Jalapenos, Sushi and kids at Ubon

Nobu is one of London's many celebrity hotspots. And Ubon is its less glamorous sister. Well, they do try hard at Ubon to put a little bit of glamour and trend into the backyard of a Canary Wharf apartment building block. Too hard. They seriously present their Fiji spring water plastic bottles in custom made silver coolers.

Since it is situated in an apartment block, the main customers are the neighbouring young yuppie families. One word: kids. No, I am not all against them; and yes, taking your kids out to a sushi place is surely much better than getting them a Big Mac with fries from your local MacDonald's. But please, not on a Saturday evening.

Apart from being exposed to the occasional crying baby and very unfriendly staff, the evening turned out to be a positive experience. Thanks to the great food.
Jalapeno spiced thinly sliced yellowfin tuna simply melted in the mouth. And the fried baby squid in creamy jalapeno sauce was a class on its own. Tacos filled with scallops were unexcitingly nice, the sweet potato tempura a bit tasteless. The avocado tempura though had potential: if only the dipping sauce would have had some taste. But definitely worth trying at home... with a decent sauce.
The sushi was simply great. Especially the tuna maki with spicy mayo!
As for desserts however: the "cheesecake" wouldn't normally qualify as such as its spongy yet chewy consistency had nothing in common with anything else made from chream cheese.
Still, although it wasn't perfect, Ubon is a nice addition to the bland high street restaurant-chain dominated area of Canary Wharf.

Quality & Quantity at Artisan

I would have never thought about eating out in a hotel restaurant (unless it is situated in St Martin's Lane and called Asia de Cuba), but there is always a first time for everything. And what a first time it was!
We arrived early at The Westbury. The weather was crap, we were thirsty and the bar was open. Lydia opted for a berry champagne cocktail, mine was called Lady Marmalade. Mandarine Napoleon with ... yes, marmalade; served in a tall glass over ice. Possibly the best non-cream based cocktail I have had so far.
It didn't come in cheap at 24 pounds for two drinks. But there is one thing that makes hotel bars well worth it: unlimited nibbles. Whether it is The Westbury or The Four Seasons: nuts, crisps, mini bruschettas, olives, capers... everything that is addictive.
So by the time we went across the bar to our restaurant we were already happily satisfied. But what came next exceeded all our expectations.
Ok, so it wasn't St Martin's Lane: no trendy, stylish crowd or decor. Just pure class, actually. The chandeliers were big, the music played nicely away in the background and the waiters were attentive. And the food: gorgeous.
First came the amuse bouche: gazpacho with avocado. Not sure whether the avocado was ripe enough to go into the soup nor whether it was necessary to go into the soup, but as a whole the gazpacho was quite nice and refreshing.
We did a no-do for starters and ordered the same dish: Scallops with squid-ink polenta. The scallops were perfectly cooked and the polenta not only a nice touch of colour but also a tasty addition to the tender and juicy scallops.
As for mains I stuck to my mid-year resolution: no more foie gras. I love foie gras. I adore it. But ever since I got reminded visually how it is made I started enriching organic duck liver with double cream and butter to fake the experience at home. So no, no black chicken leg with roast foie gras for me but beef fillet with polenta (again!) croquettes. The fillet could have fed 1.5 people and my sister, a dedicated potato croquette fan, would kill for the polenta version. Crispy on the outside, unbelievably and high calorifically creamy on the inside.
The palette cleanser, berry puree with bits of steamed apple reminded me of jarred Hipp baby food. But then, I do like Hipp baby food, so no complaints.
Lydia finally opted for the perfect dessert: pan fried apricots with lavender ice cream. The ice cream was to die for: and I usually do not even like ice cream.
My chocolate fritter with ice cream of undefined flavour (yes, I can read a menu, but neither Lydia nor me have ever heard about this fruit/nut/liquor...) wasn't bad but the post-dessert pre-bill sweeties were much better: homemade marshmallows, truffles, mini madelaines and chocolate dipped orange peel.

Never judge a book by its cover...

... or a restaurant by its interior. English Michelin-starred chef Gordon Ramsey, who travels the continents to slag of aspiring chefs and malfunctioning restaurants on national TV, wouldn't be able to suppress his trademark "f**cking hell* when walking into The Drawing Room. This time, my holy grail of London's restaurant scene, toptable.co.uk, let me down big time. But it's partly down to my own superficiality of judging most/all things in life by their design.

Not that The Drawing Room looked super-trendy or Conran-stylish, but it looked interesting enough to book a table.
Half-decent pub food, that's the best I could say about this place. Or as Gordon Ramsey would say: when you serve f**cking pub food, charge for f**cking pub food. And serve it in a f**cking pub.
I have hardly ever left a restaurant being so stuffed. The portions could feed a whole family. And I mean one portion for all! The sea bass was monstrous, the pineapple that came with it tasteless, and although the crab meat salad was made of actual crab meat rather than surimi: one couldn't have cared less, it didn't have much taste anyways.

The fried goat's cheese was a nice idea for a 21st century take on of an 80ies classic. But again far too much, and just not 21st century enough.
So guys, go back to catering college, throw out the posh interior and give the local community what they really want: a cosy pub, decent food and ok prices.

Afternoon Tea at Yauatcha

Yauatcha is one of my favourite afternoon hang-outs in London. Ok, so the service is appalling. But the cocktails are great, although dubbed "cough medicine" by one of my friends. The food is delicious and the cakes are from heaven. Like our Blue Tea Cake we had last time. I still wouldn't think that the blue powder on the cake actually was 100% tea without added colouring, but who knows...
The cake was a perfect blend of rich tea cream and fruity blackberry jelly with a hint of sponge at the bottom.

I simply love to recreate food I eat at restaurants at home. It's one of life's challenges I aim to master.

But not much chance for the Blue Tea Cake to be produced in my kitchen though, too much work! And too much hassle and I would guess money to get hold of blue tea.

I discovered one dessert in the restaurant's cake display though which I will definitely put on the menu next time I have friends round: Matcha panna cotta topped with cranberry compote.

Birthday at Beauberry

Thank internet for toptable. Posh nosh at (sort of) dumping prices. www.toptable.co.uk comprises an almost endless list of exclusive London eateries that let us sample there exquisite creations for 'n Appel und 'n Ei. You can eat your way round London without forking out too much and if you are lucky you discover a real gem. Like Beauberry House.
Situated in the picturesque village of Dulwich it must be one of London's best kept secrets. Impressive from the outside, stylish from the inside. And food (and charming waiters) to die for!
We went there for Scott's 30st. The offer: 3 course dinner with a complimentary glass of wine for 17.50 pounds.
The set menu was great, but while browsing through the a la carte we discovered one dish we simply had to order as a wee extra: scallops on cauliflower puree with vanilla foam, topped with crispy bacon. Lecker!
The set menu and the free glass of wine were more than decent. In fact, the dessert was outstandingly yummy: panna cotta with coconut granite and banana tarte tartin.