The Condiment Queen

Tina, we salute you

Now, I promised the lovely Steve at this brilliant cafe in my teeny neighbourhood that I would review him on tipped, but I havent been blogging much lately (or to be fair, ever) so thought I might do so here first.

Its very simple really - lovely people, great coffee, your name on the wall and an owner who thinks a chocolate croissant is a slice of delectable 80% chocolate inside a croissant (amazing, melt in your mouth chocolate...). She makes London feel less urban, and more of a community whilst simultaneously being good fun and full of tasty treats (did i mention steve makes all the cakes at home). They dont have an oven yet (the lady downstairs isnt keen and its a bit of a faff to begin with when the concept is so clean and perfect as it is) but if things take off we hope that they'll consider it.

Tina, we salute you
47 King Henry's Walk
London N1 4NH 

Puji Puji

Imagine my surprise when tootling along on the 38 bus the other day I saw what looked like umbrellas outside a shop on balls pond road with people drinking refreshing beverages in what appeared to be a bustling restaurant....next to the bathroom supply store.

Being the saddo restaurant fiend that I am I immediately called my husband to tell him we were going to try this place immediately. That was two weeks ago. We’ve been back twice (once for takeaway).

This is the first ‘proper’ restaurant for the family that ran the eponymous satay stand at the now closed down Oriental City. Their claim to the best satay sauce in London may be a bit suspect, given my experiences at Kiasu and on Rupert Court, but the sauces that came with the satay sticks and the one for the gado gado, while different in texture and ferocity, were both excellent. The setup is really around the satay 'bar' and I would recommend both the vegetarian and the lamb versions so far.

I have to say the condiment queen in me was excited by the sticky chilli jam that came with the wonton parcels that my husband had - wish I knew what it was so I could recreate...or maybe I should just ask them next time.

Best dishes so far though were the whole sea bass roasted in banana leaf that came with tamarind sauce and the seriously divine and sticky Aubergine stir fry. Both Nasi Gorengs-  Temak (with yummy crispy anchovy) and 'regular' with satay were good (although I still like the Rick Stein one I make). I don't know so much about Malaysian food but I do know that Nasi Goreng is at least as much Indonesian as it is Malay.

While I usually NEVER have dessert at asian restaurants, I was still a tad hungry the first time we went and the banana fritters went down an absolute treat, despite or perhaps because of the rather budget supermarket ice-cream.

I haven’t had the laksa or a rendang curry yet but plan to on my next two visits. There are some weird missing items for example - there is no rojak on the menu but one of the salads really is that dish which I remember from other Malaysian places.

The only real complaint is that the food is a touch anglicised (e.g. not as spicy as I would like) but the atmosphere compares favorably to Kiasu and the location (for me at least) is unbeatable. So – its good, but not outstanding but cheap and crucially in this city BYO .

If you happen to live in the area its fantastic, but in reality, this place is seriously in the middle of nowhere. This worries me in that I think the food is amazing and the staff really brilliant, but you wonder if they will struggle to survive and I am already an addict. So the upshot is that I wouldn’t necessarily say rush right over if you live south west but if you’re in the general neighborhood (Dalston, DeBeauvoir, Islington), definitely make a small detour to by.

Puji Puji
122, Ball's Pond Road, Islington,

About £10 a head, even if you succumb to the lure of the fritter plus whatever you spend on beer at the costcutter.

Ottolenghi

Am not sure I can compose a proper ode, but finding a way to express my feelings about this place is proving a bit hard. So...

Ottolenghi - How do I love the, let me count the ways
 

1) Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner – you work in different, but fantastic ways for each meal. A la carte breakfasts, with individual toasters for your breads on the communal table. For lunch salads sometimes with meats and quiches. For dinner, small plates of freshly cooked hot dishes and cold salad can be mixed and matched - very trendy, but very appealing

2) Consistency – every time I have ever been, everything is always fresh and delicious. You might occasionally use too much garlic on your vegetables but its all healthy and I secretly don’t really mind that much

3) Seasonality and Variety – lets take Fennel, my favourite vegetable with I have tried in extremes but each variation even more wonderful than the last – with lemon juice, feta (and once some sour cherries) for summer and in the cool of autumn in a gratin with tomatoes

4) Bringing salad to life – with cheese, nuts, fruits and garnishes that confound and delight like buffalo mozzarella & peach salad with pink peppercorns. If I could eat like this every meal I would be a happy vegetarian

5) Bringing to life at home – that your column in the guardian sometimes hints at the new evolution to expect in store and gives insight to your divine philosophy. Its also helped me recreate some favourites

6) Pastry – walking past the window is an almost religious experience. When I first discovered it many years ago I stopped, breathless at the colour swirled mounds of meruinge. The fruit cakes, cheescakes, pastry swirled with prunes and hazelnut, passionfruit curd tartlets, polenta cake, chocolate brownies, granola bars - each one so perfect and tasty that I rememeber them individually (which is a bit pathetic really, but am trying to make a point)

7) Take-away – not only can all lunches be taken away for gorging in private, you can  buy jam & bread too.

8) Catering – yes they do that too….Im thinking Christmas this year.

9) Teaching – your classes at Leiths are on my aforementioned list

10) Beverages - mint tea, coffee, organic wines - in keeping with the theme these too are divine. Maybe one fault here though - no freshly squeezed juice

11) Timelessness – in five years of operation these qualities remain strong and true to form, nothing has been diluted or undercut, you remain in essence just the same

12) You’re a 20 minute walk from my front door

 
Sigh…

Ottolenghi
Upper Street, Ledbury Road, Holland St
London

Akami

Islington would seem to be the natural place for the worlds first Japanese gastropub. This casual Japanese bar & diner opened on the site of the old monmatre on Essex road at the end of October. With an excellent range of Japanese beer on tap, Shochu and Sake (straight or in cocktails) and a selection of hearty home style cooking it looks like a welcome addition to the neighbourhood. 

After an icy wander around Islington's farmers market which was strangely without any of the usual lamb burgers we were absolutely starving. So, to Akami. Its not too close to a tube station and about half way down Essex road opposite the overground. We were pleased, but not impressed by there being only five options for lunch - the evening a la carte posted on the window has a lot more variety and lunch menus are usually additional. But our Oyaki-don (chicken & egg on rice)  and Spicy Pork & Tofu on rice were tasty, hearty and they brought second rounds of tea to fortify us while we paid the bill. There isnt any terriaki chicken here - only a few sashimi and sushi options, although I plan to go back specifically to try the belly pork hand roll. Im  not sure if this place is worth a detour as the food is not totally amazing but it is unusual and I would certainly recommend it for Japan-ophiles.  So if you want Japanese food that is a little more authentic, unusual and tasty Akami will certainly hit the mark.

Akami
196 Essex Road, N1

Around £20 for two for two hot lunches, four cups of tea and some edamame