Ben Spalding at The Laundry - Original Sin

Wednesday 4th February - Today on the blog: How about some food followed by booze in East London? Because I never write about that.

The Laundry bar and restaurant in London Fields has pinned down popular chef Ben Spalding (Roganic, John Salt, Stripped Back) for a month long residency until 1st March.  Alongside exciting Daytime and Dinner A La Carte menus, there are Tasting Menus on Fridays & Saturdays (4 courses for £32, 7 courses for £49), and special Sunday Roasts.

We popped in early during the soft launch for a look at the evening menu.  There was a great buzz about the room, which quickly filled up with hungry Hackney locals. 

The kitchen is fully open, rather than just a hatch that you can see through, allowing Ben to pop out for a quick hello every now and then.  It would make a great site for a cooking workshop.

Before the starters arrived, we were treated to some sticky, fried Korean chicken pieces, and a generous portion of bread, with butter presented on a Himalayan salt board.  As at The Dairy and The Manor, a couple of amuse bouches and some serious sourdough (or other) are usually good signs of things to come.

Two super starters kept that trend going, though £9 was on the steep side for each.  

- Poached and roasted pink fir potatoes, apricot creme fraiche, sprout leaves, hotdog onions and "Holy Fuck" sauce 

- Fried and runny Burford Brown egg, toasted cashews, medjool dates, 14 month old kimchi, fennel, raw smoked honey 

Ben is known for his inventiveness (see No Rules), and there's plenty on show here.  He masterfully pulls it all together, despite an array of ingredients that could be at odds.  Both plates come highly recommended.

Main courses are an eclectic bunch, with the likes of Lamb Shoulder Ragu, Seaweed Ramen and Pork Belly with Veg all making an appearance.  We opted for two wildly different dishes:

- Black Leg Chicken Broth, Crispy Skin, Flaked Thigh & Breast, Sand Carrot String, and Rice Noodles

- Lasagne of Portland white crab, charred and sweetened Sicilian blood oranges, langoustine sauce flavoured with tarragon

The cutely presented lasagne was full of flavour and a great partner to zingy blood oranges, though we felt a little more pasta would have gone a long way.  The chicken ramen was something else. My lingering January cold was attacked on all fronts by a generous, comforting bowl of noodle soup, with a rich broth that Bone Daddies & Kanada-Ya would be proud of.  Don't miss it.

And to finish off a fun meal, we ordered two playful desserts:

- Warm, aerated malt loaf, crispy sweet pastry, creme fraiche ice cream, burnt caramel ice cream

- Victoria Sponge Cake - a different way...

Both puddings were served in almost liquid form, which worked better for the aerated malt loaf.  I'm not really a fan of Victoria Sponge Cake, so I'm not really sure what I was hoping for, but this wasn't it, especially for £9 (which may have changed by now).  The malt soup was an enjoyable little bowl with texture and colour coming from the crispy sweet pastry topping, but again £8 is a stretch. Hopefully some more solid desserts along the lines of Ben's Sweet Potato Brownie with Stem Ginger Icing, Frozen Cherry and Grated White Chocolate will fill out this section.

Warm, Aerated Malt Loaf, Crispy Sweet Pastry, Creme Fraiche and Burnt Caramel Ice Creams

Deconstructed Victoria Sponge Cake

There's a cracking wine list to pair with the food, and a strong cocktail list featuring the likes of Penicillin, Tequila Old Fashioned, and the inviting Balthazar (Rosemary infused Mezcal, Cynar, Antica Formula).

You've only got a few weeks to enjoy Ben's exciting and imaginative cooking, so stop reading this and book a table.

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For post dinner drinks, we hopped on a bus to Stoke Newington for a second look at the magnificent Original Sin.  I briefly mentioned this Happiness Forgets sequel at the end of 2014 during it's quiet soft launch, but now it's time to shout about it.

Pouring Ribbons, Billy Sunday, Attaboy, Candelaria, Weather Up, Peg & Patriot, Black Hoof, and Dead Rabbit - budge up and make some room.

Alistair Burgess & co. have created one of London's most beautiful bars.  The never-ending, candlelit bar top (with always appreciated coat hooks) sits opposite a long row of cosy booths, encouraging friendly chat between all.  At one end of the room, a moodily lit pool table cries out to be photographed.  See more than a few attempts here - Facebook photo set.

N.B. Original Sin is closed on Mondays

Outstanding cocktails from some of London's finest bartenders will only set you back £7-8. Start with a refreshing Sea Fizz (Mezcal, Cachaca, Lemon, Agave, Salt, Mint and Soda), before getting boozy with a Red Hook (Rye Whiskey, Maraschino, Punt e Mes) or a Handy Dandy (Rye Whiskey, Apple Brandy, Lemon, Grenadine).

Then head over to the pool table with something from the £7 anti-G&T Highballs list.  You'll find me with a 6 Ball (Kamm & Sons, Laphroaig, Lemon, Ginger Ale) but I can also recommend the Grande Bellezza (Cynar, Manzanilla, Lemon, Cane Syrup topped with Mediterranean Tonic) and the Rattle Snake (Calvados, Cyder Vinegar, Lemon, Maple Syrup topped with Tonic).

But don't stop there.  Any bar worth its salt excels itself when you go off menu, and Tara Garnell (Bar Manager) was all over it on our visit.  First there was the moreish Manhattan twist with nutty Amontillado Sherry in place of Sweet Vermouth. A Clover Club-esque Pink Lady and a Calvados Old Fashioned followed, interspersed with some tasters of glorious Chinato Vergano Americano. 

After a week of fighting off a cold with Milk & Honey Penicillins, Tara delivered the finishing blow with a Jimador's Remedy - a twist on the Sam Ross classic with smoky mezcal and tequila replacing Islay whisky and scotch.

Original Sin is the real deal.  Never have I been more tempted to up sticks and move to Stoke Newington.  When The Good Egg arrives later this year, that might just do it.  In case my photos didn't do it justice, here are some truly magnificent shots from the supremely talented Addie Chinn:

Photo Credit : Addie Chinn

Photo Credit : Addie Chinn

Photo Credit : Addie Chinn

Photo Credit : Addie Chinn

Photo Credit : Addie Chinn

Photo Credit : Addie Chinn

Monkey Shoulder Phone Booth - New Angel

Tuesday 29th April - A night out with the Monkey Shoulder Scotch team is never dull.  There were horses, scalectrix races and hay bales at Malt Jockey last March, and cannons, bouncy castles and (literally) tonnes of popcorn at Popcorn Flip in November, so I hastily rearranged my dinner reservation when the monkeys came a calling last week.

Several of us gathered in the Goodge Street branch of London Cocktail Club where Brand Ambassador Grant  Neave, previously Head Bartender at Monteith's Edinburgh, took the opportunity to showcase his new Monkey Shoulder Scotch serves for 2014.  The cocktails included the Illicit Still, Shoulder Shrub and the Blackbird (created with thanks to Ali Burgess at Happiness Forgets). 

The drinks will tour the country during the BBQ Bootcamp Monkey Shoulder Trailer Tour which kicks off 9th-11th May in Liverpool, before making its way down to London on 14th & 15th June and reaching its final stop in Edinburgh on 12th & 13th July.

But that wasn't the only reason we were there...

Inside London Cocktail Club, Monkey Shoulder have sneakily built themselves a "phone booth", complete with a London street lamp, a bespoke barrel icebox,  and plenty of graffiti (which can be added to). Soon, a phone book full of fake adverts will double as a menu, and will light up as you open it.  But best of all, there is a phone attached to the wall which actually serves Monkey Shoulder cocktails out of the receiver. Ridiculous.

The booth is free to book (!) so I would get on the phone (sorry) to London Cocktail Club asap.

Phone that serves Monkey Shoulder cocktails at London Cocktail Club

The scotch:

Monkey Shoulder is a malt whisky blended from three of Speyside's finest single malts.  The name is rooted in malt whisky history and inspired by the malt men who still turn the malting barley by hand. The skill of the malt man is demonstrated when he turns the malting barley using a shiel (wooden shovel).  Years ago, some malt men used to develop a temporary strain known as Monkey Shoulder. Thankfully, practices have changed and the condition no longer exists.  

The cocktails:

Illicit Still

45 ml Monkey, 20 ml cocchi torino, 12.5 ml yellow chartreuse, dash peychaud bitters

Stir and strain into chilled coupe, discarded orange twist

Shoulder Shrub

45 ml Monkey, 50 ml raspberry/sherry vinegar/agave shrub, 20ml rose vermouth

Shake and double strain into old fashioned glass with block ice, garnish w/ seasonal berries

Blackbird

45 ml Monkey, 20 ml wee van rose liqueur, 12.5ml amontillido sherry

Stir and strain into chilled coupe, lemon twist garnish

Monkey Shoulder 2014 serves : Illict Still - Shoulder Shrub - Blackbird

After several of Grant's fine drinks and a lot of messing around with the phone booth (resisting the urge to skip out the unnecessary glassware middleman when using the receiver), Tim, Natalie and I made our way over to The New Angel Notting Hill for a late night feast.  We made use of my new favourite app, Uber Taxi, to speed our way across a tube-struck London for a couple of quid.  Sign up with The List promo code, LTEJ8, to receive £10 credit.

Tucked away in the backstreets of Notting Hill, The New Angel is the latest restaurant from Michelin starred chef (and former I'm a Celebrity... contestant!) John Burton-Race.  

"Set in a converted Victorian pub in Chepstow Place, Notting Hill, The New Angel offers John's unique style of contemporary European food with a French influence and an eclectic wine list in an elegant dining room."

Arwa completed our quartet, and we wasted no time in unanimously opting for the 7 course tasting menu.  The next 3 hours flew by, with the amusing Desiré keeping us well informed as the dishes kept arriving.

We started with Amuse Bouche - Mushroom velouté attractively presented with a moreish parmesan tuile:

Amuse Bouche - Mushroom Velouté w/ Parmesan Tuile

Next up was "Asparagus".  Wye Valley Asparagus is so on trend, it has its own twitter feed.  Here it arrived with leek purée, hollandaise sauce and truffle shavings, similar to a dish at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen last week.  The strong flavours worked well together, though an entire pot of hollandaise was slight overkill!

Wye Valley Asparagus w/ leek purée, hollandaise sauce and truffle

A pretty plate of fish tartar (salmon, tuna and swordfish) followed, with wasabi emulsion, sesame and soy dressing.  The flavours were much subtler here which allowed the fish to do most of the work.

Salmon, tuna & swordfish tartar w/ wasabi emulsion, sesame & soy dressing

Next up, roasted breast of quail, pancetta, quail's egg, baby leaf salad and walnuts dressing.  Plenty going on here, though the baby leaf salad could perhaps have been something slightly more interesting. The gooey quail's egg was greatly appreciated.

Roasted breast of quail, pancetta, baby leaf salad & walnut dressing

My favourite course of the night was the Day boat turbot with cockles, tomato, chilli, coriander and tagliatelle.  Familiar flavours cooked without fuss - I would happily have eaten an extra large plate of this.

Day boat turbot, cockles, tomato, chilli and coriander

The last of the savoury dishes (and Tim's favourite) was a fillet of Scottish beef, with garlic snails, broccoli purée, spinach, and bone marrow & red wine jus.  It was the richest dish in a well paced / judged tasting menu, and the portion was rather generous as was the case all night.

Fillet of Scottish beef, garlic snails, bone marrow & red wine jus

"Pre-dessert" was course #6 (not counting the Amuse Bouche).  3 mysterious lollipops arrived and we attempted to guess at the flavours.  It was a fun interlude after 5 pretty serious courses, and also served as a palate cleanser of sorts.

Mystery "pre-dessert" lollipops

The final course on the menu was "Strawberry" - Gariguette strawberry sable with lemon curd and basil.  As a pesto lover, I couldn't think of a better way to round off the meal.  I might have to try and recreate this one.

Gariguette strawberry sable with lemon curd & basil

Although we didn't stick around for coffee (midnight was approaching), Desiré was kind enough to bring us some Petits Fours - Raspberry Macaroon, Dark Chocolate Truffle & Walnut Ganache were a colourful end to a delightful meal.

Petits Fours

It's obviously not cheap at £75, but Michelin starred chefs and Notting Hill fine dining come at a price! I haven't had too much experience at this end of the restaurant scale, so I won't overanalyse.  The New Angel will no doubt be compared to the 2 Michelin Starred Ledbury nearby, recently voted 10th best restaurant in the world, which has a £110 8 course tasting menu.  We all left happy after a night of confident cooking and excellent service.  

The New Angel officially opens on 7th May. To make your reservation, call 0207 221 7620.

Other exciting recent London restaurant openings: James Lowe's Lyle's, Simon Rogan's Fera at Claridge's, Stevie Parle's Rotorino, Ollie Dabbous' Barnyard, Florence Knight's Polpetto, Nuno Mendes' Chiltern Firehouse, and Jason Atherton's City Social.