Tis’ time to be jolly. I have sent off my wish-list to Daddy Christmas – pending strike action from royal mail – and lined my fake fireplace with stockings deep enough and strong enough to hold the weight of a solid Leica camera. The festive lights are already up on Oxford street, and I’m already piling on the holiday pounds as every other night is yet another night of tableside firecrackers and paper crowns. I will have to reinstate my gym membership.

I am looking forward to the short break, dear ol’ Kang ain’t going away this year, but instead I’m going to take the opportunity to go on a strict 10 day diet and a workout regime in hope of reversing 12 months worth of London eating damage. Cue Rocky music: Running around the city at 5 am, two raw eggs followed by punching steaks at Goodman. I’ve planned content to run through to next week, after that posting frequency will become erratic….

…but first, a toast – to the good life and 2010. Chink chink.

I remember when Wholefoods first came to town a couple of years ago and grimaced at the astonishing prices of the fresh produce. One could visit that place on an empty stomach and walk out feeling like one had just eaten a horse – the amount of freebies they dish out (and continue to) is equally astronomical. Take the crème brulees for instance. They come in a variety of flavours, there’s black tea, chocolate and blueberry (I think). I normally ask for a ‘taster’ before I buy and they usually scoop out half a portion on a huge wooden spoon. Slurp, black tea please and make that two. The foodhall has stayed relatively the same since it’s opening, save for the addition of a new shabu-shabu bar. The wood-fire baked meatball sandwiches are still going strong, and so are the unforgettable unagi explosions at the Sushi-Dim Sum corner. On this visit, I persuaded myself to steer clear of the slithery creatures and peruse the pasta bar instead.

The menu is about as simple as it gets. Starters included the usual suspects such as deep-fried calamari, but we chose the arancinis instead.

Maybe I’m just an uncultured sucker, but I do enjoy deep-fried balls of risotto (the arancini). This recipe seems to be coming back in vogue again as I had a pleasant version at Polpo a few weeks back. Of course, this being the Wholefoods foodhall, I wasn’t really expecting to write a melodramatic essay about how this rocked Acton Central. It tasted alright, reminiscent of the old pizza express recipe. But wahey, it’s deep-fried riceballs, let move on.

For the pastas, you had three choices. Spaghetti, Linguine and I’d like to say Penne but my sources fail to confirm that. There are a variety of toppings, we ordered a spaghetti with crab and the clam linguine in a tomato base.

Overall pretty agreeable. The dishes were cooked well enough, especially the tomato based clam linguine which felt “home cooked” – hearty and cheerful. Let’s not be under any illusions here, La Trattoria serves fast pasta. Nothing spectacular, but I suppose it is fitting for those days when one is not looking to stretch one’s gastrocentric experiences. It does what it says on the tin, though having said that, I will probably return to the meatball sandwich as opposed to the arancinis on my next trip to Wholefoods.

The Gist of It

La Trattoria Wholefoods
The Barkers Building W8 5SE
Tel: 02073684500
Tube: High Street Kensington

More Photographs on my flickr account here.

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As I was researching (some prefer to say wikipedia) the origins of Pizza, I stumbled across the valiant efforts of an organisation known as Vera Pizza Napoletana (VPN) , or the Real Neopolitan Pizza Association. Obviously, they are non-profit and their goal is to preserve the ‘authenticity’ of restaurant pizza recipes around the world, and they do this by flying around the world, visiting restaurants either to rubber stamp or to reject pizzas. These guys have created a set of hardcore guidelines which only recognises Magherita and Marinara as true Neopolitan pizzas. They even have a very specific description of what the real thing ought to taste like, and I quote:

(The pizza)… should be soft, elastic, easy to manipulate and fold….

Talk about Pizza police eh, I wonder if there are any VPN certified doughs in London… Franco?

Made in Italy is part of a franchise of six London based Italian eateries which claim to serve up wholesome Southern Italian recipes, and allege that 90% of their ingredients are flown in from the homeland. I’ll admit that this wasn’t the one which we wanted to visit. We originally wanted to drop in on the sister restaurant Marechiaro – just a few doors from Made in Italy on Kings road – but it was shut for refurbishments. So back to pizza certification. The VPN regularly sends their master pizza chefs to restaurants that are keen on attaining this supposedly illustrious designation. One of the key considerations of true Neopolitan dough is dimension: 35cm in diameter to be exact – I guess that means disqualification for Made in Italy’s ‘Pizza Metros’. It translates to Pizza metre and legend has it, this mythical technique was descended from grand old Neopolitan doughmasters, serving their prized products on a wooden chopping board and they are unique for different choices of toppings (of separate orders) are prepared and served on the same adjoining base.

I was mightily surprised at the spectacle when they brought the pizzas out – which does smell amazing – and the wooden chopping board ceremonious placed on a literary equivalent of a pedestal. Diners had to almost respect the cheese by half getting up from their seats to grab a slice. If memory served me right, we ordered a Capricciosa (£8.50) with Mozzarella, tomato sauce, sausage, mushrooms, artichokes, roasted ham and a Ortolana (£7.95) with Mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, olives, grilled aubergines, sun dried tomatoes. I didn’t whip a tape measure out, but I believed it was half a metre’s worth of proper pizza. It did look massive, and we had to box it up for takeaway afterward. Overall I thought the pizzas were OK… It tasted better than most, with evidence of the smokey goodness of the wood oven being quite evident. However, the pizza didn’t really have an x factor, the dough in particular was too dense for my gentle buds, more plastic than plastecine and the difficulty we had in finishing the pizza (three of us) sort of said it all. Not quite Franco Manca, but it did make for a good cold pizza the morning after.

Being the gluttonous monster that I am, I forced the two tiny female frames to order a couple of starters.

A generous portion of Bresaola, which still carried the rawness of the cured beef (a good thing) and man sized parmesan shavings. On the other side of the table, the girls were tucking away a surprisingly hearty bowl of steamed mussels made with garlic, parsley, red chilli, cherry tomatoes & white wine. Sweet, juicy, appetising, done.

I also wanted to try a pasta dish which sounded outstanding on the menu – PACCHERI ‘A CORE E MAMMÁ’ or Paccheri pasta with button mushrooms, Italian sausage, pecorino cheese & ttruffle oil (£10)

The flavours were really bursting with life and filled the room with a whiff of mushroom. The sauce in particular – with but a creamy touch of umami, probably courtesy of the pecorino and oil; tinged with a biting spiciness most possibly from the seemingly pan-fried sausages. The deep intensity lingered on…

…On the other hand, I couldn’t finish this dish, as the same deep intensity became too salty and that creaminess became too loud. The pasta was annoyingly heavy and chewy, that eating it was progressively turning into a chore; I simply lost interest. In the end, I thought that the meal was above average. The pizzas were certainly eye opening at first and while it was good, it did not approach the Franco Manca benchmark. Antipasti & pastas were reasonable both in terms of value & taste and overall, mildly exciting at first, but once we got to know each other, it was just another familiar affair. Enjoyable if a little forgettable.

The Gist of It

Made in Italy official site £25pp
249 King’s Road SW3 5EL
Tel: 020 7352 1880
Tube: South Kensington

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Established by a former restaurant manager, Giuseppe Turi in 1990, this little known family run Italian restaurant is just beyond the bridge in Putney and finds itself nestled on a handsome corner off the high street.

I am completely a fan of uncovering hidden gems in the city, which are hidden away from the glitzy glamour of central London. Italian in Putney seemed a good place to recharge my batteries from a weekend of excess in Paris. An Enoteca is a wine cellar, or a place to drink, so I can only assume that the name of the restaurant translates to ‘Turi’s Wine cellar’. I probably should also mention that Paula recommended this place to me (she really knows her wine by the by).

Somehow, I was expecting huge vintage photographs and dusty wooden beams, but instead I was greeted with a comfortingly unassuming interior. It was neutrally decorated with pale unpolished wooden floors, white table linen, cream coloured walls and abstract art that exuded a sense of calm. Perhaps a little too sobering and unexciting, I found myself wanting to whisper rather than holler. Very PG-13 and family friendly.

We went for a Saturday lunch, and tried both the a la carte as well as the ‘Exploring Cucina Povera’ menu very generously priced at £15.50. The menu is a breezy read, with largely inoffensive classical dishes. Separated by courses; starters included burrata – a creamy mozzarella with summer bread salad as well as home cured bresaola ; Pastas were risotto with artichoke, summer truffle and thin spaghetti with fresh crab and samphire; The mains included cod fillet with borlotti beans all’uccelletto. Mmm, Samphire.

Ok, lets eat.

Antipasti

We started things off with Grilled mackerel fillet with samphire, potato and tomato, red wine vinegar dressing (£6.50)

The carbon bitterness was immediately evident on the surface of the skin of the mackerel, it was lightly seared it seemed as the delicate fish maintained a bounce in texture. This was accompanied by a stickiness in the bite. The palette was largely dominated by a clean and earthy saltiness. Samphire is rarely used by London restaurants, but it is one ingredient which I would love to eat more often. The samphire carried a natural saltiness to it, soaking in olive oil, it had a distinctly mineral taste. The combination of the greens with the fish was a real cracker, and it was as if it was grilled along the coasts of Sardinia, picking up the sea salt in the air and then magically teleported to Putney. It was lively and refreshing. Coupled with the mellow blanched potatoes and sweetened with the cherry tomatoes, this was a wonderful entrée.

On the other side of the table, the set lunch starter was a simple tuna tartare with chopped celery and carrots and then infused with zesty lemon juice. Roughly diced, the tuna was quite abit fishy, it needed some spices to balance it out and I was longing for pepper or capers or even olives which it had none; too simple and all in all it tasted much too raw.

Secondi

We skipped the pastas altogether and went straight into the mains. Firstly, the set lunch option of char grilled squid, chick pea puree, tomato salsa and rocket leaves. The burnt flavours were clashing with the bitterness in the chickpea, and somehow it brought out much of the inherent fishiness of the squid – like the tuna tartare before it, I felt like this dish needed a dominant herb or spice to balance out the seafood, but instead the heightened fishiness was a little unnerving. Thankfully this was easily rectified with pinches of salt and pepper. Unexciting as this dish was, it was adequately priced for the set lunch menu, and it did not stray from those realms.

Right then, the a la carte option was Roast rump of new season lamb, courgette fried with mint and vinegar, and roasted pepper salsa (£16.50 )

This dish was suppose to also come with deep-fried olives, but they ran out. I was treated to wonderful juices from the chucks of lamb; the sauce was spewing from the meat like a fountain! The lamb was full of flavour – like a really silky carved kebab, it had that ‘Mediterranean lamb’ taste. The flavours spread into the juicy sauce and the full flavoured gravy was perfect for wiping clean with the bread. I should also add that the sourdough bread was doughy and could potentially make for excellent pizza bases. The palette was also tinged with mintiness and the roasting courgettes and pepper added a sweet and sour edge to the sauce. All in all, a rather comforting roast. I kept thinking about how this dish would have been made even more successful if it was repackaged into a sort of kebab sandwich; since the meat was soft enough to tear away and the bread was thick and savoury enough to soak up the juices, it would have made for one very delicious posh Italian kebab……just a thought though.

Dolce

So far, a pretty enjoyable meal. It was a lesson in subtlety and restraint, but one that worked. The best part of the meal didn’t arrive until the desserts rolled into town. The set lunch option was affrogato with vanilla ice cream and coconut biscuit, and I order the pannacotta with grape syrup and peaches (£6.75).

Both desserts were divine.

The affrogato was a roasty espresso with sugary ice cream; for every hit of bean aroma, there was an accompanying creaminess. There was toffee sweetness in this coffee bomb and the frozen cappuccino was accompanied by an eggy coconut biscuit that was crumbly and reminded me of Chinese eggrolls.

On the other hand, the pannacotta was luxury encased in a gooey distillation of sugary grape and a compote of mushy peaches. The fruits went so well together, so jammy and intense, it became a little too sharp. Luckily the pannacotta itself was a magical creature altogether; the big white blob was shaped like a formless pillow and seemingly resting on the liquid platform.

I had wondered why it didn’t ‘sit-up’ like a normall pannacotta, and I understood when I dived in – it was thick, thick like a mozzarella. In fact, it looked so white, one could have easily mistaken it to be a cheese. The texture was glossy and there were dominating vanilla flavours as if whole cartons of milk were compressed into it. The rich dairy quality of the pannacotta easily matched the jammy fruit syrup; eating this felt like it was made for a Roman emperor.

All in all, I had a very pleasant meal. The set lunch on the other hand, was so-so. I found the dishes to be unexciting, under seasoned and almost felt like a deliberate attempt to strip it down to keep it profitable at £15.50, except for the affrogato, that was sublime. But then again for £15.50, its quite a steal.

Coming back to the ala carte, I found my experience at Enoteca Turi to be a controlled practice of indulgence. What could have been dominating fishiness in the mackerel or gaminess in the lamb was mellowed out with accompanying vegetables. Subtle flavours which were suggestive rather than over zealous equated to a quiet sort of nice, and in a way a reflection of the family orientated style of the restaurant.

I was mindful of the prices, and for a £35 ala carte, it was good. Of course I completely missed the boat with this place, what with it’s central focus of serving great wine to accompany the food. Oh well, I just have to cross the bridge again in the near future to give the vino another try.

The Gist of It

Enoteca Turi official site
28 Putney High Street SW15 1SQ
0208 785 4449
£35 for lunch, £50 for dinner, three courses, wine probably bit more.
Verdict: Pretty good food, nothing spectacular but the subtlety is much appreciated. Family friendly atmosphere.

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We start with the long bus journey from Waterloo station (bus 77, 35 minutes) past Battersea and into Lavender Hill in search of the supposedly hidden gem of an Italian restaurant. And I’ll take this opportunity to address a topic that’s been brewing among the twitterati of late.

When I got my first invites I was ecstatic, I thought of it as a kind of recognition that restaurants would invite me to do reviews. When it came time to write them, yeah there’s tremendous guilt and its difficult trying to come across as objectively as possible.

Bloggers are talking about it and its no secret that foodbloggers do get invitations from PR people to review their restaurants, with the restaurant covering the costs of the meal. I’ve covered this before in my past restaurant invites, and I make it known to everybody that I get invitations to write reviews. Is it awkward to write them? Yes of course it is. I do put down money for tips with every free invite, I know it won’t replace the cost of the meal, but I do try.

I chose to fully disclose the background to everything I write. Hence the segregation between ‘invites to review’ (comped by the restaurant) and a ‘review’ (which I paid for myself). I haven’t been afraid to pan invites which didn’t fly (Nahm and High Timber) and I have gone to try places, and indeed paid for the meal myself (belgo lobsterfest) after reading up on other blogger’s invited reviews.

I’m not a professional writer or critic and I have never claimed to be. I have never claimed to know everything about food, and I am simply someone who loves to eat and I am merely documenting my dinners. When I get invited to something, I go along to it and then I write about it. At the end of the day, its up to the reader to decide whether my stuff is useful or not.

As for the blogging bit itself, I try my utmost to review restaurants as objectively as I can; I spend about four hours on each write-up, and a further four hours on the pictures. As a result from this foodblog, I’ve taken an interest in photography and have since invested in camera gear. I do spend abit of time taking pictures of the food with every meal just to get a really good shot, all just for a blog post. I jot down notes of everything I eat, just so it’s all properly recorded as it happened, and finally maintaining an attractive, up to date blog design. And yes, I still have to tend to my day job which actually pays the rent. Alot of work goes into one review, and every single review takes alot out of me. Yeah, it’s become a little obsessive, I do put in alot of time and effort into this blog, and I spend alot of time with the blogposts because I want to write/photograph as best I can, partly because I want to create something entertaining for readers and partly because I am hoping that it will become useful to whoever picks it up.

The PR people behind Donna invited me to do a review, and I accepted it. Following the first visit, I returned to the same restaurant a week later for a meal I paid for personally, hence the wonky title. And so this will be abit of a combo review with dishes from two visits.

Actually, that’s two return visits in two weeks, Donna as well as Sketch. With Sketch, they offered me a £50 gift voucher and that was something that was publicly available (and still is). And both times, I went back because I liked the restaurant, and gladly returned as a paying customer.

That’s my position with these ‘invites’. I know I can’t please everybody and I can only do the best I can, so I will let my reviews speak for themselves. If you want to pass judgement over me, I welcome you to do so. Afterall, my reviews criticise the hardwork of restaurants, and I should be able to take criticism accordingly.

If my reputation is to be tested, then so be it.

I have always spoken plainly and openly. I don’t hide behind my blog and I don’t claim to be an expert. I am someone who enjoys eating. Inspired by, I look to emulate the illustrious foodbloggers who have come before me and I’m sharing my passion with anyone who cares to listen.

Donna in two

Phew, ok so that’s the political bit, back to eating. And just when I was beginning to think that the restaurant was imaginary, I noticed a string of restaurants and spotted Donna. Standing by the entrance was the head waiter. A bearded Italian Stallion – stern looking fella’ – whose frown quickly melted into a warm smile as he ushered us to our table. We arrived early at 6.30 on a friday, but the restaurant quickly filled up by 8pm.

The restaurant is richly adorned with all sorts of nostalgia-ware, football jerseys and B&W photographs; so much so, I regretted not taking more pictures of the décor. It screams local eatery and even has that musky smell of a restaurant that’s been there for too long. The restaurant prides itself in serving Neapolitan food, which by their own account is a result of a criss-crossing of several cultures which has affected the cuisine and resulted in a style that’s a halfway house between being refined and folk. Sounds good to me, I was just completely intrigued with their claim about the pizzas… but first, some appetisers.

Swimming

My family loves fresh seafood, especially the old man, he loves anything that’s still ‘Yau Siu’ (swimming).

Hmm.

Swordfish Carpaccio, rocket salad. The fish was quite a tough texture, almost like a robust tuna, it was chewy as opposed to being a puffy marsmallow. I assumed it was raw (Salted? Raw? Unsure, help?), but it tasted as if it was medium rare. It did carry a silky juiciness with it. It was zestified from the lemon juice but overall, the bold flavours of the fish dominated, which was a good thing. I love raw fish, and can only appreciate a good Carpaccio. A rustic start, if rather uneventful.

Next up: Deep fried calamari and sicilian prawns served on a bed of mix leaf salad.

The crusty exterior of the squid rings were extraordinary. I wasn’t expecting much of anything, but these were great as they reminded me of my mum’s recipe (she really knows best). Instead of a crunchy batter; this one was light, and almost powdery, interestingly enough, what made it tremendously delicious was an inherent eggyness that went really, really well with the squid. There was an openness about it, and the fresh approach made the deep fried calamaries a breeze to wolf down.

Similarly, the prawns were fried crisply and the natural seafood flavour was intensified with a sort of eggyness in the mix. The recipe somehow reminded me of Chinese prawn crackers, you know, a certain umaminess to the dish.

Best pizza in London?

Ok, I know what everybody is thinking: Franco Manca. That cannot be ignored, the benchmark for pizzas in the capital surely has to be measured against the Brixton Institution. So it won’t come as a surprise that I would be comparing DM with FM.

I was served the margherita (tomato & mozzarella & fresh basil ) on first visit (£5.90) and on my 2nd visit, I tried the Marinara (tomato, garlic and oregano £5.50) and the San daniele (parma ham, tomato, parmesan £7.95). Let’s start with the all important dough.

Ok, FM has competition. The pizza base is thin, thinner than FM and it is softer and rather more delicate. I also noted that it was served warm, as opposed to piping hot at FM (not sure if it was rested first or if the FM ovens were warmer). The base is very appetising and there was a silky bounce and subtle consistency to it, as opposed to a sizzling bang and a terrific pillow like chew which the FM pizza exhibits. Its very difficult to call, both pizza bases are very good indeed, but I may just give it to FM for better flavour and more chewiness and bounce as well as an overall wow factor. Having said that, I actually appreciated DM’s mellowness. As I said, a tough call.

Next: The tomato paste. I immediately noticed the freshness of the tomato paste, it was so fragrant that you could smell all the aromas. Eating it was a real pleasure, as I was tempted to just slurp the sweet juices off the pizza, it was fresh, bright and the highlight of the pizza. Very open flavour and the intensity was just right. Not too sweet, not too tangy, subtle and just the right balance of acidity. Coupled with the creamy mozzarella produced a fantastic body, with the rich tomatoes blending oh so well with the creamy cheese. I give this one to DM.

Thirdly: Toppings. Alright, I didnt sample everything on the DM menu. All three pizzas at DM were subtly flavoured and I thoroughly enjoyed them. The margherita was an instant classic but my favourite was the marinara as the garlic brought an understated punch to the juicy tomato base. I tried four of the FM pizzas and I have to give this one to Franco. The toppings are rich flavoured and one can really taste the intensity, I refer to the ricotta and artichokes; the anchovies and olives, as well as the brindisa chorizo which FM uses. Bursting flavours and sheer wow factor, I give this one to FM.

So is it the best in London? Erm, its pretty darn close. I think it’s comparable to FM pizzas although it is of a different style. I’ve been scratching my head over how to describe them, and the difference is abit like comparing an able Australian Shiraz against a subtle Burgundy. FM’s wow factor and big flavours, as well as the sizzling heat it is served with makes it akin to a classic Penfolds vintage, everybody will be in agreement that it’s a great pizza. With DM, its silkier, its more subtle, its juicier, its more fragrant, its mellow, its abit more complex and like a great bottle of Nuits St Georges (erm, Im leaning toward David Duband), I could stick a straw in and drink in any day and any night.

I think it comes down to a matter of choice, which do you prefer? Big robust flavours, or something abit more subtle? Both are very good.

Am I by the Sea?

Right, 1400 words and we’re only about half way through. Time for some pasta: O’paccher e`pusillipo, Paccheri pasta with prawns, mussels, porcini mushrooms, rocket, aubergine,Cherry tomatoes, basil and a touch of chilli.(£10)

The juices from the seafood has saturated the pasta, giving it a full flavoured fragrance, its very appetising, and its as if the entire ocean has been distilled into the dish, that is has become a sumptuous gravy. The dish is further coloured with the sweet cherry tomatoes and there is just a very faint hint of spice. Above all, the paccheri pasta was amazing. It was a dense noodle, very thick and rich in eggyness. The heaviness of the pasta soaked up a lot of the juices and every bite brought out bursting seafood flavours. I’m impressed with this one – it is very good indeed.

On my second visit, I had to try more seafood and I plonked for the A’grigliat ro’ Fusaro , (Plate for two) which is a char grilled selection of fresh fish served on a bed of mix salad (£35)

Normally its served with fresh whole seabass, squid, king prawns, mussels, clams and octopus, but they ran out of seabass on our visit. Everything is chargrilled to absolute perfection. The scallops and prawns were so sweet, my tummy was positively rumbling. The smoky grilled flavours were very evident, and there wasn’t a single thing that wasn’t delicious on this plate – I love every bit of it. At £35, the most expensive thing on the menu, and since we were there as a table of six, they spread the portions out over two plates.

Pudding? what?

The lemon brulee was rather good, it was made with a lemon sorbet underneath the custard, but overall I thought the desserts were merely so so. The tiramisu was utterly forgettable, and the torte carprese – almond and chocolate – was merely ordinary.

This could well be one of the most comprehensive reviews I’ve written, and I can safely say that Donna Margherita is good. Its not going to win any big awards, and in a way, that’s a good thing. The classical style is rustic and its just straightforward good Italian food. In particular, the pizzas are wonderful, almost as good as Franco Manca and the pastas as well as the seafood stand out. Its unbeatable when it comes to price, primis at £6 ; pastas at £11; pizza £8 ; meat/fish £13-£15 ; Dolce £4.

My only problem is that 35 minute bus ride. Otherwise, it’s Napoli in London.

The Gist of it

Donna Margherita official site
183 Lavender Hill SW11 5
(020) 7228 2660
£20pp
Verdict:Great Pizzas, lovely seafood and heartwarming pastas. An excellent Italian restaurant in the City.

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