Hibiscus - January 2012

This year for my birthday, I wanted to try Hibiscus (a two Michelin star restaurant) based on the excellent reviews that I read. My hubby booked a table for dinner on Saturday 21st January. When he called Hibiscus, he ensured that the Tasting Menu was available as it wasn't obvious from looking at their website that the Tasting Menu was available in the evening.

Shortly after we arrived at the restaurant, they gave us two kinds of Amuse Bouches: Parmesan Gougeres and Croquettes. Both Amuse Bouches were simply delicious and very moreish!

Parmesan Gougeres and Croquettes

The menu offers the choice between 3 course meal (£80), 6 course meal (£90) or 8 course meal (£100). On the right hand side page, there were a list of ingredients (for example: Devonshire Crab, Black Periguord Truffles, Cornish Cod, Smoked Eels, Goosnargh Duck, Engliah Cox Apples, Indonesian Basil etc...).
The waiter explained to us that we needed to decide between 3, 6 or 8 course meal and tell the Chef what we didn't like (or allergies) and then it was down to the Chef to decide what courses he was going to serve us. Needless to say, my hubby and I decided to go for the full on 8 course meal! Afterall, we were there to discover the Chef's talent so we wanted to taste as many dishes as possible.

The waitress brought us some bread and some salted butter. We had the choice between white or brown sourdough. We were able to keep our bread plate until the end of the meal which was nice. The bread was adequate.

Once we decided on the menu and wine, it wasn't too long until the waitress brought us our 2nd Amuse Bouche: Chilled Lord Labourne Apple & Carrot Soda. The waitress explained to us that we needed to take a few sips to start with and then have it like a shot. This Amuse Bouche was very refreshing.

Chilled Lord Labourne Apple & Carrot Soda

Our first course was: Veloute of Pumpkin, Crozier Blue Cheese, Truffle. The Veloute of Pumpkin was silky smooth. The flavour of this dish was very subtle but very nice.

Veloute of Pumpkin, Crozier Blue Cheese, Truffle

Our 2nd course was: Salad of Devonshire Crab wrapped in New Season Turnip, Kentish Sea Leaves, Ginger, Cream and Smoked Olive Oil Dressing. This dish was also very delicate. The crab was very tasty and each element on the plate brought a subtle flavour without overpowering the crab.

Salad of Devonshire Crab wrapped in New Season Turnip, Kentish Sea Leaves, Ginger, Cream and Smoked Olive Oil Dressing

Our 3rd course was: Ravioli of Hen's Egg York & Smoked Potato, Truffle. This dish is the winner of the evening! The raviolo was sensational! Cutting into the raviolo the egg york oozed out as seen in the picture. The smoked potatoe, the truffle sauce around the raviolo and the egg york worked really well together. This raviolo is simply truly delicious! We had never had anything like this before!

Ravioli of Hen's Egg York & Smoked Potato, Truffle

Our 4th course was: Roast Pollock, New Season Fennel, Clementine & Fennel Sauce. The fish was cooked to perfection, the Clementine & Fennel sauce brought a subtle flavour to the dish without overpowering the fish. This dish was very good and well executed.

Roast Pollock, New Season Fennel, Clementine & Fennel Sauce

Our 5th course was: Roast Adour Foie Gras, Sea Buckthorn Gel, Apple & Szechuan Pepper Compote. This was the first time we had something with Sea Buckthorn, the taste is quite sharp so it went perfectly well with the Foie Gras. The Apple & Szechuan Pepper went very well with the Foie Gras as well. This dish was also good and well executed.

Roast Adour Foie Gras, Sea Buckthorn Gel, Apple & Szechuan Pepper Compote

Our 6th course was: Roast Mallard Duck, Quince Aioli, Frech Pear. The duck was served very pink and it was a bit chewy. There was some spice on the skin of the duck, I don't know what kind of spice it was but it was very bitter to my taste. I didn't enjoy this dish very much, I had to remove the skin so I could eat the duck...I have never done this kind of thing before, so I felt a bit embarrassed but I really didn't enjoy the bitter taste of the spice! The piece of pear was so tiny that it was just enough for accompany one mouthful of meat but not the whole dish.

Roast Mallard Duck, Quince Aioli, Fresh Pear

Our pre-dessert was: Apple Puree, Sweet Celeriac, Chestnut Cream. This dessert was very yummy. The combination of the apple puree, celeriac jelly and chestnut cream worked perfectly well together. It was very nice! I was looking forward to our two desserts, especially the table not far from us went for a 3 course menu and they had very interesting desserts: a kind of chocolate tart and some kind of Millefeuille. Both desserts looked really good.

Apple Puree, Sweet Celeriac, Chestnut Cream

Our first dessert: Cream of Jerusalem Artichoke, Caramel, Toasted Oat Ice Cream. This dessert looked weird (see picture). There were three different types of quenelles: one for the Cream of Jerusalem Artichoke, a small one for the Caramel and one for the Ice Cream. All the quenelles were hidden by what looked like thin wafers but it wasn't. I think it was something made with sugar. I was not sure how we were meant to eat this dessert. Were we meant to eat a bit of everything together? Not sure. Anyway, the Cream of Jerusalem Artichoke tasted nice but very similar to our pre-dessert. The caramel was very bitter, it didn't really taste like caramel (it had the taste of burnt caramel maybe??). The toasted oat ice cream wasn't obvious, if it was't written on the menu I wouldn't have guessed! I didn't really this dessert but I was hoping that the 2nd dessert would be better.

Cream of Jerusalem Artichoke, Caramel, Toasted Oat Ice Cream

Our 2nd dessert was: Expresso Sorbet, Chocolate Madeleine, Whiskey Anglaise. While they brought us the Madeleines on a separate plate, we were advised to break the Madeleine into the ice cream and eat it together. The expresso sorbet tasted good as well as the Madeleine but somehow it didn't blow my socks off. Fairly classic combination. I was intrigued as to why the Chef chose to serve us three desserts that have the same consistency (mousse or  ice-cream). Sure, the Madeleine added a different texture but a Madeleine is not something that would wow me at a 2 Michelin star restaurant. For a two Michelin start restaurant, I expect something more original.
I enjoyed the pre-dessert very much but was very disappointed by our two main desserts. I think it was a bad choice from the Chef to serve us three desserts that had the same consistency.

I was looking at two different blogs of people who chose the 7 course tasting menu at Hibiscus (at the time they went, Hibiscus seemed to have offered 7 course tasting menu and not 8). They were more lucky than us on the dessert front! One couple had a tart (Cep Tart, Macadamia Nut Ice Cream and Blueberry Puree) which they thought was sensasional and probably their dish of the year! A Cep Tart sounds very strange indeed but apparently it tasted heaven! That's what one calls genius!
The other blogger strangely had three desserts on the top of the pre-dessert. He is a well known blogger and got to meet Claude Bosi himself at the restaurant. They shook hands etc...so maybe that was why he got 3 desserts! Actually the blogger seemed to have had 9 courses in total instead of the 7 that was on offer!
Anyway, his 1st dessert was a tart (Fine Cream Tart of Sweet English Peas & Moroccan Mint, Coconut & Sheep’s Milk Whey Sorbet) which sounded very interesting. Again the Chef was using an unusual ingredient for dessert.
He had a Millefeuille for his second dessert (Coffee & Passionfruit Millefeuille, Vanilla Ice Cream, Passionfruit Gel & Mango) which looked fabulous.
His 3rd dessert was a chocolate tart (Hibiscus ‘Tarte au Chocolat’, Indonesian Basil Ice Cream). This dessert also looked good.
Now you understand better why I felt done in on the dessert front! I was expecting something original and I didn't get it.

 Expresso Sorbet, Chocolate Madeleine, Whiskey Anglaise

 At the end of the meal, they brought us a small dish of mini Madeleines. The Madeleines had some pepper in them but it worked and they were nice. Having had chocolate Madeleine in our previous dessert, it would have been nicer if they offered us something different such a chocolate or petit fours.

Mini Madeleines

Service was friendly, competent, efficient and not stiff. The waiters and waitresses were nice and friendly. Overall, I enjoyed my birthday dinner at Hibiscus and would recommend Hibiscus to people who haven't been there before. The bill came to £275 for the two of us (with tap water). Would I go back to Hibiscus? Yes if someone picks up the bill or I was very rich! But "no" is the answer, at that kind of price I expect perfection and it wasn't perfect. I would be prepared to pay the price if perfection was garanteed !

Upon leaving the restaurant, we were given a bag which contained a small bag of meringues and the menu to take home which was a nice touch.

Tasting Menu - Saturday 21st January 2012

Hibiscus
29 Maddox Street, W1S 2PA
tel: 020 7629 2999

www.hibiscusrestaurant.co.uk



Medlar - 19th January 2012

On Thursday 19th January 2012, my hubby and I went back to Medlar for dinner with a friend of ours from Montreal. Initially, we wanted to take our friend to our favourite restaurant but unfortunately it was closed for a private function.
The menu was the same as our last visit (just a few days ago!) apart from the famous Tarte Tatin which seems to be available only in the evening. Our friend followed our recommendation and chose:
- Crab raviolo with samphire, brown shrimp, fondue of leeks and bisque sauce
- Red wine braised octopus with roast cod, crisp Indian pastry, borlotti and frisée
Our friend enjoyed both courses very much!

For starter, my hubby and I ordered the Crab raviolo again as it was sensational and we also ordered something that we haven't tried before: Duck egg tart with red wine sauce, turnip purée, lardons and sautéed duck heart - this starter was also delicious. The lardons and duck heart went very well with the duck egg tart.

Crab raviolo with samphire, brown shrimp, fondue of leeks and bisque sauce

Duck egg tart with red wine sauce, turnip purée, lardons and sautéed duck heart

For main course, my hubby and I chose something different from our first visit so we could sample different dishes. We chose:
- Guinea fowl with potato gnocchi, jerusalem artichoke, spring onion and reblochon  - this dish was simply delicious and well executed. The guinea fowl was very moist and other components on the plate went very well together.

- Roast partridge with confit leg, pearl barley, foie gras and kale- I didn't enjoy this dish as much as the other one. The confit leg was a bit dry and the roast partridge maybe was sligltly overcooked.

Guinea fowl with potato gnocchi, jerusalem artichoke, spring onion and reblochon

Roast partridge with confit leg, pearl barley, foie gras and kale

For dessert, our friend didn't want anything but my hubby and I went for the famous Tarte tatin with crème fraîche ice cream- Their Tarte Tatin was truely delicious and very well excecuted. The puff pastry was crispy as it should.

Tarte tatin with crème fraîche ice cream

Our dinner at Medlar was very enjoyable. How often would we go to Medlar will depend on how often they change their menu.

Byron - Shoreditch - January 2012

Byron is a chain of restaurants specialised in burgers. Apparently, the first restaurant was opened in 2007 but we only came across recently by coincidence. I was reading reviews of Honest Burgers (burger place located in Brixton village) on the London Eating website and someone mentioned that he prefers Byron burgers over Honest Burgers. Recently, we walked around Shoreditch area and found a branch of Byron! Then we were around Covent Garden area and saw another Byron...we then realised that Byron must be doing well and worth a try.
Anyway, last Sunday (15th January 2012) we went to the Byron in Shoreditch to try their burgers.
My hubby ordered a Classic Burger and I ordered a Byron burger (dry cure bacon, mature Cheddar and Byron sauce). We shared a portion of Home made skin on chips, a portion of onion rings and an Oreo cookie milkshake.

Their beef is apparently sourced from small farms in Scottland, freshly ground everyday and cooked medium rare. The service was quite effiecient, we didn't have to wait too long until our food arrived.
The burger was very tasty indeed. It was cooked medium rare as stated. The quality of the beef was very good.
The onion rings were light and crispy and very tasty but maybe a bit too oily.
The chips were very nice and crunchy and not oily (unlike the onion rings).
The Oreo cookie milkshake was very good, very moreish!

Our lunch at Byron was very enjoyable. The service was nice and friendly. The only small criticism was that our waiter was keen to make us order olives, tortilla chips at the beginning and desserts at then end when we told him that we were full.
We would definitely come back. It's nice to know that Byron is a good chain of restaurants for burgers.
The bill for the two of us came to around £26 which is fine for very good quality burgers.

Medlar - 14th January 2012

I first heard about Medlar by reading a Food Blog, the blogger raved about the food that was served in that restaurant. The pictures and description of the dishes sounded fantastic; exactly the kind of food I like! I went to check Medlar website to view their full menu and indeed, it looks really interesting. The menu reminds me of the type of food that Magdalen restaurant serves. Then I checked the London Eating website to see what people thought about Medlar. The reviews were excellent, people seem to enjoy the food there so  I decided to give it a go.
The restaurant is located on Kings road in Chelsea, not next door to us (unfortunately!!!) but my hubby found that there was a direct bus (No 319) that takes us from Streatham to Chelsea! Very convenient!

Anyway, last Saturday (14th January 2012) we went to Medlar for the first time. Medlar has only Prix Fixe menu: £26 for 3 course lunch, £30 for 3 course weekend lunch and £39.50 for 3 course dinner. The menu offers the choice between 7 starters, 7 main courses and 7 desserts plus cheese. The menu was very exciting to read, there were so many interesting dishes that I wanted to try! Anyway, my hubby and I agreed to order different dishes throughout the meal so that we could share and taste as many dishes as we could in order to have an idea about the food served at Medlar.

For starter, my hubby ordered: Braised tripe with soft polenta, tomato, fennel, paprika, bacon and gremolata - This dish was very tasty. It was a nice way of serving tripes as tripes can be quite strong.



My starter was: Crab raviolo with samphire, brown shrimp, fondue of leeks and bisque sauce- This crab raviolo was amazingly well executed  and should put Angela Hartnett to shame (especially due to the fact that Murano is an Italian restaurant!). The pasta was thin and it was filled with a lot of crab meat. The samphire, brown shrimp, fondue of leeks and bisque sauce went extremely well together. It was so yummy! I know a friend who would be jealous reading this!



As main course, my hubby ordered: Red wine braised octopus with roast cod, crisp Indian pastry, borlotti and frisée - This dish was so well executed! The cod was roasted to perfection and the braised octopus were very tasty. This dish was also a delight!



My main course was: Ox tongue and heart with caramelised endive tart, cepes, wet garlic and sage - This dish was also very memorable! Each element on the plate was perfectly cooked and worked very well together. It was also such a delicous main course!



For dessert, I was very disappointed that the apple tarte tatin wasn't on the menu as I read excellent review about their tarte tatin! But my hubby told me that the positive way to look at it was that we would be able to order two desserts to share, whereas if the tarte tatin was on offer, we both would have had to share the tartin (at it is for two people) and we would miss the opportunity to try different desserts!

For dessert, my hubby ordered: Chocolate delice with milk ice cream, griottine cherries and pistachios - The chocolate delice is a kind of chocolate gateau. It was served with a milk ice cream and griottine cherries and pictachios. The dessert was good but it didn't blow my socks off.



The dessert I chose was:  Passion fruit tartlet with coconut ice cream and tuile - The tartlet case was very crunchy and the passion fruit cream on the top was very pleasant and not too sharp. It went very well with the coconut ice cream. I found this dessert very refreshing.



At the end of the meal, when we asked for the bill, they offered us some chocolate truffle which was a pleasant surprise.



The service was nice, friendly and efficient. A nice touch about the restaurant is that they let us keep our bread plate until the end of the meal and we could have bread throughout the meal if we wanted. It's always nice to have a bit if bread, especially if we need some bread for the sauce.

The decor of the restaurant was done with very good taste except for the green bench!! Weird choice of colour! The food was so enjoyable that we would certainly come back. We had such an excellent meal at Medlar and I am already looking forward to our next visit! We are also looking forward to introducing this restaurant to some friends who also love their food.
The meal was just under £90 for the two of us, including a carafe of red wine (500ml).

Medlar Restaurant
438 Kings Road
Chelsea SW10 0LJ
020 7349 1900

http://www.medlarrestaurant.co.uk/

The Ledbury - November 2011

On Sunday 27th November 2011, we went to The Ledbury for lunch. This was our fourth visit for the year 2011! This shows how much we like this restaurant!
The service and food during our fourth visit were excellent as previous visits! We went for the three course Sunday Lunch menu but we think that next time we should go for the tasting menu as the food is so enjoyable! Since our last visit in May 2011, the 3 course Sunday Lunch Menu went up by £10, it used to be £40 and now it's £50 but it is still worth it.

While looking at the menu, they brought us some Amuse Bouche, followed by some bread.



For starter my hubby ordered: Breast and Leg of Partridge with Chestnuts, Iberian Ham and Chanterelle - this starter was very good, the Partridge was still moiste a it should be.



My starter was Chantilly of Colchester Oysters with a Tartare of Scallop and Oyster, Horseradish and Dill -  this dish was very fresh and yummy.



For main course my hubby ordered: Cheek and Jowl of Pork with Black Pudding, Mustard Fruits and Quince - first the waitress came out with the Jowl of Pork to show us what it looked like. She brought it back to the Kitchen for them to prepare and plate it. This dish was very good and the crackling was just perfect!



My main course was: Feather Blade of Ruby Red Beef Cooked for Eight Hours with Celeriac Baked in Ash, Cepes and Bone Marrow  - My main course was fine but I didn't like it as much as my hubby's main course.

For dessert, my husband ordered A Souffle - The Ledbury do the best Souffle ever! One should almost always go for the Souffle if it's available as it is so yummy!

My dessert was: Pavé of Chocolate with Milk Purée and Lovage Ice Cream - I had this dessert at The Ledbury before and it was very nice so I wanted to order it again!

At the end of the meal, we ordered Fresh Mint tea and coffee. They brought us some petit fours in a little tin box.

Our lunch at The Ledbury was once again very enjoyable! I have already book a table for Lunch for February 2012. The question is: Will we go for the Tasting Menu next time?

The Ledbury

127 Ledbury Road

London W11 2AQ

Tel: 020 7792 9090

http://www.theledbury.com/

The Dorchester - Afternoon Tea

Afternoon Tea at The Dorchester is very popular so it took us a while to book a table for Afternoon Tea. In November 2011, we finally went to The Dorchester on The Promenade for our Champagne Afternoon Tea, which was a wedding present from friends of ours.
First, they served us a glass of Champagne and then brought us a selection of sandwiches (smoked salmon, egg mayonnaise, roast beef, chicken, cucumber...). The sandwiches were delicious, freshly made with various types of bread.  We could have as many sandwiches as we liked, they would continue to serve us until we said stop!



After the sandwiches, they brought a pre-dessert: a clementine jelly with some cream.



Then they brought us tea, scones and cakes. They have a long list of tea to choose from. The scones were served with rasberry or strawberry jam and clotted cream. The scones were very yummy. They also gave us a selection of French patisserie. Again, we could have as many scones or as much patisserie as we liked.



The service was very nice, efficient and friendly. We had a very pleasant afternoon at the Dorchester doing something different, something we wouldn't normally do so it was a wonderful and memorable wedding present. Thank you Mel and Shauny!

Murano

In December 2011, we went to Murano for my hubby's birthday. We went to Angela Harnett's restaurant when she was still at the Connaught but we had never been to Murano. We were looking forward to our meal as we enjoyed our meal at the Connaught when Angela Harnett was Head Chef there.
Unfortunately, this blog doesn't have any pictures of our meal at Murano as I forgot to bring the camera!!!

For dinner, the restaurant offers a Piemonte Tasting Menu at £85 or A la Carte. For the menu a la Carte, we had the choice of having 3 courses for £65 or 4 courses for £75, and they left the choice of the courses entirely to us as they are very flexible. We chose to go for the 4 courses A La Carte as my hubby didn't fancy what was on the Piemonte Tasting Menu and it was his birthday afterall!
We chose a starter, a fish course, a meat course and a dessert. Both of us chose different dishes so we had a good idea by the end of our meal about the kind of food they served.

As Amuse Bouche, they brought us some kind of deep fried croquettes which were very nice. Then they brought us some charcuterie presented on a little board with a basket of bread. The charcuterie was very nice. The bread was OK. One thing I would say is that for restaurants of this standard, generally we expect them to give us some warm bread (as if they were baking just for us) but it wasn't the case.
Still the Amuse Bouche followed by the Charcuterie and the bread were a nice surprise and we were looking forward to the rest of our dinner.

For starter, my hubby ordered Pumpkin, Tortelli, sage butter, crushed amaretti - the Tortelli was itself adequate but the whole dish in itself was very dry.

The starter I chose was Scallops Castelfiorito lentils, apple, fennel, Pata Negra - this was a disappointing dish. I was wondering why they decided to put a tiny bit of apple fennel salad and very tiny piece of Pata Negra on the top of the scallops as it didn't go together. It didn't bring anything to the dish and OMG the tiny piece of Pata Negra wasn't even of the best quality!!!

For the fish course, my hubby ordered Monkfish Braised, baby leeks, cuttlefish "risotto", salsify - The monkfish itself was good but rather on the small side. This dish overall was OK but not more.

My fish course consisted of Halibut Bread purée, pear compote, white onion fondue, scallop velouté - The Halibut was good but the bread puree, the pear compote and the white onion fondue didn't really work altogether! There was too much on the plate and it gets too confusing for the palate.

For the meat course, my hubby ordered Venison Grilled foie gras, parsnip, pancetta, pearl barley - this dish was much better than my meat course but in terms of originality, there wasn't anything to write home about.

My meat course consisted of Partridge Jerusalem artichoke, wild mushrooms, walnuts - this dish was extremely disappointing as the Partridge was very dry. In fact, a few days before we went to Magdalen and my hubby ordered Partridge which was much better cooked than at Murano. The Partridge at Magdalen was moiste and juicy unlike at Murano.

For dessert, we ordered two different desserts to share between us:
A Soufflé Caramel, fresh mint chantilly - this was probably the best dish of the evening as it was enjoyable but having said that it was not the best souflle I ever had!
A Buttermilk Pannacotta, sorrel granité, hazelnut mousse - This dessert was very weird, it was like having three desserts on the same plate! We didn't quite know why they decided to put these three components on the same plate as they didn't go with each other! It reminded us of Masterchef, we were wondering what Michel Roux, Greg Wallace or the food critics would think about this combination!!

When I booked a table for this occasion, I mentioned to them that it was to celebrate my husband's birthday. Just to show that they know about my husband's birthday, when they served the dessert they just wrote in chocolate on the plate: Happy Birthday. I thought that was very cheap, they may just as well not bothered! In other restaurants of this standard, they generally give us an extra dessert to celebrate the occasion.

Another bad point that I would like to mention was the fact that one of my dishes was served on a chipped plate (actually the plate was chipped at two places even!). A Michelin star restaurant serving food on a chipped plate???? I was wondering what a Michelin inspector would think about that!

The service was nice, efficient and friendly...but sorry this is not enough to make us come back as the food was ordinary and so unmemorable! The dinner was rather expensive for a meal of such ornidary quality. The bill came to £240 for the two of us including half a bottle of red wine (and we had tap water). Not cheap for ordinary Italian food!
My husband thought that the wine list was on the expensive side comparing with other Michelin star restaurants. The mark up on wine was enormous.

Needless to say, our dinner at Murano was very disappointing. Maybe Angela Hartnett is too busy writing books and appearing on TV programmes etc... and doesn't have the time to keep an eye on the standard of food served at her restaurant???