LONDON: Pollen Street Social

Rhubarb sorbet with moist pistachio cake

My one visit to Pollen Street Social has propelled the restaurant onto my list of personal favourites, on par even, with La Petit Maison. Like every restaurant should be, its main draw is its food. Every dish is executed with sophistication in its presentation and a delicate blend of flavours that neither recedes into blandness nor overwhelms the senses. At £25 for three courses, amongst treats like pineapple sorbet cups and deceivingly delicate financiers, set lunch is a steal. 

I want this butter palette.  

Appetizers:

Mains:

Sweet, tender cod garnished with leek, soft mash potato and lobster-esque sauce

It's always nice to photograph food while something is being poured upon it. This time I was lucky enough to get a waiter that did this with a flair and the wonderful sense of the extreme importance of his job. 

bone marrow 

pre-dessert surprise: pineapple sorbet cup

Dessert:

mango, coconut and lime and vanilla 

Rhubarb sorbet with moist pistachio cake

Nigel Slater, one of my favourite celebrity cooks, has an incredible knack for pairing interesting flavours together. With his proclaimed love for rhubarb, I'm guessing he would have loved this dessert. I've always been impartial to rhubarb, but paired with real, genuine pistachio cake (none of that fake pistachio essence), it made for the best dish of the meal. I'm now tempted to attempt some kind of rhubarb caramel tart in my spare time. 

In trying (unsuccessfully) to find the captions for these photographs on their online menu, I have discovered that their menu changes regularly with the flavours of the season. Either way, this only means I have every excuse to go again and again. 

french financiers

Pollen Street Social

10 Pollen Street
City of London,
Greater London W1S 1NQ

LONDON: Chez Gerard

Filet de Saumon Grille

Chez Gerard is conveniently located near our campus and with 50% off mains for the month, it wasn't difficult to decide to go there again for the third time. Though my boeuf bourguignon was slightly over-salted, the beef was divinely tender and the vegetables so soft they melted on the tongue. It was so good in fact, that the first time I ordered this (yes, this was my second boeuf bourguignon at Chez Gerard), I was inspired to buy a bottle of cheap red wine to make a quicker, healthier version on my stove and incorporate it into my dinners.  

My only concern was that the bread we ordered lacked that bready freshness and the warmth of being placed in the oven prior to being served. Everything else though, from the atmosphere to their heart-stoppingly chocolatey, moist, torte au chocolat meant all of us had a thoroughly satisfying meal. Maybe it's a good thing 50% vouchers only appear on the website occasionally, otherwise I would be a very fat student. 

Entrecote: A 100z rib eye steak - fuller on flavour

Boeuf Bourguignon: slow cooked beef marinated in red wine, lardons, herbs and garlic in a rich gravy served with mash potatoes

Navarin d'agneau - Braised lamb with wine, tomatoes, root vegtables and ratte potatoes

choix de glaces et sorbets 

torte au chocolat: moist chocolate cake with caramel sauce and coffee ice cream, my favourite.

We loved this chocolate cake so much, we ordered a second one as soon as this one was inhaled. 

tart au citron

Chez Gerard

9 Belvedere Road 

Southbank 

London SE1 8YL

LONDON: Ladurée x Tsumori Chisato Macaroons

Ladurée x Tsumori Chisato Macaroons

At the height of shameless materialism, I bought these macaroons for the sole purpose of storing my accessories/makeup in its box. In my defense they're designed exclusively by Japanese designer Tsumori Chisato and, of course, it's a very pretty box.

With finals looming overhead, library hours bleed insidiously into precious weekends and it's really the little indulgences like these that keep me going. In 5 minutes of biting and passing and biting again, my friends and I finished 8 macaroons - and that was after a full dinner at Chez Gerard.

I picked the cinnamon, liquorish, pear & chestnut, chocolate, cherry blossom, pistachio and sea salt & caramel macaroons. 

I love french macaroons from their delicate crunchy surfaces to their flavour-intense chewy centres. My love affair with macaroons probably truly began when I visited Paris for the first time and had my first Ladurée macaroon. Now that I stay a bus ride from Selfridges in London, I can easily compare these with Pierre Hermé's maracoons (which I personally prefer for their texture and sinful richness). 

P.S. If you're tempted by these, I recommend pistachio, liquorice and pear & chestnut. 

Ladurée

Harrods Ltd

87-135 Brompton Road
Knightsbridge
London, SW1X 7XL

Ground Floor

Opening hours: 
Monday to Saturday
9am - 9pm
Sunday 11.30am - 6pm

LONDON: Hawksmoor

Juicy, succulent and grilled to perfection, our "dictionary-thick" steaks were definitely worth the 30 minute wait. A dinner booking a day beforehand was out of the question so we settled for a late lunch. 

I have to warn all the girls - if you intend to visit Hawksmoor for lunch, don't make plans for dinner because the steaks are incredibly filling. Like fresh snow on a warm surface, every bite of steak fillet melted on my tongue, flooding my senses with its wonderfully intense flavour. I'm not usually a steak person, being more prone to fish or chicken, but when quality like this comes my way an exception is entirely worthwhile. 

The steak is sourced from cattle reared in the UK, hung for at least 35 days and then charcoal grilled. Unsurprisingly, it was one of the best I've ever had but, like all heartily rich and hole-in-your-pocket-inducing meals, shall remain an occasional indulgence. 

Fillet, 300g: £32.00

Trinity Burnt Cream, £6.75

Pear & Almond Tart, £6.75

Hawksmoor

Seven Dials

11 Langley Street
London, WC2H 9JG
020 7420 9390

LONDON: The Breakfast Club

Like much of its surroundings, The Breakfast Club looks considerably lackluckstre from the outside; but step in and you're immediately engulfed in its cool, laid back atmosphere. With the walls plastered with photos reminiscent of the all too familiar college student's bedroom and the hippie vibe that pervaded the place, it was a refreshing change from the typical clean cut, rustic-type cafes that I've become so accustomed to. Feeling pretty satisfied with my surroundings, I wasn't going to be too fussy about the food but even that turned out reasonably well. It wasn't surprising to see a line forming as we sat down at our table. 

"When halloumi met salad wrap": halloumi, spinach, sundried tomato, houmous and reduced balsamic vinegar - with all my favourite things in one wrap, I couldn't resist.

Breakfast Burrito: Chorizo, Egg, Roasted Peppers, Guacamole and Cheddar

I've come to the slow realization that this blog has become a collection of ideas for the cafe that I would set up if I ever had the chance. In lieu of that I've decided to take note of little things that inspire me at each cafe, beginning with this one -

Note to self: If I had my own cafe, it would have a vibe as laid-back and unpretentious as The Breakfast Club, though probably with more space and light.

Breakfast Club, soho
33 D'Arblay Street
W1F 8EU

Tel: 020 7434 2571

OXFORD: Jamie's Italian

In a wild moment of complete un-me-ness, I cancelled all my plans and booked a single ticket to Oxford to visit some friends for the weekend last friday night. I wasn't disappointed. 

I always thought I belonged in the pulsing vibrance of the city but now I see the draw in the pervasive calm of a college campus. It's hard to say where I would have been happier, had I applied and gotten into Oxford. Anyhow, I've come to believe that it doesn't really matter which university you're at, or where in the world you are, as long as you're with the right people. And in a leap of faith for the world at large, I would say there are enough of "the right people" in the world to meet them wherever you go. 

Fish Fillet baked in a bag with clams, mussels, fennel, chilli, anchovies and Sicilian cracked wheat

Amidst all the socializing and exploring, I found the time to visit Jamie's Italian along George Street. I have professed my love for Jamie's recipes countless times, but sometimes I fear his restaurants don't live up to his name. The black angel spaghetti was not as inky as I'd hoped, but enjoyable nonetheless. I was thoroughly impressed with the garnishing of my grilled seabass (below) - roasted vegetables are a rarity for me in my ovenless state. In fact I think I treasured the sweet peppers and caramelized onions more than the sea bass itself which, though fantastically grilled, was slightly too much on the bony side. I probably wouldn't go back a third time because of the extensive range of Italian restaurants in London but the novelty of eating in a Jamie Oliver restaurant certainly is worth a one time visit.  

Anglesey Sea Bass: whole-roasted and served with crunchy sweet and sour vegetables

Black Angel Spaghetti 

Oxford, St. John's College

Jamie's Italian, Oxford
24-26 George Street,
Oxford, OX1 2AE
Tel: 01865 83 83 83

Coconut Crusted Fish Fillet

Coconut Crusted Fish Fillet 

Memories of Second Year have coalesced into a stream of images - warm, blinding sun, crisp golden leaves and, just last saturday, dancing snowflakes and flying snowballs. Winter has me eating like some kind of starving carnivore and I need something healthy to balance out my chocolate cravings. This coconut crusted fish fillet recipe I found online was the perfect solution. 

Coconut goes beautifully with banana bread but, being deprived of an oven in my apartment, I've resorted to using my left over desiccated coconut in my cooking instead. I call this recipe the "Rushing for Tutorials Coconut Crusted Fish" because I used to make them before my 2pm tutorials at Waterloo (and it was an excuse not to read any more cases). 

for the crust: stir together shredded coconut, flour, curry powder, chilli powder, cumin, salt & pepper 

If you don't have shredded coconut, you can use brown sugar instead 

Crack an egg into a bowl 

Spread the egg onto both sides of the fillet

You can put the coconut mix onto a plate and let it coat the fish, or you can be lazy like me and save washing by using a spoon

take a chunk of butter and melt it onto a hot pan with some olive oil (to prevent the butter from burning)

On medium heat, saute the fillets on both sides til crispy and golden brown

...and that's lunch!

Coconut Crusted Fish Fillet

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

•                4 firm white fish fillets, such as whiting

•                1 cup shredded coconut

•                2/3 cup flour

•                1 teaspoon curry powder

•                1/2 teaspoon cumin

•                1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

•                1/2 teaspoon ground pepper (or to taste)

•                2 tablespoons butter

•                2 tablespoons olive oil

•                1 egg

For the Mango Salsa: 

•                (I didn't do this for lack of time, but I'd have loved to.) 

•                1 ripe mango, peeled and diced

•                1/4 cup chopped red onion

•                Juice of 1/2 lime

•                1/4 cup chopped red pepper

•                1 tablepoon vinegar

•                1 tablespoon sugar

•                1 tablespoon vegetable oil

•                2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

•                1/2 teaspoon curry powder

•                Salt and pepper taste

Preparation:

1.              Make mango salsa: Stir together the chopped mango, chopped onion, lime juice, chopped pepper, vinegar, sugar, vegetable oil, cilantro, curry powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

2.              Mix 1/3 cup flour, coconut, cumin, curry powder, salt and pepper together on a plate.

3.              In shallow bowl, whisk the egg with 1 tablespoon water. Place the remaining 1/3 cup flour on a second plate.

4.              Dredge the fillets first in the plain flour (shaking off excess), then in the egg mixture, and finely in the coconut mixture to coat both sides.

5.              Heat the olive oil and butter over medium high heat, then sauté the fillets until browned on both sides and cooked though on the inside, about 2-3 minutes per side.

Serve fillets warm with rice and mango salsa.