thekua.com@rest – Page 34

The Battersea Power Station

September 6, 2008 Patrick UK Life

I’m catching up on an entry I should have posted a while back. I missed the final tour of the original power station before they closed it down for construction so I was pretty excited to hear that at least until the end of August, they had reopened the power station to the general public to showcase what’s happened since then.

It was free to enter although the first thing they do is shepherd everyone to the exhibition site where they showcase the plans for the entire area. It’s an impressive goal – effectively a sustainable eco system with a great balance between commercial needs and individuals.

After seeing the exhibition, you then have to sign a release form stating that you are understand the risk of walking around a construction site before you are let near the building. I have to say that as impressive as the building is from afar, in its current state, I found it amazing it attracted the number of people it did, since most of the insides had been pulled out and what was left was effectively a shell. Still (like a good English person) I ended up joining a queue at the end of the walk without really understanding what it was that I was queuing for. Considering that it was only a fifteen minute wait, it was worth it to get access to a viewing platform that stretched right into the heart of the building, where I witnessed the cavernous demolition site, and a picture of the future.

It’ll be interesting to see how close to the vision this ambitious company actually implements their plans, and it was definitely worth visiting the site.

Jom Makan in London

September 1, 2008 Patrick Food, Restaurants, UK Life

Before arriving at this place, I had expected quite a lot. The restaurant looked roomy, bright and yet seemed just a little bit too empty for a Friday night near busy Trafalgar Square. Unfortunately it is just too out of the way of the tourist eyes to really catch that much attention. My biggest surprise about this restaurant is how it follows the "quick service" style made popular by Wagamama’s. As our waitress put it, "There are no starters, only sides." Even just like Wagamama’s, they print the desserts on the paper placement, writing the item numbers to remind them who ordered what.

Our waitress asked us if we had been before, and answering no, she gave us the grand tour of the menu, highlighting how it had been split up and what dishes needed additional sides. We decided to order the Rendang Tok, Mee Goreng, Tauhu Sayur, and satay skewers. Combined with the dessert, service and a couple of non alcoholic drinks, our total bill just reached £40 for two. Prices are reasonable with each dish hovering around £8.

The food arrived in different bursts, and although beautifully presented on bright white crockery, ended up overwhelmingly ordinary. Perhaps it was the fact that no dish actually came hot, or even warm, with all the dishes (with the exception of the satay) arriving at room temperature. To be honest, I just didn’t really know how to take that. I mean, either the kitchen doesn’t cook a lot of their dishes fresh (which I could believe), or the "quick service" is not really as ‘quick’ as they advertise. Either way, the result was the same for what should have been steaming white rice, or steaming freshly cooked noodles. The mee goreng honestly disappointed, mainly because it just tasted like a whole lot of vegetables quickly mixed with some egg noodles and none of the slightly charring I associate with this dish. The beef, as flavourful as it was, just didn’t melt in the mouth as it really should have and the tauhu wasn’t really anything special.

Surprisingly it was actually the desserts of the evening that ended up as the stars. A seriously creamy creme caramel in a dark treacle-like syrup and a sago pudding infused with palm sugar and coconut cream. I doubt I’ll be going back anytime soon, although it’s a passable choice if you have a craving for Malaysian food and happen to be in the area.

TheKua.com Rating: 5 out of 10

Simon and Holly’s Wedding

August 31, 2008 Patrick UK Life

I’ve known Simon and Holly for at least four years now, first meeting them when they used to work in Australia and reconnecting with them when they returned to live in England. This weekend, I was fortunate enough to make their wonderful wedding held in the beautiful city of Norwich, surrounded by green countryside and heavily dotted with old, majestic buildings.

Everything ran smoothly for the entire day, with bright blue skies smiling down on them, and a friendly mix of family and friends wishing them the best for their future together. I loved the fact that throughout the day, all elements of the wedding had their own personal touches yet maintained, what I imagined, a very traditional English format. It seemed like the couple did well to mingle with all the people as much as they could, and still put on a relaxed demeanour.

The event started at 2pm and kicked on until as late as the venue would let us before we saw the newly wed couple leave for, what will be, an amazing holidays in the Maldives. Thanks Simon and Holly for letting me be a part of your special day and I have very fond memories of the entire day.

See the rest of the photos here.

Tayyabs in London

August 30, 2008 Patrick Food, Restaurants, UK Life

Tayyabs seems to instigate very strong reactions in people who know of its existence, either really liking it, or disliking it. Their offerings are really simple and clear – a selection of Pakistani and North Indian appetisers mostly served on a sizzling platter, a variety of different curries, standard bread and rice and a small selection of drinks including a very generous sized lassi (I highly recommend the Mango one).

They don’t sell alcohol, instead opting for a Bring Your Own (BYO) licence so if you want wine or beer, you can really have whatever you want.

Service for food tends to be very prompt, almost on the side of excessive eagerness and pressure to both order and clean up at the end. This is completely understandable when you look at the long queue of people inside, and often outside. One of the diners I was with found it a little on the rude side, although I think it just comes with the territory of the restaurant wanting to please all and is a way for them to keep the prices down.

This restaurant is easily accessible from both Algate East and Whitechapel tubes, and just a small walk away from Brick Lane. I reckon it offers much better foods than many of the other places on Brick Lane, and made much better without the constant harassing or pressure to come and dine. This place knows what niche it fills, and that it doesn’t need any more advertisement.

Their prices are extremely reasonable and I’ve found their quality consistent enough to want to recommend to people who don’t mind walking just that little bit further away from brick lane. Thanks to Simon and Fabio for a great night out!

TheKua.com Rating: 7 out of 10

UK Silicone baking paper equivalent

August 25, 2008 Patrick Brisvegas, Food, UK Life

Despite being in London for three years, it was only recently that I finally stumbled across an alternative for a special type of baking parchment that I prefer to use back in Australia. Unlike ordinary baking parchment, both of the Glad Bake, or Multix Bake brands offer a unique silicone coating that works much better than ordinary “greaseproof” ones that always somehow end up sticking to whatever you end up using it for.

Both Multix and Glad don’t seem to be available in the UK, so your best bet is either the American imported “If you care” brand (available at Earth Natural, 200 Kentish Town Road for £3.20 for 5m), or the Lakeland brand for £4.99 (25m) or £6.99 (45m).

Covent Garden Night Market

August 24, 2008 Patrick Entertainment, Food, UK Life

I find there is something special about seeing Covent Garden at the height of summer. Perhaps it’s the open air bars and pubs that flood out on to the streets, the smiles on everyone’s faces as you pass them by, or the light and entertaining performances of the street artists. This year, Covent Garden, brings something new in addition to their normal stalls, at least as far as I know until the end of August, their Night Market. I remember filling out a survey about what might attract people to the area, and I’m glad to see that some of that feedback seems to have paid off.

Instead of peppering the cobblestones with even more arts, and crafts, they decided to compliment the existing stalls and restaurants with a bunch of more informal and casual food and produce. The organisers even set up a stage featuring a set of of people either showcasing their wares, or simply sharing their passions with the passer-bys. When I went along before the pub, I was fortunate enough to see Willie (of Willie’s Wonky Chocolate Factory fame) demonstrating the chocolate infused gazpacho recipe I remember seeing on his TV show. I respect the fact that he is very much the same person he portrayed himself on the TV show – very well spoken, clearly passionate about his chocolate (or more correctly, Cacao), and just wanting to share that passion with the rest of the world. It also didn’t hurt that the audience got a sampling of his creations.

The rest of the new part of the market includes a Champagne and Oyster Bar, a spit roast pork stand, plenty of various bakeries and lots of other stalls offering things to either nibble or, or to take home for a later occasion. I think next week may be the last week this continues to run for, and with summer looking like it’s finally reached an end, it’s definitely worth the visit especially if you’re in the nearby area.

Xavier Rudd at The Forum

August 23, 2008 Patrick Music, UK Life

I’m glad that Australian performer, Xavier Rudd, was the first gig that I’ve been to since returning to the UK. I became a big fan of his when I first witnessed his amazing one man band antics at Splendour in the Grass. You just have to have some respect for a guy that manages to strum a guitar or sitar, whilst alternating between several didgeridoos, beating a set of drums with his feet and occasionally sweeping his hand over a bunch of chimes and do so in a way that makes some stunning sounds. It’s obvious that over the years, Rudd’s music has evolved and developed. Time Out described his style now as much darker and edgier, whilst I would argue that he’s a lot more heavily influenced by heavier rock than the blues and roots style I’d describe his first acclaimed album as.

Although not being a very tall chap, Rudd still managed a respectable presence on stage on Thursday at Kentish Town’s The Forum, with only a few arm waves enough to calm or energise the audience depending on his whims. With this tour being centred around his new album, it became evident that he played a lot of his newer music as the audience only sang along to maybe two songs all up. I was right down the front and it was evident everyone still appreciated the passion and the amount of his own energy he put into the performance. Obviously being composed of many other Australian people, the crowd was easy going, all around friendly and polite despite how hot it got down the front.

It was a great way to break up the week, and indulge in some great easy going music in a nice and airy venue.

TheKua.Com Rating: 7 out of 10

Ryo in London

August 17, 2008 Patrick Food, Restaurants, UK Life

As much as I wanted to like this place, I just don’t think this place worked its magic for me. I went along and didn’t really take note of the "Japanese noodle and sushi bar" title, their menu focused on various forms of ‘men’ or noodle soup with everything from udon noodle, ramen noodle and wonton soup as well a number of other classic "Japanese" dishes. They also offer a number of "set" menus, and I ended up going for one of faves, the pork katsudon (breaded pork on rice topped with an egg-based sauce) for £8. Looking back, I really should have got a noodle soup instead.

You order at the entrance of the store, something that became an obvious bottleneck with the single menu taped to the counter causing people to crowd around it as they’re deciding what to order. After ordering, you then find a table or a counter seat in my particular case.

They served me a glass of tap water automatically, a plus on their side although unfortunately it wasn’t topped up throughout. Fortunately this isn’t a place that collects a service fee on top of their dish – what you see is what you pay.

When the katsudon arrived, it had been garnished with some seaweed – not too much to overpower the entire dish. I could see immediately that it was going to be a dry dish, where instead of a saucy egg based sauce, I found traces of egg and what still looked like very white rice untouched by any type of sauce. Admittedly there was plenty of rice and consider it the pork a generous serve to match the amount of rice yet I found myself desperately wanting something to moisten the palette. Much to my surprise, they also served the katsudon with a bowl of miso soup, and I definitely appreciated the offer.

Although there were plenty of signs this place should have been good – plenty of Japanese people and reasonable prices, I don’t think I’ll be going out of my way to head back there anytime soon. My table had obviously been wiped down, yet remained sticky to the touch, the katsudon was far too dry and unsatisfying despite their generously sized portion.

TheKua.com Rating: 2 out of 10
Found at: 84 Brewer Street, Soho, London W1F 9UB