The Week - UK (2022-02-19)

33

19 February 2022 THEWEEK

Food & Drink

LEISURE

Here’safun fact,saidDavidWilliams

in TheObserver:if Californiawerea

country,it wouldbe theworld’s

fourth-largestwine-producing

nationafterItaly,Franceand

Spain.YetCalifornia’swines

havenevercommandedhuge

respecton thissideof thepond.

Oneproblemis that“sub-£10

pleasureis thinon theground”;in thatprice

bracket,you’llmainlyfind“sickly-sweet”

winesby “big-namebrands”.Anotheris

thatin theUK,Californiais viewedas a

“viticulturalmonolith”,althoughin fact,it

has“atleastas muchgeologicalandclimatic

variation”as Franceor Spain.

Thereareafewmodestlypricedbargainsto

be had,suchas M&S’sjuicyClassics No.24

CaliforniaZinfandelUSA2020(£8).But

spendabit more,andyou’llfindplentyof

bottlesto rivalthosefromItalyor France.

QupéCentralCoast Syrah 2018(£22;The

WineSociety)hasadelicious“spicy-berry

succulence”.Alma de Cattleya

Chardonnay,Sonoma County 2019(£21;

Jeroboams)has“luminouscomplexity”.And

don’tmissthe“meaty-pepperysavouriness”

ofle P’titPaysanleP’tit Pape, Central

Coast2018(£31;NekterWines).

What the expertsrecommend

Food House46 GerrardStreet, London

W1 (020-72872818)

For manyyears,46GerrardStreetin

London’sChinatownwashometoan

“extremely reliable Cantonese placecalled

HarbourCity”, to which I’d oftentakemy

sons, says Jay RaynerinThe Observer.

From the website EaterLondon,Irecently

learnt that it’snow aSichuanrestaurant,

andone of the“trendiest”placestoeat in

centralLondon. Naturally, Ibookedright

away –and discovered that while the

carpets arethe same, it hasturned into

a“verydifferent type of restaurant”.Big,

boldSichuan flavourspredominate –all

that “thrilling,chilli andnumbing

peppercornhullabaloo”.Skewersoflamb

kidneyarrivein a“cloakofcrisp fat”.

Pan-fried pork andcabbagedumplings

“leak their juicesdownmychin”.There’s

awhole seabass to share, whichhas been

“plungedintoabath of chilli oil” and

arrives “bobbing” with dried chillies,

lotus rootand garlic. This isn’tfood that’s

“simple to eat”–but it’s certainly“alot

of fun”.I’m gratefulthat “I have agreat

reason, at last, to return to 46 Gerrard

Street”.Starters £5.80-£9.80;large dishes

£9.80-£24.80.

Holm28 St James Street, South Petherton,

Somerset (01460-712470)

South Petherton,insouth Somerset, is

a“honeypot of aparish”, said William

Sitwell in The Daily Telegraph. At its

centre is this“gloriously fine”restaurant,

housed in whatwasuntilrecentlyabank

(there’sstill acashpoint in the corner).

Nicholas Balfe,the chef patron, owns a

“smallgroup of highly ratedrestaurants

in southLondon”, includingSalon in

Brixton andLevaninPeckham.Andas

our “impeccable” meal reveals, he knows

what he’s doing. The cooking relies on

“traditionalingredients”,whichhavebeen

“heightened with intelligent capability”.

Ibegin witha“lightand delicate chicken

liver parfait”, before moving on to a

fabulous dish of pork loin and belly,

“livened” with salsa verde andquince.

For pudding, there’s an “outrageously

rich chocolate mousse”,temperedwith

miso-flavouredice cream.Asamealat

Holmconfirms,Britainhas agrowing

numberof“superb provincialrestaurants”

which arehelpingto “elevate” itsculinary

reputation.Dinner fortwo,excluding

drinks andservice: £104.

Jin-Da1Studland Street, LondonW6

(020-87482839)

Imusthave passed thisThai restaurant

“a thousandtimes”, as it’s on abackstreet

in Hammersmiththat used to be on my

schoolrun, said TomParker Bowles in

the DailyMail. But Inever paiditmuch

attention,assumingittobeyet another

“over-Anglicised” Thai. Howwrong I

was.It turns out that Jin-Daspecialises in

the foodof northernThailand,wherethe

flavoursare “nowherenearas brow-

beamingly fierce”asinthe more familiar

cooking typicalofthe northeast andsouth.

Namprik noom–arelishof roasted

young green peppers –is“subtle and

gentle, almostMexican in itsallure”.

Alsomild,thoughnever dull, is a“gently

sweet”namprik ong,o rshrimp paste

with mincedpork andtomatoes. Both

are dishes you won’toften find in Thai

restaurants in Britain.Amazingly, Jin-Da

isn’tthe only regionalThai restaurant in

this part of west London:justaroundthe

corner is the excellent101 ThaiKitchen,

specialising in theIsaan cookingofthe

northeast.About £18 ahead.

FoodHouse:“a lot of fun”

• Preheattheovento
  180°C.Greasea20cm
  squaretin andlinewith
  bakingparchment.


• Putthebutterand
  chocolatein asaucepan
  overalowheatandmelt,
  stirring,untilcombined.
  Stirin thesugar,then
  takeoff theheat.Cool
  for 5mins,untilwarm
  to thetouchratherthan
  scaldinghot.


• Addtheeggsto thepanandquickly
  stirto combine.Nowbeat,usinga
  handheldelectricwhisk,on amedium-
  high speed,for about3mins;the

mixturewillbecomethick

andvelvety.

• Siftovertheflour,
  cocoapowderandsalt,
  andgentlyfoldin with
  aspatulaor largemetal
  spoonuntiljustcombined.
  Transferthemixtureto
  yourpreparedtin –itwill
  be ratherthick–spreading
  themixintothecorners.


• Bakefor 30-35mins.It
  shouldbe seton top,withafewcracks
  aroundtheedge.Coolin thetin for at
  leasttwohoursbeforecuttinginto
  squares,thensprinklecrunchyseasalt
  on top.

Recipeof the week

200gunsaltedbutter,choppedinto roughcubes,plus extrafor greasing 300gdark

chocolate(around70%cocoasolids),roughlybrokeninto pieces 300gcastersugar

3large eggs and 1large egg yolk,lightlybeaten 50g plainflour 60g cocoapowder

½tsp sea salt, plus extrato sprinkle

If Icouldeatonlyonebrowniefor therestof mydays,thiswouldbe it, says

LeahHyslop.Darkandrich,it containsno nutsor otherextrasto distractfrom

its bewitchinglyoozycentre.Ipromiseit willfill anyholein yourlife.

Winechoice

Ultimatefudgybrownies

Taken fromTheBrownieDiariesbyLeah Hyslop,publishedby Bloomsburyat
£14.99.To buy from The Week Bookshopfor £11.99,visit theweekbookshop.co.uk.
©S

OPHIA

EVANS/GUARDIAN/EYEVINE;

LAUREN

MCLEAN