Tag Archives: fine dining

Hakkasan, Las Vegas

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If you walk through the doors of a Hakkasan restaurant, anywhere in the world, you are guaranteed a great meal. The Hakkasan group of fine dining restaurants in London is renowned for serving the best Cantonese cuisine in the city. The branch in Las Vegas, however, is best known for its exclusive nightclub, but it was the food and service that made this place special for me.

We were greeted by a group of welcoming staff, who helped us navigate our way through the dimly-lit maze of tables. After a glass of fine Louis Roederer champagne we started looking through the extensive and luxurious menu. Though I recognised several dishes from the London eatery, there were a range of unique new recipes to try.

If you feel like something fun and fabulous, you are in Vegas after all, order one of the ‘Only in Vegas’ cocktails, more specifically the ‘Buddha’s Palm’ – a mix of Buffalo Trace bourbon, Velvet Falernum, yuzu juice, yuzu marmalade, black grapes, white balsamic vinegar, mint – it has a vibrant and exciting taste. The black grapes offer a particularly interesting flavour, a rare and unusual fruit that I had never tried before.

Our waiter highly recommended the signature Crispy duck salad with pomelo, pomegranate and pine nut, and I would agree it is a must. The neat stack of leaves and crispy duck meat was delicious enough, but the addition of the red jewel pomegranate and toasted pinenuts created an irresistible texture and balance of sweet and salty flavours. I also loved the Hakka steamed dim sum platter, a basket of beautifully made coloured dumplings, each filled with a different delicious delicacy of vegetables, fish or meat.

For main course we chose the Roasted chicken with satay sauce, Stir-fry black pepper beef ribeye with merlot, Pak choi with garlic sauce and Steamed jasmine rice. Portions are generous and the food is rich, but it is so tasty we couldn’t resist finishing the feast on our table. My favourite was the decadent Hakkasan classic stir-fry, high quality beef cooked in a sophisticated red wine sauce. The dish is artistically presented in a crispy rice shell, which you can eat if you’re still peckish. The roasted chicken is a simpler dish but equally well executed and served with a creamy, moreish peanut sauce.

We tried a trio of exquisite deserts, all new to the menu. Prepared with great precision by the pastry chef, they looked almost too beautiful to eat. The highlight was the Sicilian pistachio semi-freddo with violet crème, yoghurt meringue and cassis sorbet. It is a light and palate-cleansing final course, with an exciting range of flavours and textures.

After our meal we were lucky to have a sneak preview of the fashionable 3-level Hakkasan Nightclub, with its oversized VVIP booths and epic dancefloors that play host to the world’s biggest DJs. It is one of the most popular party spots in Vegas, but for me the magic of Hakkasan is still down to its faultless food and thoughtful service.

More information on Hakkasan Las Vegas here.

Typing Room, Bethnal Green

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Bethnal Green is now a rather appealing area of London, thanks to destination restaurants like Typing Room. Part of the awesomely archaic Town Hall Hotel, in a space that was once home to Viajante by Nuno Mendes, this restaurant is chic and contemporary with an ever-evolving innovative menu. Lee Westcott is a young but miraculous chef, keeping the team in tow whilst running a creative, fun kitchen. The food he offers is beautiful and delicious, and left me inspired for days after I visited.

We enjoyed a three course weekday lunch at Typing Room, which is reasonably priced at £29 per person. Before the starters though we ordered a couple of snacks: onion bhaji, yoghurt & mango chutney; and Pig’s head & smoked apple. They are bites of intense flavour, and alerted our tastebuds for the meal ahead. Warm IPA sourdough bread was delivered with a caramel coloured butter. This turned out to be the best bread and butter of my life, thanks to the addictive marmite flavour of butter, topped with crispy pearl barley.

I couldn’t resist trying a cocktail from the next door bar, Peg + Patriot. A stylish cloudy, zesty drink named Twentysecond Century, and made with Ketel One, White Chocolate, Americano Vermouth, Lemon and Bergamot Oil. It was strong but perfectly balanced.

My starter was unlike anything I have tried before. Yeasted cauliflower, raisins, capers and mint doesn’t sound like the most wonderful combination, but it worked brilliantly well. Cauliflower is very popular on restaurant menus at the moment, and Lee brought out a delicate sweet flavour by gently burning the edges of the vegetable. Then there was a little kick and acidity from the raisins and capers. If dishes like this were a regular occurrence I would happily become a vegetarian. The raw beef with turnip, oyster and watercress was a pretty garden on a plate, soft delicate meat with an assortment of green textures and tastes.

The conversation stalled when the main courses arrived. Both dishes were a hit: Duck with fennel, honeymoon melon & sumac, and Suckling pig with flat peach, chard & dandelion. The pig was divine, tender with a salty crunchy edge and paired with sweet caramelised peaches and vibrant fresh leaves, a lovely summer recipe. The duck had a touch of Moroccan exoticism, a unique combination of ingredients which tasted sensational together.

Blood nectarine with yoghurt and mint was a mysteriously minimalist dessert. A wonderfully white construction of meringue, when crushed revealed a delicious mix of sweet nectarine and mint. Some might prefer the selection of cheeses, a generous offering served with homemade chutney and fruit bread.

I adore everything about the Town Hall Hotel, and have fallen deeper in love with this establishment after discovering the trendy and tasty Typing Room restaurant.

More information and book a table here.

WY Brussels

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Considering Belgium is a very small country, it has a very long list of Michelin starred restaurants. In Brussels I was lucky enough to get the chance to experience a very special eatery, concealed within Mercedes House, the posh car showroom. The unlikely location and layout of this venue makes the inventive food and inspired wine choices all the more surprising and exciting.

WY Brussels is the newest project from star chef Bart De Pooter. The showroom is situated at the Sablon in the heart of Brussels, surrounded by top chocolatiers. The Mercedes brand is sleek and elegant and this eatery evokes that classic style. The room is designed by Belgian designer Franky Claeys; the simple modern décor has a red and black theme that makes the dining room feel masculine but glamorous, matching the refined virtuosic cuisine of De Pooter.

The kitchen focusses on dishes that use regional and ecologically sourced produce, the plates created are vibrant and original. For guests who enjoy the drama of the kitchen there are cameras installed so you can watch the show from the comfort of your table. The atmosphere is relaxed and we found the staff to be incredibly friendly and thoughtful.

We were treated to some of the WY specialities. Following a glass of exceptionally fizzy Bollinger, we received some delicious miniature mouthfuls: savoury onion and date canele cakes, and rosemary coquettes. Next came a shot of smooth and sweet pumpkin soup with quinoa seeds and freshly baked bread.

The first course was spectacular, Bacon and slow cooked cabbage. The green and pink ingredients were assembled attractively across the plate, a brilliantly modest but very tasty dish. The thick bacon was salty and sweet paired with charred cabbage, fresh greenery and kale crisps. Our waiter brought us glasses of Chardonnay from North Italy, a fresh wine with a buttery rounded taste.

After a short break a glass container was brought grandly to the table – the waitress, with a cheeky smile, lifted the lid to allow a puff of rosemary smoke to escape. The finished dish soon arrived, Rosemary smoked duck liver with béarnaise sauce and parsnip presented in three ways. The mixture of flavours may sound strange, but the smooth luxurious liver with the sweet fresh parsnip and creamy sauce actually worked surprisingly well. The smokiness miraculously infused the food, an unusual and strong flavour. I found the course size a little overwhelming, but my companion certainly didn’t complain as he scraped up the final drop of sauce.

We had spotted a few steaks passing us by, and we hoped we were next in line for a hunk of appetising meat. A little while later we were presented with plates of Tenderloin steak with aubergine and goat’s cheese. The steak was a smooth but thick cut of meat, a breed called Holstein from Northern Holland, it is one of the oldest breeds in Europe. Again the inventive pairing surprised and delighted us. I was pleased to have a vegetable accompaniment to the opulent meat. The aubergine had an almost nutty flavour, contrasted with the cheese sauce.

Dessert was thankfully light: a complex construction of pineapple, coconut, caramel and pina colada. The dish had been carefully balanced with the sweetness, tangy fruitiness and a touch of spice with a crystallised jalapeno pepper. We were full but not too full for a warm mini madeleine, the best way to end a meal.

A hidden treasure in the heart of Brussels, WY is for foodies who appreciate a dining experience that is a little unconventional.

More information and book a table here.

Thoroughly Modern Milly travelled with Eurostar.

·         Eurostar operates up to 9 daily services from London St Pancras International to Brussels with return fares from £69.

·         Tickets to any Belgium station start from £79.

·         Fastest London-Brussels journey time is 2 hours.

·         Tickets are available from eurostar.com or 03432 186 186.