Secret Supper Club

A friend of ours recently came to London to do a course at Le Cordon Bleu, and got involved in the supper club circuit.  Supper clubs are an interesting development in the food culture of London, being part of a larger movement of ephemeral, underground "experiences".  Like pop-up shops, pop-up cinemas, and pop-up cafes, etc.  Some are marketing campaigns selling niche or limited edition products, some are anti-establishment, and some are just people having some fun.  In our friend's case, it's a combination of having fun and practising for her course :)

They had their first supper club just last weekend, and we figured we'll join in the fun.  It is called La Cuisine Cachee (the hidden kitchen), and was held at the house of one of the organizers' up in Haringey.  The concept was simple---basically a dinner party with a French bistro theme.  We started with champagne in the living room, getting to know each other and admiring the nice decor and garden, then moved over to the dining room where dinner consisted of an amuse-bouch, appetizer, main course and dessert.  This time around it was all french classics, tasty and simple, though it was a lot of work preparing so many dishes for like 10 of us.  Our friend spent the whole of the day prior to the supper club prepping, and half the day itself cooking.  The company was great fun and very amusing and boisterous (perhaps due to the alcohol :) It was a great evening.  

We are looking forward to our next supper club (perhaps La Cuisine Cachee, or a vegan one that one of the guests was considering starting).  Unfortunately the next La Cuisine Cachee is going to be over the Jubilee weekend in June, when we will be off camping, so it will have to be the next next one.

We've had a few experiences of these underground restaurants now.  Back over Christmas we had a great time at a pop-up art installation/restaurant/pantomime called the Pale Blue Door, while just yesterday we tried Bonnington Cafe, which used to be a squatter's cafe but is now a community-operated cafe.  All very interesting and fits well with our sensibilities of local businesses.

**belle peppers**

A purely aesthetic post about our dinner cum lunchbox ! The stuffed peppers were great fun to eat! And what eye candy beside a spicy chinese stir fry.  Stuffing included multigrain rice with nuts and cranberries.  Some people steer clear of peppers as they can have quite a distinct taste .  When it is stuffed,cooked in half a pot of water - its sweetness really cuts through !  Inspired from a fabulous recipe in a turkish cookbook.

Ang moh jia

... or caucasian bites... as S2 affectionately refer whenever it strays from my asian meals....
we snap and blog about interesting food-related episodes as and when we eat/make them.... but there isnt always time to write and upload immediately, so if you are wondering why the sudden influx of blogs.... its actually because we are still clearing the backlog !

A simple cauliflower and cheese bake we made which looks prettier than it is, as it had not firmed up under the cheese and had too much liquid, although the florets were tender and nice.  Something we need to try again. Salad, grown locally in Hackney was fantastic, together with left over crackers bits :)

Our inspirational sources are varied but more often than not, it is determined by 'which food do we need to eat first when it is still fresh?' ... or which ingredient do I have the most of ? It isnt that we keep food for long, but for example, herbs often come in a quantity in excess of what's required, so we look about for different ways to use them, as illustrated by the parsley pesto below.  Brilliant suggestion from River cottage website to stuff it in a ciabatta, we did our best improvising with our half loaf of homemade sourdough and it was great fun to make ! Yummy too! I imagine potential as a great picnic pack!  :)

seabass en papillote

Inspired by Rachel Khoo's cooking show, we made a baked fish parcel dinner.  It is common to use salmon or trout, but we went with what we had, which was a frozen sea bass, which needed thawing.  It was seasoned simply with lemon zest, olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper.  As advised, we used vegetables with a low water content and improvised with carrots, leeks and fresh white mushrooms.

Papillote retains alot of the fish's natural oils and juices, while gently flavouring the vegetables too!  A quick simple fuss free meal.... plus its like opening a present :)

Tie it, bake it, eat it, and fold it away ! No plates for washing !

          

California cuisine 3

We chanced upon this restaurant while out walking about town one night.  Its exterior was simple, but the michelin man on the notice board had caught S2's eye, and upon a quick glance, it turns out that this is a VEGAN establishment! HurrraH!!!!!   There is a very deep and enormous delight, when one finds a place whereby everything on the menu is available to eat, and not have to be limited to [v] signs... 

After vegging (and pescatarian-ing) up to my 11th year now, S2 has mellowed from her carrot evangelism.  She is at peace with the choice that everyone makes, and is grateful for being fortunate enough to have a choice to abstain from certain foods...( well in more impoverished countries, you eat what you can get your hands on...)   So it was with much interest that we stepped into Cafe Gratitude ...

The ethos, setting and ambience of the place was warm and relaxed. Though I agree that we can certainly afford to be more grateful for our meals, and the way it is grown, harvested, delivered and marketed to us; the fact that this joint is unabashedly grateful, so much that I feel somewhat uncomfortable.  The hippie values are everything I resonate with, but still, the fact that they expound it and make it a theme for the entire concept and restaurant is well... a very big and brave move (verging on unreal ?)  So yes, when M2 took out his laptop to download an important attachment, I thought the waiting staff may whisper quietly requesting we squirrel that piece of technology away... Or the other diners may frown unapprovingly in our direction... neither happened, phew! And so we got to taste the commendable food.  Though vegan, I am not a big fan of raw food, but since it is a speciality, I was game!  We were pleasantly surprised at how refreshing and delicious it was and really inspired by their inventive vegan dishes!  We loved all 3 of the dishes ordered, but oooh! the desert is a topper !  Especially since S2 is such a super duper GOJI girl ! 

I AM ALIVE! Raw Pizza: Sunflower seeds,onions and buckwheat sourdough flatbread,
Topped with Pesto, fresh and sun dried tomatoes, cashew ricotta and
brazil nuts parmesan, with a side salad.  

I AM WHOLE! A warm grain bowl of steamed quinoa, with green kimchee, shredded kale,
sea vegetable, carrots and pea shoots laced with a salsa verde.

I AM {ELATED}! Raw carrot GOJI layered cake made with Almond flour,
carrot and goji berries, coconut cream, irish moss and agave syrup.

We are thankful for our good health, that we may have hearty appetites and walk to find food, for our 5 senses, that we may savour them in everyway, and most of all, for the people who prepared our food.  Khop Jai Lai Lai. .... not to mention the cute waiter with smoky eyes too!

Californian cuisine 2

The choices of cuisine in California are very diverse!  Depending on which neighbourhood you are in, (if there is a predominant ethnic group living there..) you will find pretty authentic local fare !  So, we also took the opportunity to dip our palates into this cosmopolitan mix in Berkeley.   

Saul is a traditional American Jewish Deli, typical of the ones you would see in New York.  We had a simple meal of the 2 dishes you see below.  This was for a bit of nostalgia, after a special meal we had in the big apple a decade ago! S2 has not had much exposure to Jewish food, but is struck by how similar it is to middle eastern/mediterranean food here, in this case.  The pickled gherkin appetisers were lovely!  

                                                                          

 Cafe Culture!  Coffee and work.  Many cafes here open early at 7am or so, to provide a cuppa for those on their way to an early start! By 9am, the cafes can be jam packed, full of people who filter in and out between a cuppa and typing away on their laptops!  A small independent establishment: Guerilla Cafe serves a mean poach egg and full breakfast ! Lovely coffee, teas and staff. I love the ambience of the place and all their "number tags" feature a revolutionary figure in history that they pay hommage to.  And yes! of course they have a changing art display on their walls :)

 M2 fondly led S2 to this tiny Brazilian shack at a road junction close to UCB campus along University Ave.  We were lucky to have a seat as that is a luxury! according to Yelp! reviews, long queues and curbside eating is not uncommon!  Although their specialities are all meat based( popular favourites are the tri-tip sandwiches), they do have huge portions of salads! Fresh, simple and delicious- pickled peppers, lettuce, tomatoes, rice and cilantro sauce was awesome !!! mmmm......and mango smoothie !

Brazil Fresh Squeeze Cafe! Pedro Rawks !