FPN will take you along a journey of cheap eats, fine dining and anything else in between. I do love to cook so the occasional recipe will be thrown in for good measure. Tried and tested of course! Enjoy x
Kintan is the first yakiniku-style restaurant to open in High Holborn, London. Yakiniku literally translates into grilled meat and is considered as the Japanese take on the Korean barbecue. This is a style of Japanese BBQ where the diner can order a selection of bite sized meats, seafood and vegetables to be prepared over table grill. The best part of the experience is being interactive with your food and watching it sizzle away just the way you like it.
Whilst Kintan specialises in grilled meats, there is a selection of appetisers, salads, rice and noodles. To start we ordered the hot oil seared salmon (£7) which came beautifully served with a house citrus sauce. This sashimi grade salmon simply melted in the mouth as the hot oil gave the salmon a gentle warm sear.
We also had the tuna tartar volcano (£7), the tuna tartar was prepared with a delicious spicy mayo. This was delicious and fresh but what made this dish really special was the textual contrast of the deep fried rice cracker against the creamy tartar and the addition of caviar sprinkled on top.
The tofu chigae (£10), a spicy tofu stew was served with a combination of ground chicken, kimchee, enoki mushrooms and egg. The base of the stock was enriched with a gorgeous oxtail stock and enhanced with the spicy addition of kimchee and chiage (soybean) paste. The highlight of this dish was the tofu itself, it had the most incredible, delicate and smooth texture I have ever experienced which absorbed the wonderful intense flavours of the broth. Unfortunately, the egg turned out overcooked and rubbery but otherwise this was still a fantastic bowl of soup with great intense flavours.
After a 17 month restoration project the Gowings building has been resuscitated back to life with the QT Hotel – a hotel, spa, bar and restaurant. Inside you will find the Gowings Bar and Grill – a European style brasserie serving up seafood, steaks, woodfired meats and rotisserie fowl. Try and time your visit for Friday at lunch for the pinot and suckling pig special, if you can.
Located between the historical Gowings building and the State Theatre, the Bar & Grill has that staged New York Broadway feel to it. Walk on in and you will taken by the slab of tuna hanging by its tail cut wide open and red raw. Hello… fish bits.
With its extensive menu, it is difficult to decide what to eat and what to forego. Everything looks like a win and equally very expensive. $38 schnitzel anyone?
For her entree Ms G takes on the hot spanner crab cakes ($19). I’m given a taste and already I’m hit with food envy. It’s the combination of the beautiful crumbs, fleshy crab pieces and the creamy aioli that I would happily come back for.
Sydney Rock Oysters ($5 each)
I’m always a sucker for steak tartare ($29) but I found myself slightly disappointed. There is no questioning the quality of the ingredients but it wasn’t the traditional steak tartare I had in mind. It was far more creamier and lacked the tang and pep I was hoping for. The shoestring fries, surprisingly came out as the hero of this dish.
My sister currently lives in London and has done so for 11 years. With that in mind and the London 2012 games coming, I just knew I had to be there. Next stop, Rio!
My sister just so happens to be a very popular food blogger in London (she would dispute this otherwise – you can find her here) and therefore she utilised every single opportunity to make us eat our way through London.
First stop. Burger and Lobster.
This place, is kind of like what Mc Donalds is to kids but for adults. It’s like a magical wonderland brimming with lobster tail and claws and all for the price of £20. This will buy you a 1.5 kilo lobster.
Hungry?
Well, you can upsize it to 2 kilo for an extra £10.
The place doesn’t take bookings. So best to get there early otherwise expect a 30-45 min wait while you food envy all the other patrons with their platters of lobster. I managed to spot a guy eat a mother of a claw, and of course I approached him like a zoo animal and took a snap of him eating his 7lb lobster.
Like what the hell is this place? Cos it is freaking awesome!
Man with 7lb lobster
Casually, I make my way back to the bar and ordered some very tasty cocktails for £9! That is great value for London standards.Especially if you make it to the Mayfair location. We then notice the the “Big Boys” sign and “The Catch”specials board (see below).
Wow this place really is happiness on steroids!
Only 9lb left!
We finally arrive at our table and there isn’t a menu as such. We are told that we can either choose from:
Whole lobster steamed or grilled with clarified or garlic and lemon butter;
Lobster roll served in a hot dog bun with a slick of wasabi mayo; or
Beef burger with optional cheese and bacon
The four of us unanimously order the whole lobster as it is clearly the best value item on menu. They recommend the grilled lobster as it gives it a nice charred finished whilst keeping the meat nice and moist.
Preparing for battle with bib, claw cruncher and wet wipes
Grilled lobster, fries and salad served w melted garlic lemon butter sauce – £20
It was a stunning start with the beautiful slivers of cured beef laying there with its bright blushing red centre.The delicate droplets of smoked celeriac was a creamy and buttery touch that softened the intensity of the cured beef.
roast leg of suckling pig, parsnip, brussels sprouts & honey clove jus
What makes a perfect roast pig? Tender pieces of pork? Check.
Crackling that’s crisp and that beautiful blubber of fat that lines it. Check, check.
What a glorious little piece of suckling pig. There are no words other than, you have lived and served me well piggy.
I love meat. Everybody knows it. Especially if it’s rare.
The fact is, I love to nibble away at raw minced beef. Sprinkle it with a dash of crushed rock salt and I’m done for. Yum, yum. Not many people know that about me but now you do. You and the rest of Australia of course!!
wagyu tartare, truffle aioli, pine nuts and white soy dressing $18
The wagyu tartare was kind of an abomination of your traditional steak tartare, an adaptation if you will. There was no sight of a golden yolk to forcibly crush and most of the traditional elements have drawn on alternative substitutes.
The wagyu beef was chunkier than expected and required little more gumption to consume. I couldn’t quite trace the truffle aioli and I found the dish rather sweet with the white soy dressing. The pear was a nice touch but it wasn’t enough to turn me. Unfortunately, this dish wasn’t for me.
potato scallops rosemary and truffle oil $8
I couldn’t resist the temptation of eating a potato scallop to relive one my soggy childhood memories. I even remember when they were 30 cents! They would be hot as hell, burning the living day lights out of my lips and fingers. And it would be positively soaked and dripping with oil. Just gold.
A delicious reformed and sophisticated take, these golden nuggets were lightly doused with wafts of rosemary and truffle oil. Containing a textural contrast of a crunchy exterior versus a fluffy interior. It was just perfect with a dusting of rock salt.
glazed beef short rib with house-made BBQ sauce $32 (350grams)
Looking at this is enough to make me weep. Looking back, was enough to make me wail. This fall off the bone hunk of love, was so chunky you could carve it without a knife and rip it to shreds. So tender, so saucy, I really ought to have gotten my hands dirty, let loose and enjoyed it with candour.
As part of January’s Sydney Festival 2012, the Festival launched in its 12th year running their annual event, Fast Festival Feasts.
Fast Festival Feasts offer either one of the following option at any of the following venues :
a one course and wine/bottled water for $30; or
two courses with wine AND bottled water for $55
I couldn’t resist the $55 offer and decided to surprise my girlfriend at Black by Ezard for her birthday. I had a feeling she wanted to come here anyway, we tend to think alike so I thought, “I want to go to which means surely she must too”.
Brioche with fresh butter and black volcano salt
We started with a loaf of piping hot brioche to share. We are not your typical fans of brioche, well… I personally find that it always sounds better than it actually tastes. Yet we both fell madly in love with it. The texture, taste and feel was a cross between a brioche and a croissant. Oh… croissants… Along with fresh a slather of butter and volcano ashen black salt, it tipped me right over the edge.
Given the two course meal deal, we elected to have one us order the entree and the other order the dessert, so we could share all three courses amongst ourselves. We began our entree with the heirloom tomato salad and the dish had nice earthy and balance of spring flavours throughout.
Organic Farm Egg, Potato cream, truffles, iberico ham, herb salad $36
As an added extra, I decided to order the luxurious and decadent organic farm egg salad. The signature dish received critical acclaim from food bloggers and food critics alike, so much so that we recently saw the price hike from $34 to $36.
The egg mound was held and wrapped inside a lattice of potato threads that was gloriously swimming in a pool of potato cream with truffle shavings and a slice of iberico ham to the side. Joey@foodiepop describes the dish as the Roll Royce version of your breakfast favourite. I however, felt that I had ordered the Lexus sleek convertible later to find out it was actually a Toyota. I was actually rather disappointed given the expectation, as well as the new price tag attached. The egg wasn’t gooey and that’s enough to make a girl pout, and the truffle? I couldn’t even taste it. Nor could Emma. I suspect we got unlucky given the positive reviews and at $36 a pop, I felt let down.
You can be the judge of the goo-o-meter.
A not-so-gooey egg being served
Grass fed angus, spinach pudding, mushroom and chive salad
Wow! This grass fed angus medallion was incredibly plump and juicy. You can tell but just looking at it! Every radiant slice and taste of the beef was a decadent, gratifying, silky, buttery mouthful. I am salivating just thinking about it. The mushroom and chive salad was just as stunning as the cafe au lait tinged sauce, which left me justifiably using my fingers to sweep the plate clean. I personally was not too fond of the spinach pudding which had a springy spongey texture and excessive taste of spinach. Even though I marvelled at the perfectly rounded green semi-sphere I kept it to one side.
I couldn’t help but ring ahead and ask for the staff to personally write a happy birthday message for Emma G. Interestingly enough, this modest call lead to everybody at Black personally wishing her happy birthday at various intervals throughout the night. She was a tad overwhelmed and humbled but it all but I was very impressed with the attention to detail in sending my little message.
We finished our night with another tasty number – Honey crunch. The clover honey parfait was crumbed and coated with ginger biscuits granules. To the side we had a honeycomb piece nuzzled on top pile of cinnamon dust and together, it was a nice balance of flavours.
In all, our meal was delicious, our night was pleasant and at that price I couldn’t complain. Staff were extremely friendly and attentive which made the night all the more special for the birthday girl. The standout dish was the grass fed angus beef and despite the hype, it was not the signature dish. But for an Australian grill specialising in grass, grain, wet and dry aged beef with a price tag ranging between $45-$95 for just the beef. You would expect nothing less from the grill. I would definitely like to come back here but maybe after pay day or my annual bonus.
Welcome to Black, the star grill and a pricey one at that.
Food Porn Nation 