444954 Wed Sep 26 05:59:58 -0700 2007 4 42 U.K./Ireland 0 2977287 Thank you so much to everybody for helping me plan out our trip. We had a fabulous time there, and look forward to returning (preferably when the dollar is a bit stronger as everything was very expensive for Americans). Here is a synopsis of what we ate: St. John -- We were pretty excited about coming here. DH, especially, was looking forward to this as he's heard about this restaurant for years. As we were seated, I overheard this other New Yorker come up to the host and say how much he was looking forward to this experience. Well, it certainly lived up to its hype. Absolutely delicious. We started out with the bone marrow and the potted beef with prunes. I got the last beef (it was only 6:30P). The bone marrow was wonderful, and the parsley salad was the perfect complement. The potted beef was deliciously rich, and the pickled prunes cut into the richness of the beef quite well. I ordered the pickled ox tongue and DH ordered the calves liver. We've had tongue and liver many times before, but this was the most delicious preparation we have ever encountered. The ox tongue was tender to perfection. I loved the simple carrot it was served with. I believe it was boiled in sugar/salt water which brought out the natural sweetness of the carrot. The calves liver was delicious without it being too rich. We were in Paris a few days ago where I ordered the calves liver at a French brasserie. This was the superior version. We ordered a side of boiled cabbage which was cooked very well. We had the chocolate cake and eccles cake for dessert. The chocolate cake was incredibly dense and gooey. While it didn't have much finesse, it was freakin' yummy. I've never had an eccles cake before. Alone, it probably wouldn't have been my thing. But with the cheese, it was transformed into a sumptuous dish with so many different layers and flavors going on. I loved the crispness and butteriness of the pastry with the gooey sweetness of the currants and the sharp slightly brittle texture of the Lancashire cheese. Portions were huge -- I have no idea how people can finish everything on their plates! The thing I loved most about this place was that the food was prepared well. They used to right amount of seasonings and did whatever they had to do to coax the best flavors out of the meats we had. I was very surprised that I liked St. John this much as I love complex layers of flavor. A winner. The service was also wonderful. I think they were understaffed as the host started taking over the duties of the waitstaff. People were waiting a long time for their food. As our reservations were relatively early and we got there before the dinner crunch, we received our food relatively quickly. It may not be everybody's type of restaurant. The drunk woman next to me got squeamish at everything, including the oysters. She kept making faces at all of the dishes. I don't think she enjoyed herself very much. As annoying as she was, I didn't let her ruin my good time. Masters Superfish and Chips -- Oh my God! I thought we were able to get decent fish and chips at Chip Shop in New York until I had this version. I loved the amuse bouche of the three shrimp, all full of the roe. The cod was expertly fried, not too greasy. The snow-white flakes of fish tasted so sweet and firm. But I've got a weakness for fries, and this was so good. It must be the potatoes, because these chips had a texture that I've not had anywhere else. They were fluffy and slightly puffy on the outside. There was also a different flavor that I haven't had before -- were these fried in an animal fat? I do wish they had a curry sauce for dipping, but the ketchup and lemon did fine for me. Yautcha -- The dim sum was excellent (though very pricey). We had scallop shumai, prawn and enoki mushroom dumpling, prawn and gai lan cheung fun, gai lan in ginger sauce, prawn and date dumpling and the baked vension puff. The delicate wrappers of the steamed dumplings were difficult to pick up with our chopsticks but so delicious. The seafood in the dumplings were cooked to perfection. The baked venison puff was rich and tasty. The prawn and date dumpling was good, but a bit too greasy for our taste. The quality of the dim sum was very high, similar to what we had at the Four Seasons in Hong Kong. The service, however, was too rushed and abrupt. I don't think the wait staff coordinate with each other as we were asked the same questions multiple times -- do you want to order? do you want drinks? do you need more food? are you ordering dessert? It was kind of annoying as we were interrupted by them every three minutes by the same questions. One of the waitresses brusquely took away my water glass (which was half-filled) in the middle of our meal. I had to yell "I'm not done!" for her to bring back my water with no apologies or even looking at me in the eyes. With the exception of that waitress, every other waitstaff was courteous and polite. As we left, we picked up some macarons upstairs. They were OK -- but you're talking to somebody who had the experience of eating a Pierre Hermes macaron a couple of days ago. The meringues were a bit too stiff and the flavor did not explode in my mouth. However, the display was very pretty to look at. Borough Market -- We were so excited when we reached this place. We came at the onset of lunch. Lines were long and it was a bit difficult to navigate around this place. Thank goodness we came Friday and not Saturday. I can't imagine what kind of lines would be there as we thought it was pretty crowded on Friday. It was wonderful to see all these great purveyors in one place. We walked around once to get an idea of what we were going to order. Everything looked so good. Unfortunately, we were a bit disappointed by the food. Perhaps we were expecting more. We got bacon-wrapped prunes which just did not work. The bacon was sitting under the heat lamp for too long, drying it out. I think dates would have been a better choice as the prunes were too mushy. DH got a slow-roasted pork sandwich with stuffing that was pretty good. We waited quite a long time for the scallops with bacon and bean sprouts. The scallops were well cooked (although I prefer a sear), slightly rare in the center. However, there was absolutely no seasoning which disappointed me. They were not salted before they were sauteed. The bacon and the bean sprout mixture also had no flavor. We were thoroughly disappointed with that dish, especially since we were waiting around forever. I did go to Neal's Yard for some cheese. It took me forever to find it as I didn't realize that it was kind of outside the main market. I ordered a slice of the Stichelton, which the girl behind the counter said was the only raw milk cheese of this kind. It was quite delicious. Unfortunately, the baguette I decided to eat this cheese had the texture of cotton. I don't remember the name of the purveyor except that it was located at the beginning of the "farmer's market." I was quite impressed with their magnificent looking display -- so I ordered from there. I originally was going to get the bread from the stand located near the oven, but nobody was there. I ended this feast by getting a Portugese tart which was very good -- not too sweet. Noura -- Too bad we don't have Lebanese food as good as this in New York. We ordered the gourmet feast where we got 12 mezzes, choice of any two entrees, ice cream and dessert. The mezzes were amazing, with my favorites being the string beans and the kebbeh. My least favorite was the filo with haloumi cheese -- it was too greasy. But everything was very good. We were so full after the 12 mezzes, though. A bit of an overkill. I only had two bites of the freshly made pita bread because I needed to make room for all this food. I ordered the prawns and DH ordered the mixed grill. It was very good, although the prawns were overcooked. I really liked the desserts as they were not too sweet. I'm thinking it's probably not the most authentic thing to not serve it as sweet, but that's what I preferred. The ice creams were good. We both loved the strawberry as it tasted so refreshing. Service was very gracious (with the exception of the beginning where I don't think they saw us for quite some time). The manager (owner?) showed me how they make the fresh pita bread. The best Lebanese meal I've ever had. Bombay Brasserie -- We did the buffet. I think we may have arrived at the wrong time because most of the food was on the lukewarm side. But it was definitely better than the buffet food you get at Indian restaurants in New York. I loved that everything seemed a bit lighter here. You didn't see pools of oil in the food. Everything was well spiced and bright tasting. A lot of New York buffet Indian food tends to have a murky flavor because they drown everything with oil. The only thing I wasn't too crazy about was the cuts of meat that were used. For the chicken dishes (there were two), they used the breast. For the lamb dish the leg was used. I think that those cuts just don't survive the buffet as well as chicken thigh and lamb shoulder. The nan they brought to us was exceptionally delicious -- hot, puffy and studded with sesame seeds with ghee. Harrods -- I just had to mention Harrods because they had my favorite fruit, the mangosteen. It's really difficult to get them in New York. But they are the most delicious thing out there. I was lucky enough to have spotted them and enjoy this before I left for New York. If you've never had them, please do try them. There really is nothing like them. The closest analogy I can come up with is a souped up version of a lychee. Wed Sep 26 05:59:58 -0700 2007 10763 Miss Needle 1 2977412 Miss Needle, thanks for taking the time to report back so fully, it's always appreciated and glad that overall you seem to have enjoyed your eating experiences in London. A couple of footnotes: I agree about the service at Yauatcha, the servers have way too much bad attitude. If you're interested, the guy behind this place, Alan Yau, was due to open a place in Gramercy Park Hotel, not sure what the current status or timeline is. I think I mentioned in my previous post that, for me, Borough Market is much more about the fresh produce than ready made items, I'm not surprised to hear that the latter disappointed. Mangosteens are indeed delicious, I've been eating them all summer in Thailand. And they are available in London's Chinatown at a much lower price point than Harrods. We've also been getting, amongst other things, Subcontinent mangos and Jamon Pata Negra for a long time now and NYers have been deprived of these treats for the longest time (as well as unpasteurised cheeses from France) although health and safety legislation is being eased somewhat and for the first time ever this year Indian mangos were imported into the US but were not exactly readily available. Btw mangosteens are available in Manhattan's Chinatown, under the counter, you need to shop around and be prepared to pay over the odds. Wed Sep 26 06:45:02 -0700 2007 2977287 28263 oonth 2 2981007 Just a note on Alan Yau and the Gramercy Park Hotel/Ian Schrager. They parted company in Jan of this year before opening. The current restaurant in is Wakiya run by Yuji Wakiya. Initial reviews have been quite negative. Thu Sep 27 05:01:46 -0700 2007 2977412 13887 NYLONDave 3 2981223 Thanks for the update. Thought that this had been a bit of a long time in the pipeline so was wondering if it had fallen through. Probably for the best - history is not exactly littered with examples of London restaurateurs making good in NYC or vice versa for that matter. Thu Sep 27 06:42:19 -0700 2007 2981007 28263 oonth 1 2977537 Thanks so much for the great report! How dare anyone say there isn't good food in London. :-) Wed Sep 26 07:23:55 -0700 2007 2977287 11939 zuriga1