#17 Hakkasan Mayfair, London

I have been really uninspired to write about this experience. I went on Saturday 28 July as a slightly belated birthday present to myself - that and I just don't have any friends at the moment who are interested in Michelin star dining.

I was thankful when I woke up in the morning that I wasn't too hungover from the night before.

I arrived at half one and walked right past the building. The entrance is quite easy to miss and when I did enter I was greeted by a dark dimly light hallway. This is just a bit intimidating when you are dining alone! Halfway down there is a woman sitting in a coat check and then there is a door that you can't really see, that another woman opens up to let you in.

I was placed at a very strange table, it was originally set up for two diners, an oval table with a curved seat. I'm not sure that you could really fit two people at this table without being awkward, let alone one. The leg position on the table meant I couldn't even cross my legs which was quite uncomfortable. They gave me the menu opened to the a la carte section which obviously was a very sly move to make me look at the expensive menu but I knew there was a set lunch menu on the front page so flicked back one. I wasn't offered water at any point and had to ask for it! This really was the theme of the service for the lunch, it really was just terrible, even without taking into account that this place has a Michelin star. There was a lot of staff but none of them seemed interested in me at all. I'm not sure if this was because I was alone? It certainly wasn't because the restaurant was packed as it was quite empty, likely to be a side effect of the Olympics. There were 5 tables at most.

Anyway, while service was just dismal seemingly desperate to get me in and out as quickly as possible for no reason, the food was quite delicious. Hakkasan have a set lunch menu of £35 for three courses.

My starter

Steamed dim sum selection: scallop shumai, morel mushroom crystal dumpling,
Chinese chive dumplingI absolutely adored this starter right from the moment it was put in front of me. I liked that I was given both chilli and chilli oil. The scallop was perfectly cooked and the presentation of the bright green dumpling was gorgeous. But the highlight was the morel mushroom dumpling which tasted absolutely amazing.

My main

Mongolian style lamb chopServed with baby pak choi (so cute) and sticky rice, this lamb was beautifully pink and spiced perfectly. The mushrooms again were the highlight. I have to say this main while really tasty, was just quite...average. Really nothing to write home about other than I do love when my lamb is cooked pink like that.

My dessert

I don't have a description for this as it's not on the website, but it did contain the words chocolate and cherry and it certainly lived up to it. When it came out, the bowl was sealed with a chocolate lid and the waitress poured a hot cherry sauce over it that melted my entry into the middle. I don't think this crappy phone photo does it's size justice, it was massive. I have never seen such a big dessert in this sort of restaurant and I couldn't finish it. Yes me, the person who always has room for desserts. There was a lot of textures in there, cherry sorbet, brownie bits, meringue bursts and pop rocks. The cherry sorbet was an absolute delight, I think I would have been just as happy with a few scoops of that.

The only highlight of the service was that I didn't have the usual impossible task of getting the staff to give me the bill. But then I couldn't find my way out because of the mystery door to the darkened hallway and the staff were quite slow in helping me. Overall, Hakkasan is probably one of the biggest disappointments I've had with Michelin star restaurant. I had been told so much of how it was such a great restaurant and I'm not sure if I hit it on a bad day or if I just noticed all the bad parts of the experience because I was alone for the first time? Although the service really was just utterly inexcusable. I definitely think this restaurant is more of a shared experience, I watched others eating their mains and it was definitely one where you taste lots of different dishes.

My final opinion would be, if you want to go out for a set lunch at a Chinese Michelin Star restaurant, go to Kai instead. While their set menu is £39 this includes matching wines for 3 courses and you get an amazing pre starter broth and a palate cleanser between the main and the dessert. It's right up there with my favourites and I would definitely go again (and the set lunch is available Sundays).

I am booked to go to The Ledbury, which holds two stars, in September for a set lunch at the same price as Hakkasan so I really hope this one lives up to the high expectations I have thanks to Masterchef!

My first Tabouleh

Lamenting the woeful contents of my refrigerator today, I decided to go spend lots of money at the local supermarket and get a whole bunch of fresh food in. As it was a boring wet Sunday, I thought it was time I satisfied a craving I had for tabouleh and thought no better way than to make it myself.


I took a recipe off Channel 4 for inspiration and made it as follows:

150g of bulgar wheat
1/4 cucumber diced
4 cherry vine tomatoes diced
3 spring onions diced
1 packet of mint leaves
1 packet of flat leaf parsley
1 garlic clove, minced
3 tsp of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 juice of one lemon

1. Prepare the bulgar wheat by covering with boiling water in a bowl. Cover the bowl with a plate and leave for 10-15 minutes to swell.
2. Strip off any large stalks of the parsley and mint and put into a food processer with the spring onions. Blitz on a low setting to still allow decent sized pieces of the herbs.
3. Check the bulgar wheat, add more water if it is still a bit firm to the bite. When soft, drain into a sieve and use a spoon to push out excess water. Fluff with a fork.
4. Combine bulgar wheat and green mix in a large bowl with the cucumber and tomato.
5. Mix the lemon juice, garlic and olive oil together in a small jug. Pour over rest of ingredients while mixing.
6. Season as required (I squeezed a bit more lemon and some cracked black pepper).

And voila!

Tabouleh is such a fresh summer dish, the mint gives it a real kick. I plan to eat it for lunch for the next few days with kumara and houmous but it can also be served up as a side to things like grilled chicken.

#16 - Pollen Street Social, Central London (*)

I took half a day off work today to go with Jarl into the city for my first Michelin star since Oren left in April and the newest star since March 2012. That is just too long inbetween and I really need to find myself a new fine dining buddy now that both are about to be back in New Zealand.

I've been wanting to go to Pollen Street Social since I read about it opening, Jason Atherton is an ex Maze chef and was tipped to have a pretty awesome restaurant. He proved this by getting a star pretty much within six months.

Jarl was late so I sat at the empty bar beside the reception. I was uninspired by the cocktails but intrigued by a giant decanter thing that seemed to be full of red wine (but probably a poor uneducated guess) and there as an obsession with stainless steel as I watched the bartender pour a drink into a goblet. I finally got bored of waiting and was taken through to the restaurant section, which was deceptively larger than I thought from outside. The setup was fairly usual, booth tables on the back wall and free standing tables in the middle beside a bar where drinks were kept and the service staff gathered together everything. There was a bar to the side with gorgeous hanging lights and there were also candles encased in what were supposed to resemble light bulbs. I really liked the wooden panelling touches.

There is a set menu at Pollen Street Social, £27.50 for three courses. An amount you could easily spend at a local pub without the dessert and unlike some set courses in Michelin star restaurants, there was an inspired number of choices.

My courses were (accompanied by a delicious Spanish red, slowly getting rid of my red wine phobia):

Pressed ham hock & foie gras, fennel & English radish, squid, piccalilli gel The fois gras was marbled through the ham hock and the squid was so amazingly cooked. Everything went together perfectly on the plate. We also were given fantastic brown bread and baguettes beforehand with salted butter and this garlicky fish paste. Oh and green olives, wasted on the both of us.

Slow cooked salt marsh lamb neck, pickled girolles, creamed Lincolnshire potatoes The lamb was heavenly. I just wish there was just a bit more jus for my delightly smooth potatoes.

Chocolate “Black Forest” fondant, praline, liqueur sponge, cherry sorbet This was the absolute highlight. There were liqueured cherries on the plate that just burst in your mouth and that fondant was like a mousse with a soft inside. We enjoyed this with a chilled port as suggested by the sommelier. Port is a new thing to me as well but I really do enjoy it (need more port and cheese evenings in my life). Before this we had a pre dessert as a palate cleanser which looked like a tiny frothy wheat beer but was in fact this mango/pineapple sorbet with a meringue froth. We also got these little lemon cakes at the end. We didn't order coffee but the table beside us did and were offered a chest of draws filled with goodies such as peach macaroons to pick from.

I went downstairs to use the bathroom and the cellar is sort of glassed up into the middle of the room so you can see all the wines and a bunch of meat is also stocked in a glass refrigerator. It's quite random but I found myself standing there staring at the duck and steak fillets.

Again, this was an excellent priced meal. With our wine, service and Port it came to £60 each. It was a great last hurrah for Jarl and I'm glad we did it. We parted ways at Oxford Circus with promises to see each other somewhere in New Zealand later in the year but also the fear of how you go from Michelin stars in London to local restaurants in New Zealand. We made a promise that we would go to any NZ michelin star restaurant if it ever happened, as Jarl suggested probably in 2053.

Kai!

I thought I would finally create a food blog, despite the fact I have now lost my fine dining partner in London. Who would have ever thought this Invercargill bred girl, who did not eat pasta or rice until her 20s and believed it wasn't dinner unless it was meat and two vegs, would be out there in London lapping up as many Michelin star meals and deals as possible?

I hope I can post a few reviews and photos of meals I've had previously and meals I will hopefully enjoy in the future.

My list so far:

27 July 2010 - Arbutus, Soho, London (1)
11 October 2010 - Pig's Ear, Dublin (Bib Gourmand)
?? December 2010 - L'Autre Pied, Marylebone, London (2)
15 December 2010 - La Trompette, Chiswick, London (3)
17 January 2011 - The Glasshouse, Kew Gardens, London (4)
14 February 2011 - Harwood Arms, Fulham, London (5)
6 March 2011 - Public, NoLita, New York (6)
13 March 2011 - L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon, Westend, London (7)
14 April 2011 - Gauthier, Soho, London (8)
15 June 2011 - Wild Honey, Mayfair, London (9)
8 July 2011 - The River Cafe, Hammersmith, London (10)
27 July 2011 - Gauthier, Soho, London
14 August 2011 - Galvin at Windows, Mayfair, London (11)
25 September 2011 - Kitchen W6, Kensington, London (12)
4 October 2011 - Arbutus, Soho, London
7 October 2011 - The River Cafe, Hammersmith, London
17 October 2011 - Gauthier, Soho, London
13 November 2011 - L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon, Westend, London
20 January 2012 - North Road Restaurant, Clerkenwell, London (13)
12 February 2012 - Kai, Mayfair, London (14)
2 March 2012 - Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester, London (15)
14 April 2012 - Gauthier, Soho, London
25 June 2012 - Pollen Street Social, Central London (16)
28 July 2012 - Hakkasan Mayfair, Mayfair, London (17)
6 September 2012 - The Ledbury, Notting Hill, London (18)

I also hope to post a recipe or two of things I like to cook and experiments I brave. It's always a bit sad to spend a lot of time on a recipe and not have anyone to share it with, so maybe this is a way to share the food love.