Author Archives: Qin Xie

Fish in a Day cookery course

by Qin Xie | Leave a comment

Published on Looking to Cook on 14th November 2011:

Ann Colquhoun at Food Safari's Fish in a DayFish in a Day is the first of Food Safari‘s “field to fork” experiences to arrive in London via Suffolk. Founded in 2009 by Polly Robinson, Food Safari takes people who love food to visit producers and learn more about the ingredients that they cook with. The London version, run in conjunction with Culinary Anthropologist and author of Eat Slow Britain, Anna Colquhoun, works in much the same way except the producers are brought to the course.

The class has four key aspects:  introductions to producers, preparation of ingredients, cooking the dishes and sampling the results.

Sustainability is a big part of this course. All the fish and seafood, with the exception of the live Cornish crabs, were sourced from the Suffolk-based Maximus Sustainable Fish. Robinson and Colquhoun enthusiastically discuss how best to sustainably select and cook your fish over fresh coffee and biscuits before moving on to the practical aspect.

Colquhoun explains and demonstrates everything before you begin and there’s a lot to learn. Everyone get hands-on experience in how to fillet and skin round and flat fish, prepare squid, pick crabs, and sort mussels. The most tasking part is perhaps the fish. When it comes down to it though, all you need is a sturdy but flexible fillet knife to follow the skeleton of the fish, producing two fillets from round fish and four from flat. Mackerel, sea bass and lemon sole are used for practice and the fruits of your labour are then used as ingredients for cooking.

Working in small groups, we were assigned recipes for bouillabaisse, grilled squid and lemon sole goujons to make from scratch. Alongside the mains, you also learn some classic seafood accompaniments including aioli and charmoula.

After finishing six fish and seafood dishes, it’s a relief to be able to finally sit down and enjoy your efforts with a well deserved glass of wine or two.

The amount of hands-on experience gained from a Fish in a Day course makes it quite an intensive course but it is not only educational in the culinary sense – it will leave you more culturally and environmentally aware. The course is great for team building but perfect if you want to brush up on some fish and seafood skills, learn to make classic recipes and accompaniments and have some fun along the way.

*Fish in a Day is held at Anna Colquhoun’s teaching kitchen in Islington and costs £170 per person. The next dates are 24th and 25th March 2012, 3rd and 4th November 2012. To find out more, visit www.foodsafari.co.uk

Azulito Bar Wahaca – Soho Bar Review

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Published on Design My Night on 12th November 2011:

80 Wardour Street, Soho London, W1F 0TF

Wahaca is all Mexican street food but underneath the Soho venue lies the new Azulito Bar, the purveyor of a fine selection of tequilas. Descend the staircase from this popular Wahaca into a Mexican bar of fun.

Décor and Ambience

Like Wahaca upstairs, Azulito’s colourful décor projects fun – it’s all about the bold red, flashy blue and lime green. While the vibrant colours thrown together aren’t exactly harmonious, they somehow work for this pocket of Mexicano. The furniture, similarly, are an eclectic mix. You have your wicker swing chairs, your low wired stools, your strong wooden benches, your cushioned recliners – in short you have quite a selection of comfortable seating options to choose from. And in case there wasn’t enough of a crazy mix, there is also table football to the side so you can indulge in something a bit more than just good food and tequila. Olé!

Atmosphere and Clientèle

Azulito’s Soho location means that it’s filled with a mixed crowd. There’s no dress code and the venue is relaxed so the crowd rather reflects the décor – colourful. Lots of people will have filtered down from Wahaca above as they wait for their tables or after they’ve eaten, but of course there is no reason why you can’t just pop in for a drink or two (or three..or four…)

The capacity of the venue means that while there’s a buzzy atmosphere, it never feels over-crowded which for Soho is a god send. Most people seem to go there to catch up with friends over a love of tequila as despite the music, it’s not a place to throw your shapes and embarass yourself on a dancefloor

Food and Drinks

There is only one drink you should have at Azulito – tequila. The bar is stocked with an impressive 80 different tequilas, all made with 100% agave. In case you’re wondering, it takes at least 51% blue agave (Azulito means “little blue” in case you were wondering) for a spirit to be classed as tequila so 100% is as good as it gets. Prices start from a little over £3 for a 25ml shot to £45 for that same measure depending on quality and rarity. Of course when they measured it out in shot glasses, they really wanted you to sip and savour as each listing in the tequila menu is accompanied by a short tasting note…a very impressive touch.

The other drinks on offer are also very affordable. Cocktails, all tequila based, barely tip £7 and wines peak at £20 a bottle though you can buy it by the glass or in carafes too. But if you wanted food, it’s best to head upstairs and indulge in something spicy and filled with black beans, because downstairs is all about la tequila.

Music

The music in Azulito is unmistakably Latino – it’s probably not something that you’ll recognise, unless your bag is Mexican of course. But it is all about the Spanish guitars strumming away in a speedy pattern that will get your hips moving and feet tapping. You might even hear the occasional brass to really drum up the fanfare. The music is loud enough so that, should the mood take you, you can do a little salsa, but not loud enough to drown out the hubbub of chatter.

In Summary

Azulito is central, it’s fun and it’s inexpensive – that’s a pretty good combination for a great night out in London. Suited and booted isn’t quite its style though so make sure you leave the office at the door. But invite some friends, grab some change and find the tequila that tickles your taste buds.

Budget: Happily affordable

Pre-designs: After work drinks, Chill with your mates, Fun-Time Party Night, Pre-Drinks

Service: 4/5

The high road to Balfour Castle

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Published on BespokeRSVP on 7th November 2011:

Exterior of Balfour CastleNovember is the time of the year when weekends in the country mean hunting for chestnuts to roast over the open fire, where the drink of choice is sloe gin and all thoughts turn to Christmas. And as temperatures slide towards the single figures, my mind turned back to my time at the world’s most northerly castle hotel, a place I was very sorry to leave.

Orkney from the air

Nestled on the Orkney Island of Shapinsay, Balfour is first and foremost a private home. But at certain times of the year, when its generous owners are elsewhere in the world, Balfour is opened up as a hotel, a shooting lodge and occasional dining room for all who care to discover this gem.

First built in the 1840s, the castle, designed by David Bryce and commissioned by David Balfour, incorporated the original Balfour family home, Cliffdale, which was extended to include a gatehouse and gardens. After many generations with the Balfours, the castle was passed to the Zawadskis who maintained and transformed it into a country hotel and shooting estate. The current owners purchased it in early 2009, and started the slow and delicate process of restoring the castle to its former glory.

The fire in the library at Balfour Castle

Despite the enormous ongoing restoration project, the castle offered everything that a guest needed to feel more than at home. Filled with much of its original and beautifully restored antiques, Balfour boasts all the modern comforts too.

The spacious, chandelier-adorned rooms have sleigh-like beds, hot running water and bathrooms decorated with hand-painted wallpaper. The plush, pristinely cream carpeting made me wonder if I was the first person to have ever set foot in the rooms. The alcove windows offered grand views of the landscaped garden and the islands across the strait. And like all stately homes, each room has its own unique, quirky character. Mine had perhaps the most modern 18th century bathroom.

Time seems to stand still a little on Shapinsay, allowing ample time for one to reflect on what one wants and doesn’t want in life. Perhaps that’s why there’s room by the kitchen garden for a potential artist’s studio. Meanwhile, the only TV in the castle is the one projected onto a screen, offering cinema, golf simulation and console games as entertainment. Then there’s the Steinway upright in the drawing room, the masseuse on site or the castle’s picturesque grounds to explore. But after a long day learning about the history of the Orkney Islands and visiting Highland Park, all I wanted to do was sup a dram by the fire in the library. It’s unbeatably cosy.

Egg and soldiers for breakfast at Balfour Castle

The food was also one of the reasons why Balfour appealed so. All the meticulously prepared meals were created in the ultra modern kitchen of the castle by award winning Chef, Jean-Baptiste Bady. Jams made from the fruits of its kitchen garden accompanied breakfast and flowers from the same garnished dinner. The velveteen squash soup served one time at lunch is still firmly embedded in my mind. A fine selection of wines, from the castle’s temperature controlled cellar, accompanied the meals to perfection.

Of course that was all in the summer when the sun shone, the grass crisply green and the sea pure crystal navy. Now the sun is about 30 degrees lower, the grass hides under a thick carpet of fallen leaves and the sea is nowhere to be found in central London. But no matter how frosty the winter, Balfour Castle, a home away from home, will always stoke the embers to warm my heart.

Malbec Nights with WineChap

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Published on BespokeRSVP on 6th November 2011:

Tom Harrow’s reputation as WineChap precedes him. Lovers of fine wine will already have his number on speed dial, of course, but those following trends couldn’t have missed him being named one of the 1,000 most influential people in London by the Evening Standard last year. His trademark linen suit, a shade somewhere between terracotta and muddy red, jaunts between elite crowds. His ChapMobile frequently spotted at mysterious locations in Marylebone. His considered musings found at tables of the best dinners.

At the 11th hour, well, more like the 14th actually, I received an invitation to dine with Mr Chap. The invitation came from Mr Chap’s dashing friend, and arrived via flashing red beacon to my BBM. Injected with mystery and flirtation, it contained the promise of an evening sampling some special Argentinian offerings with two charming gents – how could a girl resist?

A fine mist descended from above and puddles formed underfoot as I dashed across London, to Casa Malevo in Marylebone, for 7pm whereupon I discovered I was unfashionably early. Mr Chap greeted me with Christian Rothhardt, the man behind the Argentinian wine specialist Ruta 40, who was introducing a selection from Bodega Tempus Alba that evening.

Swiftly, I was offered a shot of ruby – the Rosado de Malbec 2008. Few are the Malbec not transformed into a bold red but this floral number held its fruit rather well, injecting a hint of vibrancy to the evening.

As I considered my rosé, I surveyed the setting. The lower floor of Casa Malevo plays host to the sizeable private room, styled as an old Estancias dining room, as well as their selection of, largely Malbec, wines. Malbec is much celebrated as the Argentinian varietal after all. The intimate space seats 12 who, as Mr Chap talks of international wine markets, began to filter in. A glass of the rosé magically appeared in the hand of each as everyone familiarised themselves with the evening and each other.

A three course dinner followed where two wines were paired with each of the first two courses. The first, a very lively Malbec 2008, overwhelmed the palate with its rich plummy fruits, which seemed a bit unfair on the gently vanilla Tempranillo 2007 that followed. But then again, perhaps the Tempranillo couldn’t have afforded the intensity desired to open the starter.

For the largely Marylebone-based set, the evening seemed to be as much a social occasion as a forum to explore new varietals. Christian explained the selection we tasted from the producer’s point of view, including the age of the vines from which the grapes were harvested, while Mr Chap discussed terroirs and the style of wine with eloquence.

The first wine which accompanied the main required and warranted such explanation, and it was afforded with grace. The Vero Malbec 2007 was the first vintage to come out of Tempus Alba’s 10 year in-house cloning programme, with a very limited production of 5,000 bottles. The idea was to produce a wine which was made from a very pure Malbec vine so that, as more producers adopt the varietal, any expressions of the final wine would be a true reflection of the terroir rather than differentiating varietals. It’s an interesting concept and the wine was similarly so, although it would have enjoyed being set down for a while longer before being cherished.

The wine which followed, and the final of the evening, was the Pleno 2006. A blend of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon, it offered a good bouquet of cherry and was much more accessible than the Vero Malbec 2007.

In the interlude between coffee and desserts, guests had the opportunity to pick up wine tips if that was their intention and curiosity. The alternative seemed to be talk of golf and property – I know which I’d rather spend my money on.

There’s a good splash of wine loitering around at the end of the night for those who want to stay on for conversation or, with the help of Casa Malevo’s very potent double espresso, you can do as I did and entice the dashing gent to join me for a sharpish cocktail or two.

Patara, Greek Street

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Published on Blue Tomato on 5th November 2011:

Patara, Greek Street, London

Expectations:
Thai restaurant Patara is full of Eastern promises. With four venues around London and more across the globe, it certainly has a good reputation and we were expecting a good feed. Food made with fresh ingredients and plenty of lemongrass and galangal was definitely top of that list, along with excellent service. Thais are known for their polite hospitality after all.

Experience:
Oysters were in season so a selection of their finest Maldon rocks was an obvious starter. The raw huîtres arrived perfectly shucked and ready to be doused with a refreshing mint, coriander and lemongrass liquor or, if you prefer, lemon or Thai vinaigrette. Their tender soda-battered counterparts have a more spicy edge with an accompaniment of chilli dip. Of course we couldn’t neglect their signature dish miang guaytiew either, which was a delicate selection of rice paper rolls with prawn, crabmeat and five spiced duck.

For main, a grilled rack of lamb with sweet rice rolls and grilled black cod with ginger and pickled yellow bean sauce were richly accompanied by broccoli spears, pak choy leaves and shiitake mushrooms. It was a small banquet but a very healthy spread. From the selection of mostly European wines, we chose the Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Domain du Grand Tinel 2006 to wash it all down but their cocktails are equally excellent.

And there’s nothing quite like pulling out all the stops for the final course with floral additions to both the crêpe pollamai and the tart sangkaya. Under the spot lighting, we weren’t sure whether it was the desserts or the flowers that looked more delicious. So we had both.

Evaluation:
Patara offered a pleasing supper but we were also surprised by the modernity of their menu. The meticulous presentation of the dishes demonstrated a very Western approach but some things, like bowed greeting from the staff, was undeniably Thai. Go and expect to be sumptuously fed, even late at night.