LOBSTERFEST AT BELGO

Love lobster? Then Belgo has definitely got  treat in store for you. 
For the 11th year in a row, Belgo, well known for their iconic moules, frites and bieres brand, are hosting their legendary Lobsterfest.
For this ever-popular Lobsterfest, diners can enjoy four specially created lobster dishes, alongside Belgo's exclusively crafted beer and schnapps cocktails, created in house by expert mixologists and beer sommeliers.  
We visited the Covent Garden branch, which was conveniently located just round the corner from my ballet class, so I hastily ran over after, hungry and ready to feast on some delicious lobster.

We started off with some cocktails: Marie had the Jimi Hendrik whilst I had the Slagarita, a Belgo margarita topped with a whole bottle of Slag Pils. I'm not usually much of a beer person, but I have to say that I very much enjoyed mine, especially in this lovely summer weather (yes, it actually finally feels like summer in London!)

I was initially tempted by the Lobster Linguini, but then couldn't resist ordering the Whole Dressed Lobster, served hot with bearnaise sauce and spinach. The lobster was nicely cooked, and also came with a side of crispy double-cooked fries - yum!

 Marie had the "Lobster Waterzooi" (pronounced Vatter-Zoy), Belgo's luxurious interpretation of Belgium's national dish, which was a creamy soup-stew and great for dipping with bread.

The other two mains included the Lobster Linguini and Surf n' Turf Burger - both of which also sounded just as tasty. If only I had a larger appetite ... 

The Lobsterfest menu is available across all 5 restaurants in the Capitial until Sunday 28th August 2016, so there's still plenty of time to treat yourself!

The Cheekster, signing out x

The meal was complimentary, but views remain my own.

SAKE & SPICE, MOTI MAHAL

I've always had a love for sake...

Okay, that was maybe a bit of a lie, as my love for it probably only started to develop during my Koya Backbench days. Sake and Japanese cuisine totally made sense to me, but Sake and Indian cuisine? - I was intrigued to find out more.

Founded in Delhi over four decades ago in 1959, Moti Mahal which opened in London in 2005, is known to be one of London's finest modern Indian restaurants. Headed by Chef Anirudh Arora, the menu focuses on the cuisine of the Grand Trunk Road. It has been a while since I last had some good Indian cuisine, and this particular evening looked and sounded really promising, as I hungrily browsed through the menu.  
The selection of sake that we sampled that evening was specially selected by sake connoisseur and Head of Beverages at Moti Mahal, Barry McCaughley.  

The first course was the Chukander Ka Salad, a light dish which consisted of thinly sliced roasted beetroots and peanuts, minted potatoes, green peas and stuff peppers which had a slight hint of spiciness to it. 

This was paired with Fukukomachi Junmai Daiginjo from the Kimura Brewery Inc.

A beautifully balanced sake, it is made with premium sake rice, Yamadanishiki, which is polished to 40%.

The second course was Barra Peshwari and Keema Naan. The lambchops were really tender and beautifully seasoned with caraway seed and Kashmiri chillies, served with mooli raita and avocado chutney. The tandoori naan bread was nice and warm and stuffed with spiced lamb mince.

This was paired with Fukukomachi Daiginjo, also from Kimura Brewery. As opposed to the first sake, this was slightly drier and had a bit more punch to it.

 

The next course was Murgabi - delicious chunks of pheasant stir fried with Malabar spices with a side of sweet and spicy pickled partridge. We had this with Tandoor baked breads and stir fried Okra - I haven't had Okra in a while, so I was definitely loving this accompaniment.

This was paired with Akita Shurui Seizoh Takashimizu Honjozo. The brewery is located in the heart of the Akita prefecture, where the area's water has been regarded as the purest in Japan since the Samurai period.
 “Takashimizu” literally means “High spring water”, and the range is named after the hill on which the ancient Akita castle once stood.
A well-balanced sake known for its smooth velvety texture and strong, savoury finish.

The fourth course was a rice dish, named Lahori Macchi Pulao. We were each served a generous serving of basmati rice which had been cooked with baby red mullet, curry leaf and pounded spices. The fish had a lovely, delicate texture, and the rice was beautifully seasoned, served with some cooling raita on the side.

 The sake paired with this dish was Gozenshu 9 nama ("Mountain Stream"), and unpasteurised sake made using the ancient bodaimoto technique, resulting in more rugged, earthy qualities, alongside the fresh and fruity elements in it.
It was served in a sake flask with two small cups which we were advised to pour the sake for each other, which is a common custom in Japan.

The final course was dessert, Ananas Ka Meetha, which was pineapple carpaccio served with plum and port wine sorbet. This sweet and refreshing delight was paired with Ume No Yado Aragoshi Umeshu.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my evening at Moti Mahal - the food was delicious with good levels of spice, and the sake was a nice accompaniment to be enjoyed alongside the feast that we had. I'll definitely be considering sake as my choice of beverage more often in future.

The Cheekster, signing out x

VICO - ITALIAN STREETFOOD ON CAMBRIDGE CIRCUS

As a fan of Bocca Di Lupo and Gelupo, I was looking forward to checking out their latest venture, Vico, that recently opened smack bang in the middle of Cambridge Circus, opposite The Palace Theatre. The menu is meant to focus on affordable Italian dishes inspired by streetfood.

The place is pretty immense and did seem a bit bare with minimal seating, which I think is meant to give the feel of 'eating in an Italian piazza'. There are some high tables and stools, and some concrete steps along the walls - everything seems pretty casual here. There is a tall pillar in the centre of the vast space, forming a centre-point where the multiple strings of light-bulbs converged. 

Unsure as to how the ordering system worked, we approached the counter where we were informed that the food is charged according to weight (£3.00/100g) - they were having a soft launch (50% off) at that time so our total bill was even cheaper which was an absolute bargain.

The array of dishes were not particularly very clearly displayed as we hunched down and peered through the glass to try and read the labels - probably just an early trial run presentation which hopefully will be tweaked accordingly in future.

We decided to order a sharing platter and tried most of the dishes except for the pizza - a nice selection of arancini balls, mixed meat skewers, some fried fish and courgette fries. There were also some salad dishes - we had a small portion of the rabbit with roast red onion, farro and tarragon salad.

The drinks menu is basic and straightforward - house wine which is charged by the carafe/glass (£3.00/glass), alongside spritz, beers and soft drinks. Glasses are freely available to grab from multiple baskets around the room.

There were also tasty trays of sweet treats being circulated around the room for customers to sample - we tried the chocolate and almond cake, and the almond biscotti.

On the far side of the room near the front is a large Gelupo counter serving up gelato and other iced desserts, as well as their speciality coffees. A much wider and airier space compared to their original location on Archer Street. I ordered a medium sized cone with the melon and peach sorbet which was sweet and refreshing. I am also quite a fan of their affogatos, and I'm sure this will be the first of many future visits.

I had quite a late breakfast prior to this visit, so this was ideal for me as a quick bite instead of a full-on lunch. I must admit that I have not had as much Italian streetfood so I can't really comment on the authenticity, but all I can say is that I was satisfied with what I had. It's a great central location and less jam-packed than the other two sites, and knowing how much I love Gelupo, this will be yet another temptation that will be hard to resist...

The Cheekster, signing out x