Sticks'N'Sushi

Last night, I went to Sticks'N'Sushi to try out their re-designed menu. The set plates are now humorously split into sections ranging from Economy Class through Business and First Class to Private Jet, with funny sarcastic comments - nevertheless, jokes aside, all of the food looks stunning and it's clear that everyone gets the same charming service.

We started with iras-shai (or 'welcome' in Japanese), which was like a Japanese/Danish take on mezze: edamame hummus was wonderfully refreshing atop wafer-thin black bread; Danish cheese was combined with seaweed to produce a crispy and very moreish snack; a sweet and salty miso dip accompanied yasai (vegetable) sticks. It's beautifully simple but so delicious, just like the tomato salad which although modest-looking turned out to be a real delight with a great dressing which included soy sauce, ginger and spring onion.

The sushi was very good too. We had traditional gunkan (battleship), a special type of nigiri with a nori perimeter which allows loose ingredients such as roe to be included in the sushi. The halibut was excellent, fresh-tasting and delicate, but my favourite was the spicy tuna - not too spicy, with the interesting added flavour of quail egg yolk which broke as it was eaten, and black tobiko for a balance of texture.

The 'coal crab' maki looked really cool, with black rice and towering tempura of softshell crab. The batter on the crab was perhaps too thick and crunchy, but with soft avocado and a delicious spicy sauce, still made for some great sushi.

We finished with sea bass yakitori which was highly impressive. No messing about with unnecessarily complicated sauces, these were served with seasalt and lime, allowing the full taste of the fish to come through. Complimented by the smoky flavour and crisp skin from the coal grill, these were divine.

Yet again I was very pleased with my meal at Sticks'N'Sushi, and hope to return soon!

The Grill Restaurant at The Dorchester

I just got back from a wonderful evening at The Grill Restaurant at The Dorchester. The setting of the restaurant, at the grand hotel is very impressive, with gold and chandeliers blooming on the ceiling. Inside the restaurant, however, the décor had a slightly strange Scottish theme, with tartan all over the place, but it had a lovely charming atmosphere. My mum and I had a chat with Brian Hughson, the very friendly and passionate Head Chef, talking about how important it is for him to source his game and fish (the restaurant prides itself on it's game, [the meat not the amusement!]) from people who he knows, and is sure that they really care about what they do ...

... and it certainly showed! I had some delicious food. I particularly enjoyed my main. It was the best halibut that I've had for a long long time - crispy and crunchy skin, delicate flaky flesh, and thoroughly flavoursome. Accompanying it was some crispy fried squid for an extra crunch, some cute little anchovies. As well as some tasty potatoes, pickled in lemon which gave an extra depth to their flavour and complimented the fish well, and sprinkles of some groovy-looking purple cauliflower. Oh, and how could I forget?, parmesan custard. Now that's a good idea!



My starter was delicious too:  stunningly presented Aldwych goat's cheese in brik pastry, with potatoes, a sorbet made from crème fraiche and a herby sauce. The cheese rolls were great, with a definitive intense flavour which was topped off with a little shaving of parmesan. I thought the sauce was yummy as well, especially with those potatoes and sorbet!



It's probably going to sound like I'm really greedy if I talk about another course, but I'll do it anyway. This was marinaded scallops, something I've never tried before. They were very different to seared scallops, like I'm used to, and quite nice, but I think I'd prefer them just lightly cooked, because I couldn't really taste the delicate flavour, more the marinade. Also with the dish was deep fried oyster! Despite being not too keen on oyster, I thought this was very tasty, because that usually very strong taste of the sea was more subtle, and the texture was less ... slimy. The scallop crackling was also pretty cool, especially since I normally wouldn't have crackling (it's normally made from pork!).



My mum had some game, obviously, but unfortunately I'm a pescetarian so it's not really my thing, but she asked me to take photos of what she had, so here they are (I think it's grouse):

For dessert, I tried a very fruity berry jelly, with a refreshing buttermilk sorbet - a perfect finish to a fantastic meal!