The Crooked Well

The Crooked Well, Camberwell

The Crooked Well is a new restaurant just off Camberwell Grove in South East London, and the latest addition to my list of favourite local restaurants. I first heard about this restaurant from a work colleague, who visited the restaurant when it first opened in June. He liked the food so much that he could not stop bugging me to try it out. His suggestion was later confirmed by food critic Jay Rayner here, so I decided to pay a visit.

We got our dinner booking for 9pm on a Saturday night, the restaurant was packed when we arrived. The actual dining area is not big, it is decorated with chic wallpaper and a modern fireplace, but food is also served in the bar area. 

We were spoiled for choice with the menu, there were seven dishes to choose from for each course, and on top of that there were one special and two sharing main dishes, not to mention the homemade ice cream and selection of cheeses! The restaurant also does a ‘Cocktail of the Day’ from the bar, the one I had was bursting with fresh blackberries.

Pork belly, tuna creme fraiche, capers and gremolata. I did not expect a cold starter, but it was a lovely surprise as the chilled fat in the thin slices of pork belly worked perfectly with the sourness from the capers and lemon from the gremolata. The tuna creme fraiche stuffing was quite subtle, the fishiness came through nicely without being overpowering.

Squid ink risotto, sauteed scallop, salsa rossa. The combination sounded lovely on the menu, however it was let down by the execution. The scallops were cooked but not caramelised on the outside, they had gone a bit mushy, a sign that they may have been cooked in a under-heated pan, and started to boil in their own juice. The risotto was overcooked, with no bite to the rice at all. Saying that, there was a big group starting their meals at a similar time to us, I could imagine how stressful the kitchen was. 

Roast venison, braised red cabbage, celeriac puree. The venison was very tender, cooked to a beautiful pink in the middle. Celeriac puree was silky smooth, it made me remember why classic combinations like this never go out of date.

Pork cutlet, olive oil mash, apple puree, gremolata and scratchings. It was definitely one of the most popular dishes that night, as I kept seeing them flying out of the kitchen. It was a generous piece of charred pork cutlet, I could see the slightly pink meat on the bone, it was delicious.

It was nearly 11pm by the time we finished our mains, and we were well fed by the hearty portions so we did not order any dessert. Although my starter was not ideal, we enjoyed our meal at The Crooked Well a lot. Judging by the standard of the other dishes we had, I am willing to believe it was a one off. I was very pleased to see such a good restaurant on my door step, I cannot wait to try out all the other exciting dishes! Probably on a Sunday afternoon so I only need one meal that day :)

The Crooked Well

Mexican munchies

I know it may sound a bit ignorant, but it is true that I had not tried proper Mexican food before. Growing up so far away from North America (Hong Kong), I had hardly any exposure to the cuisine from that part of the world. Even after living in the UK for ten years, I think I had only eaten in one of the high street chains a couple of times. When we were planning a trip to NYC, my husband suggested to me that we should try some proper Mexican food. To be honest, I was not convinced, what was so special about it? Isn’t it just some soggy tortillas covered in cheese? Let’s find out...

Barrio Chino

As you might have guessed from the name, this restaurant is not far from China Town, in the Lower East Side. I liked this place as soon as I walked in - the open dining area, the Chinese portraits hanging on the exposed brick walls, the red lanterns and the liquor filled bar, very casual yet cosy.

It was our first dinner in NYC, so we arrived at the restaurant pretty early in case the jet lag kicked in - just in time to take the last table by the window! But in case you have to wait, I heard that the trick is to go to the Ten Bells bar next door, they have one dollar oyster happy hour from four to seven most days.

We started with two refreshing drinks - a fresh grapefruit margarita and a light rum mojito.

Ceviche de camaron - cured prawns in lime juice with tomatoes, onions, and coriander. This eye catching dish was presented in a high sundae glass, filled with exciting fresh ingredients. The acidity of the sauce was just right, and it was also a perfect dip for the crispy homemade tortillas.

Arrachera - grilled marinated skirt steak with avocado, coriander and onion. Pieces of soft avocado and chunks of smoky grilled steak loosely folded in a tortilla, simply delicious.

Ensalada de calamari - grilled squid salad with sesame vinaigrette. I loved the caramelisation of grilled squid, which was a good balance with the salad and the dressing. A very decent portion too!

Enchiladas verdes - green enchiladas stuffed with shredded chicken, topped with melted oaxacan cheese, black beans and queso fresco. The sauce was surprisingly light, and totally different from any enchiladas I had tried before. The whole dish was gently seasoned with salt and pepper, and then topped with Mexican soft cheese to give an extra flavour. I had found my Mexican version of comfort food.

Barrio Chino

La Esquina

This place is famous for its secret underground restaurant, which only opens in the evening. It is yet another place which is so popular that the booking phone line is constantly engaged, and you have to make a reservation three weeks in advance. But besides the restaurant, there is also a take-out and a cafe on the street level open for lunch and dinner. We were not able to get into the restaurant, so we went for the cafe instead.

Opposite to Petrosino Square is a converted diner with a bright sign saying ‘Corner Deli’, and the take-out of La Esquina is located right under the sign, serving freshly made Mexican classics like burritos and tacos. The entrance of the cafe is around the corner from the take-out, on Lafayette street. The white wooden furnishings and book shelves give this cafe a relaxing and laid back atmosphere.

I like the varied menu, ranging from simple salad, Mexican street sandwiches, and tacos to more hearty dishes like roast chicken. This is what we had...

A refreshing passion fruit margarita to start.

Tostadas de cangrejo - crab meat, mango, chipotle mayo. When I looked at the menu, I did not expect to see such a big lump of crab meat. The mango came through subtly, together with the mayo made this a perfect start of our meal.

Ellotes callejeros - grilled local corn. This is really the BEST grilled corn in the world. The corn is brushed with mayonnaise while grilling, then topped with chili pepper and Cotija cheese. It is not the standard sweet corn and mayo combination, the smokiness from the grill and the saltiness from the cheese, and the kick of the chili pepper, giving wave after wave of flavour.

Pescado - grilled skewered market fish, shredded cabbage, red onions, salsa verde.

Bistec - char-grilled skirt steak, charred onions, cilantro, salsa de chile de arbol

I loved the flaky fish served on skewers. The beef taco was charred beautifully, although I would have liked it with a bit of sauce or with avocado like the one we had in Barrio Chino.

La Esquina

I truly enjoyed both Mexican meals we had in NYC. They were exciting, delicious and most importantly, they changed my view of Mexican food forever. It is a bold statement, but I am quite confident that you could not find anything vaguely similar in Hong Kong. Apparently there are a few good Mexican places in London, now I cannot wait to check them out!

The irresistible USDA Prime

If you are vegetarian, turn away now! This post is about our steak-hunting journey in NYC. If you have read my last post, you will know that our trip was badly affected by Hurricane Irene. We had made a dinner reservation at BLT Prime, but unfortunately the restaurant had to cancel our table due to unforeseen damage that the hurricane might cause. The restaurant had to put their staff’s safety first, which was the right thing to do.

This was bad news to a meat-lover like me, the steak dinner was supposed to be the perfect ending to our trip. With only two days left in NYC and no public transport available, we desperately phoned up every single steakhouse within walking distance from our hotel, hoping to get a lunch booking before the hurricane hit. Like BLT Prime, most of the steakhouses had decided to close due to staff shortages. We finally got through to Wolfgang’s Steakhouse in Tribeca, who said they would try to open for lunch, but that could change at the last minute.

It was a cloudy and windy morning, most of the shops were closed, with only few tourists wandering around. We arrived at the steakhouse at noon, all I could see was an empty restaurant, and some builders boarding up the windows to prepare for the strong winds. My heart sank, as I thought ‘Is this open?’...

But IT WAS! We were greeted by a very friendly waiter, who explained to us that there was only one chef working in the kitchen, so the food might be slow. He also apologised for the noise from the builders boarding up the windows, but I actually found it quite amusing because we pretty much had the whole restaurant to ourselves. The daylight sort of diminished throughout the lunch, which made us feel like we were in one of those disaster movies.

Moving on to the food, USDA prime is always my favourite kind of steak (after wagyu). In America, they take their steaks seriously, so most of the steakhouses have their own aging room. We ordered steak for two, a portion of broccoli and steak fries. The steak was served on a hot, sizzling plate. It was already cut into bite-size pieces when it was brought to our table. The waiter carefully placed it in front of us, then spooned the butter and meat juice on top of the meat. By that time, I was already drooling all over the place...

We requested the steak to be cooked medium-rare, it came exactly how we like it. It was very tender, although I would have liked it more charred on the outside. The sides were good too - crunchy vegetables and crispy fries. I did find the table sauce a wee bit too sweet, which slightly overpowered the steak itself.

We enjoyed our meal in Wolfgang’s Steakhouse very much, the warm welcome from the staff made all the difference. Even though they were short of staff, they still went out of their way to accommodate us. I am glad the hurricane is over now so they can back to a full house every day.
Wolfsgang's Steakhouse

Our second meat feast was at the well-known Peter Luger steakhouse in Brooklyn. We decided to go there after we found out that we had two extra days in NYC. It was almost impossible to get through on the phone, but we managed to secure a lunch booking after trying for a couple of hours.

It was our second time visiting Peter Luger steakhouse, we had high expectations of this meal, because we were blown away by our first visit. The operation was exactly like three years ago, a waiter came to greet us casually, made some jokes then brought us the menu, together with a beautiful looking bread basket and the famous Peter Luger sauce.

We ordered a rib steak, a single steak and a portion of creamed spinach. We were not disappointed. The rib steak was perfectly charred on the outside, it was crispy and full of flavour. Judging by the colour of the meat (and the taste), it was probably more marbled than the one we had in Wolfgang’s. The single steak was a sirloin steak, it was also cooked nicely, although it was not as tender as the rib steak. The sauce was delicious, it tasted a bit like a mixture of ketchup, Worcester sauce and horseradish. The smokiness and sweetness together with the acidity of the sauce went perfectly with the steak.

Peter Luger Steakhouse

There is no doubt about the quality of the meat we had in both steakhouses, it would be hard to find something of a similar standard in London. The best I can think of is Goodman Steakhouse, but in my opinion, it is still a long way behind what we had in NYC. I will just have to wait until next time for my fix of USDA prime!

New York, New York

New York City - the city that never sleeps, which was true until hurricane Irene hit the city on 27th August 2011. We had planned a long weekend break in NYC during the August bank holiday, it only occurred to us that the hurricane would be so serious after we landed.

On the day the hurricane hit NYC, the whole of Manhattan was like a ghost town, no Metro, no buses, no shops/restaurants open. On top of that, our home bound flights got cancelled.  We were stuck in the hotel for two days, fortunately we managed to rebook our flights for two days later. Despite all the drama, we did not let it beat us down. In fact, we were determined to make the most of the time we had, and to eat as much as we could!

Here are the highlights...

Ippudo
Ippudo is a ramen chain which started in Fukuoka, Japan. The owner, Shigemi Kawahara, opened his first restaurant in 1985, specialising in Tonkotsu (pork bone) ramen. I went to the very original restaurant in Fukuoka a few years ago, and that was the best ramen I had ever had, so since then I always try to go to one of the Ippudo branches whenever I go to Japan.

This was our very first meal of this trip to NYC. Knowing that the average queuing time is around one hour (up to two hours at peak times), we decided to get there at opening time on a weekday.

Visiting Ippudo NYC was a trip down memory lane – I miss the rich and thick pork bone soup, slices of melt-in-the-mouth char shu , the perfect nitamago (boiled egg with runny egg yolk) and the bouncy egg noodles.

From left to right: Shiromaru char shu, Karaka men

There was a nice surprise too, the Hirata buns! They are steamed buns filled with pork or chicken to your choice. We had the pork ones. The buns were so light and soft, and the pork was slow cooked to the point where the whole thing just disappeared in your mouth without chewing.

Dear Kawahara san, open Ippudo in London please! Ippudo NYC

Shake Shack

If you have been to New York but you have not heard of Shake Shack… you are missing out! It is a chain restaurant serving America's much loved burgers, hot dogs and frozen custards (i.e. ice cream), all made from local ingredients.

The ordering was easy, pretty much like a usual fast food chain - order, pay, collect. You also get a device which vibrates when your food is ready for collection. The wait was a bit long, we ordered two Shack burgers, a portion of fries and a peanut butter shake, which took around fifteen minutes. Probably because it was all cooked to order.

The potato bun was sweet and moist. It was quite a bit smaller than the one you get in the GBK in the UK. I always enjoy the meat more than the bun anyway, so it was a perfect size for me! The shake was heavenly. The first thought that came to my mind after the first mouthful was ‘anything this rich and tasty is bound to be bad for you!’. Although that thought disappeared pretty quickly :)

Shake Shack

Luke’s Lobster

‘Voted best lobster roll in NYC’ - written on the sign in front of the East Village branch. That was the reason we were here.

Fresh lobsters are fished, steamed and picked before being transported from Maine to NYC daily. The lobster roll is served in a lightly toasted top-split bun, together with butter, mayo, lemon juice and secret spices. Did I say that only lobster claws are used in the roll? There are around five to six claws in each roll. The lobster-to-bun ratio is amazingly high! Every bite was full of fresh and succulent lobster meat, it was really the best lobster roll!

Besides lobster, they also have crab and shrimp rolls. Next time when I go to NYC, I will definitely try the ‘Noah’s Ark’, which contains one of each roll, crab claws, chips and drinks.
Luke's Lobster

Caracas Arepa Bar

Situated right next to Luke’s Lobster is the Venezuelan restaurant Caracas. Since its opening in 2003, it has been a local favourite for authentic arepas. We were there for dinner on a weekday, the wait was about forty minutes. Many people (including us) went next door to get a lobster roll during the wait, which helped the time to pass easily :)

Arepa is a ‘pita-like bread’ made from corn flour. It is first fried until golden on the outside, then baked to finish. The crispy arepa is cut in the middle to form a spongy pocket, which is then filled with different types of exotic ingredients such as plantain or black beans. There are fourteen kinds of fillings to choose from, each interestingly named to characterise the main ingredient.

Los Muchachos - Grilled chorizo, spicy white cheese with jalapenos and sauteed peppers.  

La Playera - Shredded white fish garnished with onions, peppers and herbs.

We also ordered a ‘side kick’ called Tostones Mochimeros - Fried green plantains topped with mojito mayo, a squeeze of lemon and white cheese. My previous experience with plantain was rather disappointing, as it was rather soggy. But this was spot-on, and the mayo was a perfect accompaniment.

Caracas Arepa Bar

Tomoe Sushi

It was the evening after a big lunch in the Peter Luger steakhouse (post coming soon!), we wanted something light, so we thought sushi would be a good idea. Tomoe is located on Thompson street, which is very close to New York University. There are quite a few reasonably priced restaurants and bars in the area for the student population.

We all know that the portions in America are quite a bit bigger (I’d say around 50%) than they are here in the UK. But I would have thought that sushi could not be much bigger right? I could not have been more wrong... we ordered a sushi deluxe, which consisted of seven nigiri, two gunkan, yaki-tamago (grilled egg) and 2 kinds of tuna roll. The size of the tuna on the nigiri was almost as big as the palm of my hand! The minced tuna filling of the rolls was bursting out, I could barely see the rice. I have to say the quality of the fish was superb, very fresh and delicate.

My favourite - Uni temaki (sea urchin handroll)

Prawn tempura. The batter was light, exactly how it should be.

Tomoe Sushi

New York certainly has a lot to offer - sight-seeing, fashion, nightlife, etc. But most of all, it truly is a food paradise, with tempting restaurants on literally every single block. It was surreal to see the empty streets when the hurricane hit the city, I am so glad that we could see it come to life again. Let’s hope it will never go to sleep again... at least not when we are visiting!

Please also check out the other two posts on Mexican food and steakhouses in NYC.