Great Rivington Lobster Massacre

Having chatted to a number of foodies on Twitter for a while, we decided on catching up for a twEATup... this is a get-together over food.  A last minute change of venues, we decided on heading to the Rivington Bar and Grill in Greenwich one evening after work.

I know Aussie Foodie through friends in Australia, and while we only met earlier this year, we've been having a blast ever since, and she's an absolute sweetie (just don't tell her I said so!!).  Aussie Foodie met Cook Sister a month or so previously at a blogger event, but I'd only "met" her via Twitter so far... and Cathy257 was a Twitter-only entity.  Now, this is likely to freak some people out - what if any of them were completely painful?!  But I was just looking forward to a girlie catch up over good food with people who will likely gush (or critique) as much as I will.

Arriving at the restaurant with Aussie Foodie, we found Cathy257 ordering a glass of wine, I did the same, Aussie Foodie opted for a cocktail and we headed outside to the patio area for a brief wait for Cook Sister who joined us for a pre-dinner drink.

Courteous service from the start, we were shown to our table, one of my only criticism for the evening being that the tables are just a little close together for my liking.  Perusing the menu, there were no discussion about calorie consumption or diets, these were girls cut from the same cloth.  We'd already been discovering each others likes and experiences and having a good laugh.

Beautiful hot home-made bread was bought to our table, we ordered some wine and contemplated the menu.  The menu looked delicious, but when we heard there was lobster on the menu eyebrows were raised.  We'd booked through a TopTable offer, and with 50% off a whole lobster and chips came to £13.50 each.  No guesses what all four of us ordered!

To start, some Maldon Oysters and Heritage Tomatoes were ordered, but I couldn't go past the Chilled Beetroot and Horseradish Soup.  It was absolute perfection in a bowl.  Delicious and refreshing, with a great kick, which I absolutely love.  I'm going to try to recreate this at home soon, but not sure that Boy Wonder will love it as he's not a fan of Gazpacho, but you never know...

And then the lobster arrived.  Now normally half a lobster would satisfy me... but I was determined to do this lobster justice.  I decided not to fill up on the carb-loaded chips, but that decision went out the window as soon as I tasted them... these were some of the best chips I'd tasted in a long time, golden and crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside with the most delicious home-made mayonnaise, exactly as it should be.

But back to the not so humble lobster.  It was fantastic, chargrilled sweet meat.  The four of us went quiet for quite some time... and believe me that is saying something!  The hollondaise it was served with was a lovely accompianment, not necessary but a lovely addition.  Not much else I can say other than the staff were very accommodating as we piled the discarded shells higher and higher... hence the well named Great Rivington Lobster Massacre!

Pretty much says it all really!

We adjourned to the sofas for dessert.  I had been having a yearning for chocolate, so spotting Chocolate Mousse on the menu my mind was made up.  I was to be sorely disappointed though, my biggest let-down of the evening.  It wasn't the cocoa rich concoction I had imagined but a sugar laden dessert with a lower grade chocolate than expected.  I barely ate a third of it, and had been expecting to lick the bowl clean.

Now it wasn't a perfect evening.  Service was a little patchy at times - we had to follow up a couple of requests - the tables were a little close for my liking, and the chocolate mousse was far from perfect.  But boy did I have a fantastic night.  The company made it one of my best nights out in a while, and I'm already looking forward to the next time!

Cheers, KangaRue

Beyond Brunch

You've got to love the irony.  BoyWonder had a friend coming over from the US, on the 4th of July... so we just had to take him and his friend to Hawksmoor for a traditional English brunch.  We've been a couple of times before, yet I've never made it past the brunch items.  This time I was determined to hit the Sunday Roast.  But before I get to that, I had to try the remaining Bloody Mary on the menu (there are three, but I've also been lucky enough to try the award winning special produced for the Ketel One promotion).  The Bloody Mary No. 16 is made with beef broth instead of tomato juice, and is served warm - I would have preferred it a bit more spicy, as I like my Bloody Mary's with a real kick, but it was really lovely.

Now, I'm not sure how he snuck it past me, but BoyWonder ordered a Zombie.  Last time he had one of these, he went missing on the train home, and lost a couple of hours.  But he did only have the one drink this time, which made a difference.  These things are lethal; with three rums, Falernum aand Absinthe (as well as grapefruit & lime juices, Bitters, Grenadine and spiced syrup), it's not surprisingly that only one is allowed per person.  A work friend of  BoyWonder's had his first Zombie, and lost his post-lunch afternoon!

The brunch selections for the rest of the table, were a huge success yet again - the HkMuffin and the Hawksmoor Breakfast didn't disappoint (you can read my previous blog on these here).  Oh, and I reverted to my favourite Bottomless Bloody Mary (No. 7) which is based on a 1921 recipe made with gin rather than vodka with fresh horseradish and a dash of Meantime Stout to the classic tomato juice, Worcestershire Sauce and Tabasco (extra for me please!).

"Traditionally, large joints of meat were roasted on a spit over an open fire.  To achieve a similar flavour we start ours on real charcoal and finish them in the oven"... then they add potatoes roasted in dripping, a Yorkshire Pudding, carrots, spinach, whole roasted shallots, and lashings of bone marrow and onion gravy.  Now my Mum makes the best roast.  Well, so I thought.  Sorry Mum!  This was absolutely kick-ass amazing.  The beef was so flavoursome - the quality is obvious - but it was also cooked perfectly, I couldn't have asked for any better.  The potatoes were fluffy on the inside, but nicely crisp and crunchy on the outside, and the Yorkshire Pudding was perfect with enough crunch at the top, but enough density and chewiness on the bottom... and the gravy is brilliant!

I desperately wanted to try the salt-caramel icecream... I really wanted to have it with the chocolate brownie, but I just didn't have the room for it.  But then there was the cornflake icecream too (this is to die for, and is something that must be experienced - I successfully convinced a couple of others at our table to try it and they weren't sorry they did).  In the end I decided on a scoop of each of the ice-creams.  BoyWonder had the cheese plate and from the slithers he allowed me, the quality of the rest of our meal was maintained.

So I'll just have to go back again to try the desserts.  I think I'll have to go and just try the desserts!  And perhaps the champagne cocktails that are the remaining "breakfast cocktails" I've yet to try.  Oh the tortures I endure to bring a thorough review!

Cheers, KangaRue

Ag-solutely Delightful

 Recently catching up on my Twitter feed, I heard a couple of people discussing The Royal Norfolk Show.  As they were discussing good food, it grabbed my attention, a quick google, a phone call to BoyWonder and we decided to take the day off work later in the week to head up there.

I love Ag Shows, but it had been years since I've been to one - The Royal Easter Show in Sydney was something that I loved going to as a kid.  The animals, produce displays and shows meant a great family day out, but as I got older, the focus of the show seemed to become more commercial with increasingly ridiculous prices for showbags and rides.  To be fair, there now seem to be some more reasonably priced showbags, but with the most popular lolly bags being $12-15 and the kids character bags at $20-25, it's not going to be a cheap day out for anyone.

But back to The Royal Norfolk Show...  it was a proper Ag Show.  I had a brief stint at an Agricultural Advertising Agency in what seems like a lifetime ago, and BoyWonder grew up in the country, so we know what a real Ag show is like.  And this one didn't disappoint.  After a quick glimpse at the dogs, we legged it over to the food tent to watch Dr. Tim Kinnaird demonstrate making the most beautiful Rose Macaroons (with natural colouring made from beetroot extract).  I'd sent a couple of cheeky tweets to Tim a day or two before the show, so it was lovely to meet him afterwards for a giggle.  And while I completed meeting the Masterchef 2010 finalists, I never did find out who was which of the hear-/see-/speak-no-evil monkeys.

Further wanderings around the food tent, we discovered Edinburgh Gin.  Now I'm usually a Tanqueray girl, but OMG, this is absolutely delicious.  A distinct yet subtle taste of botanicals, some specifically Scottish in origin (juniper berries, milk thistle, pine and heather) as well as the distillation taking place in "Jenny", a Scottish Copper Pot Still, have led to my changing allegiance at home, and hopefully out-and-about as it becomes more widely available.  The Sheep Dip Whisky that originally caught my attention at the stand was also really nice - beside the great name - with hints of orange, and low-peatiness, so yes, a bottle of this also made its way home with us.

Time for some lunch.  I'd been tweeting with Sarah from Bray's Cottage about the show (it was her tweet originally that led me to discovering it was on), I was on the hunt to try The Perfect Pork Pie.  Now, I'm not usually a huge fan of pork pies - I find them too fatty with too much jelly.  BoyWonder decided on a medium traditional pork pie (supposedly for slicing or sharing between two!) and I went for a Thai chilli version.  WOW!  This really is the best pork pie I have ever tasted.  The quality of the meat from home-reared rare breed pigs is obvious, it was well seasoned with a hint of onion marmalade, and the pastry was lovely as well.  Now I just need an excuse to order some!

Off to check out some livestock, everything you could possibly imagine from birds, alpacas, cows and bees... but my favourite was this inquisitive pig.  I named him Bacon.  I think BoyWonder's perverse sense of humour must be rubbing off on me - growing up he (briefly) had lambs named Lamp Chop and Mint Sauce.  Then we wandered around the farm equipment, saw the tractor show, with some really old tractors as well as the most modern bells-and-whistles variety.

Pork crackling and some craft stalls later, we spotted some bikes.  I had been on the verge of buying a new bike over a year ago before I put my back out.  Then my physio said no cycling (anything sitting was putting pressure on my problematic lower back).  So the old bike remained in the shed - it was just to heavy for me.  Lighter in weight and cheaper in price than the one I almost bought a year ago, I fell in love with this gorgeous pale-gold traditionally styled bike... Pretty isn't she!  I've now started cycling to work, and one week in my back has been pretty good, my knee has bothered me more. 

We apparently "had" to see the ferrets.  I've not been won over, though they have soft & silky fur, they stink.  So we headed back to the dogs, and saw the cutest puppy - we'd been speaking to her owner at the start of the day - win the best of the Toys category.  Now, I've wanted a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel for a while... the name Grace Kelly has already been chosen to join Lulu & Hermes in the handbag inspired names of our fur-babies.  And I think BoyWonder may be won over now as well.  Time and budget restrictions mean it won't be happening anytime soon, but how long can we resist these big brown eyes?!

What a fab day out!

Cheers, KangaRue

PS.  Do you like Ag-shows?  Have you ever been to one?  And are my pun-titles killing you?

I'm a shucker for good food

It's a month without an "R", and in the Northern Hemisphere, it's traditionally a good time to eat oysters.  As a child, my parents attempted to feed me oysters, and I tried chewing away with little result other than to put me off eating them for years.  It was only a few years ago that I tried oysters again, extremely good oysters... and I've been hooked ever since.  So when I heard that Le Cafe Anglais was holding an oyster shucking lesson, I asked my fellow foodie, Aussie Foodie, to join me.

Wright Bros Oyster and Porter House provided both the oysters and the expertise.  There were oysters from England, Ireland, Scotland and France.  I've watched a friend struggle to shuck oysters before, but having an expert show me how to hold the oyster in a tea towel protecting my hand, then apply pressure at the mouth of the oyster with a wiggling-twisting motion, I found it surprisingly easy to open my first oyster.

Platters were set out for those who would rather sit back and enjoy the action from a distance (Aussie Foodie!), with traditional dressings of shallots in red wine vinegar, lemon wedges and green and red Tabasco.  I tried all the toppings, but lemon with red Tabasco is still my favourite.  You could really tell a difference in the regionality of the oysters, with a variety of textures, sizes and meatiness - I think the French were my favourites this time around, but I'm looking forward to a trip to Colchester soon for the local variety.

Our plan to have the set menu of mussels, salad, chips and dessert was unsuccessful - after gorging on at least 8 oysters each, the last thing we wanted was more shellfish!  I insisted Aussie Foodie try the delicious Parmesan Custard with Anchovy Toast, which I raved about in a previous blog post from my visit last year - and it didn't disappoint, with the savory creaminess being perfectly balanced by the salty soldiers.

We sipped away on an amazing cocktail - a vodka martini that had been infused with Earl Grey tea, added depth was provided by an orange liqueur... and it was absolutely knock-your-socks off brilliant.  Possibly the best ever martini I've ever tasted... and I'll be trying to recreate this at home.

Rowley Leigh, head chef and proprietor, had suggested we try the Pike Boudin with Fines Herbes for our starter.  I'm so glad he did, as this was my favourite dish of the day.  (We shared courses in deference to both our wallets and our waist-lines).  A mousse-like sausage in a hollondaise-esq sauce that had a subtle bite.  I incorrectly thought the piquancy was from mustard, but it turned out to be from Tabasco.  The crumbed top added a crunchy contrast to the texture of the sausage, which really finished it off nicely.  And there was not a drop of sauce left on the plate when we finished!

For mains, we decided on the Wood Pigeon with Braised Peas and a side of Gratin Dauphinois.  In hindsight, this was probably a poor seasonal choice on our behalf, as while it was tasty, on the whole it was a little on the tough side.  There were perfect slithers of tender breast which saved the dish in my mind.  The braised peas and jus were a perfect match for the game and you really can't fault Dauphinois can you?!  We enjoyed a carafe of Ponte Pietra 2009 Corvina Del Veneto with this course, which was a good match - enough body to stand up to the meat without over powering it.  I love that Le Cafe Anglais has a range of wines offered by glass, small carafe and large carafe that are priced at the relevant percentage of the bottle (i.e. without further mark-ups), as it makes it easier to match wines with the courses.

Time for dessert.  Le Cafe Anglais does great dessert.  I'd hoped the chocolate souffle with pouring chocolate that I'd envied from across the room on my last visit was still on the menu, but as more of a wintery dish, I'll just have to return again.  We went for the Queen of Puddings instead.  A lemon curd and sponge with a thin layer of raspberry topped with delightful meringue... one of the better meringues I've had in a long time.  Utter deliciousness!  Had to be matched with the stickyness of a Monbazillac (2006 Domaine de l’Ancienne Cure) of course.

I've not been blown away by the mains at Le Cafe Anglais - possibly from poor choice on my behalf.  But perhaps when I next return, and I will, I'll stick to the hors d'oeuvres, starters and desserts - there's certainly enough deliciousness and choice amongst them to keep me well fed.

Cheers, KangaRue

PS.  Will you forgive me for the pun in the title?  I couldn't resist!

Gotta love the irony of eating Reindeer on Christmas Day!

I've had a fun Christmas season this year.  Whilst not as manic as previous years, there have been good friends and fun nights for which I'm very thankful.

This photo was taken in Oxford Street after cocktails with BoyWonder at Molton House.  I love the London Christmas lights, though not the crowds!  Glad I got the iconic taxi & bus in this shot.

I took a couple of days off work to organise the food for Christmas Day.  After visiting Neals Yard Dairy for our Christmas cheeses, I did a mammoth shop for the bulk of our food for the day - while the venison & pates were brought at Taste of Christmas (see previous post).  I spent the rest of the time baking shortbread.  Whilst shopping I took the opportunity to do some BookCrossing, dropping the first book in the oil & spice aisle, one I left in the trolley (suitably bagged to avoid the snow) and one in the coffee shop, where I enjoyed a festive hot chocolate!

Our Christmas Day started with Skype calls to our families in Australia - it was lovely to see them all and we even got to "show" them around our house!  We then kick-started the meal with smoked salmon, philly-cheese, rye bread, drizzled with lemon and cracked pepper, accompanied by the first of three bottles of Champagne for the day!  Our next course consisted of pigs in blankets accompanied by a very spicy Bloody Mary.  BoyWonder then did his amazing Champagne Prawns (accomanied by more Champagne of course!)...  Time for a nanna-nap before the "main" of saddle of venison, this stood for 12-hours in olive oil and a white peppercorn crust.

Our wine of choice for this course was Black Tempest Sparkling Shiraz which was delightful with rich blackberry & liquorice tones... a great combination.

The venison was absolutely delicious, with the "fillet" melting like butter in our mouths.  It was coated in duck-fat and basted every 5 minutes for approximately 35-40 minutes - due to the lack of fat in venison it cooks very quickly.  It sat while the jus (gravy) was made from the venison juices deglazed with brandy and white wine, mixed with stock and reduced before adding double cream... this is not a low-fat day after all!!!  Our meal was completed with roasted duck-fat potatoes that BoyWonder cooked to perfection, along with Brussel Sprouts (don't tell my Mum!), spinach, pumpkin, sweet potato and carrots.

We have yet to tackle the Christmas Pudding with a choice of Brandy Cream or Cointreau Butter nor the cheeses and pates, let alone the mince pies and shortbread... there's always tomorrow!

 

Happy Chrisnukkah to all!

 

Cheers, KangaRue

Lots going on...

Work has been insane, but I've still managed to have some fun!

Firstly, there was the opening night of The Parlour the first of half a dozen new restaurants/nightspots sorely needed in Canary Wharf.  I met two couples, Caroline and David, Joanne and Darren before BoyWonder turned up.  It was very loud, but the free drinks and occasional canapes sweetened the mood!  It's very different - read more funky - from any of the current venues, so very welcome.  Lunch a week or so later with the girls from the office lead to mixed reviews - my confit duck was great, as were the veggie lasagnas - though the risotto was a miss.
Next I went to visit my lovely and talented friend Patrick - hairdresser to the stars - and me of course!  So I started that Friday as a blonde, but ended up a red-head; with a dose of purple thrown into the back for good measure.  We went for drinks afterwards at our club Molton House which is a high-fashion bar with a good wine list (the South African pinotage-viogner blend was lovely) - I'm looking forward to going back for cocktails and to try out the restaurant... and when work gets less nuts, to go for a boogie in the nightclub.

Last night BoyWonder and I met up with half of the Parlour Pals again to check out Lower East, another new opening at Canary Wharf.  The plan was to have dinner there, then head to Mile End to introduce them to a great East End pub, but we never made it.  Dinner was good, with some mixed results.  Good cocktails, wine, organic oysters, crab cakes and venison; but overcooked, under-seasoned steak and tasteless half-pint of prawns let it down... the friendly service may be its saving grace.

While I was there I also managed to do a Wild BookCrossing Release.  Leaving the book behind at the bar stool, was easy - and it wasn't there when I checked later, so fingers crossed that some kind soul found it, will post it's find online and I'll get to know about its travels.  I've also done a couple of "Controlled Releases" and Exchanges so once those have come to fruition there will be more news.

Other than that, I spent today shopping for an angle-grinder and blade with BoyWonder - tres excitement... then we went to the garden centre to appease me... when did we become middle aged?!  Study tomorrow...

Cheers, KangaRue

Does anyone out there NOT know I'm a Fag-Hag?!

Today is International Coming Out Day.  An inspirational way to support equality, raise awareness of the difficulties and celebrate the courage of LGBT people.  It was a simple effort to change my Facebook status, join the Facebook event and post a couple of updates on Twitter to show I was an ally (others chose gay/bisexual/lesbian/transgender as appropriate).

There couldn't have been better timing to see the cabaret group of the London Gay Men's Chorus perform "Far From Kansas - Oklahomo".  It sold out at the Edinburgh Fringe this year, and I understand why.  The story of 18 lonely, gay cowboys looking for love at "Dick's Halfway Inn" was brilliantly entertaining, with some deliciously wicked rewriting of some classic show-tunes.  Laugh-out-loud funny, I'd recommend checking out the video of "Brokeback meets Broadway in the heart of London".

Oh, and there was "Karaoke" in the bar afterwards - but with a lot of the LGMC who were in the audience taking part, there was no way I'd be embarrassing myself, with my distinct lack of tune.  However, my lovely friend Mikey got up to sing "Fame".  The party went on without me - well, I did want to get this blog out ;)

Can't wait to see Singderella this Christmas!

Cheers, KangaRue

Friendship and Food

I consider myself extremely fortunate to have a few friends that, no matter how long it's been, when I do eventually see them again we click; Sue is one of those friends. We met years ago through work; and though our lives have taken us to different companies, countries and directions, when we get together we have such a great connection. We laugh, commiserate, share tales and generally have a whale of a time.

On this occasion Sue was in London for only 24 hours... so after meeting her at the airport we shared news of the last 7 or 8 years over a bottle of wine into the wee small hours - she also met BoyWonder for the first time! The following day was planned for glamorous swanning around...

We started the day trying on jewellery, discovering some lovely handmade pieces by designer Andrew Geoghegan and then headed over to the 5th Floor Bar at Harvey Nic's for Champagne, then downstairs for make-overs. After a spot of shopping for Sue's girls (OK, I bought some "snow" for Christmas too), we headed to lunch.

Le Café Anglais is an elegant restaurant, with magnificent floor-to-ceiling windows and tables that are a discreet distance apart - I'll be sending my boss here in the future - and good for our catch-up without annoying nearby diners. I'd missed our long weekend lunches in Sydney where a few of the girls would get together for discussions and debates over the broadest range of topics - there were some pretty eye-opening exchanges!

One thing I learnt from this lunch is not to expect to do all this catching-up and actually remember to take pictures of the dishes or even what they were called... I do however remember the hors d'oeuvre that was recommended to me by Essex Eating, the Parmesan custard with anchovy toast was out of this world! I must mention that our waitress was lovely and knowledgeable about the menu - we wanted a Pinot Noir, and rather than pointing us to the "safe" and higher priced Bourgogne she recommended the lovely Nittnaus from Austria, not something I would have felt confident choosing.

Thankfully I did take a photo of the weekday lunch menu so I was able to check back on most of the other dishes we had. Our starters of the creamiest & buttery Burrata was a great combination with the smoky aubergine. Both my plaice with brown butter and Sue's choice of lamb were lovely, though I'd be interested in sampling the more adventurous a'la carte menu, which is where we headed for dessert.

This proved to be an exceedingly tough choice. I pondered having the chocolate soufflé, but wanted something a little more refreshing. I can't remember what it was called (nor for the life of me what Sue had!) but I went for this spectacular concoction of vanilla mousse encased in raspberry sponge roulade. We each enjoyed dessert with a glass of Monbazillac.

A mad dash through the rain ended our day of glamour somewhat unceremoniously, as did the epic traffic to Heathrow. And while in the future I may forget exactly what we'd eaten, it's the experience with my friend that I'll remember.

Cheers, KangaRue