Foie Gras Sushi

Christmas is fast approaching and I am seriously looking forward to my brief return home... A large proportion of my holiday consumption will always consist of sushi, and I can't wait to get my hands on some of THIS while catching up with old friends.

x

A week in London

Life has been hectic as I've tried to settle down in Houston.

But I did go back to London last month to attend my graduation ceremony. Obviously I tried to cram as much in as possible, which included watching Phantom of the Opera for the third time and revisiting some of my favourite restaurants and shops.

It's hard not to miss such a great city and not feel sad about not knowing when I'll next be back!

First night in London: my dad wanted to try out the Goring Restaurant, as the corresponding hotel is where Kate Middleton spent the night before her wedding. They have a well-priced 3 course dinner menu.

They made arrangements for my dad's birthday as requested :)

I've been to Terroirs once before and so I brought my parents there for a quick meal before watching Phantom. It's like gourmet comfort food ♥

Snails on toast 

Quail on polenta

Candy Cafe completes my life...

THAT cheesecake crepe

Graduation @ Royal Albert Hall

The day after: lunch with the parents at the Ledbury.

I let my dad order the lamb... tasted just as amazing as the last time.

The truffle toast that accompanied the buffalo milk curd

The brilliant violet ice cream!

A good friend treated me to dinner at Mitsukoshi. Why have I not been before? You know it's good when even the Japanese go there!

There is a huge gaping hole in my life that rose macarons once occupied... Can someone send me some from Pierre Herme please?

The Harwood Arms... partly owned by Brett Graham of the Ledbury, I've been meaning to try this gastropub for a long time. For some reason, I forgot to book a table and we were only able to sit at the bar. Thankfully, the "bar snacks" still make for a decent lunch.

THAT scotch egg

And lastly... the obligatory souvenirs:

Finally managed to tick off a lot of things on my wish list (please bear with the pink overload; I have my moments!), like the teacup and mug I bought at the Harrods store at the airport just before leaving.

I've been back in Houston for a fortnight now... and although interesting restaurants and shops aren't condensed together like in London, I'm sure that there will be good finds - if I look hard enough. 

Dear London... I will be back someday. x

Cafe Makoto - Hong Kong

I spent a month back at home in Hong Kong, and my parents took me to Cafe Makoto for a farewell dinner. 

Like many Hong Kong people, I'm obsessed with sushi. "Going home for dinner? I'll just pop a few on the way back." "Tired from all the shopping? I'll just sit down for a bite!" There are many decent, affordable sushi places in Hong Kong (interesting read), and the sushi at Cafe Makoto is definitely up to standard. I'm not a fan of places that overdress the sushi in an attempt to be innovative. The umami in the raw fish gets totally swamped. Less is more - leave it alone!

Situated in Yuen Long, Cafe Makoto overlooks the grimy town. I was surprised I'd never been as I live nearby; I'm just used to going to Itacho Sushi and Itamae sushi, both members of the Taste Of Japan group. We go out Sunday night for dinner, as this is our domestic helper's day off. 

Marketing itself as a Western/Japanese restaurant, oysters are on the menu. Yay!  

A gorgeously rich lobster bisque.

 

Baked fresh scallop with black truffle sauce - sounds good on paper... but alas! The cheese was a little weird.

The wasabi roasted lamb chop with red wine sauce was an interesting combination and worked out well. We ended with a cheesecake - this place is part japanese after all.

Slightly on the expensive side for a Sunday night... but the decor is quite elegant. I wish I came here more often with my parents.

Missing London / Hong Kong terribly... will post more soon! x

Dinner By Heston

A few of weeks ago, I was lucky enough to secure a booking for Dinner a few days before the booked date (I randomly clicked on different times until someone suddenly cancelled). Most of my friends were still busy with their final year projects, but I did manage to find someone to go with in the end. Turns out that while I'm obsessed with eating, he's obsessed with cooking.

I have something to admit though. My sense of smell went downhill these past few months; I thought that it was accumulative damage from being sick all the time. Fortunately, when I went to Greece last week my sense of smell slowly recovered! I honestly thought I'd never get it back. Perhaps it's because I was more active on holiday... who knows.

But anyways! Here is what we had at Dinner By Heston.

Side note: the bread was disappointingly stale. Which is a shame, because bread done right is a triumph in itself (take Ledbury's bacon and onion brioche, for example).

Starters: there was never any doubt that I was going to choose Meat Fruit! Chicken liver parfait in a "skin" of mandarin jelly. After this meal, I caught up on all of the episodes in Heston's Feasts; turns out that he created this dish on the show. I'm just so glad he doesn't use bull's bollocks for the filling anymore. My friend opted for Rice and Flesh; I didn't try it but he gobbled it up in about 30 seconds, so it must've been good.

Mains: my friend tried the Black Foot Pork Chop while I went for the beef. They were offering an alternative cut to the Sirloin of Black Angus on the menu for £5 more; I chose that but I've forgotten exactly what it was!

It's true that the mains are the most underwhelming, but it was still the softest steak I'd ever had. The generous dollop of bone marrow on top reminded me of my meal at the Ledbury.

This was accompanied by mushroom ketchup and triple cooked chips.

Both of us ordered Tipsy Cake and from what I could taste this was scrumptious! The alcohol added a nice kick to the cake but it was still so comforting to eat. I wasn't mightily impressed by the piece of pineapple... but this may be due to my then lack of smell.

We finished off with an earl grey ganache and caraway seed biscuit. I love drinking tea so this turned out to be my favourite part of the meal. And it was free!

x

Posh Picnic @ Green Park

Okay well... this first item is not so posh. 

But I was starving and the hotdog stall was just too conveniently placed at one of the entrances to the park :o)

I got these plastic champagne flutes from sainsbury's. good fun for a picnic! Though the bases kept falling off...

Royal Wedding cupcakes (yes I am a little late) from Hummingbird. Adorable.

I was happy to find that Ladurée macarons are as good as Pierre Hermé - but I think I prefer Pierre Hermé's version of the rose macaron. Mmm. 

x

Brighton Eats

I'm just a little bit obsessed with Reeses.

My friend couldn't stop raving about how good it was. I still prefer Lola's!

Delicious seafood! The friendly waiter made it all the more enjoyable.

Our last meal of the day at The Brasserie Fish was also the most mediocre, which was unfortunate as we had just walked so far to Brighton Marina...

Sure, the restaurant looks elegant enough, but the food was a let down, compared to the cheap and cheerful eats we had had all day. It didn't help that we could hear the chef shouting in the kitchen.

All in all, it was still a fantastic day - we'll be back for sure to stuff our faces!