Making some progress through our hitlist of places to try, Adam and I found ourselves at Smoked Paprika one sunny Saturday morning to kick off an epic weekend. I had long wanted to try out the food here, but he has been a long time fan, so I knew I was in for a treat. We arrived early on at 9AM in the morning, and it was lucky we did before the midday heat. Seating was largely outside and we had a seat close to the kitchen.
Service was friendly and attentive and we were soon provided very comprehensive menus. I really liked the creativity of the options available. Despite how captivating the standard menu was, we were there to try out their weekly specials (because everyone knows that he can’t have enough of blueberries).
Before food though, our drinks came. He ordered his usual iced long black, and seeing how warm it was, I had a skinny iced latte. Both were refreshing but could have had a bit more strength for that additional caffeine hit.
To share, we also had the weekly special mango and raspberry frappe. It was very smooth, fruity and rich. I really loved the flowery embellishments on the mason jar which made it stand out from all the smoothies I had ever had before. Whilst the coffee was a little lacking in strength, the frappe packed a fruity punch and we both enjoyed sharing it.
Halfway through our drinks, our savoury food came out. The spread was so beautiful and plating was wonderful. It was like a work of art on our table.
This was the off menu scallop special, which comprised of pumpkin puree, poached eggs, toast, beetroot, salad and charcoal Hollandaise. For a breakfast dish, it was definitely very generous in terms of scallop content with ten pieces. I liked the caramelised exterior and spongey texture which complemented the creamy pumpkin puree well. Charcoal hollandaise was a new experience for me and added a toasty flavour to the standard eggs benedict, the eggs of course had a good consistency with a fully cooked white and a runny centre.
Last of our savoury dishes was the Slow Cooked Tripe, served with wild mushroom stew, pumpkin puree, grilled haloumi, herb oil, confit garlic, sourdough, poached eggs and bearnaise sauce. It was pretty much a feast on a plate. The tripe was soft and tender, whilst a little foreign to Adam, it has always been a favourite for me at yumcha and being cooked with star anise, the flavours were very familiar and comforting to me. The haloumi was well caramelised and the confit garlic was surprisingly soft and mild in taste (I could have eaten them all if I didn’t need to share).
Then our desserts started arriving (yes, two course breakfast is taking life to a new level of extravagance). This was the other weekly special, the Blueberry Waffle with mocha panna cotta, Italian meringue, toasted hazelnut biscuit crush, Nutella and fresh strawberries. To put it simply, it was everything wonderful on a plate. The waffles were fruity and I loved their homogeneous texture, whilst the panna cotta struck a good balance between coffee and chocolate and was super creamy. Meringue and biscuit contributed to the texture as well. I really enjoyed this dessert.
As he is really good friends with the chef, Adam was saved a slice of peanut butter and jelly cheesecake. I snuck a bite for taste (being very full at that point). It was extremely rich and creamy with an intense taste of peanut butter and jelly. He polished of most of the slice even after such an intense breakfast.
Espresso and Matcha got to enjoy this complimentary meal by freeloading off FoodieAdam's invite. But as always, my opinions are solely my own.
Taste: 8.5/10
Value: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Environment: 6/10
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