THE BACKBENCH #12, KOYA

I remember coming to the very first BackBench a year ago, and I have been quite fortunate ever since to have attended 11 out of 12 so far and experienced the ever changing menu which is based on seasonal ingredients.
The BackBench runs once a month, over two days, and the lucky five in each seating are able to get a taste of the creative seasonal dishes created by Chef Junya.
Like the very first time, I went solo again, this time for the dinner sitting.
Post-birthday weekend, I ordered a glass of sake, just as a little treat for myself...

| Tokyo Turnip & Plum Flower | 

The Tokyo turnip was so thinly sliced, and scattered on top of it were delicate plum flowers. It looked really pretty, I hesitated a bit before putting it into my mouth. The flowers had a subtle smell and taste of honey, combined with the fresh crispness of the turnip.

| Eel Nikogori, Bramley Apple, Wild Horseradish & Wild Chervil Flower | 

It was nice to see eel on the menu once again, which has been some of my favourite dishes in previous BackBenchs'. 'Nikogori' refers to the gelatin extracted from cooked fish. Boiled in a spiced stock/dashi, the eel is then allowed to cool and set, which then forms the jelly layer. It is usually served cold, and in this dish it was served in a chilled sweet and tangy Bramley apple sauce.

| Brockman's Turnip & Scottish Kombu Udon | 

The udon dish seems to have made an earlier appearance on the menu this time. This time topped with turnip that was roasted to enhance the deep flavours, and fresh Scottish kombu that had been roasted until crispy. The portion size slightly smaller this time, but still as tasty and satisfying.

| Tofu & "Spring" Onions | 

The dish consisted of Ramson, a broad-leaved wild garlic, Calçot, a type of scallion or green onion, and another wild onion species which had a cute little bulb on the end. This was served with some dried tofu pieces and a miso dressing.

| Alexander Flower Buds Tempura | 

Another interesting take on the tempura dish, this time using Alexander flower buds, served with some salt mixed with crushed up buds. Delicious crisp and light batter with a pleasant texture.

| Nanzenji-tofu with Spider Crab & Pepper Dulse |

Nanzen-ji is a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan, and close by is apparently  the famous Junsei Restaurant that serves Yodofu.
The tofu was soft and silky, and I do love spider crab which was sourced from Cornwall, thanks to Matt Chatfield (aka @cornishgrill). The pepper dulse was harvested and farmed by Scottish seaweed expert Iain McKellar (justseaweed.com).
One of my favourite dishes of the evening.

 | Brown Trout, English Wasabi & Ramson Vinegar |

The brown trout, sourced from Northern Ireland, was simply grilled with salt, and served with English wasabi and Ramson vinegar. I do always enjoy the fish courses, and this was also one of my favourites of the evening. 

| Nettle Mochi & Azuki | 

Having had mochi as some of the savoury courses at the start, this time it was served as a sweet dessert course. Combined with nettle, which gave the mochi a lovely green shade, it was served warm with some sweet azuki bean paste. 
Simple and tasty.

| Amazake Sorbet & Rhubarb | 

And to finish off, we had the usual amazake sorbet, this time served with honey cured rhubarb and thinly sliced frozen rhubarb. Amazake is a traditional low or non-alcohol Japanese drink made from fermented rice, which has a natural sweetness to it.
A cold and refreshing dessert, served with a hot cup of hojicha tea, brewed using the roasted stems which produces deeper flavours.

One year on, and still one of my favourite seats in London. Thank you to Chef Junya, Ana, and the Koya team. Looking forward to more exciting dishes in the coming months as always.

For my previous BackBench posts, click on the links below:

The BackBench #1
The BackBench #2
The BackBench #3
The BackBench #4
The BackBench #5 
The BackBench #6
The BackBench #7
The BackBench #9
The BackBench #10 
The BackBench #11

The Cheekster, signing out x

Ps: My camera had a bit of a 'breakdown' halfway, hence the slightly lower quality iPhone photos towards the end... Thankfully it is now 'alive'!...for now.

THE WILD GEESE IRISH HONEY LIQUEUR

The Wild Geese Irish Honey Liqueur combines the internationally renowned Wild Geese Irish Whiskey, three times voted "Best Irish Whiskey", with natural Irish honey. 

Their ingredients are specially selected to complement Irish honey, and is inspired by St Gobnait, Ireland's Patron Saint of Beekeepers.

I didn't use to like honey that much as a child, as I found the texture and taste unpleasant. However, like many things, it has definitely grown on me over the years, and the medicinal value and healing properties in it are of course an added plus.

Whiskey is another subject that I have limited knowledge in. Whenever I think of whiskey, I always think of it as more of a 'man's' drink, which of course is not so true these days.

In fact I have just recently read a rather interesting post by Sara Crolick on 'The Girls Who Drink Whiskey', that I did find quite entertaining. 

Although I must say that I do enjoy the occasional Old Fashioned every now and again...which was probably as close as I got to drinking whiskey.

But after some convincing about this particular product, I was sold. I mean, I don't very often decline alcohol, and the bottle itself was quite attractive and classy, which contained the bright amber liqueur.

The scent of it was not too harsh when I first had a whiff of it upon opening the bottle. 

I first tried it neat, and then poured over some ice to have it chilled. 

I could definitely taste the initial sweetness of the honey notes on my first sip. As I said, I am not an expert in spirits, so I will not ramble on in a flurry of descriptions that I am unfamiliar with. All I can say is that I liked the sweetness and smoothness of it, and I could easily see myself having it as the occasional evening tipple when winding down after a long day.

I also tried one of the suggested cocktail recipes as follows:

2 part honey

1 part lime

1/2 part cointreau/ or another other orange liqueur

I didn't have a shaker, so instead I just stirred it in a tall glass with ice, before topping it up with 3 parts of ginger beer.

This turned out to be a really sweet and refreshing cocktail, which was easy enough to concoct in my own kitchen (which clearly has very limited alcohol-related ingredients and utensils, as you may have noticed...).

You can find more recipes to experiment on their main website irishhoneyliqueur.com, or maybe even try out your own recipes at home.

I generally find liqueurs quite strong for me, and was initially quite dubious when I was first presented with the bottle. But after tasting it for myself I actually found it pleasant and easy to drink, and I'm sure it would be quite a desirable drink option for the ladies. And possibly even the men, as I also tested it on my friend, for which he gave his seal of approval.

Something new to add on to the shelves, maybe?

The Cheekster, signing out x

[The 70cL bottle is available to be purchased on Amazon - click here for the link]

THE ULTIMATE QUEENSBURY KITCHEN EXPERIENCE

Located in North West London, The Queensbury Kitchen which opened in December 2014, is a bar and grill pioneering better quality eating and drinking in Willesden Green. 
Sister restaurant to The Queensbury gastropub, they aim to bring something different to the local restaurant scene.

Photo courtesy of Queensbury Kitchen

Photo courtesy of Queensbury Kitchen

I started off with a Mango Chilli Caipiroska, which really did have a good spicy kick to it - definitely on to wake up the taste buds! There were also some nice chunks of mango that I spooned out after finishing my drink, obviously. I had the Evergreen as my second cocktail, made with avocado. I really love avocado juices, which I had quite a bit of whilst I was in Bali, so I knew that I was going to enjoy an avocado-based cocktail.
I did have some sips of the other cocktails, all of which were really good as well.

Mango Chilli Caipiroska

The QK

Pinot Noir Caipirinha

Evergreen

Not long after, our food was served. I made sure that I had 'prepared' myself for the the evening, and I'm glad that I did, as the food just kept on coming... 

The dishes came served on wooden boards and boxes, a concept which does sometimes spark some debate for those who prefer conventional plates. I personally am usually partial towards this for sharing dishes, and as long as there's no sauce spilling off the edges... 

The salad was quite tasty with a nice mix of ingredients, and I am a particular fan of mushrooms. The chicken wings were nicely marinated with a crisp coating. My favourite dish was the sliders which were delicious with juicy medium rare meat. The chickpea and feta vegetarian option was also quite nice.
Another personal favourite was the rack of ribs - tender meat with a nice hint of sweetness in the marinade. We were also served some sharing pots of side dishes. The  hand cut and sweet potato fries could have been crispier, but I did enjoy the macaroni cheese and smokey beans.

Warm Sweet Potato, Mushroom, Roasted Garlic Salad

Crispy Chicken Wings with Hot Sauce an Sour Cream

Blackened Salmon

Chickpea and Feta Burger

Sliders

Halloumi

Whole Rack of Ribs

Hand Cut Fries and Onion Rings

Macaroni Cheese

Sweet Potato Fries

And no meal would be complete without an array of indulgent desserts. My favourites were the chocolate brownie, which was really rich, and the chocolate sundae, which had more chunks of chocolatey brownies...

The French toast was quite nice, but it felt more like a breakfast dish rather than a dessert.

Cheesecake

Chocolate Brownie and Ice Cream

Cinnamon Sugar Churros with Chocolate Sauce

French Toast

Ice Cream Sundae

Overall it was a really pleasant and enjoyable experience. And it also happens to be in my local area, which is a plus for me. They are open for breakfast, coffee, lunch, and dinner seven days a week (and brunch at weekends) from 9am until 11pm.

Thank you once again to Head Chef Wayne, Queensbury Kitchen and Red Kite PR for organizing and hosting us that evening. Looking forward to trying out the breakfast menu as well soon.

The Cheekster, signing out x

TEA-TOX AFTERNOON TEA, PELHAM HOTEL

I do love afternoon teas, and I was quite intrigued to try out Pelham Hotel's 'Tea-tox Afternoon Tea'. This was my second afternoon tea in the week, so this 'healthier' option was definitely a good call to 'balance it out' for the week...
Making the most of my week off, I made the booking on a weekday, which was clearly much quieter compared to the weekend.

 There were three different teas to choose from, and we both ordered the 'Beautiful Skin Tea', described as to 'help promote healthy and clear skin over the whole body'.

Our three-tiered tray of afternoon tea snacks eventually arrived. Just one look and you can tell that it was not as naughty as your regular versions!

We started from the bottom, nibbling on the healthy crudités with roasted carrots hummus, and the poached salmon rye bread sandwich.

Moving up towards the second tier were berries skewers with honey, cucumber and lime sorbet, and the third which was different to the menu was some sort of cream with crunchy granola bits. I'm sure that would have counted as one of my five-a-day...

And last but not least, were the yogurt drizzle lemon and basil cake, and a rich and indulgent mini chocolate pot. A bit naughtier than the other tiers, but then again it's all about the portion sizes...

And of course there were the brown rice and ginger scones with agave syrup, served with clotted cream and Tiptree jam on the side.

Not quite my usual afternoon tea, as I usually go full-out when indulging myself in treats. But I am always open to trying anything new, and this was a pleasant little experience on a beautiful sunny day in London. And I did leave feeling less guilty than I normally would have after afternoon teas!

If anyone else has tried any other interesting/quirky afternoon teas that you would recommend, feel free to drop me a message!

The Cheekster, signing out x