Flat Three's *Exquisite* Japanese, Korean & British Inspired 5-Course Menu

 Name: Flat Three

Address: 120-122, Holland Park Ave, Notting Hill, London, W11 4UA, https://flatthree.london/

Cost: 5-course tasting menu (with 2 additional appetiser courses) at £59pp with an optional sake and wine pairing for £49pp. There is a lunch menu priced at £33pp on Fridays and Saturdays (when you are welcome to bring your dog(s) with you).

About: Opened in 2015 by Juliana Moustakas, a Korean-American and former London City banker, Flat Three is a restaurant that is tricky to label – think top notch British produce with touches of Japan, Korea and Scandinavia and you are in the right direction, but Flat Three is much more than just a label.

Flat Three refers to Juliana’s home in Holland Park where she used to host her supper club. It was here that Juliana developed her ideas and recipes and hatched her plan to open Flat Three a year after leaving investment banking. Today, Head Chef Joseph Timarchi, a Peruvian who grew up in the USA, leads the kitchen while Juliana oversees the front of house and the wine and sake offerings. More on the exceptional wine and sake pairing in the What We Drank section below.

Timarchi is an avid forager and is the man responsible for much of the fermentation taking place at Flat Three – they make their own miso, natto, garum (fish sauce) and vinegars and countless number of pickles. In fact, Kathrin, the restaurant manager, tells me that there was little if any wastage of ingredients as lockdown was announced – mushrooms were dehydrated, vegetables were fermented into pickles, vinegars were created and aged. Incredible.

The food at Flat Three is innovative and thought-provoking – I love Timarchi’s lightness of touch, and how he incorporates Japanese and Korean ingredients into his non-Asian cooking where nothing seems forced or out of place. Though the ingredients are the real star here - they take pride in sourcing some of the best produce available in the UK, and rightly so, as the quality really shines through.

If you are one of those culinary purists who think everything should taste like your granny’s cooking, perhaps Flat Three is not for you. But if you have an interest in knowing about your shoyu from your Italian garum or your Korean kimchi from your Japanese dashi in dishes that combine them in perfect harmony, you will be in for a treat at Flat Three.

What We Ate: We opted for the 5-course tasting menu with the wine and sake pairing. Menus change seasonally and most of the below dishes plus many others are also available a la carte.

We started with a delightful tartlet made of Japanese kombu and buckwheat flour topped with a brunoise of raw yuzu-marinated courgette, marigold dressing and Shungiku leaves (edible chrysanthemum). The pastry was crisp, toasty and delicate, the yuzu marinating subtle.

Next up was the bread course in the form of grilled ‘mochi’ flat bread with house-cured salmon and wild garlic capers foraged by the chef (during lockdown). A kind of Japanese blini or crumpet, it was made from glutinous rice flour, wheat flour and yeast. It had a lovely toasty, caramelized outer layer and a creamy, chewy interior. This was a great dish.

Heritage tomato and gooseberries came dressed in homemade Tosazu (a Japanese dressing of fermented rice vinegar, bonito flakes and kombu, here enriched with roasted tomato skins) topped with wafer thin toasted rice crackers and Shungiku petals (edible chrysanthemum). A flavour and texture explosion, this was my favourite dish until I tried the octopus below.

Timarchi’s charred octopus and courgettes glazed with smoked pork fat in a kimchi dashi, with fennel flowers and wild garlic was one of the most exquisite dishes I have eaten for quite a while – the dashi and the plump, soft octopus pieces were bursting with intense umami flavours, the sourness and refreshing acidity of the kimchi offsetting the richness of the lardo so exquisitely. Perfection on a plate.

Wild seabass cured for 2 days in salt, was firm and well textured, served with Kabu (Japanese radish leaf) and Shiso (one of the most popular of Japanese herbs, similar to a cross between basil and mint), in a rich creamy dashi flavoured with chilli and garlic.

Equally good was the Sussex chicken, cooked sous vide, served with charred Kabu (Japanese radish leaves), brown butter and chicken fat. The chicken was plump and succulent, the jus rich and full of savoury flavour, I could not help using my spoon to lap up every last drop of this heavenly sauce. An excellently judged dish.

Dessert was milk ice cream made with pokeweed custard (a native American plant from which the berries are used for their red colour and flavour), with whey caramel and a tahini-like sunflower seed sauce. With flavours of Ovaltine, and a light, refreshing texture, this was an original dessert to end a well-accomplished dinner.

What We Drank: A wine connoisseur, Juliana put together a wine and sake pairing for us that was exceptional on many levels – classic French wines, alongside American and other New World bottles all interspaced by some excellent Japanese Junmai sakes. Juliana knows many of the wine producers personally and had always some interesting anecdote to tell about each of their wines. It was evident that much thought that had gone into those pairings. The wine pairing is priced at £49pp.

There is a wide range of wines and sakes available by the glass and bottle, apart from the wine and sake flight. On Tuesday, Wednesdays and Thursdays, it is BYOB with £15 corkage per bottle, maximum 2 bottles per table.

With our tartlet amuse bouche with started with a sake aperitif - a floral Junmai from Miyazaki prefecture, this was aromatic and with a rich, creamy finish.

This was followed by Chanin, a Chardonnay from Santa Maria vineyard, Rita Hills in California, made by Gavin Chanin, who paints his own labels. Oaked, rich and aromatic with citrus and stone fruit flavours, it had a very long finish.

Next up was a biodynamic orange wine - Gut Oggau Timotheus Weiss 2015 from Austria, a blend of Grüner Veltliner and Weissbergunder. A cloudy, unfiltered orange wine, this had a savoury quality.

Our 2nd sake of the evening was Akitabare Daiginjo, “Moonstone” – a rich and aromatic yet pure and light sake.

With our chicken main, we had a Southern Burgundy Ruilly 1er Cru from Jean-Baptiste Ponceau. Rich, complex with well integrated oak, flint, and cedar, this was a fine example of a top white Burgundy.

Dessert was served with a 3rd and final sake - a Koshi no Kanbai, Sai “Blue River” from Niigata. Enjoyed as a Spring drink to celebrate plum blossom season in Japan, this sake had notes of caramel and a rich, savoury finish though refreshing and clean on the palate. This was a great pairing to the lightness and not overly sweet dessert by Timarchi.

Likes: wonderful, thought-provoking food, dog-friendly restaurant (on Fridays and Saturdays at lunchtime only), BYO on Tue, Wed and Thu (max 2 bottles at £15 corkage/bottle), fantastic wine pairing, super friendly and knowledgeable service, loved how the 5-course menu turned out to be a 7-course menu and at £59 for that quality of cooking and ingredients, it is a real steal!

Dislikes: None.

Verdict: Exquisite Japanese, Korean and British inspired dishes that are packed with umami flavour and gorgeously presented. I truly cannot fault a single one, Flat Three’s tasting menu just got better and better after each course. Probably one of my favourite London restaurants right now, I cannot wait to return and try the other dishes on their menu. Very highly recommended.

Blakes Restaurant - Lobster Paccheri to Die For in Kensington & Chelsea!

Name: Blakes Restaurant @ Blakes Hotel

Where: Blakes Hotel, 33 Roland Gardens, London SW7 3PF,  https://www.blakeshotels.com/eating-drinking/restaurant

Cost: A 3-course meal cost on average £50 per person, not including drinks or service. Starters range from £9 to £26, mains from £18 to £39, and desserts from £6 to £14 (for the cheese platter). 

About: Blakes is a small luxury hotel in Kensington & Chelsea conceived by the celebrated interior designer Anouska Hempel. Opened in 1978 on a quiet residential street in London, Blakes Hotel is celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year and still is one of the most fashionable addresses in the area today.

Blakes Restaurant is set on the ground floor of Blakes Hotel, it is a stylish affair with walls and furnishings in black and gold and wood floors stained in a gorgeous checkerboard pattern.

The restaurant offers a range of Mediterranean and seafood dishes with a Japanese influence. On the mid week evening we were there, it was surprisingly heaving with a well-healed clientele, a mixture of hotel residents and locals.

From September 2018, the restaurant will see the seasonal return of seafood platters, courtesy of Italian and Brazilian Head Chefs, the Mariano Russo and Peter del Campo.

Breakfast and lunch can also be taken at The Courtyard, a lovely green open space within the hotel. The Blakes Below Bar, opened from 7pm to 1am, has live DJ and is a great spot for after dinner cocktails or just to meet up with friends for some beer or wine. Non-residents are welcome.

What We Ate: As an amuse bouche, we were served an artichoke with truffle mayonnaise and a very aromatic Spanish olive oil - simple but delicious.

The razor clam ceviche with chilli, coriander, toasted breadcrumbs spiked with lime zest had great texture contrasts and zingy flavours. We enjoyed this thoroughly.

Next up was a platter of 6 Maldon rock oysters served over crushed ice, with cabernet sauvignon vinaigrette and lemon (£21) – the oysters were plump, super fresh and utterly delicious.

The swordfish carpaccio (£14) was the weakest link of our meal - with fruity Espelette pepper, frisée and lambs lettuce and a lemon dressing (supposedly), it arrived completely unseasoned and with no dressing.  However, it did come with a half lemon, a bottle of good olive oil, salt and pepper, so we were able to season it to taste ourselves.

The native lobster Paccheri pasta with cherry tomatoes and garlic (£28) was nothing short of sublime. The tubular pasta from Naples was a great conduit for the intensely flavoured lobster bisque, and the nuggets of whole lobster that were meaty and tender. A heavenly dish.

Surrey Farm grass-fed rib-eye steak (300g - £28) had a good depth of flavour and a wonderfully black charring from the grill.

We enjoyed our mains with sides of creamy mashed potato (£5) and courgette fries (£6), which were very well made.

To finish off our glasses of red wine we shared a beautifully presented cheese platter with four different types of cheese, figs, sliced apple and grapes, jam and honey (£14).

The Vegan Tiramisu (£9) which I would normally have run a mile from, came highly recommended. It was made from soft tofu, cashew nuts, coffee and mint. Served with edible flowers, coffee mousse, it was outstandingly good. The substitution of tofu for the traditional mascarpone was a revelation, making for a much lighter, fresher mouthfeel.

What We Drank: We kicked off with a refreshing glass of Laurent Perrier Brut (£16.50). The restaurant has an extensive range of wines, Champagnes and sakes available by the glass. The entry level wines are both Italian - the white is a Verdicchio di Matelica (£38), while the red is Sangiovese from Emilia Romagna at £38.  With our starters, at the suggestion of sommelier Sarah Boukhelifa, we had a glass of minerally Picpoul de Pinet (£13). 

To partner the main courses of lobster and rib eye, we had a glass of Givry, Pinot Noir, from Domain de la Ferte, Burgundy (£16). With fresh raspberry and redcurrant aromas and soft tannins, this was a deliciously light wine with subtle complexity.

Warming to the wine list, we decided to finish our mains and cheese with a Bordeaux Saint Emilion - a Chateau Orisse du Casse Grand Cru 2012 (£105 per bottle). This was a mature, powerfully complex wine, with notes of leather, cedar and blackberry, and a long, savoury finish.

With dessert, we had a glass of Moscato Passito Terre Siciliane (£12). Rich and concentrated, with aromas of ripe grapes, raisins, honey, pear and herbs, this was a delicious dessert wine.

After dinner, we repaired to the basement cocktail lounge for a couple of espresso martinis. Open Wednesday to Sunday evening from 7pm to 1am, this is a glamorous spot with a live DJ, open to the public (you just need to sign in at the ground floor reception).

Likes: There is so much to love about Blakes Restaurant - the lobster paccheri pasta was outstanding and the star of the dinner, the rib eye, the cheese platter and the tofu tiramisu were also very good. Service was very friendly and efficient, the sommelier's suggestions were interesting and of high quality.  

Dislikes: The unseasoned swordfish carpaccio was the only snag of our dinner.

Verdict: The good burghers of Roland Garden are very lucky to have a neighbourhood restaurant at this quality level. For the rest of us, Blakes Restaurant is a hidden Kensington gem, with excellent ingredients expertly cooked and presented. We loved our meal and experience at Blakes Restaurant and highly recommend it.

The White Truffle Menu at Brunello Restaurant

Name: Brunello Restaurant (White Truffle Menu)

Where: The Baglioni Hotel, 60 Hyde Park Gate, SW7 5BB,
http://www.baglionihotels.com/category/baglioni-hotel-london/

Cost: The Truffle Menu consists of three courses, and costs £49.50, or with a glass of Moet & Chandon Rose and a glass of Dom Perignon, costs £119.50. The wine list is quite comprehensive, with entry level wines starting from £29.50, and wines by the glass starting at £6.50.

About: With a shelf-life as short and sweet as the eponymous fungus season itself, Brunello Restaurant at The Baglioni Hotel is serving its special Truffle Menu only until 6th December 2015. I enjoyed my stay at The Regina Baglioni Hotel in Rome last year (reviewed here), and so was interested to check out their sister hotel in London. Having had a great time during my visit to the truffle auction in Alba recently (read more about that here), I was intrigued to see a white truffle menu on offer in London.

Baglioni is one of the leading hotel collections in Italy, with properties throughout the country, as well as London, Marrakech, and it is about to open new hotels in south Asia. Part of the Leading Hotels of the World collection, The Baglioni London is situated a stone’s throw from the Royal Albert Hall, opposite Hyde Park. The interior is plush to the point of opulence, personally I found it a tad OTT, but there were plenty of people there who seemed to be having a great time and enjoying it.  

What We Ate: I don’t normally describe amuse bouche, but the one offered at Brunello’s was one of the best dishes on the menu.  Truffled mashed potato was served with a poached quail egg - a lovely little dish heady with truffle aromas, and a sprinkle of fruity Espelette pepper.

The menu proper started with freshly made tagliatelle with parsley, 36 months aged Parmesan cheese, melted butter and shavings of white truffle. I loved the simplicity of this dish, which accentuated the heady aromas of white truffle. The pasta was served al dente, the sauce well seasoned.

To follow, we had Italian-style sliced beef entrecôte with roast potatoes and white truffle cream.  Cooked medium-rare as requested, the beef was of excellent quality, very tender and flavoursome, so much so that I felt it masked the delicate flavour of the white truffle cream. I enjoyed the beef very much and the course as a whole, but could hardly taste any trace of white truffle.

Dessert was two crunchy cannoli filled with chestnut cream, served with a classic vanilla and white truffle sauce. This was probably the best course of the dinner, the combination of vanilla and truffle in the sauce reminding me of eating a ripe durian fruit - sweet, perfumed, savoury and earthy all at the same time.

What We Drank: We started with a glass of Alma Bellavista Cuvee Brut Franciacorta (£12.50 per glass, £58 per bottle). Franciacorta is becoming increasingly popular in the UK, and is Italy’s answer to Champagne, with many showing the toasty, brioche characteristics of the best Champagnes. Alma Bellavista was a rich, slightly creamy Franciacorta, made by the traditional method, and was an excellent match for the tagliatelle, butter and truffle dish.

With the beef, we had a glass of Anna Maria Abbona, Dogliani Dolcetto Superiore, Maioli 2012, which like the truffles comes from Piemonte (£12.50 per glass, £49.50 per bottle). Youthful, fruit-driven and with gentle tannins, the mid-range option on the menu, this was more than a match for the flavoursome beef, but again we felt overpowered the truffle sauce. There were only 3 choices of red wines by the glass on the menu - the entry level was priced at £6.50 while the one above the one we ordered, a Brunello di Montalcino cost £25, which perhaps would have been a better choice for the truffle sauce. With the dessert, we had a glass of Sicilian Solidea, Passito di Pantelleria 2009 (£16 per glass). Served very chilled, this was a rich sweet, raisiny wine, and delivered a wonderful end to our meal.

Likes: It's always a pleasure to drink Franciacorta, and there is a good selection at the restaurant. I loved the vanilla and truffle sauce in the dessert. Fantastic service. 

Dislikes: The opulent Italian decor may not be to everyone's taste. The beef, though excellent, was in my opinion not the best choice as a main course on a truffle menu - perhaps some simple polenta, gnocchi or risotto would have been a better accompaniment to the truffle.

Verdict: An opportunity to try the fresh white truffles of Alba in a central London location, and at one of Italy's best hotel collections. At £49.50 for a three course truffle menu, it will not break the bank!

London Restaurant Review - The Terrace

Words & Photography by Felicity Spector

Holland Street, W8, is one of those roads where everything is just so: a branch of Ottolenghi. A rather smart gallery. A cobbled, winding pathway leading to a small mews, strewn with climbing roses. And now, a new neighbourhood restaurant; itself so bijou and beautifully turned out it could have come straight from the pages of Vogue Living.

The Terrace on Holland Street has been transformed by Leith’s graduate Sara Adams – the cooking talent behind the highly regarded Kensington Square Kitchen – and her husband Chris Hodgkinson, a former chartered surveyor who has clearly had a big hand in the stylish refurb.

Image courtesy of The Terrace

The kitchen is run by head chef James Kelly, who is aiming to put together a small but seasonal menu of “British inspired” dishes – it will change frequently, although customer demand seems to mean there will always be a place for a properly done steak and chips.

There are just 20 covers at The Terrace, although if there is any warm weather there’ll be double that, thanks to a rather lovely outside terrace. Chris told me there had been one outside lunch service so far, on the single day the sun managed to drag the temperatures to more springlike levels.

But on the night we visited, on the invitation of The Terrace team, it was definitely a night for sitting indoors. Everything was very comfortable, the decor a tasteful dove grey, and as I arrived, slightly late, my niece was happily enjoying a glass of sauvignon blanc. “This place is lovely!”

As we looked over the menu a waiter arrived with some slices of warm treacle soda bread, with some deliciously creamy butter: one of the best breads I’ve had for ages. A very good start indeed.

The starters all looked so tempting I decided to have two instead of a main: asparagus with an eggs mimosa style topping, followed by seared mackerel fillet with a smoked mackerel bonbon (and who could resist one of those?) with a little beetroot and blood orange salad.

My niece went for the crab on toast, with a twist of apple and fennel salad, and then sea bass with asparagus and crushed potato, mainly because she liked the sound of the blood orange hollandaise it came with.

I loved the asparagus: cooked just right, with a scattering of chopped roasted hazelnuts on top of the finely diced egg, to add a bit of texture. The crab on toast was just right, generous without being too rich.

When my mackerel arrived I wished I had taken up the waiter’s offer to upsize it to a main course portion. It was really well balanced, with a sharp tangle of beetroot and orange to cut through the oily fish, and as for the bonbon, soft, fluffy in a crunchy crumb – if only all fishcakes were as well made.

My niece made short work of the sea bass and especially loved the much-anticipated blood orange hollandaise, resolving to try making it herself at home.

I couldn’t resist a chocolate fondant for pudding, which came with a ginger creme anglaise and some honeycomb, although I prefer my chocolate pure and simple, so I asked for the fondant on its own.

There is that moment, when a fondant arrives, when you wonder if this is one of the ones which works: will there be that essential ooze when you cut into it? This one certainly didn’t disappoint: the centre spilled out onto the plate in a reassuringly liquid pool, the chocolate was dark and rich. My niece, who fancies herself a bit of a cocktail maven, asked for an Old Fashioned instead of dessert, which kept her happy.

The team take great care sourcing the best produce, much of it from local suppliers – and as much attention goes into the wine list, which they promise will be updated regularly.

All evening, we were surrounded by a sort of contented hum: the other customers, many of them locals, seemed more than happy with their new neighbourhood gaff. Service was friendly and relaxed, and prices seem reasonable for the area.

I normally only head for High Street Ken to hang out at the big Whole Foods Market down the road. Now there’s a new place worth crossing town for.


THE TERRACE
33C Holland Street
London, W8 4LX
T. +44 20 7937 9252
info@theterraceonhollandstreet.co.uk

London Restaurant Review - Min Jiang at the Royal Garden Hotel

Exquisite Chinese cuisine with eye-popping views

Words and Photography by Simeen Kadi

The popularity of hotel restaurants have waxed and waned over the last half century and a decade ago most of us locals wouldn't be seen dead in a hotel restaurant (OK, Claridges, the Met and the American Bar at the Savoy are exceptions) for fear of being taken for a hapless tourist. Today, some of the capitals most starry hotels also house some of our most lauded eateries. I must say that I still feel a little uncomfortable walking into a London hotel for a meal. Somehow they seem to be outside national boundaries, occupying some rarified no man's land, like first class lounges at airports or very exclusive shopping malls – fraternised by the international uber-elite. So, it was with a little reservation that I visited Min Jiang, a rooftop restaurant in the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington.

The restaurant does have the overdressed look of a 5 star hotel with Chinese art and 'Mingness' embellishing the sleek neutral tones. But then there is the view. Looking East there is all of West and Central London laid out, right down to the Shard, twinkling in the clear night sky when I was there.

And then there is the food! But first, we tried some of their cocktails. The Golden Dragon
was a gently eastern mix of Vodka, Triple Sec, lime and mango juices while the more robust Chilli Caipirinha combined aged rum with lime and sugar with the oriental addition of chilli.

To go with the drinks we enjoyed a selection of dim sum which were exquisite – the finest dumpling casings stuffed to plumpness with delicate prawns, scallops, crab and water chestnuts. These were beautifully crafted dumplings and not your run-of-the-mill Chinatown product.

And then, as I go weak at the knees at the very prospect of Hong Kong soft shell crab, I did the right thing and gave into temptation – I was not disappointed. Bi Feng Tang with Garlic and Chilli, to give it its proper name, was crisp and zingy with crispy garlic and Sichuan pepper, one of those memorable experiences which stays with you.

Min Jiang's culinary heart is in southern China and features the cuisines of Sichuan province alongside Cantonese dishes. While the food is not unbearably spicy as some Sichuan dishes can be, there is an unmistakable intensity and flavour that comes from the use of Sichuan pepper and chilli. Dried Sichuan chillies featured in many of the dishes we tried and were aromatic and heady, rather than eye-wateringly painful on the palate. Named after the Min river which flows through the abundant Sichuan province, Min Jiang may have tempered their dishes slightly for Western palates but they still do this venerable cuisine proud.

The main event, however, was still to come. At Min Jiang the Beijing Duck is roasted in a wood-fired oven and is, by their own claim, legendary. Prepared by an army of chefs from Beijing, each duck takes 48 hours to craft as it is stuffed with apples and dried in order to ensure a crispy skin. The birds are an unique breed raised only by one elderly couple in the Irish county of Monaghan (they turn their feathers and down into pillows and jackets, in case you are interested).

The Beijing Duck ritual occupies no fewer than three chefs as whisper-thin pancakes are prepared alongside fine shreds of cucumber and leek. Here, we also get another trio of accompaniments of a delicate garlic paste and strips of lightly pickled carrots and radish alongside a rich Hoisin sauce. If you are so inclined, you can ask your waiter to roll your pancake for you as every waiter has undergone intensive training in how to deliver the perfect Beijing Duck pancake using nothing more than a pair of chopsticks. The staff here are very knowledgeable and even gave me a mini lesson in Chinese dining etiquette.

We watched our duck being expertly carved by a chef who began by stripping off the crispy fat from the neck which was served to us in little dishes along with some sugar. This is a long-held tradition in Beijing where figure-conscious women deluded themselves that dipping the fat in sugar made it taste less oleaginous and therefore less fattening – go figure. I loved the crispiness of the skin but am not fully convinced of the sugar dip.

If you order the Wood Fired Beijing Duck, you get the remainder of the meat served in other dishes to follow the pancake rolls. We opted for diced duck on lettuce leaves and fried rice with duck which were both great ways to use up the parts of the fowl which couldn't be carved into slices. We also enjoyed other main course dishes from the menu, a stand out of which was the black cod and the beef in pepper sauce. The Alaskan Black Cod was marinated in Sha Cha sauce – a commonly used Chinese stir-fry sauce made from garlic, onions, dried shrimps and soy sauce - and roasted to perfection. The rib eye of beef was succulent with a wallop of peppery flavour.

Details: Min Jiang is on the rooftop of Royal Garden Hotel on High Street Kensington http://www.minjiang.co.uk

Expect to pay around £50 per head with a glass of wine
The Wood Fired Beijing Duck is £58 for a whole duck and £32 for half