Eat Like Ushi

I've been targeting the London curry houses in the past month. Hoppers was one of my favourite meals from the June visit (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/hoppers-london-06-2016) and so naturally it was high on the list.

It's good to see the familiar items are on the menu and prices have increased by 10-20% in 6 months. The only other noticeable menu change since my last visit is that the buffalo biriani has been changed to short rib. I have to admit I was engaged in a lot of conversation so other than thinking the food was good, it is hard to recall too much specific details of the dishes.

- Lamb kothu roti £10;
- Duck heart chukka £6 - not as deep in flavour as I remember, but still delicious and chewy;
- Lotus root, cashew and ash plantain fry £3.5 - tasty crisp little chips;
- Short rib buriani, duck egg kari, yoghurt, brinjal moju £18.5.

I do have to return to properly reassess the buriani, try the Ceylonese chicken and a mutton roti. I only have the old favourite Dishoom and the untried Kricket left to go. Hopefully not too long.

It might sound very odd but I'm part of a ramen Facebook group. I was invited after a discussion with a mutual Bone Daddies fan. In essence the group just posts photos of ramen for voyeuristic pleasure.

I was surprised last year to find out this mutual friend thought Kanada-Ya may have surpassed Bone Daddies as his favourite. How very tempting that sounds. On the Sunday night after Sadiq Khan presented the powerful The Salesman in the cold and drizzle of Trafalgar Square, a warming bowl of broth beckoned. Luckily this popular place so near had no queue. Excellent.

The tonkotsu is good. The broth is extremely porky, like a pig had been blended. It's quite heavy and thick almost like a medium gravy. Very tasty but almost a little much. The only other real downside is the meat is served very cold which also means the broth (at the top at least) is not boiling hot.

I can see the yuzu version being a better option with the citrus balancing out the flavour. I wonder how it will compare to the other fluro green yuzu tonkotsu in my (previous) life - (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/ikkoryu-fukuoka-ramen-melbourne-12-2015).

After the meal I settled for a dessert of fried chicken. Light crisp textured batter, very tender chicken and a nice yuzu mayo. Definitely a gluttonous treat that I wouldn't opt for by myself again.

It's been a trying 2+ years since I last tasted the Bone Daddies broth. It was the most frequented food I had (other than my local curry house) before I left at the end of 2013, and in June 2016 I didn't make it in time to the soft launch of the Old Street branch to beat the queues and take advantage of the 50% special. But I found myself needing to go to Argos Old Street and that was the perfect opportunity.

Since then it's been a tumultuous ride of ramen places. My tastes have certainly evolved in this sphere. From reminiscing about my more green days when in Kyoto (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/ippudo-kyoto-02-2009), to what is probably Melbourne's best tonkotsu (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/hakata-gensuke-melbourne-11-2014), to discovering the black garlic and yuzu varieties that add edge (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/ikkoryu-fukuoka-ramen-melbourne-12-2015), to realising I like a nice thick chewy noodle but that could only be found in a non-tonkotsu venue (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/mensousai-mugen-ramen-melbourne-09-2015) and then to trying Singapore's best chain and having the Japan standard of unlimited boiled eggs (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/ramen-keisuke-tonkotsu-king-singapore-06-2016). That's a lot.

I'd also tried Kanada-Ya the night before as the moderator on my Facebook ramen group (yes, I'm in one) thought it might be better than even his beloved Bone Daddies.

Old Street served my ramen in record time - it literally took 2 minutes to serve. I guess they had noodles ready to go? I'm not sure. Similar to the previous night, the meat was cold and had to be dived under to warm up. The broth was nice and on the thicker side. Noodles and meat good. I didn't ask for shichimi this time just to embrace the broth. It's less flavoured and less thick than Kanda-Ya but probably easier to eat for that.

I followed it up with the spicy pig bones which was saltier/soy and less sweet than I remember, but again drenched lovingly in sauce. One of my ribs had no meat which was a shame...

I don't think I liked the dishes as much as I remember in Soho but maybe that's reflecting my ageing preferences and can't detract that the food remains very good. It's still a favourite nonetheless.

It's been a bit of a burger journey since my last stay in London. After the craze of MEATliquor and the final hurrah at Tommi's, my new favourite moved to a more gourmet and healthy Brodburger (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/brodburger-canberra-2014) which still does the world's best vegetarian burger. In Melbourne, the reasonable offerings of On It (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/on-it-burgers-melbourne-01-2016) and the better ones at 8bit (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/8bit-melbourne-12-2015) kept me going on those unhealthy occasions.

But after the first London meal being Needoo (how could I resist), the first new place I ended up in was Bleecker St. Burger. Spitalfields market has changed since 2013 with much of the trinket and wares stalls being replaced by a much more financial model in gourmet street food. On this Tuesday at 1:30pm the place was still busy with people queueing and seated randomly at tables having lunch. They've done well for themselves these financially-intelligent Spitalfieldians.

There are so many reviews on Zomato for Bleecker St. in Spitalfields that exalt it as the best burger in London and possibly the world. After this visit, it is difficult to disagree.

- Bleecker Black £10 - it's not a healthy burger. It's 2 very medium-rare patties (I did tell them I would be fine with rare, but they said the rarest they could do is medium rare) with the juices exuding into the bun as you pick it up. The seasoning is provided by the crisp black pudding. I am a sucker for black pudding and I've never had it in the burger before; genius innovation there. The cheese, bun and sauce finish the dish with its other necessary flavours and textures. The burger is automatically served sliced in half which is smart to check the meat is not overcooked and for diners to see what they are getting themselves in to;
- Angry Fries £4 - white and sweet potato fries topped with a mild hot sauce and melted blue cheese. An excellent combination reminiscent of MEATliquor's hot wings recipe (hot sauce/butter wings with Gorgonzola dip).

Damn that was good (and unhealthy). That's all I can say. I'm glad I don't live too close to here.

On my way to Eurostar I wanted to swing by the new Bone Daddies in Old Street and take advantage of the opening 50% special off food. Unfortunately the lunch queue was too long so I had to settle for a quick burger next door.

It’s been a long time Honest Burgers – the one and only time was all the way south in Brixton and I remember thinking it was good but not better than some of the other competitors.

On this occasion I had the burger – £10.5 for the burger and rosemary chips. The meat patty was cooked beautifully medium-rare to my order (their default is medium) and was not overly salted with a nice beef flavour. The remaining ingredients were only supplementary but the little burger was overall very satisfying. The chips were a good texture with crisp outside and could have used a little more seasoning. The wings had a small amount of meat and a nice flavour but needed more heat and depth.

The burger was better than expected. I look forward to returning to the land and rediscovering the burger options. I wonder how well MEATliquor and Tommi's has stood the test of time (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/tommis-burger-joint-london-09-2013).

Dishoom is the beautiful Bombay lover I once got close to but went away from. After my first lust (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/dishoom-london-10-2012) back in Covent Garden late-2012 to my leaving farewell meal in Shoreditch late-2013, it has always had a special place in my heart for the quality food, breakfast after the 2013 AFL Grand Final win and drinks to get a night started. I had heard it was recently rated the number 1 restaurant in London/UK - a worthy winner in my opinion.

A reunion of people from Australia and UK spelled the occasion this time, and it was an easy decision to spend £50 each on a bit of food and a lot of drinks in the old Shoreditch haunt.

- Chicken & pomegranate salad £9.5 (not pictured) – still as exceptional I my first visit. The pomegranate seeds, the sliced tender chicken, the herbs all harmonise together;
- Chilli cheese toast £3.5 – a very strongly flavoured rendition with a touch of spice;
- House black daal £5.9 - it doesn't compete with Bukhara but still good;
- Awadhi lamb biryani £9.9 – nice light fluffy rice spiced with pockets of lamb hidden away;
- Garlic naan £2.5 – chewy soft and garlicky;
- Mahi tikka £8.2 – delicate fish morsels, well cooked and delicious;
- Chicken ruby £8.5 – a soft bread is used to pick up the chicken curry.

Thanks for creating more memories (albeit hazed by cocktails) including 4 women discussing the realities of childbirth and episiotomies.

The restaurant I ate at the most in London was my local curry house and luckily it was a phenomenal one. Some prefer Tayyab (and to be honest the grilled meats aka lamb chops are better there) but Needoo clearly wins the curry war in my opinion. My usual trifecta of Daighi dry meat curry, lamb biryani and pumpkin curry used to last me a week of meals and has been the most reminisced of London foods since I left.

The prices have gone up by about 20% in 2.5 years but the quality and serving size remain the same.

- Daighi dry meat curry – still the best curry to my palate. The soft lamb, the dry spiced heat and the deep salty burning flavours are balanced by the squeeze of lemon juice;
- King prawn biryani – I usually opt for the lamb biryani (I think the base rice is the same and cooked with the key ingredient). They found a serve of king prawns in the freezer (interpret that how you will) and although slightly overcooked made a nice textural contrast to the deliciously flavoured rice. Unlike when I get takeaway lamb biryani, this one also came with a serve of chickpea curry with tomatoes;
- Kahari fish – a nicely flavoured curry with fish that is too overcooked. The flavour does make up for it though.

In my time I’m yet to find another decent Pakistani biryani and curry that can match Needoo (although on the curry front my recent experience at Hoppers may compete - http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/hoppers-london-06-2016). 

Next time I would order a biryani (the king prawns themselves may not be worth the extra £5 charge compared to other versions), dry meat curry and another vegetable curry as per my norm. Having the chickpeas and fish curry reaffirmed that just about any curry at this place will be a safe choice.

I was reading about new places to try and this Sri Lankan place is taking London by storm. I’ve had Sri Lankan once in Canberra (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/camellia-canberra-11-2014) but it didn’t compete with the basic successes of this place. 4.8/5 rating from 50+ people - are you kidding? I know London curry is exceptionally good and the main cuisine I was back here to eat (Dishoom, Needoo, other) but that rating is ridiculous. The other places that competed for me stomach that lunch was Black Axe Mangal (haute kebab, exceptionally rated) and Kricket (Indian in Brixton).

The queue for 2 or 3 people was 45 mins. Luckily I have no friends and was let in immediately. The Buffalo Biryani, Duck Egg Curry, Yoghurt and Brinjal Moju was the dish that attracted me the most, but there were two drawbacks – I don’t think I could’ve finished the whole thing (they do allow takeaway) and secondly I felt I should try the namesake items. The very lovely waitress confirmed this and suggested a starter, hopper and curry.

The starter I selected was the Duck Heart Chukka. I absolutely adored this. The dry heat (not as hot as led to believe as the hottest one on the menu) with a deep intense flavour and the chewy crunchy heart had a mild unique afterflavour slightly reminiscent of beef heart slices. I have to find these to cook for myself.

The Egg Hopper was similar to the appam from India. The outsides of the disk are easily torn like chips to pickup the condiments and curry. The inside is cooked with an egg and reminds me of the tangy and spongy feel of injera. It is topped with a salty spice to contrast the egg yolk and hopper. Of the condiments the orange coconut sambol was the one nicely flavoured part.

Of the curries, my choice was between the Black Pork Kari (explained as the driest) and the Gourd & Cashew Kari (explained as the waitress’s favourite). I opted for meat this time based upon the dry Needoo style. It was nice but paled in quality to the duck and Needoo’s Daighi curry.

The remarkable Duck Heart Chukka and my desire for the Buffalo Buriani will definitely bring me back. There’s also mutton roti and a Ceylonese spit chicken for the future.

I’ll always remember Pitt Cue Co. (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/pitt-cue-co-london-08-2012-12-2012) and the numerous meals at the bar or the downstairs wedged under the staircase and enjoying the thick beef ribs, tender pork ribs and a remarkable beef brisket. I was pleased to see they had expanded to a larger place, dropped the Co. to become Pitt Cue, and closer to the part of London I consider home. On top of this, they accept bookings so as a catchup between 8 friends was an obvious choice.

I do like Neil Rankin and so Bad Egg was another contender, as was Seth Troxler's Smokey Tails but those will have to wait until next time.

- Octopus – this was remarkably soft, tender and flavoursome. One of the best I’ve eaten that was sliced through by a blunt knife;
- Blood cake – I wondered if this was similar to black pudding. They said it was different but I would like it. This had a excellent deep flavour and a texture peppered with bits of rice and small fat cubes. Outstanding;
- Potato cakes – 4 heavily fried chips essentially. Very crisp and salty. Really not worth it;
- Bacon – a flavoured slice of pork with a fat cap. Not a flavour of smoke sadly;
- Courgette – crunchy vegetable slices topped with a crisp fry;
- Lamb breast for 2 – from the specials board a deliciously soft piece of meat with a mild flavour. I wanted the smoked lamb neck but was sadly sold out the moment before ordering;
- Pork jowl – a heavily salty cheek with a large surrounding fat layer on top. I prefer beef cheeks for the thicker meat and greater ability to become tender;
- Mangalitza pork – a pink tender medium rare cut with moderate flavour and perfect texture. An example of how quality pork can be cooked to a more specific degree;
- Bone marrow mash – softly and gently whipped, deeper beef flavour to stir through;
- Slaw – mildly flavoured, would’ve liked a bit more Spanish onion and tart vinegar;

I do think the meal was overall less impressive than my memories of Pitt Cue Co. The smokey flavour wasn't evident in many of the dishes and the rubs seemed to be more heavily on salt rather than spice or in some cases minimal spice at all. I've made the beef rib recipe from the book and it was on another flavour level to what I tried that evening. Perhaps a short trip back to the original dishes of beef and pork ribs, insane rib tips and the brisket is required for me. I'd definitely go back for the octopus and blood cake alone though.

My Pitt Cue Co. cookbook sits on my bookshelf and my Weber Smokey Mountain 22” in the garden in Melbourne waiting for me to create my own copycat versions.

I'd finally returned for a short visit to my previous home of Whitechapel. It isn't easy finding new places in the area as it tends to be dominated by old curry houses (and for good reason).

I was pleasantly surprised to see a new opening of a pizza and particularly cider dedicated space near my Qbic Hotel. They offer a good value lunch deal for only £6.5 including a pizza and salad. Add a half-pint of your choice of cider for £2.5 extra and you have yourself a great meal.

I'd need more time (and an evening) to go through the ciders and pick a few favourites but for lunchtime the pizza was my main focus. I sampled the Hells Bells (spicy chopped pork, Naga chillies, garlic, red onion, basil leaves, field mushrooms, tomato sauce, mozzarella). I've been scarred by previous curries with Naga (aka ghost) chillies but I was told this was cooked into the pork sauce and wasn't too offensive and it was true - there was a definite heat and kick but other than a slight runny nose I handled it nicely. The chilli pieces themselves weren't too hot so I can only assume those were different chillies. I was surprised at how little tomato sauce there was (obviously having been thin and baked in rather than much liquid left) and the base was thin and quite crispy (although I do prefer the chew eg. Franco Manca).

Overall it's a very good lunch deal and on another day with friends and time would be a good way to pass the afternoon with cider tasting.