Earlier this year I wrote about the largely underrated Nizuni in Charlotte Street. A Japanese restaurant, with a Korean accent in its cooking, it is owned by the same people who operate the crowd pleasing Koba, which is incidentally close by.

So I returned for a quiet Friday night dinner to celebrate the coming weekend, and was largely impressed with the sushi, fairly priced, well portioned, not particularly groundbreaking, but the fish they use are of a reasonably high quality and the maki (sushi rolls) are fairly large.

Salmon Skin Roll (£4.50) and Negi-Toro Roll (£5.50).

Crispy salmon skin centre and juicy fatticilious chopped tuna belly. Rock and roll.

Chu-Toro, (£3.50 each) and Chicken Gyozas (£4.70).

Superb medium fat tuna belly, firm, yet fleshy, yet fatty, tender, fragrant and melt-in-the-mouth fantastic. One immediately wonders where they get their fish from. At times, I feel that a good chu-toro beats otoro for the balance of flavour, with the latter being too oily, too rich and generally too fatty for certain palates. I suppose it’s like choosing between a sirloin (better balance of texture + flavour) versus a ribeye (more fat, more sinews).

On a rather serious note, I probably shouldn’t be supporting the over indulgence of tuna belly – in particular bluefin tuna – since this very act contributes to the overall decline of the humble species. On that topic, I actually struggle to discern between yellowfin and bluefin tuna (is it the depth of the ruby red colour?) or whether if Atari-ya (that premium UK fish importer) actually import bluefins into the UK. I suppose I’ve never really had the luxury of trying them side by side to be put in a position to be able to identify differences. Having said that, when I have had the opportunity to specifically order bluefin tuna – be it the loin or from the belly – it has always been a rip-roaringly silky rolllercoaster of an experience into raw fish. A premium experience, which I sometimes wonder if it’s driven by a placebo effect? Kids, please don’t grow up to be like me, don’t eat bluefin tuna.

Softshell Maki, £9.50

Generous chunky cuts of crispily fried softshell crab – what’s not to like eh.

Unaju, £14.00.

This was rather impressive, a bowl of unagi-rice came with a number of appreciated garnished, such as a single boiled quail egg, some pickled gherkins, a Japanese styled fried potato cake, Japanese style ommellet, generous slices of unagi, and of course, a bed of sushi rice. I liked this. Would have been nice if they cracked some runny mirin laced egg over the rice.

Unagi-don is such a classic comforting one-plate meal, analogous to say chicken rice, or char siu rice, that when done right, this simple dish embodies the idea of perfect food. Dammit restauranteurs, we have Sanuki Udon-yas, Fro-yo bars, and burger specialists and even burrito bars; can someone please start up London’s very first Unagi restaurant? Modelled after Obana Tokyo preferably…

We paid £50.90 for food and service. It is by no means the greatest Japanese restaurant in London, but I do like it.

The Gist of It

Nizuni
Japanese/Korean, £40pp
22 Charlotte Street W1T 2NB
Tel: 020 7580 7447
Tube: Tottenham Court Road

More photos on my flickr page.

Ryuchi: ES, TO, TCL, LT

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Nizuni’s official web portal has the title track to the film Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence (Senjō no Merī Kurisumasu), running in its background. In my opinion, it is Ryuchi Sakamoto’s best sheet of music, he has possibly ever laid down on paper. Beautiful, epic, elegant and heartbreaking. Ryuchi went on to write more cinemagic backing music to more epic films such as The Last Emperor; though I think his best work was for Brian De Palma’s (The undisputed King of the Erotic Thriller) Femme Fatale, starring Rebecca Romijn. Fucking great film, to the tune of a heartbreakingly beautiful soundscape. And Ms Romijn.

A restaurant owner with such fine taste in music, is an indication that they know how to navigate the path to success in the complicated business of hospitality. And indeed she does, one Linda Lee is also proprietor of the legendary (Barney Stinson style) Korean chillspot, Koba, which is but a stone’s throw from Nizuni’s location in Charlotte Street.

All signs point to a Japanese menu awash with inspirations from other worldly cuisines. Unsurprisingly, the Korean factor has made its mark on some dishes on this menu – many of which will likely please the constant grazing sharers amongst us. However, most pleasing of all is probably the paperwood cafe ambiance, taken in concert with the laid back, karaoke bar waitressing, made for a relaxing spot to catch some sushi and r and r.

Now that the weather is looking more like Spring, I’ve been prowling the streets by myself with my Leica film camera with increasing frequency, and stopping for the inevitable solo lunch. And so Nizuni on this occasion was captured on Fuji Provia, slide film. I was being served by a waitress completely mesmerised by the craft and the vintage camera (My Leica was made in 1992 (I think)). “Show me the photo you just took!” she said. I showed her the back of the camera, and to her gasping surprise, it was a dial to select the film speed, and not an LCD screen.

The wonders of vintage technology.

The Dragon Roll, £9.00.

Inventively stuffed makisushi (roll sushi) isn’t really all that hot in this town, especially in light of the super serious sushi purveyors such as Yashin and Shiori, that practice more nigiri-art than plump rolled sushi.

In Nizuni however, the Makizushi are premium stuffed rice rolls, with meat and fish both on top and on the inside. The Dragon Roll almost always refers to the crust of flamed eel on the outside, representing the scaly back of a mythical dragon, snaking around a sushi roll, with crab, avocado and cucumber stuffed in the centre.

Nizuni’s rendition of the Dragon Roll is admirable, it’s fresh tasting, filling, and satisfying. It reminds me of Kappa sushi in Earls Court, also a purveyor of the premium makisushi, incidentally run by a Korean chef, and – in my opinion – home to the best seared beef rolls in London. Google my review.

Butterfish tataki, £7.90.

Oh man, these were bloody amazing. The already silkened textures of butterfish were further mellowed with a blowtorch, giving the charred surface, a charred smokiness on the palette. Very pleasing. Shiso cress, daikon cress, a proprietary spicy sauce and a dash of balsamic dressing gave the flavours, a zing, a zest and a bite. I was so glad I didn’t have to share this with another soul. I gobbled up joyously.

Tori Tori, £6.90.

At this point, I noted how tremendously huge the portions were. Indeed, this wasn’t just another Japanese restaurant, where things are usually small.

Deep-fried nuggets of glorious chicken, smothered with a sort of lemon honey sauce, that was quickly solidifying into an amber hued sugared coating. Of course, this required a bowl of glutinous rice to go with as well, but it was much too much for one man to eat all this food, so I had this wrapped for take-away.

Salmon nigiri, £1.90 each, Tamago nigiri, £1.60.

The sushi menu is largely solid and prices are largely competitive, and while the selection includes many of the usual suspects, you won’t find anything out of the ordinary, that you won’t find in any mid-level and capable sushi bar in London.

Yeah nice salmon. And nice eggs.

I lost the bill, but I think I paid about £35 for this lunch. I like this restaurant, I think there’s alot more to be explored on the menu, especially the cooked food, and I think that it’s a restaurant whose potential is best realised when you have a group of 4-6 involved. The atmosphere is casual, the staff are unrelentingly likeable and the food is delicious. Much cheaper than Roka across the street, and something to consider the next time you’re hunting for Japanese-led fusion food.

The Gist of It

Nizuni
Japanese/Korean, £40pp
22 Charlotte Street W1T 2NB
Tel: 020 7580 7447
Tube: Tottenham Court Road

More photos on my flickr page.

Ryuchi: ES, TO, TCL, LT

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Ever since the Great British Pound took its glorious tumble following the economic rodeo of ’08, travelling the world with HM in your pocket doesn’t go as far as it used to no more, all my assets doing an extended shrinking violet number. Ta-da.

Picture the shock and horror whilst researching prices at top end restaurants in Singapore; Waku Ghin – Tetsuya’s Singaporean operation – a whopper of a SGD$400 (£200) per pop; FiftyThree, the well-regarded Euro-comfortica for a mere SGD$250 (£125), yikes..! Shinji – the Raffles Hotel pre-eminent shrine of haute sushi starts at SGD$220 (£110) and flattens out at SGD$450 (£225). Gosh, fine dining sure is pricy in Singapore.

All rather paradoxical considering this is a country better known for its amazing standard of hawker centres, food courts, char kuey tiaw, chilli crab, pratha, kaya jam, hainanese chicken rice, nasi padang just to name a few commonly accessible, easily affordable, delicious one platers.

Perhaps it is to do with the fascination, mystique and romance of the sycophantic fantasy propagated by high-rolling guides – the Michelin, the Miele and the World Top 50, all of which appear to back the idea that the quality of indulgence be measured not only by how well the food is cooked; but also by the expense spared in investing the restaurant’s cabinet of Laguiole knives and the completeness of their Le Creuset collection.

Obviously I respect these ranking guides, and if we believe these industry benchmarks, then Iggy’s is not only Singapore’s finest, but also the undisputed King of Asia (as described in Miele’s top Asian restaurants list) , bettering the best of HK, Taipei – a proposition that intrigues and puzzles. No disrespect to Iggy’s of course, but I doubt the best of S’pore can outdo the best of HK. Also named the world’s 28th best restaurant (bettering Keller’s The French Laundry and Robuchon’s Parisian workshop).

The owner is one very accomplished super sommelier – whose CV is as glittering as his awards cabinet – Ignatius Chan, who has stinted in many a luxury hotel previous to his eponymous debut in 2004, firstly at The Regent, and in late 2010, relocating to The Hilton.

A mammoth reputation to the tune of SGD$250 (£125), complete with the unfamiliar ‘++’ postscript for the ‘Gastronomic Menu’. I took my parents because all three of us were anxious as to what the allegedly best restaurant in Asia could produce. It didn’t take us long to start feeling that the weight of such high expectation was going to fail us inevitably: No a la carte for dinner service.

For a venue as new as this, I was shocked at how Nineties the décor was. Windowless, drab, dim, soul sapping, featureless and formless, dull greys and browns, just so damn business-like that I doubt even Gordon Gekko would consider this as his office.

Frosted glass auto-sliding doors, which – every time a waiter had to access the kitchen – gave diners a glimpse into the inner workings of the kitchen. Which was bright, colourful, cheerful and filled with files and cookbooks. Like cooking in heaven, and dining in hell no? Come now restaurateurs, in this day and age, elegance can be funky too, no? This type of establishment is just so boring to eat in.

First, SQUID. Sea urchin, dashi, ohba flowers.

Squidgy and fresh, bitter yet citrusy with a burst of the fragrance of freshly picked flowers. A subtle, if rather uneventful, uncooked start to the meal.

Second, KOHADA. Tomato, Clementine, mango, quinoa, beet.

Visually, the dish was beautifully, the tiny tomatoes were the size of a match head, strangely pulling my attention. Kohada – we were told – belonged to the herring family, here it seemed as though it was either poached or pickled, but I couldn’t really tell, because there was so little of it. The fillets measured no more an an inch across. Bursting summery fruity flavours, the clementine in particular was blindingly apparent on the palate. While I thought the subtle interplay of gentle flavours and textures was mildy entertaining, I also thought of how little cooking was involved, and thought how this dish was utterly pretentious and ridiculously tiny. Let’s see now £125 / 8 = £15. That’s expensive.

Third, SOUTHERN BLUE FIN TUNA. Carrot, watermelon, radish, bottarga.

Southern blue fin tuna…damn, it’s good. It’s more than just good, it was amazing. The texture was buttery smooth, I could hardly believe I was having the loin and not the belly. It tasted so alive. Leading me to wonder about the grade of tuna which Atari-ya imports into the UK.

I don’t think I’ve had Southern Blue Fin ever before, because I don’t think I’ve ever come across such a high quality tuna sashimi in London that has left with the same arresting impression.

We must address the issue of conservation, as unfortunately, this fish is critically endangered, because of people like you and I who crave it as we do.

Anyway, the rest of the fruit and vegetable medley was another summer on a plate. It served as a nice foundation to spruce up the sticks of prized tuna. I thought it was a nice exercise in texture, a syrupy, horseradish-like sauce, a chopped and grated salad, like the best tuna sashimi salad I’d ever tried, but therein was the problem, this was no more than a glorified sashimi salad.

I thought the recipe lacked guile and imagination, it was so easy to eat – all two spoonfuls of it – that it simply felt complacent. There was little doubt that this kitchen was very capable at slicing, dicing and plating, but my nose detected nothing and consequently I felt there was too little flavour involved with this kind of dish.

It was neither Japanese, nor European, and it certainly was not Chinese. Throughout the meal, I struggled with Iggy’s inspiration for his recipes, I felt they were erring dangerously close to being Pan-Asian, and truth be told, it did not feel Japanese, it felt – and I don’t mean this in the bad way – like a glorified vegetarian taster menu.

Fourth, QUAIL. Foie gras, faro, peas, mushroom.

So far, it has been a turtle-speed start to the meal. Three courses in, about three quarters of an hour sat there in a half empty dining room that was catering to no more than ten patrons. I’d hardly felt like I ate anything, and I wondered why food took so long to prepare. Aside from expertly sourced seafood, I’d not tasted any evidence that suggested this kitchen deserved to be Asia’s best.

Here we see some semblance of eurocentric Michelin inspiration. Firstly, excellently seared quail, nice cast-iron flavours, sealed juices and such, and kudos on pairing with umami rich ingredients including the mushroom and peas. Sadly though, I thought the dish failed as a whole. The selection of mushrooms were ordinary, barely cooked, so there was little in the flavour department. Again, ridiculously tiny portions, and I was shocked at the size of the foie gras, roughly the size and shape of a dice. I have never eaten such a poor foie gras dish, with so little of it, in a restaurant of such pretense before.

At this point, I wondered if the kitchen had merely added the duck liver to the recipe to make it sound posh, rather than make it an integral part of the recipe, which in this case, it wasn’t. Particularly poor was the pea puree, too thin and tannic , like the skin of the peas on my palate, and it lacked any potency in flavour. It was more like pea soup than a sauce designed to hold the dish together. No fire in this lake. I’ll say that this dish was very easy to eat, but I think it was easy to eat, because it lack so much. An empty recipe.

Fifth, ABALONE. Koshihikari rice, Perigord black truffle.

This was probably the best dish on the night. While it didn’t look like much, all three ingredients were majorly high end. Firstly, the koshihikari was amazingly. Superbly smooth, creamy and yet maintaining the individuality of each and every grain. I couldn’t ascertain as to whether this was US grown or Japanese, but it’s better than the Japanese Koshihikari I’ve cooked at home. Truffle shaved like sea weed, along with a luxurious braised abalone sauce gave way to a immensely powerful flavour profile that attacked the palatte. Pure umami.

Being Chinese – and given that we were in Singapore – I was disappointed we were not served whole abalone. Countable diced abalone is bad form, considering the setting. Come now, how difficult is it to source Taiwanese baby abalones? And even that’s low end. My dad recounted his experience of abalone at Ah Yat seafood , and did not have much nice words to say about this dish. If you’re going to put a banquet ingredient on the menu, at least do it with style. If this was say, a £10 dish at a more egalitarian setting (think Brawn), then I would say fucking wow. But at this level, I’m afraid it’s a monumental fail.

Sixth, WAGYU. Olive tapenade, Yukon gold potato.

Our waiter insisted the wagyu striploin was from Japan (whether it was Kobe or not, I could not confirm) and not Oz, with marbling score of 9 to 9.5. We were given Laguiole knives with metal hilts, which I was certain we didn’t need if indeed it was Japanese Wagyu.

Seared to just about medium. First impressions were that the meat was very oily. Was it that all the gorgeous fat had melted away? What remained, was disappointingly chewy, and strangely, it was devoid of flavour and distinctly lacked beefiness. The potato puree on the side was disgusting. It was too creamy, too buttery, too salty and too oily. Why the need for such an overpowering potato mash? Shouldn’t the natural quality of the beef be allowed to shine rather than be drowned out?

It looked as if the meat and potatoes sat on a strange clear, blubber-like sauce, like congealed oil, leaving me feeling queasy at the end of the meal. As it was the last of the cooked dishes, what appeared to be the most premium ingredient on the menu, also appeared to be the weakest. That potato tasted as bad as it looked. I couldn’t believe it was Wagyu, let alone being Japanese. Simply put, one of the worst beef dishes I have ever eaten.

Seventh, IGGY’S POP. Passion fruit, mandarin vodka, vincotto, gorgonzola.

This was nothing more than a two-staged palate cleanser, firstly with a white chocolate truffle with a liquid vodka centre, and then a kind of macaroon with an iced passionfruit filling. Yawn.

Eighth, WINTER. Chestnut, coconut, coffee, lemon.

To finish, chestnut ice cream that was alright, and shaved coconut, perhaps like the soil and sand stuff they do in molecular gastronolabs, with but a slight coffee infusion to wake us from the snore-fest of a meal.

We paid something ridiculous like $880 (£440) for three and we didn’t even order any wine.

Sobering. One of the poorest pricy meals I’ve ever eaten. I received a major bollocking from my parents for recommending Asia’s best restaurant to them, that’s how poor the meal was.

It was so pretentious, it intimidates with the mob of waiters and constant cutlery swapping and grown-up ambiance that as a diner, you are bullied into thinking that this setting means that any food that comes out from the shrine that is called the kitchen has to be food fit for kings. A woeful reminder of a time of out of control excess, when misplaced values didn’t matter. How this was a meal at the world’s 28th best restaurant is beyond me. Self-indulgence had got the better of the chefs, seemingly living in their own bubble, complacent with reputation, more in love with how their food looked than how it was cooked. I think somewhere along the way, someone had forgotten about creating recipes that married wild and fantastic flavours to create new, previously unheralded flavours. Where were the signature dishes? What were the combo revelations that has had industry insiders cooing in unison? What was I suppose to take away from this ‘gastronomic’ meal? It was neither the tediously illuminating dissecting light that molecular gastronomy shines upon the subject, forcing an education upon the palate; nor was it boundary pushing, rule bending, inventive marriage of world cuisines, which should have been, of the unpigeon-holeable fusion cuisine that Iggy’s strived to create. It was neither here nor there. I think what was most disappointing was that it seemed as though the kitchen had talent, but that this talent appeared to be mis-directed.

Singapore is a country full of highly competitive hawker centres that have to woo customers the old fashioned way: great food and value for money. Specialty one-plate dishes all have their own family recipes and unique twists, like the various versions of chicken rice for example, so I’d imagine that Iggy’s would at least show some of this national pride in cooking. So I was scratching my head as to what was so great about Iggy’s. What was I paying for? A lesson in food styling perhaps?

Maybe at one point in its lifetime, Iggy’s was deserved of its reputation, but if this meal was anything to go by, it was certainly the epilogue to the magnum opus. No apparent pursuit of breaking new ground, just a set of safe, labored and downright boring dishes, which were very much less that the superb provenance of ingredients it was built around. I fell asleep eating the food. The food was so clinical, that it lacked any genuine heart and soul. Gimmick ridden, flashy and too little fire. My apologies if you’re a fan but I just didn’t like it.

The next day, my parents and I cancelled our booking at FiftyThree, we didn’t want to take the risk of being wallet-raped again, and besides, French food probably tastes better in France anyway. We decided to eat the rest of our meals from food courts while shopping in Orchard Road. Much more of a gastronomic discovery, with better ambiance, fuller stomachs and at a fraction of the asking price at Iggy’s.

The Gist of It

Iggy’s
Fusion, SGD$250 + 10% service + 7% GST
The Hilton Hotel
581 Orchard Road
Singapore 238883
Flight: SIA SQ322

Eggy: GT ; Sparkling or Still ; No Expert

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How many sushi bars do you know, play bossa nova in the background? Out of that lot, how many deliver to your doorstep? And just how many sushi bars boasts an all-female run operation? Assuredly, sushi bars that satisfy all the above are rare, and rather rhetorically (and by way of an introduction), Sushi Cafelicious is a first for many things. Primarily, Cafelicious does take-away and also delivers. Based in Golders Green, the outpost is also quite spacious, it has a bar counter which can cater to roughly 12 guests, if you so choose to eat in that is. This sushi take-away is relatively new, opening its doors in September this year, it is a spin-off from a well-regarded (though admittedly, I’ve not been) sushi restaurant (Also in North London) called Cafe Japan.

Naturally, Guy & co were the firsts to cover it, and that’s where I first heard of it, and while the outpost is a little far, it certainly carries enough USPs to intrigue the average sushi hunter. Allow me to elaborate.

The emphasis on the all-female led kitchen is significant, especially the role of the Itamae, usually a male dominated role, Cafelicious is looked after by a female sushi chef, Miho. She who was on point during my visit to oversee her beloved cafe. Gregarious personality. The emphasis is strong because, you could easily be mistaken to have walked into a snog, what with the excessive pink, but it does blow refreshing air across conventional sushi counters. I felt pink and happy and – strangely – clean, during this visit.

Like many of the new sushi bars that have opened this year (2010), Cafelicious offerings up the ante on the creative front but the bottom line is kept well in check. Seriously, how many sushi bars do you know of with starting sushi prices at 30p?

Yes, you read that correctly, the cheapest nigiri starts at 30 pence..!

Cafelicious is also the only other place that I know of which offers Temari sushi, or Ball sushi , which is basically nigiri formed into the shape of rice balls. Yes baby, they are photogenic.

8 temari sushi, £7.10.

You better believe it. 8 pieces of fabulously crafted temari sushi for under a tenner. What’s that I hear you utter… £60 at Yashin? Pretty ain’t it?

First of all, let’s get the obvious out of the way; Cafelicious isn’t punching in the same category as the likes of Yashin or Shiori, who make your sushi to order, and garnish with glitz and technical artistry, Cafelicious is a quick fix, budget offering, competing against the likes of Yoshino, Yo! and Wasabi. In that regard, I think it is flying way, way above the radar. This is the B-2 stealth bomber of the sushi take-away world. Kaboom.

The temari selection is intriguing. This is what I ordered, from bottom up:

Sweet prawn garnished with wasabi and fish roe, 80p.
Scallop marinated with Tosa Soy sauce , garnished with squid ink seasoned fish roe, £1.20.
Salmon & Avocado, marinated with Tosa Soy Sauce, £1.20.
Egg & ginger, 80p.
Brown mushroom garnished with Garlic Cream Sauce and Parsley, 80p.
Tuna with spicy rice (AWESOME) £1.20.
Miso Marinated Mozzarella, 80p.
Takuan (yellow pickled radish) and Yama Gobo (Burdock), 30p.

Apologies for making you read a list, but the point I’m trying to make is that this is a enormously creative set of flavour combos, for something that costs so little money! Do a double take on the pricing…crazy cheap no??

The sushi is pre-prepared and were plucked from the refrigerated glass counter they were stored in. So understandably, the rice was a little cold, and flavours were a little numb. However, I did order it for delivery the next day, and when the sushi warmed up a little, the rice does soften to something a bit more appreciable.

The temari selection felt rather like purchasing a box of luxury chocolates, or even a box of luxury macarons, in the way I hand picked the ones I wanted, and they have been meticulously packaged too. It lends a fun factor to the overall experience. Yeah, bring out the 12 year old giggly school girl why don’t we.

Most importantly, the combos were thrilling. Tuna, with a sancho pepper spiced rice got the endorphins sparking, gorgeous chopped brown mushrooms with a hint of garlic, like a pate on a rice ball. The beautifully sculpted marinated scallop with fish roe dipped in squid ink, mimicking the look of pricier caviar – I would have easily partly with more money to eat this sushi. Notice how I haven’t mentioned soya sauce, and like Yashin, the sushi comes pre-marinated to the teeth, so you eat them without dipping, supposedly, this cuts down on the sodium intake.

Are the alarm bells going off in your head going off yet? Yes. These would be a perfect alternative for the lunch hour if you happen to be needing some ideas for a corporate lunch.

And like the way you would pluck a perfect Pierre Herme macaron from the box, I felt the same about this selection.

And it was £7..!!

Seconds, £5.50.

With the quality being so high, and the prices being so low, I went for more.

Aburi Seared Salmon, £1.20.
The Italian, mozzarella & dried tomato, rice mixed with basil sauce, 80p.
Squid & Plum sauce with Sushi rice seasoned with Yukari (Japanese basil), 80p.
Eel, garnished with Black Sesame Seeds, 80p.
Salmon marinated with Tosa Soy sauce, 80p

Seared and chopped salmon, giving it a smooth texture, that was just fabulous. I could still taste the flames from the torching – like a flaming salmon and cream cheese pate. The Italian was hugely enjoyable, it was much like a reverse arancini, sun-dried tomato and pesto flavoured, like a ball of risotto, very appetizing. I loved the eel, chopped, mixed in with the rice, it was a cutesy amuse-rendition of a classic una-don. About the only thing I didn’t enjoy was the Squid and plum sauce, the plum sauce was screeching a little too sharp for my ‘buds, but for you lovers of zesty things, you’d find it refreshing.

Soft Shell Crab, Rocket, Cucumber, Takuan (yellow pickled radish), Yama Gobo (burdock), Okura, Egg, Yuzu, Fish roe, White sesame. £1.50.

I also tried their giant maki rolls, £9 for a full one, and £1.50 for a slice. Note the high degree of brilliant vegetarian friendly ingredients stuffed into the roll sushi. Playing to the strengths of the health-factor associated with sushi, Cafelicious makes a bold effort to enforce it in its recipes. And it is one of the few places in town, which is vegetarian friendly, without compromising on umami.

Sushi Cake, £1.50 per slice.

Another of its USP is this savoury sushi cake. £10 for a whole one, measuring roughly 8in in diameter, or £1.50 per slice. Made with brown rice, Shiitake mushroom, Bamboo shoot, Carrot, Deep-fried bean curd and topped with a cakey omelette. It’s a pretty substantial portion for £1.50, and I think it helped round out the meal nicely, if a little gimmicky.

All in all, I paid about £16 for this lunch, what awesome value. The following day, I called for delivery. They delivery to 9pm Tue-Sun, but you need to call before 5pm – the delivery arrived on time at the requested time (7pm), just in time for X factor results, and they even threw in a 20% discount voucher.

I think Sushi Cafelicious is a wonderful addition to North London, and for take away sushi, this is top-end stuff. Imaginative, thought going into its packaging, making this a very saleable end product, at a desirable bottomline.

I am usually the ardent carnivore, but I think this is one place that will keep vegetarians happy as well. Healthy and delicious, two of sushi’s greatest strengths. As a business, I think Cafelicious has caught on to an intriguing model, which I am hoping can be successful, because I really like this place. As a catering option – which I think is where it should be aiming – targeting the corporate and party planning demograph, I think it is a unique alternative. If you happen to be managing the lunch budget for the next big meeting, this is something to consider. For a light finger food lunch, it works out to roughly £8 per head – that’s how much two tepid corporate sandwiches cost. Party platters start at £25 for groups of 5-7..! Check out the aggressive prices.

…and I would be excited if our secretary orders a platter of temari for the next meeting, no more tuna and cucumber on brown bread, please…

A dedicated chef supported by a hard working team, turning out quality sushi, as you’d expect from a Japanese operation really. Although, this one has an element of fun attached, there is definitely enthusiasm in the atmosphere and it translates to the creativity of the food. I really like the fact that it is so far removed from the seriousness of this genre of Japanese cuisine. Such a refreshing change, kudos to Chef Miho.

Free deliveries to NW2, NW3, NW4, NW6, NW8, NW9, NW11, N2, N3, N6, N12, W1, W2, W3 if you spend £15 or over. Well? 020 8381 4704. Call.

The Gist.

Sushi Cafelicious
Sushi Cafe & Takeaway & Delivery, £10pp (I’M SERIOUS)
2 North End Road NW11 7PH
Tel : 020 8381 4704
Underground : Golders Green

For more photos, have a look at my flickr set.

Take it away: London-eating ; Kei Kukuchi for Time Out London ; Daily Candy

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I write this shuffling in my seat, on a flight bound for Norwegian airspace, and it isn’t often that I dream about London and its murky skies, but here I am, fantasizing about the startlingly magnificent lunch I experienced last weekend at Yashin, the latest addition to the London sushi scene. My god, was it exciting. Great sushi, and oh my gosh, did it burn an excitable hole in my already stick thin wallet. We go West.

It’s been two months since my move from Kensington, a part of town rarely known for sushi, and when it comes to restaurants on High St Kensington, choices narrow considerably; It is largely between a spacious Wagamama or the prospect of a tepidly overpriced burrito from Wholefoods. But things are set to change. Yashin is the latest debutant in this year’s hugely impressive armada of ‘serious’ restaurant openings. The concept is that of a upmarket sushi bar with all the accompanying glitz and pretension (and chill out background noise). Think of it, as Nobu alumni, ripping out the sushi bar with their escape from the mother restaurant, and the result is a sushi bar that is dedicated on forming the best by hand. Cooked dishes are kept to its bare minimum. If the small scale operation sounds familiar, it should as we’ve been dazzled before with the hugely romantic sushi bar run by a husband & wife team, otherwise bookmarked by yours truly as Sushi of Shiori (also of alumni from an equally starred Japanese restaurant).

Its respective owners boast pedigree and sushi credentials, namely Yasuhiro Mineno was Executive Chef at Ubon (of Nobu Group) in Canary Wharf for 7 years (which has shut, but was never really that good anyway) and Shinya Ikeda, who spent 5 years as a senior Chef at Yumi (which if I’m honest, I’ve never heard of).

You might ask if all this fluff which I’m making you read is at all relevant. But then you already know that I only do this when I think a restaurant is flippin’ fabulous. The writings (quite literally) on the wall suggest a radical experience – without soy sauce – of the idealistic intent of creating fanciful nigiri that merges the elegance of this stick and dip delicacy with a contemporary infusion of ‘fine dining’ elements in an effort to enhance the umami qualities so as to warp the senses. While soy sauce is not initially available to dip the sushi, it is only because the chef has worked elements of flavour directly on to the nigiri. Hyperbolic psycho-babble, you say? I blame the Norwegian time zone. Bear with me, the photographs are colourful.

The Yashin sake taster, two 50ml vials, £8.

We start with Dewazakura Muroko Namagensyu – a Junmai ginjo which has fantastic body and a hugely vivacious, biting flavour to it. It was as fragrant as a Sakura on a crisp September morning. It could not be matched with the underpowered and rather mellow Tedorigawa Gobyakumangoku – a Daiginjo. For eight quid, it was great fun (and perhaps good perceived value), with no expense spared in the visuals department. If a little impractical, as lifting the vials from the glass of dyed water became a bit of a nuisance what with the water dripping all over me.

“The Omakase”

You’ll notice I’ve not spoken about the menu as yet, but that’s only because you needn’t bother with choice. The highlight of Yashin, is their omakase, or the Chef’s menu, which allows the chef to channel his fine talent. Like Shiori, it is available by price points, starting at £30 for 8 pieces of nigiri plus a roll; £45 for 11 piece ensemble plus a roll and finally the complete waterworks and the kitchen sink, eponymously titled, ‘The Yashin’. 15 pieces of – and I quote – exquisite sushi, painstakingly crafted for you, in front of your eyes, by the chef-owners.

But first, we started with a bevy of freebies to grease the tract.

Miso soup, in a tea cup?

Note the careful attention to detail and branding. The chopsticks are not the snap it off disposable kind; these feel sturdy and wooden, about as as unbearably unbreakable as an on-key Wagner. Mmm… a comforting start.

Next, a salad spiked with a citrus-like dressing and garlic chips.

Crunchy, fresh – but a mere distraction…. where’s my raw fish dammit!

Here in London, we lack the likes of dedicated sushi bars such as Urusawa in LA (see Foodsnob and GT), where part of the charm – integral to the sushi experience – is the opportunity to watch the experienced Itamae personally putting together your plate of food. I have always seen this visual aspect of observing flair in action as part of the relatively high cost of sushi. Otherwise, if its just quality fish you’re after, any of the Atari-yas would do for a quick fix. Like a chef’s table at a GRH outlet, you pay the premium, but you also get to watch the head honcho ply their trade, first hand.

As you can imagine, this can turn out to be a rather mesmerising show and tell, especially with the diner being so close to the action. Here’s the first of my Yashin sushi platters being finished by the Itamae.

Feast with your eyes on Plate Uno.

Isn’t it just pretty? In addition to blow-torching (not all) , each nigiri was finished with something extra, either brushed with soy sauce, sprinklings of sea salt, and eye catching garnishing such as a radiantly crystalline orange ponzu jelly. I’ll be honest, I didn’t stop to take notes, when it landed, I led with my tongue.

Let’s get the obvious out of the way first – the rice was fluff heaven, a neutral to sweet tickle on the palate, it was technically superb, warmish, cooler than body temperature, managing a sticky consistency enough to hold together, but soft enough to melt the moment you bite into it.

Fish on the whole was top of the line. If you are a frequent flyer with the Nobus, the Rokas (these are good) and Zuma (and to a certain extent Sake no Hana), then you’ll be more than impressed with the sheer quality of produce. Lively, oily, crisp and odourless. Though excellent sourcing alone is not Yashin’s major selling point. It’s the finesse by which the Itamae has chosen to garnish his creations. Dinings have their ponzu-truffle wagyu sushi, Shiori boasts a in-house made truffle paste with their scallop; At Yashin, there are flavours of flames, piercing sea salt, the smell of – dare I say – bonito flakes, pepper and spice and the twang of a wicked ponzu jelly. To sum it up, sushi at Yashin is vibrant and it is current. Of the lot, I enjoyed the ponzu spiked salmon, the flamed otoro and the peppery wagyu the most.

Plate two.

On the second plate, sweet scallop, torced razor clam and a fabulous fleshy botan prawn, also torched and rubbed with a foie gras paste that gave it alot of firepower in the flavour department.

This is just a superb showcase, a mastery of absolute elegance that epitomises contemporary sushi. Beautiful, sexy, distinctive, efficient, healthy (relatively), utterly delicious.

Salmon Lunch set, £12.50.

Oh and in case you wondered, we also tried the budget route with the salmon set, 5 pieces of the excellent salmon nigiri, a salmon roll, plus miso in a tea cup and garlic chipped salad. Yeah great value.

Shiso Sorbet, £4.90.

To finish, the shiso sorbet with a texture analogous to a kitchen sponge and a sweet touch of minty fragrance. A nice way to wipe the palate clean.

I paid £97.20 for lunch for 2… which is of course a considerable expense. Not the most filling lunch (we gorged a 16in take away pizza for dins), but my gosh, it was brilliant. I think there’s a small army of fans already amassing on twitter, especially Gourmet Traveller who pointed me to this direction! Amazingly fabulous. If you love sushi, this is something you must try. I suggest dinner rather than lunch, as they have an expanded menu – in addition to the omakase – that allows you to compliment the meal with garnished oysters, selection of sashimi, handmade tofu, rolls and assorted carpaccio. Early indications suggest the oysters, the tofu and the carparccio are also mind shattering.

Now then, the burning question: Which is better? Hmmm… I think considering the sheer brilliance of the final product, the glitzy atmosphere, the showmanship, I might have to say Yashin. But only by a hair. Sushi of Shiori still holds its own, and for one, the missus prefers the more mature venue. It is just more personal, its concept is more romantic and the omakase is much more varied, plus you get more bang for the buck. That’s my one reservation about Yashin, its pricing competes on the level of the glitterati of Japanese restaurants instead of independent sushi bars. In that regard, if people are going to be paying top dollar, I wonder if diners might just choose to stay with the stars. With Shiori, its decent pricing was always part of its appeal. Having said that, you do get what you pay for at Yashin, and the sushi really is something special.

For the moment, the crowds have not crashed the party as yet, so if you’re looking for a sushi fix this week, I urge you to book a table now. This will make it to one of my drool-all-over-it list before the year is over. I highly recommend it.

In the end, I am just glad that London now boasts two exceptional sushi bars which deliver unique sushi in their own special way. Both are more than a cut above the old school Izakaya-types. With Sushi Hiro well and truly absorbed into the Atari-ya bubble, I feel this year is the changing of the guard, London sushi has now come of age.

The Gist.

Yashin Sushi
Sushi, £70pp
1A Argyll Road, off High St Ken W8 7DB
Tel 02079381536
Underground : High Street Kensington

For more photos, have a look at my flickr set.

We love Sushi: Mr Foodie, The Skinny Bib and GT … for now.

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I’ve always thought about upgrading (or downgrading depending on where you stand) the photography on this blog to film-based rather than digital, but after visiting 300 or so restaurants with the Nikon D700, it’s hard to it put. Digital is just so, easy you know, snap and pap, quick and (relatively) unobtrusive, and one can mess around with the image in the computer to one heart’s content. But you know film has that distinctive look, the cinematic signature, the big screen gloss which you are probably familiar with, everytime you visit the cinema.

So it was the last sunny Friday in September, and I decided to take my FM2n and two rolls of Kodak Portra. Roughly 72 exposures, fully manual, completely mechanical (that means no battery required) and made in 1983. Yes, as old as me. As per usual, I was in the acquiescent company of my partner in crime, Marcus Aurelius, imported from China.

I am indebted to the exuberant Jennifer Joyce, who told me about this neat little gem. Amongst my many personal projects, I’ve been helping the intrepid food writer with her digital real estate…. Which is nearing completion, so I will show it you folks soon enough.

Tosa is a well-regarded yakitori specialist, based in Hammersmith (or Stamford Brook I should say), and a secondary outpost in East Finchley. Yeah I know, the most obvious competitor is Bincho in Soho (formerly Oxo Tower) whom are the other practitioners of smoking birds over charcoal. The difference is perhaps Bincho’s minimum 2 skewers per order rule which thankfully it doesn’t apply in Tosa.

I wanted to present a holistic angle on the menu (an excuse for being a fat bastard) so opted to try abit of everything. The menu is arranged by style of cooking (Grilled, fried, raw, etc) and are all to-share plates, no main courses.

Sushi & sashimi

Raw turbot muscle sashimi, £8.

Yes, I was intrigued by the description as well. This particular species swim in British waters, and if I’m to be frank, it’s not a looker, even amongst fish. Easily identified, as it is large and flat, usually brown or sometimes slate grey, and fetches really hefty prices (the fishmonger at Queen’s Park’s Sunday market don’t sell ‘em cheap). Studying the pattern of the sashimi, I wondered if the ‘muscle’ Tosa refer to, are the fins which line the periphery of the fish. Biology aside, the texture was interesting to say the least, rubbery and a little oily (if memory serves) , the fish is quite mild in flavour, so it was easy to eat. Lively stuff.

Unagi Nigiri, £2.20 each.

‘Course, I don’t expect great sushi at Tosa, but I thought it was mostly above average, the rice was abit clammy, but it had good vinegary flavours, and the unagi if abit cold, was of a good quality.

Tosa roll, the chef’s special, £4.60

If it’s good enough to be the chef’s special, I best order it. The maki was stuffed with avocado and cucumber and shiso and wrapped with thin slices of raw salmon. The result was something cleansing, fragrant and fresh. I enjoyed it.

Deep fried oyster maki, £6.

Finally, some deep fried oysters, onion and cucumber rolled into an outside maki. Yeah not bad.

From the grill

Asparamaki, £2.20 each.

The first of the skwers, grilled asparagus & pork belly. The first impressions were that it was it was juicier and smokier and just generally, better cooked than Bincho, where I found the kushiyaki to be pretty horrendous.

Uzura, £1.60

More good news, in the form of mini quail eggs infused with smoke from the charcoal grill. Speaking of which, the decor is basic at best, the bar table which overlooks the robata is tiny, and the tables in the windowless backroom, is seriously devoid of oxygen, and just drab. If we’re still locked in comparison, I would say Bincho wins hands down for atmosphere. Food-wise, Tosa is in the lead.

Torikawa, £1.90

Ah, Yakitori time. This is the crispy chicken skin, which were actually more like sizzling fat globules than actually straight up grilled skin. Abit of fat is nice, but this might be a tad too much. In this instance, Bincho’s chicken skin wins on that basis that it’s leaner and meaner.

Shisomaki (the round ones), £2.30 each and Yakitori, £1.70 each.

The round ones are the shisomaki, that’s shiso leaves and pork loin, and they are really amazing. Smoky grilled pork – dripping, wet and juicy – with a touch of fragrance from the shiso, beautiful stuff.

As for the yakitori, which is plain grilled chicken (I think it was thigh), it was juicy, well-seasoned and smothered in a lovely soy based sauce that carried a hint of sweet to it. Better than Bincho.

The shiso and pork loin skewer up close.

Feeling a little indulgent with the film camera, I thought these were great. The skewer, I mean.

Sakekama, £5.50.

Salmon cheek, grilled with salt, grated radish and served with wedge of lemon. Probably the best of the lot, and like the rest of the grilled stuff, it was heavily seasoned, oily and juicy and oozed smoky perfection. Massive portions too, as good as grilled salmon can get.

So… how’s the film photography so far? More natural colours?

The bill came to £57.08, so we paid £28 each, which includes the price of two glasses of Calpico. Excellent value for money and beautiful food all round. In fact it was so agreeable, I went back a week later for dinner, taking my colleague with me, who agreed with the goodness of the skewers. We also opted for sake, served on in a cedar box (like Bincho) and which came with a pinch of salt. Interesting. By the way, Tosa offers 15% discount vouchers as a promotion on their website, something you will no doubt take advantage of when you visit. I suspect that Tosa (like Bincho) is perfect for solo dining, quiet school nights, and for those who simply want to watch the man turn skewers on his grill, except that Toas are better at the meat flipping. Shame they don’t do chicken oysters however, but you can get really good ones at Bincho. Aside from that, I heartily recommend the trek out West.

My Bincho review for comparison sake.

The Gist of It

Tosa
Japanese, £25pp
332 King Street, Hammersmith, W6 0RR.
Tel: 020 8748 0002
Tube: Stamford Brook

Grilled : Time Out London , Randomness Guide to London ; Will Eat for Money

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I swear, this is the last time I’m posting photos from a meal at Shiori…. so good…. So I believe I’ve tried everything on the Shiori menu now (not the tonkatsu or kaarage) , this set of photos are from my 3rd visit, and I’ve been four times.

The canape sushi at £23 deserves your attention, however if you are spoilt by choice, then the omakase is a good place to start with Shiori. I’ve had their omakase (the chef’s choice menu) at £30, £40 and £50, and have found the £40 to be happy median.

Having said that, the £50 omakase was pure decadence. I’m mentioning prices, because that’s what you need to decide when you call to book, and you’ll need to because the sushi bar can only accomodate nine people at any one time.

I wrote two exhaustive reviews which cover more details, if you want to know more : First review ; Second review.

This blog post is just photos of the seven courses you get from a £50 omakase.

Needless to say, I love Sushi of Shiori.

Course 1: Abalone, enoki and spinach

You can tell that the £50 menu is serious, when they serve luxury seafood as an appetizer. Ponzu zestiness, soya sauce, refreshing stuff.

Course 2: Okra soup

This was REALLY interesting. Chopped up okra, served cold, with all the slimy, gooey goodness of ladyfingers, juiced! Very unique mouthfeel, almost like drinking raw egg whites, but with crunchy bits, in a good way. For flavour, it was like essence of chicken.

Course 3: Fish roe, Yellowtail, white potato.

Oh.. I immediately thought of Roka when this came. Beautifully presented, and another exercise in the interplay of textures. Oily chopped fish was excellent, the little flavour balloons of fish roe were awesome, hear them popping in your mouth, abit of herby edge with the chopped spring onion added to the mix. Just fantastic.

Course 4: Sashimi platter

Seared chutoro topped with fresh wasabi, oh my god, so good it melts… with some charred flavour lingering. Scallop stuffed with a ‘surprise’, which turned out to be an orange coloured, grainy paste, sweetish, crab-roe like, made from sea urchin. Who knew scallop and sea urchin would make such a great combo. Squid stuffed with seaweed. Finally, fermented seabass sashimi which had been pressed between seaweed overnight, which I suppose harks back to the beginning days of sushi or narezushi (going back centuries here) when it was fermented. I was surprised how good this was. The seabass was golden hued, the texture matured, zero chewiness, as if muscles, sinews had been relaxed and broken down, analogous to dry-aged beef, I suppose.

Course 5: Sushi Platter

Seabass maki, pickled and sugary; Unagi Bo-zushi with abit of pepper, beancurd nigiri and a grilled pepper nigiri; Selection of fish nigiri including a sweet prawn with shiso leaf pesto, aji, salmon belly and tuna.

Course six: Two Wagyu Sushi per person..!

The pièce de résistance. Both were blow-torched, so crispy flamed exterior, and inside it was blood red. Both have a melting ponzu jelly scooped over it. Additionally, one has a kind of herby radish thing over it, the other stings like jalopeno. Amazing… but Dinings’ Wagyu sushi might just beat this by a hair.

Course seven: Home-made Ice cream.

Since winter is coming up, they are offering chestnut ice cream, which I think is excellent. I particularly enjoy the black sesame as well.

I can’t wait to go back to Sushi of Shiori again. And again. Again. If you’re in London, and you need a sushi bingeing partner, I’m there. Hit me up.

I wrote two exhaustive reviews which cover more details, if you want to know more : First review ; Second review.

Sushi of Shiori
Japanese, £45pp
144 Drummond Street, Off Hamstead Road, NW1 2PA
Tel: 020 7388 9962
Tube: Warren Street

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All text and photography on this blogpost is copyright and belongs to Kang Leong, LondonEater.com. If you repost this without my permission, bad things will happen. So please don’t do it.

A firm, yet genteel voice answered the phone. The line was horribly muffled as I struggled to pick out the vowels through the low, low bass. Fum.Fum.Sa.Sa. I think she said, in a deceptively Japanese accent. An awkward silence befell.

“Aka …ka…” I said.

“ZZZassss… ka” she said, with a quickened pace.

I gave up. And simply assumed it was indeed Asakusa I had got through to. This was the third call in as many weeks as I’d been trying to visit this rather popular Japanese restaurant in Camden. They only do dinner Monday to Saturday, no lunch is ever served at this Izakaya-like eatery. I asked if I could get a table for two in two hours, on a Thursday night.

“Yes. See you Mr Kang…” click… didn’t even ask for my number.

As I arrived on scene, the better half and I barely squeezed into the musky, rather well-worn and grimy interior. It looked like it was gonna come down like a house of cards any time now. The restaurant was full, with a couple of reserved empty tables, which we walked past. Not everyone were Japanese expats, I observed. Past the front room of decrepit carpeting, and past the sushi counter, we were directed downstairs to the basement, but not before negotiating a creaky wooden staircase, gingerly, I measure my steps, any heavier and my foot might go through it.

The smell… what is that? Bleach? Detergent? We march toward the end of the dungeon, lit by cube-shaped lamps, plastered walls, music courtesy of an eighties style stereo with a CD player, and a black box TV. Switched off. Could be a Sony. Could also be made in Japan. Maybe JVC. Maybe the staff do karaoke during breaks. Why is it off?

The menu is divided by cooking style, indiscriminate in terms of portion size, and very much in the vein of an Izakaya. There’s almost too much to choose from, but I instinctually pointed to a short measure of cold Junmai, while the other half reached for biru. We managed to cull a selection of our favourite comfort dishes to graze on and to share.

We braced for a heartwarming meal.

Asakusa Salad £7.90.

A large plate. There are slices of raw salmon, and what looks like raw yellowtail or mackerel in the salad. Walnuts, seaweed and lettuce give the dish a slimy, nutty flavour. Copious amounts of a gummy sweet and salty miso sauce was poured over the dish. Initially the rush of concentrated saltiness was appealing, but alas, it quickly became too decadent, too sharp and difficult to stomach, it was like tipping bottle after bottel of honey into the system, and there was only so much one could take before too much became too much.

Tori Kaarage, £4.90.

I waited for my bowl of steamed rice before I tucked in. Even fried chicken need recipes, and one was superb. Well seasoned, it had a fragrance, like oyster sauce, or mushrooms, or something full of umami chemicals. Fried to a crunchy puff, whilst the chicken maintains its juicy bounce. What utter heartiness. I sank my head into my bowl of rice.

Umaki Tamago, £5.30.

Even better were the eggs, mirin sweet, with slithers of unagi folded into the omelette. A potent teriyaki-like sauce was poured over it. It was brilliant, the marriage of fishy eel with a custard-like egg and lots of rice. I sank my head further into the bowl.

Chicken Skin Skewer

Chicken heart skewers

Next came the Yakitori, skin and hearts, but rather tepidly flat. It lacked the character of being smoked over binchō-tan , and both were a little dry and a tad overcooked.

Ox tongue skewer.

Similarly, the tongue failed to lift the senses, it was tough, rubbery, overcooked, bovine but boring

Grilled baby squid ‘legs’.

Aside from the visual splendour, a little arresting at first, the squid was a yawn, underseasoned, dry and overcooked. Not even a squidge of lemon could save these tentacles.

Mixed tempura udon.

And the initially promise and hype had quickly fizzled out by the time the bowl of noodles were brought to us. Good tempura, but a forgettable stock and uninspired, tired udon (Sanuki I believe), I blocked out the smell of bleach, but it was knocking on the back of my back.

A la Carte Sushi, about a tenner, I think.

The last hurrah was an obligatory plate of nigiri. I ordered salmon, tamago, scallop, unagi and sea bream. A spike of wasabi nestled between fish and rice, I noted the beauty of the filleted salmon, of how it cuddled the dollop of rice it came it – the mark of a skilled Itamae. Oh, the fish is good, it disperses like a whiff of cold air, on my tongue. The rice – the all important rice – melty, sticky, slightly warm, but it tasted too mild. Even with my enthusiastic oversoaking in the soya sauce (fish face first), I just couldn’t taste the bite of vinegar.

We paid £54.99…. for all that food and booze? Not too shabby at all, and cheap by the usual measures of Japanese food in the capital. All the while, we were very well looked after by the sweetest Japanese waitress we’ve ever met. She deserves some kind of reward. Gold star. In the end, I felt ambivalent about Asakusa, the better half felt worse, she vowed never to return to this restaurant again. Despite the reservations, I think Asakusa has a homey feel about it, food feels like it had been prepared by a kitchen run by an army of housewives, imbuing every dish with a dollop of love as it flies out of the kitchen. Not that it is a bad thing, because I can see how some would fall for these kind of neighbourly restaurants. But for me Asakusa felt complacent, if honest, and that torrid decor is not particularly enticing. The bottomline however, was that food was only just passable. You know, I used to love going to Sakura (ruder, cleaner and central) and I think Asakusa falls in the same genre of affordable, simple, well-cooked, comforting Japanese food, but with a trump card: Perhaps the best Oyakodon, £6.50 can buy in London. And it’s available for lunch.

The Gist of It

Asakusa
£25pp Japanese, Dinner only.
265 Eversholt Street NW1 1BA
Tube: Mornington Crescent
Tel: (020) 7388 8533

Where the wind blows: Chris Pople ; TimeOut London ; Culinary Hags ; Cooking and Dining ; Delightful Eggtarts.

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All text and photography on this blogpost is copyright and belongs to Kang Leong, LondonEater.com. If you repost this without my permission, bad things will happen. So please don’t do it.

Twenty quid doesn’t go too far in London, maybe two courses. Three if it’s a michelin-on-a-budget. On the otherhand, the Taiwanese have perfected the art of amazingly affordable fine dining on half a shoe string. Back in February, I was over in Taipei for my annual visit to see how my favourite cat (seriously) was doing. He turns ten this year, and time has made a roadmap of his furry belly. Taiwanese people very proudly boast about their excellent sushi, which is generally claimed that it is so good, that Japanese tourists cross over to the Beautiful Island to sample the Taiwanese rendition of their cuisine.

I can’t say I disagree. Even their middle-of-the-road sushi trains (the ‘real’ Yo! Sushi so to speak) will defeat anything from Kikuchi or even Shiori, or dare I say it, Sushi Hiro (pre-2010). Naturally I was intrigued with what a high nose establishment could turn out, and was recommended to try one of the Mitsui restaurants aka, the big boys. Supposedly, a favourite meeting place for politicians, celebrity and generally people who wield power and money, unafraid to swing one like Tiger.

Annoyingly however, it has a notorious reputation for snotty service, especially since I left my Zegna back in London. Hot weather you see. Pomposity aside, the restaurant looks the part obviously, we sat at the spot-lit sushi bar and were stuck with a waitress more interested in chatting with her colleague, than taking our order. Irritating. I interrupt their conversation as much as I could. Dammit woman, I just want the otoro, the chutoro and the otoro. The majority of their seafood (and their tuna) are sourced from Taiwan’s East Harbour apparently.

Naturally I went ala carte with the nigiri, that set me back £40, but the missus was a winner with her seven course, £20 set lunch. That’s it, £20.

Course 1: Sashimi Platter

You better believe it. Beautifully cut and presented, salmon, tuna, scallop, mackerel and a whole sweet prawn. Sweet.

Course 2: Crab Salad

Sweetcorn, apple, the dish had a faint whiff of rose water as well. This was bloody amazing. The crab itself, mineral, zingy and naturally salty. I was green with envy.

Course 3: Rib eye Steak.

The steak was peppery, I think it was a Prime USDA (they love that stuff in Taiwan), the glowing charcoal was still smoking the beef on the table, still sizzling away softly. Beautifully medium rare, not much in terms of bovine beefiness, but who cares. Look at the crusty exterior.

Course 4: Steamed fish.

Oh my gosh..! This was the real cracker… superbly steamed, gently silky, such delicate texture, I kept thinking, cream, cream and more cream. The broth was buttery, and the fish was stuffed with a variety of crunchy and chewy vegetables, broccoli perhaps, I forget. Just excellently steamed fish.

Course 5: Grilled tiger prawn.

Look at that monstrosity. It must have been grilled over charcoal, because I could taste the smoke, seasoned with rock salt… the better half showed her quality by offering this to me. And so, I broke it in half, and sucked it dry.

Course 6: Soup

Just soup right? But check out the presentation.

Voila!

Course 7: Red bean soup

A comforting finish, baffling being served with kiwi, didn’t think the creaminess of red bean paired with the kiwi, but whatever.

Hands down the best £20 meal I’d ever witnessed.

Meanwhile… I had…

Fried durian!… £4

The smell of unwashed, overnight socks, sweat drying out the cotton, and blood perhaps from the gruelling hour long session working on the deltoids. The taste of a superiorly whipped egg custard… and soya sauce as a dip. Somehow, if you believe my ‘buds, this sweet-stinky-salty combo was successful as a starter.

Sushi Platter…. around £35quid

Not as amazing as I would have liked, if I’m being honest, however, it was still orgasmic, appetising and entirely pleasing. The rice was naturally amazing, sticky yet melts-in-the-mouth, just a gentle kick of vinegar, I would have wanted it to carry just a touch more warmth, but oh well. The fish however was excellent. Scallops were ridiculously sweet, so were the salmon (and belly), silky sea eel, the otoro disintegrated with a fragrant oiliness, mellow as opposed to just the taste of cold fat. Really accomplished stuff.

If you are in Taipei, I’d actually recommend just trying the cheaper sushi places like Hi Sushi, because it’s affordable and amazing, but if you have £20 to spare, pop into a Mitsui. As I said earlier, I think the Taiwanese have perfected the art of the set lunch. Nothing in London compares for the money, period.

The Gist of It

Mitsui
Japanese. Set Menu £20pp ; ala carte more than double..
No 30, Nong-an St., 1F Taipei City, Taiwan.
Tel : (02) 2594-3394

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All hail the gods of charcoal, keeper of the exalted flames, oh revered and magnanimous Ganko Ojisan, for I require six allotments of your juiciest chicken oysters. I imagine this place would be a hit on weekends what with its convenient location in Soho and for its appreciably straightforward and tasty grilled goodiness. Good for groups, but flexible enough for quick solo bites, a true alternative to pizza, a burger, ice cream or even duck rice and much cheaper than Roka.

Yes, this was once the Bincho at Oxo Tower, now relocated to Old Compton Street, and soon expanding into Central Saint Giles. Food was always going to play second fiddle to the view from Oxo, but now that it has moved, I wonder if certain sunset appreciators will miss it. The concept remains largely intact, the chefs still don black bandanas behind the charcoal and the main offerings are still Yakotori (grilled bird) and Kushiyaki (anything but bird). Additionally, there are salads, rice dishes but no sushi.

Their USP is a three pronged attack: Firstly the grill is flown from Japan, secondly their Yakitori sauce will blow your tastebuds to smithereens and lastly, the use of the mysterious binchō-tan, a white charcoal (also from Japan) made from oak that sounds like metal when struck (its inherent quality is so unique, wind chimes are made from it), and is chosen chiefly because of this burnt wood’s innate ability to heat up, be smokeless and free of odour.

Hajime!

I started with a glass of Kyoto Fushimizu sake, brewed with miyamizu, ‘heavenly water’ from Nishinomiya, a city in Hyogo, Japan. Interestingly, the waiter told me the overflow from the glass to the masu (square box made from cedar) it was served it, was not decorative. He told me to let the sake flow, and to drink from the box as the cedar would help bring out more sake-ness in the rice wine – an ancient tradition so I read.

We start with the Kushiyaki.

Unagi £5 for two skewers.

Prices are listed per skewer, but the minimum order is two, which is fine by me. So it appears the charcoal has done its business, allowing the surface of any meat (or unagi in this case) to be reduced to a incrustatial state of crustiness, burning out the exterior which in turn creates a dry contrast enough for one to notice the protected, interior wetness and thus giving rise to the sensation of well sealed juices. That first bite of sizzling smoke rushing into your mouth is heady, burn me baby.

Sea bream £4.60

Unfortunately, bincho-tan doesn’t work well with fish, this was tepid, dried-out and tough.

I should note that food flew out from the charcoal grill very speedily, we probably waited no more than 5 minutes.

Beef ribs £5.20

Similarly, I found the beef rib was too much like warmed-up beef jerky with lashings of a sweet and sticky sauce. It was ok.

We avoided the vegetables almost entirely.

Yakitori time.

Duck breast, spring onion and wasabi £4.40

The grilled birds are much, much better, I was astounded at how much juicier and fleshier this was, redolent of a campfire barbecue.

Chicken Oysters £4.00

Bincho will happily grill and serve any part of the chicken so long as they have it in the kitchens, so if you have a particular craving for chicken bum (which some do), then you can request it off the menu.

Great balls of fire…. the chicken oysters, fantastic! The oyster is a ball of meat found on the backbone and attached to the chicken’s thigh, so succulent that I would be a fool not to order it. Juicy, brawny, bouncy and smoky – when you go, you must order these pearls of joy, it is as good as chicken will ever get.

Chicken Skin £1.50

Probably even better than the chicken oysters were these crispy, crunchy and oily chicken skin on skewers. Naturally, it is full of natural buttery flavour, almost a tad too salty, but that’s where the rice comes in.

Oyako don, £5.50

Actually, I wanted the buttered garlic rice, but the waitress had one of these electronic touch screen ordering gizmos, where the order goes straight to the kitchen as she took it down… annoyingly when I changed my mind, she said the kitchen had probably started prepping it, so she wanted to avoid the hassle of running downstairs to change it, and urged me to stick with the oyako don. Puppy dog eyes ensued. Hmm… How much for service again?

Thankfully, this was a heartily warming bowl of rice topped with generous slices of chicken. Not quite megalamous portions however, as say when compared to Sakura, but rice was a necessity to balance out all that salt and protein.

Pre-theater menu £9.99. While I indulged in my a la carte, the missus had been quietly working her way through her superbly well valued set dinner.

The set comes with salad (with salmon), a bowl of rice and a selection of grilled meat.

Pork belly, chicken wing, chicken, salmon, shitake mushrooms and asparagus… all brilliantly juicy and smoky. In contrast to the dried out seabream, the salmon was juicy, but perhaps that’s partly because of the inherent oiliness.

The bill came to £56.13, which broke down to about £40 for my alacarte, and £16 for the missus’ pre-theatre and short Asahi. So be careful with this one, it can balloon to a pretty pricy affair if you order carelessly. Deceptively Chinese staff, undeniably camp chillout background music, what’s not to like? I would revisit. It sure beats Eds Diner… and I’ll follow this up with a visit to Tosa just for the sake of comparison.

The restaurant filled up as the evening wore on, I noted a few solo diners who really seemed to enjoy taking their time ordering skewer, after skewer, after skewer and I can see how this can easily become an addiction. Not everything was amazing, I would avoid the beef or pork; The yakitori on the other hand, is generally fabulous. Do keep an eye out for their specials, which on my visit were priced at £1.50 per skewer, and represented fantastic value for money. Otherwise, the ‘Seven Samurai’ for £10 is a good place to start, if you are struggling with choice. Although, I would say it’s all about the chicken oysters and chicken skin. Choose wisely and you shall be rewarded.

The Gist of It

Bincho
Japanese, £30pp
16 Old Compton Street W1D 4TL
Tel: 0207 287 9111
Tube: Leicester Square

Grilling the Birds: Gourmet Traveller ; Suzie’s Notes ; Greedy Diva ; Susan Loves Food ; Grumble Mouse ; Fay Maschler (covering the original OXO Tower iteration)

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