddock hash was wonderful, the fish was super chunky and the creamy and runny poached eggs and dill complimented them nicely. The mushrooms from the mixed sauteed dish and also in my own side were amazing. They were soft, flavorsome, cooked beyond perfection and dusted with the slightest touch of sea salt. A highlight of the meal for me.



I think aside from the creativity, option of vegimite and impeccable quality of food at both Salvation Jane and Lantana, what impresses me most is the selection. Riding Horse Cafe and similar trending breakfast spots seem to always sport the same options, but these Aussie run establishments are really out to impress. And for every indecisive eater like myself, there are more than enough options to design your own ideal brunch.

Mari Vanna: Russia in Knightsbridge

From my last post; a lounge room that felt like a restaurant to the new Mari Vanna, a restaurant that felt like a lounge room.


I'd been counting down the days to this much anticipated opening ever since my Russian foodie friend mentioned the Ginza Project were bringing their Russian name to London's Knightsbridge. Craving pelmeni all through spring, we finally nabbed a table at the half-finished home in mid April. When I say home, I mean home. The interior was warm and atmosphere welcoming, and elegantly eclectic. Every detail had been fine tuned from the crystal chandeliers hanging from rosette covered ceilings, to the traditional Khokhloma serving spoons and Gzhel wallpaper in bathrooms. The bells and locks decorating the terraced entrance oozed exclusivity, as in true Mari Vanna style you either need you own key to enter or to ring the door bell to be greeted.

Mari Vanna met all my expectations. It was warm, it was welcoming, it was the comfort food we grew up on. Simple in it's extravagance, heavy and rich with traditions.

I started with the borscht, which was perfectly sweet from the beetroot, accompanied by a light-as-air brioche bun. The authentic rye however on the complimentary bread board also sat perfectly alongside the soup.


The pierogi with chicken and cabbage was soft, doughy and morish. The salted herring that followed my starter was melt-in-your-mouth smooth and everything I wanted it to be. The saurkraut I ordered on the side, mainly because I crave my grandma's saurkraut every time I see it on a menu was almost as good as Oma's, although for it to gain full marks I would have preferred it hot.

Perhaps my only criticism was the meat pelmeni. I am yet to find a pelmeni as good as those at Veselka in New York, yet I never seem to stop searching London. Mari Vanna's were dry and a little too stodgy, and lacked the necessary kick from the soured cream and chives.
After too many courses, we were presented with the dessert menu. Eager to see if the chef could end the meal as strongly as it started we went for the honey cake that came highly recommended by our waiter. It was devilishly good. Too good as after the last mouthful we were riddled by guilt.

The most noteworthy accompaniment to the meal, which I can't sing high enough praise for was the homemade horseradish infused vodka. It burnt, in a good way. Was warming with a bite, yet went down dangerously easily along side the food.

Eastern Europeans know how to cook good hearty traditional food well, and that's what this is. The food was true to it's traditions and roots, and wasn't 'over accessorised' as you may expect from Knightsbridge. I don't think Mari Vanna is for everyone, but for me it satisfied the craving for the home-cooked family meals that I don't often get being so far from home. And I loved it.

E Mischkin's: Über sexy cool eating

Russell Normal does indeed strike again...

I set out this evening with the intention NOT to make the above statement. I wanted to form my opinion of the brand new (perhaps now not so new), über cool Mishkin's based on what any foodie would form an opinion on... Food, service, experience etc. It was only after a long walk to digest my massive meal that I realised I couldn't steer away from the statement.

E. Mishkin's is the 5th Soho restaurant Norman has opened in 2 years, and with the anticipated whispers on the London foodie circuit well before its opening, how could it not be a success. Norman has managed to do what any great artist does; make his mark on a booming industry... As dare I say an avant garde restaurateur, perhaps? He certainly has become his own brand.

Mishkin's oozes the same style and pizzaz as Norman's four other establishments(Polo, Da Pollo, Polpetto, and Spuntino), and screams retro New York chic. Keeping to this theme, upon arrival you can opt to sit at a table or at the counter(perfect for the solo diner) before a plastic menu is slid in front of you. Short, but sweet the menu is quaint yet still surprising, perhaps most impressingly is the cocktail selection... All gin. If you've ever read a single tweet from me you'll know I'm a maniac when in comes to gin. Of course I was going for the full pitcher. It was fresh, fruity and delicious. We had two.

After much deliberation we finally ordered; Reuben sandwich, cod cheek popcorn, meatloaf, baked mac and cheese, pickled herring on beetroot, plus a side of sauerkraut. Worth a whopping amount of prise is the Reuben salt beef sandwich, it was huge, greasy but not sickening, salty and cheesy. Another highlight was the medium rare, perfectly cooked and flavoured, neat and tidy meatloaf that sat in a dainty four bite portion perfectly hugging a runny egg.

I feel we ordered well, which is unusual for me as I can never make a decision, yet this perfect combination of what was possibly too much food made the meal tasty, unique and above all belly busting. After a few long hours of grazing and drinking we paid our bill and made the unanimous decision that we would definitely be back.





Images courtesy of The Skinny Bib.

Find out what Foodie-at-large Jay Raynor thought of Mischkin's here, in his review for The Observer.

Happy birthday little birdie

Yesterday was Blushing Birdcages' first birthday. To celebrate we went for cupcakes at Brick Lane. Photos after words...



I know it seems indulgent to devote an entire blog post to cakes, but these are likely to be the best cupcakes you will ever eat (that's right, I said it). Kooky Cakes frequent the Sunday Up Market at Brick Lane right at the end of the car park eatery stretch. Each cake is 'kookier' then the one before, rolling cookies, cupcakes, slices, biscuits and whoopie pies into one great big barrel of joy for a sweet tooth like mine. I suggest you go there, now. Or next Sunday. Buy a cupcake, I don't want to ruin the surprise but expect oozy fruity jammy goodness to run out the middle and icing that actually taste like fruit.

Polpo: Life as a food blogger's sidekick

I have been sampling the life of a London foodie of late, alongside me food blogger friend Caviar Girl. With an undeniable passion for food and new experiences there was no way I could shy away when she told me about her new endeavor over a Hot Pot dinner in China Town - a meal that has become somewhat a ritual for the two of us at the quaint Beijing Dumpling restaurant.

And so, the gastronomic journey around London began. First stop, Thai in Kensington, followed by tiki style cocktails in Notting Hill. We talked about the food and I sat and listened to Caviar Girl's accounts of the culinary delights she experienced on her travels to Moscow, France and Copenhagen.

More recently we decided to jump on the bandwagon with all other London foodies and take a long lunch on a Monday bank holiday at the brother of the most talked about restaurant on Urban Spoon (Spuntino). The Venetian wine bar Polpo did not disappoint.



The menu consists of small plates designed to share so the three of us chose a variety, determined to try the full spread. We started with a selection of Cicheti (bite sized starters) consisting of arancini, potato and parmesan crocchetta and artichoke wrapped in prosciutto. Our portion consisted of one of each, leaving us with modest bites of the three. I most definitely could have passed on the artichoke, but the arancini were perfect; cheesy, gooey on the inside, flavorsome and crunchy at the first bite.



One of the highlights of the meal came out next, broad bean and ricotta bruschetta. It was delicious and the flavours melded well together. The bread was crunchy, and the flavour of the mint and beans was fresh and strong when accompanied by the mild ricotta.

With starters essentially out of the way, we welcomed the heavier dishes to the already cluttered table. At this stage of the meal I could have seen the service improve, when our (very cute) waiter failed to take the used dishes away. Lucky the dirty dishes didn't bother us too much as we had a 4 person table for the 3 of us.



We went for the braised lamb with farro, which was full of striking flavours. The farro was perfectly cooked but the dish left nothing to be desired with tough and chewy meat. The prawn risotto was a good choice, seasoned with saffron cooked to the texture of paella. It complimented the meal, fitting with the style and flavors of the other elements we had enjoyed. The scallops cooked with peas and pancetta had so much potential, but alas let us down. The broth was thin and watery and took away from the delicious scallops which were actually lovely, fresh and smooth.



The pièce de résistance; a dish where none of us knew what to expect, blew us away. The 'midnight' cuttlefish gnocchi in squid ink with gremolata... it just sounds adventurous! The gnocchi was shaped in small unidentifiable bites, the cuttlefish was fresh and melted in your mouth. The gremolata added a subtly citrus zing which complimented the fish.



So full by this point, we were unsure as to whether or not to go on... but next was desert...! The flourless orange cake served with mascarpone was to die for. And yes I am aware that is a strong statement, especially to come from someone with such a ravishing sweet tooth. All I can say is you must try it for yourself.

The afternoon rolled to early evening and after three hours of eating we were more than satisfied. Looking around the room we examined what sat on other people's tables. Being the one person who will always have food envy I decided the table next to us ordered very well with the pork dish, calf livers, clam linguini and polenta. All are on the list to try next time. We finally ended the afternoon with coffees and a chat with our friendly and flirty waiter about the other restaurants in the family.

So until the next invitation from the queen bee foodie, I look forward for another afternoon with good friends and excessive amounts of good food.

*images taken from Caviar Girl, follow her blog. It's delicious.