My first ever experience of his cooking was at Bacchus. Approximately a week after it opened I rang up to book a thirty-five strong group in. I suspect, though this has never been validated, that we were the first large group he'd had there. I was determined to have the tasting menu but realised that there was no chance of getting thirty-five people to join in a meal that was challenging. It's always been strange to me that so many people I meet are conservative about food, by which I mean BNP, Daily Mail conservative. Tar with one brush conservative. "I don't eat fish", "Well done", "Chips with that mash, please" conservative. I appreciate if something is attempted and rejected, because as with nice men, you never know when it could turn out to be interesting. Anyhow, this occasion was no different. I arranged for a seven course paired menu (paired with beer, wine, sake, juice and cocktails) and a three course involving steak and chips. Eleven of thirty five opted tasting. Six of twenty four complained because the steak was pink. I ignored them. It wasn't hard, I'd found a new obsession.
That was three years ago, so I'm unlikely to remember the whole menu. Some things stuck out, like a foamed lemongrass bubble bath that nearly floored me. A marinated mackerel. There was an egg at sixty-four degrees, the first time I'd had it, which I think came with braised eel. There was a lamb dish that was so good that I tried to filch it from Lionel's plate. A chawanmushi. The main thing though was that it was eating the way any Singaporean loves it - all about the best things in life. The great quality, textures, flavours and execution needed for the food to go from good to great. Delicious drinks that complemented the food and suited all palettes. Incredible ambiance considering the complexity of the cooking, the strapline was "fine dining in sneakers". Amicable but unobtrusive service. Best of all, best of all, excellent conversation. I wish I could relive those hours.
Over my next years I lost my appetite for "molecular" cooking. I steadfastly favoured Bacchus. Anthony's didn't impress at all. The commendable l'enclume leaned towards the story telling side of the genre, as the Fat Duck does, and as is the case with both of these, lost a little in the flavour on occasion. Not to mention those stories are costly! Bacchus constantly offered excellent value for money, and so I kept going back to spend it.
Then, without warning, it was gone. Replaced by a "gastropub". I remember feeling like I might cry. Mentally, there was at least a howl of despair. I boxed the betrayal and torment in a cold place in my heart and moved on. I thought the love affair was lost forever. Or at least I did until I bumped into a friend of a friend's from Singapore who informed me that Nuno was going into partnership with someone as close to me as Kevin Bacon and therefore there was a sliver of hope! Investigations commenced. What they yielded was...
(I hope this gives a feel for the venue. It's sexy and cosy, all at once.)
... The Loft. A supper club. A place to go and have a dinner party, albeit it one that could only be prepared by someone with training and a budget. As with Bacchus it was at the other end of the world, but I would travel! Well. Assuming I could go. The Loft had been intended to run for Fridays and Saturdays as tider-overer while he worked on his next big thing (or not so big, since critics love him less than foodies do), but his entire rota filles in a weekend, and when he added Thursdays, those filled in a day! I know he trained at El Bulli but really that is too much! I did the only thing I could think of. I begged. That is how we ended up with a table for sixteen on a Wednesday night.
I don't want to write about every aspect of the meal. This blog isn't a food blog, it's a dull, unfocussed, life blog. I did think I'd share some of my (new) friend Bao and my photos though. Sadly there isn't much to convey the feel. We literally hung out in his home, which was comfortably decked out for loft living, for five hours, eating, drinking, living. There was course after course, with explainations as to how they were made and inter-courses. It was a little heavy on the seafood, though this was unsurprising since it was a Wednesday. Here are some of my favourites:
I have dining table envy.
Cosy with Posy.
Sea bass skin over pickled cucumber and marinated sea bass. Ponzu ice.
Four types of tomato. Mozerella so creamy I thought it was goats cheese. Watermelon soup.
Razor clams and enoki in a mushroom broth.
A poached quails egg in laksa accompanied by chicken skin and daikon.
Tribute to onion. An onion bubble - Nuno later explained this was made by dipping a teaspoon of french onion soup into gelatine. Tapiaco pearls (sago gula melaka!)
A slow cooked piece of steak, with three takes on mushroom. A mushroom caramel. Diced garlic mushroom. Chilli button mushrooms.
Maybe I'm not that tired of the style after all...
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