Skip to main content

Asia de Cuba at St Martin's Hotel, London

Asia de Cuba at St Martin's Hotel, London.



It must have been 8-10 years when I last set foot in this Starck
designed hotel in the middle of London. It was one of the hippest
places opened within a month of its sister hotel Sanderson near Oxford
Street. Asia de Cuba, the main restaurant, has not changed much since
it opened all those years ago. There other restaurants within the St
Martin's have had more radical changes.



How was the food? I had the Cuban Bento Box - essentially an eclectic
collection of fusion (Japanese meets Cuba) dishes presented in a
Japanese bento lunch box lacquer ware. Mine included a couple of pieces
of chicken skewered /grilled, a tuna tartare stacked with tortilla
chips, a deep fried wonton and pan fried udon noodles. The taste of
pleasant without being offensive, though I was not entirely sure about
pineapple slices with the grilled chicken (was never a fruit and meat
fan). In offensive - though no gastronimic  experience.



I ordered a chocolate brownie with caramel sauce to share with my
friend. It was definitely a girl's pudding - gooey, rich tasting with
an ice cream on top.



When will I come back next? It may be a decade if I were to return to this restaurant.



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Royal Festival Hall

It was billed as a "Warm Up Event". But I think it was to do with contracts signed prior to the discovery of asbestos at the Royal Festival Hall which added six months to the renovation programme. Gustavo Dudamel conducted the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in Strauss Four Last Songs and Mahler 5th. The band made a good sound tough the upper strings were a bit subdue (or was it the Hall?) The Four Last Songs were a bit fast to my liking - and it was only Beim Schlafengehen where I felt the tempo was right. Measha Brueggergosman sang relatively well, though her BIG HAIR was in the way of the sound projection. Mahler 5th was thunderous and supple at the same time - the latter much helped by the strong viola and lower string section. It was exciting and forward but could do with a bit more rubati. Otherwise it was an enjoyable evening out at this much loved venue.

La Voix Humaine, Glyndebourne

Stéphanie d’Oustrac starred in this one act / single cast Poulenc opera. The minimalist stage (Caroline Ginet) consisted of a tilting platform with an old fashioned dial telephone. But that's all it took for the drama to unfold. d’Oustrac was able to draw us into her conversation, expressing the challenging feelings of frustration, anxiety, disappointment and dare we say hope? A superb performance it was.

Bruckner 8, Andris Nelsons and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra

Bruckner 8 Symphony was a gigantic piece of symphonic writing. What better to hear a mature and thoughtful Andris Nelsons conducting the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra? The slow measured start gave rise to the hallmark relentlessness of the later Bruckner symphonies. Nelsons brought out the rising and falling phrases, and ensured the episodic chunks together form a coherent whole. The scherzo second movement was precise and at pace. Feierlich langsam (3rd movement) was subtle, mournful with a glimmer of light. The masculine sound for the brass section delivered a memorable finale