ROTORINO, 434 KINGSLAND ROAD

Heading East again, this time in search of Rotorino in Dalston.

There are not many things that will convince me to travel East, but considering that it was the end of a work week for me, I thought, why not?

Hopping off the bus onto unknown territory, I made my way down Kingsland Road. Not somewhere that I would normally feel comfortable venturing round on my own, I inconspicuously tried to locate the building numbers to make sure that I was heading in the right direction...

 

 

| Averna Sour |

 - Averna amaro, curacao, lemon, egg white -

As usual, we ordered a few dishes to share - a couple of smaller dishes from the First and Second sections, and a larger meat dish from the Third.

| Pig's Head Terrine |

Deep fried and topped with mustard fruit. Nice and crisp on the outside, and succulent on the inside.

 

| Grilled Scallops |

Unfortunately they didn't have any octopus that evening, so we settled for the scallops which were served with chilli and bread sauce.

| Pea Gnudi |

- buffalo ricotta, peas, sage, parmesan and butter -

Tender, gnocchi-like pasta dumplings - rich and buttery, yet it had quite a light texture, and great if you love cheese.

 

| Sausage Gnochetti Sardi |

- slow-cooked sausage, red wine, chilli and breadcrumbs -

Me: Oh...that kind of looks like...

Angela: I know what you're thinking...

Okay, so it's not the prettiest looking dish, but it was tasty with a nice spicy kick - not anglicized spicy, but actually proper spicy...

 

| Suckling Pig |

One of the Daily Specials served that evening.

| Apricot and Almond Tart |

I love a good tart, and I liked this, except maybe the bit of apricot which was a bit sharp for my liking.

 

| Chocolate Cake |

Deliciously rich chocolate cake with soured cream on the side and topped with honeycomb and crushed pistachios.

Overall, I was satisfied with the food that we ordered and the atmosphere, however not quite enough for me to repeat that one hour journey.
 However, it is a quaint neighbourhood restaurant with decent prices, and ideal if you live in the area.

Address: 434 Kingsland Road, London E8 4AA

Tel. No.: 020 7249 9081

The Cheekster, signing out x

KITCHEN TABLE AT BUBBLEDOGS

It has been a while since I first made a visit to Bubbledogs, and after much procrastination, I felt that it was time to try out Kitchen Table.
Tucked away at the back of Bubbledogs, head chef James Knappett and the team prepare a unique menu each evening to represent the best products of the day.

Entering through the same main entrance, we were then shown to the back of the room where we walked through some heavy set curtains to the much quieter Kitchen Table setting.
We ordered a couple of glasses of Reisling to start, whilst hungrily eying the food being served to the guests from the first sitting, who were about halfway through the courses.

The menu typically comprises of 12-14 courses at £78 (£88 from September 2014 onwards), with each dish described in a single noun that best represents the main ingredient of the dish. Given the option of either 12 or 16 courses, we undoubtedly went for the full experience, which only costs and extra £12.

 

 

Each dish was promptly prepared before us and beautifully presented, and explained to us as they were served. I have clearly forgotten the majority of the detail that I tried (and failed) making mental notes of, hence I shall let the photos do most of the talking...

| Cod |

Delicious creamy smoked cod mousse (?) which we used as a dip for the crunchy radishes.

 

| Girolles |

Little girolles with garlic mayonnaise that were topped with tiny garlic capers, all served on a super crisp slice of sourdough bread.
A good sharp knife would definitely be required to replicate this. And good knife skills, of course.

| Courgette |

Deep fried courgette flower in a light and crisp tempura batter, served with a beetroot mayonnaise. 

 

| Chicken |

Really crispy and tasty chicken skin, and that sticky and smokey bacon jam was a lovely accompaniment. I would have gladly devoured an entire tray of that.

| Carrot |

A refreshing chilled carrot soup topped with elderflower.

 

| Scallop |

A raw Scottish hand dived scallop seasoned with sea salt flakes - really delicate flavour and nice firm texture. This was served with a raw ginger mayonnaise topped with grated scallop roe.

 

| Plaice |

The plaice was really fresh and had a mild sweet flavour, served with a piece of mussel, some charred cabbage and thin slices of unripened strawberries.
Also served with a very nice and light fish-based sauce.

 

| Truffle |

I love the tantalizing aroma of truffle, which was perfectly paired with freshly made macaroni pasta.

| Pig |

A pigs head croquette which had a crispy golden outer coating, but still lovely and moist on the inside.

 

| Beef |

Soft and tender meat with a nice, pink centre, served with peas and a classic Béarnaise sauce. One of my favourite dishes of the evening.

| Ricotta |

Soft and creamy white ricotta served with English cherries and basil leaves.



| Strawberry |

Strawberries and cream - a classic summer favourite.



| Blueberry |

Yoghurt sorbet, fresh blueberries, and refreshingly cool granita.



| Gooseberry |

Smooth and creamy elderberry, topped with raw almond slices and tips of Christmas tree (!), finished off with a gooseberry reduction.



| Caramel |



| Sloe |

Marshmallows finished off with a culinary blow torch.





And for those that fancy an after dinner tipple, there are a variety of digestives to choose from...



Overall, a really relaxed and enjoyable in an intimate setting.
Also, recently awarded 15th place in the National Restaurant Awards this year, Kitchen Table is definitely worth a visit.

The Cheekster, signing out x

Address: 70 Charlotte Street, London W1T 4QG

Tel. No.: 020 7637 7770

Opening hours: Tues-Sat (18:00 & 19:30 sittings)

DEBUT NIGHT AT THE PERANAKAN PALACE

After much admiration (and drooling) over Jason's cooking and recipe photos, I finally had a taste of his amazing amazing Nyonya food last weekend.
I previously had the opportunity of trying his yummy (rendang) balls at the Blogger Saturday event last year, and now I was ready for the full experience.

I don't often venture that far into East London, and especially not Stratford...but for this event, I was willing to make an exception (Jason, why do you live so far?!). 

We decided to make our way on foot from the station, and relying heavily on Google maps, we eventually found Jason's humble abode - according to him, the only street in Stratford with a pavement. Fancy...

Here is Jason, donning his signature Hawaiian shirt - the very same one that he was wearing when I first met him.

 

For his Peranakan Palace Debut Night, Jason had put together a meal consisting of classic Nyonya dishes that his grandmother would traditionally make for special occasions, such as during birthdays and weddings. Nyonya cuisine is basically the result of combining Chinese with Malay ingredients and cooking techniques, something which I loved eating back in my hometown, Penang.

Okay, this is not quite the most flattering photo pose...but it was the clearest one. 
Sorry Jason.

| Sambal Belacan | 

Knowing how much I love my spicy food, and how much I miss eating sambal, I strategically sat myself right next to the sambal bowl.
I used to have sambal belacan with everything back home, even spaghetti and toast.
Don't judge me, it was actually pretty awesome. Maybe I should have just sneaked out the entire jar when Jason wasn't watching.

| Achar |

Also placed on both sides of the table were jars containing Achar - Nyonya vegetable pickles with spicy paste. Great to pick and nibble on. So much better than your average pickled vegetables, and with much more flavour to them.

 

 

| Ngor Hiang |

 - Five-spice meat rolls -

Or as I call it 'Loh Bak', is made from minced pork seasoned with five-spice powder, and made into a sausage-esque roll. The meat is rolled inside a beancurd skin and then deep-fried. I excitedly nodded my head in agreement to have seconds - no need to be 'pai seh' in Jason's house, right?

| Popiah |

- Sweet braised vegetables wrapped in homemade popiah skins -

Jason even made his own popiah skins, good effort!

 

| Ox Cheek Rendang |

- Slow cooked ox cheek in spicy paste and coconut milk - 

My favourite dish of the evening. I had already seen some preparation photos from earlier in the week that Jason posted, so I knew that this was definitely going to be a great dish. Braised over 16 hours, Jason had clearly put plenty of effort into making one of the best rendang dishes that I have had in a long time. 
I would love to be able to make this myself sometime, but listening to the different stages of preparation, I think that I'll be sticking to eating for now...
Unless I find a man who is good in the kitchen to do the job for me - excellent idea.

| Babi Pongteh |

- Braised pork belly, bamboo shoots, mushrooms and potatoes in fermented bean paste -

Really soft and tender, fat and juicy meat - definitely not for those who are watching their weight...

 

| Sayur Lodeh |

- Mixed vegetables stewed in coconut gravy - 

See, we had a healthy portion of vegetables as well! In a super thick and rich coconut gravy...okay, not so healthy after all. But still very tasty! Which is what's most important...

To finish off, we were served some traditional homemade Nyonya kuih/puddings, which is a big part of Nyonya cuisine.

Kuih Dadar, or otherwise known as Kuih Katayap, is a pandan flavoured crepe filled with dessicated coconut steeped in gula melaka or Malaysian palm sugar.

The other dessert was Onde-onde (Ondeh-ondeh), which is usually made from either sweet potato or glutinous rice flour, and is best eaten when it is warm.

Both very comforting delights, especially for those who have a sweet tooth.

 

Jason had clearly missed out adding in the fine print to bring your own takeaway Tupperware (!), but I was so stuffed at the end of the meal, that more food was the last thing that I had in mind. 

Thank you Jason for a fun food-filled evening. And well done on manning both the kitchen and front-of-house on your own! Looking forward to your future supperclubs.
I will be bringing my own Tupperware box next time, or maybe even two...

The Cheekster, signing out x