Weekend wrap up

Patrick UK Life

What a weekend it was, with plenty of torrential rain to help the grass be greener, and to help weed out those tourists around town (easily spotted in poncho-form, drenched to the bone-form, or cheesy umbrella-form). At the end of last week, I think I managed to catch the virus going around town, so tried to keep the activity levels down, yet I still managed to get outside and catch up with a whole load of people.

On Saturday, I helped celebrate Kristy’s birthday and caught up with a whole bunch of people I hadn’t seen for a while. Kristy picked a wonderful location, Isola De Sole, and I thoroughly enjoyed the mega feast that we all indulged in. Sardinian food is wonderful, and can be quite different from the Italian foods you’d normally see, and I even spotted a bottle of limoncello in their fridge but was too stuffed to want to try any for dessert. It was also great to hear lots of the zany stories that Stacey had to share about living in Aberdeen, and was visiting on a special work trip down in London (or should that be Englishshire according to locals near her?). I unfortunately had to depart a combination of needing to get a few errands completely, and not feeling 100%.

Sunday I caught up with Ajit and Luca where we went down to South Kensington to have a very disappointing brunch at Aubaine. We walked around a little bit around the area, before heading back to raid Ajit’s place as he’s leaving for the US.

And suddenly, it was Monday again!

Dear Aubaine

Patrick Food, Restaurants, UK Life

I felt very disappointed by the experience I had at Aubaine at Brompton Road this morning, and wanted to share with you this experience so that other patrons may benefit from the feedback.

I had booked for three people for noon, hoping to have a leisurely morning with some good food and a great atmosphere. I will congratulate you on having a warm, bustling atmosphere however I would like to share what our experience was this morning. Other than having to ask for a couple of coffees and twice for tap water, everything from the ordering and delivering of food ran very smoothly. It was only after we had finished were we asked to move tables to seat a larger group.

We happily obliged as we weren’t too bothered by where we were sitting, however I felt extremely put out when, shortly after, another waiter asked us to leave because of a prior booking they needed to fill. Admittedly, we did not want to order any more food and drink as were full, however we all felt this was extremely rude, and a complete contrast from what you have on your website (http://www.aubaine.co.uk/about/brompton_road.html), “You could spend all day here. This is encouraged.”

I do not intend to come across as rude in my email, I simply wanted to share what our experience was like in the hope that you can look at why this happened and prevent further patrons from suffering the same series of events that made our Sunday morning less than enjoyable.

Yours sincerely,

Patrick Kua

Fortnum and Mason Afternoon Tea with Kristy

Patrick Entertainment, Restaurants, UK Life

Last weekend, I caught up with Kristy (of GK/UK fame!), for another one of our slow food days. Admittedly we cheated a little at this particular challenge, instead choosing to go out for a long afternoon tea. Other than the one that I had first in Canada at the Banff Springs Hotel, I had yet to do an afternoon tea experience in any of the places in London, and if anyone has visited here, they know there’s plenty to choose from. We decided upon doing it at the restaurant inside the long time standing, Fortnum and Mason.

Sunday is obviously a popular time to partake in afternoon tea at St James’ constantly busy from the time we got there until the time we left. Of course, being a slow food day, and being a while since I caught up with Kristy, we sat around for some time chatting with slowing eating the tiny bite sized morsels.

Afternoon Tea at Fortnum and Mason

I’m guessing that St James’ has a proper dining area because their afternoon tea is held in the bright, airy lounge area, complete with comfy sofas and chairs to host their customers. A pianist played almost continually throughout our time their, and Kristy impressed me by recognising many of the songs he would play. The lounges are comfy enough though if we both sat back, it felt like we had to shout at each other across the table.

As you can see from the picture above, we indulged in quite a bit of tiny morsels, starting with a set of savoury sandwiches, and a tiny tartlet that we both agreed was the best, moving up the stack to scones and a tiny selection of cakes that the waitress let us choose in particular from a large tray. Overall the afternoon tea experience was pretty much perfect with enough room between the tables for some privacy, and service for topping up the tea. The sandwiches, cakes and tea were all at the right level of quality and the only strange thing is probably the fact that Kristy and I barely made a dent on the average age of people there.

I have no idea about how it compares to other places for high tea, but Fortnum and Mason’s St James’ certainly delivers.

TheKua.Com Rating: 8 out of 10

Finley Quaye at the Jazz Cafe

Patrick Entertainment, Music, UK Life

Luca had a spare ticket to go see this muso at Camden Town’s famous Jazz Cafe venue a couple of weeks back (I had forgotten to blog about it back then). I’d never listened to any of his music, but I thought I’d go along since I’d also never been to the Jazz Cafe. The venue itself is stunningly intimate, with an airy open stage with a small standing area and balcony views from above for diners who book early enough. It seemed to have decent acoustics, and worth coming to visit at least once.

Quaye had two support acts, the first whose name I never caught (a rock band complete with a skinny, over the top, though entertaining lead singer) and another female singer (whose name I now forget) and had to be prompted by an audience member to tell us who she was. Either way, she had a boisterous laugh, and a rich mellow voice that I thought Quaye’s songs would sound very similar to.

Finley QuayeWhen Quaye arrived, replete with a band that took up all of the stage, he’s definitely not the young man that the website made him out to be. I did a bit of searching and found a comparison. As you can tell, he’s balded quite a bit since then, and even that more recent picture makes him look younger than he appeared that night. It probably didn’t help that he seemed plagued with a couple of problems such as not enough water on stage and a malfunctioning microphone and we saw an edgier, almost angry side, in a very Jekyll and Hyde moment, as he shouted at the venue help.

Having not listened to any of his music, I was surprised by the style. His current style, obviously reggae, is in such contrast to the album that most people had come to listen to him sing – one full of softer, mellow, and definitely poppier tunes. To me, not knowing any of them, it almost sounded like listening to two distinct bands playing from the same stage.

I can see where his music might appeal to some people, yet for me, it didn’t really do that for me. I think I was caught between being somewhat confused by the starkly different styles, and unimpressed by his brief, yet memorably intolerant reaction to the less fortunate events of the night. I’d still go back to see someone else at the Jazz Cafe, though that’s not really a reflection on the performance of the night.

TheKua.Com Rating: 4 out of 10

Great Queen Street

Patrick Food, Restaurants, UK Life

After walking around for the London Open House event, I settled in for a late lunch at the place that just won British Restaurant of the Year in the London Restaurant Awards. It’s been on my list for a while, and because they typically take bookings, and I know that its sister gastropub, the Anchor and Hope is hopelessly busy I was fortunate it was fairly quiet for that time of day. From the outside, it looks like an ordinary restaurant or pub, with only a picture of a crown amidst a dinner setting instead of name distinguishing it from its neighbours.

The Menu

Dozens of tables inside huddle near the front of the restaurant, with only three or four alfresco tables outside. Even though they had plenty of tables to choose from, I decided to sit at the bar, if anything, just to get a better perspective of the entire place, and for an easy sideways glance into the kitchen, full of flames and a relentless stream of orders in and out.

Service wise, this place impressed me because not only was it fast, efficient but it was also friendly. Whilst perusing the interesting, apparently ever changing menu, they immediately placed a board topped with hearty bread chunks, butter, salt and coarse pepper, in front of me as well as a jug of chilled tap water and a small glass. I love this about places where you don’t even have to ask for it.

Cabbage

Despite the great service, what really matters to me is the quality of the food and I cannot express how delicious my meal ended up. With lots of tempting daily specials and many dishes resembling those you’d see at St Johns, I eventually settled for the seven hour lamb shoulder, and based on a recommendation, a side of green to go with it.

At the same time, as I contemplated a red wine to go with, the bartender graciously offered me a sampling of their wines including their Beaujolais wine, a lighter red wine whose full flavour peaks when it’s chilled. Although I settled for something different, I thought it very nice of them to offer.

Seven Hour Lamb

Being a seven hour lamb shoulder, it unsurprisingly came out quickly since it didn’t really need any other cooking. Even at £13, I thought the entire bowl was going to defeat my normally fearsome appetite, only to be satiated by the soft, melt in your mouth flesh accompanied by sweet carrots, and other vegetables in the dark gravy. The bright green cabbage brought a sharp and fresh contrast to the almost overpoweringly rich flavours of the lamb, and let’s just say I walked out of there a very content person.

Great for groups, couples and individuals, Great Queen Street offers something for everyone. If only I had room for dessert, I’m sure it would have been just as amazing as the main dish.

TheKua.com Rating: 9 out of 10

London Open House

Patrick UK Life

This weekend was the annual Open House event run around London where hudnreds of historic buildings, typically closed to those who don’t work in them, open to the general public. I believe all of the buildings are free to enter although some require pre-booking, or at least, a lot of lining up. I opted to visit a number of buildings on a walk down to the river considering the weekend offered such wonderful weather, where I ended up at 100 Victoria Embankment, the HQS Wellington, and then the Freemason’s Hall located just near Covent Garden. 100 Victoria Embankment

100 Victoria Embankment
I’d never really noticed this building before, simply walking past it as a building that never opened and, if anything, this surprised me the most. Its outside facade looks almost colloseum like, yet stepping inside to a polished stone floor, the building opens up to a bright, airy and modern officespace. Eight almost totally glass eleavtors whisk you to the eight floor, where I induldged in the free ice tea they gave you, before climbing the stairs to the rooftop courtyard. Here, you can a totally amazing view of the dome surmounting St Paul’s cathedral, small glimpses of London Bridge, and the spectacular London Eye.

100 Victoria Embankment Rooftop view

HQS Wellington
I spent the longest time on this small boat, moored against the Thames shortly after the second world war since they had Master Mariners giving tours of the entire place, and I think I got one who was the most talkative of the bunch. Our guide impressed me by the sheer passion that he demonstrated, in his rather reserved yet insightful talking, turning what would have been a quick ten or fifteen minute walk around a ship, into one reflecting historical events, and significant relationship to large boating events.

HQS Wellington Boat Model

Freemason’s Hall
This tour was probably the most brief of my trips, though inside, probably the most impressive. Large intricate masonic designs surround you in all types of forms, all the way from tiles, carvings, panels. You are offered a self guided tour of the buliding and I have to admit that I didn’t really give it the time that it probably deserved. Perhaps it was because they discouraged photogrpahs from being taken, or slightly weary from seeing the number of buildings that you can see in a single day. They had plenty of advertising and paraphenalia, including an interesting book of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the Freemason’s and what they stand for.

Freemasons Hall

See the rest of the pictures here.

One of Alan Yau’s Newest: Sake no Hana

Patrick Food, Restaurants, UK Life

Recently I went along to Alan Yau’s latest Japanese themed restaurant that also won Time Out’s Best Restaurant for Design. It looks impressive, yet I have to say the overall experience disappointed and I’d rather spend the money at more traditional places like Sushi Say.

The design…

Taking over what looks like the first two floors of an office lobby, you enter via automatic round doors guarded by a bouncer into a rather non descript lobby. We almost missed the place with tiny small lettering only visible when you’re standing almost right next to it. To your left as you enter, is a less formal sushi bar, with the dining room accessible by a set of two tiny escalators moving up and down. You check in at the tiny desk at the front before a an attendant seats you at the bar while you wait for your table. The tiny escalators, perhaps intentionally designed to induce a claustrophic sensation, take you to an even tinier coridor.

The dining room sits underneath an array of light wooden square frames creating sharp and contrasting options with soft yellow lights casting their glow in the circular dining room. Around the outside perimeter of the building, diners sit at more traditional tables where they need to remove their shoes before seating, with the inside used to host regular tables and chairs. Though impressive looking, I’m really not so sure why they got voted the best design as I’ve seen better at other places.

Sake No Hana

The service…

For a place that should have been astonishing with their service, I’m afraid these people are still practicing. I was already put off by being made to wait at the bar when the restaurant was clearly empty, and I’m sure our table clear. Instead we were made to wait at small tables near the bar, until we ordered.

We asked for tap water, that they ended up serving in a tiny 200mL glass. I wouldn’t have worried so much except that they didn’t give us a jug and the attendants only refilled them once throughout the night, despite the sodium rich food leaving you wanting more liquid. I’m sure that had we been paying their £3.75 per bottle of water, or more for wine, they would have been better.

When the food arrived, it somehow took two people to serve the samll plates of food each time – one to hold it, the other to put it and present it on the table. The final straw was when it took at least fifteen minutes for them to bring the bill after asking for it specifically and giving up trying to make eye contact with at least one attendant in another fifteen minutes.

The food…

Since they opened, it’s obvious that they have listened to the feedback offered by numerous reviewers. Unlike before, the menu is now roughly grouped into different areas like fried, grilled, stewed, appetisers, and the dishes significantly larger than the others marked as “for 2” or “for 3”. Their menu still lacks descriptions so be prepared to be very adventerous, read up before going, or already know a lot of Japanese dishes. Having eaten at many Japanese places, I didn’t really know what to expect from a number of them, although I could take some rough guesses.

We tried a few new dishes including the sesame aubergine, tempura figs with yuzu salt and the soft pork ribs. Out of them, I’d have to say the ribs were the best that, although not fall of the bone soft, were actually pretty easy to eat even with chopsticks. The meat was sweet with the vegetables served with it providing lots of flavour. The tempura figs provided a sharp contrast to the strongly flavoured citrus infused salt. I can’t say that the dishes, as good as they were are worth the money you pay for at this restaurant.

Conclusion…

I get the feeling most people dine here to see and be seen. As much as a unique Japanese experience Yau wanted to create, I’d rather go to a proper Japanese restaurant than return to a place that obviously still has teething problems.

Value for money: 4/10
Food: 7/10
Service: 4/10
Atmosphere: 6/10

Overall rating: 5/10