London's Dining Couple Taste of London 2017 Review

On Sunday, Shiima and I had a wonderful time at the Taste Of London Restaurant Festival in Regent’s Park. We’d heard a lot about Taste Of London, and almost went last year, but this was our first experience of the event and we’ll certainly be going back (I already got the Early Bird Tickets for the next Edition in November at Tobacco Dock).

Regent’s Park is a short walk from Regent’s Park Underground station. The space is considerable, yet fairly easy to make your way around because it is really well constructed, and you are constantly drawn in by the next bunch of superb restaurants and traders just ahead. There were also lots of activities, such as hands-on demonstrations by top chefs, Masterclasses, and tastings, but we weren’t there for that, we were there for the food. Soon as you step into the festival, you are given a menu card, but we decided to just explore, and buy dishes that called at us. We didn’t eat breakfast either, so we came ready.

Shiima was first to succumb to temptation. She ordered a K-Dog from BubbleDogs, which was small (most dishes were small, which in hindsight, is to be expected lol) but tasty. I had a bite as well, and I liked it, but not as much as I liked the Malabar Chicken Wings from Jamavar, which was deliciously coated in a very well spiced curry. Next was all me – I ordered the Deep Fried Courgette Flower from Taste Makers Of London and also the Icon Dish of Confit Duck Kibbeh. The Deef Fried Courgette Flower, besides the drizzled honey, tasted identical to Barrafina’s, which is a big compliment. The ricotta cheese stuffed inside was delicious, and the courgette flower wasn’t overly fried in a tasty batter. Shiima really enjoyed it as well. The Confit duck tasted really nice as well, but I would’ve liked more duck filling inside.

Roka was next, and we ordered the rock shrimp tempura, which was so delicious, that we ordered a second one – the chilli mayonnaise was simply greatness. I also ordered their icon dish, which was lamb cutlets with Korean spices. It was so good, really, incredibly good. Perfectly grilled and perfectly spiced, and a good quantity too. Then Shiima, as the perfect partner, pointed out Senor Ceviche to me and I excitedly ordered the Slow cooked crispy pork belly. It was tasty, but way too crunchy, I don’t know where slow cooked fell in that dish. It sat on smoked sweet potato puree, which as you’d imagine was delicious.

Next was Ember Yard, which Shiima also pointed out knowing how much I raved about my solo excursion to the restaurant. I ordered the slow cooked octopus, prawn and Padron peppers skewer, which was on a bed of tomatoes ad crispy chickpeas. I loved the skewers, but I didn’t touch the tomatoes or chickpeas. Our last dish, well, my last dish to be exact, was the squid ink croquetas from Little Jose, and again Shiima pointed it out cos she knows I loved the dish. This did not disappoint at all. It was rich and incredibly delicious, and a really good quantity.

Now that was our last dish not because we didn’t find any other dishes we liked, not when there were restaurants we’ve enjoyed like Duck & Waffle, Chai Wu, The Cinnamon Club, Balls & Company, and many other restaurants with very alluring dishes. It was the last dish because we were running out of time and didn’t want to be greedy. And Shiima wasn’t feeling too good as evidenced by not ordering much food, but she didn’t let that interfere with our lovely experience.

We also wanted to look through the traders for products that might interest us, but only after we each enjoyed a mini Oppo Columbian chocolate with hazelnut ice cream. It was a close call between Oppo and Jude’s, but the queue for Jude’s was too long. We also enjoyed a new Bottle Green refreshing coconut canned drink. I didn’t expect Shiima to enjoy it at all, cos she doesn’t like coconut water, but she really enjoyed it so much that we searched Waitrose yesterday and then Ocado earlier today, but it hasn’t yet been released to them. We did see other things that we already enjoy, such as Pots & Co desserts, Pip & Nut nut butters, Propercorn popcorn, Hippeas and more, so we didn’t buy any products from them, but I bought a couple new flavours from Joe & Seph’s popcorn.

We settled in the VIP lounge for a bit before we set off home, and enjoyed a non-alcoholic mixed berry mojito, which a bartender went above any beyond to prepare for us.

Verdict

Taste Of London Restaurant festival was a blast. Perfect for Shiima and I. It was a tad expensive, which is expected when you consider the calibre of restaurants, but there is a lot to do and there are so many varieties of food. I recommend for everyone, but foodies especially. It’s a great time. The searing weather helped as well.

Dress Code: Casual
Cuisine: Everything!
Shiima’s Star Dish: Ebi no tempura (Roka)
Amen’s Star Dish: Malabar Chicken Wings (Jamavar)
Ratings: 5 out of 5