• Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Snapchat
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

MsMarmiteLover

  • Food
    • Recipes
    • Vegetarian
    • Vegan
  • Travel
    • France
    • Italy
    • Spain
    • UK
  • Wine
  • Gardens
  • Supperclubs/Events
  • About
    • Press
    • Books
  • Shop
    • Cart

Japanese and Jackson night at The Underground Restaurant

June 28, 2009 13 Comments Filed Under: Uncategorized

Shiso leaf sushi. This is a Japanese herb. It tastes a bit like stinging nettles.

French beans dressed in sesame paste, lemon and mirin sauce

The production line to prepare the katsu kebabs

Prepping the katsu kebabs

Katsu fried in breadcrumbs.

Katsu sandwich with Japanese brown sauce and mayonnaise. Basically Japanese motorway cafe food. In Japan it’s considered hangover food.

Making green tea ‘matcha’ ice cream.

Green Tea ice cream with wasabi meringue and cherry

This is burdock root. I scraped off shavings and deep fried it with fresh sliced lotus root. It has a woody sweet taste. The fresh lotus root is similar to parsnip.

Taka from Tsuru restaurant

Various maki rolls, made by Emma of Tsuru, plus daikon pickles, umeboshi plums, pickled shitake mushrooms.

Emma Reynolds of Tsuru, wearing a skirt. If you know her, you know this is unusual.

Tempura: avocado, sweet potato, red peppers, chili peppers, asparagus.

‘Inari’ sweetened tofu pockets stuffed with flavoured sushi rice, umeboshi and seeds, and chilli and orange pepper rice on camelia leaves.
Hiro from Akashi Tai sake came to serve and talk about sake and Japanese plum wine ‘Umeshu’. As if he was going to get away with that! He was quickly, especially as he was wearing a dark suit and white shirt, press-ganged into service as a waiter.
It was a hot night and the sake was served chilled.
Emma Reynolds of Tsuru Restaurant (do check it out!) and I spent all day prepping a Japanese menu for The Underground Restaurant. I visited a local Japanese shop ‘Natural Natural’ on Friday, gaining inspiration from the range of products. At this shop the staff speak good English and are happy to explain how to cook things.

The young man at ‘Natural Natural’ has an ingredients book under the till. He will look anything up and tell you how to cook it.

I would like to learn more about Japanese food and it was great having Emma, Taka and Hiro on hand. I tried to introduce some new ingredients to the standard fare you get at sushi restaurants. Some of the ideas I found in an old Japanese cookery book. I used shiso leaves to wrap rice. I also picked camelia leaves from my garden, an unusual method of presentation.
I bought products such as Burdock root, fresh lotus root, pickled daikon and umeboshi plums which I adore. I like anything umami, the fifth flavour after salty, sweet, bitter and sour. One night I am going to do an entirely umami menu!
As guests arrived, we had Michael Jackson playing.
This is the final menu:
Chilled Sake from Akashi-TaiEdamame with Maldon salt and pink peppercornsIppin Ryouri (Japanese tapas)Tempura Set including Asparagus, Avocado, sweet potato, peppers, chili peppersAubergine, red onion and mushroom skewered kushi katsu in soft white bread seasoned with Japanese mayonnaise and Japanese brown sauce ‘tonkatsu’Cucumber and Wakame SaladFrench Beans with white Japanese Sesame paste (the difference between this and tahini is that it’s made with roasted sesame seeds) lemon, mirin and ginger dressingSalmon Sashimi on a bed of Mizuna lettuce with Ponzu Sauce (I told one girl off for not eating her lettuce.“That cost me a fortune” I remonstrated. She ate it quickly.)Shiso leaf onigiriMaki SushiSalmon & Avocado/Carrot & avocado/Japanese pickle selection including daikon, sweetened shitake mushrooms, pickled carrots, umeboshi plums Crispy salmon skin maki with shichimi chili pepperInari Sushi (Sweetened tofu parcels with onigiri rice)Miso soup with Enoki mushroomsDeep fried burdock ‘Gobo’ and lotus root—Green Tea Ice Cream/wasabi meringue/cherryGreen Tea Chilled Plum wine (this was a massive hit!)I think that’s the most ‘courses’ I’ve ever served. A record!
It was interesting getting the perspective of Emma, a professional restauranteur…

“Cooking for this many people on your own with the help of a 15 year old girl is the ballsiest thing I have ever heard”.

She continued:

“It’s really tiring. It reminds me of catering for a wedding. It’s a special kind of tiring. And you are doing it with just a domestic kitchen. One under the counter fridge. That’s hard.”

I need some more professional kit: a proper full-sized fridge (an Aga one would be nice, you know, matching etc), a decent large rice cooker, a good ice cream maker. Any firm willing to offer these will earn my undying love and a million arse-licking blog posts. Yes, I am absolutely willing to whore myself out for a bit of kitchenalia.
Afterwards I went out with Tim Hayward, the Guardian journalist who has just won Digital Food Writer of the Year award. Cruising Kilburn, I found most of my restaurant ‘staff ‘ and guests (including one lovely guy, a returning guest, who asked me to start ‘Loyalty cards’ lol) at the North London Tavern.
Tim and I discussed masthead photos for journalists, most of which are at least 20 years younger than the offending hack. Women have their pictures taken from above…reduced weight, double chin etc. The men, however, have a double whammy: shoot from below, you get the jowls; shoot from above, you get the bald patch!
As it closed, we moved across the road to Powers bar which usually has an interesting mix of clientele; drunken pirates huddling in dark corners, Britpop mod-rockers and old Kilburn Irish. It was closing so we ventured next door to Brondesage, the hangout for the Eastern European set; Albanian builders swigging back shots of Jagermeister. The pavement was wobbling, the bouncers had boobs bigger than mine and a smoochy-eyed long-haired male model kept feeling up my pearl necklace slurring seductively “in my country we call these perlahs”.
Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ came on the turntable and the whole joint commenced writhing joyfully. As the track finished there was a spontaneous and mass chant “Michael!Michael! Michael!”.
The end of a fantastic evening and sadly, the end of an era…

Left to right: Taka, Emma and Hiro, the team out on the piss in Kilburn after a hard night’s work. After we took this photo, Taka announced dryly to Emma…

“Japanese tradition. Person in middle of photo, will die first”.

Recent posts

guacamole Pic: Kerstin Rodgers

Halloween/Day of the Dead supper club October 29th

August 10, 2022

Emily O'Hare serving pasta at an al fresco dinner in La Torre Alle Tolfe, just outside Siena in Tuscany pic; Kerstin Rodgers

Visiting Tuscany, Chianti, sommelier Emily O’Hare and the world’s most famous butcher

August 4, 2022

The Palio in Siena, Italy: curses and horses

July 28, 2022

Previous Post: « Legal pop up restaurant at Gray’s Inn
Next Post: Summer and Gin tasting event »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. anissa

    June 28, 2009 at 1:56 pm

    i like it. wish i'd been there.

    Reply
  2. asharpknife

    June 28, 2009 at 4:18 pm

    Awesome menu, Japanese food is exciting. Wasabi meringue!! Yer mental! 😀

    Reply
  3. Helen Yuet Ling Pang

    June 28, 2009 at 4:34 pm

    What a great evening I missed! I've been to Tsuru before, so would have loved the special menu. I suppose you are fully booked for the rest of the year now?!

    Reply
  4. Kavey

    June 28, 2009 at 8:19 pm

    Was an absolutely fantastic menu and a lovely evening…

    Sometimes, eating Japanese cuisine, even with many courses, I find myself a little hungry later, but oh my goodness, everything was so good I just stuffed myself… I could hardly move, I nearly kipped down for the night on your floor!

    How you have the stamina to spend the entire day prepping (and probably the day before too, I imagine), the evening cooking for so many and then go out on the town, I do not know but I'm seriously impressed!

    🙂

    Reply
  5. The Curious Cat

    June 29, 2009 at 10:09 am

    It never fails to surprise me how inventive you can be with food – it is amazing! One day I'll get out of this office and into the kitchen…not long now! Keep meaning to book a date and come see you!!! Once I've got some debts out of the way don't worry I'll be there – even got a few friends interested!!!!

    Reply
  6. Anonymous

    June 29, 2009 at 11:08 am

    what a brilliant evening!! I loved it, it was everything I'd expected and more. So hardcore that you had the stamina to go out clubbing after all that! P.S. sorry about being late and trashing the tablecloth, Hannah, Audrey and I will be clubbing together to get a new one posted out to you. (Hope you enjoyed the dvds). Let's have that Tayyabs soon! x

    Reply
  7. MsMarmitelover

    June 29, 2009 at 11:40 am

    Thanks everybody. It was great meeting everyone. Nice to put a face/voice to the blog/column.
    asharpknife: are you from Pogo?
    Helen;I'm taking a break till the end of August…may even do a pop up in France.
    I will start again with a new gin event with tastingsessions on 26th of August
    Curious Cat: hope to see you in September
    Gastro: Lets meet at tayyabs soon

    Reply
  8. Ollie

    June 29, 2009 at 12:02 pm

    That menu looks fantastic! I have to make it over to The Underground Restaurant soon, Mrs M-L.

    Reply
  9. Pei - teanamu eat.drink.tea

    June 29, 2009 at 12:30 pm

    Fab food .. fab ambience .. thoroughly enjoyed it!

    Pei Wang
    teanamu – the "eat.drink.tea" weblog
    http://www.teanamu.com
    http://twitter.com/teanamu

    ~~ sip a good brew, steal a slice of tranquility, glimpse a lingering fragrance, gladden the heart and refresh the mind ~~

    Reply
  10. asharpknife

    June 29, 2009 at 10:23 pm

    Yes it's the orange one! Sorry, I thought you would recognise my email address.

    Reply
  11. MsMarmitelover

    June 30, 2009 at 12:51 am

    Ah Caz! What a great chef you are!
    Miss everyone at Pogos, especially my gay best friend Daft…
    x

    Reply
  12. asharpknife

    June 30, 2009 at 4:26 pm

    I'll tell him you said so. And I'll take the compliment graciously, thank you! Seeya sometime!

    Reply
  13. Anonymous

    July 1, 2009 at 10:23 pm

    Congratulations on your menu! How did the green tea ice cream/wasabi meringue combination turn out? Sounds/looks exciting!

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Anonymous Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

MsMarmiteLover aka Kerstin Rodgers.

Chef, photographer, author, journalist, blogger. Pioneer of the supperclub movement.

This is my food and travel blog, with recipes, reviews and travel stories. I also stray into politics, feminism, gardening.

Subscribe to my mailing list

msmarmitelover

Kerstin Rodgers/MsMarmiteLover
Tonight’s dinner: Caesar salad with coddled egg, Tonight’s dinner: Caesar salad with coddled egg, anchovy, Parmesan dressing & pine nuts; roast apricots with mozzarella, roast peppers with garlic & tomato; grilled sweetcorn with honey, butter & espelette pepper dressing; smoked mackerel pâté with dill. #alfresco #summerlovin #dinnertonight
Grilled Manouri cheese (like halloumi but not rubb Grilled Manouri cheese (like halloumi but not rubbery and less salty) with watermelon, spruce oil and tarragon. #salad #summervibes
I went to @hide_restaurant in Piccadilly, they are I went to @hide_restaurant in Piccadilly, they are now doing breakfast & brunch. The restaurant design is stunning in itself, from the gaudi-esque central staircase, to the table decorations, to the uniforms of the waiting staff. Chef @olliedabous has developed an incredible menu: from standards like avocado on toast (beautifully presented with edible flowers & 2 lightly poached eggs), pain au chocolat (buckwheat), french toast with blueberry compote ( cloud-like, soft, light), British @exmoorcaviar with sourdough, mango with kefir lime zest, an extraordinary tea & coffee menu ( Brazilian single estate coffee) Yuzu indigo tea. You can spend a lot. Or a little. Worth it for the design, the baking, the feeling of experiencing a rare treat. #london #breakfast #brunch #review #invitation
My niece @rachaelrodgers wedding to Luca Venezia @ My niece @rachaelrodgers wedding to Luca Venezia @cursesforever. It’s been featured in US vogue. Style, good food, great music, stunning backgrounds of mount vesuvius & Naples were the order of the day. Or should I say 3 days which is how long it lasted. The bride wore white but it was a vintage @viviennewestwood corset (one of only 5 existing, the other 3 are in fashion museums), and a flowery bikini to cut the delicious rose 🌹 and cherry 🍒 cake. Hawaiian barbie & La Cicciolina were inspirations. The guests were equally stunning. #naples #wedding #bridestyle
Air fryer recipe: aubergine sticks with yoghurt an Air fryer recipe: aubergine sticks with yoghurt and tahini sauce. Aubergines 🍆 soak up a lot of oil so an air fryer is a great way to minimise the calorific content. They tasted just as delicious! Recipe here: https://msmarmitelover.com/2022/06/air-fryer-recipe-aubergine-sticks-with-yoghurt-tahini-sauce.html I only used a couple of tablespoons of olive oil rather than a gallon. Going to play about with some other recipes. #airfryer #recipe I got my air fryer here: https://www.very.co.uk/electricals/cooking-appliances/fryers/e/b/4571.end it’s an extra large with 2 drawers.
This is a new dish I’ve invented called, ahem, p This is a new dish I’ve invented called, ahem, patatas nachas. Underneath is a layer of potatoes fried in olive oil. On top nachos with cheese, salsa, guacamole, creme fraiche, rajas. It’s a mash up of patatas bravas and nachos. There is a brilliant book out with 75 nachos variations by @tfimb called nachos for dinner. Nachos are quick tasty & if you add other elements- filling. #nachos #dinner
Ciambotta which is an Italian version of ratatouil Ciambotta which is an Italian version of ratatouille but with fried potato. Recipes here: https://www.hamhigh.co.uk/things-to-do/food-reviews/three-neapolitan-vegetarian-recipes-9147040 #naples #recipe #vegetarian
Aqua Sale, a fisherman’s meal in campania. ‘Yo Aqua Sale, a fisherman’s meal in campania. ‘You take dry bread, put it in a colander, put it in the sea, drain it, add tomatoes, oil, oregano and this is a meal. Every family had a dried bread drawer.’ I was told. I used basil and made my own ‘sea water’ by adding salt to fresh water. Recipe in the @ham&high and on the blog soon. #aquasale #breadsalad #cucinapovera #tomatoes #heatwavefood
Zeppoline, deep-fried pizza doughnuts with seaweed Zeppoline, deep-fried pizza doughnuts with seaweed - a Neapolitan dish I had in a local trattoria in a sweltering narrow street. Served hot in a basket, I tore them up and dipped them in oil & lemon juice. Recipe in the ham and high and on the blog soon. #recipe #naples #fried
Being silly at last night’s picnic for my sister Being silly at last night’s picnic for my sister in laws birthday in waterlow park. A rolypoly race. 
I’ve not been feeling great the past few days, sniffles, headache, sore throat. I took a test after the picnic just to be on the safe side & sure enough I finally caught the dreaded covid. 
When I feel better I’ll return to Italy.
This vegetarian met the worlds most famous butcher This vegetarian met the worlds most famous butcher @dariocecchinimacellaio whose shop is located in Panzano, Tuscany. He trained my favourite food writer @bill.buford in butchery. I told him I didn’t eat meat & he twinkled ‘to beef or not to beef’. He has a Clark Gable elegance: moustache, slicked back hair, charm, & a designer shirt depicting cows from @cotondoux paris. I instinctively wore a red & white striped dress which matched the colours of his shop, the red & white of the surgeon. They serve you glasses of Dario’s own Chianti Classico complete with straw bottomed ‘fiasco’. Now where else do you get that? When I return I will try the vegetarian menu at his restaurant opposite. #butcher #panzano #tuscany #chiantishire #chianticlassico #foodsiena #foodreportage
On a very steep street in siena, Tuscany. They’v On a very steep street in siena, Tuscany. They’ve had to be creative with the table legs. We went to the Palio horse race in the shell-shaped piazza where the passion & downright enmity of the different contrada or districts, each represented by an animal or mascot, was on display. The riders go bareback. It’s the horse that wins not the jockey. A riderless horse can win. There are many false starts, a massive explosion going boom in the square each time which led kids to cry. We waited for hours in the cheap seats- the burnt ochre brickwork of the centre. While tourists at windows paid 600 euros for the privilege. I loved the singing, like football chants but operatic- lots of finger pointing at each other. After I went to a contrada dinner on the streets of Siena, a rare opportunity. For 35 euros you attend the largest ‘supper club’ ever- 800 people, 4 courses, generous helpings of chianti. The servers are local teenagers. I wore my ‘Oca’ or goose scarf around my shoulders, looking like a girl guide. A bucket list item ticked off. I only wish my daughter @siennamarla was with me. #travel #food #italy #chiantishire #siena #palio #supperclub #oca #contrada
Looking at vegetables in Italy. Photo by @loredana Looking at vegetables in Italy. Photo by @loredanaparisi72
My piece in the @hamandhigh about the 3 day @heat My piece in the @hamandhigh about the  3 day @heathostile training course. Incredibly interesting & challenging. Link: https://www.hamhigh.co.uk/things-to-do/hostile-environment-training-9037980 to read more #hostileenvironmenttraining
Supper club dishes from Saturday: pickled beetroot Supper club dishes from Saturday: pickled beetroot eggs, cheeseboard, stracciatella & cucumber, tomato/strawberry/peashoot salad with real balsamic & spruce oil, home cured dill gravlax, smoked salmon, homemade sourdough crisp bread, potato salad with wild fennel & lots more! #supperclub #midsummer #eattherainbow (miss you @linnsoederstroem)
Last nights supper club. My first supper club in 2 Last nights supper club. My first supper club in 2 years was great fun. I’m pleased with my food, the guests were lovely, it looked magical in the garden. But the weather! I even had to bring my duvets from the bedroom out. They looked like refugees. But this brought even more laughter! Next event September
My first supperclub in two years will take place t My first supperclub in two years will take place this Saturday 18th June starting at 7.30pm. Tickets are £50 byo you can book here: https://msmarmitelover.com/product/midsommar-supper-club there are still a few places left. Pescetarian menu. Scandi and botanical influences. #gettingbackonmyfeet #postpandemic #smallbusinesses #supperclub #london
I recently completed the 3 day @heathostile train I recently completed the 3 day  @heathostile training course. On the last day I was kidnapped by ex-special forces for a few hours & learnt how to deal with compliance training & a hostile environment. It was one of the most interesting experiences of my life. 3 intense days of combat first aid, navigation & how to survive in a war zone. I handled short, long guns, mortars, grenades, bullets, and tourniquet & bandaged an amputee. I learnt where to sit in a car, where to hide from a bullet, where to protect myself if in a car. It was brilliant. Highly recommended for any journalists, photographers, cameramen, charity workers, paramedics going into any difficult environment say a disaster or war. The stories from the tutors & the other participants were so interesting. My piece on it out soon. Book a course: https://hostile-environment.co.uk/  They also do jungle & desert training. I’d love to join the Antarctic expedition. Anyway that’s me hooded in the front. #adventures #het #hostileenvironmenttraining #experiences #travel
Bundoran beach, Donegal. I spent a week knocking o Bundoran beach, Donegal. I spent a week knocking on doors, going to libraries, searching through graveyards for my Irish forebears. It’s really hard to find information prior to 1850. I found this in last years trip to Arbroath in Scotland. Headstones wear out, records are lost or burnt in a fire, everybody has the same name and are known by nicknames, successive children have the same first name, that usually means they died and the next one is called by the same thing. Women did have children out of wedlock, and people remarried more often than you’d think, plus families fall out & never see each other again. I learnt that my Irish great grandfather michael went to Glasgow & met a woman who came from a similar place: somewhere wild & beautiful by the sea. Then they and their children came to london. Chasing the work & the money always. Politics and economics matter for they push people around from rural to city. And now we rodgers are Londoners. #ireland #scotland #family #travel #roots
How some of us celebrate the Queen’s jubilee! My How some of us celebrate the Queen’s jubilee! My sister & a random Irishman come for the Rory Gallagher festival in ballyshannon. Sis has pulled already!  #getyourcoat #sexpistols #ballyshannon #rorygallagherfestival #ireland
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Archives

Copyright © 2022 msmarmitelover