As most of my recipes (and my wife, who likes Jamie-Oliveresque, precise instructions, keeps reminding me), the following is not strictly speaking a proper recipe, more like a cheat sheet that mentions main ingredients that have worked well in the past, both mandatory and optional, and basic cooking procedure. I’ve been to San Francisco in March 2003 on a business trip. This is when I had my first clam chowder experience at Fisherman’s Wharf (I hadn’t even had anything similar before, like a thick, white, creamy, European-style clam or mussel soup or something) and I immediately fell in love and have been experimenting with various recipes ever since (not claiming to be an expert, though, far from it, and definitely not a purist, so: purists, please do not be offended by the liberties I’m taking). Ingredients (4 persons) 100g to 300g jar of high-quality, ideally whole/un-chopped, large canned clams (weight […]
An Amazing Dinner at the Lovely Il-Horza, Valletta
During our recent visit to the beautiful Knights Templar island of Malta, Charlie Bone, the chef and owner of Il-Horza, invited us to visit his tiny but highly regarded restaurant. We asked the cab driver to drop us off some distance from the venue and enjoyed the short stroll across the pompous squares and through crooked alleyways of Valletta, Malta’s capital. We were offered to choose between the more elegant, slightly more spacious ground floor room, and the more rustic, basic, but very cosy basement, which is just a few steps down the stairs from the entrance. We chose a table in the basement, because we loved the ambience. After short deliberation, we opted for bone marrow (€9) and the chef’s daily selection of Antipasti (€9) as our starters. As main Ms B chose local fish of the day (sea bream, €23.50), and I couldn’t resist the ribeye of […]
Brunch at Dean Street Townhouse – our Review
We’ve just returned from our brunch at the Dean Street Townhouse. It’s been our second time there, and again we had a great time. Service was quick and friendly and managed to find us a table outside even though we hadn’t mentioned anything when we made the reservation. After studying the menu for a while, we decided to order smoked salmon and scrambled eggs (£13.50), kedgeree (£10), and grilled Manx kippers with butter (£9.50). Only having become Brits some three years ago, neither Ms B nor I had come across kedgeree until two months ago, when a friend ordered it during a brunch out, also in Soho. Kedgeree, it turns out, is a dish from Victorian colonial times, consisting of fish flakes (usually smoked haddock), eggs, and boiled rice with curry powder. Besides, we ordered a bloody mary to share (£10), a pink grapefruit juice (£4), a turmeric […]
Fera, Claridge’s – Fine Dining in Mayfair
We have just returned from our lunch at Michelin-starred Fera at Claridge’s , whose kitchen has been headed by Australian chef Matt Starling since February 2017. Fera focuses on British cuisine. We had been having meals at Claridge’s in the past, when it was called “Gordon Ramsey at Claridge’s” and when it was labelled London’s most overpriced, overrated restaurant. However, Ms B, my wife, found out that instead of charging you £300+ for a meal for two with wine, like in the olden days, there was now a surprisingly acceptable lunch deal on offer: three courses and a glass of champagne or gin and tonic for £42 per person. For an additional £10 you can add their signature snacks (we didn’t, because we weren’t that hungry). There is an undeniable wow effect when you enter the dining room through a curtain-lined entrance which leads to a rotunda, where the room […]
The Yellow House, Bermondsey – our Review
We’ve just returned from our visit to The Yellow House Bar & Kitchen in Surrey Quays, South London (close to Bermondsey and Tower Bridge), ten minutes walk from Canada Water tube station across the gigantic car park. We typically would not have ventured so far off the beaten track (the only other reasons why we get out at Canada Water tube station is to visit Café East or to go shopping for travel and sports gear at the gigantic Decathlon super-store. We don’t mind the area, but Bermondsey, Tower Bridge, and London Bridge/Borough Market areas simply feel much more appealing and there are a few rough social housing estates not too far away from the many newly-built, pleasant residential buildings. What brought us here then? The Barbarians and two of our friends were invited to check out an escape room experience nearby and felt like we should probably have […]