IMLI STREET AN INDIAN PLEASURE

Hello guys here we are, I hope u all had a nice week and let's dig in.
This week we have something very different, we go in India, well we didn't actually go in India we went in Soho, and we eat Indian food at the amazing Imli Street.

I have to say I don't have much knowledge about Indian food, but I can say I felt in love with it.
Imli Street is a nice restaurant in Soho, Wardour street, they have a nice bar whit stools so we decided to eat at the bar. The staff were vey friendly and the barman let us try e few wines before decide what to drink...We had two glasses of wine, one Chardonnay, CL and a Sauvignon Blanc, NL, both very good, is weird eat Indian with American and New Zealand wine, but what else can we do!?
Let's dig in... we started with a couple of appetizers, the first one was a Samosa Chaat - Punjabi vegetable samosa, yoghurt & chutneys (Samosa is a fried or baked pastry with savory filling), it was very nice, loved the yoghurt and chutneys.

Then we had a Tandoori Jhinga- Prawns marinated with organic tomato powder, paprika & ginger, very tasty a bit spicy but very good

And then here it comes something very good, Macchi Tikka (love the name :-) - Salmon chunks with coriander, crushed spices & dill leaves, this was very good, salmon perfectly cook, the sauce was very good it was a simple pleasure

Now we just gettin better, here it come the Chicken Tikka Masala - Tandoor grilled chicken in tomato-onion sauce & dried fenugreek leaves (fenugreek is a annual plant in the family fabaceae, with leaves consisting of three small above the to oblong leaflets), this dish was so good, so rich in flavour, so tasty, we order even a plain Naan, Indian bread, real good, which we ate with the sauce...omg we had to order a second basket of bread it was so yummy.

Then the masterpiece, Lamb Shank - 6 hours braised shank with browned onions, yoghurt & spices, this was amazing, the meat was so tender, the sauce so rich it was a real pleasure.

We even had a portion of rice with cumin and saffron, to eat with the meat, I loved the spices in the rice

Then we had a desert which was recommended by one of the waiters, we didn't have time to choose a desert cos the kitchen was closing so we let him pick one for us, a Kheer - Rice pudding, chocolate caramel, golden vermicelli, it was good but if I had to pick one I probably wouldn't pick that one.

The bill for two people was around £100,00 included service charge.
We had an amazing dinner, the food was so good and the service was good...
Will I come back? Of course, I can't wait to try the whole menu, I think I'm in love with Indian food,
Alavidā (Good Bye)

STICK'S N SUSHI

Another week has started and here we are with a new post...this week we have something very different...lady and gents this week we'll be talking about Sushi!
Last night I decided to come back in Covent Garden but not to say hello to my friends at the Opera Tavern, not yet for our third visit, but to go and try some sushi, at the STICK'S N SUSHI. Sticks’n’Sushi serve high-quality, fresh food based on a unique combination of traditional sushi and yakitori sticks from the grill. So for those less keen on fish, there is a selection of chicken, pork, beef and vegetable skewers - all grilled fresh to order. 
Sticks’n’Sushi was founded 18 years ago by brothers Jens and Kim Rahbek and Thor Andersen. Taking inspiration from their half-Japanese, half-Danish background, they created a unique cuisine that combines two culinary traditions.
So the introduction has been done, let's talk about food!
Just one more thing before the food, I love the design of this restaurant...brickwall, suffused light, wood floor...a very nice restaurant...but we are here to talk about food, so let's dig in!!!

We had a reservation and we went down in the basement and get a table at the counter...next to the chef...I prefer the floor upstairs but the restaurant was packed so there was not table available...

We started with a glass of white wine, I have to say the wine list is not vey big, but is not a wine bar and they are not famous for the wine so it's quite understandable, I just checked the website cos I don't remember the name of the wine, the wine list of the website is not the same of the restaurant....anyway I had a glass of white wine from New Zeland...it was good, just good! My partner in crime had a cocktail...Takeshita Rising, with star anise infused shochu, marasquino liquor, and hint of fruits...even this it wasn't super good but it wasn't bad either...

Then we started with a couple of starters, and here we had the best dish of the night...HOTATE KATAIFI BITES, which means scallops in kataifi (Kataifi are a type of thin noodles, they are made ​​of flour and water that is poured through a sieve onto a hot metal cooking tray. The noodles are very 
short. They are used to make Middle Eastern desserts and other foods around the Mediterranean sea)
with miso aioli, trout roe and cress; this dish was so unique, full of flavours, it was a pleasure, this is what I'm looking for, this is why I started this blog, this is why I eat out, cos I wanna eat food like that, not simple average food, but something unique extraordinary, something that gives u pleasure, like an orgasm...maybe I went to far, ;-) but I just want this to be clear...I want to be impressed, and trust me on this if u knew me you'd know, I'm not easy to impress...I'm very picky.

So the kataifi dish was amazing, then we had something different, I chose a Tuna Tartare, with avocado, shiso mix & pine nuts, served with nori chips & spicy miso dressing,  which I have to say, didn't impress me too much; the Stick's n sushi menu has pictures, so the customers can have a better understanding of the food, in this case the picture was way better then the real dish, so it looks better, on pic then it tastes...this is not good, yes the food has to look good, but not on pic on the plate, but it has to taste better then how it looks, well this wasn't the case.

Then we had, chose from my partner, and somehow I knew it wouldn't be a good choise, a Beef 
Tataki, beef smoked cheese, chives, yuzu kosho dressing (is a type of Japanese seasoning, It is a paste made from chili peppers, yuzu peel and salt, which is then allowed to ferment), soy roasted almonds and spicy goma dressing; as u probably understood, I didn't like it, again the pic on the menu is much better then the real dish, which was a very thin sliced cold beef, with some garnish...

Then we chose a mix of rolls, we had 4 different rolls, 8 of each of them, the first one was the Hell's Kitchen roll, with tempura shrimp, avocado, spicy sauce, topped with tuna & barbecue sauce; I have to say I don't really like the barbecue sauce but in this case the combination between all the flavours was excellent, probably the best roll we had that night...
then the Salmon Ceviche roll, with red onion, cucumber, avocado, topped with salmon, coriander & lime marinated, prob the best roll after the Hell's Kitchen...

Then we had 2 very similar rolls, and this was my fault, cos I didn't read the menu properly, the Ebi Cocktail roll and the Formidable roll, both with avocado, cucumber and tossed in sesame, but one topped with hand peeled shrimps mayo and chives, and the other one topped with salmon tartare and trout roe...both good but slightly below the previous two...

Then the desert, we had Crumble with yuzu curd & meringue, and a white coffee Crème Brùlée, both good, the portion was very small, and I had to say I was very happy about that, cos usually the desert are quite a big portion and after a dinner I believe is good to have a small portion of desert which is not quite heavy as the big ones...well done!

The bill was a bit more then 120 pounds, for two people.
I have to say something about the service; a restaurant can be run in different ways, and the service can be organized in different ways; one way it could be to divide the floor in sections and having one waiter taking care of each section or no sections and everyone take care of everything; I don't know how Stick's n Sushi decided to organize the floor, but I was asked "how is everything?" three times in 5 minutes by three different people, and I was asked few times if we needed more drinks again by different people, in a short period of time.
If the floor was divided in sections, so having only one waiter taking care of us this wouldn't be happening after reply the first time.
What I 'm trying to say here is that it could be a bit annoying all this, a waiter has to be like a Samurai, walking between table, watching over the customers and realize what the customers need, without asking too many questions and without being to noisy and too annoying...
But all the waiters were polite and at the end the service went smooth and we enjoyed our night.
So will I come back?...probably yes!
Those kataifi bites...omg!