Archive for category Europe
Review – Jamie’s Italian (Canary Wharf), London, England
We were taken to this place by R’s university friends and it was because C is a fan of Jamie Oliver’s cookbooks. We didn’t even notice that it was Jamie’s restaurant until we saw all the cookbooks and Jamie branded merchandise lining up the walls.
The philosophy behind Jamie’s Italian was to re-create fantastic, rustic Italian dishes, using recipes that have been tried, tested and loved! The environment was very casual and created a “neighborhood” feel. The restaurant’s open and friendly attitude emphasized that no bookings were necessary, but in reality, that meant going early to get a seat as it was fully packed.
We must have over eaten these past few days, so our appetite was not up to par. So we started off with a vegetable antipasti plank (£6.65/US$10 a head) which was placed on top of two cans of Italian peeled tomatoes. Very rustic. The crispy squid would normally be considered a small portion, but it was just right. The highlight was that it came with “really garlicky mayo” (£5.10/US$7.75) – nice, but for garlic addicts like us, it was a bit mild. Our main course was the linguine alle vongole (£12.25/US$18.60), made from south coast clams – very fresh.
Overall, the food was nice and simple, once again reinforcing that food doesn’t have to be fancy to taste good. Prices were very reasonable too, for London standards. Moreover, the casual atmosphere made it a great casual place to catch up with old friends.
– 16/20
Jamie’s Italian
Canary Wharf
Unit 17, 2 Churchill Place
Canary Wharf
London, E14 5RB
England
T: +44 (020) 3002 5252
W: www.jamieoliver.com/italian/canary-wharf
100217 Jamie's Italian - Canary Wharf entrance
100217 Jamie's Italian - Canary Wharf entrance
100217 Jamie's Italian - Napkin or dish cloth?
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Review – Galvin at Windows, London, England
Opened since May 2006, Head Chef André Garrett and Chef Patron Chris Galvin, Galvin at Windows ha recently been awarded its first Michelin star, we were off to try this place for lunch. Located on the 28th floor of the London Hilton on Park Lane, it was very close to our hotel, the Mandarin Oriental. Being so high up (there aren’t many tall buildings around) meant great views overlooking Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace and beyond.
We tried their Menu du Jour with two courses for £19.50 (US$29.30). Both R & C had the cream of cauliflower velouté for appetizers and shared the baked fillet of cod and braised pork cheeks for their main course. Maybe a bit heavy for lunch, especially all the chocolate for the petit fours. Nevertheless, the food was nice and next time we’ll have to come back for dinner.
– 16/20
Galvin at Windows Restaurant
London Hilton
28th Floor
22 Park Lane
London, W1K 1BE
England
T: +44 (020) 7208 4021
W: www.galvinrestaurants.com
100217 Galvin at Windows - Menu cover
100217 Galvin at Windows - Dining area
100217 Galvin at Windows - Table with a view
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Review – Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, London, England
This was the place to go. With three Michelin Stars, we were looking forward to this dinner as the highlight of our trip. But having 24 restaurants around the world and TV shows, could quality be compromised? Moreover, his restaurant at Claridge’s lost it’s only star in 2010. Nevertheless, we stuck by our reservation and thankfully so, the small restaurant seats only 45.
The amuse-bouche was a shrimp and lobster mixed with avocado in a bite sized cone. Very similar to the one we had at French Laundry in Napa. A very good start. But wait, there was more…a mozzarella cheese with pesto followed. Hold on…were those amuse-bouches? Another one was a duck & mushroom ravioli in pumpkin soup. Nice, but the shrimp and lobster cone was the best.
The sommelier was very nice. Although he did say the 1996 Chateau Palmer was much more ready than the 1995 that we ordered. A bit late…should have told us earlier! Once he knew we were from Hong Kong, he expressed his desire to move to our city. Very soon too, and he wasn’t at all discreet about it. Maybe “Hell’s Kitchen” is taking its toll on the staff.
Naturally, we went all out with the tasting menu again. Their Menu Prestige contained seven courses for £120/US$182. Not bad for a three star restaurant. For one of the courses, R stuck with the ravioli of lobster, langoustine and salmon with tomato chutney that was on the menu. This was very good…until he tried C’s dish. She substituted hers with a linguine with truffles, lots of truffles (for an additional supplement). I’m sure R had serious regrets after having a bite. They were so generous with all that truffle.
Then it came to the lamb and pigeon where R got his revenge. R’s roasted Bresse pigeon was very tender and made C’s Cornish lamb suddenly seem relatively less attractive.
The pre-dessert was crème brûlée, but without hesitation C immediately swapped it for the cheese…yummy yummy. And thankfully so, as we found a new favorite – l’Ami du Chambertin. This lovely creamy soft cheese knocked the Epoisses that we had at Gary Danko in San Francisco into second place. The main dessert was the apple tarte tartin, which we expected to be the thin type…but this was humongous, but nice, just humongous! To finish, the petit fours included a chocolate “tree” that was very artistic and strawberries dipped in white chocolate to end a very satisfying dinner.
All in all, the head chef Clare Smyth did not disappoint. Did it justify the three Michelin stars? Yes and no, maybe 2½. Overall, everything was very good although some dishes were better than others.
– 17.5/20
Restaurant Gordon Ramsay
68 Royal Hospital Road
London SW3 4HP
England
T: +44 (020) 7352 4441
E: royalhospitalroad@gordonramsay.com
W: www.gordonramsay.com/royalhospitalroad
100216 Gordon Ramsay - Menu cover
100216 Gordon Ramsay - Shrimp & lobster mixed w/ avocado
100216 Gordon Ramsay - Mozzarella cheese w/ pesto
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Review – La Cuisine de Joël Robuchon, London, England
This was the first stop on our London gastronomic fest. As Hong Kong already has a L’Atelier, we decided to try La Cuisine here instead. There’s also a L’Atelier in the same building as well as the Salon Bar. La Cuisine employs a traditional restaurant seating surrounding the open plan kitchen. This made us feel like dining inside the kitchen, in contrast to L’Atelier, where the counter seating surrounds the kitchen.
We immediately went for the Menu Découverte for £125/US$190. The dinner with matching wines was £165/US$250, but we upgraded to the prestige matching wines for £205/US$312. We didn’t want to start out on the wrong foot.
We started with a Parmesan cappuccino. The strong fragrance of the cheese went well with the bits of foie gras mixed in. Next was a huge tin of Oscietra caviar. Reminded us of the “caviar” from the Krug Room. But this time, it was the real thing. And underneath was a crabmeat mix. Yummy. C must have liked it as it was gone in an instant.
While we were still savoring the aftertaste from the caviar, the next dish delivered thinly shaved foie gras with winter truffle on a bed of marinated potatoes. All these strong beautiful flavors kept our mouths busy.
More truffles followed next in the form of mushroom and black truffle croutons on top of a quail egg for the Jerusalem artichoke soup…forget about all the cholesterol. The remaining courses were done very well, but nothing special – caramelized scallop, sea bass and free range quail stuffed with foie gras.
A fun dessert was the mandarin sorbet lollipop covered in white chocolate with a flower on top. However, it was a bit too sweet for our taste. The finale was the Chocolate Tendance, which was chocolate with chocolate and chocolate. Sinful…very sinful…
Joël Robuchon never ceases to impress and this is no exception.
– 17.5/20
La Cuisine de Joël Robuchon
13-15 West Street
London WC2H 9NE
England
T: +44 (0207) 010 8600
W: www.joel-robuchon.com
100215 La Cuisine - Stairs leading up to the 1st floor
100215 La Cuisine - View of the open kitchen
100215 La Cuisine - The kitchen surrounds the restaurant
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Valentines & Chinese New Year at Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons, Oxford, England
After a 45 minute drive from The Grove, we arrived safely at Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons, a very picturesque country house just outside Oxford, England. We decided to celebrate Valentines Day and the first day of Chinese New Year here so we checked into one of their 32 rooms for the night. Dinner was booked at the two Michelin-starred restaurant by Raymond Blanc. It was their 25th Anniversary last year and the last time R was here was during his university days, so it must have been on their first or second anniversary!
We stayed in the Orchard room, located on the first floor of the Main House, which was a nice comfortable 242 ft2 (22.5 m2). Accommodation was not cheap, at £520/US$790 per night, but it was V’day after all and hey we had free Wi-Fi! The cottage style environment was a nice change from the boutique or chain hotels that we were used to. They even had two huge bows behind the door to indicate Do Not Disturb (red) or Make Up The Room (green) by hanging the appropriate one on the other side. Very cute.
We arrived just in time for afternoon tea and sat down for traditional scones with clotted cream. Wow, you’ve got to come here just for the scones. Freshly baked and paired with the clotted cream was heavenly. The best we’ve had anywhere.
For dinner, we chose Raymond Blanc’s Menu Découverte tasting menu (£125/US$190) and ordered a bottle of 2000 Léoville Barton. This St Julien wine was very drinkable and didn’t need much time to breathe. From such a stunning vintage, however, I’m sure there are a few more years before we enjoy the most from this wine. The dinner, on the other hand was a bit disappointing. I guess there was too much expectation. Although a nice touch was the small version of the tasting menu that was given to us at the start of the dinner for us to follow each of the courses as they were served. It also made a good souvenir.
The first dish was a cold tartare of Scottish langoustine chopped into small pieces on top of a Japanese custard. Just like the Japanese steamed egg – smooth. The confit of “Landais” duck liver that followed was very soft and buttery, but we didn’t care much for the rhubarb compote on the side. The plancha-seared “Loch Leven” Scottish scallop was very fresh and cooked to perfection. By this time the dinner sort of peaked. The free-range hen’s egg was runny, but a bit bland. Then the John Dory and the roast quail were both overcooked.
Luckily the desserts woke us up. The carpaccio of blood orange and its own sorbet were very refreshing. For C, the cheese trolley replaced her dessert and there were plenty to satisfy her palate.
Breakfast the next morning was in L’Orangerie (the greenhouse) with a huge buffet serving a wide variety of fruits, cereals and lots of freshly baked bread. C ordered a scrambled eggs with smoked salmon on a toasted muffin, which was delicious. A good start to our journey into London.
At Le Manoir, food is only part of the experience. The environment, the rooms, the walk in the vegetable and herb gardens make up for a great weekend getaway. Oh and the scones scored some major points too.
– 18/20 (accommodation)
– 15.5/20 (dinner)
– 20/20 (scones)
– 18/20 (overall)
Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons
Church Road, Great Milton
Oxford, OX44 7PD
England
T: +44 1844 278881
E: lemanoir@blanc.co.uk
W: www.manoir.com
100214 Le Manoir - Gates to the Main House
100214 Le Manoir - Main House though the Lavender Walk
100214 Le Manoir - Front door to the Main House
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