Once Upon a Time in Bray

A couple weeks ago was my birthday and as a present for myself I decided to book a table at one of the world’s best restaurants and three Michelin stars The Fat Duck. Finally I was going to be able to try the creativity and vanguard cuisine of Heston Blumenthal. Not an easy task to get the table, a rolling reservation with three months in advance (now it’s only two) and it becomes sold out as far as they open the bookings at 10am each day. 

Champagne to celebrate

Heston time

An amazing 12 course journey playing with sounds, smells, and taste. The Fat Duck is molecular gastronomy at its best. I won’t go into much details but it’s simply a superb experience. 

Me and the Bible (Wine List)

Italian wine for the meal

Amouse bouche a beetroot and horseradish delicacy, excellent great start. 

Beetroot time

We moved to nitro-poached aperitifs, straight forward I have had those nitro combinations before for dessert but for aperitif was genius. Gin and Tonic the classic British just great. 

The cocktail master

Bit of fire

Gin and Tonic

The next dish was red cabbage gazpacho. I simply love gazpacho and this one was one of the best I have had. It was an explosion of flavours popping into the mouth, great texture, the raw onions giving crunchiness, really nice. 

Gazpacho

Moving on we got jelly of quail and crayfish cream, a great show and the flavours spot on. I loved the details in the presentation. 

A Kind of Magic

One of Heston’s classics snail porridge, incredible the combination of iberico bellota ham with shave fennel and the snail superb. 

Snail Porridge

Roast foie gras, really good the crab biscuit and the rhubarb nice dish. 

Foie

The next dish we got was the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, again the show, the magic on the presentation, the golden tea bag that was a pocket watch and dissolved in the hot water to create a mock turtle soup, unbelievable. 

Tea time

More magic

Afternoon tea

Mock turtle soup

Next one was another classic of the restaurant Sounds of the Sea. You don’t realise the noise of the place until you put the headphones and transport yourself into a paradise in a Caribbean beach. The beach sound you hear it’s taken from Los Roques in Venezuela. Otto Romel who is senior development Chef in the place and also Venezuelan recorded it in one of his trips back home. Fresh, light, great-accomplished dish, the sand is edible and it’s a mix for sardines and seaweed. 

Soundtrack

Sashimi time

Salmon poached in a liquorice gel. Great flavour, the vanilla mayo and the trout roe was perfect. 

Salmon time

Close up

Then we got our meat, saddle of venison with beetroot soubise and risotto of spelt and Umbles. It is the best truffle risotto I have had, and the lean venison was cooked to perfection. 

Venison

Risotto

The next dish was hot & iced tea, simply surreal, the perfectly divided temperatures on the left and right of the liquid. Standing ovation for creativeness. 

Hot & Iced Tea

Galette of Rhubard and for Marisol the classic bacon and eggs ice cream. Both amazing the bacon and eggs pure magic. 

Fat Duck egg

Breakfast time?

Bacon & Eggs ice cream

Rhubarb

Black forest gateau, good, nice flavours, but probably the least succesfull of the night, the weakest link, though nice sweet and sour notes. 

BFG

Then a trip to Scotland with the Whiskey Gums you go back when you were a kid playing with the flavours of the gums. 

Gums

To end the journey and keep you in a kid state of mind we got Like a Kid in a Sweet Shop. Superb combination of playful sweets, including a mandarin jelly, coconut baccy in the form of tobacco, apple pie caramel with an edible wrapper, and finally the a tart in the form Queen of Hearts. 

Coconut Tobacco

Here comes the Queen

One of the best culinary experiences of my life. I sincerely recommend the place, the service is perfect, the food another level, creative, clever, and most of all tasty 

Fat reminds me the Seinfeld episode “The Non-Fat Yoghurt” 

Elaine: Hurry, Jerry! Hurry!

Jerry: How's it doing?

Elaine: Not so good

Kramer: Well, you can't have this tested now. It's melting

Jerry: So what

Kramer: It changes the molecules

Jerry: Oh, you don't know what you're talking about

Kramer: Hey, fatso! I got a 90 in biology

Jerry: You call me fatso one more time; you're going to be walking back

The Fat Duck

T: 016 2858 0333

Molecular Gastronomy

Approx Damage: £330pp

Area: Bray

UK

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My Kingdom for a Poached Egg [Recipe]

All my life I have been fascinated and also frustrated with the complication of making a perfect poached egg. From time to time, I googled, checked YouTube videos, on-line recipes, watched the food network, called a friend, and used other different sources to look for a bullet proof technique on how to make them, just to finish disappointed leaving the idea behind of recreating the perfect poached egg. I had tried the classic urban myths and methods, you know the ones I'm talking about, the swirl and the vinegar ones with no luck, sometimes they were successful but let’s face it not perfect. 

Poached

Until a couple days back when I bumped into a video on Channel 4 from the programme How To Cook Like Heston. Basically the mad scientist chef took the task to give his tips to make perfect eggs, from scrambled to poached including his famous bacon and egg ice cream recipe using dry ice.

The tip is quite simple, first check the egg is fresh, as the watery white is your enemy. Then retire the direct heat to the egg, which means put a dish/plate in the bottom of the pot with the boiling water so the heat source and the metal surface is not in direct contact with the egg. Drain excess water in the white before poaching as even fresh eggs has a small amount. And finally poached when the water reached 80C for 4 minutes. 

Result

I have to say I got it in the first go. I highly recommend to watch the episode as you might learnt a trick or two. Or go to the Channel 4 site for his recipes.

InstaEgg

Eggs remind me the Seinfeld episode “The Little Jerry” 

Jerry: Is that your chicken making all that noise? 

Kramer: Oh, Jerry loves the morning 

Jerry: Who? 

Kramer: Little Jerry Seinfeld. I named my chicken after you 

Jerry: Thanks, that's very sweet, but that is not, a chicken 

Kramer: Of course it is. I picked it out myself 

Jerry: Well, you picked out a rooster 

Kramer: Well, that would explain Little Jerry's poor egg production

London

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Hoboken: New Jersey with a Cuban Appearance [On The Road/BurgeReview: Melbourne]

Reading Broadsheet, a digital magazine of Melbourne, I found about this little place called Hoboken. They are up to the task to give the city an old school cheeseburger in a place that the hype for burgers is at top levels. Owner Hugh Thorn and baker Dan Younger tested for 40 days different combinations until both were satisfied with their totally organic burger. 

The colourful place

Got to the place it’s in Hosier Lane, a picturesque house with the façade full of graffiti’s like the every other wall in the narrow street. Place inside is cozy and small, looks like a Cuban bar, simple, ceiling fans, shelves behind the counter with grains, beans, and other products, the only difference is no Cuban Son but Jimmy Hendrix. 

Inside the counter

Ordered a lemon soda and waited for my burger. Took a while to get, like good thinks, small burger or let’s say petite, but not too small to call it slider, thrice cooked hand cut fries with it, hopefully Heston Blumenthal style, as he says you need to do three things to get perfect chips with that unique crunchiness and glass like crust, crack them (boiled them until they’re falling apart), kill the moisture (steamed dry and put in the freezer at least an hour), hot oil (cooked in very hot oil). 

Burger Time

The burger was awesome, Hugh mate you pretty much nailed it, it’s old school, it’s full of flavour, cooked perfectly medium rare, juices all over, the melted cheese, the sauce awesome. Fries pretty much great as well, nice crunchy crust. 

Hoboburger

Cross section

People will be talking for sure about this burger, only Wednesday to Friday nights, and only 60 burgers each night so first in first served. 

Hobobike

This Cuban look reminded me the Seinfeld episode “The Race” 

George: You wanted to see me, El Presidente? 

Castro: Si, si, muevete, come here. I understand you are very interested in one of our players, eh? 

George: Si, si 

Castro: Ordinarily I would not grant such a request but I've heard you are, uh, how you say, Comunista simpatico, eh? 

George: Muy simpatico, muy muy muy 

Castro: Well good, then you can have your pick 

George: Oh, oh! 

Castro: They will play for your Yankees 

George: Oh well, gracias El Comandante, gracias, muy muy 

Castro: And I would be honoured if you would be my guest for dinner tonight at the Presidential palace. There will be girls there and, I hear, some pretty good food. Of course the problem with parties is you invariably have to eat standing up which I don't care for but on the other hand I don't like to balance a plate on my lap either. Once when I was at a party, I put my plate on someone's piano. I assure you, if I had not been a dictator, I would not have been able to get away with that one

Hoboken

T: +61 3 9078 2869

Coffeehouse

Approx Damage: $AUD 21pp

Neighbourhood: CBD

Melbourne

Twitter: HobokenCafe

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