Hello November! Like how is it the 11th month of the year already? Summer is truly well and over and the Christmas holiday season is fast approaching! Hope you lot had a fab summer and not missing it too much, I know I am. Like
Any ho, I have Nne spending another trip around the sun with me and I am not only grateful but humbled that she still considers me to ‘cool’. For her birthday this time round, we are at Paradise. This will be our third food tasting adventure together and I reckon she has been influenced considering her first tasting menu was at restaurant story, baby girl has not looked back 😊, like I said INFLUENCED ha! I digress, let’s get into this shall we? Never really had Sri Lankan food, however, Dom and his team have created something truly special, so much so, Nne wants us to go to Sri Lanka on holiday! So many fab things about this place, not only did Dom do some of the presenting during the tasting menu, but the décor
and the playlist were just VIBES! (alas, Dom was not too keen on sharing his playlist 😒). We arrived early (as we do) and had a paloma cocktail which gained very high praise from Nne. If Nne is already feeling the cocktails, I reckon we are off on a fab start right? very good. Rasam (broth made from end of season lacto fermented raspberry and lime leaf oil) kicked off our meal.
Fun fact, this broth is usually what Aunties in Sri Lanka give when you feel unwell. Whilst it is not medicinal, the lime leaf oil (which had a kick to it) definitely will be curing you of all ailments! Dom said he chose to start the meal with this, as a way of cleansing our palates, interestingly it felt really calming .. Sri Lankan Magic? Or Sri Lankan aunties know best 🤷🏽 either way, I am here for it. Elumas roll was the first dish. A hand chopped raw lotus tartare roll with tomato & garlic emulsion and smoked charcoal oil. The charcoal oil very reminiscent of elements used by Simon Rogan to which Dom confirmed, he is inspired by Simon. (Guess, I am not the only one in food love with Mr Rogan then? and if you want to know how into Simon Rogan I am, start with L’enclume, Aulis and Roganic. Yep, I have eaten in 5 of Simon Rogan’s restaurant and I intend to experience every meal in every place he opens)
Back to this Elumas roll then. The flavourful pastry literally burst through when bitten into, no, literally, it was explosive! The Kinbula Banis made from green chilli custard, kithul glaze, date and lime chutney with South Lancashire corra Linn was spicy savoury with a hint of sweet (I am putting that down to the dates) It was YUMMY!
Kiri-Hodi was a 3 part dish of lobster, coconut flavoured rice pudding and quail. Essentially, it was like having a curry, the flavours laced with Riesling 👌one time for the crockery – eating with a spoon defo had my Asian smiling . The rice, cooked in coconut was very creamy (hence my reference to rice pudding) however, the quail was the star! The saltiness from the quail complemented and amplified the seafood taste of the lobster and rice. It was FANTASTIC
Then came quinoa and dahl which is a play on bread and butter. Not going to front it looked very much like the beloved Nigerian puff puff,
let’s just say it is the spicy cousin to the sweet Nigerian puff puff. Ouu, it can defo give it’s cousin a run for it’s money,itwas good, okay? Isso Roti made from puffed spelt from Northumberland + coconut pol-roti, mango chutney, fresh water prawn, green tea + jasmine pickled fennel herbs looked like a extremely mini size pizza that had a prawn topping
but you had to eat it like a taco?!. The first bite was initially sweet from the roti, then spice from the prawn kicks in, combined with the chutney? My goodness it was fantastic! Paired expertly with the German pinot blanc which had peach undertones gave LUSH! Mas curry aka sunflower seed curry was dry aged sirloin served with turmeric + saffron dahl, aubergine, fried butter milk paratha roti
Ouu, this course stayed giving surprises. First off, the aubergine was pulled (similar to how you get pulled pork)
but it tasted like plantain? And then the greens which Nne lovingly dubbed as Asian collared greens with chickpeas and lentils
the roti and sirloin
like I said, GIVING! Panner, tunworth + chocolate deserves a round of applause 👏🏽
Sri-lankan cheese with caramelised white chocolate ice cream, guava? (they had me at guava), paired with a muscat Riesling. This pudding had my favourite (s) wine (Riesling) and a fruit (guava) which I loved as a child, and not had in a very long time. The chef recommended cutting through the layers to ensure you get a bit of all the textures & flavours. the complex layers, textures and flavour. It was a WIN! Mihiri ended this food adventure – peppermint cinnamon+ clove tea cream, burnt fig served with the in-house tea blend!
Ahh, Paradise, you were a wonder and the best way to celebrate Nne.
Palavaenai haetauva
Ndidi
Addendum – wines, smiles, autographs
