This is the twelfth post in the overseas trip series to Iceland and London
So, the last Michelin experience I had in London, after Dinner by Heston and Pollen Street Social was at Marcus, the day before I was scheduled to fly out of London. Perhaps I was feeling a little weary (I had been on the road for close to three weeks already and I was feeling quite ready to fly back home), so instead of opting for the tasting course menu, I settled for having the set lunch menu instead. Continue reading
This is the sixth post in the overseas trip series to Iceland and London
If there was one restaurant that I really wanted to dine at in London, this was it. And since I was celebrating my birthday in London this year, this seemed like the perfect location to celebrate and have a nice meal at.
As luck would have it, L was able to join me for this foodie meal. We had very different lunch courses, so I’ll start with what she had, which was the set lunch offered by the restaurant (£40)
Starter: Hay Smoked Salmon (c.1730) with smoked beetroot, pickled lemon salad, parsley & sorrel
Main: Roast Quail (c.1590) – with butternut confit, pumpkin puree & chard
Dessert: Spiced Christmas Custard Tart (c.1730)
The set lunch is certainly value for money and we thought that all 3 courses were well executed and very delicious. We liked how the set menu still followed the theme of drawing inspiration from traditional English cuisine by noting the year of origin of the dishes.
I ordered my lunch courses from the main menu instead and this is what I got:
Starter: Plum meat fruit (c.1500) – chicken liver parfait wrapped with a red wine jelly and grilled bread (£18.50)
I told L from the get go that this was the one dish I really wanted to try. Usually, the liver parfait appears like a mandarin, but due to it being the Christmas season, it was served as a plum instead. Either way, it was still exciting to cut into the “plum”, revealing the chicken liver parfait. The liver parfait was creamy and it was hard not to finish the entire “plum”. I guess the restaurant actually anticipates that one piece of grilled bread is not enough because halfway through, another slice was quietly placed before me. Perfect!
Main: Powdered duck breast (c.1850) with braised and grilled red cabbage, duck heart, and pickled cherries (£38.00). Duck was cooked perfectly, loved the addition of the duck heart and the red cabbage
Dessert: Gingerbread ice cream (c.1600) with salted caramel, mulled wine poached pear, smoked walnut mousse and pickled pear (£13.50). Perhaps it’s the part me which loves pickled stuff, but I liked the contrast of the pickled pear very much. Wish I had more of those!
We were both pretty full after the courses, but the server actually informed us of the liquid nitrogen ice cream machine and we were both intrigued enough to try it out. It’s quite a fun experience with the ice cream being made in front of you. You even get to choose your topping. They had the usual chocolate / nuts, but a unique topping was the fennel seeds which provided a nice crunch and interesting aftertaste to the ice cream.
At the end, it was a bit of a messy experience since the ice cream melted pretty quickly but still a pretty fun experience regardless!
In all, it was a great birthday lunch at Dinner by Heston. The restaurant took care of us very well, and I was so happy that L was able to celebrate it with me as well. We ended the day by walking over to Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park where I sat on a mini rollercoaster laughing and screaming at the same time.
Add: Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, 66 Knightsbridge, London
This is the fifth post in the overseas trip series to Iceland and London.
Of all the restaurant names I’ve seen in London, Bubbledogs is probably one of the cutest. It’s a play on the two main items that the restaurant is known for serving – hot dogs and champagne.
It’s a catchy name and the combination of having hot dogs with champagne is definitely a novel idea. After having read about it, I was really keen to try this place and it turned out to be located really near L’s apartment, which was perfect. Continue reading
This is the fourth post in the overseas trip series to Iceland and London.
As luck would have it, a friend whom I had not seen in many years was also in London during the same time I was there. Once we found out, we made quick plans to meet and catch up. As this was the Christmas season, there was some difficulty with restaurant hunting. Most restaurants usually shut down for the Christmas week or are booked up early on. Luckily, I managed to secure a reservation at Tom’s Kitchen in Chelsea and we were set. Continue reading
This is the third post in the overseas trip series to Iceland and London.
Chef Jason Atherton is not exactly an unknown name in Singapore. After all, he had previously co-owned two well known restaurants in Singapore – Pollen at Gardens by the Bay and Esquina. I say previously, because he has since pulled out of his ventures in Singapore. Continue reading
This is the second post in the overseas trip series to Iceland and London.
The fun thing about being and living in London is the ability to watch a musical / play at any time and at really affordable prices as well. One of things I really want to do while in London was watch as many plays as I could find the time to and afford as well. Continue reading
This is the first post in the overseas trip series to Iceland and London.
So I’ve just come back from a 3 week trip to Iceland and London. In a way, it was meant to be a celebration trip of sorts – end of Part B exams and heading back to the working world proper in the new year. More so, a group of us were eager to chase the Northern lights in Iceland and I was also eager to catch up with a friend who had recently moved to London.
And so, when the trip planning first start taking shape a few month ago, one of the first few things on my mind was where to eat in both countries. Indeed, quite a bit of research went into where and what to eat in these two countries. Continue reading
The restless DINER 