Archives for posts with tag: seafood

I am lazy. If it was not for my friends visiting from US, I probably would not be bothered to head East for food, especially when the destination was a restaurant that does not take bookings. In this case, my friends decided to head there early to get a table. When I arrived at 7pm, the place was still not full so at least it was not a frustrating start to the evening.

Corner Room is the breakfast room of a boutique hotel, which was converted from and named after The Town Hall in Bethnal Green. It is strange to see such a smart hotel in a scruffy neighbourhood like this. I think in modern terms, that is ‘hip’. Like its big sister Viajante, Corner room is also run by Chef Nuno Mendes.

The dining area was lovely- simple and full of light. There was a lot of seafood on the menu. We had Mackerel with melon, pistachio & gooseberry granita (photo above) and Stone bass ceviche & broad beans (2 photos down) as starters. They were fresh, firm and well-seasoned. Though the mackerel was served in a curious straight line, offset from the centre of the circular plate. I did not realise at the time, but it was actually a preview of the bizarre presentation style that was to continue throughout the whole meal. Continue to see more! >>

Tags ceviche, Corner Room, London, Nuno Mendes, presentation, review, seafood, Town Hall Hotel

Categories Food & Drink, my good book

The Summerhouse: good (pop-up) venue but dull food

By winkypedia

June 26, 2011 //

The Summer House is a pop-up restaurant near Little Venice. With tables by the canal, it was a great hit last summer. Back then, I went there with a group of friends and it was a lovely evening. It took me a month to arrange as it was so popular!

This year, the Summerhouse was the top of my list when I came up with this impulsive idea of meeting my friend E on the longest day of the year. I was surprised that I could still book a table with only a day’s notice. Though it did not take me long to understand why. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags canal, London, pop-up, restaurant, review, seafood, summer, waterway

Categories Food & Drink, My Bad Book

Geoduck – an underrated shellfish

By winkypedia

February 9, 2011 //

Geoduck is not a duck. It is a salt water clam. In Chinese it is called 象拔蚌- ‘elephant trunk clam’ as it has a long and chunky siphon, which looks just like an elephant trunk. It looks a little ugly but it is yummy! I am surprised Heston Blumenthal, chef of Fat Duck ( 3 Michelin starred restaurant and one of the top 3 restaurants in the world) and Dinner (his new popular venture in Mandarin Oriental, London) have not used them for his quirky Fishy Feast already!

The best way to cook geoducks is to have them steamed with garlic, spring onion and glass noodles. It is tender and the fresh garlic complements very well the natural sweetness of the geoducks. The glass noodles enhance the texture in the mouth.

Alternatively, geoducks can be enjoyed as thinly sliced sashimi. They are naturally sweet. The texture is a little similar to Continue reading about Geoducks >>

Tags Chinese cooking, clam, 象拔蚌, geoduck, Heston Blumenthal, Hong Kong, review, seafood

Categories Food & Drink, my good book

The Company Shed in Mersea- an adventure of seafood and more

By winkypedia

January 29, 2011 //

It is a treat to go to the Company Shed, both for the value for money seafood and for the enjoyable journey. It is situated on Mersea Island, which is not far from London but it has a completely different pace. It is calm and relaxing. It is a perfect place for weekend lunch!

It is run by Heather Haward, whose husband and son are the producers of the some of the finest farmed flat oysters in Britain. The Haward family deals directly with local fishermen who land their catches daily. It started off as a fishmonger but its eaterie is as popular.

For £11.95, we got a seafood platter which could cost easily double in other restaruants. I think I had better smoked salmon and mackeral elsewhere. The shrimps, crevettes, cockles and crab were lovely though.

My favourite dish was green- lipped mussels with parmesan and herb crust. The mussels were big, meaty and succulent. The crust was fragrant and tasty. It act as a little ‘lid’ Continue reading >>

Tags Company Shed, Mersea, native oyster, Pacific oyster, prawns, review, scallop, seafood

Categories Food & Drink, my good book

Koba

By winkypedia

November 1, 2010 //

Koba is a small Korean restaurant just off Oxford Street. The decoration is modern and neat. The main dining area has a big rooflight- I can imagine the space being flooded with nice daylight during lunch time and mid-summer evenings. Booking is recommended as you will be asked to sit by the bar if this area is fully booked.

The menu is easy to understand as all the dishes feature photos. All the dishes are beautifully presented. Unfortunately, the food is not up to the same standard.

Yook Hwei (Seasoned raw beef with sliced pears) is a dish I always order in Korean restaurants as it can really distinguish a good restaurant from the ordinary. Koba’s raw beef is fresh but the pear pieces are too chunky. Even though the taste is good, the overall texture is less balanced- I have had better ones at Arang before.

Pajun (Korean Pancake with spring onion & seafood) is crispy on the outside and soft inside. With chopped chewy squid, it is a nice combination.

For Barbeque, we had Koba Modeum Gooi, which is highly recommended by the chef. It is a selection of rib-eye slices, beef short rib, pork belly slices, chicken, baby octopus, prawns, melon slices, mushroom and onions. Pork belly slices are my favourite Korean barbeque meat but at Koba, it is a big disappointment. The pork slices are too thin and the dipping source had too much sesame oil in it. If I did not dip the belly slices into the sauce, the meat was tasteless. If I did, I felt like I was just eating oil. The rib-eye slices and prawns were dull. They were not fresh enough for me to taste the natural flavour. It was disappointing. Continue reading about Koba >>