Beast London

As the elevator doors open, you are greeted with two main fridges – the Himalayan-salted meat hanging on your right hand side and the Norwegian king crabs (and a number of tamed lobsters!). We were allowed to open the fridges and smell the meat- the smell was not your average “meat” smell! We also called in Beast’s “crab expert” who professionally took out one of the king crabs and gave us a quick introduction about the crab and allowed us to “pick up” the crab before we were taken to our seats. Beast’s wooden benches, long share-able tables and those - elevated above the table – chirpily-placed candles above immediately induce the images of a typical Harry Potter-styled dining room.

The concept of Beast is simple: you can choose from their standard set meal or their normal menu. For their set price of £75 you get both the Angus Beef steak and the Norwegian Red King crab (from near the Russian border), not forgetting the substantial amount of sides and started as well as a choice of desserts. They also have an impressive wine menu for you to choose from, if you did not look at the menu, fear not, the wine fridge can be seen from the dining area.

It is not your average restaurant - you would go to Beast for the atmosphere it brings rather than the food – although our sole intention was for the King crab! You will be sitting next to or opposite other diners, this is to share the noise of chatter and to build on the experience of a feast.

Beast London is very transparent in what they do. I had to walk up to the menu to have a look at the menu and I was approached by one of the waitress asking if I would like a kitchen tour of how it's made. It's very different especially in the UK, where they don't cook live crabs. But it was a very new experience for me especially holding a live crab which happens to be heavier than my laptop. 

The dessert were simple, compared to other restaurants, however I wouldn't be surprised seeing as the mains were so fancy, having some simple desserts would make a difference and to balance out the meal. Although this restaurant was opened in May 2014, it is still very busy as I tried to make a booking via Opentable 4 days before the meal and I wasn't shown any table until 2 weeks later than my ideal date. Until I called up of course. But it is worth booking in advance as the restaurant got filled up with customers really quickly.

My partner and I enjoyed the dinner, in my opinion I think it's a place for gathering, for those who doesn't mind getting their hands dirty to eat. For me, it's my partner. I don't mind showing the messier side of me in front of him. But it is worth going back again. :)

Kai - Mayfair

I have been keen to try out this Michelin starred restaurnt for a while, I am a lover of Chinese food however the curiosity kicked in when I was searching on Opentable (previously Toptable) and found the restaurant.

I was lucky to get taken there and it looked pretty simple to me, in terms of interior-wise, I entered the restaurant where the entrance had apples on the walls either for decoration or to clear our palette (the sense). There are some artistic wall paintings and the restaurant is aplit between the ground floor and basement and there are strong use of mirrors and classic decorations all around, it gave me a feeling of the trendy modern. This is very Mayfair-like and by far different than Chinatown restaurants.

No. 33

As it had received a star I would be expecting there to be exciting dishes with fancy names and ingredients, my partner looked at the menu and pointed out this particular dish which I am sure many orientals and Chinese dish lovers would recognize - the Special Fried Rice, known as 'No. 33' which is their version of the dish but this particular dish is served with the ultimate luxury of thinly sliced Kagoshima Wagyu.

To me, it looked like some nigiri rolls from a Japanese restaurant, however it was very nice, I found it a little salty though however the Kagoshima Wagyu were very nice indeed, although I am unsure on whether it was worth the £59.

Roasted Peking Duck

This is a classic Chinese dish with the pancakes, cucumber, spring onion and the sweet 'duck sauce'. I have had much  better pancakes in a non-Michelin starred restaurant however Kai's version has their signature chilli sambal made with red chilies, shallots and yellow bean. It is semi authentic, in experience-wise as in Beijing and many restaurants in Hong Kong they will show you the duck as a whole and slicing the pieces right before your eyes, however they only showed us the whole duck and slice it in the kitchen.

Sweet and sour Pork

I am a loyal fan of the comfort food, sweet and sour pork. In fact I always order it in Hong Kong, it varies from each restaurant and traditions however their version has a ot more flavor in the pork and I do enjoy the melon cupping the dish.

Wasabi Prawns

A simple dish made with milk wasabi mayonnaise, mango and basil seeds. I like this dish as it was full of flavor and the wasabi didn't coat the taste of the prawns.

 

Mo-Po' Spicy aubergines and home-made tofu

Kai's version was created by chef Chen which was handed down from the 19th century, it is a vegetarian dish with a spicy Szechuan dish of home-made  bean curd and aubergines. I like how the tofu was rightfully proportioned in size and the sauce wasn't as spicy as I had hope it to be but it was full of flavor and I like the taste of aubergine with the tofu. 

Chilean Sea Bass and spicy miso

This is their Chilean sea bass dish in a light miso broth with hints of the Szechuan spiciness, it was pleasant and however I didn't taste the spiciness in the dish the way my partner did, it could do with some extra spiciness flavor in my opinion.  

Here are some extra dishes we had during the meal.

Desserts

We manage to have quite a lot of deserts, this was what it looked like when the waiter bought the desserts to us. 

Durian & vanilla soufflé, salted caramel

Yes you've read right, my first time having a Durian (and Vanilla) soufflé, it had durian tuile and with salted caramel  sauce poured inside (if you like the mix). It was delicious, I will definately order this dessert again if I am  back. It didn't smell awful as many durian-dislikers would usually say and the mixture of bitter and sweet taste goes really well.

Valrhona chocolate fondant with pistachio

This Iranian green pistachio ice cream  is rolled in pistachio crumbs, cocoa crisp with chocolate fondant. The chocolate fondant didn't taste sickly however I didn't enjoy the pistachio ice cream on this occasion, not too sure why but the taste didn't taste how I would thought out to be.

The Petit Fours

The waiter spoke quite fast and I didn't catch all the little cakes however one was chocolate, coconut and pistachios and I am unsure of the three but I too photos from both sides and it looks very cute.

What made the meal experience so special was not only the food was delicious (and with some interesting ingredients) but the service was really good. I ordered a Silver Needle tea and had the waiter coming over a number of times to top up my tea, I am used to people on the same table to top up my cup or I do it myself but knowing I am being looked after in such a way was really good. They were very polite and patient and know their drinks and dishes well.

This restaurant would suit those who are looking for an alternative Chinese restaurant for dinner, definitely a "pay-day" meal or if you are looking to spoil yourself or a loved one.

65 South Audley Street, London, W1K 2QU.

020 7493 8988

www.kaimayfair.co.uk

Goodman City - Steak

As I had been constantly walking past Goodman at the Old Jewry I have been interested in visiting this restaurant for a while - probably because whenever I walk past the restaurant (every day in fact) I am hungry so my stomach has picked up it's senses to let the partner know I want to dine there soon.

We had finally picked a day to visit this steak house and discovered they have restaurants in three locations, as we were staying near the City side as we were going to Vertigo 42 straight after we picked the City restaurant.

The decoration was pretty simple but more beautiful than any other steak houses I had visit before, I enjoyed how the friendly staff had explained the menu to us and the "blackboard" for the different steak cuts, the weight and price. As an individual who has been bought up in the food industry and been exposed to delicious food I had been tempted to try out wagyu beef, it has been in the media every so often and every time it has been, you are guaranteed some "beef expert" comes out to explain about the grading and the types.

We ordered a Pan-fried scallops, pea puree, pancetta with Tarragon to share and I had the Australian Wagyu Sirloin whilst my partner had the Porterhouse. As an amateur, I first questioned what Porterhouse was for, turns our the T-bone and the Porterhouse are both steaks of beef cut from the short loin, Porterhouse steaks are cut from the rear end of the short loin which means it includes more tenderloin steak along with a large strip steak whilst the T-bone steaks are cut closer to the front. It sounds complex to me.

 Pan-fried scallops, pea puree, pancetta with Tarragon

Australian Wagyu Sirloin

Australian Wagyu Sirloin (inside)

Porterhouse steak

I am a lover of scallops and it was delicious, my partner saved me an extra one as being a scallop addict I do like to eat quite a lot of them if I can. My first experience of eating a Wagyu beef was an Australian one rather than a Japanese one. I had discovered that the Australian Wagyu Associstion is the largest breed association outside of Japan and the wagyu cattle are grain fed for the last 300-500 days of production as well as certain wagyu bred in the Western Australian region often have red wine added to their feed.

It doesn't taste like any other steak I have attempted to make or tried, although I love the steak my partner makes, this steak was quite delicious. My photos doesn't do much justice however it was rather smooth when I had taken my bite (I did order a medium for mine - I should order a medium rare or more of a rare next time), it didn't stick to my teeth (yay) and it doesn't give off this "beefy taste" some steak usually have when you consume the meat.

I would return next time for a celebration meal, but until then this is a meaty but delicious and filling meal.


11 Old Jewry,
London 
EC2R 8DU
http://www.goodmanrestaurants.com/

The Rivea @ the Bvlgari hotel

Located inside the prestigious Bvlgari Hotel The Rivera is located Knightsbridge - and at the edge of Hyde Park The Rivera is a beautiful yet wonderful restaurant. I have always dreamt of visiting the Bvlgari hotel as it screams in luxury and elegance. I was fortunate enough to book a table there to dine in this wonderful place.

The restaurant was beautiful, I enjoyed the princess-y staircase and can picture myself wearing a beautiful dress walking down the stairs (but in reality I wore simple shoes as I am likely to tumble down and a LBD). The staff were friendly at reception and at the restaurant, although I was amazed at the scenery I was a little confused about the shoes the waiting staff wore - converses, but we cannot judge but the service was great.

My dinner date and I had around  7 dishes between us. I cannot recall the number of dishes we had but we were welcomes with a basket choice of bread (that was freshly topped up after a while), an exciting choice of bread sticks with different sauces.

What I found amusing is how little the dishes were, I was a little confused when I was told for two people we should ideally order 6-7 dishes.

Here are the photos from the meal:

A beautiful chandelier for the table in the other room. 

A pano view 

Table lay out

The bread sticks and the different sauce options

Sea bass carpaccio

This was quite an interesting dish, I am not much of a fan of raw Sea Bass as I tend to have them steams in a Chinese way, the texture was nice. The fish was thin which almost looked invisible, and it gave an interesting taste when I had the pine nuts after. 

I forgotten the name of this dish, however I did remember not being too fond of it.

Stuffed tomatoes, parmesan and marjoram

I've never been a huge fan of tomatoes whether they are in salads or cooked, however the stuff tomatoes - I would say it was a little too juicy for my liking but in my opinion it was pretty basic and simple for me.

Pappardelle pasta, girolles, tomatoes and basil

I've always enjoyed having a pasta whenever I visit an Italian restaurant, however the pappardelle pasta does taste very home-made and different to the other pasta I have tried before in different restaurants that were not home (or in-house made). The sauce was tasty although I personally appreciate it more to be a little saucier (I am a sauce fanatic), the tomato was nice however as I previously had the stuffed tomatoes, it does seem a little overwhelming with my tomato eating. The mushrooms were nice (I love mushrooms).

Seared beef fillet, vegetables and girolles

I wasn't too sure of what to make of the seared beef fillet because by the time we ate the dish, we were pretty much full, however the taste was reasonable, although I did think it was a little too well done to my liking I wasn't too sure - my partner enjoyed trying the dish. The vegetables were nice however, I did appreciate more of girolles on the dish.

Blue lobster with Provence artichokes

I do enjoy this dish, it was a put together strangely if you ask my opinion, however the claw was a little smaller than I had initially expected but the taste was good.

We were given a mini biscuit as we were paying for the bill, which was quite an interesting mini gift from the Rivea, I didn't enjoy eating it though as much as I had been eager to consume the biscuit as it had a taste of almond which I didn't appreciate much of, my partner enjoyed it, I assume the biscuit was made in-house as I tried it the following day and it was soft and still smelt rather fresh.

It will be quite a nice decent visit for a couple or for after work, I visited the Rivea after work on a rainy day (typical London) and it was nice to enter the hotel then walking down the stairs to a almost different world.

Rivea, Bulgari Hotel, 171 Knightsbridge, London SW7 1DW

Tel:020 7151 1025

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