Fish n Chips

To wrap up on our time in London, we also experienced some good ol' Fish and Chips among some other really delicious eats. My cousin brought us to this cute restaurant overlooking the canal called The Summer House.

The Summer House

We were on the hunt for some really good fish and chips since the only one I have had so far was at work and horrible. The one from the Summer House was much improved but the batter did get soggy quickly.

Fish and Chips @ Summer House 

Fish and Chips @ Work

So actually, my husband ordered the F&C. I had the fish cake. It was decent - like a crab cake but the fish version.

Fish Cake

My cousin ordered the special of the day - monkfish with scallops. I would say her dish was probably the best. The mild flaky fish was deliciously cooked and so were the scallops (though not better than Mr. Ramsay's).

Monkfish and Scallops

Lastly, we finished off with dessert the Eton Mess. This delightful dessert had strawberries layered in with fresh cream and bits of meringue. It was my first time having this dessert, and was quite a lovely one. A little out of order, but we also got the Strawberry-Ade (yes a mocktail)... omg so good! ... fresh strawberries, strawberry puree, pineapple juice with a hint of lemon topped off with cream soda.

Cheers!

"Wow... wow wow wow! Stunning!"

...The words of Gordon Ramsay, famous Brit chef who made huge successes not just in the UK but in America. After finishing the final episode of Masterchef season 4 just last week, I made it my goal to try his Michelin star restaurant in London this weekend. I had the pleasure of my cousin and her husband's company while enjoying a decadent dinner at Pétrus. Mr. Ramsay along with his head chef and staff pulled it off for sure with a masterful French experience (obviously he wasn't there... probably too busy in the US filming his next episode of Masterchef season 5 or Kitchen Nightmares).


As with any Michelin star-rated restaurant, I was prepared to pay a fortune which indeed it was. Regardless, it was Michelin star-rated so you either have to go big or go home and I have to say it was well worth it. We went for the Chef's Menu, a 5 course dinner with a nice bottle of Sancerre Jadis, an aromatic variety of Sauvignon Blanc.

Right when we were seated, we were served some small little bites as a pre-starter. Unfortunately, I can't really tell you what it was, but there definitely was truffle in there somewhere. Probably in lame man's terms they would be tiny egg rolls and cream sandwiches, which obviously they weren't. Whatever it was, it was delicious! They were creamy, savory bites of heaven.

We got a lot of complimentary extras because the next pre-starter was a red beet gazpacho topped with a cream and served in a clear cup that had a domed bottom. It was light and sweet, very delicious. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get a good picture of this.

Course #1:
Ballotine of Landes foie gras with semi dried grapes, green beans and hazelnut crumble
Usually I am not a huge fan of foie gras due to its overwhelming flavor and creaminess unless if it's made well. This one was made well, very well! The rich flavor was balanced by the sweet semi dried grapes and the crunch of the thinly sliced french beans and hazelnut created lightness and contrast to the texture. It could not have been executed better.


Course #2:
Pan-fried sea scallops with cauliflower, anchovy and caper, lemon beurre noisette
Wow! These sea scallops were 'stunning'! First of all, the sear on the scallops were amazing with a light brown crisp to the edges and soft almost rare center made these sea medallions just melt in your mouth like butter. The flavors of the anchovy, capers and lemon was just the right amount of acidity to balance out the slight fishyness of the scallops.

Course #3:
Roast duck breast with confit leg and granola, spring onion and szechuan pepper jus
The duck break was perfect sliced along the edge of the plate and was a nice medium-rare. It was another melt-in-the-mouth experience. You already have the excellent flavor of duck saturating your taste buds, paired with the spring onion and szechuan pepper jus added a little bit of fresh punch to the sensorial experience.



Course #4:
Blackcurrant sorbet with lemon meringue and champagne foam
This was so light in texture yet so packed in with flavor from the naturally dark blackcurrent balanced with the lemon and a hit of tang from the champagne foam.

This last course could have been counted as a sort of palate cleaner, but oh no... we got a cute little white chocolate mousse in a tiny cone as the real palate cleanser before moving on to the final dessert course.


Course #5:
Chocolate sphere with milk ice cream and honeycomb

This dessert was a lot of fun. It came out as a chocolate ball made of hard shell floating in a moat of cream and floating on an island of crunchy honeycomb. A hot chocolate fudge was then poured over the chocolate ball causing a crack to the shell and a slow hot melt. It was all so rich and chocolatey but very good. I can see anyone obsessed with rich chocolate falling in love with this one.

The final draw was a small white chocolate sphere on a little plastic toothpick served on gurgling bowl of smoking liquid nitrogen to finish it all off. Lastly, a nice surprise to my cousin on a huge milestone birthday. Celebrating 3 decades to an amazing lady! Happy belated!!

The Great Brilliance of Sunny Days

This weekend was absolutely gorgeous! Like stunningly amazingly beautiful! This is the first time I have seen blue skies and warm weather since I got here about 2 weeks ago. The sun does shine here and when it does it's wonderful!

A colleague at work had a BBQ party on Saturday in his gorgeous penthouse flat. He had a grill setup on his balcony which overlooks an old church and cemetery. It might sound a bit creepy, but it actually was really nice and quite peaceful. These gravestones look like they were from centuries ago. I didn't get to stop to read what it said... well, maybe I was a little scared to get too close. It was nice to get together with some people at work to get to know them a little better outside of 9 to 5 on the weekdays. They seem like a fun bunch!

Sunday was another powerful church day at Leicester City Vineyard Church. I really love the people, the shared love and the messages there. It's so amazing how everyone is so welcoming and eager to pray for you. Although, I have to say that I did have an awkward moment when praying with a couple other ladies and not realizing they were done because I didn't hear an "Amen". I still stood there with my eyes closed for another like 5 minutes... oooops! Queen of Awkward here. Regardless, it was really good and having people to pray with is so needed. Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst."

I'm feeling good from another nice weekend here in England. I still miss my husband and home
like crazy though. Seeing this note he left in my wallet made me smile from ear to ear and tear up a bit. He will be visiting in 2 weeks!!! Start the countdown now!