Just last week, we were invited to tea at the Ritz Carlton.  One thing about the tea they serve at the Ritz – it’s lovely! The three tier afternoon tea set over-flowing with freshly baked scones, quiches, mouth-watering finger sandwiches and delicate pastries is a sight to behold. My tummy rumbled, but first, the serious business. This time round, a Ronnefeldt TeaMaster® , Mr. Andreas Aufmkolk, would be conducting a presentation and interactive tea tasting to introduce and explain the 40 different types of tea that they sell. With over ten years of experience in the tea industry this guy was really a recognised authority on the beverage, and we couldn’t wait to meet him.

Tea, next to water, is the most widely consumed liquid in the world. There are countless numbers of different teas, tea varieties and ways of enjoying tea. Whether you prefer black teas, green tea, oolongs, fruit or herbal infusions, Andreas was here to tell us all about the differences in quality when is comes to tea, and why it’s important to know about the variety and the brand of tea you’re buying, because there are differences and you can taste them. No-one is born a tea connoisseur especially not me (I much prefer coffee) but I was told that trying out new tastes could awaken the tea drinker in me. I agreed to partake, hoping to be wow-ed by this awesome tea.

Mr. Aufmkolk started off by giving a short presentation on the history of tea and where Ronnefeldt started from. He then went on to introduce the different Ronnefeldt teas, explaining the subtle differences between them and their origins. This was concluded with a tasting session, where we would put our newly learnt skills to the test. The rumble of the tea cart containing over 40 different kinds of Ronnefeldt tea was an awesome sight – definitely nothing simple about this simple cup of tea!

Two leaves and one bud – time plucking by hand

Whether the tea is plucked properly also has an effect on the quality of the tea. Teas from Ronnefeldt are, therefore, plucked with care by hand.  It is mainly women who, standing between the long rows of tea bushes, strip the leaves with one skilful movement of the hand. Only a fine plucking is suitable for producing the best quality, i.e. only the last bud on a branch covered in a white down and the two newest leaves next to it are plucked. High grade fine plucking demands skill, sensitivity and patience before the tea can be deemed to be first class. Wow, what amazing care.. and no wonder they choose women to do the plucking eh?

The different types of tea

INDIA – DARJEELING
Darjeeling: Tea growing area in the Indian Himalayas. The most precious teas are grown in this area up to a height of 2,500m. The continuous change from dry to moist air, from chilly conditions to intensive sun, with mist and monsoon rain the great aroma and the flowery elegance of Darjeeling tea is developed. Connoisseurs value the mild and flowery taste of First Flush (Springtime Darjeeling) from the first harvests. Second flush Darjeeling is highly aromatic. Both are perfect served with or without fine white sugar.

INDIA – ASSAM
Assam is a state in the North-East of India. The estates are located on the slopes of river Brahmaputra at heights of 300 m to 800 m and form the largest connected tea growing area in the world. With a humid tropical climate, strong, spicy teas are harvested. Tea drinkers who prefer strong, malty, full-bodied teas – preferably with crystal sugar and cream will enjoy Assam.

CEYLON (SRI LANKA)
Sri Lanka is an island in the Indian Ocean. The best teas are grown in the highlands at heights between 1,000m and 2,000m. The monsoon rain dictates the timing of the harvest between June and September. When it rains in the west of the island, high quality teas are harvested in the eastern UVA district. In the west, the best Dimbula teas are plucked when it rains in the east between January and March. Teas from Ceylon are not heavy, have a lemony slightly steely aroma and a wonderful reddish colour. Ceylon teas are suitable for a hint of milk.

GREEN TEA
Preventing fermentation of the leaves creates green teas. Enzymes in the freshly plucked leaves normally start the fermentation process. To create green teas the leaves are treated under very strong heat after the withering process thus preventing fermentation. In Japan the withered leaves are steamed, in China the tea is pan roasted.

FLAVOURED TEA
The most famous flavoured tea is definitely Earl Grey, which was introduced to Europe in the 19th century. But the real masters of flavouring tea were the Chinese who started 2,000 years ago by combining them with Jasmine, rose petals and chrysanthemums. Apparently Ronnefeldt’s tea taster develops selected teas by blending different pieces of fruit, peels, petals, leaves or spices and adding fine, precious oils to create new and fascinating compositions. Japanese Sencha with its large unrolled leaves is one of the best because the flavouring oils adhere perfectly to its large leaf surface over a long period. A superb example of a deliciously flavoured green tea is the ever so popular Morgentau (Morning Dew).

Tea-Time!!

I am totally loony over the clotted cream and jam and scones at the Ritz !

the tower of scones that had us babbling..

care to quiche?

more finger food

desserts that paired with our tea, to a Tee!

Our take home message was that just like wine , one could pair tea with food. The lighter tasting teas with lighter food, the flavoured teas with desserts and green tea with the somewhat savory and “fishier” smelling items such as smoked salmon sandwiches. However, there is no hard and fast rule and Andreas encouraged us to experiment and see what we liked, for ourselves. All in all a great and enlightening experience. I have actually gotten quite the hang of drinking tea, I think. I might give it a second chance;)

About the Ronnefeldt TeaMaster®:

A tea drinker for as long as he can remember, Mr. Aufmkolk grew up in the northern regions of Germany where tea drinking is very much a way of life. In 1994 he kick-started his association with Ronnefeldt while working a property that served the tea. In 2007 he trained and achieved his TeaMaster® Silver qualification in Frankfurt where he successfully completed the course covering history, the processing of tea as well as a two-hour examination and blind tasting. His visit to KL was an opportunity for us to learn about the various traditional and modern teas, get a qualified opinion on where the industry is heading and what new blends and trends there are to watch out for.

It was around the middle of last year, that I read about a poll at the British  food awards, where the UK won the coveted (not!) title of “Worst National Cuisine” by a landslide. British food sucks/taste bad/has no class .. are all truisms that even the Brits buy into. I remember my hall-mates deriving loads of pleasure from slagging off their own English food from this and this a restaurant.. or this and this a pub. Anyway, in their defence, I must say that some of the most memorable moments of being a student in the UK and some of the things I miss most about my time living there, was the food. I miss the hearty English fry-up breakfasts, the Ploughman lunches at the local pub, pork pies, mince pies, cheese pasties and the many “on the go” sandwich shops where I could concoct any bizarre, personalized sandwiches that I fancied, any time of the day. I miss sitting and eating these sandwiches in Hyde Park and rollerblading in summer with my roommate. Sigh, I miss British food!

Anyway, what can I say..  I think some people need to put their preconceptions aside, and go back and try English cuisine and see that it has a lot going for it. One place in KL where you can try Modern English cuisine at its best is Albion. Of course they have the good old fashioned English breakfasts on the menu too. I know there are mixed reviews on this place where some dishes are better than others, but seriously folks, I put my money on Albion. Twice I’ve been here .. the first time with my friend Haze, and now with A lil Fat Monkey and the twice , the service and the food has been good. As a matter of fact, the second time was even better than the first (“that’s what she said” )

Eggs Benedict is a dish that consists of a half of an English muffin, topped with ham or bacon, poached eggs, and Hollandaise sauce and they do it superbly well at Albion.

The reason why I like it is because the yolk is runny enough and they are also generous with their hollandaise sauce. The slab of ham is thick and sweet and really succulent with pork juices. I totally dig the Eggs Benedict at Albion. You must try this.

This homemade seafood soup of crab bisque was exquisite. Smooth, creamy, and well seasoned, it was peppered with a generous amount of crab meat. Just add pepper to taste and you’re all set.

This next dish of spinach and ricotta in a tomato base was what A lil Fat Monkey ordered and he said that it tasted like a chewy, cheesy spinach ball that was light and airy. Great for those who like their veges with a twist!

Prawn Mango Salad looks amazing and the combination of flavours makes it a great side dish if you intend to go heavy with your main course. The grilled prawns were fresh and had a lovely flame-grilled taste to it.

Our final dish was the Ballotine of Chicken. A ballotine is a piece of meat, fish, or poultry that has been boned, stuffed and then rolled and tied into a bundle. It is then usually poached or braised. Dishes include the breasts of chicken pressed between clingfilm and ‘hammered’ with a variety of stuffings. In this case, the chicken leg reconstructed over bacon and special stuffing. It was really good and tasted somewhat like stuffed turkey but more moist. Delicious.

Ballotine of Chicken stuffing

Lunch was nice. What’s even nicer after a good lunch is gelato. KL has been so hot and muggy lately, we just needed to cool down with some of Bar Italia’s fantastic Italian ice-cream. Here is my concoction. Berry and hazelnut or something. The colors are gorgeous and soon, I would take A lil Fatmonkey on a shopping spree at Pavilion to look for a dress in that shade!

Books you might like:

THE END.

Albion. This place is spanking new. So new that the menu does not have a price list on it yet!

The owner was so nice, he told us, just eat and pay what you like at the end. As Albion only opens its doors to the public next Tuesday proper, this is some sort of  ‘sneak preview’ for us! Ciki and Haze wasted no time trying out their margaritas !

This British Restaurant is situated just along-side Bar Italia. The type of food they serve is known as Modern British Cuisine.

The Potato wrapped Pompano was delicious. We particularly like the buttery taste of the fish and the way they sliced the potato so delicately, that it lay like a fan on top of the fish.

The slow roast pork belly was served as a cross section of a roll, with a center of herb puree  that was exquisite as well. We were addicted to the pork crackling that came with it. The crackling sat on top of the pork like a keropok! Really crunchy and extremely addictive.

Us and one of the partners of Albion. In the end, he didn’t take a cent from us because they had no credit card facilities even.. He was so nice to us, we vowed to come back with friends in tow.. once the place opens next week.

For St. John, we took the Circle line to Farringdon. We exited the station bearing left and crossed over Turnmill Street on to Cowcross Street which took us to the junction of St. John Street. At the junction at Smithfield Market, we turned left and walk along St. John Street for around 50 yards or so… and finally, we saw St. John on the opposite side of the street. (yes, it really is that confusing, though not as far as it sounds.)

Chef Fergus Henderson, extraordinary cook and rebel. This place looks like a butcher’s (actually an old smoke house) and is located adjacent to London’s most famous meat market, Smithfield. The whole surroundings make the restaurant seem rather incongruous. There is no palaver here, no pretension – what comes out of the kitchen is good for the stomach and the soul! If you are expecting dainty amuse bouches and cutesy little starters, then you have come to the wrong place.

I remember studying in London at the peak of the mad-cow-disease saga that had everyone paranoid to the max, about what they ate. During that time in Britain,  where eating red meat was almost stigmatized and offal almost taboo, St John was leading the way in AGAINST – against eating meat! It is interesting to note that Chef Henderson was trained as an Architect. Seriously, this place looks like the cafeteria in my old Halls of Residence.  I am talking whitewashed walls, long rows of uncomfortable wooden tables and chairs and gray flooring.

hearty bacon squash soup

We take one look at the menu and saw heavy, robust, masculine English food. The bacon squash soup photo speaks for itself. If you have an Asian stomach, you will do a double-take at this so called ‘starter’ because I think there is half a pig in there, in the form of bacon chunks. If you are use to the anorexic pigs we get in Malaysia, get ready to be wow-ed. The taste is awesome. the texture and taste of the pork should blast you into orbit.

Henderson’s defining principle of nose-to-tail cooking has also found its recessionary time. “If you are going to kill an animal,” he reasons, “it seems only polite to use the whole thing.”

Fine.. we now get the idea. We start to anticipate a really fine meal.

Duck Hearts

Is becomes evident as we sit there, why this place is so cool. There is unconventional humor in eating such unmentionable cuts as heart, brains, marrow etc.. all of which have helped make St John the fashionable institution it is. My duck ox heart with celeriac was quite interesting. The  characteristically muscular, rubbery meat of the heart was delightful! Since I am a big fan of  internal organs, I had no complaints about this starter.  Cold Mallard with beetroot salad

This cold salad was well, cold! I did not the mallard as it had not much of a flavour to it. The beetroot was interesting as it was crunchy and had a rougher texture about it than regular beetroot.

We also had the Roast Bone Marrow (no photo) . This is permanently on the ever changing menu so if you go, you must try this signature dish. The marrow is superb. As you can guess, the bones that stand up form your plate like the hulking stonehenge are huge, thick and  over-spilling with sweet, slick, oily marrow. This is served with a long lobster fork-like implement, necessary for the successful extraction of precious marrow.

smoked game

Someone brought this to our table by mistake. I took a photo anyway.

Mutton special

Then enter the Mutton special. I died and went to carnivore heaven. I had my reservations about the mutton being too gamy , but this was just superb. Soft, tender, moist. How do I find any more extravagant superlatives to describe this dish?

Hake with croutons

The fish was average in taste but fresh enough. I liked the crunchy croutons and the massive slab of fish. St John has this knack of making even fish, look like an uncouth slab of meat.

Grey Partridge

Wow! Finally, I actually get to eat that famous “partridge in a pear tree” that the song sings about and just before Christmas too. The meat was excellent, the taste superb, the texture like a young soft supple bird that had been roasted on the outside to perfection. Unfortunately, the meat was blood red near the bone (and I mean red blood plus translucent meat and blue veins – like uncooked chicken). When I asked the waiter at St John he said “This is how we eat it here”. Take it or leave it. OK, fine, I’ll take it but I’ll leave the blood on the side. Cocky huh?

eccles cake and lancashire cheese

I was told that no other restaurant will serve you such a hearty dessert as the eccles cake. It was huge, solid and went great with the lush, soft and mellow cheese. The Eccles is an English classic. It is a puff pastry with currant stuffing.

steamed treacle sponge and custard

The steamed treacle was sickly sweet and rich. We nearly died finishing this as we already had the eccles cake before hand. However, we comforted ourselves that we would soon be out in the cold, walking it off. All in all, I enjoyed my St. John experience very much. The food is really good. The service was average, our initial waitress was a little rude and cocky,  but as the restaurant filled, she was replaced by another waiter who was much better. As I am a big fan of offal and weird cuts of animals, I will be inclined to keep coming back here for some exciting Nose to Tail Eating.. The service will not deter me!

You can buy the “Nose to Tail Eating – A Kind of British Cooking: St. JOHN Cookbook” as it is on the menu. They also sell St. JOHN Gift Cards if you check with the waiter.

Since we finished at around 2.30 pm and still had time to kill before out 10pm flight, we decided to go walk off that “animal and a half” residing inside our stomachs..

.. by visiting the British Museum.

Admission is FREE. The centre of the museum was redeveloped in 2001 to become the Great Court, surrounding the original Reading Room. I like the  modern roof that you see that lets in a lot of natural light.

The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture and its collections, which number more than seven million objects are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world.  The collections originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its beginning to the present. The British Museum was established in 1753, largely based on the collections of the physician and scientist Sir Hans Sloane.

After exploring and walking around this place for another hour and a half, it was time to leave. The British Museum closes at approximately 4.30pm and we had a plane to catch. Thus concludes the Travel London Saga. It was great.. and I really did not want to go home, but I missed my husband and also eating Char Kwey Teow in some hawker center somewhere in KL. I also missed the heat. Hope you guys had fun reading about my trip. Drop me a line(via Contact on Main Menu) regarding any experience that I had, that you want clarified or more information about and I will gladly answer them if I can!

Happy Reading!

The End.

Ciki has Hunger!

bridge over the canal

Camden Lock Market ! Established in 1975 this was the market which started the phenomenon that now draws more than 150,000 a week to the Camden Town markets. To find Camden Lock Market walk up Camden High Street from Camden Town station until you see this building. The market lies to your left.

You can find loads of neat stuff here, including  an assortment of board games, mind teasers,and juggling equipment, a wide range of music and cult films and from a selection of independent bookshops everything from poetry to politics.

For those special presents, browse the vast number of stalls and shops which sell unusual and original gifts. Or choose from a large selection of handcrafted traditional and contemporary jewellery, designer clothes and accessories to suit any fashion victim.Here we see some LEGO earrings.. I bought like a major number of these cutesy’s for presents.

I also find the silver jewelry here at least 30% cheaper than the same stuff you would get in Covent Garden. Covent Garden is a rip off.. don’t shop there.

More unusual presents that you can pick up for Christmas,  like cool vinyl holders.

If you need a meal or light refreshment there are plenty of places at the Lock to enjoy fine food and drink, especially at the weekend.

This one pizza parlor was really cool. Or rather the owner was. The man you see in the photo said to me .. “Do not post my photo to facebook please.. my mother may see me and that would be BAD. She thinks I am studying to be an Engineer but instead, I am making PIZZAS!” Hilarious. Facebook will the the death of us.

Nice snack if not a bit on the salty side.

I like Camden for it’s funky atmosphere. It’s great walking around and seeing all types of clothes for various subcultures mixed together, and the whole place breathes a creative underground energy.. nice:)

This place called the Cyberdog, did not just breathe creative underground energy.. it WAS underground. With the techno music blasting, dark nooks , luminous lights and cyborg eyes staring out at you from behind a hollow, shiny  steal head, I nearly starting pumping the air.. raver chick-style.. (ok, not really).

I love people watching and also the vintage shops, though I can hardly fit into anything.. too small.. too big.. (maybe it’s just me). Sometimes, you can horse watch too

The Stables Market is a whole area that has been adorned with massive bronze sculptures evoking memories of the past use of the area for stable horses that pulled the barges along the nearby canal. This larger than life one you see is absolutely magnificent close-up!

After 3 hours of shopping, it’s time for lunch.

Since we wanted to head back into Camden and check out the secret Catacombs where shop units are housed in Victorian brick arches (1854) once running under the railway sidings of the old North Western Railway Co., we decided the eat nearby.

Pier 1 ! So friendly the staff and so obliging. Look this way, look that way.. let me take your photo..  “CAN! .. as long as you Facebook us the shot later” ( I’ve stopped counting the number of times that F.B.  has been mentioned by others, on this trip already!)

It was a long wait for our F & C to arrive because the place was absolutely crowded.

This place is not cheap.  Fortunately the battered and fried cod was delicious. It was served with big, fat, greasy chips, tartar sauce and mushy peas.

The grilled fish on the other hand was just mediocre and rather flavourless. The potatoes were forgetable too.

Oh well, we ate here for convenience so we cannot really complain.. Back to shopping .. and next up.. the conclusion to our vacation!

Getting to Camden click here for a map.