Hoi Polloi, Ace Hotel and Jubo Korean Canteen - Shoreditch

On a few occasions now I have thought about ‘branching out’ by also blogging hotels – stays in the New York’s Waldorf Astoria and Singapore’s Raffles and New Majestic have been memorable parts of our gastronomic travels.

So far, I’ve managed a couple of brief mentions for The Metropolitan Hotel when blogging ‘Asia’s No.1 restaurant’ Nahm and the five star St. James’ Hotel where we stayed when visiting William Drabble’s Michelin starred Seven Park Place.

In reality though, I don’t really know what more to say other than the room had a bed, an en suite, was clean and maybe a couple of funky features.

The Ace Hotel in London’s Shoreditch, is the only non US outpost of a small chain which, according to Wikipedia, was designed to appeal to the “creative class”. I think the phrase “creative class” loosely translates as “hipster”.

According to my stepson who recently stayed at the Ace NY, one of the most significant features of Ace hotels are the lobby areas – in this one a florist, coffee shop and juice bar paired with long desks equipped for laptops and comfy chairs mean that there are always plenty of people about to create a buzzy vibe. Of an evening, a DJ or live band fuels the party atmos.

Anyway… the room had a bed, an en suite, was clean and had a couple of funky features, including: a wall mounted pencil sharpener and the words “take your pleasure seriously’ daubed onto the wall.

There was also a well stocked mini bar, sweeties and various products in the bathroom including head ache tablets. The air conditioning was good and the bed was comfortable. As we had booked through Mr & Mrs Smith we were given a bottle of wine as a ‘Smith Extra’.  

Before I get to the Hoi Polloi breakfast, a little about the neighbourhood. With it’s address at 100 Shoreditch High Street, the Ace is ideally situated for visiting so many of the capitals hip foodie haunts such as HKK, The Clove Club, Lyle’s and St John Bread & Wine. These along with the likes of Dishoom, Hawksmoor, Tramshed and Merchants Tavern are just the tip of the iceberg.

A slight downside is the fact that the nearest tube station, Liverpool St, is a ten minute walk away but a leisurely detour through Old Spitalfields Market makes its less of a chore.

The hotel’s Hoi Polloi kitchen serves food 24 hours to guests but feeling like a late night snack, I decided to scoot over the road to Jubo Korean Canteen, located inside ‘Bedroom Bar’ on Rivington Street.

They have a small menu which features a Bokkeumbap rice dish, Yaka Mein broth and Steak ‘Bulgogi’ Sub and a Chicken Roll - as you’d hope kimchi and sriracha features heavily on the menu.

I ordered one of the Steamed Pork Buns with slow cooked belly pickled cucumber, hoisin & sriracha and a side of Kimchi and some Gunmandu Dumplings – all three were good although the buns were far from the best I’ve had.

The ‘Yangnyeom Tongdak’ fried chicken was excellent – the best I’ve had! (Granted, I’ve not had as much as I’d have liked.) I opted for ‘hot & sweet’ wings and ‘soy garlic’ strips – both were meaty with a crisp skin. Jubo is definitely somewhere I’ll be returning.

After a good nights sleep back at the Ace, my next meal was breakfast at Hoi Polloi.

I opted for a standard Grapefruit juice and a pot of Lemongrass tea from the Rare Tea Company. My wife went for the far too healthy sounding, Avocado & greens – viridian juice, coconut water, avocado, date, coconut oil, pink rock salt… each to their own!

Smoked trout omelette, radish salad – beautifully presented although the omelette was a little overdone for personal taste.

Granola, yoghurt, rhubarb – I found the rhubarb a little tough and squeaky; no complaint regarding the yoghurt and fruity granola.

Potato farls, black pudding, fried egg – a good potato farl should have a dense gnocchi like texture, these were loose and floury. The egg and black pudding elements of the dish were spot on.

If you like the whole hipster vibe and are looking for a comfortable place to stay in Shoreditch, then the Ace hotel could be… well, just ace!

PS: Check out my post on ‘The Best Breakfast in Shoreditch’.

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Kurobuta – Marble Arch, London

In July this year I’ll be 39. I know many of my contemporaries would view nearing the ‘Big Four 0’ with some dismay but I can’t wait. This has nothing to do with wanting to take up golf or being strangely drawn to the stay-pressed action slacks I have seen in the windows of M & S.

The reason I am eagerly counting down the days to my fortieth year is because I promised to treat myself to a gastronomic holiday in Japan.

Even though I draw the line by not listening to J-Pop, I do consider myself as something of a Japanophile – enjoying much of their art, culture, food and the occasional ninja.

When it comes to Japanese food I am usually all about “authentic” – Yuzu, a small, humble Japanese ‘shokudo’ in Chinatown is one of my favourite places to eat in Manchester and when in Singapore, Shinji by Kanesaka is always top of my list and I can’t walk past a ramen-ya without checking it out.   

That said, I have been known to appreciate the occasional Japanese ‘fusion’ – meals at Adrià’s Pakta, Tetsuya’s Waku Ghin and Nobu spring to mind; which brings us nicely to Kurabuta.

Joining similar ventures ‘Flesh & Buns’ ‘Sticks ’n’ Sushi’ ‘Akari’ and ‘Yoi Sho’, Kurobuta is a Japanese “izakaya” (gastropub, with greater emphasis on gastro) from, the former head chef of Nobu London, Australian born Chef / Proprietor Scott Hallsworth.

They have been trading from a “pop-up” in Chelsea for a few months but this permanent home, a short walk from Marble Arch, has only recently opened.

We visited at lunchtime to find many of the outside tables occupied but with plenty of space within. Word is, the evenings get busier as the lights go down and a more ‘pubby’ atmosphere is created.

Going with the Japanese pub concept my wife ordered a Kirin Ichiban with ‘frozen head’ whilst I chose the “Misty Mountain” sake from their impressive collection – a partially unfiltered Junmai sake with sweet and sour notes, made using the traditional ‘bodaimoto’ method. It went particularly well with the spicy scallop dish. 

The menu is arranged into sections with different headings, we selected something from each with the exception of the Robata BBQ.

From Snack we had Sweet potato & soba-ko fries and Crunchy rice senbei crisps with avocado jalapeño dip – the sweet potato fries, which I’m guessing had been dusted with buckwheat flour prior to cooking for the ‘soba-ko’ element, were not at all floppy as is often the case; the senbei crisps were delightfully light, a world away from the packet varieties found in Asian grocers.  The avocado jalapeño dip was delicious… I was gutted that they didn’t sell bottles of the stuff.

From Cold / Raw / Salad: Scallop sashimi with kimchee butter & tobiko – an interesting dish despite the fact I found the scallops lost and the spiciness of the kimchee largely tempered by the butter. The popping sensation of the yuzu tobiko (flying fish roe) helped to make it enjoyable.

From Something crunchy: Jerusalem artichoke chopsticks with truffle ponzu dip – another snack style dish that would be hard to knock.

From Junk food Japan: Wagyu beef sliders, steamed bun, crunchy onions, pickled cucumbers & umami mayo – I’ve had wagyu burgers before and felt them a waste of quality beef but I’m always prepared to give things a second chance. Sadly my opinion remains unchanged. They were well put together, tasty little things but next time I’d rather spend the £19 on a couple of dishes which celebrate cheaper ingredients.

From Significant others: Crispy skin duck confit, watermelon, daikon pickle & spicy peanut soy – I thought this dish okay but my wife loved it. The range of textures and flavours were certainly not dull.

And Nasu dengaku, sticky miso grilled aubergine with candied walnuts – I loved this one. With the sticky caramelly sauce and candied walnuts it could have almost been a dessert but the savoury miso and bitter smokiness kept it balanced… a real beauty.

From Sushi: Sweet & sour snow crab with yuzu kosho mayo – delightfully sweet snow crab with a subtle sour element from the yuzu kosho (a type of green chilli) mayo and tokiko wasabi tobiko.

For dessert I had a Yuzu Tart with Matcha Meringue and my wife had Carrot Cake – both were good.

Overall, I enjoyed Kurobuta – the staff were efficient and friendly and the food was at least different in the instances where it wasn’t excellent. It’s definitely a place I’ll keep an eye on and consider returning to when we are next in the capital.

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Lyle’s by James Lowe - London, Shoreditch

A few days ago I saw a tweet by a relatively unknown chef here in the north of England bemoaning the culture of the “celebrity chef” – this was during an episode of TV’s MasterChef which featured a judging panel of some of Britain’s most highly regarded talents. 

With a galaxy of Michelin stars between them, the chefs involved were Simon Rogan, Nathan Outlaw, Ashley Palmer Watts, Michael Caines, and Tom Kitchin.

First off, I wouldn’t regard these guys as “celebrity chefs” and certainly not “TV cooks” – sure they have appeared on TV on a number of occasions but at their core they are restaurant cooks who run successful and highly regarded kitchens.

Of course, in some cases there may be a little bit of ego involved in appearing on TV (it will certainly make their mums proud) and there is obviously invaluable publicity for their restaurants; but I don’t see many of the chefs listed above on Sainsbury’s adverts or selling their own branded sauces, olive oils or cous cous and putting their names to cheap pans and knives.

These chefs are ambassadors for British produce and cookery and anyone chef who knocks them is just jealous - few chefs understand the English countryside as a larder better than Simon Rogan; Nathan’s passion centres on our island nation’s phenomenal seafood; at Dinner, Ashley revives historical British dishes; Tom celebrates the produce from his native Scotland and what could be more quintessentially British than Caines’ Gidleigh Park, housed in a Tudor-style country house, set amongst 55 acres on the edge of Dartmoor National Park?

Whilst these chefs, due to their Michelin accolades and occasional media work, may be some of the more recognisable faces to foodies who watch the TV shows and read the newspaper food supplements, there are a number of young ‘lesser known’ chefs who are also considered the vanguard of British cuisine.

Although not quite ‘household names’, young talents such as Isaac McHale, Florence Knight, James Knappet, Giles Clark (sous chef to Junya Yamasaki at Koya) and Ollie Dabbous hold a few accolades of their own and run or work in some of the choicest restaurants in the capital.

One chef who merits a mention in the company of those above is the hugely talented James Lowe.

James is best known for being a long standing former Head Chef at Fergus Henderson’s St. John Bread & Wine; he also trained at La Trompette, The River Café, The Fat Duck and Noma. In London, he also made a name for himself as one of the Young Turks with Ben Greeno and Isaac McHale.

Recently James’ Twitter bio has changed from ‘Chef looking for a restaurant’ to ‘Head Chef @lyleslondon’ - to the casual observer it may have seemed as though, for the past couple of years, James has been travelling the world on an extended ‘holiday’ participating in events such as René Redzepi’s ‘MAD symposium’, ‘San Sebastián Gastronomika’ and ‘Cook It Raw’ but all the time he had been looking for the right location and backers.

Eventually, a partnership with the Sethi family (who also own Trishna, Gymkhana and Bubbledogs) and a prime location in The Tea Building (opposite the BoxPark) at 56 Shoreditch High Street turned out to be the perfect pairing

An oblong canteen like space with plain white walls and ceiling, there are obvious parallels with St. John Bread & Wine. Slightly larger, Lyle’s also has a small bar area, an open kitchen along the back wall and large elliptical arched windows spanning the other. Uniform rows of crafted wooden furniture complete the paired down look that echoes the ethos of the food.

Open 08:00 to 23:00 Monday to Friday, 18:00 to 23:00 on Saturdays (closed Sundays) with affordable menus showcasing carefully sourced quality ingredients and excellent coffees, Lyle’s is very much there to serve local community as much as it could become a destination restaurant.

James works with the seasons and often deals directly with farmers and small producers, as such the a la carte menu can change daily. In the evening there is a small, never over facing, tasting menu which at the time of writing was set at just £39 for 8 courses plus some wonderful sourdough bread.

Our meal started with two ‘snack’ sized courses: Smoked eel & horseradish and Blood cake & damson but as my wife is not keen on blood cake or black pudding she was offered Mustard leaf, cheese & honey as an alternative. Each was delicious with the quality of produce shining though.

Asparagus & walnut mayonnaise – although meant as a compliment, sometimes I feel a little guilty when calling a chef’s food ‘simple’ as often the work that can go into producing something to appear as such can be more than first meets the eye. With this dish however, I have no qualms about calling it simple… simply delicious.

Mutton & turnip broth – I’m certain the broth which carried so much flavour, punctuated by sharply pickled turnips, will end up of my traditional end of year ‘best of’ posts… a top dish.

Gull’s egg – the last time I ate a gull’s egg was when James cooked one for me at The Ten Bells, these were stunningly cooked and topped with dried sea urchin and seaweed… lovely little morsel.

Spring greens, mussels & seaweed – another beautiful dish with the bitterness of the charred spring greens working a treat with the sweet plump mussels and rich creamy sauce.

Dover sole, spinach & anchovy – I like to think of myself as fairly well informed when it comes to food, or at least ingredients, but when Lyle’s personable and knowledgeable front of house manager, John Ogier, presented this as ‘aged fish’ it was something that piqued my interest.

Of course, I had read about (but not yet tasted) the Japanese ‘Funa zushi’ where, to simplify, fish are packed in salt for a year, before being dried and mixed with rice and allowed to ‘ferment’ for anywhere between three and six years. Lyle’s method of aging is no where near as ‘extreme’ – here certain types of flat fish, such as the dover sole, are rested for up to six days where some of the natural moisture will escape and flesh will firm. The results were pleasing but it was the injection of seasoning from the anchovy emulsion that really wowed.

Baked Riseley & Chegworth leaves – more delightful sourdough, this time toasted was served with a bowl of melted Wigmore cheese and a bowl of salad leaves. Cheese and salad may not sound all that special but thanks to the delightfully acidic* dressing this was a great dish. (*What I initially thought were cells from the flesh of a grapefruit turned out to be a tiny dice of shallots with the flavour coming mainly from vinegar and apple.)

Rhubarb & custard – simple, fresh, flavoursome and seasonal… a dessert that sums up a meal at Lyle’s.

The meal ended with a couple of dinky Brown butter cakes and some excellent quality Ethiopian filter coffee.

Lyle’s very much reminded me of such places as Le Chateaubriand and Septime in Paris and, of course, The Clove Club – these places are listed at 27, 52 and 87 respectively in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants so expect big things from Lyle’s and James Lowe.

Celebrity chefs or non celebrity chefs, dining at Lyle’s has confirmed one thing… British cooking is in a strong place.

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