This has been a funny old Christmas
for me. My wife works on a Mental Health Unit and, as Sister/Manager, showed
willing by volunteering to work Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
With the majority of my relatives
living abroad in Spain, Australia, South Africa and Singapore this left me (cue
the violins)... ‘home alone’.
As such, I half hoped I’d get to
spend the day fending off bumbling burglars with a series of booby traps.
Instead, I woke up to discover that
Father Christmas hadn’t left any presents and spent the day on my Tod without
even getting to pull a cracker! Maybe I hadn’t been a good boy? Or, perhaps it had
something to do with the fact that I'd asked Santa for a gourmet trip to London
in the New Year?
One of my gifts included a lunch at
the Michelin starred Galvin at Windows
on the 28th floor of the Hilton on Park Lane.
This was a meal that I had really
been anticipating: A Roux Scholar who trained under the legendary Nico Ladenis,
Head Chef André Garrett had
impressed me during his appearances on Great British Menu. In addition, Fred Sirieix, who co-hosted the BBC2
series ‘Michel Roux’s Service’, presides over the impressive room.
We opted for the exceptionally good
value Set Lunch – three courses for £29 including the “Great Galvin Giveaway
2013” of a complimentary glass of Champagne and a coffee.
Salad of purple potatoes, artichokes, whipped goats curd & truffle
mayonnaise – my
wife selected this starter but gave me half of it; we both found it a little bland. I’d have appreciated a citrusy element of perhaps a tangier cheese. The mayonnaise seemed to have only had the faintest hint of truffle.
Pickled herring, Bergamot purée, persimmon, gordal olive crumble &
rye – my starter
was better. The herring was beautifully pickled with the perfect
sharpness and the other components came together really well. The Bergamot
purée was delightful – in my opinion, a much underused flavouring.
Slow cooked pork belly, potato & choucroute rösti, pickled turnips
& apple spiced jus – my wife’s serving of pork belly was another strong dish. The meat was
very well cooked and the pickled turnips helped to cut through the rich apple
spiced jus.
Roasted skate wing, ragoût of shellfish, oyster mushroom & salsify – this dish was very good. It was
light but still wintery and full on flavour. Side: Brussel Sprouts, Pancetta and Sesame Seeds – to make our meal more
Christmassy we ordered a side of sprouts for £5. They were good but at £1 each
for a sprout, I’d expect them to be. (To be fair, the rest of the meal was such
good value I didn’t mind paying over the odds for a sprout!)
Crème caramel, vanilla poached pear & goat’s curd ice cream – my wife was very happy with her
Crème caramel. I had a taste of the goat’s curd ice cream that was very good.
Selection of seasonal cheeses from La “Fromagerie” - La “Fromagerie” is the most
wonderful cheese shop which stocks only the finest cheeses from artisan
producers. The Colston Bassett Stilton and Lincolnshire Poacher were
exceptionally good.
We were lucky enough to be given the
best table in the house from which the views were as breathtaking as the meal
itself.
From our vantage point we could see down into the Queen’s back garden* up
Park Lane and across London to Wembley Stadium.
As we left the Hilton I took a photo
of the building for the blog. The 1967 concrete construction is not widely
regarded as amongst London’s finest moments of architecture.
During the meal, I had tweeted a
picture of the view to which @the_a_stevenson replied ‘Has Hyde Park been
turned into some sort of lurid toytown?’ – I struck upon the great idea of
going on the tall spinney ride to get a better picture.
The ‘lurid toytown’ turned out to be
‘Winter Wonderland’ and it immediately made our trip feel festive!
The
buildings were great and there was a real family atmosphere. It was so great
that my wife and I could share a Christmassy moment after being apart on the
day itself.
(*Apparently the Queen objected to
the Hilton’s construction and has made a point of never attending a function
there.)
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Good value for money there ,and probably the best dining seat in London.
ReplyDeleteIm surprised you didnt go for a liquid Nitro ice cream on the fair.