peacock at the rowsley

on bank holiday o and i were out in the peak district in derbyshire. our weekend splurge involved a three-course dinner at the peacock at rowsley. the dining hall is a simple rectangular room whose windows look out into a well-kept garden. one of the walls is painted a spring green lending freshness.

we start of with aperitifs in the bar and then make our way to the dining hall. once seated o and i are handed the dinner menu. we consult back and forth on our choices and eventually decide as follows – i start on a salad of a melon, berries and rum. it is beautifully presented with my melon sculpted in a rose shape served on a disc of watermelon and berries and cherries on the side. the dressing is of rum. it’s a quintessential summer salad and the fruit is very sweet and juicy. on the other side of the table o is tucking into a rather elaborate starter – a square of toasted brioche topped with a poached egg, a disc of warmed goats cheese, an asparagus spear and hollandaise sauce. for a person not so keen on goats cheese o looks quite satisfied and before i can say anything he tells me that the goats cheese is quite mellow and hasn’t over-powered the rest of the ingredients.

our entrée’s arrive and are once again beautifully presented. o’s is a classic british roast, slices of carved beef whose centre is a deep pink edges are seared a dark brown. with it is a yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes and gravy. steamed vegetables bring up the side; bright carrot batons, peas and cauliflower with cheese. i have chosen sea bream that comes sitting on top of puy lentils – its skin is bring silver and glistens lightly. the sides have a length of warmed turmeric cream. the fish flakes easy and is full of flavour.

choosing dessert turns out to be a tricky affair as most of the choices are tempting. first both of us are tempted by the creamed rice pudding that comes with cherry preserves but we veto this choice as it’s something we can get pretty easily, all the time. next is the trio of ice cream that includes strawberry sorbet and passion fruit ice cream both of which are homemade. o also toys with the idea of white chocolate cheesecake with blueberry compote that i am not particularly keen on [i like the good old fashioned baked cheese-cake!]. then there is the lemon tart…but really i had already made up my mind on the sticky toffee pudding. and o after some mulling over chose the same. we couldn’t have chosen better. the pudding came served in a bowl, warm and a dark toffee in colour. there was a huge dollop of cream on top and thick toffee sauce all round. each bite revealed a dense toffee flavour with the zest of orange.

we finished on after-dinner coffee that was served with cream and milk and delectable hand-made truffles whose centres were liquid dark sea-salt caramel that oozed after the first bite.

roti & naans

i love roti, in all its shapes and forms - the laal mandari which is round, quite thick and made of wholemeal flour (strangely termed ‘laal atta’ which literally translated means red flour). then there is pateeri roti made of slightly fermented dough and is slightly thinner. roti’s white flour cousins are called naans - roghni is a round patterned one, sprinkled with sesame seeds and brushed with clarified butter as soon as it emerges from the tandoor. afghani naans tear away in long strips as they are long and linear hemmed in by a thick and very soft crust. stuffed naans are a meal unto themselves and are best enjoyed with yoghurt, plain or minted, the best is keema naan (minced meat). on my last visit to the tandoor mum and i stood in the sweltering heat and while we waited for our order of roti and naans to be prepared we couldn’t resist the temptation of a fresh roghni naan. fingers and tongues slightly scalded we tore bits and peices and ate, all the while grumbling about mid-meal snacking. to me roti from the tandoor is what warm bread is from the oven to europeans - or as euphorium bakers say, it is the simplest pleasure in life.

yildiz

one evening shortly after my return from pakistan o & i landed up at  yildiz ocakbaşı restaurant i discovered after a little google-ing that ocakbaşı means a grill restaurant with an open fire pit in the middle. the london restaurant doesn't have a fire pit in the middle but it does have a rather long grill as soon as you enter. the lighting here is dim and the interior warm with the heat of the grill and the smell of meat. o likes starters and orders the hellim - charcoal grilled slices of very salty haloumi cheese. i personally prefer my haloumi sliced a little thinner but it was tasty all the same. with it came pide, warm and dusted with sumac.

for mains i ordered the chicken shish and o, the chicken beyti. the difference between the two is that the beyti is a mince kebab and the shish, cubes of chicken. both of them were cooked on the grill. neither of us were prepared for the generosity of the helpings. along with the rice, pide and salad that made up each plate there was a scrumptious complimentary serving of grilled onions in turnip and pomegranate sauce, the tang and tart of which accentuated the clean herby and salty flavour of the meat. the complimentary fried onions dressed with some sumac were equally good. 

the next day i came over and we ate the left overs with a fresh order of imam bayildi - a large aubergine stuffed with tomates, onions and garlic served on a bed of rice. yildiz's rice is incredibly good. long grain and fragrant. we would all recommend eating here. especially since not only is it really good wholesome food but its very well priced too.

t at sara's

my (self appointed) god mother organized a tea for me post my marital-engagement. there were two kinds of open faced sandwiches; a thick layer of pesto with a garnish of tomato & basil, mozzarella and tomato. and chicken baked in a soothingly mild manner. of course there is a signature seasonal fruit salad and auntie s’ infamous crepes stuffed with peaches and cream that o has developed a penchant for. with it was tea, the perfect cup of it. brewed to a strong perfection and whitened with full cream milk.

mandalay burmese

at mandalay, there is a map on the door that details the location of the toilet. this tiny family run restaurant finds itself on the grubbier side of edgware road. i, o and i would definitely recommend a visit and also advise that you order starters to tide over the waiting time – we ordered a mix of dishes and a starter as an after thought that arrived alongside dessert. yes, i agree that that is a rather bizarre manner of eating but hunger coupled with a 45 minute wait doesn’t help. notwithstanding, do not let that put you of visiting this place. it’s really worth the wait!

we ordered a medley of dishes. there was lentil rice which to me was a rather trendy version of kichiri – a pakistani dish made of yellow split lentils and rice but in a soft consistency (often used to soothe upset tummies). mandalay’s version wasn’t creamy. Its rice held its shape and was flecked with lentils. the okra was cooked to perfection maintaining its greenness and garnished with crispy fried onions. a personal favorite, the khauk-swe which is made up of noodles served in a curry flavoured coconut milk with prawns was excellent. the coconut milk adds depth and tempers the edge of chili and the noodles, meat and vegetables in it make it a wholesome meal. the chicken in tamarind was tangy and sweet.

dessert arrived alongside the prawn and vegetable fritters, essentially shredded vegetables and baby prawns dunked in a flour batter, deep fried and served with some mango and chili sauce. the banana fritters came as whole banana’s with a crisp golden coating and my semolina and coconut cream was an interesting combination of little blocks of pale cream semolina nesting in coconut cream with a drizzle of dark caramel syrup.