Fed by Tang Cantonese Supperclub

There has been a supperclub revolution in London recently which so many new ones popping up all over! Being a supperclub virgin, I just had to get on the bandwagon as soon as possible because from the look of things, I seem to be missing out big time! Hence, living out of London, a weekend lunch would be much more convenient without the need to rush for the train should I attend a dinner supperclub. So I kept a lookout and when Cherry of Feed the Tang posted up news of her 2nd Cantonese supperclub and a lunch one at that! I immediately went on the Edible Experiences website to buy tickets for the event. I've been following Cherry on twitter and have been kept updated with pics of her home cooked meals so yes, this would definitely be a good 1st supperclub to attend. 


It may seem odd to turn up at a stranger's house and expect to be fed but I've had the pleasure of meeting Cherry briefly on 2 occasions and we've communicated over twitter so it was more like turning up at a friend's house.


Fast forward to 22nd Jul, we arrived at Cherry's inviting home and were met by Chef Cherry as well as the charming front of house, Phoebe and led into the living room. We were served a very refreshing watermelon and sparrow gin cocktail. Introductions were made with the other diners and we all started to chat. Truth be told, it was a bit quiet initially but Phoebe did a very good job of breaking the ice, made us feel comfortable, relaxed and the chatter began.

Once all the guests arrived we went into dining room that sits 8 and the first dish was served.  A light but very flavourful papaya and pork broth, that's also good for the skin, got our tastebuds going.

Next up were some light bits. Neatly stuffed glazed chicken wings which in my opinion would be very tedious to make as the chicken wings had to be deboned and filled with carrots and wood ear mushrooms. Tender seasoned chicken alongside the crunch of the woodear mushrooms made for a very interesting and taste texture sensation.

Eggs soft-boiled in a bonito stock and topped with salmon roe was a triumph! I've always have a soft spot for a perfect soft boil egg with gooey yolk and this was just that and much more! Cherry managed to infused so much flavour into a simple egg and that, I find pretty amazing.

The eggs were served along side some pork pastries.. roast pork wrapped with puff pastry that were just as yummy!

Succulent and juicy chilli soy sauce cooked to perfection prawns came next for this, we had to get our hands dirty, the best way to enjoy prawns! Finger bowls, anti bacterial gel and wet wipes were provided so yes, they do pay attention to the little details that makes for an even more enjoyable meal.

It was now time for the main dishes. Bowls of rice arrived together with the dish I was so looking forward to, the very nicely presently Mui Choi(Preserved Vegetables) Triple cooked(poached, fried and steamed) Pork belly!!!! Cherry's version was drier than the other versions I've tried but it was just as delicious with it's sweet, salty combination.

The beautiful taste explosion, szechuan influenced, not over spicy Saliva or Mouth watering chicken was delicious and a delight to eat. Not to worry, it's not made with saliva and it's so good that it makes your mouth water, hence the name.

A complete chinese meal would never be complete without green vegetables and my absolute fave simple yet vibrant stir fried kailan made me a happy bunny! 

The last main dish was the pan fried bite sized sea bass with chinese chives was satisfying.

At this point, i was already stuffed and we haven't even got to dessert yet! Plates were cleared and on came the desserts. Red bean with homemade coconut nut ice cream was a decadent way to end an outstanding meal! I got to admit that sadly, I couldn't handle the very pretty, light and fluffy raspberry swissroll as I was so full so i just had a small taste of my hubby's portion.

The meal ended with chrysanthemum tea that definitely helped with the digestion. I really needed that as I was so full, I even had to skip dinner!
I thoroughly enjoyed my first supperclub experience, the food and of course the company. Sitting around a table of 8, we chatted constantly across the table and made some foodie friends along the way. I will be attending more supperclub events should the opportunity arise and in fact I've booked myself on another one already!


If you are looking for a supperclub to try, I would highly recommend Fed by Tang as Cherry's cooking is indeed impressive!! Am sure tickets will be highly sort after once the word gets out! 
4 thumbs up from us!!!! :)

Please visit Edible Experiences for more information on Cherry's next supperclub.

Sushi Tetsu - Sushi at it's best!

Opened only 3 weeks ago, Sushi Tetsu has already been receiving rave reviews from bloggers. Some have even returned for another meal  as they couldn't get enough of it's awesome offerings.

I got to know of this amazing but tiny restaurant run by Chef Toru Takahashi, who used to work at Nobu and his wife, through twitter and after reading The Skinny Bib's very exciting review, I knew that I would have to make a reservation soon as everyone who's been there all feel that it's going to be very difficult to make reservations soon. Oh yes! It is that good and I totally agree after having a dinner experience there!
It only sits 7 people at the counter and 2 tables of 2 in the restaurant. I was told that Chef Toru only serves sushi at the counter so the tables are there for people who are waiting to enjoy a beer or two.

There's only sushi and sashimi on the menu so for those who don't eat raw fish, this is not a place for you. Fish sourced by Chef Toru supplier are indeed of the best quality. Fish that are fresh, springy and full of flavour definitely hold the prime spot here. Chef Toru is a master at combining flavours and textures whether it's spring onions, shiso leaves, sancho pepper, cucumber, plum sauce or blowtorching which compliments and accentuates the star of the show! Just look at the concentration on his face during preparation!

As we were here to eat to our heart's content, we each went for the omakase flower set menu which contained the most amount of items... 9 items(chosen by Chef Toru) + a roll. However, towards the end of this taste adventure, we decided to order more as we couldn't get enough and asked Chef Toru  recommend 3 more items so yes, we ate quite a lot but somehow with sushi, one will never get too bloated, a very good thing in my books and just for the record, i'm usually a pretty small eater and i managed to eat everything. :) 

After we placed our order, a bamboo leaf that has already been soaked in water was placed in front of each of us and wiped cleaned. All sushi will then be served on this bamboo leaf. It'll be replaced when it gets too dry. 

The journey then begins. One thing to note is the Chef Toru brushes most of the sushi with soy sauce so though there's additional soy sauce available for you to use on the side. It's usually not necessary. 

Seabream Sushi

Turbot Sushi with plum sauce and spring onions

Salmon Sushi

Ebi/sweet prawn Sushi

Yellow Tail with plum sauce

Tuna Sushi - the colour is amazing!

Mackerel, Sancho pepper amd seaweed algae sushi

Light seared Scallop Sushi

Cucumber, Razor clam skirting and shiso roll

Chef Toru blowtorching the Otoro (Tuna Belly)

The awesome smokey oily seared Otoro (Tuna belly)

Razor clam, lime juice and seasalt sushi

Sea urchin wrapped in cucumber

Tamago(Japanese Omelette) - prawns and fish was used to flavour this and it added a nice sweetness. Started over a stove and ended in the oven.

We thoroughly enjoyed sitting at the counter and watching Chef Toru work with precision and lightness. We'll definitely make another trip back soon!


The bill came up to £65/person. We had green tea but Sushi Tetsu also carries a selection of sake and Japanese beer. 

Sushi Tetsu
Jerusalem Passage
London
EC1V 4JP
Tel. 020 3217 0090

Bea's Diner and St John's Bakery

Having heard so much about the smashing american breakfast at Bea's Diner and the amazing Custard Donuts from St John's Bakery, a trip to the arches along Druid Street quickly worked it's way up the always growing list of places to visit in London! One thing I really love about London is that there are always new places to discover and even if you revisit a particular area, there most usually will be something new that's of interest. 


Bea's Diner and St John's Bakery, both open only on Sat, are a short walk away from the world famous borough market so it's definitely worth the extra effort to walk over here as your tummy will most definitely thank you for it!


The Brioche French Toast with caramelised bananas and walnuts, Buttermilk Pancakes with roasted strawberries as well as the Custard Donuts from St John's bakery were ohhhh soooo goooddd!!! Simply awesome!! One bite of any of the above and the only thing one can say is....OMG, OMG, OMG!!! Worth the calories??! OOhhhhh Yesssssss!


I will be going back to Bea's Diner really soon for the exciting Crawfish boil....all you can eat crawfish!!! It's gonna be another good day!!!

Bea's Diner

The diner

Menu for Bea's Diner

Brioche French Toast with caramelised bananas and walnuts 

Buttermilk pancakes with roasted strawberries

Custard Donuts

They don't skimp on the custard

Freshly baked bread

Birthday lunch at Roganic!!

It was my birthday on Sat and my loving hubby planned a wonderful day out for me! The weather was perfect too as the sun was out with a cool breeze so it wasn't too hot. (Yes, thought I grew up in Singapore, I somehow can't take the heat! haha) First up was lunch at one of the most exciting restaurant in London at the moment, Roganic. This was followed by a musical, Dreamboats and Petticoats then dinner at the always yummy Bincho Yakitori. 


It was our first time at the 2 year London popup, Roganic and it's always exciting to visit a new restaurant especially after reading rave reviews about it!!! We also recently watched owner and chef Simon Rogan win the North West heat in the Great British Menu and he has been called the most innovative chef in the country at the moment so these all added the level of excitement!! They are still considered a popup at the moment at they are in the midst of looking for new premises so we may get to see an even prettier restaurant in the near future! 

When we first stepped into the restaurant, we were greeted by Richard, the smiliest Maitre D ever!!! I'm not kidding as I've never seen a Maitre D smile that much before and it feels as though he's your good friend. Throughout our meal, Richard and his team provided very friendly, quick yet non obtrusive service. Definitely a job well done! The restaurant, on the whole, has a very relaxed feel about it which makes for a very comfortable dining experience. 


There's a choice of 3 menus, 3 courses(£29), 6 courses(£55) or 10 courses(£55). As we had a musical to catch, we decided that 10 courses would take a little too long and so decided on the 6 courses menu. 


A few minutes after placing our order, we were served 2 amuse bouches. Rosemary crispbread with Goats cheese and Hay smoked Pork belly balls. I could really taste the smokiness infused into the Pork belly and that together with the goats cheese thoroughly excited my palette and prepared it for what was coming up!!

Rosemary Crispbread with Goat's cheese

Hay smoked Pork belly

 A selected of homemade bread rolls and sensational Roganic experience began..

The carrot 'soup' has combination of different textural flavours that simply dances in the mouth.

Carrot with ham fat, tarragon and pickled celery

Next up was a very intense mushroom broth, balanced with a mild tasting buffalo curd.

Mushroom broth with buffalo curds, salsify and water mint

Sea scallops cooked to perfection, combined with some very interesting tasting seaweed

Sea scallop, oyster, seaweed and watercress

One thing that Roganic does very well is to put together texture and flavours that compliments each other. Saltiness of the Lemon sole, creaminess of the bone marrow, tartness of the roasted tomatoes, chewiness of the buckwheat all works very well together in a single mouthful. 

Lemon Sole with smoked marrow, roasted bone sauce, nasturtium and buckwheat

The Herdwick lamb is another case in point. This strong tasting lamb is nicely mellowed out with the creamy sweetbread. I really enjoyed this dish, but my hubby on the hand felt found the lamb a little too intense as he didn't like the texture of sweetbread and rather not eat it. Without it, the dish wasn't as balanced as it should have been. Chefs put a lot of thought into every dish usually every ingredient, no matter how small, plays an important part in pulling a dish together. 

Herdwick lamb flank, sweetbread, hedge garlic and velvet caps

The dessert was superb, and definitely showcases the rhubarb! It was really refreshing and just right as it was hot outside.

Rhubarb with meadowsweet, cream cake and sweet cicely

And then we thought we were done but no.... they still had a little more up their sleeves. 
Along came the Douglas Fir milkshake and lemon curd donuts. I've seen Doughlas fir being used on TV before but have never tasted it so it was a very nice surprise to taste this fragrant pine flavoured milkshake.

Douglas Fir milkshake and Lemon curd donut

There was then the White chocolate coated chocolate bourbon biscuit parfait that brought the meal to a very sweet ending.

Even with the high expectations we brought along to Roganic, we were not disappointed and constantly amazed with beautiful plates of food, burst of flavours that was truly a sight and taste extravaganza! 

We'll definitely go back for the 10 courses when the menu changes and hopefully make it to his other restaurants, L'enclume and Rogan & Co in the Lake District in the very near future!

Roganic

19 Blandford St

London

W1U 3DH