Category Archives: Publication

Malbec Nights with WineChap

by Qin Xie | Leave a comment

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

by Qin Xie | Leave a comment

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.

St John’s Wood Market

by Qin Xie | Leave a comment

Published on The Jellied Eel on 2nd November 2011:

Market stalls embellishing the colourful tarmac of a primary school playground is no unusual sight. After all, most people will have been to a fête of some sort at their local primary school. Few of those stalls, though, can boast items as exotic as purple cauliflower and samphire alongside the staples of potatoes and carrots.

But that’s exactly the sort of organic produce you can find at St John’s Wood Farmers’ Market.

St John's Wood Market

Based at Barrow Hill Junior School, deep in leafy suburban surroundings, the market itself has only been running since May 2011. Its organisers hope that the market will entice people to not only pick up their regular fruit and veg, but also to try other different types of food too.

While only a baby in the world of farmers’ markets, and quite small at present, the stalls are diverse enough to render it a worthy visit. Even nearing closing on a quiet Saturday afternoon, there’s enough choice of meat, fish, dairy and vegetables to make Sunday lunch hearty. And with a capacity for some 25 stalls, there’s potential for it to develop into a real basket of goods.

The market doesn’t offer much in terms of parking facilities. However, it is an easy stroll from St John’s Wood station and regular buses service the area too. Or you could do as the locals do and go by foot – there are plenty of yummy mummies pushing prams and dapper gents walking dogs. Of course, it also has the great bonus of playground facilities – great, if you’re shopping with kids.

Featured stallholder: Gary’s Fresh Fish

Gary’s Fresh Fish’s mission is to bring the freshest fish to market. Based in the small town of Walton, Essex, Gary Haggis and his two crew members catch all of their fish from a small day boat called ‘True to the Core’. Using both nets and pots on their fishing expeditions means that they can bring in a variety of fish and shellfish. However, their catch is always very dependant on the seasons so what you will find at market will change from week to week. Hauling in their catch just off the coast, where the North Sea meets the Thames, their food miles to London are definitely enviably small.

Catch at Andaz Hotel

by Qin Xie | Leave a comment

Published on Foodepedia on 24th October 2011:

40 Liverpool Street, City of London EC2M 7QN www.andazdining.com

17th October marked the final night of the 2011 London Restaurant Festival, celebrated with an awards ceremony at Old Spitalfield’s Market.

Having dined out almost religiously for two solid weeks, it seemed wildly appropriate for our feasting to end with seeing Hedone’s Mikael Jonsson picking up an award for bravery as the first gong of the evening. Wildly, mostly because Jonsson and his partner had been attacked at the restaurant just a few days earlier but still returned for service the following day with fierce determination.

But on this night, only a short stop could be afforded before it was time to put down the Colchester rocks and chilled Laurent Perrier and head across the road to Andaz Hotel. Because while the feasting of London Restaurant Festival was almost done, mine of that evening was just beginning – an odyssey of fruits de mer awaited my friend and I at Catch, the seafood and fish restaurant of Andaz Hotel.

After attending the Aldeburgh Food and Drink Festival Conference last month, I was particularly taken by Catch’s proudly sustainable approach to seafood. Certainly, it would be even better if their environmental considerations were matched by well prepared dishes.

As we were seated, water and champagne were offered alongside an amuse bouche of pea velouté with cod. Declining the champagne in favour of a fragrant Gavi, we happily indulged our appetites with the intense smoothness of the velouté.

Despite hearing rumours that the Andaz team were out in force at the LRF Awards, it was reassuring to be informed that the head chef, Martin Scholz, was actually holding fort in the kitchen. It was also probably reassuring for my gilded friend to find that while it’s not the done thing for bankers to be out on a Monday night, the lighting was dim enough and the environs private enough to ensure some anonymity. Indeed, for this EC2 restaurant, diners on a Monday appear to be mostly guests at the hotel rather than City professionals.

I was rather tempted by the memory of delicately sweet Kumamotos, which rather unusually comes in fours or eights rather than a dozen or half; but having just slipped oysters moments earlier, I opted instead to open with a beef tartare adorned by Sevruga caviar. Seared Scottish scallops, richly furnished with chorizo and truffle, served the banker well as the other starter.

The generously portioned mains, while not as opulent as the starters, were equally rich. Cornish monkfish cheeks, Shetland mussels, Brittany clams sitting above a caramelised fennel risotto would offer a sumptuous feed for the heartiest appetites but after the starters, it proved to be more of a challenge for me. The banker, meanwhile, made his way happily through the Anglesey sea bass and pork belly whilst telling me how he liked the little hooks on the menus.

The desserts offered further nuggets of luxury with lavender marshmallows embellishing champagne peaches in one and mint mojito foam accompanying a lemon tart in the other. But then again, would you expect anything less at a five-star hotel?

As we supped on the last of the Gavi with the post-dessert almond madeleines, it suddenly occurred to us that perhaps three courses was a little too sumptuous on this occasion. For a lover of oceanic offerings, this would have been seafood heaven. For the occasional dabblers, the meats interspersed with the fish allowed for some brief break from pure seafood gluttony. For us, the fantastic service and fabulous food needed stomachs that weren’t already lined with champagne and huîtres.

A shucking good time at Patara

by Qin Xie | Leave a comment

Published on Foodepedia on 8th October 2011:

In this 25th year of my life, I seem to have slipped more oysters than any other. They’ve come from as far as Japan and as close as, well, down the road from where I sat sampling them. And while it has been an experience navigating the subtle shapes, tastes, scents and textures, I’ve never had an opportunity to shuck an oyster myself.

But with the start of the native oyster season came a most irresistible invitation – an evening of champagne and oysters to celebrate these delicate little molluscs.

The event was held at Patara, a Thai restaurant who are putting Maldon oysters on the menu across all their venues for the next two months. Richard Emans, the director of Maldon Oyster Company, was on hand to demonstrate the art of shucking an oyster while we supped on finely chilled champagne and attempted to garner some skills.

It seems that with all the fancy shucking equipment out there, all you really need is a tea towel and a good shucking knife. And the right technique of course.

So to shuck an oyster, start at its hinge. Brace your oyster in the tea towel, flat side up and revealing only the hinge, to protect your hands from potential slipping of the knife. Tackle the crevice in the hinge with your shucking knife at 90º. You want to prise it open with gentle annoyance rather than brute force. Of course that is not to say that some strength is not required too. After all, my first oyster proved to be rather stubborn.

When you do breach its shell, the shucking knife slips subtly inside and you will need to run it along the top shell at 15º. This removes the flesh from the “lid” and allows the two shells to be separated.

The last thing to do is to run along the edges of the flesh and gently flip it in its “cup”, taking care not to lose any of the liquid, so it presents beautifully.

After the demonstration, it was time for the oyster shucking competition. Teamed up with Luiz Hara of thelondonfoodie, we were given two oysters each to practice our technique before being let loose on a pair of sixes per team.

As I struggled through the four oysters I managed to release from captivity, Luiz breezed through the other eight. But unfortunately it wasn’t to the speed of the team placed just across from us, who were indisputably the fastest. Luckily for us, the competition was judged on presentation as well as speed and we knew a thing or two about showing off our wares. Thus coming second on speed wasn’t too detrimental to our efforts.

In the end it came to a harmonious draw. The winning team each slinked off into the night with a proud box of huîtres under arm and a Patara cookbook to remember the evening – but not before being sumptuously fed on oysters and fine Thai cuisine, accompanied by more champagne and wine.