They have to come to an end. And so did my London eating spree. It’s a shame
that it's taken me a year to complete this series. As far as being lazy and the
eternal procrastinator is concerned, I stand guilty as charged! There's another
series of posts coming up about my trip to Kuala Lumpur in March this year and
the pledge to complete those by September is my get-out-of-jail card...:)
It was an eventful trip to say the least. From postponing tickets after the London riots erupted to seeing Plan B and Artic Monkeys live at the V Festival. From being stranded at Dubai airport due to a delay in the connecting flight and landing in London at an odd hour to being questioned by the immigration folks for what seemed like an hour. Cycling in Hyde Park and chucking Madame Tussauds to go visit the god-awesome British Music Experience museum at the O2 in Greenwich.
Food-wise, the aim of the trip was to try one cuisine from each of the six continents in an authentic restaurant. Sounds pretty easy to do in London rite? Well, if there's one thing I've learned from all this traveling in recent years, it's that you can’t do all the things that you thought of when you planned the trip. Some things are dropped coz your travel buddies are not on board, some are logistically difficult, some don’t fit into your budget and so on. I think it’s obvious by now that I didn't manage to complete the 'circumnavigation' that I'd set out for. So let's just focus on an awesome meal that marked the end of the 'voyage'.
It was my last evening in London - a Sunday - and six of us were wondering how to spend it. I was of course thinking of dinner plans i.e. what cuisine and which restaurant. The choice was between Ethiopian and Ecuadorian and both options sounded equally tempting to me as well as the other five. However, we finally settled on Ethiopian since the restaurant in question seemed easier to get to.
Addis Ethiopian Restaurant is located conveniently near the King's Cross-St Pancras metro station in central London. It claims to serve authentic Ethiopian cuisine in an authentic setting and even has Ethiopian beers and wine on its menu. To its credit, it seems to be run by Ethiopian immigrants and draws a sizable Ethiopian and East African clientele.
The concept of a 'starter' is absent in traditional Ethiopian meals. However Addis restaurant has made an exception keeping non-Ethiopian patrons in mind. We got ourselves some sardines stuffed with herbs and spices. They were fresh and well-seasoned, a good start to the meal.
An ever-present feature in any Ethiopian dinner - one that literally holds the meal together - is the traditional bread called Injera. It is made from fermented flour of a grain called 'teff' and is somewhat similar to a Neer Dosa but slightly sour in taste. All the food is actually served on top of the Injera and is eaten like the Roti/Naan/Neer Dosa is with the curry. The best thing about this style of serving is that the porous Injera soaks up the flavors of the curries. By the time you work your way to those parts of the Injera on which the curries are served, you're left with the best part of the meal.
The Injera was undoubtedly the star of the meal, but the curries and stews were not bad either. We ordered Tibs Firfir, which is cubes of lamb meat fried with onions and spices, Kitfo- minced beef prepared with Ethiopian butter, Doro Wot - Chicken cooked in a spicy pepper sauce and a vegetable curry. All of this was pretty good and ended up looking like this.
We had three Germans in a group of six and I was initially skeptical of
their enthusiasm. Ethiopian food is known to be heavy on the spice, a bit much
for the bland European palate. Would the Germans regret this?
Well not only did they like the food, when we desis started feeling stuffed, they brought on their A-game and polished the grub off to the last piece of Injera!
Ethiopia is known for its coffee and most Ethiopian restaurants have an elaborate coffee ceremony which is an absolute can't miss. Addis restaurant is no exception and the ceremony began with freshly roasted coffee beans being brought to our table, so we could first take in the aroma. The beans were then ground and brewed and served in a pot and small cups made of black ceramic. The coffee was good and the elaborate ceremony made it especially worthwhile.
For a value-for-money, authentic Ethiopian dining experience in London with the added bonus of a flamboyant coffee ceremony, look no further than Addis Ethiopian restaurant. For further details, here's their website...http://www.addisrestaurant.co.uk/
It was an eventful trip to say the least. From postponing tickets after the London riots erupted to seeing Plan B and Artic Monkeys live at the V Festival. From being stranded at Dubai airport due to a delay in the connecting flight and landing in London at an odd hour to being questioned by the immigration folks for what seemed like an hour. Cycling in Hyde Park and chucking Madame Tussauds to go visit the god-awesome British Music Experience museum at the O2 in Greenwich.
Food-wise, the aim of the trip was to try one cuisine from each of the six continents in an authentic restaurant. Sounds pretty easy to do in London rite? Well, if there's one thing I've learned from all this traveling in recent years, it's that you can’t do all the things that you thought of when you planned the trip. Some things are dropped coz your travel buddies are not on board, some are logistically difficult, some don’t fit into your budget and so on. I think it’s obvious by now that I didn't manage to complete the 'circumnavigation' that I'd set out for. So let's just focus on an awesome meal that marked the end of the 'voyage'.
It was my last evening in London - a Sunday - and six of us were wondering how to spend it. I was of course thinking of dinner plans i.e. what cuisine and which restaurant. The choice was between Ethiopian and Ecuadorian and both options sounded equally tempting to me as well as the other five. However, we finally settled on Ethiopian since the restaurant in question seemed easier to get to.
Addis Ethiopian Restaurant is located conveniently near the King's Cross-St Pancras metro station in central London. It claims to serve authentic Ethiopian cuisine in an authentic setting and even has Ethiopian beers and wine on its menu. To its credit, it seems to be run by Ethiopian immigrants and draws a sizable Ethiopian and East African clientele.
The concept of a 'starter' is absent in traditional Ethiopian meals. However Addis restaurant has made an exception keeping non-Ethiopian patrons in mind. We got ourselves some sardines stuffed with herbs and spices. They were fresh and well-seasoned, a good start to the meal.
An ever-present feature in any Ethiopian dinner - one that literally holds the meal together - is the traditional bread called Injera. It is made from fermented flour of a grain called 'teff' and is somewhat similar to a Neer Dosa but slightly sour in taste. All the food is actually served on top of the Injera and is eaten like the Roti/Naan/Neer Dosa is with the curry. The best thing about this style of serving is that the porous Injera soaks up the flavors of the curries. By the time you work your way to those parts of the Injera on which the curries are served, you're left with the best part of the meal.
The Injera was undoubtedly the star of the meal, but the curries and stews were not bad either. We ordered Tibs Firfir, which is cubes of lamb meat fried with onions and spices, Kitfo- minced beef prepared with Ethiopian butter, Doro Wot - Chicken cooked in a spicy pepper sauce and a vegetable curry. All of this was pretty good and ended up looking like this.
Well not only did they like the food, when we desis started feeling stuffed, they brought on their A-game and polished the grub off to the last piece of Injera!
Ethiopia is known for its coffee and most Ethiopian restaurants have an elaborate coffee ceremony which is an absolute can't miss. Addis restaurant is no exception and the ceremony began with freshly roasted coffee beans being brought to our table, so we could first take in the aroma. The beans were then ground and brewed and served in a pot and small cups made of black ceramic. The coffee was good and the elaborate ceremony made it especially worthwhile.
For a value-for-money, authentic Ethiopian dining experience in London with the added bonus of a flamboyant coffee ceremony, look no further than Addis Ethiopian restaurant. For further details, here's their website...http://www.addisrestaurant.co.uk/
