Welcome to The London Foodie
Reviews of London's best value, good quality restaurants, articles on featured ingredients, recipes and my thoughts on London's food scene. My aim is to bring a cosmopolitan view of eating out & cooking in London, and as a guide to anyone looking for new ideas in our capital.
The Gunmakers
I was recently invited to a tasting of Redemption Brewery ales at The Gunmakers pub in Clerkenwell. The event was organised by Siany of Qype, and hosted by the very knowledgeable Jeff Bell, the pub’s landlord.
The evening started off with an expert low down by Andrew Moffat, the founder of newly opened Redemption Brewery, on the two ales we were to try – the light and refreshing Redemption Pale Ale @ 3.8% and the darker, stronger Redemption Urban Dusk @ 4.5%.
Both ales had very distinct flavours and character, and despite not being a huge ale drinker, I thoroughly enjoyed them.
Jeff, a former lawyer, spoke eloquently about the ups and downs of life as an independent publican and his passion and care for the carefully chosen beers. It was fascinating to learn how important the publican is in ensuring that the ale kegs are stored in the best possible conditions to avoid staleness.
He is clearly a man who loves and believes in what he does, and his enthusiasm was contagious and inspirational.
The food was also excellent with main dishes priced between £4 and £15. I tried the “Beer battered Atlantic cod with hand cut chips, peas and tartare sauce” @ £12. The batter was crisp, encasing a succulent fillet of cod that was utterly delicious and fresh. The accompanying chips were perfectly cooked and chunky.
Other Qypers raved about the “rump steak in ciabatta with rocket, tomato and peppercorn mayo” @ £8.75.
This very attractive pub is tucked away in an obscure side street off Clerkenwell Road, an unlikely place to stumble upon but well worth a visit in my opinion.
Cost: the ale tasting was complementary, but beer prices were around the London average, fish and chips @ £12 (not complementary).
Likes: excellent fish and chips and rump steak sandwiches, knowledgeable and friendly staff, good quality beers.
Dislikes: kitchen closes at 9:30pm.
Verdict: A real gem of a place, selling excellent beers and food in intimate surroundings. Jeff and his team are knowledgeable and friendly and I thoroughly enjoyed my evening with them. Highly recommended.
Soba Noodles with Japanese Pesto - Kawari Soba
This recipe might shock some of the purists amongst you, but luckily I could hardly describe myself as one, so I had a go at this unusual recipe and was delighted with the results.
It reflects my own ethnic and culinary heritage - Japanese and Italian cooking in one simple dish. To enjoy this recipe you will need to love Japanese perilla, most commonly known as "shiso". It looks similar to the Vietnamese variety but with a stronger flavour and characteristic aroma.
I make Italian pesto at home in large quantities as it freezes incredibly well, is significantly cheaper than buying fresh from the local deli, and tastes far superior to its jar/supermarket equivalent. This was the first time I dry-fried the pine kernels which gave this pesto variation a rather toasty flavour.
Ingredients:
• 400g of Soba noodles (buckwheat)
• 30 green shiso leaves (can be purchased at Atariya, Fuji Foods, or Japan Centre)
• 100g of rocket leaves
• 40g pine kernels (roasted)
• 1 garlic clove crushed
• 100ml extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons brown miso paste
• Black sesame seeds for garnishing (optional)
Method:
1. Making the pesto: reserve a few shiso and rocket leaves for garnish. Tear the remaining leaves into pieces and blend them with all other ingredients (apart from the Soba noodles!) in a food processor until smooth. Transfer to an air tight container until required.
2. Cooking the noodles: in a large pan, boil a large quantity of salted water, and cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet (normally around 5 mins only). Drain in a colander and rinse with freshly boiled water to remove the extra starchiness of the soba noodles.
3. Toss the noodles in the Japanese pesto and garnish with the reserved shiso and rocket leaves, and black sesame seeds if using. Serve immediately.
4. Enjoy!
This is a delicious dish that will take you only a few minutes to prepare, and is ideal as a midweek treat or as a starter for an informal Japanese meal. This recipe will serves 4 as a starter or 2 as a main.
Note: Soba noodles, normally light brown, can also be purchased as "Cha-Soba" which are flavoured with green tea powder (matcha) and are green in colour.
Yum Cha
Camden Town is not what I would call a London hotspot for dim sum eateries. Far from Bayswater and Chinatown, Yum Cha is the only dim sum restaurant on Chalk Farm Road challenging two very common prejudices.
The first is that authentic dim sum can only come from areas with an established Chinese community. The second is that any good Chinese restaurant will have a majority of Chinese customers.
I was lucky to join Kelvin of FoodCycle, Jen of Dashi Dashi, and Louise of Penguinette Cooks at Yum Cha recently and find a fairly busy restaurant mostly occupied by Western tourists from nearby Camden Market.
Occupying the premises of former Silk & Spice restaurant on Chalk Farm Road, the restaurant has a modern, Ikea-style décor with much use of intense red colours. It is not an elegant restaurant but neither is it unattractive.
Service was attentive but unobtrusive, and soon after our order was taken, our dim sum dishes started arriving. These were:
“Sesame Prawn Roll” @ £2.40 – these were deliciously crispy with a generous filling of prawns and coriander, and tasted very good.
“Char Siu Bun” @ £2.40 – I was pleasantly surprised by the lightness of these buns and by the flavoursome char siu filling, a first-rate version of a staple dim sum dish.
“Shanghai Dumplings” @ £2.40 – these were excellent, and nearly as good as the ones from Leong’s Legend. The dumplings’ skin was thin and delicate, holding a good amount of highly flavoured broth.
“Chiu Chow Dumpling” @ £2.40 – these are among my favourites at Royal China, and Yum Cha’s version was second to none. I loved the combination of peanuts, radish and pork in these dumplings.
“Scallop Dumpling” @ £2.40 – gorgeously presented, these dumplings had a delicate flavour and were filled with some meaty scallops.
“Crispy Duck Roll” @ £3 – not a dim sum I would normally have ordered, I find these uninspiring at best, but Yum Cha’s was crisp, and not too greasy.
“Beeftripe” @ £2.40 – I love tripe but had never eaten it for dim sum. Jen chose this dish, it was surprisingly delicious and with a good texture.
“Fry Dough Cheung Fun” @ £3 – since trying this type of cheung fun at Phoenix Palace, I became a real convert. I loved the different textures and delicate flavours in this dish.
“Prawn Cheung Fun” @ £3 – the prawns were large and chunky, and were the perfect accompaniment to the light cheung fun skin. It was one of the best versions of this dish I have had.
“Beancurd & Beefballs” @ £2.40 – the beef balls had some interesting flavours particularly of coriander root and ginger. A simple but well executed dim sum.
“Pork & Prawn Dumpling (Shumai)” @ £2.40 – Yum Cha’s version was a real step up from Phoenix Palace’s, they were meaty but soft, and very delicious.
"Pan-fried Turnip Cake” @ £2.40 – these were also excellent; they were crispy on the outside but slightly gooey inside and with a generous amount of dried meat.
“Mini Egg Tarts” @ £2.40 – I am not a huge fan of these even though Yum Cha’s pastry cases were deliciously crumbly and sweet.
After some disappointing dim sum meals recently, I am thrilled to have found Yum Cha in Camden Town. I cannot remember having such good dim sum at such affordable prices in London and am very surprised that it is not completely heaving with customers.
Yum Cha serves dim sum throughout the day (including dinner) although the cheung fun is only available at lunch time. The restaurant will take bookings for dim sum at weekends.
Cost: £41.60 (or £10.50 per person) including 10% service and £1.20 for tea per person.
Likes: Good service, affordable prices and endless/unsolicited refills of our tea pot. I thoroughly recommend the Shanghai dumplings, the prawn cheung fun and the pan-fried turnip cake.
Dislikes: High density of tables meant that some of us were uncomfortable at peak times due to the cramped conditions.
Verdict: One of my favourite dim sum venues in London, serving excellent quality dishes at very affordable prices. I cannot wait to return. Highly recommended.
Franco Manca in Chiswick - **UPDATED** on 2nd March 2010
Dr G and I recently went to the newly opened branch of Franco Manca in Chiswick with fellow food blogger Su-Lin of Tamarind & Thyme.
Unlike the Brixton joint, the Chiswick branch is a real restaurant – it feels modern and casual with a massive mosaic-tiled, wood-burning oven dominating its entrance. I liked the simplicity and understated elegance of the décor, the long communal tables, and the uncluttered and airy space.
Much has been said about Franco Manca, its slow-rising sourdough pizza base (minimum 20 hours), and the organic Italian or locally sourced ingredients (see Su-Lin’s great review on Tamarind & Thyme). I was however still impressed to find how delicious their pizza dough was – this was for me the main event regarding Franco Manca.
The dough was elastic with a deliciously chewy, dense consistency like good quality sourdough bread. The crust had been beautifully charred giving a woody, smoky flavour to the dough.
Also impressive was how affordable Franco Manca’s pizzas were, priced between £4.50 and£6.90. This is much better value than similar Neapolitan style pizzerias like Rossopomodoro or Pizza East.
We shared three of the starters “Aubergine alla Parmegiana”, “Garlic Pizza Bread” and “Fresh Buffalo Mozzarella”. The aubergine was beautifully made, and so was the rather large garlic sourdough bread.
The buffalo mozzarella was, in my opinion, not as sensational as the one I tried at Rossopomodoro, and the addition of tomato sauce to the mozzarella overpowered its delicate flavour.
As for the pizza, Su-Lin and I went for “Meat Special” @ £6.90 (wild mushrooms, wild boar, smoked buffalo mozzarella). This was very good, with a generous topping of mozzarella and mushrooms. The wild boar salami was also a nice addition. The pizza base was sensational, and the fact that it was a white pizza (with no tomato sauce) did not detract from the overall experience.
Dr G went for a “Number 5” @ £6.80 (tomato, cured organic chorizo (dry and semi Dry), mozzarella). The tomato sauce tasted fresh and had probably been made on the premises. It was again a delicious pizza with authentic ingredients.
We shared a bottle of organic Dolcetto @ £9.20, this was a simple and rustic wine and although well priced, it was disappointingly of not very good quality. Su-Lin had a 250ml bottle of organic lemonade @ £1.80, and we both wished we had ordered the same.
Cost: around £45 (£15 per person) including a bottle of wine & service.
Likes: sensational sourdough base, good quality & authentic ingredients, very affordable prices, and free filtered water.
Dislikes: limited wine choices (only one red and one white option).
Verdict: One of the best pizzerias in London, serving excellent sourdough pizza base at very affordable prices. It may lack the glamour of Pizza East or Rossopomodoro’s central location but their pizzas are second to none and will set you back significantly less. Highly recommended.
**Update** - Since writing this post, I heard from Giuseppe M. of Franco Manca, this is what he wrote:
Many thanks for you kind comments. Since your visit we have changed the house wine (which was there only temporarely) and have replaced with an organic wine. This makes possibly the best value for money in London. The wine list also includes 5 reds and 3 whites now. We work with an organic farm in Italy and this is the new outcome.
I sometimes hear from restaurants I review but I'd never had such positive response, thanks Giuseppe! The London Foodie on 2nd March 2010.
