HAKKASAN HANWAY PLACE

After a day of pirouettes and grand jetés, we were definitely looking forward to our meal at Hakkasan. It has been a while since my first visit, which I remembered to be good, so I was excited to be back.
Tucked away in a quiet corner, Hakkasan Hanway Place is the original restaurant of Hakkasan that opened back in 2001, headed by Head Chef Tong Chee Hwee. 

This Michelin-starred gem may initially seem rather obscure, but as you enter and walk down the stairs you will soon realize that it does have a special kind of feel to it.
Designed by Christian Liaigre, the interior is dimly lit, each table illuminated by a single lightbulb. Wooden screens and lattices made from dark English oak give the place a bit of an exotic feel.
We were seated at our table, my back facing the impressive 16-metre bar stretched along the side, with a view of the open-plan kitchen at the other far end.

With the recent launch of Ling Ling this summer, a new experience from Hakkasan, we were able to get a taste of it with their limited edition menus and signature cocktail.

We both ordered the Taste of Hakkasan menu, where there were three options to choose from: Fish and seafood, Meat and seafood, or Vegetarian. We ordered one each of the fish and meat so that we had a nice selection to share between us. As part of the the offer, we were also served a Ling Ling Collins cocktail which contained Beefeater gin infused with Japanese and Chinese teas, mixed with cranberry, grapefruit, elderflower and lemon juice, and Chartreuse Green, served with a fresh shiso leaf. A fruity and summery cocktail which was really sweet and refreshing.

Ling Ling Collins cocktail

The starters soon arrived, and we each get a trio of dim sum delights: scallop shumai, har gau, and Chinese chive dumpling, with some chilli sauce and oil accompaniments on the side. I love dim sum, and all three of them really delicious with great textures and flavours. It was hard to choose a favourite, but I particularly enjoyed the scallop shumai topped with tobiko caviar.

The salad was light and fresh, with crispy aubergine tempura pieces, and a mix of shiitake, mixed cress and lily bulb. The jasmine tea smoke pork ribs were well-marinated and really tender - literally finger-licking good, as I watched Marcin dive in hungrily with his fingers. We were provided with a couple of finger bowls, so all was good.

Trio dim sum platter

Crispy aubergine and shiitake salad with mixed cress and lily bulb

Jasmine tea smoked organic pork ribs

We were further impressed by our mains. The prawns were succulent and juicy and served with a luscious creamy spicy curry-like paste. The mains were served with steamed Jamine rice which I spooned a generous amount of sauce over. The toasted almonds gave it a nice, crunchy texture.
The seabass was grilled to perfection, the flesh soft and smooth with a pleasant sweetness from the honey. The beautifully caramelized fish was topped with crispy deep fried mushrooms.

Spicy prawn with lily bulb and almond

Grilled Chilean seabass in honey

And to finish off, a colourful trio of macarons each - rose, pistachio and lemon, if I am not mistaken. Dainty little desserts which were so shiny and smooth - sheer joy in every mouthful. My favourite was the pistachio.

Selection of macaron

The meal was surprisingly more filling than we were expecting, beautifully presented and tasted just as delicious as they looked. Service was steady and efficient, and overall we had a relaxing and pleasurable dining experience.

For those of you tempted to visit Hakkasan for a similar experience, you will be pleased to know that this Bookatable Star Deal is available from 1st of June until 30th of August 2015 (Mon-Fri until 18:30 & from 22:30, Sun until 18:30 & from 22:00).  
Definitely one not to miss out on.

The Cheekster, signing out x

GETTING DRENCHED, YAUATCHA LONDON & COSMOPOLITAN MAG

A post that was from yesterday:

Sunday started out as quite a grey chilly morning and as always I was prepared with my trusty Fulton umbrella. 

As the rain suddenly started with heavy drops sending people on the street scurrying to seek shelter, me and my friend thought we were prepared as we swiftly took out our umbrellas and continued walking under the pelting rain. It was literally within seconds that we were ambushed by this HUGE gust of wind and bullets of water coming at us at 45 degree angles...that killed our umbrellas. Oh what a sight it must have been as the two of us ran against the rain trying to shelter our already drenched bodies with half-broken umbrellas. Yes, my supposedly wind-proof umbrella was left broken and battered, there was no hope left for her - as I buried her in a nearby trashcan. The both of us on the other hand were left cold and shivering at the entrance of T.k.maxx - I think I was more concerned about my wet, disheveled hair (which I had just washed in the morning!) rather than about catching a cold.

Literally seconds after we ran inside, the rain stopped...and the sun decided to come out - what luck ay. Looks like my leather jacket and shoes just got their first experience of rain, and probably not the last.

We eventually dried off and treated ourselves to lunch at Yauatcha in Soho - a contemporary dim sum teahouse, the younger sibling of Hakkasan which I blogged about in an earlier post.

Sauces

Prawn, cuttlefish and zucchini dumpling

Fried duck and pumpkin dumpling

Sirloin beef and enoki mushroom cheung fun

We ordered our favourite dessert, hoping that it would taste as amazing as the one at Hakkasan! This one was different though, the one at Hakkasan was steamed and covered in ground peanuts, whilst this was deep fried and coated with sesame seeds. 

It did take a while for it to arrive, during which we were served some complimentary macaroons - I'm guessing because I was served a dirty, chipped plate...

Complimentary macaroons

Deep fried sesame balls

Overall looks pretty classy, though service was a bit slow particularly as it was during lunchtime. Both levels were packed with customers - not as many Asian people except for maybe the younger 'hip' ones - like us ha! Traditional dad would be astonished by the exorbitant prices of the dim sum... 

And now back to the present day:

Today I became a London tourist guide ha! Majority of the time I just walked aimlessly but ended up at the destination somehow! Yes you can always trust a woman's sense of direction.

Weather was good and Camden Town was buzzing as usual - had an awesome sausage with potatoes for lunch from a Polish stall.

Today I decided to go for the sporty young street look, not quite my everyday look but it's cool to mix it up a bit sometimes. I think my new trainers make me feel more youthful lol.

And I got stopped by people from Cosmopolitan to get a photo snapped and briefly interviewed for a quick feature on street-wear lol! How very intriguing...

Skirt: Zara TRF / Top: H&M / Bag: Zara / Shoes: DKNY / Accessories: Sam Ubhi & Forever 21

Well I guess that's my weekend over and it's back to the work routine tomorrow!

xoxo