Itadaki Zen

Posted: October 31st, 2010 | Author: Bernie B | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bernie b, cusine, healthy, Itadaki Zen, Japanese, kings cross, london, makemeonebernieb, organic, restaurant, Vegan, Vegetarian | 3 Comments »

Itadaki Zen at London’s King Cross is Europe’s first Organic and Vegan Japanese restaurant.

It’s got that cosy unique homemade feel, the tables look like they were made during a woodwork course. foam mounted photos of greenery adorn the walls.

The restaurant was very brightly lit, more informal diner restaurant than somewhere to go on a romantic date, it’s a fun place.

Service was very friendly but could be a bit slow due to only one waiter working all the tables. The waiter forgot about our tea, but sincerely apologised when we asked again. We were in no rush so just enjoyed our meal at a relaxing pace.

What I Ate

Tofu Steak with Yangeom Sauce -  Good firm tofu which my friend recognised was Clean Bean Tofu that has a great strong taste. The Yangeom sauce which I thought was going to be like the spicy Korean one, turns out to be more subtle, complementing the tofu rather than drowning out the flavour. It was a lovely dish, so often Tofu Steak will always be with a Teriyaki sauce it was a nice change.

Medium Nigiri Set – Had to try some, but was slightly dissapointed. Tended to be on the bland side, and I can imagine the toppings would work better together as a Chirashizushi dish.

Wild Garlic Sushi Roll and Koya-Tofu Sushi Roll – Yet again, quite bland. There wasn’t enough seasoning in the rice. The names sounded interesting, but I couldn’t really taste much.

Chapche – This was tasty. Stir fried Sweet Potato noodles with a scattering of mixed vegetables and fungi. It was delicately seasoned leaving you wanting more.

Senmoku – This was interesting, never had this before. This crunchy jelly is made from Acorn Starch. Not sure how to describe it, if you like weird textures then you might like this. Honestly, I can’t remember the taste.

Tempura – Man, this was really good. I was expecting the usual pieces of vegetables, instead we got tempura made of shredded mixed vegetables, so you’re biting into a crispy myriad of sweet flavours. The other Tempura consisted if various types if seaweed, all terrifically crisp and light and it was a really good sized portion!

Homemade Kimchi – This was light, fresh and the piquant sauce just clinging to the cabbage.

Okara no iri-ni – This dish comprising the unusual grainy texture of Soybean pulp was cute. The clean sweet taste was very enjoyable.

Gokoku and Sansen Rice – Both rice were tummytastic. The Gokoku-han, sweeter with the different grains. I felt very healthy eating them.

Soymilk Pudding and Sesame Pudding – Was really looking forward to these. They look quite similar, but tasted so different. The Soymilk Pudding was creamy smooth, sitting on it’s moat of sweet Soymilk , with a light Azuki Bean Paste trim. The Sesame Pudding was more intense. We’d be tasting the Soybean and then the  Sesame and exclaim “the milk in the Sesame Pudding has a Sesame hint to it too!” . The Azuki Bean Paste on the Sesame pudding was stronger, the pudding itself more grainy probably due to the ground Sesame. Both were delicious.

Itadaki Zen Tea – Hot fragrant Soymilk, you can’t go wrong.

Good bits

Most of it.

Cosy little place, friendly staff, the menu large and varied.  I felt very healthly after my meal.

Like that they aim for organic sourcing, the dishes created are aimed at your health as well as being tasty.

Usually eating Japanese I feel guilty when going with Vegetarians as there is a limited menu, this time we were able to eat so much variety was great.

Not so good bits

Ok for locals but not me is that they don’t open Saturday for lunch or on Sundays, as the lunch set menus look good.

Maybe a little more experimentation on the Sushi, but not that bothered as there was so much other stuff that was yummy.

Got a little thirsty as teacups are pretty small and service was slow for refills.

Would I go again and what would I want on the next visit

Would definitely go again, already planning who to go eat with next and try some of the other dishes I didn’t get to try this time.

Maybe a set lunch or a set dinner.

Maybe one of the workshops and events relating to food which they organise.

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Street Kitchen at Covent Garden

Posted: October 14th, 2010 | Author: Bernie B | Filed under: bernie b ate, bernie b eats out | Tags: bernie b, eating, food, jun tanaka, london, london restaurant festival, makemeonebernieb, mark jankel, pearl restaurant, restaurant, street kitchen, the food initiative | 1 Comment »

For The London Restaurant Festival, Jun Tanaka and Mark Jankel have joined forces to create Street Kitchen.

They have created a British Seasonal Menu using produce sourced directly from sustainable and organic UK farms and producers.

Street Kitchen at Covent Garden Piazza 4th-14th October 2010, at Spitalfields Market 15th – 18th October 2010.

What I Ate

Roasted Carrot and Rosemary Soup & Brioche – A very pleasant soup, it was very rich and creamy. The Carrot brought out a tender sweetness. The Brioche was nice, but I would have much preferred a crusty Sourdough.

Hot Smoked Salmon, Beetroot & Horseradish – Refreshing dish, my Salmon was full of smokey flavour. One piece was cooked perfect, the other more like seared, but it was still good and juicy. I heard on another table their Salmon was a bit dry. The Crushed Potatoes was excellent, very waxy and nutty with just enough firmness. I was annoyed not to have asked what Potatoes they were. Beetroot on the other hand were a bit watery and lacked flavour, but you could still taste they were fresh. The sauce was great, really hit me in a good way.

Braised Beef, Carrots & Celeriac – This was definitely the highlight dish. It was definitely the dish you wanted to eat, especially as the second week the weather turned much colder. The Beef was melt in your mouth and there was so much depth of flavour in that piece of meat. Yummy! I got a bit of fat on one of my pieces, yes please! On another none, felt the taste was more flat and meat drier. Carrots were roasted to just caramelized on the outside and still had some bite on the inside. Celeriac was like a hot thick milkshake, tasted full of creaminess with the Celeriac accenting through. The mild Mustard Sauce just lifted the dish to near perfection.

Roast Butternut Squash & Watercress Salad – Oh man this was good! The Street Kitchen guys were so nice and gave me a taster portion because it was too cold and I wanted the Beef but hadn’t tried the Salad yet. The sauce was just wicked and yet again I was too shy to ask what was in it. I wanted to order a full portion because I really did enjoy it and even though it was cold the Salad had a warming feeling to it, but I had already got too much food. Butternut Squash was perfectly roasted, Crouton slices added a crunchy punch and that zingy sauce was awakening!

Cheesecake, Shortbread & Rhubarb – Do not be fooled, you read Cheesecake, but it sorta ain’t. Googey creamy cheesy bottom layer, crumbled crunchy Shortbread and tart Rhubarb Compote topping. It is very indulgently great and inspired me to make a Cheesecake with a Shortbread base.

Good bits

Mostly everything. Top notch restaurant food in takeaway form and at reasonable prices. Every one is so friendly, and seeing people that would not have considered going to smarter restaurants to eat food like this enjoying it was great. Responsibly sourced produce is always a plus.

Not so good bits

Just that it was cold eating outside due to the time of year. Looking forward to it in the summer.

Would I go again and what would I want on the next visit?

Definitely! Thinking about heading to Spitalfields before it ends to have the salad. Oh and maybe the Cheesecake.

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Dim Sum at Phoenix Palace

Posted: May 3rd, 2010 | Author: Bernie B | Filed under: bernie b ate, bernie b eats out | Tags: baker street, bernie b, best dim sum, chinese, chinese restaurant, dim sum, london, makemeonebernieb, phoenix palace, restaurant | No Comments »

Where’s good dim sum? That’s always a question people ask each other. It can depend on what type of experience you want really. Do you want the high class luxurious service of Hakkasan, or a rowdy kitsch decorated one in Chinatown like New Worl with their trolley dollies? Phoenix Palace situated on Glentworth Street near Baker Street Underground Station has a bit of both. The place is decorated with ornate Oriental interiors bordering on the kitsch side, but because of it spaciousness it isn’t too overbearing, and I quite like that. Some Chinese restaurants now tend to opt for a more modern look or are a cheap Hakkasan/Yauatcha copy, sometimes I want that old school Chinese look. Phoenix Palace has competition from it’s more famous Baker Street neighbours Royal China and Royal China Club (modern look ones!!!), but for value for money/food tastyness ratio I think Phoenix Palace wins.

I’ll just get on with what I ate now.

First up, one of my favourite dishes and done very well here is Chicken Claws in Rice Wine Marinade. They are the best I have tasted, because you can actually taste the subtle fragant aroma of the wine whereas usually you just get a hint of alcohol. This is a cold dish for those that love textures in their food, I love biting off joint by joint and nibbling off the skin, tendon and cartilage, savouring the crunchy, springy, hard jelly textures which you don’t get from a slab of meat. These come with some Chinese sweet pickles which are so mouthwatering and wets your appetite for the food to come.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls were good, just what I expect them to be. Minced Prawn and Pork wrapped in rice paper and deep fried, served with a sweet chilli fish sauce. I usually prefer these than normal spring rolls, just because I like the dipping sauce more and you need spring rolls when you go Dim Sum.

Cheung Fun is like the Chinese Cannelloni. Common fillings are Prawn, Minced Beef, Barbeque Pork, Monks Vegetable mix and Fried Dough Stick. I tend to go for the Scallop or Fried Dough Stick as Prawn is used in most Dim Sum dishes and I don’t fancy the rest. The Scallop Cheung Fun was a let down. Scallops were tasteless and there wasn’t enough Coriander in it. It was altogether very bland (it looks it even in the picture), with the sauce served on the side so the Cheung Fun couldn’t even have a little soak in that.

The Prawn and Chive Dumplings were a better effort. Prawn and Chive Dumplings are my favourite dumplings, sweet Prawn and pungent Chinese Chive so flavoursome. The dumplings here could have done with more Chives as the filling was on the stodgy side due to meat/Chive ratio being too heavy on the meat side, but on the whole it was good. The skin was light and translucent which made the meat heavy filling stand out more, it just needed to have a slightly looser lighter filling.

Shanghai Dumplings, hmmm, ok. You expect them to be soup squirting juicyness. I did eat them as soon as they came to our table so they didn’t dry up. There was some soup in the dumpling and the taste was nice.

Besides your classic Dim Sum, Phoenix Palace do offer some more creative dishes. Wasabi Prawn Dumplings are in the Specials section. They certainly stand out with their green skins, didn’t think the curly Parsley was needed here, but there it was. This is like a hot Har Kau (Prawn Dumpling). Wasn’t sure about it. The skin was thicker and tougher, probably due to the green herb/veg used. Biting into the dumpling you suddenly get a Wasabi hit piercing up your nose. This is something that shouldn’t happen when you eat sushi, so why have they decided it was a good idea to put it in a dumpling? Also the Prawn’s sweet flavour was totally lost because of it.

The Cold Tossed Baby Octopus in Chilli, Lemon & Garlic Sauce on the other hand worked so well. It was mouthwatering and hit all the right notes. The Sauce was like a Salsa, so refreshing but at the same time that Chilli giving you a good kicking. The Octopus was delicately cooked, so it was tender, and when you bit into it, it’s juices merged with the sauce. There was so much depth to this dish. I want some more now!

Back to the classics, Glutinous Rice wrapped in Lotus Leaf. I wish restaurants would bring back the original big size. These new “jewel” size ones may look cuter and easier to distribute and probably save on costs, but you don’t get that excitement anymore when you dig in to one. With them being small, there tends to be less filling and the rice layer is less thick which equals less tasty. Here the rice was too mushy and ended up tasting like a paste. Filling was decent in taste, but because of the size you don’t get much in it, I expect good lumps of meat, Chinese Mushroom, Chinese Sausage wrapped in a sticky pillow of rice.

Big Bun stuck by it size and it was magnificent. The bun big enough to hold all the ingredients in it’s filling, Chicken, Prawn, Chinese Mushroom, Egg and Chives. The combination worked very well, everything complementing each other. The bread itself, hot, light and fluffy. It was such a joy to eat.

The Suckling Pig with Jellyfish was the piece de resistance. Only available at the weekend, we were so lucky. Hand turned spit roasted, it was a delight to eat! The skin was so crisp and light, it crumbled and melted on the tongue. Meat was juicy and tender with good rich flavour. The Jellyfish made from fresh was a unexpected joy, most restaurants serve factory produced ones. You could really tell the difference, it was so less rubbery and had a sweeter tang. Thinking about it make my mouth water!

I would have preferred to end with the Suckling Pig because it was so good, but then it would be weird talking about the dessert first (although I have eaten dessert before main meals before and it wasn’t bad). Anyway, we ordered the Black Sesame in Gluten Balls as it was a favourite of my friend’s when she Dim Sum’s in San Francisco. It was slightly different from her San Francisco version. We felt it could have done with more filling, there was only a sliver of it. Usually you expect the Black Sesame to be oozing out when you bite into the rice ball. It was nice, the crunchy chopped peanuts and coconut worked well with the googeyness.

If some one asks me where’s a place for good Dim Sum, I would say Phoenix Palace. I always enjoy going there because it has that quality of an old school restaurant, but without the cramp busyness. I like that they have a very broad menu, all the classic dishes and newer inventive ones. Dim Sum dishes start from £2.60 making it much better priced than it competitors without losing on tastiness. You do have to choose right, there are some hits and misses, but the friendly staff will offer suggestions of their specialties. What’s more, they have very clean spacious washrooms.

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