Category Archives: Online

Is matcha the new superfood trend?

by Qin Xie | Leave a comment

Published on Foodepedia on 21st August 2011:

I was recently invited to sample some matcha flavoured frozen yoghurt by the owners of Lalani & Co, a major importer of the Japanese green tea powder. It was introduced to me as the latest superfood trend to sweep the UK because it contains more antioxidants than regular green tea, is low in caffeine and also contains vitamins and minerals.

The truth is, I already knew about the frozen yoghurt and had seen matcha being sold at food festivals as far back as five years ago, and at specialist shops for even longer. But I wanted to learn more about the process of producing matcha from its importers: how it’s transformed from the tea leaves to the green powder form that it’s sold in and of course the traditional Japanese tea ceremony during which it is served.

Well, I learnt that the process is long and intricate with an output rate of just 30g of tea an hour. The high grade tea leaves are grown under the shade in order to concentrate the chlorophyll and amino acids in the leaves. The best leaves are then picked, de-veined and stone-milled between two granite slabs to produce the fine green powder. Because of the friction in the milling process, the production must be extremely slow in order to prevent the powder from burning.

Traditionally, matcha is consumed as part of a long Japanese tea ceremony where hot water is whisked into the green tea powder using a bamboo brush. These days in the UK, it is readily available from specialist tea retailers in its powdered form for you to try at home. I was surprised to learn that my favourite coffee merchants, H.R. Higgins, have started stocking them too.

In fact, it’s widely available in drinks such as lattes and smoothies on the high street but is also often used to flavour iced desserts and chocolate. The likes of Modern Pantry and Bougie Macaron are using matcha in scones, meringues and macarons. It has even appeared as an ingredient on this year’s MasterChef.

While popularity of matcha has certainly grown considerably over the past few years, perhaps with the exception of drinks, its use has been primarily for flavour rather than its health benefits. But with matcha used as an ingredient in confectionery, the resulting product may not be healthy at all. In fact, any health benefits could be cancelled out altogether by other unhealthy ingredients.

So the question is, is matcha the new superfood trend or should we just recognise it as an “exotic new flavour”?

Piccolino, Heddon Street

by Qin Xie | Leave a comment

Published on View London on 19th August 2011:

Piccolino has a reputation of being a venue with great service, and while that proves to be true there are a couple of hang ups with the food.

The Venue
Piccolino is a chain of twenty two Italian restaurants with venues across the country. It promises neighbourhood dining in a chic yet informal setting and the Heddon Street branch encapsulates that with a rustic charm that’s given a contemporary hit from brass lighting, red leather banquettes and brushed wood chairs.

Being close to Regent Street, its central location is easily accessible for shoppers and tourists alike and the size of the restaurant easily accommodates the passing trade. Outside is a sheltered alfresco area that shares the buzzy atmosphere of other nearby venues, while inside is an open plan space with views into the kitchen.

The Atmosphere
At the start of the evening the restaurant is filled with families but as the night progresses, the clientele gets younger with small groups of friends starting to drift in. Further on into the evening you’ll see those who’ve finished work and had a few drinks in the nearby bars start to take their seats for a late supper, but no matter what time it is, there’s a steady stream of guests entering, maintaining a pleasant hubbub. Despite being so busy, the staff still seem to be able to take time to smile and joke with the customers – there’s even the occasional wink.

The Food
Some Italian restaurants seem only to serve pizza and pasta; Piccolino is definitely not one of these. But while the menu is extensive, the food can be a touch hit and miss.

A starter of grilled asparagus with a neatly trimmed poached egg makes a healthy alternative to the calamari fritti, which is a little greasy. For mains, the A3 menu offers the staples of pizza, pasta, risotto and salads for only a few pounds more than the starters, and there are also fish and meats to choose from at around the £20 mark. The nodino di vitello (veal chop on the bone) offers an authentic taste of the homeland with a parmesan and rosemary breadcrumb crust, though you can also have it grilled with rosemary and lemon butter. There are of course the usual – and perfectly decent – cuts of steak on the menu, with ribeyes, sirloins and fillets being the most popular. The accompanying chips are matchstick thin but not quite crispy enough to be fries.

For around £7, you can choose from ten desserts or for around £6 there’s a decent selection of gelatos and sorbets. The torte di limone delivers a sharp tang thanks to a limoncello filling that’s balanced out by sweet candied lemons sitting on top. The panna cotta is richly flavoured with vanilla (which is certainly no bad thing), but it does overpower the slightly over poached rhubarb somewhat.

The Drink
There’s a good selection of table wines here, from sauvignon and chenin blancs to riojas and merlots, with a fair few options available by the glass and the carafe – a trend that’s always nice to see, especially when they extend to proseccos and champagnes too. Coffee is, as expected of any Italian restaurant worth its salt, very good indeed. And it packs a powerful caffeine punch – just what you need with a belly full of pasta.

The Last Word
If you’re looking for the neighbourhood restaurant with great service and undemanding food, this would be it. But if you were looking for great gastronomy, then you’re probably unlikely to find it here.

Orrery

by Qin Xie | Leave a comment

Published on View London on 25th July 2011:

In the first floor of a converted stable block is an airy French restaurant which overlooks Marylebone Church Gardens. The perfect blend of décor and views takes you somewhere that’s very far from the heart of Marylebone village.

The Venue
Orrery: A mechanical model of the solar system. Named after Charles Boyle, Fourth Earl of Orrery (1676 – 1731), for whom one was made.

That’s the first thing you will see on the menu but the restaurant isn’t really mechanical at all. The windows on the ceiling and all along the main wall allows plenty of natural light to flow in, providing a sense of the outdoors without any of the bother from insects and the weather.

The elegant venue is effectively split into two sections, the booths and the tables. The tables reside by the window with lush carpeting underfoot and views to match. The booths offer more privacy with panels intersecting sections of the restaurant. Both are equally well filled at dinner times.

The Atmosphere
Early diners may find the restaurant a bit library-like. The staff exchange in whispers and with few people around, the guests also find themselves talking in hushed tones. After 8pm however, things really start to pick up. Groups of well-heeled guests arrive in groups, presumably straight from work. The food is ferried out of the kitchen and down the aisles at top speed but despite the efficiency of the service, you might still find yourself waiting on your mains due to the volume of demand. At least there’s plenty of complimentary amuse-bouche between the courses to keep you going, should that happen.

The Food
The menu is set, rather than a la carte, but there’s a good selection to choose from nonetheless. The set menu starts at £30 and goes up to £48 for three courses depending on which of the offers you are taking up. There are also tasting menus available for £55 and £59.

A wild garlic velouté with garlic croutons makes an easy introduction to the meal or if you like, a pâté de Campagne with apple chutney and toasted brioche. There’s just the right amount to fill you with anticipation for the next course. For main, there’s a hearty roast rump of beef with shallot tart and red wine jus, or perhaps a creamy soft herb risotto with shaved Parmesan. It must be said that the menu isn’t terribly adventurous but fits well with the elegant French theme of the restaurant. To finish, the orange panna cotta with blood orange sorbet makes a fine palate refresher, although there’s also an excellent selection of cheeses from the trolley.

The Drinks
There are cocktails like the Kir Royale to choose from but wine is their main gig. The drinks list at Orrery is very extensive, containing vintages of wines and Champagnes, as well as everyday tipples. Prices start from around £20 a bottle and go up to almost a thousand pounds at the top of the range. The sommelier walks the floor and is happy to recommend wines according to the menu. Most wines are only available by the bottle but rest assured that they are expertly decanted.

The Last Word
Although service by individual staff is more than hospitable, as a team there is definitely room for improvement especially when it comes to the speed of the service. The food, although not overly inspiring, has been carefully considered and crafted.

Chinatown

by Qin Xie | Leave a comment

Published on The Arbuturian on 20th July 2011:

It’s curious, the life of a Chinese expat – if indeed you can call me that. Despite being born in China and raised in a typically Chinese fashion, to the beating drum of the Tiger Mother, I have lived in the UK most of my life and hold only a British passport. When the Census comes round and asks me how I describe my “national identity”, I want to say “a citizen of the world” or failing that, at least “none of the above”. The reality is I probably copped out with something standard like British Chinese.

Soup dumplings

The thing is, no matter how British you are, if you’re Chinese there’s no denying it. For one, you look Chinese. At best, you can pretend you’re Japanese or something but where’s the sense in that? While I haven’t done my best to embrace my Chinese heritage, I don’t exactly reject it either. I’m Chinese but not really Chinese, like being Jew-ish rather than Jewish.

The other thing about being Chinese is that people automatically assume that you know all the best Chinese restaurants to go to, especially when they discover that you write about food. The reality, of course, is very different. I almost never visit Chinese restaurants for fear of spoiling fantastic memories of Chinese food. Also I firmly believe that my mother can do better.

You see back in the 90s when I first moved to the UK, my parents thought that visiting Chinese restaurants was like a taste of home. It was said that wherever there were people, there was a Chinese restaurant and more often than not, it appeared to be true. Unfortunately in those days the food was just so awful – everything seemed to be sweet and sour gelatinous orange blobs, resembling some grossly exaggerated bacterium from Pluto. It really pained me to go to these restaurants and I made a point of avoiding them like the plague.

Lamb skewers

Fast forward a decade or so, I found myself going to my first sort-of Chinese restaurant for a review (Goldfish, Gresham Street) and I wasn’t horrified by it. In fact, I was even impressed by some of it. I was beginning to warm to the idea of Chinese restaurants again – the food has certainly improved and gained an air of authenticity. A few more choice spots later (Yauatcha and the likes), I felt like I was finally ready to step into Chinatown, where there is the highest concentration of Chinese restaurants in London, for something other than the Prince Charles Cinema.

Coming from the capital of Sichuan, Chengdu, I am familiar with and often crave its restaurant and street food so I made a beeline for the Empress of Sichuan where spicy is the word. At the Empress of Sichuan, the chilli oil didn’t disappoint and neither did the quality of their Sichuan peppercorns. If you can brave the chillies, the pork in spicy soup is the thing to have but otherwise go for the milder lamb skewers.

If you can’t handle spice at all then it’s probably best to go for something milder, like the soup-filled dumplings (Xiu Loung Bao) at Dumpling’s Legend. Each hot-pocket of deliciousness is hand made in the kitchen, to order, and comes in a whole selection of different flavours. There is an etiquette to eating these, I am told, for both grace and safety.

You see the snowy steamed pastry holds a piping hot filling as well as its cooking juices, scoffing the whole thing in one go will surely leave you an injured tongue. So the thing to do is to carefully pick up the dumplings by their pointy top and place its base on to the Chinese soup spoon provided, then bite off only the top section in your first attempt. This will release some of the steam trapped inside and allow the cooking juices, or the soup, to cool a little. I suppose this helps you to savour the flavour too.

For a real mixture of Chinese cuisine, both the spicy and mild, Leong’s Legend is a good choice. The menu isn’t extensive at this cosy little venue but you can order the Xiu Long Bao and some of the spicier dim sums too. But of course there are lots of others offering a similar selection in the vicinity.

Assorted skewers

What is surprising is that it’s not all Chinese restaurants in Chinatown, there are also a fair few Japanese restaurants. Take Ikkyusan on Gerrard Street for example, it’s quite well known for shabu-shabu, a Japanese variation on the Chinese hot pot, but it also serves some impressive sushi. The “dragon roll” is the house special and tastes as good as it looks. And then there’s Sushi Ga Ga round the corner which serves sushi and ice cream in a much less informal environment. Neither is Chinese and yet, somehow, they feel quite at home in Chinatown.

Am I pleased about these gastronomic discoveries in Chinatown? Definitely. The Chinatown today certainly serves up a much more impressive fare than it did some ten years ago. And with an abundance of other venues to explore, there’s plenty of opportunities for experimentation. As to whether I’ll be embracing Chinese restaurants from now on, I’m still not sure about that one. But at least I feel a little less afraid of venturing in and giving it a go.

Summer puddings workshop at Leiths

by Qin Xie | Leave a comment

Published on Foodepedia on 22nd June 2011:

Strawberry champagne jelly at Leiths

The frequent interval of rain and shine over the last couple of months has been fostering in me a sense of perpetual spring. The smallest hints of summer are constantly and rapidly snatched away by morose clouds bearing melancholic rain. There’s no denying that we are in the month of June, but those thundery showers have certainly put a dampener on things.

The unpredictable weather hasn’t stopped Leiths from putting on a summer puddings workshop though, and for a sweet tooth like mine, the offer to attend was never going to be met with much resistance. So there I was on a surprisingly sunny Saturday morning, a large collection of Tupperware in tow, arriving to attend the workshop led by Maxine Clark.

Maxine, or Max as she likes to be called, is the co-author of the Leiths Meat Bible. She’s been with the school for some 20 years but still oozes with enthusiasm. In fact, she says that she can lead an entire workshop just on jelly combinations and given the number of ideas she freely disseminates in the space of five minutes, you can believe her too.

After gathering in the library with coffee and pastries, Max introduces the workshop menu to the group in the airy teaching kitchen. It’s a trio of desserts we were making: rose petal and raspberry meringues with raspberry compote and framboise mascarpone, sparkling Champagne and strawberry jellies with elderflower cream and cherry tartlets with Black Forest sauce. I want to say berry good but that will probably raise a few groans.

Berry meringue at LeithsThe dessert selection doesn’t read like much work but when Max starts talking about the methodology and the techniques involved, it begins to feel a little daunting. The meringues in particular appear to be laden with a multitude of sins that seem daunting even for someone who enjoys making lemon meringue pies by hand. There’s lots of things that I had never considered like if you start whisking the egg whites and then leave them, they will never turn into meringues when you come back. Or if you over-whisk your eggs white, the meringues will similarly fail.

And despite it being just three desserts, when you consider the sauces and creams as accompaniments, there seems to be a million steps between the raw ingredients and the finished products. It’s reassuring to be given a schedule to follow as well as the recipes, and that’s all part of the hand holding at a Leiths’ course. We do have a little luxury though – all the ingredients had been weighed out for us ahead of the class and there’s no washing up afterwards.

Chocolate tart at LeithsEven though it’s not the first dessert on the list, we start with soaking the gelatine leaves so that the champagne and strawberry jelly has time to set. Then over the course of the workshop we whisk through the meringues and roll over the pastry shells until, at last, there’s the final frenzy of whipping and stirring to finish all the accompanying sauces and creams. Generous glasses of dessert wine are poured as we put the finishing touches to the desserts.

The only way of describing the end of the course is a satisfying relief – when everything comes together and there’s nothing more to do but enjoy. Well, aside from meticulously packing everything up in assorted Tupperware and carrying the whole load home.

For a full list of Leiths courses, visit their website at www.leiths.com