Eat Like Ushi

There weren't many places left open to eat in Palma on a Thursday night around midnight. Most places were closed or the kitchens had closed and so it was nice to find Carmen still serving and actually have a very nice decor instead complete with a graphic of what looked like Claudia Schiffer.

I didn't take a photo but my friend ordered the seafood paella which had excellent strong flavour, good quantities of seafood but unfortunately no crisp pan base. Still a good choice.

Mallorca local picornell mushrooms €9 were my choice and cooked with butter and herbs. The most surprising aspect was the flavour which had almost a slight sour bitterness. It wasn't as unpleasant as that sounds but certainly unexpected and thus didn't enjoy them as much as I would have a standard strong buttery mushroom flavour.

At least it was Mallorquin and that's what one should be trying in Mallorca.

It was far from the finest meal to finish a trip but with a short amount of time before dropping off the rental car and making tracks for the airport, a very closeby bakery seemed a good idea for something fast. I think the bakery items on display overexcited me and I failed to notice the menu of bocadillos calientes and salads.

Instead a gluten meal of jamon queso croissant, meat empanada, tuna empanada and raisin scroll was ordered. Everything was ok with the empanadas being the best of the lot and heated in the oven until crisp again upon request.

The extraordinarily surly young lady serving everyone could use some joy in her life.

Walking through the heated humid 28C streets of Palma at midnight, it was clear the beautiful stone buildings with high construction also did a good deal for absorbing and radiating heat. After a brief dinner, the queues outside Rivareno Gelato may have been a sign of just the climate but inside revealed a serious gelato place.

The metal canisters show business rather than display. The Sicilian pistachio was reasonable strength and quite sweet whereas Sri Lankan coconut was a milder flavour with little bits of flesh dotted in. I suppose my biggest issue was how soft they were even from the outset.

Nonetheless a reasonable gelato start to the trip.

No it isn't the Cafe East that is reputed for Vietnamese food in London. This is the local Cafe East along the up and coming (or nearly there) Roman Road in Bow. Even though there are quite a few cafes in the area, I've yet to really experience many. This was an unusual Sunday brunch on a warm day, and it was surprising that not more people weren't out here. Maybe they were off in the park instead.

Their forte is probably pancakes as there is a dedicated menu for them. Even though the other dishes don't sound overly exciting, the do them damn well. This may well be my favourite standard breakfast in London so far. And the prices are cheaper than anything other than fried chicken and kebabs in this town.

- Eastern Pan £6.5 - an egg, a juicy portobello mushroom, a slightly old looking cumberland sausage, lovely grilled cherry tomatoes, really excellent really strong flavoured (not smoked though) bacon and some standard baked beans. The presentation in a frypan is just right;
- Potato Pancake £6.9 - 2 nicely salted potato cakes with squeaky grilled halloumi, excellent delicious spicy beef sausage, sliced avocado and 2 poached eggs (I prefer slightly runnier but it's fine). Perhaps a little salty overall but just plain tasty.

They unfortunately don't have much in the way of smoothies but there is some fresh house OJ at least.

I'll definitely be back for breakfast again.

I've always thought Sushisamba to be the poor cousin (but more expensive one) to Duck & Waffle. After all, D&W has a higher floor, a better view from the inside (I think so anyway) and is open 24hours. On the other hand, Sushisamba offers a Japanese-Peruvian mix culminating in Kobe beef at up to £1000 and sushi rolls with gold and caviar. Whatever it is you're going for I suppose. I'd heard similar stories from friends which had thus dissuaded me to go until recently for a friend's 30th birthday.

The excitement of getting stopped and denied entry by the overly important security staff downstairs is the same. The exhilarating glass lift up is also the same. Both venues have nice drinking areas and it seems SS has a better outdoor one complete with an ornate orange tree. There's also blankets to keep you warm on the outside whilst the alcohol does on the inside. The drinks are definitely on the more expensive side with cocktails at £13-14 to cover the cost of the view.

Pistachio & Avocado Batida (fresh avocado puree, Velho Barreiro cachaca, pistachio orgeat & cacao) served with cone of maize cancha £14 was nice and refreshing without a strong alcohol taste but with only very mild flavours of pistachio and avocado. Extra avocado to make the texture thicker would have been very welcome.

The food hall itself is also interestingly decorated with masses of dangling light globes. I'm not sure what motif it is but I approve.

- Edamame (soybean, volcanic salt, lime) £5 - simple and plain topped with strong black salt;
- Wagyu gyoza, kabocha puree, sesame snow £15 - simple without any benefit from wagyu or any real sesame flavour from the snow;
- Nikkei salmon ceviche, tamarind, sesame, seaweed, macadamia £14 - thick salmon coated by an even thicker tangy and savoury sauce. Really good;
- El Topo samba roll (salmon, jalapeño, shiso leaf, crispy onion, spicy mayo, fresh melted mozzarella) £12 - mozzarella went well with this roll adding extra umami to the layers of ingredients. Good textural contrasts also;
- Tiger Maki samba roll (takuwan, wasabi tobiko, crab meat, tempura prawn, tiger prawn, wasabi mayo, beetroot yogurt, soy reduction) £16 - a good read of ingredients that seemed to blend in together;
- Sea Bass Tempura (heritage tomatoes, beetroot ceviche, aji verde, lime) £29 - a beautifully presented dish with otherwise mild flavours;
- Corazon de Pollo (aji panca) served with Peruvian corn £12 - my choice of dish was my favourite. Chicken hearts excellently grilled with big kernels of corn. Simply excellent method of using an otherwise maligned cut of meat;
- Chocolate Banana Cake (maple butter, plantain chip, vanilla rum icecream) £10 - moist textured cake that was overpowered by the strong syrup sauce.

The food tastes quite good. The ingredients are probably of high quality. But I can't help feeling I'm spending way too much for the view and to be with the cool crowd of people continuously taking selfies. I can see what they are going for and I don't think it is for me.

To celebrate Mr. Hyde's National Burger Day on August 24 (I'm sure it's made up just for self promotion, but I suppose I was suckered in), there was a widespread discount of 20% on burgers throughout London. It made it difficult to choose between so many, but for a year I had my eye on the Mac Daddy at Dirty Bones. Considering I had to be at Liverpool Street Station in the late afternoon, there was no better reason to make it there.

It's an unexpectedly nice pub which contains many soul references including the music to go with it. The food is NYC inspired and nearly everything reads delicious and unhealthy.

The Mac Daddy (brisket & dry aged steak burger topped with pulled beef short rib, mac & cheese, cayenne & coffee-spiked BBQ sauce) £11 was actually smaller than I anticipated but still an impressive sight to behold. The oozing mac & cheeze and BBQ sauce laid contrast to the two textures of beef. The beef was flavoursome and quite seasoned (but not to the typical overly-salted American style) and cooked to medium without request. The rib added a different texture but not much extra flavour. The mac & cheese was similarly so and without any strong umami cheese as you get from the best part of the cheese crust.

I was still a little hungry so opted to finish with the Crispy Lamb Fries (with sweet miso, red chilli & jalapeño) £6.5. The lamb was surprisingly sweet as I expected it to be more savoury as I've never had an overwhelmingly sweet miso before. It has soft texture but was not crisp/charred as I had hoped. The chilli added a very nice touch and the fries were delicious even alone.

Overall it was a decent burger at the upper end of cost and some good fries to accompany it. I will definitely try to return in an evening to take advantage of the excellent sounding cocktails, the old school music and supplement with The Burger (normal one) or Crispy Fried Chicken.

10-2017

On a Tuesday evening at 915pm it was good to see Dirty Bones open, playing soul music and serving good food.

The lamb fries were ordered again and even though they had the same sweet and soft texture, the fries were very good and I enjoyed them more overall than last time.

Buffalo hot wings £10 with Frank's hot sauce and extremely mild blue cheese sauce were tasty and nicely cooked. Beef short rib £16 was extremely tender and flavoured with cayenne & coffee BBQ sauce. Chicken & waffles £11 were exactly as you'd expect, although the chicken wasn't too strongly seasoned. The crisp coating and waffle was complemented by the sweet maple.

It was a good (large) meal for two. I'd happily go back. The Grown-Ups Jaffa (El Jimador Reposado tequila, Mozart dark chocolate liquer, orange syrup, chocolate bitters & marmalade ice cube) £10 was excellent, sweet and not too strongly alcoholic. Next time the Spiked Iced Coffee would be good to start the night (or the day).

Hidden by an unmarked entrance on an otherwise quiet East London backstreet was Bistrotheque. I discovered it's a French cafe/restaurant (I suppose the name is suggestive) and coincidentally or not the wait staff were mostly seemingly French too. There's a piano in the corner and on this morning, a lunchtime musician started playing his melodic version of classics such as Britney "Baby one more time".

The menu reads quite nicely. There's a bit of chaos within the structure and the ingredients belie French upon other influences - souffle, black truffle, foie gras, tartare with labneh, cornbread and chorizo. Suffice to say many of the items sound excellent. The eggs and pancakes seem to be the best value, as the mains do tend to be quite highly priced.

- Bistrotheque Breakfast (sausage, bacon, Boston baked beans, layered potato, eggs, toast) £13.5 - remarkably good layered potato (as a modern version of hash brown), strongly flavoured crisp bacon, some nice beans, and a poached slightly vinegared egg was served with toast. The sausage looked rather wrinkled but was adequate.
- Black pudding £4 - I had this as a side to my breakfast but unfortunately it was below par. The flavour was too minimal and had none of the rich pork meat, fat & blood that it is supposed to;
- French toast, berries, almonds, Chantilly cream £9 - a beautiful dish decadent in sweetness and colour. Not overly sweet with unnecessary syrups but using berries instead for the breakfast treat.

Other than the black pudding and the lack of smoothies/juices (I suppose they aren't typical French brunch items), the other two were very fine starts to the day. I think the only other options I'd consider as breakfasts would be the cauliflower, mojo verde, smoked almonds £17 or tomato tarte tatin, goats curd, crispy shallots £17, whereas heavier lunch options would be more suited to later in the day.

Given the general cost of restaurant food in London these days as well as the quite inconvenient 12.5% service charge, it's nice to find some discount offers online. This one came as 50% off food from Hot Dinners. It's a good way of eating well, eating cheaper and trying places I otherwise would not have heard of or chosen to go to.

It's a nice venue that looks like a beautiful moodlit bar and entrance to a hotel. There's a free pool table to bide time also.

To balance a little of the cheaper food, the drinks are definitely at the higher end of the spectrum. Smoke & Fire (San Cosme mezcal with mixed vermouth, St. George pear & habanero shrub) £13 was a well presented smooth drink with a light smoky touch of mezcal. I was keen to see how much heat the habanero would add but disappointed to find none at all.

Teasers
- Red curry & herb sticky rice balls £5 - similar to arancini with some mild curry but nicely hot sliced fresh chilli added a boost;
- Buttermilk fried chicken, sriracha dip £9 - expected with pieces and ended up with sliced tenders. Quite nice and enhanced with the sriracha and fresh chilli;
- Scallop seared green salsa, lime & wakame dust £10 - a very large scallop wonderfully cooked and with some added salsa. £10 for one scallop is a bit excessive though... (justifiable for half price).

Mains
- Branzino Al forno, leeks, lemon confit, green tapenade £18 - nicely cooked seabass but a bit too heavy on the salt;
- Merguez, homemade harissa beans, poached egg £12 - a breakfast-type dish of crunchy beans, egg and some sausage pieces. The flvaour was quite meaty. Would have been great with some bread;
- Pumpkin & piquillo pepper casserole £5 - minimally seasoned but better for it. The pumpkin taste was the most prevalent.

Dessert
- Lemon, hazelnut & polenta cake, clotted cream £7 - not too sweet and very tasty. It was a bit firmer in texture than I'm used to but fine. A good way to finish.

The food overall was of pretty good standard and I enjoyed the teasers more than the mains. The prices are quite typical for London but I'd probably opt for somewhere else if paying full price. The higher cost of drinks also influences that too.

In order to escape the mess and inflated Edinburgh accommodation prices during the Fringe, we'd booked an Airbnb in Leith, the port suburb in north Edinburgh. It turned out to the a good opportunity to find a new area to explore more bereft of crowds, but at the same time realising that the buses to George Square are quite unreliable and the initial plan of Uber/taxi was limited by availability and constant surge pricing.

Nonetheless it's a pleasant part of town moreso with the river areas particularly when the sun was shining. Food options (other than Michelin star) are not especially renowned but there's certainly options. The Ship On The Shore seemed to be the seafood place with reasonable prices that I considered. However for a casual lunch, The Compass won out.

It's a bar with hidden upmarket upholstery and decoration. The lunch crowd was a man and his baby, a group of young adults and two elderly females. They were serving both breakfast and lunch at 1pm on a Friday but the lunch options seemed clearly superior on paper.

- Cullen skink with crusty sourdough bread £5.5 - this local specialty of smoked fish was a hit. I really enjoyed the creamy flavours and smoked fish pieces;
- Hawaiian poke salad with sesame & chilli marinated salmon, avocado, rice & macadamia nuts £7.95 - in contrast to the traditions of cullen skink, this was the only other entree sized dish that appealed. The flavours married well and the texture combinations were good and varied;
- Shetland mussels in Thai red curry sauce with homemade chips & crusty sourdough bread £12.95 - I had to look up Shetland to discover it's a group of islands north of Scotland. These mussels were a good meaty size and quite tasty. The red curry sauce was decent but had too much fish sauce added. The homemade chips were very good.

Overall the food quality was very good and the options different to those in English pubs. I'd happily go back for the cullen skink and try the fish & chips of pie.

When visiting The Compass the day before, we noticed a very cute and full cafe sitting across the road. Although it was difficult to see the menu, the decoration and general friendly cafe atmosphere was appealing. On a Saturday at 1130am the place was busy but not full. Maybe it is because the Fringe was on and everyone had gone central already or that there are more options around for this quieter part of Edinburgh.

Seating was available to marvel at the old style kettles and kitchen implements, the local magazines to peruse and listen to the cassette player lined with a wall of albums. Maybe cassettes will come back in one day...

The menu is focussed and without the extreme creativity of modern day cafes. But it was certainly suffice. I'm told the coffee was good. I drank the Jackie Chan smoothie (berries, spinach, avocado, dates, goji, almond milk) £3.5. I have to admit it was a bit of a let down without the expected creamy thickness and flavour of avocado nor the sweetness of dates. It tasted like blended berries, which is fine but not expected given the ingredients list.

- Grilled sourdough with blue cheese, bacon & apple £4.9 - an excellent combination of toasty white bread heated and squeezed until the mild blue cheese melted on top of the bacon and warmed apple. Brilliant;
- Fried eggs & oak smoked salmon (with toasted artisan bread & cream cheese) £6.9 - the bread was fine without being special and was really just the vessel for the cream cheese, overcooked and non-runny eggs and ample amount of good salmon.

There's no problem having brunch here but I'd want to try the plethora of other options nearby. In particular Mimi's Bakehouse full breakfast or the cafes such as Printworks, Nobles or Rocksalt.