The Ledbury - May 2011

On Sunday 15th May 2011, we went to The Ledbury for lunch. This was our 3rd visit this year which probably indicates how much we like this restaurant! Head chef Brett Graham is a very talented chef. All the dishes we've tasted so far are really delicious and very well executed.
For Sunday lunch, they offer the choice between a Tasting Menu for £85 or a three course lunch for £40. This time, like our previous visit we chose to go for the three course lunch as the menu looked fantastic.
For starter my hubby ordered the signature dish "Flame Grilled Mackerel with Avocado, Celtic Mustard and Shiso" while I ordered the "Herefordshire Snails Wrapped in a Mousseline of Wild Herbs and Garlic with Roasting Juices and Celeriac".
The Flame Grilled Mackerel is such a tasty dish, the chef managed to create a sensasional dish with this humble fish. As for my snails, I thought they were OK but nothing special and I wouldn't order them again. I didn't think the mousseline of wild herbs & garlic was very tasty. Anyway, so far this is probably the only dish that I didn't think much of.

Flame Grilled Mackerel with Avocado, Celtic Mustard and Shiso



Herefordshire Snails Wrapped in a Mousseline of Wild Herbs and Garlic with Roasting Juices and Celeriac

For main course, my hubby ordered "John Dory Poached in Olive Oil with Blood Orange, Crab and Asparagus on Toast" while I ordered "Loin of Row Deer Baked in Douglas Fir with Wild Garlic Smoked Bone Marrow". Both main courses were really yummy. Each element on the plate was there for a reason. The Chef always puts something crunchy on the plate to provide a different texture to the dish, such as the crispy potatoes with the deer or the crunchy toast with the John Dory dish.

Dory Poached in Olive Oil with Blood Orange, Crab and Asparagus on Toast



Loin of Row Deer Baked in Douglas Fir with Wild Garlic Smoked Bone Marrow

When we were presented with the dessert menu, we both were a bit disappointed that there wasn't any Souffle on offer. On the two previous visits, they had Souflle on the menu and they were sensasional!
My hubby ordered "Pave of Chocolate with Milk Puree and Lovage" and I ordered "Three Small Brulees, Chicory, Vanilla and Barley Malt" as I had Pave of Chocolate twice before on previous visits. My hubby thought the Pave of Chocolate was very nice as it wasn't too rich or too heavy. My Brules were sensational! They were so smooth and tasty; they were probably the best Brules I've ever had! The different ice creams were also very nice.

Pave of Chocolate with Milk Puree and Lovage

Three Small Brulees, Chicory, Vanilla and Barley Malt

As usual, we enjoyed our lunch very much at The Ledbury. The service was efficient and professional without being stuffy. The bill came to about £110 for the two of us which is very good for a lunch of such quality.
We are planning to come back in August for our anniversary! Can't wait!

The Ledbury

127 Ledbury Road

London W11 2AQ

Tel: 020 7792 9090

http://www.theledbury.com/

Bordeaux - Easter 2011

Over Easter, my hubby and I went to Bordeaux to visit my family. We all love our food, it's in the family!
Before our visit, I planned all our meals with the help of my mother and sister! The meal plans consisted of eating-in with yummy Vietnamese dishes cooked by my mother and eating-out at restaurants.

On Friday evening, we ate at home. My mum made some Bi Cuon (Vietnamese shredded pork fresh rolls) and Bo Nhun Dam (Fillet of Beef cooked at the table in a hot vinegar broth. The beef is then rolled in a rice paper with lots of salad and aromartic herbs. The roll is then deeped in a fermented fish sauce called Mam Nem). For dessert, my sister bought a selection of patisseries.

On Saturday, for lunch we had oysters for starter and then some yummy roast pork belly with crackling which we ate with some rice vermicelli & lots of aromatic herbs. For dessert...more patisseries of course!

On Saturday evening, we ate at Restaurant L'Entrecote, the famous restaurant chain that serves a unique menu consisting of  a salad with walnut for starter and "Entrecote" steak with their secret sauce and pommes frites. It is a tradition that each time we visit my family we go there for dinner as we all love their steak with the secret sauce!

On Sunday, we went to St Emilion for lunch. We book a table at Logis de la Cadene. We ate at this restaurant many years ago and we always remember how delicious their "magret de canard grille au sarment" (duck breast grilled on vine shoots) was. We all ordered Duck Foie Gras for starter. For main course, my hubby and I ordered the duck breast grilled on vine shoots; it was as delicious as I remembered it. My mother and sister shared a delicious  Cote de Boeuf grilled on vine shoots. For dessert, my hubby and sister ordered three different creme brulees. My mother had sorbet and I ordered strawberries with a kind of zabaglione.

On Sunday evening, we ate Vietnamese at home. We had Mam Thai (Vietnamese fermented fish) with boiled pork belly. This dish is eaten with vermicelli and a lot of aromatic herbs.

On Monday, for lunch we had roast duck with egg noodles. In the evening, we had a bowl of Pho before flying back to London. So that was our meal plan!

Macaroons have been very popular in the past few years. We noticed many new shops selling macaroons. One of the shops even makes savoury macaroons. See pictures below:



Since we were in Bordeaux over Easter, we had to treat ourselves to some Easter chocolate at our favourite chocolatier: Cadiot Badie.



Leong's Legend II

Going to Leong's Legend II  to sample their Xiao Long Bao (Shanghainese steamed dumplings filled with pork and soup) has been on my list for a while since I read some positive reviews about them. Apparently they are not the best in the world but they are the best in London. Since we were in the viscinity of Chinatown last Saturday 16th April 2011, my hubby and I decided to have lunch at Leong's Legends II in order to sample their Xiao Long Bao.
Upon arrival, the waitress gave us the menu as well as an order sheet for us to tick dishes that we wanted to order.

This is what the order sheet looks like:

We ordered the Pork & Crab Xiao Long Bao, Taiwanese Mini Kebab with Pork, Taiwanese Style Spicy Beef Noodle Soup, Taiwanese Style Pork Chop Noodle Soup. For drinks, we ordered two Ice Pearl Milk Tea (with Tapioca).

The Iced Pearl Milk Tea arrived first. It was very nice and refreshing with just enough amount of condensed milk to make the tea slightly sweet.
The Xiao Long Bao was the first dish to arrive. Annoyingly, our noodle soups arrived shortly after the Xiao Long Bao so we had to hurry to eat the dumplings so that the noodle soup didn't get cold! Different sections of the kitchen are in charged of preparing different dishes. So there is no coordination as such, the dishes are ready when they are ready!
The Xiao Long Bao were very yummy...too bad we had to hurry to eat them in order to eat our noodle soup. My Taiwainese Style Spicy Beef Noodle Soup was just OK, the noodles were well overcooked so they were mushy! However the beef & broth were not too bad.
As for the Taiwanese Style Pork Chop Noodle Soup, it came in two bits: the noodle soup in a bowl and the pork was served separately on a plate. The pork was basically very similar to a pork steak deep fried in breadcrumbs like the Japanese version. My husband quite enjoyed his noodle soup.
The Taiwanese Mini Kebab with Pork came last. They were quite good but I think we ordered quite a lot of food for the two of us! One portion would have been enough!
I wasn't tempted by any dessert as I was very full!

Here are the pictures of the dishes that we ordered:

Ice Pearl Milk Tea (with Tapioca) (£3.20)



The Pork & Crab Xiao Long Bao (£6.50)

Taiwanese Style Spicy Beef Noodle Soup (£5.20)

Taiwanese Style Pork Chop Noodle Soup (£6.50)

The Taiwanese Mini Kebab with Pork (£2.80)

The service was OK: no smile but efficient enough. We didn't expect great service in Chinatown anyway. The bill came to £33.22 including service charge. Not too bad for a good meal for two people.

We would definitely go back there if we are in Chinatown especially for the Xiao Long Bao.

Leong's Legend II
26 Lisle Street
London WC2

Tel: 020 7734 3380

http://www.restaurantprivilege.com/leongs-legend/home.html

Magdalen - April 2011

On Tuesday 12th April 2011, we went to our favourite restaurant, Magdalen with some friends of ours who now live in Toronto.
Our friends were intrigued as to why I had my camera ready to take some pictures of the meal as they know that I have posted a review on Magdalen already. I told them that Magdalen change their menu on a daily basis depending on what fresh produces they find. The dishes we were about to order have not been featured on my blog yet so it is nice to add to the blog to show how seasonal Magdalen is. This is one of the reasons we like Magdalen, they change their menu on a daily basis so we get to taste something new each time we go.
Below is the menu for this visit:

My friend was a bit disappointed when she didn't see the potted crab on the menu, as she loves that starter so much. She ordered the Devon Crab, celeriac and apple instead. I got to taste it and thought it was extremely good. Her husband ordered Smoked mackerel, beetroot and horseradish. My hubby and I ordered Fried crisp calves brains and gribiche, it was very yummy. I remember that my mother used to cook brain fairly often when I was living at home and I adore eating brains. There is no much opportunity to eat brains in London so I seize the opportunity when it arises! I wasn't disappointed, the brains were crispy as described in the menu, it was light and yummy.

Devon Crab, celeriac and apple



Smoked mackerel, beetroot and horseradish



Fried crisp calves brains and gribiche



For main course, we all ordered Roast rack of veal, potatoe gratin, carrots and sage except for my friend who ordered Baked plaice, monk's beard, samphire and crab butter sauce. The veal was very nice and pink, the potatoe gratin very tasty. I got to taste my friend's fish course and I thought it was sensational. The crab butter sauce was so amazing that my friend asked for some bread to eat with it. Good on her! Such tasty sauce shouldn't go wasted!

The chefs at Magdalen are very talented. Each dish is very well thought and executed to perfection.

Roast rack of veal, potatoe gratin, carrots and sage

Baked plaice, monk's beard, samphire and crab butter sauce

For dessert, my friend and I ordered Buttermilk pudding, Gariguette strawberries and shortbread. Her husband ordered Warm apple & almond tart, Calvados ice cream. My hubby ordered Chocolate and hazelnut terrine, Armagnac ice cream.  My dessert was pleasant enough but I wished I ordered Chocolate and hazelnut terrine, Armagnac ice cream, I thought my hubby's dessert was sensational. The description sounded a bit boring and that was why I didn't order it, but it turned out to be amazing!

Buttermilk pudding, Gariguette strawberries and shortbread

Warm apple & almond tart, Calvados ice cream

Chocolate and hazelnut terrine, Armagnac ice cream

Needless to say, we all enjoyed our meal very much! My friend is in London for 5 weeks, we have planned to return to Magdalen before she goes back to Canada. Hopefully, they will have potted crab, however I think my friend was  delighted with her crab starter during this visit.

The bill came to £162.84 for the four of us with a small carafe of red wine. It's very decent value for a meal of such quality. The service is always very friendly and professional but not stuffy. I am already looking forward to our next meal there!

Magdalen

152 Tooley Street

London SE1 2TU

Tel: 020 7403 1342

http://www.magdalenrestaurant.co.uk/

Koya

Not that I have tasted many Japanese Udon restaurants in London but Koya serves the best Udon noodles I have tasted so far. My hubby read a positive review somewhere about Koya so we discovered this restaurant at the end of 2010. I have made many visits since then and have introduced this place to some of my friends who all love it. We see a lot of Japanese people eating there, so that is also a good sign that the food is good. I remember that on our first visit, in addition to our udon dish, we also ordered a couple of small dishes because we wanted to taste and also my hubby was very hungry. We ordered Kamo Roast (roast duck) and Kakuni (braised pork belly with cider). These two small plates were VERY small indeed! There were only a few pieces of meat. The taste was OK but nothing to write home about and definitely not good value for money. Since then, we only go for the udon when we go to Koya.

I went with an Australian friend of mine on this occasion and she liked it as well.

There are so many nice places to eat in London, we don't get to go back to the same place often enough! Anyway that is probably my excuse for ordering the same dish whenever I return to Koya as I like it so much. Not because I am not adventurous!

On this visit my friend ordered Kamo Nabe (Duck and Vegetable Hot Pot) and I ordered Ten Hiya-atsu (prawn amd vegetable tempura with cold Udon in hot broth).

Kamo Nabe

My friend's udon dish comes in a Hot Pot. The udon noodles are served in a hot broth with sliced duck and vegetable. She thought it was very tasty.

Ten Hiya-atsu

My Udon dish comes in four different plate/bowl: a plate of udon topped with some seaweed, a small plate of spring onion crushed ginger and sesame seeds, a plate of tempura and a bowl of hot broth. The udon was as nice as usual, a bit chewy in a good way, very delicious. The tempura was the best I had at Koya. The quality of the tempura tends to vary a bit from one visit to the other, it is above average in general but on this visit it was absolutely amazing: crispy light anf fluffy and not oily at all.

The service is fairly efficient. The only thing that annoys me with Koya is that they add 10% service charge. I consider Koya a restaurant for a quick meal where people have to share tables sometimes...adding service charge for this type of dining seems to be a greedy thing to do. Despite me being grumpy about the service charge, I will always go back as the udon are really worth it.


Koya
49 Frith Street
LondonW1D 4SG

http://www.koya.co.uk/

Al Sultan

On Sunday 10th April 2011, we went to Al Sultan, a Lebanese restaurant in Mayfair. We went there with some friends, we were 6 in total, a good number to share the excellent starters!
We have been to Al Sultan many times before but it had been a long time (maybe a couple of years) since our last visit. We love Lebanese food so why did we wait so long to go back? Probably because, we are very spoilt in London with so many restaurants to choose from that we don't always think of Lebanese cuisine! On previous visits, we thought the starters were just amazing.
Since it had been a long time since our last visit, I read the review on London Eating website to check what people think about Al Sultan. Most people thought the food was fine but they found the service very rude! I was a little bit anxious as I was the one suggesting our friends to have dinner there.

When we arrived, they brought us a plate full of fresh salad, cucumber, tomatoe etc...We didn't quite know what to do with that. Some of us were munching away!



We ordered 6 different starters to share between us:

Hommos ( Pureed Chick Peas with Sesame Oil and Lemon Juice  )



Moutabel ( Baked Aubergine with Sesame Oil and Lemon Juice  )



Falafel ( Mixture of Ground Chick Peas and Broad Beans tossed in Spices (deep fried)  )



Fatayer (  Pastry stuffed with Spinach, Onions and Lemon  )



Kallaje / Halloum Meshwi  ( Halloum Cheese grilled on Lebanese bread/Grilled Halloum Cheese  )



Arayes ( Minced Meat with Parsley, Grilled on Lebanese Bread  )



We were given some fabulous freshly baked bread to eat with our starters. All the starters were very nice but we all agreed that the Falafel, Hommos and Moutabel were amazing! The Falafel were crunchy but not oily. The Hommos and Moutabel were so tasty and smooth.

Freshly baked bread



For main course, each of us ordered our own dish. Follow are the dishes that were ordered:
1) Lahem Meshwi ( Tender Lamb Meat cubes grilled on skewers, with grilled Tomatoes and Onion  )
2) Lahem Meshwi Bill Foter ( Tender Lamb Meat cubes grilled on skewers, with grilled Tomatoes and Mushrooms  )
3) Fatayel Meshweyeh ( Grilled fillet of Lamb  )
4) Meshri Mshakkal ( Mixed Grill: Chicken, Lamb Cubes and Minced Lamb  )
5) Farruj Meshwi ( Baby Chicken grilled and served with Chef's Special Hot Sauce or Garlic Sauce and Lemon  )

There is no photos for these main courses! All of us enjoyed our main course but it's got to be said that the main reason for going to Al Sultan would not be for the main courses but for the amazing starters!

At the end of the meal, they offered us some Lebanese sweets to share. (again no picture!) The Lebanese sweets were pretty good but not outstanding. Still, quite sweet of them to offered them to us at the end of the meal.

On this visit, the service was fine. The waiters were quite friendly, the service was quite efficient! Thankfully, we didn't experience the rudeness that some diners (from London Eating reviews) have experienced during their visit.

The bill came around £27.50 per head with soft drink but no alcool. It's pretty decent considering that the meal was very nice. I am sure one can eat Lebanese food for less elsewhere in London but the seats were comfy, we have white table clothes and white napkins...so all these are included in the price!


Al Sultan
51-52 Hertford Street
Shepherds Market
London W1J 7ST

Tel: 020 7408 1113

http://www.alsultan.co.uk/

Donna Margherita

Visit of Donna Margherita on Saturday 2nd April 2011.
Donna Margherita is our regular restaurant for pizzas. It is run by Neapolitans. It goes without saying that the pizzas are baked in a wood fired oven. The pizza dough is truly delicious, it is of the same quality of what one can find in Napples. There is a wide range of pizza toppings but the menu offers also meat/fish dishes as well as pasta dishes.
For starter, I always order "A Fritturin" which is composed of the following:
O`crocche 1x fried potatoes ball with parmesan cheese, parsley , salt and pepper.
L`arancin 1x fried rice ball with parmesan and smoked cheese, tomatoes sauce , salt and pepper.
O`scagnuzziell 1x fried Triangles of semolina flour with, salami, salt and pepper.
A montanarin 1x fried pizza with tomato sauce and parmesan.
E` croccantin fried floured sticks of courgettes and aubergines.
Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture for this! The fact that I always order the same starter implies that I like it very much! Anyway, will try not to forget to take a picture next time I go!

My hubby used to order "O'calamar arrust ut" for starter
Wood oven baked squid in aromatic breadcrumbs, served on a bed of radicchio salad.
It is a lovely squid dish however the portion has become meaner and meaner...it's not a dish to order if you are hungry!As a matter of fact, my hubby was very hungry on our last visit so he ordered "A'Bruschett ro cafone"
Two slice of toasted bread topped with:
one (extra virgin olive oil, garlic, cherry tomato, smoked cheese and fried aubergine) and
one (extra virgin olive oil, garlic, friarielli and smoked cheese)
He was happy with his starter. Again, I forgot to take a picturs of his starter!

For main course, we always order a pizza, that is our main reason for going to Donna Margherita!
I always order "Diavola" with extra salsiccia (Italian sausages)
Tomato, mozzarella, Neapolitan salami, parmesan, chilli, extra virgin olive oil and fresh basil



And my hubby always orders "Quattro Stagioni" with extra salsicchia as well.
One quarter with mozzarella and ham, one with mozzarella and mushrooms, one with tomato
and mozzarella the last quarter with tomato, mozzarella and salami



On the dessert front, we ordered Tiramisu once but it didn't live up to our expectation, it was rather very dry (in fact, my home made Tiramisu is far better!). We don't bother with desserts anymore, we are very full after eating the pizza anyway!

This restaurant is highly recommended for authentic Neapolitan pizzas. We always bump into some Italian diners when we go there, that must be a good sign of authenticity!

Service is usually friendly and efficient but not on this occasion! Service was extremely slow. We had to wait for everything: the menu, the drinks, the food as well as the bill! We let them off as that was the only time we experienced such inefficiency!

Donna Margherita
183 Lavender Hill
London SW11 5TE

Tel: 020 7228 2660

http://donna-margherita.com/index.php