TRADITIONAL WELSH RECIPES; CUCUMBER SAUCE FOR SEA TROUT

British sea trout from Welsh waters, known as sewin, are said to be the best in the world and well in to their season during high summer. This traditional Welsh recipe for cucumber sauce is a wonderful summery accompaniment for sewin and makes unusual use of some common ingredients such as lettuce and cucumber. Made using the same process as a roux, yet backwards with a thickening agent called beurre manie, the sauce is a savoury blend of chicken stock, cream, butter and tarragon. Beurre manie is a useful little trick to keep up your culinary sleeve. Equal parts of butter and flour are mixed together and whisked into boiling liquids as a thickening agent. It gives far more finesse than cornflour and is great for adding a little body to a sauce without the heft of a full on roux.

Ingredients for Welsh cucumber sauce

1 cucumber, peeled and finely diced

1 onion, finely diced

2 little gems, shredded

300 ml chicken stock

300 ml double cream

30g butter

1 tsp fresh tarragon, chopped

Pinch sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 to 2 tsp beurre manie

To make Welsh cucumber sauce

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan and slowly cook the onion and cucumber with a pinch of salt, just until soft and translucent. Add the lettuce, then the stock, and simmer gently for about 20 minutes. At this point you can blitz the sauce in a blender or experiment with leaving it whole. Add the cream, heat until almost boiling and then whisk in the beurre manie until the sauce has thickened. Stir in the tarragon and check your seasoning before serving hot with poached sewin

MOD CLOTHES

the tipperary fleet street

The Tipperary is a quaint, narrow, old (it celebrated its 400th birthday a short while ago) pub, with a rather welcoming wood-panelled interior, impressive mirrors and a fine shamrock design mosaic floor. If you're interested in the pub's provenance, there's a handy history of the pub on the wall outside. There's another room with a bar upstairs, but even with this, the place is so narrow it's mostly standing room only - which actually adds to the charm and authenticity. Naturally, as you'd expect with a pub called the Tipperary, there's plenty of good Guinness on tap, unpretentious food is served all day and a jolly time is to be had by all. Open on Saturdays and Sundays too - here's to the next 400!

bourne and hollingsworth

The decor at this Fitzrovia cocktail bar is just about as twee as you can get - think floral wallpaper, frilly bowed-empire lampshades, lace tablecloths and doilies quaint enough to send grannies into quite a fluster. There's a china cup on each table too, just to reinforce the point.

The drinks list brings things firmly into the present, though. Expect creative concoctions like the Chimps Tea - a mix of Monkey Shoulder, peach liqueur, Earl Grey tea syrup and orange zest. A solitary Asahi tap caters to lager drinkers.

the dove smallest pub in london

1. The Rake

This Borough Market gem claims to be the smallest pub in London, but it’s a fiercely contested title – the Swan & Edgar in Marylebone and the Cask & Glass in Victoria are among the others vying for the honour. The Rake is a hophead’s idea of heaven: this is a pub that has more beers than people (its capacity is about 40, but it has 130 bottled beers in the fridge). 14a Winchester Walk, SE1 9AG.London Bridge.

2. The Dove

‘Guinness World Records’ says The Dove has the smallest bar room in the world, though there is a patio and another larger room. A few famous patrons have squeezed in here: the riverside alehouse was a favourite of literary heroes like Graham Greene and Ernest Hemingway. And further back, Charles II explored its nooks and crannies

great suit

SEAFOOD risotto

ingr

I litre of stock
ideally shell fish stock but can be chicken or fish
2 pinches of saffron
2 pinches of salt
2 banana shallots finely chopped
2 garlic cloves finely chooped
400 g camaroli rice
250ml white wine
100g butter
100g finely grated parmesan cheese
chopped tarragon parsley chervil
200g clams
200g cockles
200g mussels
250 gr brown shrimps

three saucepans
one to heat stock
one to cook risotto
one to steam the shell fish

bring stock saffron salt to boil
in another pan sweat the shallots and garlic in olive oil until cooked and colourless
once done add rice heat until slightly translucent
add wine reduce until no liquid
add stock , ladle per ladle , ladle only after previous ladle is absorbed, you will need 15 mins
once cooked turn off heat
now heat your third pan and once hot add shellfish apart from shrimps .cover and steam until open.once cooked pass the shellfish through a fine sieve making sure to keep the cooking liquid

add parmesan, butter ,herbs to risotto and stir
once melted add the cooking liquid from the shellfish
cover and allow to rest for 3 minutes

while this is resting pick out the sheellfish and add it (along with shrimps) to the risotto and stir .season to taste

shard

If there is a a word to describe this restaurant for me it is spectacular. This restaurant is located on level 35 of the Shard in London. It is part of the Shangri-La luxury hotel which is located in the tallest building in Western Europe. The restaurant has to bring out food that can compete with the amazing views of London. This means that the chef Marcus Klumb really has to think outside the box when it comes to the food. As part of London Luxury Week, we were able to get a table at TING and experience its food, here is my review.

TING Restaurant At The Shard

I love it when I am eating at a restaurant and a chef comes to greet me personally. Chef Marcus Klumb from Germany  gave us a real detailed account about the core philosophy of TING restaurant, that he is allowed to experiment and be creative with the food. This is fabulous because what we are about to share is an experience of fine dining and food he really has created as his very own. The restaurant presents a modern European menu with a hint of Asian flavours, created using the finest local market and regionally sourced produce.

Marcus Klumb The Chef

Named after the Chinese word for ‘living room’, TING is the collective name for the restaurant and lounge, it is situated 128 metres above ground level, the vibrant space showcases sweeping 360-degree views across St Paul’s Cathedral, The City of London, The Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Canary Wharf and other famous landmarks. The video below shows our TING experience as part of Day 4 of London Luxury Week.

Supports London Borough Market

The chefs work very closely with the market suppliers to get the best food possible within season. I like that because TING supports the local economy. Another added bonus is you can have your own private experience with the chef. Which involves you going to the Borough market with the chef and choosing what you would like them to cook. There is a private table where you can enjoy the meal from the unique cooking experience.

Britagne English Sparkling Wine

I wrote an article recently about Champagne versus Cava and what is trending for breakfast. So we decided to try the Britagne, an English Sparkling Wine pronounced Brit~an~ye, as a starting drink. To me the bottle looks like a Champagne replica and I was intrigued to taste the results. It is very soft on the pallet and very drinkable. A must try with such a view like this and considering where you are situated. I loved the Britagne that much I also had it for breakfast.

Each wine has its own glass.

My Food Experience

For me if you can afford the finer things in life it is not about quantity but it is about the quality and the thought process that comes with what you are eating and drinking at TING.
Special Dish Created For The First Time for MenStyleFashion

Pre Entree

Chef Marcus created a first for MenStyleFashion, the red cabbage consume and in his own words it is like Marmite, you either love it or hate it. And for me it was so unique to my pallet and I have to say I loved it.

Red Cabbage Consomme

Entree

Risotto TING style

Hand Dived Scallops

Dorset Crab

Main Course

Wild Fallow Venison

Wild Fallow Venison

Beef Short Rib

John Dory

John Dory

Creamy Mash Potato Sauteed Winter Vegetables

Beef Short Rib