Bubbledogs 6th Birthday Collaboration with Santo Remedio

Name: Bubbledogs and Santo Remedio

Where: Bubbledogs at 70 Charlotte Street, London, W1T 4QG (https://www.bubbledogs.co.uk/) and Santo Remedio at 152 Tooley St, London SE1 2TU (https://www.santoremedio.co.uk/)

Cost: A 3-course meal at Bubbledogs cost on average £25 per person, not including drinks or service.

About: Bubbledogs have been serving up their celebrated combination of hot dogs and Champagne from their Charlotte Street restaurant since 2012, when husband and wife team Sandia Chang and James Knappett (who runs the Michelin-starred restaurant Kitchen Table at the back of Bubbledogs) founded the restaurant.

To celebrate their 6th birthday, Chang and Knappett teamed up with Mexican food specialists Edson and Natalie Diaz-Fuentes of Santo Remedio in London Bridge.

The special birthday menu had some of the most popular dishes of both restaurants, and an offer of cocktails or flights of Champagne or Mezcal.

What We Ate: From the Bubbledogs menu, we ordered a selection of their classics.  The signature Jose beef hot dog (£7.50), with a zingy tomato salsa, sour cream, jalapenos and guacamole was as good as I remembered.

Equally good was the Sloppy Joe hot dog, served with melted cheese and beef chilli (£8), was rich and very well flavoured.

To accompany our hot dogs, we ordered chipotle tots (£4) - potato croquettes and nachos with the works (£7) - beef chilli, guacamole and cheese.

Best of all though was the black bream aguachile 2 pieces (£8). A Mexican-style ceviche, here served as a deconstructed taco - with thin slices of raw black bream, salsa, guacamole, radish, all brought together with a vinegar-based dressing, I thoroughly enjoyed this dish.
    

From the Santo Remedio menu, the pork belly torta ahogada (£10), literally translated as a drowned cake or submarine sandwich, came served in a baguette, with a delectable morita salsa. This was for me the star dish of the evening - chunky pieces of fried pork belly filled the baguette, with sliced pickled onions over a spicy smoked jalapeno chilli sauce.

Also outstanding was the braised ox tongue taco (2 pieces, £10), served with with pipian rojo. This classic Mexican sauce is made from various types of chilli, pumpkin, sesame seeds, cinnamon, onions and garlic, among other ingredients. The ox tongue was soft, and combined really well with the accompanying diced raw onion, lime and micro-coriander.
  

To finish, we had a dessert that resulted from the collaboration between Bubbledogs and Santo Remedio  - rice pudding with green tomatillo jam and grated dark chocolate (£5).  This was luxuriously creamy, but with a lovely tartness from the green tomatillo jam.

What We Drank: We opted for the Champagne flight, sadly available for one night only. But on the menu there is a range of Champagnes and wines available by the glass or bottle. For example, the Solessence Champagne (see below) is available for £8 per glass or £45 per bottle, while the Collin-Guillaume Rose costs £10.50 by the glass or £60 for the bottle. 

We opted for the special birthday Champagne flight (£20). Jean-Marc Seleque, Solessence was a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir, and had lemony fruit and a touch of toast.

The Christophe Mignon was made from 100% Pinot Meunier, and had a rich palate of pears, brioche, with good minerality while being bone-dry. 

The rose Champagne offering was Collin-Guillaume, made from all three Champagne varietals, this had lovely strawberry notes, and a touch of vanilla.

Likes: The black bream aguachile, the pork belly torta ahogada and the ox tongue taco were the outstanding highlights. I loved both Bubbledogs, and the incredibly well priced, top quality Champagne.  The staff are well informed and enthusiastic. 

Dislikes: None 

Verdict: Bubbledogs is celebrating its sixth anniversary, serving up its signature combination of hot dogs and Champagne. They still feel as innovative, fresh and vibrant as on day one. Recommended.

Laurent Perrier Champagne Afternoon Tea at Kettners

Words & Photography by Felicity Spector and Luiz Hara

It's a rare joy, afternoon tea. Especially in the dark and gloom of a January evening, when the annoying clatter of detox-fanatics threatens to drown out any thoughts of that simple joy, eating for pleasure. But inside the faded-grandeur of Soho stalwart Kettners, a hidden boudoir swagged in velvet: the Laurent Perrier room.

This is afternoon tea with bling: not just an array of sandwiches, scones and little pastries, but a tasting flight of champagnes, expertly chosen by Laurent Perrier to match each course of food. They're selling it as a chance not just to experience the nuances of flavour - but to try some champagnes that wouldn't normally be within reach.

So along with the usual afternoon tea paraphinalia, there was a special tray holding three glasses, ready for sampling, with Laurent Perrier 'ambassador' Danny Borchert on hand to explain the house style. Think "lightness, freshness and elegance", he declared.

First up, the sandwiches: some decent fillings among them, including chicken, mango and mint and a rather good egg mayonnaise. And the first champagne, a glass of Extra Brut - light and fresh, with just a touch of salt on the finish: an ideal match for those sandwiches.

We moved onto the scone course: I rather like any meal containing a scone course. These would have been even better warm, but were fresh and light, with a slightly sticky strawberry jam and a huge pot of clotted cream. To go with them, what Laurent Perrier calls its iconic champagne - the Cuvee Rose, poured from a magnum. "You should always drink champagne from a magnum", insisted Danny Borchert. "There's less air trapped inside, which keeps it fresher than a bottle".

Kettners does offer magnums of the Cuvee Rose - at around £215 - beyond most budgets. But offering it as part of the afternoon tea flight should make it far more accessible.

The salmon pink fizz glittered prettily in the mellow light: the flavours echo summer fruits, like strawberry and redcurrant, without being overly sweet. An excuse to ladle even more jam onto those scones.

Finally the desserts: a plate piled with delicate creations - a miniature raspberry macaron, a sharp and sweet passion fruit tart, another with strawberry and cream, and my favourite - a millionaire's shortbread which was incredibly messy to eat but worth the effort.

With this, the most expensive champagne of all: you'd need £500 for a whole magnum of the 2004 vintage, made from sun-ripened grapes with a rich, sweet and honeyed flavour, a mix of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with notes of tropical fruit.

"A wine to be savoured, to enjoy, part of a celebration", said Danny Borchert: on this occasion, a celebration of tiny cakes. In a city with plenty of top-end hotel teas to choose from - this is definitely one for champagne lovers. A taste of vintage luxury, without the need for an oligarch's budget.

The afternoon tea and tasting flight is available at Kettners for £42.50 per person.

Fit for Royal Tea - The Afternoon Tea at Hotel Café Royal's Sumptuous Oscar Wilde Bar

Words & Photography by Felicity Spector and Luiz Hara

Everything about the High Society afternoon tea at the Hotel Café Royal screams opulence. First, the room. The Oscar Wilde Bar took four years to restore to its former glory, a rococo extravaganza of gold and mirrors and cherub painted ceilings. It now looks exactly the same as the room where Wilde once lunched, except I've a feeling he didn't fare nearly as well as we did.

To drink, there was Veuve Cliquot champagne and a choice of 21 different teas, some of them exclusive blends made just for the hotel. We tried one of them - Celestine - a subtle, light black tea with a hint of vanilla, and a very refreshing triple mint tisane.

Our maître d' was eager to explain the menu. There was a lot to get through - three pages of my notebook covered in scribble. It all sounded incredible: not a white bread sandwich in sight - the chefs have clearly let their creativity take charge.

An amuse bouche arrived, a 'Low Sidecar Muffin', along with a lovely story about Victorian muffin sellers who used to ply their trade in Regent Street outside. The modern day version came adorned with a generous swirl of truffle cream cheese and a pipette containing apple juice which you could squirt inside. Light and moist, it got things off to a great start.

Then came a vast tiered stand of savoury sandwiches and pastries: a brioche roll with prawn cocktail, and a beautifully crisp gougere filled with goats cheese and the slight sweetness of wine jelly.

There was a roundel of chorizo Wellington, a sort of next level sausage roll, a bun topped with crackling and stuffed with wild boar salami. Next, a toasted bagel piled with silky smooth smoked salmon and horseradish mayo, and my favourite, a beetroot bread sandwich with cream cheese and a sliver of cucumber, topped with caviar.

We were already getting slightly full, but more was to come. Much, much more.

A palate cleanser, a tiny glass of plum and lychee iced tea was tart and refreshing. It came with a mousse like disc of chocolate and hazelnut marshmallow, the first time I've seen chocolate and hazelnut described as a palate cleanser. But why not? It was delicious.
The beaming maître d, who by this stage was beginning to seem like an old, beloved friend, ferried over another vast tier of cakes and pastries, with not one, but two baskets of warm scones. There were dishes of strawberry jam and clotted cream and a tiny bowl of lemon curd. And another three pages of description in my notebook.

I tried a raisin scone, loaded with jam and cream. It was warm. It was melt in the mouth. "Buttery, isn't it!" said our waiter, as more pots of tea arrived. He wasn't wrong.

We tackled the cake stand. A mini flower pot contained a fabulous mix of apple purée and pistachio paste, crowned with a buttery crumble. There was a neat cube of banana opera cake layered with passion fruit cream. Choux buns cradled a hidden filling of lemon curd. There were vivid green macarons, spiked with absinthe, herby and sticky.

I tried a disc of shortbread topped with apple purée, blackcurrant crème and the thinnest chocolate glaze. It was....I searched for a word....buttery. By this point we could barely move, but the feast wasn't over yet. On the counter were three whole cakes which you could order by the slice. Our friendly maître d was desperate for us to try them. "The lemon drizzle is gluten free!" I went over for a look, unable to resist a piece of the hazelnut cake, beautifully light and moist with just enough hazelnut frosting and the crunch of caramelised nuts. And, of course, so very, very buttery.

Four hours after the tea began, I was ensconced in a vast leather chair in the hotel lobby, clutching a takeaway box of the scones we hadn't quite been able to finish, fretting about the rain. A concierge leapt into action, lending me not only a hotel umbrella "oh, bring it back whenever you're in the area..." but also going the extra mile, finding some waterproof covers to protect my new shoes.

The afternoon tea at Hotel Cafe Royal isn't cheap - £42 per person, or £55 with a glass of champagne. But it's opulent. It's inventive. And the staff are all prepared to go above and beyond, to make sure you have the best possible time.

Krug Institute of Happiness with Nuno Mendes

Words by Karen Yates

On a cold, dark winter’s night, what a pleasure to be collected by car and driven to Highgate, to a stylish, glass-fronted building that by day overlooks the famous cemetery, to enjoy food cooked by the affable Nuno Mendes of Michelin-starred Viajante in Bethnal Green, matched by Krug champagnes in the company of Olivier Krug, whose great great great grandfather started the company in 1843.

The idea behind the pop-up Krug Institute of Happiness is that everything you taste, see, smell and hear brings you pleasure. So, after being welcomed with a glass of Krug Grande Cuvée and canapés including softest-ever cuttlefish with lardo, we sat down to a final canapé of black olive cake with yeast and crushed potatoes. Between courses, Nuno explained that each endorphin-releasing dish was intended to evoke comforting and joyous memories.

First was cured lobster, spring onion and consommé with spruce bark, enjoyed with a glass of Krug 1998, whose apple, pear and toast notes worked well with the lobster.

Image by Karen Yates

Next was halibut with seaweed sofrito and seafood rice broth, whose intense, Japanese flavours were matched by a bold and slightly citrussy Krug 2000. Safe to say my happiness levels were rising.

Image by Karen Yates

At this point, Olivier Krug joined our table as we tucked into aged pigeon buried under ‘fallen autumn leaves’, enjoyed with Krug Rosé, which has citrus notes, a slight cherry flavour and a fine, silky texture. According to Olivier, this rosé champagne is Madonna’s guilty pleasure. One of his people had told him she’d announced it in a tweet, and that it must be “worth an ’ashtag”. Well, if it’s good enough for her Madgesty…

At that point, there was a collective “aaaah!” and we looked outside to see the first snow of the season. A few cynics among us noticed it was falling in front of only one window, and was clearly designed purely for our happiness.

The final, deeply comforting dish was as delicate as a snowflake and melted in the mouth. It was named simply ‘milk’ and described as ‘a return to the beginning, happy memories of home’, and we were back to where we started with a glass of Krug Grande Cuvée. 

For those in need of further joy, plates of chocolate truffles appeared with the coffees.

Before this evening, guests were asked as series of questions, including what music makes you happy and what’s your favourite sweet. Throughout the evening, a pianist played people’s chosen songs – one excitable guest joined him at the piano and sang along – and in the car home I felt in my coat pocket and pulled out a bag of liquorice allsorts, tied with a big red ribbon. Little bespoke touches like these certainly upped the happiness factor. 

The next morning, by the way, I woke to the first snow of the year. Perhaps, after all, the institute really had worked its magic.

This pop-up experience was available only until 8 December 2012, but then happiness is always fleeting.

Vitalie Taittinger hosts at The Groucho - and proves the secret of a good party is champagne & sausages

Words and Photography by Su-Lin Ong

A Friday at Soho’s Groucho Club usually means champagne – and plenty of it.  The place is a-buzz with the sense of deals done and fresh creative plotting, as yet another bottle is ordered before the night is up. It was here where Vitalie Taittinger hosted her party, lavishly serving nine styles of Taittinger.

We Brits adore luxury fizz.  Sales of prestige cuvée champagnes over £72 in the shops have soared by 14 percent (thanks CGA Strategy Brand Index, Nielsen).  These are wines which sit right up there with grand cru Burgundy or first and second growth Bordeaux, yet often challenge them favourably on price.  And we're spending more on better champagne we drink out and about.  Is that you?

This is the night to prove it.  The blushiest Prestige Rosé NV welcomes us, poured from magnums.  Fruit crumbly, subtle blackcurrant and raspberry flavours give the much needed first glass.  This classic Chardonnay, Pinot Noir/Meunier blend has the addition of 15 percent still red wine.

But it is mainly for a trio of Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs which we gather:  the 2000, 2002 and an early taste of the new 2004.  These are limited production, luxury wines from the top grand crus in the Côte des Blancs.  Respect!

This kind of vertical tasting is rare fun.  And when bottles are poured fast and flowing, it is easy to go all out to quaff.  You just know someone will spark off a tease about delicate, floral all-chardonnay champagnes being ones for the girls.  But if you believe that, then you miss the main point of these wines.  Give a moment of thought, and you can appreciate the ageing potential of these wines.  The older vintages have developed more dramatic patisserie-like notes.  

Vitalie Taittinger, who is the daughter of Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger, is the artistic director of the House.  She is an elegant and naturally easy host.  You feel you can ask here anything, and she spurs my curiosity when she tells me that it’s the 1999 which is the one to hunt down now.  Ten years or so is the optimum time to wait, to let a Blanc de Blancs really reveal its finesse, she says.

Of the three on the night, it is the Blanc de Blancs 2002 for which I return to for a refill.  Showing brilliantly, this very expressive wine has intensity and lightness, with ripe citrus notes leading to a hint of toasty finish.

Photo: Taittinger

Alongside this trio are other styles from the range.  Random tasting is much of the charm of the party – as compared to a seated tutored tasting.  For me, analysis interrupts more hedonistic enjoyment, especially on a Soho kind of Friday.  Still, it seems respectful to figure a tasting order of the three non-vintages: the flawless Brut Réserve, the rarer Prélude Grands Crus, and the single vineyard Folies de la Marquetterie (named after the Taittinger château nestled in the vineyards), then ending with the Brut 2005.  Somehow I always skip the richer dessert styles; in this case the Nocturne Sec NV.

Feed me generously, and I brazenly want more.  In this art adorned setting – with The Groucho known as a den of creatives - a treat that seems missing from the night’s line-up is a bottle or two from the Taittinger Collection of some dozen flamboyant art bottles; I covet the Matta 1998.  No clues though about the next commissioned artist.  It also crosses my mind, the only better place to enjoy such a full range tasting might be in the Taittinger crayères in Reims – chalk pits from the 4thC AD 17 metres underground.  Perhaps a touch too chilly.

Eats are very much needed on this kind of evening.  If this was in Paris or Reims, we might have overdosed on canapés of white truffle and rillettes; too demanding for my simple tastes when wines are the showpiece.  This is club land in London, so the offerings are golden brown, fried and robust; not too competitive in flavour but there is plenty of texture going on.  Our champagne supper is completed by arancini, fish & chips, breaded crabmeat balls, steaming bowls of creamy chanterelle risotto, plump raspberry tartlets - eat one, or eat four - and flaky mini apple strudels.

And not forgetting sausages.  No party is ever complete without these baby, burn-your-mouth beauties.  Whoosh, gone.

Finally, the question that has to be thrown in.  Did James Bond drink Taittinger or Bollinger?  He is an agent of fickle taste, it seems.  I get a stab at answers from guests.  Whilst Bollinger has been one of the most enduring film partnerships, the James Bond in Ian Fleming’s novels preferred Taittinger, and in Casino Royale it was a 1943 Taittinger that was suggested as probably the finest champagne in the world.  Go on?  But a glass of Taittinger Blanc de Blancs in From Russia with Love was spiked with poison.  Lucky, ours are not.

The party is still going strong way past the intended hour.  Nobody ever wants to leave The Groucho early.

Su-Lin Ong attended on behalf of The London Foodie as a guest of Vitalie Taittinger, The Groucho Club and R&R.

Snap up vintages of Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs from Majestic, Harrods, Hedonism, Waitrose, Bordeaux Index.  RRP £147.

Top wine writer Jamie Goode details an enviable vertical tasting of seven of these, 1990 to 2002. http://www.wineanorak.com/champagne/taittinger_comtes_de_champagne.htm

London's Best Hotels - Andaz Hotel Liverpool Street

One of the more exciting aspects of running a food blog is that I sometimes get invited to restaurants and hotels in and around London, and have the opportunity to meet and chat with their chefs and owners. Such visits may not always reflect what a paying customer might encounter but they do offer a revealing insight into what these businesses are about and what they can offer.

I have cycled past the Andaz Hotel in Liverpool Street for years on my way to work without giving it much thought, possibly because it is a hotel, and I have always thought of hotel restaurants as options purely for tourists or business travellers. This common held view is now being challenged by a number of excellent hotel restaurants, such as Bar Boulud (Mandarin Oriental), Bistrot Bruno Loubert (Zetter Hotel), and The Petersham Hotel Restaurant to name just a few. The 1901 Restaurant at The Andaz Hotel is my latest find.

The Andaz Hotels are the boutique arm of the giant Hyatt Group. The London branch occupies the premises of the former Great Eastern Hotel, adjacent to Liverpool Street Station. Arriving 15 minutes early, I had some time as I waited in the lobby to soak up the atmosphere, people watch and see how the staff went about their business. With no formal reception area, the same member of staff would greet, check in, and take guests to their rooms. It felt like a much more personal experience than is usual in hotels of this size.

To start, I was given a tour of the hotel, shown a few rooms and some of the other amenities. The rooms were modern and elegant, mostly decorated in sober white, black, and red colours, with dark wood and leather. The biggest pull for me however was to learn that the hotel had a series of restaurants and bars, through most of which we would pass during the evening!

After the quick tour, The Champagne Bar was our first stop. Here we had some fine Perrier Jouet Champagne, and a selection of scrumptious sushi and sashimi platters specially made by the hotel's Miyako Restaurant. I seldom have the pleasure of drinking Champagne together with Sushi, but felt the combination worked extremely well. The fine biscuit and brioche aromas of the Champagne were the perfect accompaniment to the fish and sweet sushi rice.

The sashimi platters had some ultra-fresh and creamy pieces of salmon, seabass, tuna, prawn and mackerel @ £17.00. We also had California, Prawn Tempura, and Salmon and Avocado inside-out rolls all priced @ £7.

Our next stop was Catch - the seafood restaurant.

Here, we had a delicious starter of South Devon Crab Cake and Consommé @£10, followed by Steamed Norwegian Cod @ £22. These were cooked by Head Chef Martin Scholz, who came out to greet us.

The food was beautifully matched with a 2008 Margaret River Viognier, (Stella Bella, Western Australia), and a 2008 Chablis Premier Cru Montmain from Louis Michel et Fils. These were excellent examples of their type, expressing the fruit and terriors characteristics of these grapes and regions.

To finish, we headed for the hotel's fine dining option, the 1901 Restaurant. Here, we had a course of cheese and wine tasting (starts from £45 per person).

Of the many fine wines we had for this course, some of the more outstanding were in my opinion the Ma Mas Amiel Prestige, 15 Ans d'Age, and a 2008 Toscano Rosso IGT "Tuttobene" from Tenimenti Angelini.

The dessert was an exquisite mille-feuille with pear, red currants and spun sugar, served with an excellent 2008 Coteaux du Layon, from Domaine Phillippe Delesvaux at Saint-Aubin.

The two other locations which I had the chance to visit were the George Pub, traditionally English with oak panelling and a fine selection of ales, and the Eastway brasserie where diners can have a casual bite to eat.

I was pleased to have been invited to the Andaz Hotel, and to discover what a beautiful place it is, and explore its range of restaurants and bars. I would not hesitate in recommending it to family or friends who want to stay in the area. Its proximity to Brick Lane, Hoxton, Columbia Road and Spitalfields makes it an interesting alternative for visitors wanting something beyond the West End experience.

Cost: The London Foodie was a guest of the Andaz Hotel Liverpool Street. The hotel has 5 restaurants/bars to accommodate a range of budgets, although prices reflect location and the high standard of service, food and wine.

Likes: Great sushi, Champagne bar, and an outstanding wine list. The cheese and wine tasting course will certainly get me back. Personable service, convenient location for a drink after work in the Square Mile, and an alternative to the madness of the West End.

Dislikes: The City corporate types which the hotel may attract might not make for the best environment for a relaxed or romantic evening out.

Verdict: Cool elegant hotel in a central location, with a range of good restaurants and bars. Good quality sushi, Champagne bar and wine list. Highly recommended.