Patrick

Cambridge’s Midsummer House

February 21, 2010 Patrick British, Cambridge, Michelin Starred, Restaurants, UK

To celebrate the end of our project, a number of us decided to take the plunge and book in a dinner at Midsummer House. Located in the middle of Midsummer Commons’ park and right next to the river, I can imagine that it would be particularly lovely eating al fresco in the outdoors. Fortunately in winter when it’s much colder and particularly damp, the bright indoor eating area does just fine. We were one of the first tables to be seated at 7pm, although I think we were also one of the last remaining tables at the end of the night, obviously enjoying the food and wine that was soon to come.

When we arrived, they took our coats and led us to our table – a plain white table clothed round table right next to their bay windows where we could see fairy lights dotting their outdoor garden. We had an apertif to start (a number of gin and tonics and champagne for the table) where we then got a look at the menu. Midsummer House does do a number of dishes for vegetarians but their tasting menu is predominantly mixtures of meats and seafood that probably wouldn’t be that appealing. We ended up with the tasting menu (a number of courses for £85). Here’s a picture of Midsummer House from the outside before dinner:

To begin with, we had a number of small amuse bouche. I don’t remember exactly what this dish was, but it was some sort of foam dish with a light fruit. It was a nice way to start the palatte as it had sharp citrus flavours that stimulated the taste buds.

Whilst we perused the menu, we were then offered a number of other canapes including a whitebait fritter (the fried things in the left side of the picture below), and a bread puff filled with a savoury mixture. I remember both were light crisp and almost too easy on the way down.

After deciding on the tasting menu, a small cart arrived by the tableside, where they prepared a palette cleanser. With small round bowls that looked like mini balloons, they dispensed a canister including yet another type of foam.

It was a pink grapefruit and champagne foam! Hurrah. The flavours of the grapefruit were particularly sublime although you could taste the fizz from the champagne and was a lovely way to cut through the savoury tone of our canapes. I’m a little bit over the whole foam thing, but at least it was guaranteed to be a light way of starting.

Our first real course on the tasting menu was a White Onion, Apple and Scallion bisque. The apple was cut into small chunks, providing the texture to, an otherwise, monotonic but creamy soup. It was served in an impressive pleated bowl.

After being warmed up slightly by the soup, we then moved onto a Beetroot cannelloni, filled with small bits of goats cheese served with a horseradish sorbet, and a celery side salad. The cannelloni was really light and wasn’t too overpowering with the beetroot flavour. Its crispness as you cut into a small chunk then led you to a perfect pairing of salty goats cheese, without being overwhelming. Adding in the heat of the horseradish and surprising cold from the sorbet, was an amazing mouthfeel to last. I was a huge fan of this particular dish that was also vegetarian friendly.

Our next dish was definitely less vegetarian friendly, being Sautéed scallops topped with iberico ham, some fresh sage, and then a creme fraiche topped with green olives. The scallops were delightfully cooked – browned on the outside yet soft and perfectly cooked flesh. The iberico ham wasn’t overpowering, being shaved extremely thin and it worked really well with the other elements. Interestingly they didn’t actually describe all the elements on the plate when they put the dish down although we had great guess as a group picking all the remaining ingredients.

The next course soon arrived, Sweetbreads, pistachio, maple syrup and mouli. I remember thinking how the maple syrup could have dominated the lighter flavours of sweetbread, but was pleasantly surprised when you had the strange sweetness but not in the concentrated burst I’d feared. The mouli provided a nice contrast to the dish as well.

The next dish was Langoustine and Cuttlefish Risotto. As you can probably tell from the picture below, the risotto wasn’t a true risotto – instead made up of a cuttlefish cut into perfectly small cubes resembling the white firmness one would expect from a well made risotto. The langoustine was perfectly cooked, super sweet and went down almost too fast.

Our next dish was a “Pousse Cafe” meant to be drunk as a single shot. I remember it being fairly warm, and made up of a number of different savoury soups of different textures. It was brilliant how they layered the different flavours that when it was tipped into your mouth, then turned into a wonderful experience, further warming the belly as it made its way down. Yum!

After this enjoyable experience, we had the Pigeon, sweet potato and cocoa nibs. As you can the pigeon was pistachio-crusted which I thought was going to overpower the pigeon but simply added an interesting texture dimension to the dish. Pigeon, being slightly more gamey was much more tougher than what I was expecting but we still managed to have no problems cutting into it with a butter knife.

The cheese cart arrives – hurrah! With a huge selection of many different types of cheeses. It is actually an additional course (£5 for the small plate, and £12 for the large). Interestingly, the small plate ended up with four cheeses, the large five cheeses although I wasn’t sure if you could pick many many more for the large plate. The sizes of the cuts weren’t noticeably different.

After the cheese course, our desserts started arriving, the first being a Lemon grass topped with lady grey mousse. I thought it was a very interesting concoction and cleverly put together – the citrus tones working well to complement each other. It was a nice, light creamy dessert that was actually a pretty significant size.

Our next dessert was Warm kumquats served with lemon thyme ice cream that did well to continue the citrus-based themes of desserts. The kumquats looked like they had been caramelised with some sugar, being very potent on their own. I felt the pressure to down this one as the warmth from the fruits started to turn the ice cream to cream and it was definitely great to have that hot and cold contrast again with complementary flavours.

Our final “dessert” of the evening was this spectacular Tiramisu that was a much more deconstructed version of any tiramisu you’d likely ever see. You have the marscapone element as a cold ice cream, a dark chocolate truffle sitting to the side, and a chocolate tube containing the coffee cream with amazing cotton candy sitting on top. They brought each to the table before pouring the shot of espresso right through the cotton candy and in the middle of the tube that then spilled on to the rest of the plate. This was definitely one of the many desserts you wanted to keep lasting.

We then had some coffees and tea with the petite fours (which I didn’t try because I was so full and chocolate was definitely too rich after that series of desserts).

Amazingly that wasn’t the last of it when they brought out the final dish, Freshly sugared Beignets (AKA Donuts) with a lemon marmalade and freshly made creme anglaise (i.e. custard). Despite being particularly full I couldn’t stop myself from trying this. The custard was absolutely divine and the donuts light and not sickeningly sweet. A great surprise at the end of the meal.

Service was very good throughout the evening – not even noticing when they took plates away. One thing they could improve on is if their sommelier talked about the various wines as we went through the evening with the dish – rather than simply pouring them and then walking away. The wine tasting menu looked like this:

Touraine Sauvignon Blanc, Francois Chidaine, Loire Valley, France, 2008
Vin de Pays d’Oc, One Block Muscat, Domain de Treloar, Roussillon, France, 2006
Chenin Blanc, Rudera, Stellenbosch, South Africa, 2008
Albarino, Valminor, O Rosal, Rias Baixas, Spain, 2008
Shiraz, Oliver’s Taranga Vineyard, McLaren Vale, South Australia, 2003
Tokaji Aszu, 4 Puttonyos, Disnoko, Tokaji, Hungary, 2004
Pedro Ximenes Viejo, Noe, Gonzales Byass, Jerez, Spain, NV

Homemade Honey and Pear Sorbet

February 17, 2010 Patrick Dessert, Recipe, Vegetarian

When I had some friends around for dinner in January, I wanted to focus the meal using seasonal ingredients. One of the ones currently in season (in January) at least, are pears, so the weekend before I ended up at the Islington Farmer’s market.

The wonderful thing about the farmers markets is that you end up with some really fresh fruits and vegetables, and even though they don’t look like the perfectly polished wax-ware you might find in your typical supermarket, the taste is like nothing you can believe. At the stand that I purchased them from, they even had four varieties of pears on offer, some better for cooking retaining their shape, others better for reducing down into sauces, and others that were best for eating fresh, remaining crisp.

Inspired by the fact that I had, indeed, bought some really fresh fruits, I wanted to make a pear and honey sorbet. I couldn’t really find any recipes on the internet, so I made one up myself.

Here’s the one that I used:

Ingredients

1.5 kg pears
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
squeeze of half a lemon
tablespoon of vodka

Put the honey, sugar, lemon and water in a saucepan and heat using a low heat until the sugar has melted. In the meantime, peel the pears, taking out the core and seeds, and then slice them so they all sit underneath the liquid. I substituted honey instead of sugar to add a different dimension of sweetness. I added the lemon because I didn’t want the pears to brown too quickly. Poach the pears until you can stick a fork through them without too much resistance.

Cool the mixture down, and add the vodka. I don’t know if the vodka had much effect, but I hoped that it would mean that the sorbet didn’t freeze too hard.

After the mixture is cooled down, using a blender (I used a stab blender), puree the mix until you achieve the same sort of consistency. I guess you could choose to them pass it through a sieve if you want the pear juice/nectar but I think it’s quite nice to have some texture in the sorbet.

Freeze in an ice cream maker and you’re done!

How did it turn out? I served the sorbet with a pear crumble and it went down a treat. The honey certainly added depth to the sorbet, although I think I would change the ratio of honey to sugar next time to further accentuate the flavours of the pear.

Peppered Mushroom & Stilton Pie

February 16, 2010 Patrick Recipe, Vegetarian

This year, I’ve been eating at least two full days of vegetarian cuisine. It’s forcing me to look at new recipes and try out some new things like the BBC’s Peppered Mushroom and Stilton Pie recipe. Highly recommended:

Here’s a picture after scooping out a serving:

Pad Kee Mao

February 14, 2010 Patrick Asian, Recipe, Thai

One of my favourite Thai dishes is the famously spicy Pad Kee Mao. Its spiciness is said to contribute to its English translation, “Druken Noodles” not because the noodles are drenched in any particular liquid, but because you often need to reach for a drink due its spiciness and best drunk with beer.

Not all Thai places serve this noodle, but I often ask them if they do it off the menu (great where they actually have a real Thai chef). I’ve successfully made this at home, so here’s the recipe that I used:

Ingredients

4 tbsp water
2 tsp brown sugar/palm sugar
1/4 tsp rice vinegar
1 1/2 tsp gold mountain (a classic seasoning sauce used in Thai cooking)
1 tsp soy regular
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp smashed thai chillies
1 sliced chilli
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 block of firm tofu cubed into bite sized pieces
vegetables
flat rice noodles, separated into different strands
bell pepper/capsicum
onion
Thai basil (optional)

Method

Combine the water, sugar, gold moutain, soy, oyster sauces together with the smashed chillies. This will be added at the end of the cooking.
Prepare all vegetables – slice the onions, peppers into fine strips. Cut the vegetables into similar sizes.
Fry the tofu until it has a relatively crispy skin and set aside
Reheat the pan, starting with the garlic, onion then adding the chili to fry off.
Cook the vegetables and when ready, add the noodles. Having previously separated them makes it easier to mix together and still leave whole
Add the tofu and then fry until the noodle is soft and cooked. At the last moment, throw in the prepared sauce and stir until the noodles are evenly coated with it
Just before serving, I like to mix some Thai basil through to add another layer of flavour

Where the good coffee ain’t: Double Shot Espresso

January 27, 2010 Patrick UK

I’m always excited to find a new place that looks like it does decent coffee. I stumbled across this one when walking around Covent Garden, noting it down for a try next time I was in the area and looking for a coffee. From first appearances, it looks promising – great comfy couches, a warm cafe vibe and a name that declares it a home for the coffee aficionado.

I stood patiently in line behind a few other people, noting the prepacked sandwiches and ordinary looking cake and pastry selection. When my turn came, I ordered a small latte and it didn’t take long for the barista to prepare it. When I paid the average priced coffee (£2-ish from memory) he also handed me a loyalty card without any prompting. I thought this was a nice service-oriented touch. As I was walking outside, I noticed the cup becoming unbearably hot so I quickly slipped on my gloves before moving anywhere else. Cautioned, I took a small sip and found the latte excessively bitter and the milk far too hot to drink at all.

I really wanted to like this place. After all, London can always do without any of the chain coffee places and better boutique espresso-based cafes. Unfortunately I couldn’t even finish the coffee, ending up at Monmouth’s on the other side of Covent Garden.

Name: Double shot coffee
Found at: 38 Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 7PB

Beef Rendang

January 25, 2010 Patrick Asian, Recipe

I’ll put my hand up. I’ve been obsessed by beef rendang ever since having Vanessa’s slow cooked version at our gathering back in November. I was a bit worried because they used a slow cooker, tenderising the meat something over like eight hours of cooking. Although they aren’t particularly expensive, I really don’t need a slow cooker in the kitchen just yet. Looking around on the Internet, there are plenty of versions of beef rendang. Here’s the version that I used (it’s a slightly modified version by that provided by John Torode here).

Ingredients:

1 lemongrass stalks, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (peanut, or olive is fine)
1 1/2 large onions, sliced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
4 red Thai bird’s chillies, seeds removed, chopped
1 thumb-sized piece ginger, peeled and chopped into very fine slivers
1 thumb-sized piece galangal, peeled and chopped into very fine slivers
1 bay leaf
750g braising steak cut into 2.5cm cubes
400g canned coconut milk
250ml strong veal or beef stock, heated

Directions:

For the beef rending, pound the lemongrass to a pulp using a pestle and mortar. Tip the lemongrass into a small bowl.
Heat the frying pan over a medium heat. Add the coriander, cumin seeds and turmeric and dry fry until fragrant. Tip the spices into a spice grinder or the pestle and mortar. Grind the spices to a powder if using a grinder, or pound in a pestle and mortar until the spices are as smooth as possible. Set aside.
Fry the onions, garlic, chillies, ginger and pounded lemongrass to the pan in the heated oil and cook gently until the onions have softened and the mixture is fragrant.
Add the reserved ground spices and the bay leaf and fry for a few minutes more.
Add the meat and increase the heat so that it browns on all sides. Stir until the meat is completely coated with the spices – this will take a few minutes.
Add the coconut milk, bring to the boil, then add the hot stock.
Turn the heat down low and continue cooking for at least 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally until the sauce becomes thick and coats the meat well.

I changed some of the preparation and ingredients to John’s recipe. I added the fresh galangal because I wanted a bit more of that gingery flavour it imparts and another dimension is always great in a curry. I also extended the cooking time on a slower heat because I wanted the flesh to fall apart. I didn’t reduce the liquid until the meat was already soft to ensure that all the pieces had a chance to sit and boil equally in the liquid. I also added another chilli, figuring that it would still retain its partial heat but not overpower it.

Serve with freshly steamed vegetables and some white rice. Enjoy!

The Punter in Cambridge

January 15, 2010 Patrick British, Cambridge, Restaurants, UK

Another great find by some work mates, The Punter is definitely a true gastropub. The relatively recently renovated interior is beautiful with exposed wooden beams (mind the head) and artful wallpaper and artwork for sale hanging from the different walls.

This place is definitely worth booking as it is is definitely popular with locals for good reason. They have a great selection of wines (over 90) and with an ever changing menu from light bites to big meals, it is a perfect spot for trying something new.

On the day that we went, I started the meal off with a stilton broccoli soup accompanied by plenty of well crisped croutons to give some more contrast to the dish. The flavours were deep and bold and was a perfect way to start a dinner on a cold evening in Cambridge.

I then went for the Hunter’s chicken pie which was a hearty, massive pie dish filled with a luscious pie filling. Rather than chunks of chicken, they’d opted for a deboned version with small strands of chicken floating around in a creamy sauce with vegetables. I had to order a side of their wonderfully crisp, fluffy chips as well which was perfect for dipping in this divine sauce. I was pretty full and probably shouldn’t have ordered dessert, but my eyes were definitely bigger than my stomach that night…

So I still ordered the cardamom creme brulee for dessert. It was quite a nice brulee with that perfect set custard texture and a caramelised, but importantly not burnt sugar crust on top. Unfortunately it, too, was such a large serve that I couldn’t finish it that night.

We had a really great time at The Punter. It’s a great gastropub with lots of character and awesome food. Whilst service wasn’t as prompt as one could hope for, it was still very friendly and hospitable considering how busy it seemed that night.

Name: The Punter
Found at: 3 Pound Hill, Cambridge, CB3 0AE
Website: None but you can see a review here.
TheKua.com Rating: 8 out of 10

Restaurant 22

January 12, 2010 Patrick Cambridge, Restaurants, UK

For the last three months of 2009, I was travelling to Cambridge for a project. Unlike Marlow, I only stayed over two or three times during the project. Cambridge has a much greater variety of foods than Marlow, and Restaurant 22 is one of those little gems worth visiting for dinner. Excuse the poor photos in this post since they were taken with my iPhone.

The restaurant looks more like a supper club, with the owners converting an old house into a restaurant. The seating capacity is quite small with only the ground floor entrance as the main dining room (seating about 30ish people) and then a private room seating about 8 or 10 about. It’s even one of those British houses that still have carpet in their toilets! Fortunately the whole place is very well kept and spotless. They focus on providing a two or three course meal for a reasonable amount, and with an extensive wine list to pair with all the dishes.

We were given an amuse bouche, of a small cup of a creamy cauliflower soup with some basil oil drizzled on top. Considering that it was so cold outside, this small surprise added a great start to the meal. Unfortunately none of my photos of the rabbit terrine with an apple chutney and toasted brioche turned out. It was a cold starter, and the you can at least tell the terrine was home made with hearty chunks of rabbit.

Another surprise arrived shortly afterwards with a small palette cleanser in the form of a scoop of pear sorbet. This was deliciously fruity with tones of honey throughout.

My main meal soon arrived shortly afterwards, being a Blackened Sea Bream with Winter Vegetable Casserole. The fish was nicely cooked with a crisp skin and still soft flesh that fell apart with the fork yet still remaining juicy. The winter vegetable casserole was nice and hearty as well.

Dessert was a perfect ending to a great meal, a sticky date pudding with ice cream. Who doesn’t like those sensations of hot and cold mixing together with a light cake surrounded by a rich sauce. Delicious.

I’d highly recommend dining at the Restaurant 22. It’s a nice little find and its intimate and unique atmosphere definitely has a lot of charm. It’s admittedly not great for parties over six or more and perfect for tables of two to four.

Name: Restaurant 22
Found at: 22 Chesterton Road, Cambridge, CB4 3AX
Website: http://www.restaurant22.co.uk/ (bookings recommended!)
TheKua.com Rating: 9 out of 10

The Gun

January 10, 2010 Patrick British, Restaurants, UK

Located far out in near Canary Wharf, The Gun is a gastropub located directly opposite the O2 centre across the Thames. Brightly lit with large windows, the whole place is heaving for a Sunday late lunch at 2pm. Walking there from Canary Wharf was pretty confusing, with the best not not exactly the way that Google Maps directed us to. Fortunately they were okay with people being slightly late and they hadn’t given our table away.

It was such a nice day when we went that their outdoor patio, complete with dining chairs was full up. At least their interior seemed just as bright as their outdoors, warm and comfortable. Service started out reasonably but as the whole place filled up, it definitely slowed to a crawl with our water not being topped up, and us having to flag some people down to get them there.

I started with a pea soup, garnished with some blue cheese toast. The soup was definitely hearty although I found it a little bit overseasoned for my taste. The blue cheese was delicious and I think could have gone much better with the soup had it not already been overseasoned. All that additional sodium is really unnecessary.

For the main, I ordered the pork belly. I’ll admit the Sunday roast looked just as appetising but I think good pork belly is hard to find. I now know why. Unfortunately The Gun’s version was mediocre with the skin being really thick and not even well crisped. For me, the Smiths of Smithfields one still wins out as the best. It was obvious the belly hadn’t been cooked long enough as well since we really had to dig in with the butter knives that we had, instead of, what should have been, most more succulent flesh.

Unfortunately the chocolate tart was also a bit mediocre with the best part about it being the butterscotch ice cream that went with it. Like one of my dining companions, I probably should’ve ordered just the ice cream by itself.

I really wanted to like The Gun. After all, it’s very nice for its very odd location in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. I’d maybe consider coming here more often if I happened to be stuck near the Isle of Dogs, or wanted somewhere with a bit more space on a summer’s day. Unfortunately there are much better gastropubs and restaurants serving much better food and much better prices. It’s a great location for something different but it’s the location that puts it over the top for me, seemingly inaccessible by any real public transport. Still, it was definitely a nice experience if you’re out that way.

Name: The Gun
Found at: 27 Coldharbour, London E14 9NS
Website: http://www.thegundocklands.com/
TheKua.com Rating: 6 out of 10

Jalapeno Cheese Rolls

January 5, 2010 Patrick Recipe

For our thanksgiving feast, I decided to make some fresh bread rolls. I wanted something with a bit of bite, so I tried out this recipe and it turned out really well. I’ve repeated it here just in case the other page disappears.