Eat Like Ushi

I'm gradually making my way through the rotating traders at KERB in Granary Square.

- Greedy Khao - these vegan Thai guys were on my recent list to try and serendipity brought them to King's Cross. Roast 'duck' curry £8 was well flavoured with red seitan curry, pineapple, lychee and cherry tomatoes. It could have used a lot more chilli heat though;
- Cally Munchy - Afro fusion attracted me with the suya steak £9 grilled and served on jollof with spinach, red onion and coconut flakes. The kelewele £1 was fried plantains. Overall an excellent dish (albeit kinda expensive) and topped with a good kick of chilli;
- Only Jerkin - the mixed box of nuggets and mango coconut honey fried chicken £9 contained excellent pieces of boneless chicken and the fried chicken tenders had some kind of savoury yellow sauce within it (it didn't taste like mango). The batter were nice and crisp, the chicken very tender and the fries excellent. Jerk ketchup was a nice simple accompaniment to the chicken and fries. The jerk gravy tasted extremely similar to the potato & gravy gravy from KFC. It was good but probably too much of it ended up overpowering the chicken itself.

A long time ago I tried David Chang's bun at Momofuku. A few months later I discussed Yum Bun in the schoolyard at Broadway market. I wanted to setup my own bao place but time, money and life got in the way. And within that year the gua bao's exploded everywhere. My friend gets upset everytime Bao is mentioned thinking that could have been us. Oh well.

I finally tried it many years later at 5pm when there were no crowds queueing. It's honestly pretty freaking expensive for what you are getting, but worth one try...

Peanut milk tasted as you expect - peanuts blended into a milky drink. I liked it!

- Scallop, yellow bean garlic £3.5 - one scallop in shell grilled very well with a tasty savoury bean liquid;
- Trotter nuggets £4 - pig trotter meat and cartilage deep fried into a salty nugget. Not bad;
- Classic bao (braised pork, peanut powder, fermented greens, coriander) £4.75 - wasn't a big fan of the flavours nor feel that the peanut powder went with it. The braise is quite sweet. I'm sure the confit version would have more my style;
- Lamb shoulder bao (lamb shoulder, coriander sauce, garlic mayo, soy pickled chilli) £5 - bits of slightly stringy meat with a more savoury and slight chilli edge, but again not overly exciting;
- Fried Horlicks icecream bao (Horlicks icecream, fried bao) £4.5 - clearly the winner of the lot with fried bun similar (but less sweet) to the glorious fried mantou rolls and a slab of caramel icecream wedged in.

The buns themselves were decent and a lot better than the terrible quality at Yum Bun's new stand in Spitalfields. However they were tiny and just couldn't represent good value. With the ratings either people have no idea and are rating based upon the queue anticipation or the quality has slipped. 

The also clearly forgot about our two savoury baos as we waited 25mins after the scallop and nuggets. A waiter was surprised we were still waiting although expressed nothing over it. It wasn't enough to remove the service charge although tempting...

I won't be back here.

These handmade noodles are very popular in a street so near but distinctly away from Chinatown. My flatmate from China and her discerning husband were praising in the quality and authenticity of the food here.

They specialise in two types of noodles - la-mian which is a thin long and more typical noodle and dao xiao mian which is flatter and cut more unevenly. Other than that I don't know the difference but I'm sure you'll be happy with either.

- Roast duck soup with thick la-mian £8.3 - a very typical chicken/wonton soup broth that didn't scream of MSG. The duck was tender and not too fatty and the noodles were fine;
- Char siew fried dao xiao mian £8.9 - I preferred this thicker and chewier oddly shaped ugly noodle which tasted of typical Chinese stirfry dish. I added quite a lot of the chilli oil to give it an extra layer of depth.

Service is brief and patrons scatter in and out. There's a 10% discount for cash which balances out the 10% service charge you'd otherwise be given.

I wouldn't particularly seek this out but would happily eat here again.

After the wonderful fish 'n' chips experience in Brussels (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/bia-mara-brussels-03-2018), I had to try the equivalent branch in London. Luckily Hook in Camden is a medium walk from King's Cross and they also happened to coincidentally have a 40% discount from Mr. Hyde. We went there one fine evening to see whether the quality would be transferred.

There's a bit more variety here and the prices are higher especially with service. Obviously the 40% accounted well for all of that.

- Hot wings with smoked applewood sauce £6 - very good wings with an excellently flavoured but only mildly hot sauce;
- Charred octopus with curried apple & fennel salad £10 - very soft and tender. I liked the salad although others felt the raw fennel taste was too strong. Not for me though!;
- Whole seabass with tamarind & lime sauce, pancakes, pickles, sambal £18 - an impressive dish of fried fish to pick apart and wrap in thin sheets with sauce and herbs. The fish wasn't the softest but it was perfectly adequate;
- Lemon & basil in tempura batter with garlic truffle sauce & seaweed salted chips £12 - I was looking forward to this so much. It was fine but nowhere as exciting as the Bia Mara version. Most disappointing were the chips that lacked the crunch (and possibly also the seaweed salt seasoning) that was so distinct;
- Jerk in panko breadcrumb with spiced mango ketchup & seaweed salted chips £12 - a smoother batter version and I think a bit too overfried;
- Peas & dulse £3.5
- Salt caramel & pretzel pie with vanilla icecream £5 - I think pretzels were crushed to form the base and it had too much salt in it. The caramel was sweet but the best bit was the icecream.

So the fish and definitely the chips were inferior to that in Brussels. But the other dishes actually made up in terms of variety. I don't think I'd go back there for full price fish 'n' chips. I'd go to Poppies instead (accepting I haven't had it since 2013 so maybe it's changed...)

On Easter Sunday it was lucky to find a place with live music and good food. Even though the event was supposedly sold out and entry at the door was £6+, getting a table reservation 30mins before attending and therefore also skipping the cover charge was brilliant.

The band was a soul group with the coolest Afro-sporting, sunnies-wearing black guy on drums, an exceptional white girl as the main singer, and a host of other white bandmates including an excellent saxophonist.

- Cajun popcorn squid (with sriracha mayo & burnt lime) £7.25 - small morsels but not that exciting;
- BBQ (beef brisket & St. Louis Pork Rib) with fries & coleslaw £15.5 - brisket was remarkably soft and tender with a little cartilage within the slices. Pork ribs were very meaty and quite well cooked but there wasn't much intrinsic flavour. The fries were straight forward, well salted and good. A third meat for the extra £2 is clearly worth the deal (I suppose unless they cut down the serving size of each meat...);
- Wings & Things (buffalo wings, BBQ pork ribs, burnt ends, sweet potato fries, dips & blue corn tortilla chips) £17 - the wings were large with a good spicy and crunchy coating - truly great. The burnt ends were soft and smothered in a sweet wet sauce and a good contrast to the drier and more savoury other meats. Sweet potato fries were not particularly salted but their own flavour therefore came through well. The pork ribs were the same as the BBQ plate except cut into small segments. The corn tortilla chips were fine for something different too.

Next time I would order the buffalo wings, burnt ends and/or brisket with or without the beef rib (although it is £4 extra) and fries. It would be an outstanding meal. However I suppose that means I'd never try any of the other dishes...

One of the benefits of moving to King's Cross is being so close to Dishoom. I still fondly remember my first visit to the Covent Garden branch and the exciting opening of the even cooler Shoreditch one (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/dishoom-london-10-2012). Even though the crowds and queues have now vastly multiplied, it's still definitely worth the visit. I can't say it's worth waiting for too long (maybe that's my impatience) so trying to get a small lunch booking is probably the easiest.

I've made it an unofficial resolution to try every dish at Dishoom this year. I don't think it will be too difficult with a few group visits. Admittedly I'm not that big on their breakfasts so would be content just with the main menu.

The trio of dips - coriander, tamarind, red chilli - are always good accompaniments. I vary between my favourite being the coriander or red chilli but that's not so important.

1st visit

- Okra fries (fine lady’s fingers for the fingers) £4.5 - okra fries with a crisp spicy coating. Not bad at all;
- Jackfruit biryani (delicious, savoury jackfruit and delicately saffron’d rice, potted and cooked with mint, coriander and sultanas) £9.5 - savoury not sweet jackfruit (akin to the vegan places using this as pulled pork) inside a drier (ie. not soaked in ghee) rice base. The flavours are lighter than the heavy biryanis at other places (and may or may not be sometimes preferred). It's a good accompaniment rather than a big standout eatalone dish in my mind;
- Lamb boti kabab (pieces of tender lamb marinated with red chilli, garlic and ginger. A top-notch Bademiya-style classic) £10.2 - decided to try this instead of the lamb chops and it was a mistake. Expensive for the amount of lamb in the dish and it wasn't overly tender either with relatively dense meat. It wasn't overly chewy to be fair, but just ordinary;
- Roomali roti (soft handkerchief-thin bread, thrown, stretched and griddled to order on an upturned tawa) £2.90 - a change from the firmer crisp naan with a softer more delicate bread. Very nice.

2nd visit

- Prawn koliwada (Bombay’s Koli fishermen Wada district recipe: a bowl of delicate, crispy morsels with tamarind and date chutney) £6.5 - small prawns fried up simply and needing the sauces to add more punch to it;
- Dishoom calamari (tiny tender squid, grainy crumb crunch, quick-fried and tossed into a bowl with Dishoom drizzle) £6.2 - small bits of calamari fried up with some spices. Simple but not overly special;
- Spicy lamb chops (they lie overnight in a special marinade of lime juice and jaggery, warm dark spices, ginger and garlic. Blackened by the grill, but juicy inside) £12.9 - 3 fat chops cooked to tender perfection with excellent flavoured crust. Expensive but outstanding;
- Murgh Malai (chicken thigh meat is steeped overnight in garlic, ginger, coriander stems and a little cream. Still slightly pink when fully cooked) £8.50 - this extremely heavily flavoured/salted dish was one I remember from the now-discontinued pomegranate and slaw salad. I suppose with the salad, the flavour is balanced out really well, whereas on its own it may be too heavy on the seasoning. The pomelo version isn't as good as pomegranate, but I'd have to order it again to add it to this post;
- Mahi tikka (in Bombay, mahi can be any fish, but this is sustainable Asian basa fillet in a subtle yoghurty marinade) £8.70 - it seemed minimally flavoured to me. I was told perhaps it was because I ate it after the other dishes like the murgh malai. In any case not something I would get again;
- Nalli Nihari (a robust lamb-on-the-bone stew with generous spice, for strength and protection against faintness of heart. First relished by Nawabs who then employed its fortifying properties to fuel their labourers. Served with sesame-onion-seed naan. Add Bheja (lamb brain) for more taste and more power) £21.9 - the special of the King's Cross chef is this expensive dish comprising of a lamb shank in a quite standard curry sauce (it grows on me) but served with soft fried lamb brains that are less creamy than I'm used it but retain some of that firm gelatinous texture to it. There's also some herbs and fried onions. Each element is nice on its own, but combined on naan are an incredible combination. I didn't like the sesame on the naan so much though;
- House black daal (A Dishoom signature dish - dark, rich, deeply flavoured. It is cooked over 24 hours for extra harmony) £6.2 - warm smooth and earthy. It's a nice dish, albeit not near the level of Bukhara (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/bukhara-delhi-01-2015);
- Plain naan (freshly baked in the tandoor) £2.9 - nice and simple. Although for the price, the garlic naan or roomati roti is better I think;
- Garlic naan (with minced garlic and coriander sprinkle) £3.2 - an upgraded version with a reasonably strong garlic element.

I await the next visit!

Current list for the ultimate Dishoom meal
- Spicy lamb chops
- Nalli Nihari with lamb brain and ask to replace the sesame roti with garlic
- Jackfruit biryani
- Garlic naan and roomali roti

After walking to Islington to welcome in the latest Kanada-Ya, the 50% opening offer meant that every Asian student had the same idea. So the wait was probably going to be at least an hour. Given it was a bit chilly, we weren't prepared to do that and so looked around for somewhere else. Breakfast Club had a queue and surprisingly very few cafes looked that enticing.

In the end Appestat won and we were lucky to get the last seats against the back wall.

- The Full English £10.5 with grilled halloumi £2 - toasted sourdough, fried organic eggs, homemade organic baked beans, free range pork sausages, slow roasted tomatoes, grilled field mushrooms, free range streaky bacon and halloumi. The standup memories were the eggs were actually fantastic and had outstanding flavour, the bacon was very strong but unfortunately had too much fat ratio, the baked beans tasted similar to the canned versions, and the halloumi wasn't overly salty or squeaky.

It was an adequate breakfast but nothing overly special. I'd try somewhere else next time.

The Michelin Pub of the Year 2017 (ie. for the year 2016) was The Marksman. It's been on my list for a year and even though I lived east it wasn't until I moved north that the opportunity arose (and they had availability) to eat there. It was preceded by a visit to the Columbia flower market and the close proximity (as well as the reputation) means that every Sunday is an extra busy day. A lot of tables also bring their new-bought flowers and plants, as well as the usual pub dogs and prams.

Unlike standard pubs the serve a fixed price menu of £29 for 2 or £33 for 3 courses.

They have cider (and obviously beer) on tap including a custom made one for themselves which is dry and flat, and also a sparkly fruity one. The dry and flat is what I consider to be a traditional cider and reminiscent of the Cornish Orchards one I enjoyed many many years ago.

- Devilled mussels & monk's beard - delicious mussels with crunchy seaweed in a chilli seafood sauce;
- Tamworth, blood pudding & parsley - a flavour explosion of a deepfried cracker base smeared with black pudding sauce and topped with Tamworth pancetta and a parsley, baby capers, onion salad. The full combination of the ingredients was incredible;
- Braised lamb, peas & wild garlic - pulled lamb wrapped in caul (I assume) and served on a pea sauce with small potatoes. The lamb tasted like earthy lamb, not heavily seasoned at all;
- Roast Hereford Rump & Yorkshire pudding - I really wanted the beef wing rib for 2 but couldn't justify the additional £30 to order it. This rump was incredibly tender and had minimal seasoning. It just tasted like pure beef. It was served medium rare without my asking and came with the best Yorkshire pudding I've eaten without a hint of dryness or burnt char like every other pub has. The carrots were good and mash was adequate. It was served with a reasonably unflavoured gravy, a slightly more useful horseradish cram, and a maximal quality set of potatoes which were minimally seasoned but perfectly crisp with soft insides;
- Chocolate, burnt milk & barley - the dark chocolate tasted like strong dark and not much sweet, whereas the icecream didn't taste like much;
- Sheep's yoghurt, rhubard & rose - a very mild sheep milk yoghurt with some tangy rhubarb that could have been sweeter in my mind;
- Brown butter & honey tart - the best of the 3 desserts tried with a soft sweet eggy filling and a crisp shell for texture.

I'm nore sure if the lamb was meant to come with Yorkshire pudding and potatoes - other tables seem to get this with their meals. But for us 3, only one serve of each arrived. The rump and accompaniments was a much better value selection than the lamb (although the lamb definitely had effort put into it to pull it, combine it and then cook it again).

Unfortunately the service wasn't up to standard. Despite having a 2pm booking, our table was only ready at 2.30pm. Our mains were forgotten about and they only discovered this when they tried to place dessert spoons on the table and we looked perplexed - around 3.40pm. Then after the meal finished we had to ask for the bill twice and ask to pay the bill another two times. It wasn't because it was too busy - by that point the server was just standing there when he was gently reminded.

I still paid the 12.5%. I suppose I really shouldn't have. But I would go back for the food.

The new King's Cross developments are coming quickly with the next giant opening in autumn this year. For the moment Dishoom and the nearby Caravan are holding my attention. A friend mentioned their excitement that it was there and I remember thinking what's the big deal - they didn't impress me in Spitalfields. Then I realised there is no Caravan in Spitalfields and I was actually thinking of Giraffe.

Caravan is a different type of beast. The King's Cross one benefits from the industrial building with high ceilings and nice decor. There are bar areas to wait and a very cool vibe with a predominantly young (with or without prams) demographic.

Golden spiced milk £3 is the most intensely yellow beverage I've ever seen. The potent turmeric flavour accounts for this. I really like the earthy root flavour of this.

- Paprika and spring onion waffle, wild garlic, thick cut bacon, maple-date butter £12 - I didn't like the waffle that much. However the thick cut bacon was dense, slightly chewy and delicious;
- Seasoned brown rice, sesame salmon, avocado, miso mayonnaise, mung beans, pickled ginger, radish, furikake £11 - this cold dish had excellent sashimi salmon with a collection of beans and grains with tiny shiso leaves and avocado making up the flavours. Really enjoyable.

It doesn't have the same queue time as Dishoom (although there's still a wait on weekends) and the food is great. I'll definitely be back.

I do remember trying out several friteries and carts in Brussels, Ghent and Bruges. And I do remember that none of them particularly wowed me and I couldn't see what the fuss was about. 6 and 11 years later I thought it was reasonable to try again and see - perhaps my tastes or standards had changed?

There's quite a few carts that are reputed but none of them are that close to central Brussels and I didn't want it anywhere near enough to walk a long distance or take transport. Within the central region Tabora and Fritland are convenient and supposedly good options. In the end I went for Tabora because I read a review from someone who lived in Brussels that their product was a lot more consistent.

At 9pm on a Wednesday I wandered into the tiny space and ordered a medium cone without sauce €3. It was plenty for 1, and the large mound of cut fresh potatoes sat above the fryer with the thousands/millions of fries that would have been cooked in there (not sure how often they change the oil/fat). What is well known in Belgium is frying in beef fat which adds a new flavour element. And indeed these fries were piping hot, crisp outside and soft slightly disintegrate-y insides with a distinct but mild beefy flavour.

It's definitely better than I remember last time and I think it's worth a once-in-a-trip visit, particularly late on a cold night after some alcohol. The small will be suffice for me too.