Plum + Spilt Milk - British Classics by Mark Sargeant

Name: Plum + Spilt Milk

Where: Great Northern Hotel, Pancras Road, London N1C 4TB, http://plumandspiltmilk.com/

Cost: The average cost per person is in the region of £40 per person for a three-course meal not including drinks. The à la carte menu for dinner has starters ranging from £8 to £12.00, fish, meat or vegetarian mains from £9.50 to £32, puddings at £8.50, and a British cheese platter at £9.50. 

About: Opened in 2014, Plum + Spilt Milk is the restaurant on the first floor of the recently restored Great Northern Hotel in King’s Cross, with Chef Director Mark Sargeant, formerly head chef at Gordon Ramsay's Michelin-starred restaurant at Claridges.



Chef Sargeant also owns Rocksalt Restaurant and The Smokehouse upmarket fish and chippie in Folkestone.

The restaurant occupies a prime corner spot on the first floor of the Great Northern Hotel. With smart new solid wood parquet flooring, wood panelling, a high ceiling and banquettes of white leather and wood curving around the tables, the restaurant has a traditional British atmosphere, with tall windows overlooking travellers rushing through the restored Victorian facade at King's Cross Station.

Plum + Spilt Milk’s unusual name comes from the purple and cream liveries of the trains that used to run out of King's Cross Station, and today the restaurant markets itself as serving 'simple classics, beautifully cooked'.

What We Ate: The menu is short but well thought out, as is the wine list. For starters, we had roasted corn-fed chicken oysters (£9.50). I can't recall ever seeing chicken oysters on a menu - delicate and tender, they are my favourite part of the bird. Here, they were well-seasoned, flavoursome, and served with grilled leeks, shallots and capers.

Orkney scallops (£16 as a starter), on a bed of rich cauliflower purée, came with roasted cauliflower, samphire and sherry vinegar caramel. The scallops were sweet and tender, with crunchy cauliflower florets and a deliciously rich caramel.

For our main course, we spotted a Beef Wellington for two (£80) on the menu which we could not resist. The beef comes from Scotland’s North Highlands, and is 28-day aged.

The Wellington itself was very well made, with tender beef fillet having a great depth of flavour, and cooked medium-rare as requested. There was a tarragon-infused pancake (crêpe Cellestine) around the fillet, then a thin outer layer of puff pastry.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Wellington, my only minor regret being the lack of a duxelle of mushrooms between the beef and the pastry, which would have added an extra layer of flavour and texture.

The Beef Wellington was served with roast new potatoes and honey-roast baby parsnips with a hazelnut crumb, and buttered winter greens. The accompanying red wine jus was amazing - rich, velvety, glossy and packed with marrow flavour.

The desserts at Plum + Spilt Milk were excellent. The plum and spilt milk (£8.50) was a delicious concoction of baked brioche topped with caramelised plum, and a milk ice cream - magnificent.

The iced peanut and salted caramel mousse (£8.75) was also truly impressive. An upmarket version of Snickers (which I still think of as a Marathon bar), this had a smooth peanut parfait with just enough unctuous salted caramel to offset the sweetness. I felt a pang of sympathy for my peanut-allergic friends and family!

What We Drank: We shared a bottle of Avaton 2012 from Domain Gerovassiliou in Macedonia, Greece (£39). With a rich aroma of cherries and cedar, and gentle tannins, this was robust enough for the beef but not so powerful as to overwhelm the chicken oysters. In fact, it was one of those rare red wines that was a pleasure to drink on its own, but revealed unexpected depths of flavour and complexity in combination with the rare beef. Restaurants often focus on wines made from familiar French grapes, no matter which country in the world they come from, so I am always on the lookout for wines that buck that trend.  For me, this blend of three indigenous Greek varietals (Limnio, Mavrotragano and Mavroudi) was a winner, and at a very reasonable price for this quality.

Likes: The cooking was consistently good. I particularly enjoyed the Beef Wellington and the desserts. The wine list is varied and has some unusual and good value options. Good service.

Dislikes: Nothing to do with the food, but to my mind, the walls were crying out for some artwork. 

Verdict: For those who say there is no such thing as British cuisine, Plum + Spilt Milk is the answer. For excellent produce from the British Isles, cooked with love and skill, there are not many places I would prefer to eat. Recommended. 

Tired of Ramen? Head to Den Udon!

Words and Photography by Matthew Brown and Luiz Hara

Name: Den Udon

Where: 2 Acton Street, London, WC1X 9NA (020 3632 1069) http://www.den-udon.uk.com/

Cost: Tsumami (small plates) start at £2.50 for pickled vegetables and rise to £8 for a serving of prawn and vegetable tempura. Udon noodles, the restaurant’s speciality, are available with a number of ingredient combinations, none of which costs more than £12. Though the noodles can be served many ways (hot, cold, with broth and without) the restaurant has a selection of similarly priced Donburi rice dishes as an alternative. At lunchtime, both are available as a lunch set, with homemade pickles and a rice dish for £2 extra.

As for the drinks, a bottle of Asahi Super Dry beer is £3.50, and all cocktails, including fruit sours made with the Japanese spirit shochu, are £5-6. Like the considerable sake selection, all of the wines are available by the glass at no extra charge. This means that, though bottles are available for less than £30, diners can choose not to break the bank. 

Den Udon has also partnered with London men’s magazine Mr Hyde to offer a tasting event ahead of its official opening – featuring a selection of small plates, udon broth and hot and cold sake – for just £10 per person. Tickets for the first two nights have sold out, but check here for more news. 

About: Den Udon, as the name suggests, is a Japanese restaurant specialising in the eponymous noodles; in fact, they call themselves “udon evangelists” and each menu also includes a helpful guide to preparing udon noodles at home. The restaurant has a very clean, Japanese(y) design with sharing tables and benches.

As well as the noodles, the other cornerstone of Den’s cooking is their dashi stock - made the proper way, from scratch and freshly everyday, it had distinctive, clean umami flavours only good Japanese stock can offer.

At Den Udon the base dashi broth for their udon dishes is available as a light white or a thicker black (with added soy). Both can also be made with mushroom rather than fish stock which is good news for vegetarians.

What We Ate: At Den Udon, as in many other Japanese restaurants, dishes can be served as they leave the kitchen, and so the small plates may turn up all together and/or with the main dishes. We began with a sharing platter of small snacks which included pretzels made from Udon noodles, tamagoyaki (the delicate Japanese omelette familiar to most sushi lovers) and a portion of smoked clams served with grated daikon. These are traditional izakaya snacks, where the crunchy pretzels and spicy, salty clams are ideal accompaniments to very chilled beer.

These were followed, a tad annoyingly, by all other dishes, starters and mains we ordered all at once. These included a selection of tempura prawns and familiar vegetables, from broccoli to brussel sprouts. The batter was light and crispy, leaving the bold colours of the tomatoes and butternut squash to glint through. Likewise, the bright pink sakura salt (cherry blossom), a very nice addition to the dish, drew out the fresh flavours of the vegetables and the feather-light batter.

Additional small plates included Chicken Kara-Age, a well-known Japanese dish of fried chicken marinated in soy. Den’s kara-age was flavoursome, it had been made darker by the strongly coloured soy but it could have been crispier in our opinion.

Similarly, the Red Wine Stewed Pork Belly was another delicious dish, rich and warming. The decision to add red wine to this traditional dish (buta kakuni) gave it a dark red coloured sauce with a refreshing acidity, into which the meat fell straight from the bone.

For mains, we ordered a pork belly udon soup served with cabbage in a black dashi broth, as well as another dish of Udon with spicy cod roe (mentaiko), fresh egg and spring onions. The noodles were made in the restaurant kitchen, and had an excellent texture - they were thick, elastic and with a lovely bite to them without being chewy. The accompanying pork belly was soft, and the black broth well-balanced, this was a great udon noodle.

Likewise, the spicy cod roe – known as mentaiko – gave the second dish a wonderful fish flavour that I just wished there were more of in the thick soup. The addition of egg stirred into the broth made for a thicker sauce with an extra layer of flavour.

What We Drank: We began with cocktails made from Japanese spirit shochu. To make a sour, the shochu is served with a dash of tonic over ice, and diners are left to squeeze whichever citrus fruit they desire over it - a refreshing cocktail with a unique presentation.

This was followed by an Asahi Black Beer, which takes its colour from the three different Japanese malts used in the fermentation process. This gives it a rich flavour that goes brilliantly with much of the menu, from the salty udon pretzels and kara-age chicken to the umami udon broths. We also tried the sweet Takara Plum Wine, which comes with a light colour and a bold fruity flavour and ended our meal on a high note. 

Likes: Den Udon offers a well thought out menu featuring freshly made udon noodles (made in the premises) with great texture and flavour. Floor Manager Masumi Maeda is passionate about the food, and will help everyone, from experts to novices, to order and understand the restaurant’s menu options.

Dislikes: the timing of the dishes being served needs looking at, the kara-age chicken could have been crispier and my mentaiko udon could have had a tad more mentaiko in it, but apart from these minor glitches, all else was spot on.

Verdict: Den Udon is a lovely new Japanese Diner in Kings Cross offering a wide range of excellent Udon dishes at very competitive prices. Finally, a London Udon restaurant that will not break the bank! Recommended.

Sunshine Brunch

Words & photos by Su-Lin Ong

A weekend brunch fry-up calls for a sizzle with imagination.  It has to wake you up and shake you up.  You need the comfort factor, but also something bright, beautiful and zingy.

Photo: Louis Fernando

Caravan Kings Cross gives that promise from the moment you step into its lofty converted granary space.  Aromas of Caravan’s 100 percent Arabica freshly roasted coffee beans, proper meaty bacon and freshly squeezed fruit tell you that you will be in no hurry to leave.  But look beyond the classic brunch flavours and get tempted by more adventurous dishes using velvety puréed aubergines, soutzouki sausages, rhubarb, coconut and more.

On the menu there’s a sip with a difference, and it’s making a début in many other brunch hotspots around town too.
  

The place is buzzing, and at Caravan’s large communal table next to the coffee roastery, cocktail mixologist Alex Kammerling is treating his guests to his Sunshine brunch.  The table is laid with tumbling yellow tomatoes and sunny yellow peppers.  As guests tuck into brunch, Alex pours round his Sunshine Mary.  He has re-invented the classic, savoury British Bloody Mary and mixes his Kamm & Sons ginseng spirit and choicest yellow Lemoncita tomato juice from the Isle of Wight.  He has snapped up most of the season’s juice for bars and restaurants around town, but you may still find bottles in deli’s and food halls such as Selfridges.

These yellow cherry tomatoes have a delicate sweet, slight lemony flavour, and the juice is far smoother and lighter than most red tomato juices.  It won a Great Taste Gold award from the Guild of Fine Foods and it is a subtle partner for Alex’s herbal ginseng spirit.  Juggle a few spicy, sharp flavours of celery salt, green Tabasco, fresh horseradish, lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Up the heat if you will.  Alex adds a dash of devilish Dalston Chillies Original Hot Sauce.  

Savoury, sweet, spicy, and refreshingly ice cool - the Sunshine Mary has it all going on so seductively.

Su-Lin Ong  (@sloLondon) brunched on behalf of The London Foodie as a guest of Alex Kammerling.

Caravan
Granary Building, Granary Square (off Goods Way)
London 
N1C 4AA
Tel. 020 7101 7661
www.caravankingscross.co.uk

Kamm & Sons ginseng spirit www.kammandsons.com

Mission: Find The Best Burgers in London - The Harrison

The Harrison

In my search for the best burger in London, I have been fortunate to have had some pretty good experiences like the ones at Byron, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, and more recently at The Harrison with Mr Noodles and Dr G.

This arduous task is proving a most enjoyable quest despite disastrous meals at The Diner in Islington and Grand Union. I was also a little disappointed with Hache in Camden Town although I feel I should pay it at least another visit before making my mind up. Another unfortunate experience was at The Fine Burger Co. on Upper Street which I am still to write about.

This month I will be trying the two most talked about burgers in town, Hawksmoor and Goodman’s. Considered the top end of steak houses, their burgers & chips do not come cheap at £15 and £12 respectively.

The Harrison was an interesting find, and one I would not have come across but for Mr Noodles’ invitation. I would not describe it as a gastro-pub and despite its subtle gentrification, it retained some of its original elegant features.

The menu was reassuringly simple and excellent value with meals ranging from £8 for a “wild mushroom, spinach and ricotta lasagne” to £13.50 for a “rib-eye steak, salad and chips”. The beers on offer included quality brands such as Guinness, Staropramen, Erdinger (weissbeer) and some Belgium bottled beers.

Mr Noodles and I were both happy with our combination of burgers, coleslaw, salad and chips @ £9 – the patties were meaty and juicy and perfectly cooked. Dr G was however not as lucky – his burger was overcooked, while his French fries needed a bit more cooking, and his salad was poorly washed and gritty.

I would like to return to The Harrison although the lack of consistency in their cooking is an issue that needs to be addressed.

Cost: £9 for burger, chips, and salad + £3 to £4 for a pint of beer.

Likes: good patties, simple and good value menu, and Erdinger weissbeer on tap.

Dislikes: lack of consistency in their cooking, gritty salad.

Verdict: good value local pub serving some quality beers and food in Kings Cross. Well worth a detour if in the area, but make sure the burger is cooked medium and the French fries are crisp.

London Restaurant Reviews - Chilli Cool

 Chilli Cool

I first learnt of Sichuanese Cuisine when reading Fuchsia Dunlop’s book “Sharks Fin and Sichuan Pepper”. Fuchsia is an engaging writer – it was great fun reading about her adventures as a Westerner living in Chengdu, and learning about Sichuan and its cuisine. I have bought both her cookery books which are also very good.

After reading a positive write up by Mr Noodles of Eat Noodles Love Noodles (this is his favourite Sichuanese restaurant in London), I decided to try Chilli Cool last week. Mr Noodles is a real authority on regional Chinese cooking, and his blog is an excellent source of information on the subject.

Dr G and I arrived and headed to the wrong entrance of Chilli Cool – there are two: one for the Sichuanese hot pot restaurant on the left hand side, and another for the a la carte menu on the right. We were directed to the correct entrance (a la carte), and were soon seated.

The staff’s level of English isn’t great, although I found them to be efficient and polite. The decor was simple and with no frills, and the lighting was strong and bright. One unnerving aspect of the restaurant is how greasy the floor was – I could hardly stand on one spot without sliding away. If you can put that to the back of your mind though, you are in for a culinary experience.

The menu is well laid out and contains many pictures of the dishes to assist ordering which I found very helpful. Following the recommendations of Mr Noodles, we ordered a selection of dishes from the menu.

 

 

We started the meal with the less hot “Sea Spicy Shredded Pork” @ £7.80. This was utterly delicious, with the slivers of pork, julienned bamboo shoots and black fungus making for a sensational combination of flavours.

The sauce was rich and very flavoursome (I believe this to be also translated as “Fish Fragrant Sauce”), and despite the name, it has no fish ingredients – it is sour, sweet and spicy and made from ginger, soy sauce, garlic, chinkiang vinegar among other ingredients.

We also ordered “Sliced Beef Sichuan Style Lavishly Topped with Chillies and Sichuan Pepper” @ £8.80 (Also known as “Boiled Beef Slices in a Fiery Sauce” – shui zhu niu rou). This was another rich and delicious dish, and one of the highlights of the evening.

The beef was coated in flour and then boiled in stock and soya sauce giving it a silken texture. The addition of finely julienned celery and spring onions to the rich sauce made it hearty.

It was fiery but bearably so. It was about zero degrees outside but I was pouring with sweat – a perfect dish for this type of weather.

To accompany the meat dishes, we ordered some plain steamed rice @ £1.50 a portion, and two of my favourite Sichuanese vegetable dishes – “Dry Fried Green Bean with Minced Pork” @ £6.80 and “Sea Spicy/Fish Fragrant Aubergines” @ £6.80.

The greens were dry fried until tender and slightly wrinkled, and tasted delicious with the minced pork, Shaoxing wine and soya sauce. This was a simple but very satisfying dish.

The aubergine dish was the better of the two though – the fish fragrant sauce was complex and bursting with flavour. I have made this dish many times at home but have never managed to come close to the richness and concentration of flavour of Chilli Cool’s version.

We also ordered their “Chengdu Dan Dan Noodles” @ £5.80. I have tried this dish at several restaurants but Chilli Cool’s was I think the most authentic. It was seriously spicy and delicious with a generous helping of “Ya Cai” a type of Sichuanese preserved mustard green, and a rich sauce made from an assortment of spices.

We thoroughly enjoyed our meal, and it cost only £44. We ordered enough to feed 4 or 5 people as the portions were rather generous.

Verdict – Authentic Sichuanese cuisine in Central London at very reasonable prices. A must for anyone who appreciates this type of cooking. Delicious fish fragrant aubergines, sliced beef and shredded pork and charming service. Highly recommended.