The London Restaurant Review

Valentine's Day Restaurant

Whether you are kindling or rekindling your love this Valentine’s Day, the modern Indian tastes at The Cinnamon Club are sure to fuel the fire with a specially created menu available 13th – 16th February 2008.

Housed in the stunning Grade II listed Old Westminster Library, this highly acclaimed fine-dining destination restaurant is the ideal intimate setting for the most romantic of occasions. Renowned for innovative Indian cuisine and impeccable service, the love of your life is sure to be seduced by the delectable food, enviable wine list and distinctive ambiance.

Upon arrival diners are welcomed with a complimentary Saffron Elixir cocktail, a glittering mélange of saffron gin, Goldschlager and pomegranate, spiced with cardamom and kaffir lime leaves, with a gilding of real gold leaf.  An equally decadent four-course menu follows, created specially by Executive Chef Vivek Singh to woo the senses and stimulate deep desires.

Demonstrating Vivek’s passion for the finest ingredients, the Valentine’s dinner begins on an aphrodisiac high with an amuse bouche of scallop and oyster with mango and mint, followed by an appetiser of Scottish lobster with coconut and mustard. With the palate suitably whetted, lovers are further treated to a starter of black leg chicken breast, filled with spinach and apricots in a fragrant korma of morels before a main course of tandoor roasted Pyrenean milk-fed lamb in rattan jyot infused sauce. A final delight comes in the form of warm chocolate mousse, with pistachio and almond ice cream.

Vegetarians are set for an equally seductive feast, first tantalised by an amuse bouche of spiced potato and green pea cake with smoked tomato chutney followed by crisp zucchini flower with stir-fried asparagus.  A tasting selection of Bombay street snacks is the perfect prelude to an extravagant main course of filled jumbo morels with truffled wild mushroom biryani. Attracting one final wistful glance of envy from the carnivorous, those choosing this menu conclude with a lemon posset and compote of red fruits. 

All are then invited to linger over coffee, petit fours and paan before slipping into the night.

The Cinnamon Club’s four-course Valentine’s Day menu is available 13th – 16th February 2008
at £70 per person.
The Cinnamon Club
The Old Westminster Library, 30-32 Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BU
www.cinnamonclub.com t.020 7222 2555

THE CULINARY KEY TO MALAYSIA

Malaysian cuisine is somewhat of an enigma. Due to the country’s long and rich history, the food has been heavily influenced over time by neighbouring states. With spices and flavours freely crossing the borders, a relatively unknown and unappreciated gastronomy thrills those who have been lucky enough to discover its variety and depth.

Arguably, London’s only fine-dining Malaysian restaurant, awana, on Sloane Avenue, is an elegant setting in which to introduce willing taste buds to the true culinary diversity of Malaysia. Combining traditional dishes with innovative modern interpretations, the restaurant’s menu has been created by Executive Chef Mark Read and Malaysian-born Head Chef Lee Chin Soon. Drawing on extensive understanding of the cuisine and injecting firsthand experience, dishes include curries, soups, grills and stir-fries, with traditional breads to accompany. The restaurant’s unique Satay Bar offers a sophisticated selection of satay featuring only the best quality meat from sirloin steak to succulent rump of lamb.

For those who have simply no idea where to begin, awana’s inventive ‘Malaysian Journey’ menu, effortlessly guides diners through a comprehensive range of especially crafted courses.

Sommelier Li Ya Nan has knowledgeably put together an extensive wine list for awana, and for those enjoying the Malaysian Journey, suggested pairings guarantee the perfect complement to the intricate flavours.

Gorgeous teakwood, traditional batik silk and luscious dark red leather combine to create a contemporary interior reminiscent of a Malaysian plantation house. A chic bar area hosts an extensive cocktail list concentrating on delectable whisky blends and exotic aromatic mixes.

Open for lunch and dinner everyday, awana unlocks the mysteries of Malaysian cuisine.
www.awana.co.uk

Fado Night at Algarve Restaurant, Wandsworth, London

On....Friday 25 January 2008

Artistas: Barra Lopes, Sousa Matos, Paulo Jorge, Fernada Duarte

Set Menu   £32.50 per person

Bread, Butter, olives, Cod Fish Cakes, Crab Sticks, Fresh Cheese, Pates.

Starter

Traditional Portuguese Fish  Soup

Main
Roasted Lam with vegetables
Or
Oven baked Sun Dry Cod with vegetables

Desert
Traditional Portuguese Pudding

www.thealgarverestaurant.co.uk
Book now 0208 875 0313 /07947483126

Sounds like fun!

Celebrate Chinese New Year at Ping Pong restaurants

Press release....

21st century teahouse and dim sum emporium, Ping Pong are celebrating
Chinese New Year in style this February. The longest and most important
celebration in the Chinese calendar, New Year is a time for great
festivity and Ping Pong are getting into the spirit by offering 15 days
of mischievous revelry from 7th – 21st February including new menus,
fabulous cocktails and freebies for those rats amongst us…

Two New Year Feast Menus
According to legend, on Chinese New Year Buddha named twelve years
after twelve animals, decreeing that people would take on personality
traits of the animal associated with the year they are born in. Find
out what animal you are at www.pingpongdimsum.com. This year is the
year of the rat. Rats tend to be pioneers and conquerors, and Ping Pong
are certainly leading the way with an incredible offer to savour one of
two deliciously generous menus for just £15.99.

With the first including a host of scrumptious dishes including
crabmeat dumpling; crispy hoi sin duck rolls; spinach and prawn wraps;
chilli pickled cucumber; and a lychee bun with lychee sorbet to finish,
there is something to satisfy everyone.

The second has been created with vegetarians in mind, offering diners a
range of delights from mixed mushrooms with tom yam sauce; steamed tofu
with wasabi; spicy vegetable dumplings; and crispy aubergine.

Ratini and Red Lantern Cocktails
As rats tend to be passionate, charismatic, practical and hardworking
what better way to wind down than with a specially created Ratini
cocktail? Blending Ratafia with cardamom, vodka, lychee liquer and
lychee juice, this novel twist on a warming martini comes complete with
a floating jelly rat garnish to cause a giggle and is a welcome treat
at £5.95.

Lanterns and the colour red are used throughout Chinese New Year
celebrations. Symbolising fire, red is believed to bring luck by
warding off evil spirits with lanterns showing the union of friends and
family. Wanting to bring their diners a little luck whilst sharing some
dim sum with their nearest and dearest, Ping Pong’s ultimate New Year
cocktail mixes chilli, strawberry puree, Tanqueray gin, Campari, apple
juice and champagne to create a wonderfully crimson thirst quencher
that is hot, hot, hot at £7.50.

Calling all rats
If you can prove* you were born in the year of the rat – 1924, 1936,
1948, 1960, 1972 and 1984, Ping Pong will offer you a complimentary
Ratini or Red Lantern cocktail (or non-alcoholic Ratini for baby rats
born in 1996) to say Happy New Year in style.

With so much going on from 7th – 21st February this Chinese New Year
pop to Ping Pong and become part of the celebrations.

For further information and restaurant locations log on to
www.dimsumpingpong.com

*Valid ID such as a passport or photo-card driving licence must be shown

Notes: Ping Pong has seven restaurants in London serving a signature
range of over 40 delicious dim sum dishes and specials. The accessible
and affordable cuisine is designed for sharing in a cool and
contemporary setting.