I went to riverside studios for a quick lunch with a friend one weekday. We got there early but the restaurant filled up quickly and was almost full when we departed. The terrace, which overlooks the Thames, was closed so we sat inside. For drinks, I decided to have Sicilian lemonade and my friend opted for a hot ginger beer.
Despite having tried their ris tto once before, I decided to have it again simply because I loved it so much the first time round! I had the wild mushroom risotto with rocket and parmesan (previously having had a pumpkin variation) and despite the high expectations, it certainly didn't disappoint! Very flavoursome, creamy and rich without being too heavy or stoggy. Yum! My friend went for sea bass with fennel and green beans.
Wild mushroom risotto with rocket and parmesan
Pan fried sea bass fillet on braised fennel and green beans with salsa verde
The humble Victora Sponge cake. A great british classic.
Victoria Sponge cake by Toastkey
Recipe
1. Beat 220g butter (room temp) until creamy. Beat in 220g caster sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Beat 4 eggs and slowly incorporate into the sugar/butter mixture. Then incorporate 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence and mix.
3. Along with two teasooons of baking powder sift 220g of self raising flour into a bowl.
4. Using a metal spoon fold in the sifted flour into the egg/butter mixture until all the flour has been incorporated.
5. Divide the mixture into two 9-inch baking tins lined with grease proof paper.
6. Bake for 30 min in a pre-heated oven (gas 5)
7. Allow cake to cool on a wire rack.
8. When ready, spread raspberry jam on one cake. Whip some cream and layer ontop of jam. Add some fresh raspberries on top of the cream (optional) and sandwich with the second cake layer. Sprinkle with icing sugar.
Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, 66 Knightsbridge, London, SW1X 7LA
Heston Blumenthal (owner of famous 3 michelin star restaurant 'The Fat Duck'), opened his first restaurant in London earlier this year, Dinner. This restaurant is situated in the Mandarin Oriental hotel, next to hyde park. The theme of this restaurant is to re-create British food from several centuries ago (13th - 18th century). Since its opening, there has been (at least) a two month waiting list to attend this restaurant.
Two of my friends had booked to attend this restaurant a while back, but due to unforseen circumstances, two of their party couldn't attend, they then asked if me and the boyfriend would like to join them for dinner instead. Unable to resist temptation, we said yes! The logic is, better to attend this restaurant before they hike up the prices (e.g. on receiving a star - which is highly anticipated), right?
[Note: Since Oct 2011, Dinner by Hesten Bluementhal was awarded one michelin star]
In August the average price per person was ~£65 (3 course, without drinks)
When we first arrived, we were greeted by friendly staff who directed us to our table. The surroundings were very nice and spacious. We were provided with free complimentary bread to begin whilst we waited for our starters.
Bread (brown and white) with butter topped with sea salt
For starters we ordered: broth of lamb, savoury porridge, and the famous meat fruit. The broth of lamb reminded me of something that was a little bit asian (little bit spicey/peppery) with a hint of sweetness.
Broth of Lamb (c.1730): Slow Cooked Hen’s Egg, Celery, Radish,
Turnip and Sweetbreads
The savoury porridge (also served in the The Fat Duck) was exceptional. Very well seasoned, not bland at all. The snails were nice and slightly chewy (in a good way) and the mushrooms were delicious. Recommend!
Savoury Porridge (c.1660): Snails, Girolles, Garlic and Fennel
The all famous staple starter dish, meat fruit. This was very nice. What made this dish stand out (apart from the looks) was the mandarin jelly around the pate. The jelly was slightly sweet with a hint of mandarin flavour that complimented the pate very well.
Meat Fruit (c.1500): Mandarin, Chicken Liver Parfait and Grilled Bread
Meat fruit: opened
For mains we ordered: powdered duck, black foot pork chop and the wing rib of irish angus.
The powdered duck - is two duck legs/drumsticks with a glaze (orignally a powder, but on cooking changes to a lovely gloss, hence the name). This dish was a bit disappointing - the meat didn't have much flavour and the glaze didn't really add to the flavour of the duck. The potato puree (or mash) was exceptionally exceptionally buttery - too buttery for my liking. I'm glad they seved that on the side.
There have been raving reviews about the wing rib of irish angus. However, it turned out a bit disappointing. We asked for medium/rare wing rib of irish angus, but it turned out a bit too rare (you can't really tell from the photo). I'm not particularly keen on the texture of meat that is too rare. The meat didn't have too much taste itself. The mushroom ketchup was nice, a slightly sweet sauce with mushrooms. The steak also came with a red wine gravey - but taste of the taste of the red wine dominated the gravy too much.
Wing Rib of Irish Angus for 2 (c.1830): Mushroom Ketchup, Red Wine Juice
with fries (on the side, not pictured)
The pork chop, was exceptionally nice though, if you don't mind your pork a little bit pink! Other than the hint of pinkness, the sauce and texture of the dish was very nice. I was surprised how nice this dish turned out since I'm not normally a fan of pork. Recommended.
Black Foot Pork Chop (c.1860): Pointy Cabbage, Robert Sauce
For dessert we had tipsy cake (which needed to be ordered in advance, as this takes 25 mins to make), lemon suet pudding, and the chocolate bar.
The lemon suet pudding, was quite small, probably about 5 cm in diameter. It looked very pretty, particualrly with the edible flowers. When you break into the pudding, the pudding itself has a hard texture (kind of like a tart) and inside is a lemon caramel (quite sweet if you didn't eat it with the cream on the side). Overall, I wasn't too keen on this dessert.
Baked Lemon Suet Pudding (c.1630) with a custard, and jersey cream on the side (not shown)
Inside: a lemon caramel
The chocolate bar, is something my friend ordered. This dessert has, surprisingly, a very light moosey texture. From the look, you might just think its rock solid! The moose is very chocolately and at the bottom is a very nice passion fruit jam which cuts the sweet/bitter chocolate just perfect. On the side of the chocolate bar was a ginger ice cream which was quite nice on its own or with the chocolate bar. Reminded me of a mix between a jaffa cake and a chocolate moose. If you're a fan of chocolate moose, then this is probably recommended.
Chocolate Bar (c.1730): Passion Fruit Jam and Ginger Ice Cream
Chocolate bar: open
The tipsey cake, is the staple dessert at Dinner and therefore is a must if you come here. Tipsey cake is a sweet bread/sponge-like dessert that is half soaked in alcohol and custard. On the side, is a grilled piece of pineapple. This dessert was nice, though the taste and texture reminded me of the "pineapple bun" you get at a chinese bakery. If you've never had a chinese pineapple bun, this dessert is a treat. If you know what a chinese pineapple bun taste like, you should try it anyway because its the staple dessert.
Tipsy Cake (c.1810): with Spit Roast Pineapple
Spit Roast Pineapple
At the end of the meal, they asked if we wanted tea. There was about 5-6 selections of tea (ranging from £5-15), but we decided to decline. They then gave us a complimentary dessert - a white chocolate ganache (that was flavoured with earl grey tea) - this dessert was quite nice. The earl grey tea is more of an after taste. The only complaint is that it was a tad too sweet (but then again, I prefer savoury over sweet). The biscuit had a mixture of spices and other flavours I couldn't really pin point. It was a nice end, to a nice evening with friends.
Earl grey tea with white chocolate ganache and a caraway biscuit
Overall, the evening was great. The service was fantastic. The waiters explained each dish and filled our glasses with water (iced tap water) without needing to ask. They were almost 'invisible' - in the sense we didn't notice them because we were enjoying ourselves. The starters were great, lots of imagination/creativeness, taste and variety. The mains a little bit dissappointing (particularly due to vast no.of fantastic reviews). The desserts were nice, but didn't particualrly have a 'wow' factor in terms of taste. If I were to go again, I would probably order two starters.
