Khan's

‘’Upon England's mountains green and pleasant pastures seen, shine forth upon the clouded hills was Khan’s builded here’’*

Yes and well, someone had to blog about it. Khan’s serves up British cuisine, not the best but certainly indicative of what the rest of Britain have been eating for over half a century from Maryport to Tiverton. If I get visitors to London wanting a bit of Brit curry, I bring them here first. It’s all very well mentioning Tayyabs or Lahore Kebab House, but they’re too authentic and chicken tikka masala is omitted from their menus. Like E Pellicci, Wonky, Kebab Machine and F.Cooke; one has never actually been to London until one has dined at Khan’s. This notorious and equally venerable place is a London institution, like its Cantonese counterpart Wonky, the inherent flaws make both these restaurants beguiling to visit.

Khan’s has existed for more than thirty years and still owned by the same family of the same name. It’s huge and imposing but ultimately dated in appearance. It’s also perfect for solo diners like myself to venture here for lunch, I never feel out of sorts at Khan's. I’ve also noticed that Khan’s is a magnet for the semi-domiciled but idle rich (quit the mincing of words…) Middle Eastern community in this part of London. And speaking of which, booze is no longer served and I daresay BYO is discouraged. Khan’s has a reputation with its service, I wouldn’t call the waiters rude but they've been consistently ignorant and terse. Like Wonky again, the service has since mellowed over the years and best described as just ‘nice’…how boring!

It was ever so difficult to wield a camera in this restaurant, managed to accost one of the waiters to take this picture. Yes that’s me oozing smugness (at last and you haven’t missed much!). I’m glad I resembled a tourist.

I usually go for the Meat Thali which consists of rogan josh, mutter paneer, raita, papadom, nan, pilau rice, a piece of sheek kebab and a piece of tandoori chicken for a tenner. It’s consistently alright I suppose and the quantity is large enough for me to skip dinner as well. But I came here this afternoon to try out the Winter Buffet Deal at £8.50 per person. Times are obliviously still challenging otherwise they wouldn’t be offering this winter thing in the middle of summer. The eat as much as you like dishes included the following-

Onion Bhaji
Chicken Wings
Sag Chicken (you know what with the Popeye treatment)
Chicken Chilli Masala (hooray tourists, that’s actually chicken tikka masala)
Vegetable Curry (vaguest understatement)
Bhindi (Lady Fingers)
Chana Masaladar (accelerated wind-inducing dish)
Vegetable Soup (oh dear gawd…)
Loads of pilau rice (veggies beware, cooked in chicken stock!) and nan bread.

That fraught looking dish on the right is essentially a cabbage soup, it was disgusting and not even Oliver Twist would be able to finish his first helping of it!

Well there you have it, more choices than my usual meat thali meal, but lamb has been obliterated from the offerings. Overall impression of the buffet meal was simply average but psychologically satisfying. The food at Khan’s can never set the world on fire, my experience of it has always been ok but never despondently poor. If I get a shout from one of you folks wanting to meet up here for lunch I certainly wouldn’t say no, as mediocrity brings a welcome change to what I’m generally accustomed to. Long live Khan’s, long live Plan B!

*With apologies to William Blake.


13-15 Westbourne Grove
Bayswater
London W2 4UA

khansrestaurant.com

Delicatessen Yoshino

Dear fellow Food Bloggers,

I apologise wholeheartedly if I fail to read your postings with enough conviction and frequency or at least take the trouble to rouse a few comments. I’ve decided to refrain from reading further recipes posted by great sites like The Blonde Shrink, The Doc, The First Couple of Cooking, etc. It’s not that I find postings of recipes boring but rather that it pains me to read them; I live alone and I’ve elected not to engage in any cooking activities (pot and instant noodles don’t count). Subjective it maybe, methinks cooking for one sucks.

As for the reviews of restaurants, unfortunately my attitude towards them is nearly that of an ignoramus. Truth of the matter is by reading the reviews of restaurants that I’ve yet to visit will no doubt influence the outcome of my own critique for the wrong reasons. However if I do eventually get round to reading your reviews of the places I’ve set foot upon, I then find correlating reviews fascinating.

More importantly I would like to thank you all for the following-
Taking the trouble to read my blog, hopefully regardless of its lack of dynamism and prose.
To be included in your blogroll despite my invisible one (and certainly no thanks to being de-listed) .
Making the odd comment or two.

FBs, happy eating and cheers.

Regards,

Fatty Tuna Les.

A bit of waffle is important to maintain a level of eccentricity that’s sometimes associated with this blog. I suppose that the other reason is simply down to I can only write so much about a certain joint; anymore words than necessary would cause the review to be drummed up and over the top. Yoshino is one such place. Ever since Yoshino decamped or got shoved from the Japan Centre in Piccadilly to Soho, I’ve always had a sneaky impression that they’ve lost the plot and resorted to selling faux sushi to tourists and the uninitiateds. I was indeed wong (and still am by all accounts), this 'takeaway only' shop sells decent sushi at incredibly silly prices.

Organic Salmon and Avocado

£1.70 for four

Japanese Scallop

£1.50 for four

Eel and Cucumber

£1.50 for four

Chicken Karaage

£1.10 for four

If some of you constantly treat yourself to a sushi lunch from either Pret, Marks, Wasabi (travesty), etc; do take the trouble and come here instead; the food here is superior and wallet friendly. Relish and enjoy.


59 Shaftesbury Avenue
London W1D 6LF

www.yoshino.net

Que Viet

Second Review

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The day I stop eating Vietnamese is when my snout is pickled in a jar and displayed at the Royal College of Surgeons. Vietnamese cuisine holds a very dear place in my foodie heart. It’s technically closer to the cuisine of the Southern Chinese than the usual South East Asian stalwarts of Malaysian or Thai. It combines the ying and yang of cooking and serving food perfectly. Three words sum up the food for me, it’s always fresh, fragrant and soul-enhancing. In my books, Vietnamese cooking also belongs to the top five cuisines of the world.

Phở is the iconic dish of Vietnam. I judge all the Vietnamese restaurants I go to on this beef noodle dish alone. If the cook botches the beef stock up then I’m sorry to say that her or his claim as a Vietnamese chef is adamantly suspect. The broth has to be light in appearance but rather contradictorily, the flavour cannot be anything else but intense; one has to be able to appreciate a whiff of the beefiness, the Saigon cinnamon, star anise and cloves. If any of the primary ingredients in the broth goes AWOL, then it’s safe to say that the Phở is vaguely approximate. The raw beef slices should be added in the kitchen at the very last minute, (for the squeamish, be rest assured that the heat of the broth will cook the meat in a matter of minutes). The rice noodles shouldn’t be overcooked and the garnishes should at least include coriander leaves and Thai basil. If the accompanying bean sprouts are off coloured, avoid. Phở is street food but one that has to be prepped and cooked with a degree of passion. Once you encounter a good bowl of the dish, you’ll be hooked.

Que Viet resembles less of a canteen than the other restaurants on The Pho Mile. It’s newer and done up in a tad ‘more with the times’ mentality. The young waiters are kitted out in uniforms that are reminiscent of colonial hotel style. The service is helpful and friendly. Unlike some of the other restaurants like Loong Kee or Song Que, one gets the feeling that you’re not rushed in order to free the table up for those waiting; it’s more relaxed like a proper restaurant ought to be.

Strong and sweet tasting Vietnamese Iced Coffee.
If there ever was a pre-dessert before the mains and starters, this fits the bill by default.

Bánh cuốn
These filled rolled cakes were steamed beautifully. Banh cuon is another dish that determines the authenticity of the kitchen’s prowess. The pork filling was excellent as well as generous. Unfortunately we had to scoff the lot up pretty quickly as our table (avoid number 8) was in the direct vent path of the air conditioner.

Phở bò
Astounding broth, sometimes it pays to have this dish in the evening when the stock has been maximising in the flavour department for hours on end. The only slight let down was the overcooked beef slices, otherwise one of the best pho bos we’ve had.

Bún thịt nướng
This is one of my favourite dishes. This is essentially a cold vermicelli/salad dish served with an accompanying bowl of diluted Nước chấm (fish sauce), the idea is to drown the entire dish with it. I was surprised to find Que Viet offering grilled goat with this dish as an alternative to the usual pork, Vietnamese spring rolls or prawns. I nagged to the young lad that if it came with lamb I wasn’t going to pay for it.

It was indeed goat, stronger and more rustic tasting than lamb. The meat was tender beyond expectations. I found the dish ‘historic’.

Deep-fried chilli and garlic eel

Hardly Vietnamese, but I couldn’t resist eel (smack me wrist by all means, what with the questionable sustainability).
Please ‘let me be faceless, nameless, innocent, blameless and free’*; the eel was ethereal.

Que Viet is certainly one of the better Vietnamese restaurants in London. It comes with my blessing. Highly recommended.


*Borrowed from Natalie Merchant’s must hear song, Motherland.



102-104 Kingsland Road
London
E2 8DP

The Big Lunch at The Underground Restaurant

One of the advantages with food blogging is that you make friends*, in this case MsMarmitelover has indeed become a very good one.
Yo Marms!

This her take on The Big Lunch.
Due to a possible conflict of interest, this post is not a review but a collection of snaps to make some of you drool.

Brought me own pinky lemonade albeit très cher

The lovely N of The Shed

Grilled aubergines with masala chaat yoghurt and pomegranate
Hummus

Palm heart salad

Filo triangles with feta and red chilli pepper
Dolmades stuffed with rice, caramelised walnuts and salted lemons

Toms, grilled halloumi and red pepper

Caramelised endives with parmesan cheese sauce

AGA warmed bread

Mr Whippy

Baked apricots with basil and mint

Happy and young shiny peeps

Emma and Diana

theundergroundrestaurant

*One of the disadvantages includes that you're labelled as a 'no mark' by other bloggers, how unnecessarily pathetic!

The Hidden Tea Room

I’m going to start by saying that being present at the very first opening of any new restaurant is indeed a privilege. At the maiden instalment of the Hidden Tea Room last weekend a sense of personal exhilaration was rewarded with my participation. The attraction with these visits of any ‘underground’ ventures is that one can always forgive any inherent shortcomings that are so often associated with first-time nerves by attending subsequent dates. Hopefully by this time the hosts should have ironed out most deficiencies and gained a lot more confidence to achieve the right for any home restaurants to maintain a creditable existence. Respect and applause should be given to these people who contemplate turning their abodes into restaurants to feed total strangers.

The proliferation of home restaurants in London is obvious to see and I sincerely rue the day when the authorities clamp down on them like they did in Hong Kong several years ago. The beauty with these restaurants is the well-contrived social networking that naturally comes with it. For those who decide that conversing with others is a tedious chore then by all accounts they should be discouraged from turning up. The desire to visit these places is based on an expectation of having a good home cooked meal coupled by socialising with other diners that you don’t normally do in normal restaurants. With the exception of the TUR-Victoriana (currently a one-off), the Hidden Tea Room is the first of such ventures to offer Afternoon Tea as an ongoing basis; a sensible choice methinks, what with carving a niche for itself in this crowded ‘dinners only’ phenomenon. HTR is run by a young couple known as Lady Gray and her other half (I’ve decided to coin the title Baronet on him). The venue is located within Zone 1 and as far as I’m concerned that’s a major blessing; no excuses here as it’s easily reached by all modes of transport that you care to imagine.

Afternoon tea is a difficult one for guys like myself to come to terms with, truth be told it’s more of a feminine preoccupation. Ok us man folks might tolerate it if we’re on a holiday in Harrogate or old Aunt Edna demanded your monthly presence because she is going to leave her entire Lalique collection to you in the will. Much as I love watching a match at a pub (I don’t own a TV) that involves my beloved Arsenal I’m also terribly partial to good cakes, a decent cup of tea and the presence of ladies who dine. Thankfully all three of the latter predispositions were met that Sunday afternoon.

The setting for the HTR can best be described as intimate, to accommodate more than ten guests in the dining room would prove too much of a squeeze. Lady Gray and the Baronet have evidently taken the trouble to transform the room into something that is suitably prim and proper to reflect the occasion. The service courtesy of the Baronet was unflappable and charming although a little too formal, but then again it’s a High Tea situation we’re talking about here. As expected I was the only bloke in an otherwise excellent company of five ladies. Topics of conversation ranged from dining at The Fat Duck to sports support bras (small talk among women fascinates me, a welcome change from my usual loves of footie and politics).

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All guests are greeted with a glass of bubbly or in my case, H2O…

…and something that resembled rock cakes. They were actually American Cheddar Biscuits. These delightful tasting savouries were light and moist.

The sit-down-

Guests are provided with a bewildering choice of loose teas that are eventually served in individual but large teapots.

Sandwiches- if there are any shortcomings with the very first HTR event, it’s the sarnies. Two quibbles (call me fussy but treat the criticisms as constructive)- to reflect any aspirations of a posh Afternoon Tea, the pieces should be paper thin and sliced diagonally as opposed to rectangles. That said they were all good eating. It would also be gratifying to see more homegrown fillings like Witltshire ham and English cheeses implemented in future menus.

Mango and Pineapple Sorbet- a wonderful addition to cleanse the palate.

Scones- perfectly formed and beautifully baked. They were served on a tiered stand with clotted cream and strawberry and blueberry preserves. I belong to the school where the cream goes on the bread before the jam, pre-lubeing enhances the mastication of such foods.

A selection of baked goodies

Lemon Drizzle Cake

Toffee Brownie

Chocolate and Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Buttercream Frosting

The cupcakes were on par with some of the best I've tasted in London, the frosting was probably nonpareil.

A joyous ending with some of Lady Gray Chocolate Truffles

All of the above treats were brilliant, it goes to show that Lady Gray is more than an accomplished baker. I wouldn’t be surprised that in the future a cake shop bearing her name beckons. I enjoyed my time here and I would certainly come back. Loved the company as well as the hosts. Highly recommended.

NB I came here with MsMarmitelover, you can read her review here.


A contribution of £25.00 was suggested per person to include sparkling wine and £20.00 for lapsed boozers like myself.


www.hiddentearoom.com