Aqua Kyoto

Aqua Kyoto!

This restaurant is a renowned Hong Kong based restaurant group - Aqua. The group also has a three sites, Hong Kong, Beijing and London. Just in London they have the Japanese restaurant, Spanish cuisine and Tapas bar and lastly their Bar area. Aqua Kyoto is based on the top floor (on thr 5th floor) with quite an impressive view of the busy Regent Street area.

For my 23rd birthday, I went to Aqua Kyoto with my friends a couple of days early before my main day as I was spending the main day with the boyfriend. I have eaten in quite a number of sushi restaurants in London but somehow I was struggling to find a restaurant that was a little different. Although being 23 wasn't a marvelous age to celebrate in such manner it was a day where I was born and I wanted to eat somewhere, where I haven't been. Oh and this would be my first ever birthday where I no longer am a student. I had stumbled across Aqua Kyoto on "Time Out London" as I looked for "Sushi restaurants in London" and Aqua Kyoto came up and surpringly I haven't been yet. Unfortunately two of my friend's couldn't be there so only two turned up (I only invited my university family - the close friends).

We had the O-toto Sashimi (which I didn't take a photo of - why?) and then we had the Ashimi Mori Awase - Derakkusu. Which in other words is 12 pieces of chef selected sashimi. It has tuna, salmon, macakeral, prawn, squid..etc. It was a very nice selection for a few people so there is a piece to choose from. I normally do not order selections like this as I tend to go for the Yellow Tail, Salmon or O-toto dishes.

Next we had the Agyu Saroin Teppan Yaki which is the Wagyu sirloin beef with caramelised onion miso, baby beets and herbs. I am not the biggest fan of Wagyu beef - believe it or not. But this dish was pretty good. I enjoy the texture of the beef and the sauce did compliment it altogether. It does seem a little plain though, but for those that care more of the beef, I suppose this will be the ideal dish.

The Uta Baraniku to Unigi Yaki dish. Made with Suckling Pork Belly with Eel, root befetables, wakame and jade oil. It tasted rather nice, yes suckling pork belly but it does remind me of a soup dish rather than a main because the pieces seem to be floating a little on the dish. The taste was indeed very good but the portion doesn't seem as generous as the previous dish. As a Chinese, I do enjoy a bit of pork belly and it did satisfy my pork belly cravings for a while.

We also had this "obusta no mushi yaki" which is a pot roasted lobster with lime leaf, sweet pepper sauce and oyster. It doesn't exactly look like a lobster dish, or perhaps my photography is awful, however, looking back at the photo - the lobster and the leaves do remind me of strawberries. The texture was indeed "lobster-y" but the sauce was a little plan in my opinion. Although people tend to eat lobsters with plain sauce and crabs with a bit more flavor, I seem to think the sauce needs to be slightly more "tasty". 

I was eagerly desperate to try the desserts, as I am quite a dessert lover I do have a sense that I will be enjoying something "green tea". I chose to have two scoops of ice cream where one flavor was the green tea and the next being vanilla and soy bean flavored. I would recommend those that loves desserts and those that enjoy the beauty benefits of green tea and soy bean to try this dessert. Yummy and satisfying. 

Details:

http://aqua-london.com/flash/#/eng/global

5th Floor, 240 Regent Street

London, W1B 3BR

Min Jiang

Min Jiang. The claimed "London's most authentic Chinese restaurant". This Chinese restaurant is located in Kensington on the 10th floor of the Royal Garden Hotel.This restaurant delivers an authentic tasting dish as well as the fact you are able to have a beautiful view of the Kensington Gardens as well as Hyde Park and the view of London from a small distant.

As this is a Chinese restaurant I would look at what this restaurant famous for as it is based in quite a prestigious and breathtaking environment - my answer is their Peking Duck - or should I say, their "Legendary Peking Duck". As an individual (similarly to many around the world) I have had the chance to taste Peking duck right in the capital of China in Beijing. I would expect that to be the standard of Peking Duck. Having read about what Min Jiang was famous for I did some research and turns out this restaurant uses wood-fired oven to cook their Peking duck which is authentic as we know the process of Peking Duck is using the traditional method of picking the right duck, marinating and preparing the duck with certain ingredients in a certain way, then hanging the duck above Wood fire. I cannot imagine how hot the area would be however it is imaginable and how much effort will be used to prepare the duck in case it burns.


My last visit was in January and before that I had visited the restaurant three times. I must say, I was not disappointed.I enjoy how they bring out the cooked duck, and the chef comes I and carefully slice the skin of the duck then serving it to the customers so they get a first look at the texture. Then the chef will begin slicing the duck in front of you. I enjoy looking at the way it gets sliced, the process of slicing the crispy skin along with a very thin layer of the meat together.

I was given the typical cucumber, spring onion and the sauce as well as a fusion-type which contains sugar, garlic and pickles. A different way to accompany the duck along with the pancakes.

The pancake was something I enjoy as it is rather soft with a very nice texture to it. It didn't feel too filling which made it good as the duck itself was a little filling due to the oiliness.The second eating choice meant I was allowed to have a second serving of the meats of the duck. I enjoyed the duck with rice so I tried the duck with noodles. It was a little salty in my opinion but generally it was delicious.I had a few other dishes to go for the main meal but most importantly of all, I had rice. Perhaps I am traditional in the way I eat but I enjoy having rice as part of a Chinese meal. Yong Chow Fried Rice. That was what I had, in a way, it is interesting because having eaten at so many different places and eating different version of this particular dish, I feel a little "immune" or used to the taste.

I also had one of my favorite dish which is the Braised Tofu with minced Chicken in Sichuan Chilli Sauce- a little chilly but increased my appetite. I find this dish rather attractive and delicious, and reminds me of a Sichuan restaurant I visited before in Hong Kong. 

I have only visit the restaurant during dinner time so my opinion was based on the dinner time. I booked my tables through Top Table. But their opening hours are:Lunch 12.00-15.00Dinner 18.00-22.30Just in case! :) there's also a bar there as well to relax for a drink or two, maybe three.
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