Nancy Lam’s Enak Enak – best restaurant on Lavender Hill

*UPDATE* Nov 2011
This post supercedes Lardbutty’s previous entry on Enak Enak + upgrades the restaurant rating from 4.5/ 5 to **top rank 5/ 5** alongside Suze In Mayfair.

---

Every time I’ve been to Enak Enak the food has been amazing. On our visit last night – an early birthday celebration for BK – we were shown to our table with the usual warm reception.

Starters: mixed satay platter, tom yum soup + beancurd with peanut sauce

A sign of the times, the restaurant was only half full (this side of Lavender Hill is slightly off the beaten track after all) but serving staff were their usual hospitable, attentive selves.

And Nancy Lam doesn’t just put her name over the door. She was – as ever – milling around the restaurant, chatting with customers, ensuring everything was to satisfaction and generally giving it her personal touch.

For starters we (three of us) shared mixed satay (BBQ prawn, really tender spare-rib, chicken with peanut sauce and achar achar pickles) @ 12.95, chicken tom yum soup @ £5.75 and tahu goreng (crispy fried bean curd with beansprouts-disguised-as-cabbage-strips and peanut sauce @ £7.95. Beautiful.

Beef rendang – rump steak stewed in exotic spices, finished with a touch of coconut

For mains, K had his usual: beef rendang @ £9.75 (he loves it so much that even though he *wants* to try other dishes on the menu, he just can’t quite bring himself to forfeit the rendang). BK had the same, and I managed to venture away from my favourite squid dishes on this occasion and had lamb curry @ £10.50, which I requested to be slightly hot. It had a lovely warm, spicy kick to it (not hot hot) and was beautifully tender.

Lamb curry – so tender, with a gentle spicy kick

A main course averages at around £13 (including rice @ £2.75) which is inexpensive for such premium food and comfortable surroundings (even Marco Pierre White says it’s worth a visit). And bottles of wine start from around £20. All very reasonable.

Pak choi – side vegetable dish @ £6.50

Cashew nut fried mee – egg noodles with fresh veg + cashew nuts @ £8.50

Now, *I don’t like giving top scores* to any restaurant, as I believe there’s always room for improvement. But our experience at Nancy Lam’s last night was faultless. We couldn’t have been made to feel more welcome and comfortable if we’d been in our host’s own home. The whole experience was special.

Five out of five.

Restaurant info:
~ Lardbutty rating: 5 / 5
~ Type: Indonesian/ SE Asian fusion
~ Address: 56 Lavender Hill, London
~ Postcode: SW11 5RQ
~ Nearest stations: Clapham Common (tube) or Queenstown Rd, Clapham Junction (mainline)
~ Website: Enak Enak restaurant website
~ Menu (as of Nov 2011, subject to change): Enak Enak dinner menu
~ Location: Enak Enak restaurant map

View Larger Map

Even more
~ Nancy Lam on This Morning TV making Beef Rendang

BK’s b’day – being looked after

Food for thought – wonky veg

Feeding the 5000 at Trafalgar Square at lunchtime today

Facts about food waste
* UK households waste 25% of all food bought
* Around 20 to 40% of UK fruit + veg is rejected before reaching the shops – mostly for not matching the supermarkets’ strict cosmetic standards
* An estimated 20 million tonnes of food wasted in the UK from the plough to the plate
* 43 million people in the EU, 35 million in the US and 4 million in the UK suffer from food poverty
* The UK, US and Europe have nearly twice as much food as is required by the nutritional needs of their populations
– Up to half the entire food supply is wasted between the farm and the fork
– If crops wastefully fed to livestock are included, European countries have over three times more food than they need
* All the world’s circa one billion hungry people could be lifted out of malnourishment on less than ¼ of food that is wasted in the US, UK and Europe
* 2.3 million tonnes of fish discarded in the North Atlantic and the North Sea each year; 40 to 60% of all fish caught in Europe are discarded – either because they are the wrong size, species, or because of the ill-governed European quota system

source

---

Who says? And how did I get this info?

Well, I sprinted to Trafalgar Square at lunchtime today to see what the Feeding the 5000 campaign was all about.

It was quite literally that: 5000 portions of veggie curry being given out, free. All made from ingredients that would otherwise have been wasted: surplus food saved from going to food mountains; vegetables rejected due to being the ‘wrong’ shape.

Thankfully, there was a continuous line of people taking up the offer – it seemed very well received (judging by all of the scraped-empty dishes) and smelled gorgeous.

Curry made from food that would have been wasted

Lunch munchers – veggie curry proves popular at Trafalgar Square

A team was on stage in a makeshift kitchen demo-ing cooking with wonky butternut squash, talking through some of the facts above, while volunteer martials distributed flyers and enlightened satisfied munchers of the campgaign’s aim which is “to highlight the ease of cutting the unimaginable levels of food waste in the UK and internationally”.

Cooking with wonky vegetables

Ok, so the facts might be shocking, even embarrassing. As a nation, we waste far, far too much food. But how can this wastage be reduced and what’s it got to do with me? It’s not my responsibility is it? …is it? Can I really help to change things?

Maybe we can, collectively. By reducing the amount of food we – as consumers – waste. By recycling more. By composting. And realising what the organisations listed below are doing, not only to raise awareness in general (educating us all is a good thing) but claiming back perfectly good, surplus food that would otherwise go to food mountains and instead feeding those in need.

Food for thought indeed.

---

More info / useful links:
~ This event’s facebook page

~ FareShare – UK charity fighting hunger, tackling food waste

~ FoodCycle – UK charity, encouraging local communities to set up groups of volunteers to collect surplus produce locally and prepare nutritious meals in unused professional kitchen spaces, with delicious meals then being served to those in need

~ Feeding 5k on Twitter

~ Love food hate waste – campaign by WRAP (government funded) encouraging us all to to be more efficient in our use of materials and recycle more often

~ More of Feeding 5k’s partners

~The Sun supports Fight the wonky veg mountains!

~ *Victory* for wobbly veg Waitrose brings back ugly veg

~ Oliver Rowe’s demo: cooking with butternut squash

Bombay Bicycle Club Battersea + Balham – bland and boring

Bombay Bicycle Club (BBC) has a new ‘Back to our best’ (old) menu.

They’ve got rid of all the interesting dishes that differentiated them from every other Indian restaurant/ take-away on the high street, and are back to offering bog-standard basics. Examples of starters include onion bhajees, samosas, kebabs, mixed grill; examples of mains: madras, masala, korma, dansak – either fish, chicken, lamb or veggie.

In my previous post on BBC I mentioned that their delivery service can be poor although food was top-notch. At that time (June 2010) they were running incentive schemes for customers through their Curry Lover’s Club.

We decided to get an Indian food delivery last night. Spoilt for choice by the number of good Indian restaurants in the area, we opted for Bombay Bicycle Club over the others as I fancied getting their masala calamari starter (‘crispy masala salt and chilli calamari with sweet chilli chutney’).

Their current incentive scheme – as advertised on a recently received menu – is to order online and collect ‘Penny Farthing’ points. However, when I went to order online their website was a holding-page saying ‘under construction’ and to make any orders by phone.

So I phoned, and the masala calamari was – unfortunately – no longer available, but we still ordered with them anyway: a chicken dansak (K’s favourite, and his benchmark dish) and a chicken murgh aishwaria (sliced chicken in a rich, almond sauce).

Had I made either of these dishes at home, I’d have been quite pleased as I’m not a specialist at cooking Indian food. But they were disappointingly bland and boring. There was no depth of flavour, just a lack of spiciness. Very middle of the road. And the aishwaria (almond sauce) was more sweet and sickly than nutty.

It would seem then that Bombay Bicycle Club’s reduced menu and “back to our best” strapline means they’ve cut back. They’ve down-graded and simplified their food, but by trying to appeal to everyone they risk appealing to no-one.

I mentioned this to a friend today and she’d had a similar experience with Bombay Bicycle Club Balham recently. She also found their food to be quite tasteless and disappointing. On the plus side though, she has to walk past the Balham restaurant on her way home every evening and isn’t remotely tempted or enticed by them!

Bombay Bicycle Club is off the menu.

Restaurant info:
~ Lardbutty rating: 2 / 5
~ Type: Indian
~ Restaurants: all over London including SW6, SW8, SW12, SW15, SW17, SW20, W6, W9, N1, N11, SE10, SE11, SE22,
~ Website: Bombay Bicycle Club

Balham rank:

Battersea rank:

Ravensbourne Arms – new pub with potential in SE13

There’s no denying that Ravensbourne Arms in Lewisham SE13 is *outstandingly* the nicest pub in the area: it’s one of those scruffy-but-clean, with old-funky-furniture, nothing-matches-but-somehow-it’s-cool kind of pubs (quite a few of them belong to the Antic Collective like the lovely Antelope in Tooting and the Balham Bowling Club in Balham).

It only opened four months ago, and – given the shortage of appealing pubs near here – is a good thing for the high street.

It’s quite large inside with a nice spacious feel and lots of tables with old wooden mis-matching chairs, all comfortably eclectic. Bar staff are friendly, helpful and serve – or at least acknowledge – you quickly (always a bonus).

There’s a good selection of real ales as well as wines and all the usual pub offerings, and they’ve now started serving food.

Sunday roast – fish (sea bream)

I had the sea bream Sunday dinner option today, while others in my party had traditional roast beef (medium rare slices – a good shade of pink in the middle) and vegetable tart (vegetables and goats cheese – looked very appealing).

The sea bream, however, was served with the same accompaniments as the beef: gravy, roast potatoes and cabbage, and didn’t really go together. Fish and gravy is a new one to me. And the fish didn’t taste as though it had been cooked with any herbs or spices – just a very plain and simple roast fish.

That said, the last time I had sea bream was at Mien Tay and it was spicy and… just supreme, which probably set a high benchmark.

I guess it’s early days and there’s still potential for the food menu at Ravensbourne Arms. So much of the pub is just spot on, I’m feeling hopeful.

Pub info:
~ Lardbutty rating: 3 / 5
~ Type: British, pub
~ Address: 323 Lewisham High Street
~ Postcode: SE13 6NR
~ Tel: 020 8613 7070
~ Nearest rail station: Lewisham
~ Website: Ravensbourne Arms website
~ Location: Ravensbourne Arms map

View Larger Map

Cafe Bangla – Lardbutty ‘Jolliest Chef’ award goes to Ali Hussain

Cafe Bangla is a small tandoori restaurant in the village of East Boldon on the outskirts of South Shields, and is an unlikely – but altogether pleasing – find.

The restaurant has a feel of a large living room, with only about ten tables (probably around 50 covers). Given the spectacular contemporary cuisine, great service, and its listing in the Michelin Guide 2010, it’s not surprising that it gets booked up quickly, so do phone ahead to make a reservation.

On our visit last night (my second time here) I had dam baigan as a starter: a grilled half aubergine stuffed with vegetables and topped with yoghurt, which was perfectly cooked and served and a lovely blend of flavours.

Dam baigan (aubergine starter) @ £4.50

I opted for a fish main course (fish – as opposed to seafood – can be tricky to get right in curries, and I find it rarely travels well in deliveries as it can go overly soggy, or lose its meatiness, in transit). Here, Chef Ali Hussain’s patrani mach was a good choice – so fresh that the flavours of the fish fillet (marinated fish, steamed in foil) were still sufficiently distinct from those of the green sauce (green paste, onion, fresh herbs) while also complementing one another.

Patrani mach @ £13.90

Other dishes that our party ate, included haleem chicken (cooked with four different types of lentils and topped with ginger, onions, lemon, chilli and coriander) and Goan chicken (chicken marinated with aromatic spices, cooked with five spices, onions, peppers, tomatoes with coconut and goan chilli, and served with baby spinach).

Haleem chicken @ £8.90

Goan chicken @ £12.90

…and it was a very satisfied party!

Service from the waiting staff was good throughout but it was really topped off at the end of our dining experience (yep, I purposely wrote ‘dining experience’ rather than ‘meal’ because that’s what it was – check out the beautiful presentation of the dishes in the photos above: every aspect thoughtfully done) when Chef Ali Hussain came to chat with us.

He told us with great enthusiasm about being presented with another Curry Life ‘Curry Chef of the Year’ award in London last week.

Ali Hussain – also gets Lardbutty’s ‘Jolliest Chef’ award

For his amazing, imaginative cuisine and for being so outstandingly jolly, Lardbutty is also awarding Ali with a very special Jolliest Chef award.

Until the next time.

---

*UPDATE*
3 Nov 2011: according to @AliHussain01 on Twitter, Ali has been nominated for the British Curry Awards 2011

---

Restaurant info:
~ Lardbutty rating: 4 / 5
~ Type: Indian, tandoori
~ Address: 2 St Bedes, Station Road, East Boldon, Tyne & Wear
~ Postcode: NE36 0LE
~ Tel: 0191 519 0929
~ Nearest metro station (north-east): East Bolden
~ Website: Café Bangla website
~ Location: Café Bangla map

View Larger Map

Cafe Spice Namaste – a classy Indian restaurant in E1

Cafe Spice Namaste – in an old City Courthouse near Brick Lane

Cyrus Todiwala may not be a name you recognise but his face probably is. Well, if you watch BBC’s Saturday Kitchen that is.

There’s no shortage of great Indian restaurants throughout the UK, and in London’s ‘Bangla Town’ they’re two a penny. So it’s always good to find something a little bit special. Todiwala’s Cafe Spice Namaste is certainly that: it’s set in an old City courthouse, and is close enough to the appealing markets and attractions of Brick Lane but nicely differentiates itself from surrounding curry houses with its classy food and branded range of Mr Todiwala’s pickles and chutneys.

There are regular events and gourmet dinner nights with Chef Patron Cyrus. And according to Cafe Spice Namaste’s literature, their “extensive menus offer a contemporary… twist on traditional dishes from Goa, North India, Hyderabad and Kashmir. Using only the best of local British produce wherever possible, and always the freshest seasonal ingredients” they promise to cook and serve with pride and integrity.

Cafe Spice Namaste interior

We arrived early last night (about 6.30pm) just as the restaurant was opening, and – briefly – saw it empty. It looks like it’d be a great venue for a party or event with its differently decorated rooms and ceiling spot lights.

For starters, I had squid dynamite, which was just that – delicious, tender baby squid in a fiery hot chilli sauce (not for the faint hearted but neither was it too hot to be pleasurable to eat) and K had a Frankie dosa. It was the first dosa either of us had tried containing lamb and was amazing – slowly cooked, tender lamb in a spicy masala with real depth of flavour.

Squid dynamite starter @ £7.75
Even the purple cress decoration was tasty!

Frankie Lamb Dosa starter @ £7.95

The main courses we chose were equally unusual: ostrich bhuna and dhaansaak. Both were as good as their menu descriptions (note: allow plenty of time to read the menu, it’s more like a book with lots of background and sometimes historical detail about each dish. It’s really informative and a joy to read).

Ostrich bhuna @ £15.95 with peshwari nan @ £3.25 + paneer saagwalla @ £6.95 – menu info below

“OSTRICH BHUNA
I know that the ostrich is not a native to either India or Britain, but it is indeed a fabulous meat, extremely lean and lower in saturated fats, cholesterol & calories than chicken and turkey, though expensive. Strips of ostrich fan fillet are tossed with the ever so classic of sub-continental Indian preparations, the ‘Bhuna’. Ours is a classical sauce and is not necessarily hot, served with pulao & chunks of fried potato to complete the dish.”

Dhaansaak @ £14.95 – menu info below

“ DHAANSAAK
The efforts that go into making a traditional Parsee Sunday roast, or “Dhaansaak” are enough to deter many chefs! We are delighted therefore to offer you this all-time classic lamb dish, prepared in an authentic style. Dhaansaak is composed of two words “Dhaan” meaning rice and “Saak” meaning the puréed vegetable and lentil combination with lamb. For optimum flavour, we blend sliced shin on-the-bone. Please do not confuse or compare this dish with its namesake sold elsewhere as many do, we are Parsees and we know exactly how to prepare this dish the correct way, served with brown onion rice, kachumber (an onion salad, but served optionally if you so desire) and a meat kebab placed in the brown rice. Traditionally, the Parsee will only use the word Dhaansaak which would to us refer to lamb or mutton only. If some people do not like red meat or cannot eat for health reasons, is chicken ever substituted and never anything else, vegetable Dhaansaak is sacrilege! And we do only lamb here. This is best eaten the way we serve it, with the traditional accompaniments &we recommend you eat it with the onion salad”

Restaurant info:
~ Lardbutty rating: 4 / 5
~ Type: Indian
~ Address: 16 Prescot Street, London
~ Postcode: E1 8AZ
~ Tel: 020 7488 9242
~ Nearest stations: Tower Hill, Tower Gateway
~ Website: Cafe Spice Namaste
~ Menus: a la carte menu
~ Other food products: Mr Todiwala’s chutneys + pickles
~ Location: Cafe Spice Namaste map

View Larger Map

The feeding of the five hundred (wombles) – Battersea

A top score of five out of five goes to The-Feeding-Of-The-Five-Hundred by the Battersea collective today.

Information shared on Twitter by @Riotcleanup means #riotwombles gather with brooms and bin-bags at Clapham Junction, spending a couple of hours in the sunshine first while emergency services finish treating the crime scene

* * * * *

Triangular ham + cheese and tuna sandwiches (with crusts trimmed, no less) provided by Battersea Arts Centre (BAC) are shared among hundreds of united riot Wombles gathered here at Clapham Junction.

Biscuits and BUNS (ok ‘fairy cakes’, there’ll be no arguing today) are washed down with water, juice and tea provided by locals and local shops, while staff from Jamie Oliver’s Recipease hand out bread loaves and Starbucks keeps the coffee and good-will flowing.

Tea + refreshments and bunting too

BAC picnic boxes to share

Bread and brooms

Amid cheers of “Broo-oom! Broo-oom!” to Boris Johnson (mistakenly reported by the press as Boo! Boo! and other such heckles), the crowd reciprocates Boris’s entertainment factor with a chanting of “Broom army”.

And before you know it, the picnic and – albeit superficial – clean-up is done. For now.

Last night (and preceding nights and still nights to come) was pants. Rioters have yet to state what it is they really want to achieve.

But for today, the sun shines, there’s an incredible sense of solidarity and even humour amid the despair.

This is a great community.

Further info
~ LoveBattersea.Org
~ Battersea Arts Centre (BAC)
~ Broom Army greets Boris with shouts of Broo-oom! Broo-oom!
~ Riot Cleanup London – Twitter profile
~ riot Wombles – Twitter profile
~ Get Real Rioters – fearless woman in Hackney
~ London Burns – Economist article, 9 Aug

Seafresh Restaurant – simply amazing fish and chips

Best fish and chips in London!

8oz haddock fillet (Peterhead and Grimsby) with chips @ £10.55

Good fish and chips are extremely hard to find in London, but Seafresh Restaurant in Pimlico is exceptional.

Serving fish fresh every day from Billingsgate (caught from Grimsby and the English coast) and direct from Peterhead in Scotland, there’s a substantial menu including haddock, cod, and plaice fillets as well as salmon, sardines, sea bream, calamari, fish cakes, etc and daily specials.

Fish is fried in rapeseed oil as standard, or you can choose to have it grilled for a £1 surcharge, or cooked on the bone if you don’t mind waiting about 20 minutes.

On this, my first visit, I ate in the cafe (there’s also an adjoining take-away shop) and had an 8oz haddock – perfectly cooked light, fluffy fish in crisp, freshly fried batter. And not a drop of oil in sight – simply beautiful. Given the freshness, quality and size of portions, this is great value, tasty food.

Deep fried calamari, freshly caught from the English coast @ £11.10

It was a Friday lunchtime and understandably, all the tables filled up quickly (in addition to excellent fish, service is prompt and staff are sufficiently attentive).

Opening hours from Monday to Friday are 12.00pm-3.00pm and 5.00pm-10.30pm, and on Saturdays from 12.00pm-10.30pm.

Popular on Friday lunchtimes

Seafresh Restaurant, Wilton Road – quaint Pimlico street

Restaurant info:
~ Lardbutty rating: 4.5 / 5
~ Type: British, fish and chips
~ Address: 80-81 Wilton Road, London
~ Postcode: SW1V 1DL
~ Tel: 020 7828 0747
~ Nearest station: Victoria, Pimlico
~ Website: Seafresh Restaurant website
~ Location: Seafresh Restaurant map

View Larger Map