While English cuisine has long been associated with the myth of being bland and boring, in my opinion that is precisely what it is – just a myth. Perhaps the strong colonial influence on the Kiwi diet has equipped me with realistic expectations of what can be found in England despite having never been there before, and thereby allowing me to make more informed decisions – such as steering away from the "quintessentially British" fish and chips, not only because we can enjoy ones that are just as "authentic" back home, but also because we know how hard it is to even find a decent one! However, educated guesses aside, the cultural melting pot that England (and London in particular) has gradually turned into has also introduced some innovative talents into the culinary scene and opened up a refreshing dimension to the definition of English cuisine that challenges the current stereotypical view. Though we had neither the insatiable appetite nor the inexhaustible wallet to trial every single restaurant that caught our fancy, we did thankfully have plenty of time to carry out some careful research and narrow down our options - unsurprisingly most of these final candidates ended up in London since we were staying there for the majority of the second half of the trip. A week was not long by any standards, but I dare say we did manage to get a taste of some of London's very finest.
Without a doubt, the most creative culinary experience we had in England was at the Modern Pantry franchise in London. I first heard about this popular dining spot from a Japanese documentary on London featuring the elegant actress Amami Yuki. The owner Anna Hansen not only has a Nelson connection (apparently she is a relative of Jens Hansen – the legendary ring maker for the LOTR film trilogy! What's more, she worked for a catering business on Hardy Street when she was a teen), but her adventurous approach to combining flavours across a wide variety of cultures had me immediately intrigued. Not willing to miss out on either one of her two restaurants, I decided to book in first for lunch at the original Clerkenwell restaurant, then for afternoon tea a couple of days later at the newer Finsbury Square location.
And by golly am I glad I did!
The food – where do I even start? The unique blend of flavours was pure genius and acted not only in harmony, but in synergy to propel the dishes to astonishing new heights. Although I loved every single dish we ordered, my favourite at the Clerkenwell restaurant was the sugar-cured New Caledonian prawn omelette – the balance of sweet and salt was perfectly accentuated by the freshness of the spring onion and coriander, and I simply couldn't shovel the whole plate into my mouth fast enough! I was also particularly excited to see the many asian(especially Japanese)-inspired twists that some of the dishes subtly incorporated – such as ponzu mayonnaise and yuzu tofu cream. While it's easy enough finding a steak in just about any restaurant in New Zealand, it certainly isn't everyday that you can enjoy it with a grilled miso and tamarind marinade or cassava chips! Even the feature cocktail was a fantastic surprise – "Palomita", with Stelacello Pompelmo liqueur, lemon, and Eau De Vie Mirabelle, was literally a burst of sweetened fresh air in a glass despite its suspicious green colour and the rather exotic concoction of difficult-to-pronounce ingredients.
However, if I was impressed by the food at Clerkenwell, I was totally blown away by the afternoon tea course at Finsbury. The setting of the Finsbury branch was actually a lot more spacious and comfortable, but what really overwhelmed us was again – the culinary expertise. Also far from traditional, the delicate morsels of mouth-watering creations were rather more like little lovingly wrapped presents that held things that you hadn't even known you wanted. From the warm poached quail egg on a bed of Kashmiri masala beetroot, carrot, potato and spring onion hash and drizzled with moromi miso and yuzu hollandaise, to the rich but divine chocolate, peanut butter and miso caramel shortbread, the anticipation built dramatically with the arrival of each course and yet each one somehow managed to upstage the dish that came before – either that or each course simply surprised us in a completely and delightfully different way. That was the other radical demonstration by the restaurant – rather than presenting all the savouries and sweets on tiered plates like you would expect for any traditional English afternoon tea, the Modern Pantry decided to serve theirs in a six-course degustation style that allowed for a choice of pairing specially-selected teas or – wait for it – CRAFT BEERS with each of their tasty creations. While I opted for the tea option, you can probably guess which option Dad pounced on in a heartbeat (and he's still raving about it I assure you). As if all that wasn't amazing enough, the fact that the lovely Modern Pantry staff could cater for Mum's vegetarian preferences amongst all these complicated combinations of ingredients was just the icing on the cake. The feta-filled pai tee with tamarind yoghurt and puffed wild rice? Astonishing.
