Eat Like Ushi

After failing to have a crepe earlier in the day (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/les-filles-du-micocoulier-antibes-11-2018), it was unfortunate to discover it closes at 1800 and so not useful for an evening dessert crepe. Luckily a 20min walk away to JLP to an appropriately named La Creperie was the alternative.

- Nutella crepe €6.5 - a simple crepe with Nutella. Tasted as expected;
- Suzette (homemade orange sauce & Grand-Marnier) €8.5 - unfortunately they didn't have the caramelised apple I wanted, and so I settled for orange. I was hoping there would be some nice orange pieces but it was simply a sauce. The lighting of the alcohol provided a little theatre. Not too bad overall.

The crepe quality was great with a good gelatinous and springy texture. The fillings were were ok, although I have to admit I'm sure they could do a better jam for the orange.

One of the beauties of Brittany was the galettes. I'm less a fan of crepes, but galettes are great and so difficult to make at home (not that I've tried, but Serious Eats have). I suppose if I was French, I'd probably be a cider and galette Breton.

This creperie in Antibes has an excellent location with outdoor seating on this cool but sunny late autumn day, overlooking the queue for socca in the market and the general slow bustle of central Antibes.

The galettes themselves had a good flavour and crispness, although I have to admit not as crisp/burnt nuttiness as I had in Brittany, but they exceeded their counterparts in terms of ingredients and generosity.

- Braque (smoked duck breast, mushrooms, emmental cheese, fresh cream) €13 - this work of art was excellent. The edges were crisp and browned, there was excess cheese nearly all the way to the edges, the amount of duck and mushrooms was generous, and it served a full meal. The flavour as mentioned above could have used a bit extra buckwheat burnt nuttiness, but I can't complain too much. I wonder if adding egg to the batter made it more neutral in flavour?;
- Smoked salmon, egg, chives, cream, salmon eggs mico-roll €11 - I haven't seen the roll version in France before, but only in the new(ish) London restaurant (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/lami-malo-london-01-2018). This flat rolled up version was ok. I couldn't detect any salmon roe particularly. It paled in comparison to the classic style.

I'd stick with the classic styles and any of them. Didn't have the stomach space to try a crepe.

After arriving late in Antibes on Friday night, a closeby dinner was needed. I didn't have anything marked within 10mins walk of the accommodation, so looked on Google for some cool places. The closest was Le Troquet Des Artistes which looked like a casual eatery but unfortunately they had no space to accommodate. Wandering further we found Cote Terroir and they checked with the chef who said we can eat as long as we order quickly. Luckily as the meal was fantastic and only now do I see this restaurant listed as TA #2 in Antibes.

- Le burger maison a la Mozzarella Bufala (beef, mozzarella bufala, cheddar, salad, tomato, bacon, red onion, burger sauce) with polenta fries €19 - excellent burger with medium-rare patty full of flavour. The polenta fries were phenomenal with a bouncy yet crisp exterior and a buttery flavoursome core;
- Marmite du pecheur (plate of fishes, shellfish sauce, crust bread with provencal herbs, rouille) €24 - a tiny bouillabaisse equivalent with tuna, a prawn, some fillets of slightly stronger whitefish. Really good and warming;
- Legumes de saison (seasonal vegetables) €4 - cheap dish with grilled vegetables lightly salted and cooked with a touch of rosemary. Grilled vegetables have never tasted so good. The light green zucchini were particularly excellent;
- Le Ch'tiramisu (speculoos flavour) - served Heston-style in a flower pot with a soft cream, an alcohol cake base and some crumb dirt. Very nice also.

This was an exceptional meal and a good welcome to Antibes. I would definitely come back. There's also some delicatessen items for sale if you fancy.

I haven't eaten much Filipino food in my life. I visited the country in 2005 and was then exposed to adobo and sinigang. But since then other than my own version of adobo, it's been quite sparse and not a strongly represented cuisine anywhere I've lived. This new restaurant in Hoxton (a bit out of the way from anything) specialises in Kinilaw (ceviche) and Buko (icecream).

The bubble teas (one Earl grey and one Chai) were ok for flavour but nothing great £5. You can add an alcholic shot for £3. Chai was much sweeter and stronger than the watery Earl grey. Unfortunately the pearls were large, white and hard to the point of being inedible. Also the thin straws meant the pearls couldn't be sucked up. Would definitely not get either of them again.

- Mustasa cradled duck egg (salted duck egg, heirloom tomato, mustard leaf, grated cured yolk) £5.5 - egg wasn't particularly salty;
- Vinegar soaked talaba (oysters, avocado, onion, ginger, lime, vinegar) £6.5 for 2 - excellent shooter of oyster with balance of flavours;
- Baboy bounty (pork belly, dice cucumber, chilli, chicharron) £6.5;
- Kilawan coconut fire (bream, mango, red pepper, jalapeño, coconut vinegar) £7 - my favourite ceviche dish with good chunks of fish and well balanced with a bit of chilli;
- Diver hauls kapis treasure (hand-dived scallop, cucumber, radish, lime, fermented roe) £8 - one large scallop sliced into 3 with chopped up roe;
- Pusit hides in kang kang (squid, ink, coconut, peppers, water spinach) £6 - bouncy squid bits
- Hilaw na papaya & prawn (king prawns, green papaya, picked cucumber, achiote prawn oil) £7 - quite good but the prawns themselves were a bit soft and uninspired;
- Steamed rice with kanin-asawa rice seasoning £2.8 - tried the slightly salty pork floss version and strangely sweet fish. It was ok but necessary for the meal. I'd get the pork or try the chicken next time.

Interestingly all the dishes are cold. I suppose as ceviche that is expected. It's the hot rice that you eat it with that makes it feel more like a normal meal, particularly on a colder evening out.

- Red bean butterscotch bomb (red bean icecream, miso butterscotch sauce, ginger anzac biscuit) £3 served in a ube purple yam cone £0.3 - the red bean icecream was very good and unique. The sauces and anzac added even more sweetness, which wasn't necessarily necessary. The purple cone was surprisingly not purple and didn't have a strong yam flavour;
- Ube buko (purple yam & coconut, tapioca pearls) £3 served in a buko pandan cone £0.3 - unlike the cone, the icecream had a strong sweet yam flavour and was excellent. The cone was sweet but almost to the point that it overpowered the icecream and I preferred to eat it without.

Would order again the Kilawan (bream), the oysters and the scallop and rice with either pork or try the chicken (and hope it was salty). Otherwise I have to admit that many of dishes seemed to blend into each other. I would get both icecreams but without the cones.

A new addition to the Soho scene and a very unique one. I was lucky enough to visit during the soft opening 30% off bill (including drinks). More than anything else, the intriguing menu ingredients of unusual meats and combinations is what drew me in. There is Asian, game, and a little weirdness. But it's different and although expensive (at full price) for small tapas plates, it's quite unique in town.

Smokey eyes £12 had a good balance of whiskey, sweetness from the plum wine, a mild chilli and smoke that made it taste like a mild (but good) mezcal. I liked it.

- Complimentary taster of Inari tempura pocket, coconut sambal, piccalilli;
- Zebra loin tataki, charred grapes, popcorn, sake cured egg, sriracha jelly, orange blossom labneh £12.9 - a smooth tender (surprisingly) less intense flavour than beef tataki, more reminiscent of mild horse (which kind of makes sense). Really good. The sriracha jelly was a new concept in a chilly and chilli form;
- Samphire & watermelon som tam, chilli, garlic, palm sugar, lime, crushed peanuts £6.9 - unusual version using samphire to add the saltiness where fish sauce would normally be. Creative and refreshing;
- 8 hour braised wagyu beef ribs, beetroot & kizami wasabi siu mai, smoked, bone marrow & garlic aioli £14.9 - I expected beef ribs with siu mai separately but instead received the most expensive and most divine dumplings filled with tender moist beef;
- Jungle curry, minced ostrich loin, aromatic lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime, Thai chillis £12.9 - it could have been any mince meat in the very mild curry. Tasted ok but not strong enough. I wouldn't order it again;
- Singapore chilli lobster, birds eye chilli, palm sugar, lemongras, coriander, ginger (half) £15.9 - the lobster was a bit too sweet and the texture of it was mushy and soft. I wouldn't order it again;
- Deepfried banana spring roll, caramel wafers, icecream - the roll had the most divine crisp shell. Honestly I can't even remember if it was a banana filling the shell was so good. The other elements added more sweetness and textures.

I would gladly go back again. There's still the kangaroo (although less exciting an ingredient for me), miso lamb chops, a steamed fish (updated menu) and jackfruit curry. Keep up the creativity.

Macaroon wrapping around icecream. The macaroon is alright, the hojicha icecream was great. In the end probably sharing one between two is enough.

I've been to Broadway Market so many times and always eaten at the stalls, so much now that I don't eat at them and go to Netil instead. However on this occasion a friend led me (non-market day) to a Spanish brunch for a change.

What can I say - I've been missing out all this time.

Berenjena Asada con Marquez (roasted aubergine with tahini lemon & sumac, soft boiled egg, lemon gremolata, grilled Moroccan lamb marquez, with a side wholemeal flatbread) £9.5 was really excellent with all the flavours and textures coming together - smokey, spicy, tangy, grilled, delicious.

They also have shakshuka and Turkish egg dish that sounds great.

I'll be back.

Sichuan food comes to King's Cross. Ok so there's already Chillicool (Sichuan) and Yipin (Hunan) in the area for competition. I did think the mapo tofu at Kaki was better - and this was probably the only dish for comparison. I didn't take a lot of photos but managed to sample a lot of dishes. The chilli is numbing but not too hot (given the amount of chilli that is displayed in some dishes) although the rice is needed to offset some of the flavour and heat.

They offer a 20% discount for cash (offset slightly by 10% service charge, but better than 12.5% I suppose...)

I would re-order the dry fried lamb chops, mapo tofu and green beans. Soft shell crab was quite good too.

Fish came with an incredible amount of chillies and oil, with the soup/oil moderately spicy and very numbing. It was good but the amount of fish wasn't too significant. Aubergine was ok.

Pork ribs, winter melon soup, morning glory, dan dan noodles were all standard and nothing too special. Lamb skewers were northern China cumin style, but I felt lacked enough salt and cumin punch.

After enjoying the fries and chicken at Temple of Hackney, it was pleasing to see the other branch nearby between KX and Camden. When you walk along the river promenade, it is impossible not to smell the fried deliciousness wafting out of the building.

The "chicken" strips were expertly fried with a crisp coating. It doesn't have the texture or flavour of chicken, but it has fried tastiness in it. The burgers were also good, with my preference definitely going to the "beef" with some kind of deep tomato flavour.

Next time I'd go the double, with beef burger and chicken strips. And fries if I could fit it all in.