Duck and Waffle

Happy New Year, peeps! Now that the festivities are over and we're back to our usual (grumpy) selves, let's rewind back a few weeks to the Friday before Christmas, when I met up with the Bake Club crew for an apocalyptic meal at Duck and Waffle. We decided on the venue purely because of it's status as London's highest restaurant - a good view of the proceedings is necessary if you're watching the world end.

Getting up to the venue was akin to being in a SuperMario game - first you have to get past the scary dragon (a Jonathan Ross-alike doorman without the rhotacism but armed with an enormous clipboard), then board the lift for the flight up to the 40th floor (rather exciting and earpopping), then get looked up and down by a black-clad, sylph-like figure, before finding your way through the labyrinth (of tables and much too cool and shiny diners) and finally ending up at the table where the rest of your motley crew awaits. Don't forget to collect your mushrooms on the way!

Spicy ox-cheek doughnut with apricot jam

Raw scallop with apple, lime and black truffle

Carlingford rock oysters served with lemon, Tabasco sauce and red wine vinaigrette 

Rosemary and garlic bread

Let us start with the starters. We were intrigued by the ox-cheek doughnut, which isn't something you see on menus everywhere. I don't remember much about the taste of the meat itself, except that it was tender and went very well with the sweet jam. I must try and seek out ox-cheek more often. The sliced scallop came beautifully presented on a block of pink Himalayan salt. However, the apple that came with the scallop was bland and had the texture of styrofoam. Styrofoam - good for finishing up school projects, not so much for eating. Fotunately, the generously-sized oysters helped redeem the seafood section's pride. Bread...I don't remember much about you, except that you looked like a focaccia and was nicely chewy.

Cornish fish stew - fish of the day with baby vegetables

Angus burger with Gruyere, onion jam and chips

I didn't taste the Angus burger, although the general reception from the others seemed to have been positive, so if you're the type who goes for burgers, go for it. It's probably a good choice. The fish stew was the priciest item on the menu, but was bountifully filled with fish and vegetables. I intend to revisit the place just so I can order it and have it all to myself.

Duck and waffle - confit of duck leg, waffle, duck egg and maple syrup

And now to the eponymous duck and waffle dish - a confit of duck leg, served with a waffle, fried sunny side  up duck egg, and ranekin of maple syrup. The skin was salty and crispy, just the way I like it. However, my enthusiasm was slightly dampened when I discovered the meat wasn't fall-off-the-bone tender. In fact, a knife had to be used to encourage it off the bone! (I know...how devastating.) My preference is towards a fork-tender confit - it means much less work for the lazy and is also much easier to handle for the clumsy. The egg was perfectly cooked though, and went nicely with the waffle and maple syrup. I've actually been thinking of getting myself a waffle iron after that meal, just so I can breakfast on fried eggs and maple syrup. It seems like it might be just the right meal for lazy weekend mornings.

Also, here's a view of the kitchen if you fancy that sort of stuff. Their waitstaff are generally on the goodlooking end of the spectrum, if that sort of thing interests you. You eat with your eyes, and all that...

Duck and Waffle

Heron Tower

110 Bishopsgate

London EC2N 4AY

English's Of Brighton

A visit to Brighton isn't complete without some seafood, and we certainly indulged in our fair share while there. Manbacon and I had made a reservation for a table at English's of Brighton, but on a wintry Sunday night, there was more than enough space. We were one of only four couples dining at the restaurant that night (and the only ones under 35!). 

The cosy dining room has a lovely fin de siecle feel to it, with it's many mirrors and Toulouse-Lautrec-style paintings on the walls. It gets much narrower at the back, with red velvet banquettes lining the walls, and narrow little tables in front. The space is so tiny that guests have to sit side-by-side instead of facing each other. It was comfortable enough while we were there, with one other couple sitting diagonally across us (the table on the left in the photo above). However, I imagine it would get terribly claustrophobic on busy days, and you'd be trying to eat with someone else's elbow wedged into your shoulder.

Starter of brown bread, butter and mackerel pate

We started with a small basket of brown bread accompanied by butter and mackerel pate. It was tasty but not particularly memorable. The pate wasn't very mackerel-y tasting, just sort of a smoothly blended lump of fish paste.

Seafood platter - two levels of oysters, clams, mussels, prawns, crab and lobster

As you can see, we decided to splurge on the cold seafood platter - a massive two tiers of boiled prawns, mussels, clams, dressed crab, potted shrimp, lobster and raw oysters, as well as some smoked salmon on toast. The platter was accompanied by several lemon wedges, as well as a little ramekin of mayonnaise. 

Smoked salmon on bread, part of the seafood platter

Cthulhu arises from the deep

The platters are fairly expensive, but then again, you get a LOT of food. Most of the shellfish was wonderfully fresh and succulent, and the oysters were generously sized. My only (very slight) gripe was that the prawns were fairly dry and overcooked. The potted shrimps were encased in loads of butter, so much so that even butter-loving Manbacon had to give up after a couple of bites. We should have used the toast supporting our smoked salmon as a base for the potted shrimps, but we're always so much wiser in hindsight, arent' we? 

Dressed crab, partially undressed

Panna cotta on spiced fruit compote

There was no stomach space left for dessert at the end (in fact, Manbacon insisted he didn't want any - foolish human) but I managed to conjure up a second stomach to fit it in. I opted for the panna cotta, served with a spiced fruit compote, and suddenly Manbacon decided he could find some space for dessert, after all. It was a lovely, light end to the meal - the creamy treat slipped down very easily, and managed to leave me feeling refreshed for the short walk back to our hotel.

English's of Brighton

29-31 East Street

Brighton

BN1 1HL

Scallop Week

Scallops with lime and dill, and minted potatoes at The Standard Inn

Hey guys, it's Scallop Week this week over in Rye! Mancreature and I made our way down there this past weekend for a short break, and to eat our fill of scallops. Those buggers were HUGE! Our first scallop meal was at The Standard Inn, where we ended up waiting about 45 minutes for a meal that was, unfortunately, alright at best. The scallops weren't exactly bad, but they were just cooked a tad too long and ended up being slightly rubbery. The potatoes, on the other hand, were pretty much perfect.

Tip: If you do find yourself waiting close to an hour for food here, head to the right hand corner by the fireplace, where there's a healthy stock of board games to keep you entertained. That's where I found out that there was a Lord of the Rings boardgame. 

Scallops with tangerine (and possibly onions?) and potatoes, and some kind of mash, also at The Standard Inn

We stayed on lovely little Cadborough Farm and walked through countryside while getting chased - albeit very, very slowly - by a couple of cows. 

 I bought myself a gorgeous old mini-accordion, which we took with us on our walk to Camber Castle. The castle was deserted, so we took turns playing it and pretending to be wandering minstrels of yore. 

Before we left, we feasted on another meal of big, fat juicy scallops, this time at The Old Bell. We were starving, so ordered a started and a main each - that's four dishes between the two of us. Which wouldn't normally have been crazy, but we had no idea that the starters would be the size of a main. And the mains? Well, you know how you sometimes get a huge plate, with bits of food scattered around  and plenty of empty space, in an attempt at 'presentation'? The chef here had probably never heard of that word, because the plate was FILLED WITH FOOD! And very tasty food at that, although I had to admit defeat halfway through and give up on the lovely, crispy potato chunks. 

 Starter: Wild boar pate with toasted bread, chutney and butter, and salad. This was mine, The Manbeast had whitebait and salad.

 Scallops with pork belly, savoy cabbage and potatoes.

 Scallop and chorizo, with vegetable tempura and potatoes.