Lisboa was awesome but it is good to be back home. How are we? It has been an eventful September so far, doing the most with friends and family. I took my dear friend to a boodle fight aka kamayan[i]. It was so good to be sitting among my people (Filipinos) eating our Filipino food, cooked by Filipinos and sharing it with one of my oldest friends. I will write about this experience, you know #fortheculture but more importantly to reiterate the message that Filipino food is not a trend and is here to stay in London.
Went to a gig in South bank centre as part of its African activities to see Femi Kuti play, featuring my fave Mr Talib Kweli. Oh, I also experienced my first ever letters live event and this has got to be the coolest thing ever. Essentially, letters written by famous people are read by equally famous people and it was awesome. Letters by Aretha Franklin, Barack Obama, Maya Angelou, Lee ‘scratch’ Perry, et al. offering words of wisdom, clap back, inspiration read by equally famous people such as Yrsa daley-ward, Ashley Walters and a host of others, it was
Since I have been out in these streets, doing the most, decided Neal and I needed a food adventure. Especially before the cold months finally set in and it gets harder to want to do anything. Our food adventure brings us to The Square at Mayfair. Up until we were seated at our table, we were undecided on if we wanted an a la carte menu or a taster menu. We asked for both menus, aside from our much-loved foie gras being on the menu, the taster menu also had Grouse and that was what clinched it for me. Decision made we could not wait to see what the Chef was made of. Boi, these guys turned up and showed out right from the get-go, starting with Julien who was our head waiter with so much sass and charm, he was extra AF! We see you Julien!
We had 2 types of amuse bouche made of cold cuts of meat, salmon and bread. Now even though the bread was sourdough bread, I must give props to the crockery! We also had a miniature open sandwich which tasted freaking gorgeous with the glass of bubbly. Yep, we are kicking off this menu with a bang!
Our first course consisted of heritage heirloom tomatoes in shisho and orange blossom as well as Orkney scallops and caviar with kombu, lime and horseradish. I have to say, when I saw this on the menu, I flashed back to the only other 2 places that served the humble tomato so spectacularly – Cinc sentits and Tom’s kitchen. I won’t say I was overly concerned, but you know, expectations were high. It was not necessary, because chef and his team are on it, like all OVER IT! These tomatoes were spectacular! It was simply done plus the final touches aka grating of the orange blossom was done right at the table, DETAILS! The scallops with caviar dipped all over? I mean come on now, this taster menu is not playing!
I don’t know about you, but when I hear bone marrow, my mind automatically thinks broth, more specifically a Nigerian broth called Pepper soup. This is a broth made with offal’s from either beef, chicken or both and or any bit of the animal that is considered ‘waste’. It is made to be very spicy, hence the name ‘pepper soup’. It is a delicacy, served at special occasions and usually accompanied by a cold bottle of larger! Well, our next course was Dorset rock oyster and bone marrow. Let’s just say as far as broth goes, it was far from my Nigerian version. The bone marrow was like a stock which was then poured in with the pot au feu, making it a delicate broth / soup that was flavourful as it was balanced. It was darn good!!
Now the foie gras? It was cooked for hours in Beeswax. Yes, read that again people B E E S W A X. This foie gras was a whole new level of taste and texture! It still tasted like Foie gras in that it was fatty, but had texture or dare I say depth of new flavours that I didn’t think possible, dang! I mean how do chefs come up with these things?
Whilst I was trying to comprehend the awesomeness of the foie gras, Julien presents the Riveria course aka Scorpion fish. My man brought the whole damn fish to the table! Didn’t I say Julien was EXTRA?! lol! We did appreciate the gesture though, seeing the food before it is plated up is all part of the food adventure. And, no, we didn’t eat the whole fish, but rather had a slice of it. The same was done for the Grouse, we were shown the whole Grouse in all it’s glory before it was cut, plated up and served to us.
The chef’s childhood memorie dessert will definitely take you back to when times were innocent and care free. It was a collection of desserts from his childhood that included miniature ice cream cones, pastries, tart. As if that was not enough, we were given what I can only describe as a slab / log of chocolate that we had to break using a hammer! I don’t need to tell you how happy Neal was by this.
The St John’s wood honey was a flipping work of art. It was a layered sweet potato and grapefruit with a honey comb perched on the top. As in a proper honey comb! Listen! the pastry chef here, is not playing! come through!!!
What’s a meal without a cheese selection eh?
This meal reaffirms why we love our food adventures. We had truly incredible food, created by a dope team and it was fantastic! Bravo!
Cheers
Ndidi
[i] Kamayan – filipino communal style of eating different dishes on banana leaves and using your hands
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