Last night my Beloved and I decided to go on a date.
Quite a novelty considering we have been together for over 2 years, and have never really 'dated', opting rather to launch into a full blown (and very exciting!) relationship. Nonetheless, I dressed up nicely, my Beloved came home at a reasonable hour, and after some faffing around on my part (sorry darling!), we eventually made it out the door, and strolled like young couples in love through our neighbourhood. Our destination: Oqo on Islington Green - a place I'd seen advertised on a tube tunnel. Despite this salubrious suggestion, the concept of Chinese tapas sparked my gastronomical imagination, and I couldn't wait to try it out.
As we arrived, the sound of a jazzing sax further excited me - ooh, this could be one of those sexy nights out with luscious food and cruisey music... I ventured in with high hopes.
Now - this is (one of many areas) where my Beloved and I disagree. I thought the saxophone enhanced the ambience, the interior was innovative and engaging, the staff incredibly attentive and charming, and the food... ooh, the food, I think I moaned at one stage. The more-ish sirloin steak marinated in Chinese rose liqueur with a garlic dip melted in my mouth, the baby octopus in Szechuan pepper and salt was thrilling with its piquancy, and the king prawn and chive dumplings soft and explosive. Coupled with the cheeky flavours of my apricot puree, pomegranate and basil leaved cocktail, I was in Chinese tapas heaven! It all worked for me.
My more discerning and critical darling saw it differently however: the sax was too loud and intrusive, making it hard to converse; the decor was dull and lifeless, and the food average. However, we did agree that the staff were incredible - and we shared an amused grin when the manager came with our bill, asked us how we enjoyed ourselves, and then said "The sax man was too loud, wasn't he, I'm going to kill him!".
I'm a big fan of fusion cooking, and although 'Chinese tapas' is just glorified dim sum, there is a lot to be said for conjuring images of hot spanish evenings and late night nibbles in thronging plazas, whilst eating damn good chinese food. It made the 'date' into quite a fine affair.
No comments:
Post a Comment