Losing myself in the suspended black pineapple behind the counter whilst waiting to be greeted at the front. I couldn't believe it. After yonks of watching his extremely talented cooking in bewilderment, here we are standing minutes away from tasting his ingenious creations.
Yes, we were at the Mandarin Oriental, the very accessible Dinner by Heston Blumenthal.
I waited for my table at the bar, sipping at my elegant Pink Folder, a cocktail that had pomegranate seeds, gin and champagne. All the makings of a fine pre-dinner cocktail by my books. And plenty soothing after a difficult day of denying myself some awesome bargains from the Harvey Nichols sale just across the road.
We'd eventually migrated from the bar to my table and was delighted to take in the elegant dark wood and leather chairs surroundings whilst waiting for Mr.HEA to arrive. The waiters were very attentive and kept light chatter going to keep me company.
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| Bread and butter |
Delightful crusty bread with churned butter that was so soft to spread and everything yellow butter should taste like, kick started our meal.
I stopped chewing on the bread because I knew we had this starter coming. The meat fruit was a dish from a time when dinner hosts enjoyed playing tricks on their party guests. As you might be familiar with, the Mandarin wasn't actually fruit. This Meat fruit was a deliciously encased (Mandarin infused jelly peel) buttery and light chicken liver & foie gras parfait that would spread richly across the grilled bread that you eat with it. Such richness in flavour and the sinful oily bread made this dish both delightful and 'unbearable' to devour. I am glad that I refrained from ordering two starters as no way would I have been able to finish this entirely on its own.
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| Inside the Meat Fruit |
Cod in Cider was my main of choice. I thought it aptly paired with the Vouvray I picked. Think flakes of smooth firm cod swimming in a buttery sauce with elegant mussels to punctuate the delicate flavours of the fish dish.
Mr. HEA selected the spiced pigeon, to which the waiter exclaimed was an excellent choice, warning that it will come deliciously pink. And melt in your mouth goodness might not have been promised, but this fowl was cooked to such tenderness that Mr.HEA did not leave a single morsel on the plate. Mind you though, they provided an extra beaker of sauce (Manu Fiedel would have been proud) and that wasn't touched, as it wasn't necessary to add anymore moisture or flavour to the bird.
We chickened out of two desserts because the dishes do seem rather rich, but we both couldn't go far beyond the first dessert labelled - Tipsy cake. A fluffy brioche drenched in brandy and sweet syrupy liquids, served up with a slice of spiced and glazed spit roasted pineapple (Check the spit roasts visuals below!). Mr.HEA and I fought civilly for the fifth portion of this dish to the amusement of our waiter. It doesn't divide up well between two people and yes it is sickly sweet but so enticing that one can't help oneself when this is placed in front of them.
We were about to leave. Deliriously satisfied with the not overly expensive yet extremely indulgent meal when they brought out an after dinner chaser of Earl grey infused chocolate pots with a caraway biscuit soldier.
Perhaps to make up for the fact that we passed on the amazing liquid nitrogen ice cream for the night? (Mr. HEA exclaims he has seen the theatrics before and wasn't too fussed about missing out) Ah well... I'd reserve it for our next visit.
Because of course there will be a next time. Mr. HEA just doesn't know it yet.
