Mad Hatter's Tea Party at Sanderson Hotel

An Alice in Wonderland-themed tea party? Yes, please!

 Where?

50 Berner's Street, just off Oxford Street, London. Nearest tube station Tottenham Court Road.

What?

The Sanderson Hotel is a 5* luxury hotel right in the centre of London. The place screamed luxury, and both the decor and staff were dazzling. I could have taken pictures of the interior of the hotel alone, but I wasn't here for the hotel: I was here for their quirky take on the old British classic: afternoon tea.

My friend and I were led out onto a garden quad, where tables were arranged on either side of the garden centrepiece under large canvas canopies to protect us from the glare of the sun. The whole experience from start to finish was magical, from sitting down to the table dressed with riddled napkins, a very old book and crystal vials of teas to choose from, to the magical and perfect food itself, and the 'jelly wonderland' buffet for the final course.

The waitress recommended we tried one of the flavours from the vials, but we were also welcome to choose from a menu of more 'normal' teas, coffees and hot chocolate, and we could have as much tea as we liked. My friend chose mint chocolate tea while I chose rhubarb and custard: we had such large pots that the thought of having any more tea. Also, while the portions looked dainty and manageable, both my friend and I were stuffed by the end.

I'm going to let the pictures speak for themselves for this review. All I can say is it's an experience well worth giving a go.

'The more the you have of it, the less you see.'

Three different layers of flavours!

Pop! Mango explosion.

And then I ate the cup itself.

From banana-chocolate to lavender-elderflower.

Chinatown: C&R Restaurant

Cendol. In London. I'm all over it like orange on a carrot.

... Wait, what?

It was tough to get the whole restaurant in this shot. See the white sign at the top right of this photo? The wall pretty much began at the right hand side of that sign and my back was against it.

Where?

Chinatown, London, 4-5 Rupert Court, Nearest station is Leicester Square or Piccadilly Circus. Rupert Court is a narrow little alleyway that runs from Rupert Street right through to Wardour Street and is pretty easy to miss.

What?

A café offering a selection of Malaysian food, a bit like Rasa Sayang. And like my visit to Rasa Sayang, I chose nasi lemak.

Nasi lemak consists of coconut rice, yellow chicken curry, boiled egg, peanuts, little fried fishies (ikan bilis/ anchovies), archar (picked vegetables) and sambal (mind-blowingly hot chili sauce). Often cucumbers too, to cool off.

As I was eating this, I thought to myself, 'This isn't as hot as Rasa Sayang's... I wish it were hotter.'

Be careful what you wish for.

The heat from C&R's nasi lemak is like a ninja- you don't notice it until it's too late. The heat from Rasa Sayang's hit me instantly and without mercy, but it stayed constant. I don't know what sort of chilies they used at C&R, but I didn't notice how hot it was until I was about a third of the way through- then *WHAM*. It didn't stop there though: it got steadily worse and worse. Well played, C&R, well played.

I liked it. Oh, and if you think you're not a pickles person, you'll find that you're going to need the archar: the sweet vinegar-y-ness will help to balance out the heat of the curry and sambal. Which speaks volumes, because archar has chili in it, too.

Flavour-wise, the curry was weaker than Rasa Sayang's, which was a shame. It certainly wasn't bad- far from it. In fact, I found the coconut rice more fragrant and generally tasty at C&R, whereas it was a bit dry at Rasa Sayang. I can certainly in no way fault the portion size: I could only eat half of the mountain of rice, and only a bit of the sambal sauce... although I admit that in the case of the sauce, it was the chili that defeated me. Next time I'll order the Hainanese chicken rice, which I've heard is pretty good- and devoid of chili.

Now, onto the main reason why I came here: the cendol.

How beautiful is that? (I can hear some people going 'err....')

I've written about cendol before in one of my Australiafiles entries. Just to recap, cendol are green pasta-like noodles made from rice, tapioca or mung bean flour, and coloured and flavoured with pandan extract. Pandan is a plant who's leaves are used to make the green extract, and it's used in Southeast Asia like we use vanilla in the West.

See the green things? That's cendol.

Cendol-The-Drink, also spelled Chendol, consists of these green wormy things, with lots of shaved ice and coconut milk, and sweetened with gula melaka (palm sugar) syrup- which is the brown stuff you see in the picture. It's a bit like dark muscavado sugar in taste, and is very, very yummy.

This is the first time I've seen cendol served like this in the UK, if at all: it's sort of hard to come by, here. Before I'd only ever seen it used with ice kacang in a bowl as a dessert, or has red beans and other things added to it- again more like ice kacang. At C&R, they serve it just how I like it in Malaysia: green worms, ice, coconut milk and palm sugar, in a tall glass with a straw.

C&R put cendol on their dessert menu rather than with the drinks in the main menu, but since it's common in Malaysia to have it alongside or instead of a main meal, the waitress didn't bat an eyelid when I ordered it with my nasi lemak. In fact she seemed mildly impressed that I didn't treat it like a dessert.

The cendol was most definitely my favourite part of the meal: it had just the right amount of actual cendol, plenty of ice and not so much gula melaka syrup that it was sickly. Two thumbs up. As a nice little bonus, the ice and coconut milk helped put out the flames from the nasi lemak, so all was well.

I look forward to coming here again, especially to order the cendol (although apparently they do a pretty mean ice red bean drink too, which I'm also quite fond of- which to chose??) C&R is a great little place for affordable food- and a good portion of it too- in London.

They also seemed to have a bar area directly opposite the café, also named C&R. It was closed, but apparently in the evening when it gets busy you get sat in there. I noticed they also had quite a lot of another one of my favourite drinks too, also popular in Malaysia:

Now that's a lot of Milo.

Edgware: The Kitchen

I don't actually often visit the restaurants that are local to me, which is a shame when I think about all the choice there is available- and really I should be supporting my local businesses more. Going out for me is usually more like Going Out: into central London, different cities, even abroad. So it's a nice change to be reviewing a place in 'my territory'.

Where?

Hale Lane, Edgware- literally on the corner of a street called 'The Drive'. Nearest underground station is Edgware Station.

What?

It's a Kosher restaurant with meat dishes and parve (dairy-free) options. Relatively new to Edgware, The Kitchen looks quite unassuming from the outside: grey and brown signs that are too small or coyly placed to be noticed at a distance- almost like the Hollister of the restaurant world (but without pulling it off quite as well as Hollister, I daresay).

Funky fibre optic ceiling- fun, but the overall lighting was a tad too moody.

Nevertheless, it does have enough of a sleek, modern look to it to attract interest- and it must be doing something right because the place is always packed and tables often need to be booked in advance (although this goes without saying for any good, well-known Kosher restaurant). And although The Kitchen is new on the block, it seems word of mouth has given it an instant kick start in popularity with Edgware's Jewish community. In fact, even though I often drive past this place on the way to work, I only really considered visiting it after a recommendation from my grandparents- so my mum, dad and I decided to see what all the fuss was about.

If you've read my previous posts and are now a bit confused about my ethnic background, then yes, I am in fact Jewish, as well as being half Chinese. An unusual mix, granted, and indeed when with either side of my family I feel neither Jewish enough nor Chinese enough- but at least that makes me exotic and interesting (at least I like to think so!)

The menu is very eclectic, from boasting Jewish classics like schnitzel and and salt beef, to general staples like fish and chips, to sushi and even donburi. I instantly knew what I was going to order though: a Caveman Burger. Even the name sounds epic. The menu describes it as: 'Two Prime Beef Burgers with Smoked Goose Breast and Pickles. No Bun.'

Oh, hell yes.

I was even given an epic knife for the epic burger.

This sounded pretty much perfect for me: plenty of protein for me to recharge (I exercise six days a week and Sunday is my resting day), and no bun- which suits me just fine as I often can only manage one half of a bun with burgers these days. When I, a small-ish young woman, ordered it, I could see the silent 'are you sure?' in the waitress' eyes. Portion-wise, when it came, I was not disappointed.

Each burger was nearly the size of my hand.

Remembering Adam Richman's advice from the (awesome) TV programme Man vs Food, I attacked the meat first, knowing that the carby chips would slow me down. Maybe I've picked up one too many tips from that show, because I made the whole thing disappear in record time.

Tash: 1 | Burger: 0

The burger itself was fine- not the best burger I've ever had and not comparable to the burgers of say the Gourmet Burger Kitchen, but then again Kosher meat does have a slightly different texture and taste because of the way its prepared. It was an okay burger none the less, if a bit on the dry side, and packed full of chopped onions for flavour. The goose breast was good- I've never had it before, and I'd describe it now as sort of like pastrami- I cut away the fat though, as you can see in the above picture (as if  that would make any notable dent in the final calorie count...).

The real star of the show, it turns out, happened to be the chips. I chose sweet and sticky chili chips, and they were wonderfully sticky too- but still managed to be crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, with no sogginess whatsoever. Overall it was a good meal and one I'd recommend for the keenly carnivorous- my only real gripe was the serving plate itself, which slid around the table so much I had to wedge my napkin underneath it so I could cut the burger without the whole meal escaping.

I also decided to go American-style and order a chocolate milkshake with my burger. I was a bit apprehensive because I've had some pretty feeble milkshakes in the past, but The Kitchen did not disappoint.

Frothy, chocolaty (despite the pale hue the lighting in this picture makes it look like), not overly sweet and blended with ice-cream while not being too thick. Anyway, back to the food!

Dad had a real Jewish restaurant classic: hot salt beef.

As you can see, they don't skimp on portion sizes here.

Coming with chips, pickles, coleslaw and oodles of sauerkraut, this was another Meal To Be Reckoned With. Feedback from my dad deemed the salt beef good, if again not the best he's ever eaten. But again, on the whole, the meal itself was 'okay', and the chips again were stellar.

Mum ordered Pad Thai. Both mum and I love our noodles and I think we both felt somewhere in our hearts that this was going to be at least a bit of a letdown, Mum being Chinese, born in Malaysia and used to authentic Oriental food. Alas, we were right.

Pad Thai is usually made with flat rice noodles, for a start.

Feedback from Mum deemed it 'okay'. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. She ordered it with chicken as an extra, and having tried a bit I have to say the chicken was lovely. I can't speak for the other Asian-inspired dishes served here, but if you're visiting this place and more experienced with authentic world cuisine, I'd say it's safer to stick to the more classic Kosher restaurant dishes, because it's these that The Kitchen really does justice to. Again, portion size was very generous.

When we were done (Mum and Dad staring at my empty plate in disbelief), the waitress came over with the dessert menu.

(I had to fight my copywriter instincts and not mark accents and an extra 'e' on 'Brule' with a pen)

...

Challenge accepted.

I (and Dad, not being one to be outdone) chose the soufflé. I've never actually eaten a soufflé before, so I was quite excited to try one.

Well, I still haven't eaten a soufflé yet, because what came out wasn't a soufflé.

However I'm willing to let it slide just this once, because it turned out to be something just as awesome: a chocolate fondant.

Chocolate fondant is also known as molten chocolate pudding- a chocolate pudding with an oozing chocolaty centre. Combined with the extra chocolate sauce running into it, the strawberries and the ice-cream, it was perfect. I haven't eaten chocolate fondant in years- I used to make it so often I got very thoroughly sick of it (this was back when I lived with my ex, who was quite a particular eater). I've been meaning to post my recipe for it to Tashcakes! now that I've had a bit of a rest from chocolaty bakes, so if you check back in a few weeks I'll show you how to make them. Anyway, presentation-wise the icing sugar could have been done with a little more care, but aside from that it all looked very pretty on the plate as well as tasting amazing, too. A great end to the meal.

After all of that I probably won't need to eat for another week or so, and I'm suffering a bit for it now as I type. Was it worth it? It most certainly was. Would I do it again? You betcha.

Overall experience:

I generally had a good experience here, but for a few niggles: we'd booked a table for three a week ago, but when we arrived there was no record of us. It took us about ten minutes to be seated, and although we tried out best to be understanding, it got increasingly difficult as we were asked by three different serving staff the same questions ('What name did you book under? When did you book? How many did you book for?') One even asked my dad 'Are you sure you didn't change your name?'

Now I'm sure what she meant to ask was if we'd booked under a different name, on behalf of someone else or something of the like- I hope so anyway- but she phrased it in that more unfortunate manner. Dad, who's always been quick off the mark with quips, remarked 'I'm pretty sure my name hasn't changed in the last fifty or so years.'

There was also an incident at the end of the meal with payment, where something happened with the card machine that ended up with the card being repeatedly rejected- which is fair enough, these things happen- but it took four separate members of staff flapping around and absolutely no explanation as to what went wrong and what was going on before it was decided that using a different card would be quicker.

Having said all of that, the staff were very pleasant, quick and efficient in all other respects. Since it's such a popular place they do have to be on the ball to ensure efficient turnover, so once we were seated we didn't have to wait around to order, for our food to be served and for our plates to be cleared- but at no point did we feel rushed, either. In terms of value it was average leaning towards the pricier side, but at least the portions reflected this.

To conclude, I'd probably visit this place again given the right opportunity- maybe next time I'll take on the massive mixed grill. However I can't say I'd go out of my way to visit again since the food wasn't stellar for the price we paid- I'd say the best things going for this place are the portion sizes, chips and dessert.

Chinatown: Open Air Stall

This wasn't actually 'my food', but my friend Min-Hwee's (as I was too full from jiaozi from the previous entry and I don't eat pork). Alas I don't read Chinese well enough to know the name of the stall if it has one, but it's one of about three hawker stalls in Chinatown at the moment that prepares fresh food in the open air.

Now that's one substantial crepe.

Where?

Soho, Chinatown, right at the end of Gerard and Lisle street where the pagoda is. The nearest tube station is Leicester Square.

What?

 A crepe filled with hot dog, youtiao (Chinese savoury doughnut stick), herbs, an egg, and chili and hoisin sauce. I tried a little bit of the crepe itself and it was very tasty.

This was quite a large amount of food, and only for £3. One of the several bonuses about the stalls (apart from the tasty food) is the value for money you get. I'll write a post about the baozi and egg waffles another time.

I loved watching the lady make it up! It started off like a regular French crepe, then the lady cracked and egg onto the surface and swished it around. She sprinkled some herbs on one side and flipped it over to paint hoisin sauce and chili sauce onto the other side, and then placed the hot dog and youtiao onto the crepe, folding it up and putting it into a paper bag to be eaten (I missed snapping the hot dog part because I was too busy laughing with another onlooker about how she was using a proper digital SLR camera to take awesome pictures, whereas I just had my little Samsung compact camera).

Visit these stalls if you want a substantial snack on the cheap: you won't be disappointed.

Chinatown: Jen Café

I'll say this right away: Jen Café is all about the jiaozi- the Beijing dumplings.

There's usually a lady at the front making fresh jiaozi (the lady under the window with yellow text)

Where?

Situated in Soho right at the beginning of Newport Place, Chinatown, the nearest tube station is Leicester Square. If you're around in Chinatown, look for the pagoda in the square at the end of Gerard Street or Lisle Street and you're there.

It felt a bit weird capturing this pic- usually there are loads of people sitting around it

What?

Like I said, you go here to eat dumplings. Reviews about this place are often pretty mixed when it comes to the service and the other food, but the view on Jen Café's freshly made pork and vegetarian dumplings (and their bubble tea) is unanimously positive. You can pick any other place in Chinatown to have decent noodles, rice and roasted meats, but if you want affordable, fresh and delicious dumplings boiled or fried, you go to Jen Café.

I had vegetarian fried dumplings. Eaten dipped in soy sauce and Chinese vinegar, these were beautifully crispy, pleasingly chewy and full of flavour

Concerning bubble tea, I always, always measure how good a café's bubble tea is by their taro bubble teas- it's my favourite bubble tea flavour. Taro is a type of purple yam, and since I like yams and I love unusually-coloured food, it's pretty much my perfect flavour. It was good but could have had a stronger flavour; I'd say the second-best taro bubble tea I've ever had. The first belongs to a place formerly known as Cafe de Hong Kong, now under the name of Longji, but I'll review that another time. It wasn't at all watery though, which is what I've found with the more disappointing bubble teas I've had.

Bubble tea: a tea, coffee, milky or fruity drink served hot or cold with sweet and chewy tapioca balls (which are the 'bubbles')

The menu isn't huge although it boasts a large range of drinks, but after all this is a café, not a restauraunt.

The service was alright- the ladies got our orders a bit confused but were pleasant enough, contrary to a review I've read where they described the staff as being 'contemptuous'. Not the slickest of systems, but one that works in the end- and certainly worth it for the bubble tea and jiaozi.