New Asia Restaurant

For some reason, when I hear the word Asia in a restaurant name I think of Chinese food, or even Japanese food, but very seldom do I put together the idea of India producing an Asian cuisine. No matter what you call it, it's undeniable that New Asia serves good Indian food at prices that won't blow your travel budget. They serve quite a variety of cuisines from different regions of India including recipes that represent these styles; Balti, Vindaloo, Korma and a variety of others that I have yet to see on other Indian restaurant menus that I find in the U.S. The restaurant was styled in a manner that was adequate for the customer base, tourists. There were linens on the tables, and artwork on the walls. The lighting was soft and set a nice mood, but the tables were a bit close. We had a choice of two restaurants for Indian food that evening, One was a take out/eat in restaurant, very modern and spare, while the other was New Asia which just looked more appealing.

We decided to split an appetizer and selected a very simple fried shrimp. It was more than we had expected and admittedly better looking. The two shrimp were butterflied and battered together with a breadcrumb surface that was fried and crispy.

I'm a big fan of the Korma style of cooking, I really enjoy the coconut and mild flavors. I've tried it in several countries and have discovered that it's different everywhere. It seems to be prepared differently in each country, As though there was a confederation of Indian restaurant owners who set a standard for each community. This time, I decided I had to go out of my comfort zone and try different things, as long as I had this opportunity that presented so many new options. We didn't stray too far, as we found ourselves ordering Vegetable Korma. It was, however, the first time that we have ordered it without chicken or lamb, and I found it less flavorful. Some Korma sauces are heavy on cashews, while others are predominantly coconut based. This one was definitely a coconut based Korma sauce. Now I find it very confusing to identify Korma sauce at all.

My dining companion, cannot break his habit of ordering Lamb Vindaloo. Even after being cautioned by the waiter that Vindaloo is very hot in England, he went ahead, and ordered it. All I can say is, his very large bottle of Cobra beer and a glass of water were gone in a very short period of time.  

To break the Korma habit I asked about something on the menu that I never saw before, and since it was described as being medium hot I decided to give it a try. Bhuna Gosht turned out to be delicious over the steamed rice. It was made with lamb in a tomato sauce with a very large amount of shredded onions that were not overcooked. They still had a little resistance in them, which added a very nice texture to the dish overall. The heat was noticeable, yet tolerable. No beer needed, although I did have a mango lassi available if needed.

I don't think one can dine in an Indian restaurant without ordering naan. We decided on the garlic naan, and to continue on the idea of trying something new, we also ordered a Peshwari naan filled with coconut. Not too much coconut, just enough to flavor it. It really was a delight to use this to enjoy the last of the Korma sauce; they were perfect partners. 

7 Hogarth Place

London SW5 England

Earl's Court Tube

Masala Zone

 

Several trips ago, I spotted Masala Zone in the Earl’s Court area of London. It was a chain of Indian restaurants that had a decidedly contemporary decor that set it apart from so many other Indian restaurants located all over the city. It served Indian Thali dishes presented on stainless steel platters with a variety of curries, small bowls of vegetables, grains, and condiments. The fact that this is the way Indian people usually eat with less meat and more vegetables was intriguing, as I had never seen it offered in a restaurant before. Masala Zone also specialized in street food, regional curries, and grilled meats. That set it apart from the competition as well.

 

Although the Thali and street food were their specialties, the menu crossed the continent with dishes from various areas of India. The menu included what I perceive as standards of Indian cuisine: Chicken Korma, Lamb Vindaloo, Roghan Josh, various Biryani dishes,  and Chicken Tikka Masala. There were samosas and items I have seen less often, for example, Malai and Goan dishes.

Since I generally have few opportunities to eat specialties from Goa, my first selection was the Goan Crispy Prawns. The batter was indeed crispy and they arrived with a very spicy aioli and a cool crisp salad to refresh the palate.

    

Even without a first course, the Thali would have provided more than enough food for lunch. It was a mix and match affair and my selection of sides included potatoes, a winter squash curry, and dal. Papadum, a cilantro based sauce and mango chutney were included with the meal as was pilau rice. Lamb Rogan Josh was my selection for the meat curry with its spicy heat being a perfect choice for a cold, damp afternoon.

Masala Zone Website

147 Earls Court Road W8
London SW5 9RQ
+44 20 7373 0220 U. K.

Maggie Jones

Having already been to Porter's in Covent Garden, we were on the hunt for an authentic English restaurant to try on this visit to London. As it turned out, my Knopf Map Guide to London listed one that sounded perfect, Maggie Jones. The setting looked old and cozy and on the day we went it was raining, so cozy was a plus. It seemed an authentic sort of place, not a theme restaurant as Porter's strikes me to be. The best thing was that the recipes were truly English, but also modern interpretations, so the food was much better and less bland than expected.

First and foremost the bread was a whole grain, very delicious, and cut very thick, a great compliment to the rustic menu. Unsalted butter was a good match, but the bread could have stood in its own. Bangers and Mash are so very British, but the modern twist was that they were wild boar sausages, very rich though not gamy and the traditional suet was still in the recipe. Admittedly, I love British bangers specifically because of the suet. The portion was also generous.

Gratins are not what one thinks of generally as British, but the cheese on this cauliflower version was very noticeably Cheddar, a classic English cheese. It had a nice edge to it, a real bite that did not diminish with heating. Often, I believe that cheese can be overdone on a dish such as this, but more would have been welcomed, even though it was already melting down the sides of the dish. Really, I couldn't get enough of it and since there was so much cauliflower, I wanted more. The cauliflower itself was very tender and flavorful so the two tastes together were enough to make meat entirely unnecessary for it to be satisfying. It could make a meal in itself.

Since we don't often see liver and onions on menus at home, my husband was very happy to order the liver, but on this menu, it came with bacon. As his second favorite food group, bacon was a welcomed addition to the liver and he could do without the onions this time. Sides of boiled potatoes and peas with ham (or was that more bacon?) came with this dish, so there was plenty of food. As you can surmise from the size of the dinner plate, that was a large portion of liver. This restaurant was a very nice find with generous portions and decent prices. As soon as I find one, the menu will be linked.

6 Old CT Pl
London W8 4PL, United Kingdom
020 7937 6462
Subway stop: High Street Kensington

Live Bait

In early 2005 I hosted a cook book exchange with a group of avid home cooks and some professional chefs. We all brought books we had tired of and traded them one for one. The book that most intrigued me was Live Bait, a book written by a popular British chef that showed very exciting recipes for fish and shellfish. Fish is something I need to eat more of, but my skills with it are limited and I'm not very inventive with it either, so this book really inspired me. When I found myself in London on vacation I decided I had to try the restaurant that had such enticing recipes as: Salmon and Dill Ravioli, Potato and Hazelnut Gratin, Goat Cheese Cheesecake, Seared Sea Scallops with Red Wine Pears, Roast Fillet of Turbot with Foie Gras Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Tiger Shrimp Wrapped in Sea Bass with Tagliatelle Mussels and Merguez Sausages, Honey and Ginger Roasted Octopus, Spring Rolls of Squid Oyster and Bacon, Lasagne of Sole and spinach with a Stilton Bechamel Sauce, and finally Meatballs of Whole Sea Scallops with Spicy Sausage (a fish version of Scotch Egg...Scotch Scallop). I don't know when it changed, but by the time I had arrived, the restaurant was all about sustainable fish and the menu can be seen linked at the bottom of this post. I approve whole heartedly about not depleting the oceans and being vigilant about only eating sustainable varieties of fish, but why did the style of cooking have to change so dramatically? Everything especially the sides were so pedestrian.

The fresh baked bread was good, but they only offered the saffron and a baguette, not the tomato, or spinach breads that sat alongside the saffron bread in the book. The mussels were very good, although classic and not prepared with anything one would not expect. Clearly the restaurant made it's reputation on inventive, creative combinations of flavors, but could it be that as less adventurous patrons started pouring in, they only ordered the more familiar dishes, thus forcing the restaurant to dumb down the menu? Fish and chips were on offer from the start. If this was the case, it is really a tragedy for the chef.

In my quest for something different, I ordered the grilled yellowfin tuna with 3 sauces. It was quite disappointing to find guacamole and pico de gallo on my plate, especially since they were lacking salt and tasted flat. The description lead me to believe something else was coming, oh yes, sour cream, not my first choice for fish. It was a decent, tasty tuna steak, three of them actually, so all was not lost, just my quest for something that would inspire me. But I still have the book, so I plan to use those creative recipes on my own and hope they will turn out well.

 

My partner in crime, the one most likely to order something more familiar elected to try the fish and chips; we were in England after all. They did not disappoint. The cod was light and fluffy and the chips were nice and crunchy. As sides we decided to try mushy peas and the spinach with nutmeg, both very satisfying as far as flavor or should I say "flavour" was concerned.

Live Bait Website

The Cut, Waterloo

London SE1 8LF

Tel: 020 7928 7211

Mon to Sat: 12.00pm - 11.00pm

Sun: 12.30pm - 9.00pm