I have to confess that I really wasn’t in the mood for going to Providence. Several days of cruising around Los Angeles like a madwoman, plus the 10 hours that I had spent at Universal Studios prior to arriving at the restaurant had left me exhausted. But I decided to persevere, and boy, was I glad that I did. The first two courses at this restaurant were so stunning, they left me gobsmacked.

But let’s start with the amuse bouches at this 2009 two star Michelin holder. (If you read my Spago blog post, you will know that the Michelin guide, in a cost cutting measure, stopped reviewing the city of Los Angeles in 2010. Therefore, while Providence had two stars in 2009, it technically doesn’t have any at the moment.) The amuse bouches, from left to right, consisted of gin and tonic jelly; a greyhound (grapefruit and vodka) raviolo; and Tasman sea trout tartare with lemon jelly, rice crackers, four spices and brook trout roe. With the citrus-y elements of each, all three had a nice zing to them.

Amuse bouche

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Here begins the first of several write-ups from my flying visit to the States recently. I will do my best to blog these posts ASAP. But you know how it is – with work and a busy schedule, it will probably take me longer than I would like. Please bear with me. In the meantime, I hope you will enjoy the taste of the first instalment – SPAGO.

Spago

With the help of some of my American readers (thanks to you all – you know who you are) I managed to come up with a fantastic shortlist of restaurants to try. Spago Beverly Hills is the Los Angeles flagship restaurant of Wolfgang Puck, that all-conquering Austrian-born celebrity chef to the superstars, who for the last 16 years has catered at the star-studded post Oscar’s Governor’s Ball. With its guest list being 1,500 long, this is no mean feat. (An interesting fact about the Governor’s Ball which I picked up during a tour of the Kodak Theatre, the home of the Academy Awards ceremony: there is always one item on the menu that it shaped like the Oscar’s statuette. This year it was the hand-cut Oscar croutons in the salmon starter – can you imagine making 1,500 of these?)

Puck’s name is indelibly marked everywhere. His empire extends across the US, and covers a range of eateries (casual to fine dining), catering products, supermarket food ranges, cookware, and of course, cook books. So I was sceptical about Spago. Could it possibly live up to all the hype? Would it really be that good? It held two stars in 2009, but was that based purely on the fame of the chef’s name as sometimes Michelin restaurants tend to be? (Note that in a backwards, cost cutting measure for Michelin, the guide stopped reviewing the city of Los Angeles in 2010. Therefore there are no restaurants in LA with stars (Michelin ones, that is) at the moment). I debated long and hard about whether to go to Spago, especially given my time limitations, but in the end I decided to try it. After all, this restaurant embodies everything that is LA.

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There are some pretty exciting Australian chefs on the London scene right now, eg, Shane Osborn (Pied a Terre), David Thompson (Nahm), Skye Gyngell (Petersham Nurseries). Another is Brett Graham, who after opening The Ledbury at the age of 26, became the youngest Australian to ever win a Michelin star. This January saw Brett earn his second star, an achievement further capped when his sideline venture, The Harwood Arms, also won its first star. But then, Brett has always been on a steady climb. After arriving in London in 2000, he became a winner of the Young Chef of the Year award just two years later. Before The Ledbury, his time in London was spent working his way up to senior sous chef at The Square under Philip Howard.

For a two star restaurant, The Ledbury has one of the best value Sunday lunch menus around. Three courses from the a la carte menu costs only £40, with a similar menu in the evening being priced at £65. However, the only drawback of dining on Sundays (and Saturdays) is that Brett typically doesn’t cook during the weekends. Although, not having the head chef in action should, in principle, not make a difference.

Amuse bouche was a pomegranate macaroon with foie gras parfait and ginger crumbs. The parfait was creamy with the richness of the foie gras, and it married beautifully with the lightness of the macaroon. The touch of ginger added a nice zing to the combination.

Pomegranate macaroon with foie gras

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Note: Chefs Massimiliano Blasone and Marco Calenzo have now left the restaurant. Consequently this blog post may not reflect the current state of affairs at Apsleys.

Heinz Beck has the distinction of being the only chef in Rome to hold three Michelin stars with his restaurant La Pergola at the Rome Cavalieri Hilton. And Apsleys, at the Lanesborough Hotel on Hyde Park Corner, is the London offshoot of this internationally acclaimed, German-born, Italian-based chef. Apsleys opened about two years ago, and this year, it received Michelin acclaim when it earned its first star in January.

As befits a restaurant that is housed in a St Regis hotel, the Apsleys dining room is a statement in jaw-dropping art deco elegance. It exudes luxury, with three massive chandeliers holding centre stage as they dazzle in front of your eyes. The interior designer was none other than Adam Tihany, the internationally renowned restaurant and hotel designer. Pierre Gagnaire’s Sketch counts as one of his designs, and notable upcoming projects include the redesign of the Mandarin Oriental in Hyde Park which will feature the new Heston Blumenthal restaurant which will open this autumn.

Being an Italian restaurant, there are the usual antipasti, zuppe e primi and secondi courses on the menu. There is also a five course (£59; with matching wines – £89) and a seven course (£79; with matching wines – £119) tasting menu. The five course tasting is based on the seven course menu, but with no lobster starter and a choice between the sea bream and the venison courses rather than both.

We selected the five course menu which kicked off with a ‘Chef’s Surprise’ amuse bouche of an arancini (a rice ball coated with breadcrumbs which originates from Sicily), and a sweet pepper and courgette terrine. The arancini, which tasted like a deep fried risotto, was pleasant but unspectactular. The terrine was filled with natural sweetness and had a lovely soft texture.

Amuse bouche

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Grenoble style sardine & toast Mimosa

On a recent visit to Berlin, I went to Margaux Restaurant, a Michelin one star restaurant which came highly recommended from Victor’s Gourmet Restaurant’s chef, Christian Bau. After having had perhaps the best meal of my life at the latter restaurant, I now rate Bau as one of my favourite chefs of all time. So when Bau recommends a restaurant to try, it’s a suggestion that’s pretty hard to ignore.

Located on Berlin’s main street of Unter de Linden, around the corner from the Brandenburg Gate, the restaurant is imposingly striking. There is sleek walnut panelling interlaced with creative ‘mother-of-pearl’ type lighting as the restaurant’s backdrop. The seating is of a mustard colour which complements the white linen tablecloths nicely, and there are other warm and sophisticated touches throughout.

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Roast suckling pig

For her birthday, KK organised a huge day of celebrations, starting off with a treasure hunt in a park in North London that, despite the threat of rain, looked glorious with all the leaves lying fallen in their beautiful autumnal colours. Her husband, as host, went into character as a pirate – donning a rather bad pirate’s accent in the process – and for the ultimate look in authenticity, all the clues had been beautifully hand drawn as maps, stained with tea and with their edges burnt to look frayed. My team fared dreadfully, but we all got to share in the winnings – lots of yummy chocolates – so I really had nothing to complain about.

The treasure hunt was followed by drinks, which were then followed by the ultimate prize, a roast suckling pig feasting dinner at St John Bar & Restaurant in Clerkenwell, a one star Michelin restaurant which is also ranked number 14 in this year’s San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurant Awards. Having never tried the roast pig at St John’s before, I was really looking forward to it, especially because we were all absolutely ravenous from a full day of scavenging for treasure. Along with the pig, which is designed to feed 14 to 16 people, the feast includes a choice of two starters, side dishes and two desserts (pricing policy mentioned below).

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Noma

If you read my Søllerød Kro write-up you would have been aware that I was in Copenhagen. Now you didn’t think I would go to the Danish capital and not go to Noma did you? In fact, it was the only reason I went to Copenhagen.

And so ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, I present to you Noma.

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Chez Dominique

There is the saying that all good things must come to an end, and I am sad to say that my trip is finally over. I am back in London now, but as a last hoorah, a decision helped in no small part by the discovery of a very cheap ticket, I decided on a whim to detour via Helsinki for a flying visit to try Chez Dominique before finally dragging myself home. The visit was so ‘flying’ that I literally stepped off the plane, headed straight to the restaurant and flew out the next day.

With less than an hour between landing and last orders (which coincidentally I barely made), there was no time to check into my hotel before going to the restaurant. In the days leading up to the meal, I had been playing out in my head the embarrassment of turning up to a two star Michelin restaurant with ALL my luggage in tow (a handbag, a large battered wheelie suitcase and a small rucksack) over and over again, but living out the reality was worse. What I hadn’t quite allowed for was the fact that the restaurant has neither a partition nor a sitting area between the doorway and the dining room which would have hidden me from sight, even if only partially. No sirree. This meant that the moment I walked into the restaurant I was in full view of all the patrons who faced the door. “Yes” I tried to explain with my eyes to one particular diner who kept staring at me in astonishment during that one looooong minute before the waitress came to rescue me, “I do know that this is a fine dining establishment and not a hotel. Honest.”

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