Every time I touch down in London, I can?t help suppress a sliver of a smile, as I am reminded of what writer W Somerset Maugham had said: ?To eat well in England, you have to eat breakfast three times a day?. You have to feel for Maugham. He lived almost a hundred years ago and since then, the most acclaimed creation to come forth from the queen?s culinary repertoire (as also their national dish) has been the chicken tikka masala.
But I am being unduly harsh, as England does have some very lovely food. It may not amount to an entire cuisine, some may argue, but there is enough to end up with more than seven courses? worth of enchantment, and all of them local traditional preparations. So if I had to choose some dishes that one must try, here is what I would recommend, a fairly extensive homework pile, I must say: the Welsh rarebit is a fondue preparation with a toasted slice of bread over which a savoury cheese-based sauce is melted. The English and Scotch rarebits are variations. That simple, that tasty.
Angels on horseback is another classic, comprising an oyster wrapped in bacon. This ?surf and turf? starter is getting rarer each day, so feel lucky if you can find it. The variation called devils on horseback replaces the oyster with a fruit, usually a prune, often stuffed.
No visit to London, especially if around a weekend, is complete without a good Sunday roast, which serves up prime tenderloin done to (English) perfection. If from across the Channel, you may prefer it rarer, much rarer. The accompanying Yorkshire puddings were the medieval mamma?s way of feeding the family on a low budget. The drippings of the roasting meats were allowed to fall on to the choux-based pastry cooking below and thus was born Yorkshire pudding.
Bubble and squeak is another English way of making sure nothing goes waste. Leftover veggies (say, cabbage and sprouts from the Sunday roast) are cooked together with potatoes and served with leftover roast meats. As I said, nothing goes waste.
Haggis is another cultural thing although many will argue it is Scottish and, therefore, not English. Served traditionally with turnips and potatoes (or neeps and tatties), it is not easy to find, but the Scottish chain Boisdale (well, with three outlets, it is hardly a chain) does serve up the real McCoy.
Bangers and mash sounds a lot more violent and heavy metal than it really is (sausages with mashed potatoes often served with green beans). It is a classic and a must-try. Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, one of London?s oldest pubs, does a rather good job of it.
Canteen restaurant is a brilliant place to try some authentic English fare. Windmill pub, just off Savile Row, does some excellent pies. Pie is one of the, please excuse the pun, bases of English food. Chef Mark Hix does a lot more at Brown?s Hotel in Mayfair, but then be prepared to pay for a souvenir of a meal.
Finally, the English high tea, the epitome of civilisation itself. No place finer than Brown?s to indulge in some over-the-cakes convo. Sure, there?s also Fortnum & Mason, but Brown?s maintains the pristine and posh ambience of the ceremony and also embellishes it. And yet, it is a lot less touristy. Even before sipping your tea from thin-lipped Riedel glasses (waiting as it brews), you can sip on Ruinart champagne while the pianist plays a melody that takes you from bustling central London to turn-of-the-century Mayfair. This is Belle Epoque revisited. I always knew that scones and clotted cream is how I would go (clotted cream, the yummiest thing known to mankind, does exactly what its name suggests, clot arteries) and, frankly, as I sit here at Brown?s, reminiscing this latest sojourn in the city, it?s as good a time as any.
Eulogies aside, next time in London, do mock the food scene, but also secretly know that there are treasures to be sought out.
The writer is a sommelier