Barrafina Drury Lane, London

Isn't it funny, how life can suddenly take a wrong turn? All the plans became a blow of dusts and you are left bewildering what to do or what is ahead. Then there are some people that wants to ruin your life for some unknown selfish reasons. Along the way, you lose some friends as well, that used to be your so called "best friends". When life hits your hard, it may not be easy to keep your head above the water. The storm is rough, but it does not last forever. After a storm comes a rainbow, one would say one would become stronger afterward. But what I would say is fake being strong till you make it. It's the only way not to drown.

At the meantime, even if you are weak you still have to eat to survive. Why have crappy food when you can have Barrafina? It took me awhile before making it to the restaurant, I always wanted to go but the queue is always insane. I finally had a reason to go without queuing, and it was for a post theatre meal. Surely there would not be a queue at 10pm? So one evening after "The Book of Mormon", me and the not so nobleman totted to Drury Lane which was the third branch of Barrafina (they've a Michelin starred one in Soho and another one in Adelaide Street in Covent Garden). Guess what, there was no queue.

Diver Caught Scallop Ceviche

Stuffed Courgette Flower

It always excites me when there are counter seats and watching the chef sereniting the kitchen, that's the simple set up of Barrafina. No frill and no fuss. Another point is that watching the chef plating up a dish that looks good makes you want to order more food or going "I'll have one of those too".

First arrived was the scallop ceviche, the dressing that came with it was unlike the ceviche dressing from a Peruvian catering. The balance of zing and sweet with the melt in the mouth texture of scallop, a moment in life where you want it to carry on in your mouth. Then there was the stuffed courgette flower, stuffed with goats cheese and drizzled with honey. That strong cheese flavour was so on point, a marriage for a cheese lover. We also had the roast peppers, anchovies & pan de coca which I unfortunately demolished half before realising the photography. It's a classic tapas dish of a piece of toast topped with roast peppers and anchovies. I was too hungry and it was heavenly with the sweetness of the pepper and the saltines of anchovies and a added crunch from the toast.

Crab Bun

Baby Artichokes

Brill, Potato, Garlic

Perhaps, the crab bun is undoubtedly the signature dish here. That poppy seed topped soft bun and that creamy abundance crabby concoctions (mixed with some asparagus I think for more texture), I think my heart just skipped a beat. If only I was not allergic to crab, we could have munched on another easily. From the special board, we had the baby artichokes which was deep fried I believed. Artichokes are not about the appearance, but the flavour. And with an aiöli sauce on the side. I never understood the people that does not like artichokes, seriously I don't and I think it is an underrated vegetable. Last was the brill, potato, garlic dish. The delicate flesh of the brill was cooked to perfection, the potato was soft and mopping up the sauce. All topped with huge amount of crispy garlic and parsley. I may have turned into a pescatarian for the night, I would happily do it for anytime when in Barrafina again.

It was late at night where we could not stop the laughter, a wise choice of not cracking a bottle since we probably could not finish it in an hour or secretly maybe we can. We happily went with my suggestion of a glass each of Rioja, Hacienda del Ternero Blanco 2013. Nose of yellow fruits with some flowers. The palate is very balanced, good acidity and sweet stride.

I strongly believe with good company and good food, it equates to a good time, I could not ask for more. The food at Barrafina was faultless and certainly did not disappoint, every bites you have the taste gets better. More butterflies goes dancing in your mouth, it's full of explosions. You know you are in for a good meal when you go to Barrafina.

Score Rating: 5/5.




http://www.barrafina.co.uk/restaurants/drury-lane

Superstar BBQ, London

Sitted by the floor to ceiling windows, bronze lampshades and baubles hanging above at irregular lengths, tapping away on my phone whilst waiting for my friend. The failed moment when your friend stood outside by the window trying to grab my attention by making silly faces, but the fact is I never took a notice of it. Lifting my head, I turned and saw my friend Burcu standing outside. With the most confusing expression on my face, wondering what the hell is this girl doing not coming inside and would rather be out in the cold. I have a lot of silly friends that always trying to play their humour side when being with me. Be warned, I am a joke killer. Do not expect to me to laugh, because I will just kill it unexpectedly.

Korean BBQ has always been an on and off trend. In fact this is my second Korean BBQ in London throughout living here so long. Burcu never had Korean cuisine before so this was a surprisingly interesting introduction to her. Located in St Giles Piazza, Superstar BBQ is a new Korean joint from the mini chain of Bimbimbap. The stretch of St Giles Street and Tottenham Court Road is fast becoming the second Korean Town (after New Malden in South London) with many new establishments opening up.

Fallen Angel in Busan

Super Star Queen's Peach

Both cocktails used soju (Korean distilled beverage) as the base of its alcohol. It tasted very nice, just a touch of overly sweet for mez

Banchan (namool & kimchi)

The menu is just as what you would expect for a Korean BBQ, full of different marinated meats. With our indecisiveness, we opted for the set menu no.3, for £35 each. When one hear the word BBQ, it will linger to the taste of smoke over hot coals, the dimension of charred on food. Due to the strict UK health and safety, it will be a rarity to play with fire. In place is an electrical grill fitted in every table. 

An array of banchan proceeded, side dishes of fermented and seasoned vegetables. The kimchi was well made, enough spiciness for those that can not tolerate spicy and still had a crunch to it. 

Pa Jeon (seafood pancake) and Traditional Mandoo (dumplings)

Yuk Hwae (beef tartare)

The pa jeon, a thin batter pacake studded with seafood lost its crispness. The traditional mandoo, fried dumplings are just what you'd expected. What stood out was the yuk hwae, the Korean version of beef tartare. It is usually made up of julienned strip of the most tender part of the beef, seasoning and egg yolk, mixed with julienned Korean pear and pine nuts for freshness and crunch. Another first for Burcu for tasting raw beef, thumbs up for the brave girl.

Korean BBQ 

Squid

Rib Galbi

Wine Pork Belly

Sesame & Garlic Sirloin

Grilled Vegetables

The parade of meat and seafood for the BBQ was set up after the starters. I had to swap the tiger prawns for squid due to my allergy. We were presented with squid, rib galbi (de boned short rib), wine pork belly, sesame & garlic sirloin and vegetables. According to the instruction, it would take around 3 minutes for the grill to heat up which was misleading. We could not get any caramelisation on our squid, the grill was simply not hot enough to cook yet. For rest, it did not go into incineration. On hands with the BBQ was some cabbage leaves, spring onion salad, gochujang (hot pepper sauce) and salt & sesame oil dipping sauce. How do you eat it? Simply use the cabbage leaves like a wrap. Add some cooked meat, salad and sauce to it, then dunk it into your mouth. If you're feeling lazy, skip all those steps and just eat the meat/seafood/vegetables.

Considering it is food for two, more came along with a small bibimbap and miso soup. Honestly we were too cluttered up by now, I still tested the bibimbap out and sipped on the soup. 

Seasonal Fruits

Honey Quince

Dessert was a platter of season fruits acting as a palate cleanser and also a chilled honey quince drink which had a very intriguing taste.

Superstar BBQ is a fun interaction food venue for a Tinder date or a group of friends. Food is met with novelty of self cooking, but once the fun is worn off it is lacklustre. Service was friendly and all staffs spoke fluent English.

Score: 2.5/5



http://superstarbbq.co.uk

I was invited to review, as always opinions are my own.