Harrods

Chai Wu – Review

January 7, 2017 by Adrian

Chai Wu Knightsbridge

Fifth Floor at Harrods, 87-135 Brompton Road, SW1X 7XL

020 3819 8888/ chaiwu.co.uk

I reviewed Malaysian restaurateur Eddie Lim’s Mango Tree Thai restaurant in Victoria a few years ago. Since then he has expanded into Harrods with three outlets, another Mango Tree, the sushi and sashimi bar Pan Chai and Chai Wu, a contemporary Chinese restaurant which I have been invited to review. Executive chef is Australian Ian Pengelly who specialises in pan-Asian food and whose CV includes E&O and Gilgamesh. The interior design of the restaurant is apparently inspired by the five elements in Chinese philosophy; fire, water, wood, earth and metal with a mix of marble, wood and leather creating a comfortable if intimate space. Finding anything in Harrods is a bit of an ordeal but having located Chai Wu a hapless waiter informed me that the loo was a floor down. On my return after a lengthy trek I discovered that the restaurant had its own…

However a glass of Dom Pérignon 2006 (£34 per glass) went some way to alleviating my annoyance…it’s a rich muscular wine with enough minerality to stop it being too cloying.

If I see eel on a menu it’s a must-order for me. Grilled barbecued eel with rice (£26) was a perfectly constructed dish. The soft caramelised eel was sweet and richly flavoured on a bed of perfectly cooked rice.

Deep fried Chilean sea bass with salted egg yolk (£21) was a slightly unexpected dish. The egg yolk was dry, wrapped in slivers of the fish and then deep fried with a crisp batter. I didn’t think I liked it initially but it grew on me…we ate them all up…!

Mixed seafood grilled platter (£100 per person) was beautifully presented; it consisted of a half lobster, tiger prawn, king scallop and Alaskan king crab legs.

The scallop was perfectly cooked, seared to within an inch of its life but translucent and juicy within. This plate of food was a fantastic seafood feast-unadulterated luxury.

Chai Wu fried rice (£22) was a blend of rice, prawns, scallops and fresh veg. It’s probably the best and most expensive fried rice dish I have ever had! It was really a main dish rather than a side-it was full of flavour and a great plate of food.

Desserts were a lot of fun. Green tea chocolate fondant (£14) oozed suitably but my favourite was the Chocolate sphere with berries and toffee caramel (£9). Dessert heaven!

The staff were eager to please and seemed to have an understanding of the food they were serving. Prices at Chai Wu are eye-watering but I guess if you are shopping and eating in Harrods then that shouldn’t be an issue. What the restaurant lacked for me was the glamour and wow factor that you find at Park Chinois, Sexy Fish or even at this price point somewhere like the Ritz. But maybe that’s not the point and the restaurant seems to be doing quite well pulling in well-heeled shoppers of Chinese origin. For those of us without big new money behind us with a little careful ordering you can eat here without breaking the bank. I’ll be back for the eel and seafood rice!

Tartufi & Friends @ Harrods – Review

June 3, 2015 by Adrian Leave a Comment

Tartufi & Friends @ Harrods Knightsbridge

Follow @Hedonisttweets

87-135 Brompton Rd, SW1X 7XL

http://www.harrods.com/content/the-store/restaurants/tartufi-friends/+44 207 225 5800

Harrods can be a bit bling for my taste-there was even a gold plated Ferrari parked outside the other day when Fiona and I visited to review the grand emporium’s new Italian truffle lounge Tartufi & Friends. However the restaurant, which sits on the Lower Ground Floor next to the wine department, is a model of Italian elegance and restraint with the entire focus being on the world of the truffle.

If like me you are obsessed with this most elusive of fungi just the smell that permeates the restaurant will be enough to get you excited. It’s owned by the Sermoneta group who have flagship restaurants in Milan and Rome and they have decorated the interior with truffle prints from the 1500s.

Truffles are seasonal and the ones we were about to sample were from Norcia in Umbria where they are sniffed out by specially trained dogs.

With some ceremony a dish of Yellowfin tuna tartare with crunchy celery and fresh truffle (£28) arrived, the powerful musky smell of the truffle held in by a little glass dome, the aroma bursting out as the dome lifted. The tuna was beautifully soft and fresh and with the crunch of the celery and the carpet of truffles this was a perfect dish.

We were drinking an elegant mineral Gavi di Gavi La Meirana 2013 (£10) which was a great match with Fiona’s smoked salmon- it was really good quality and served with white truffle salt, songino salad and fresh truffle (£26).

Tagliolino Cacio e Pepe with fresh truffle (£29) was simply fantastic. This was some of the best pasta I have ever eaten with the eggs, water and flour all from Italy and the al dente pasta slathered with the cheese and pepper and of course the velvety truffle. This dish made me very happy.

The Fillet of Wagyu Beef (£80 for 200g) was lovely and buttery and well rested.

Sole in a ‘sour’ sauce with cream of potatoes and fresh truffle (£26)- this most delicate of fishes was perfectly cooked just to the point of firmness but acted more as a vehicle for the truffle which overwhelmed its flavour.

The eggy Tiramisu (£12) that Fiona and I shared for dessert (she had more than me…) was notable by the absence of truffle yet still managed to be a sophisticated take on this modern classic. At this point in the meal things started to get a bit hazy as I got involved in a fascinating discussion with the manager and barman about truffle flavoured drinks.

They insisted that I try their Truffled Amaretto which combined the almond bite with the truffle flavour to create a lovely drink that resembled a smooth, slightly sweet truffly smoky bourbon. Just to complete my truffle/alcohol research I sampled a Truffle Sour and the combination of the truffle and citrus didn’t quite work for me-but more research is clearly needed on this subject.

If you’re in Harrods or Knightsbridge and in need of a light lunch or a full fine-dining truffle blow-out you should search out Tartufi. The food and service are both exemplary and whilst it is possible to spend a small fortune there a dish like the Cacio e Pepe would make a great lunch treat on its own. The truffle is a mysterious and extraordinary fungus and I can’t think of a better place to showcase it right now than Tartufi & Friends.

Harrods The Salad Kitchen – Review

February 3, 2014 by Adrian Leave a Comment

Harrods Salad Kitchen Knightsbridge

Follow @Hedonisttweets

87-135 Brompton Rd, London SW1X 7XL

020 7730 1234

www.harrods.com/content/the-store/restaurants/the-salad–kitchen/

‎Perched up on the fourth floor of Harrods and functioning as a high-end cafe for the new Fashion Lab sits Harrods’ The Salad Kitchen. It has a very chic clean modern look with the seating verging on the severe (think Karl Lagerfeld’s kitchen) and despite its name’s promise of self-denial is pleasingly decadent enough to warrant further attention.

Baba Ghanoush

I am visiting with Fiona from London Unattached who has been invited along to review and whilst we scan the menu we nibble some rather refined Baba Ghanoush with homemade lavash flatbread (£6) whilst sinking a well made Champagne Bellini (£14) and a Twinkle (£14) (Champagne, vodka and elderflower syrup) which certainly brought a twinkle to Fiona’s eye…

Champagne Bellini and a Twinkle

For starters we shared the Loch Fyne salmon gravadlax with orange and fennel (£11).

Loch Fyne salmon gravadlax

This was a lovely dish with non-oily salmon and a perfect light dressing. The orange and fennel are classic accompaniments and this dish tasted as good as it looked. My only caveat is that surely with the citrus cure that is used to keep the non-alcohol drinking customers happy, it is more of a ceviche than a gravad lax?

Yellowfin tuna tartare

Our second starter was Yellowfin tuna tartare with avocado, crostini and wasabi (£12)- it was perfectly composed with a mild wasabi sauce not overpowering the gentle flavours and smooth texture of the fish and avocado.
The main course offer at The Salad Kitchen is a bit conceptual so concentrate! First you select your protein from a selection of seafood or meats for grilling on the smokey Japanese robata grill. To complete your plate there is a choice of either a ‘cold’ or ‘warm’ salad accompaniment-there are four or five options for each. The idea is that the salads are full of superfoods and will boost your immune system. I must admit that when I was young enough to consider shopping at Way In, The Fashion Lab’s predecessor, my idea of superfood was a Mars bar and a packet of chips…The hot salads are a bit of a misnomer as they are really rather interesting looking selections of cooked vegetables rather than a genuine ‘salade tiede’.

Black Angus beef tenderloin

Fiona chose the Black Angus beef tenderloin paired with grilled courgette, butternut squash, broccolini. sun blush tomato with coriander and lime dressing (£22). I’m not quite sure how steak fits into the healthy eating ethos of the restaurant but Fiona pushed any lingering doubts to the side and cleared her plate quite happily.

Sea scallops

My sea scallops came with roasted sweet potato, Jerusalem artichokes, shiitake mushrooms and a thyme vinaigrette (£19). The scallops were nicely seared on the outside but still firm and juicy on the inside and the salad with its subtle herby dressing was the perfect accompaniment.

Trio of flourless chocolate desserts

I felt particularly virtuous after the mains and so the Trio of flourless chocolate desserts beckoned. This was probably the weakest dish of the meal with the chocolate lacking in bitterness and the mousse being rather bland.

Meringue with passion fruit and mango

However the meringue with passion fruit and mango was perfect. The meringue was simultaneously crisp and suitably squidgy and the fruit added a veneer of healthiness to the proceedings.

If you are in Harrods and need anything from a snack to a full meal then The Salad Kitchen is a great option. It’s not cheap but the quality of the produce and cooking make it worth looking out for-and at the moment it’s not hugely busy which is a real bonus in Harrods!

Disclosure: The Hedonist was a guest of The Salad Kitchen