Richard Bagnold

My last Michelin starred meal of three on the island of Jersey (as at 2017) and perhaps the most impressive on reflection. This was technically the most superior of the three from my lens although I acknowledge I’m putting that against a set lunch menu and an a la carte from the other two, my nose is saying that this is so, based on all impressions. Bohemia was a delicate meal with obvious care going in to the experience from the staff present as well. Its trump card was its refined approach which will always cause a smile and thankfully the flavours kept this smile going throughout the meal. I wouldn’t say it caused explosive happiness in flavour but it was evident I was in skilled hands on this visit, which revealed a restaurant with an great bar area and the sort of place one will gain definite browny points if you take your other half to, for a seductive or celebratory meal.

Nibbles took the form of a horseradish panna cotta with beetroot foam which was a significantly welcome start – there was gentle heat from the horseradish and along with the dill and the crunch from the sour dough crisps, this was a wonderful advert for the meal as an amuse bouche. Then a cheese pastry with mushroom puree and chive filling came that was absolutely wonderful. You know you are in good hands when this, along with warmed breads (brown, white and walnut & raisin) are served with perfectly malleable seaweed and salted butter. The breads themselves were very good (warmed and fluffy with a nice balance) and even the seaweed butter, was good and this is not normally my favourite.

Nibbles took the form of a horseradish panna cotta with beetroot foam which was a significantly welcome start – there was gentle heat from the horseradish and along with the dill and the crunch from the sour dough crisps, this was a wonderful advert for the meal as an amuse bouche. Then a cheese pastry with mushroom puree and chive filling came that was absolutely wonderful. You know you are in good hands when this, along with warmed breads (brown, white and walnut & raisin) are served with perfectly malleable seaweed and salted butter. The breads themselves were very good (warmed and fluffy with a nice balance) and even the seaweed butter, was good and this is not normally my favourite.

The opening pea, mint and slow-cooked egg with ham had the perfect saltiness provided from the ham and was skillfully done, served with a very clean-cut Chardonnay Chablis 2015. This was followed by crab & tuna with sour dough, strawberry gazpacho, crab gel and coriander. I thought all these worked well together with a lovely, light crunch from the sour dough. Although the foie gras cream felt more like pressed, cold foie gras, it was made far more interesting with the lovely, sweet kumquat gel. This was good.

Next up was the turbot with heritage carrot and this was superb – perfectly cooked and pleasant turbot with a powerpunch of carrot puree to accompany. The dish didn’t send me to heaven but it was a fair distance towards in how light the touch was with this obvious, centre-piece dish.

On to the sweets and the calamansi (citrus) with white chocolate mousse was crisp, sharp and certainly refreshing but being picky here, I didn’t find there was enough of the white chocolate to soften the onslaught of the acids on this one. A very good wake up call and palate cleanser at that, but just a little strong for my receptors. Then came a tiramisu dessert with espresso sorbet which came together beautifully. Decadent and very well done petit fours were presented at the bar area over coffee and I have to say I thought the chai tea petit four, which I haven’t had before, was absolutely outstanding.

Overall there was no doubt in my mind that this was the gastronomic lead of the three Michelin starred eateries on Jersey (that is not to say the other two are deficient, but in my view Bohemia simply comes out on top) and although not every moment created explosions, I was very happy with this meal. I wasn’t expecting it, but this turned out to be a press review, and although this is gracious of the management, as always, I have graded this exactly as I would have, had the approx. £110 appeared on my card.

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As at time of writing, Ormer is one of three Michelin starred restaurants on the island of Jersey. Ormer was my lunch venue for this visit to the island and aside from the slightly formal interior décor, this represented a superb value for money option and a prime example of where I would steer someone to be less intimidated about Michelin starred dining for the hugely reasonable set menu lunch at £27 for 3 courses plus opening snacks. As ever, more detail on the meal at the below button, but ultimately, no bad issues here at all on the food and I was indeed delighted to see the definitive Jersey Royal potatoes proudly served as a side, glazed in butter and decorated in mint.

From local fields in Jersey, barely 3 weeks in to the ‘tattie’ season, with a pleasing and well crafted meal at the price, it really was everything that you could wish for at a Michelin starred eatery. I must get to the London branch at some stage seeing as though Exec Chef Shaun Rankin has had that opened in Mayfair since Oct last year!

From local fields in Jersey, barely 3 weeks in to the ‘tattie’ season, with a pleasing and well crafted meal at the price, it really was everything that you could wish for at a Michelin starred eatery. I must get to the London branch at some stage seeing as though Exec Chef Shaun Rankin has had that opened in Mayfair since Oct last year!

An interesting trip to Jersey in general, where I learned that non-standardised taxis are horrendously expensive (worse than london), you can get from end of the island to the other in roughly 30 minutes by road, no matter what you earn, your tax bracket is a mere 20% and the islanders don’t consider themselves part of the UK – fact, according to one of my trusted cabbies.

This set menu lunch was a pleasing affair because it felt (and was) skillfully delivered but wasn’t stuffy or too small as a result – very often set menus are the size they are due to the price and a restaurant will barely make much money from these lunches but this was certainly substantial enough. I was particularly impressed with the one course, one glass of wine in one hour lunch time express menu for £19. This would no doubt include a snack and bread and with water and wine is a wonderful option to offer.

A couple of savoury chiros which were freshly made and warm had a good fragrance of parmesan inside and grated on top as opening snacks. Brown and white home made breads came warmed as well as some marvellously golden Jersey butter that practically made the bread the excuse to have this.

A very well chosen Sauvignon Blanc from Italy was recommended by the Sommelier which went very well with the salmon tartare, the latter having a fair degree of sweetness from the ice cold cucumber sorbet. This was an interesting touch not had before with salmon tartare which, apart from nearly causing an ‘ice cream headache’ was a fresh flavour and compliment to the salmon. The cod main was great. Perfectly cooked, with a salty, crisp exterior, I could have had this on its own but as it happened, the chorizo was lovely touch to give it interest and even more seasoning and along with the avocado purée, it was a very good combination.

The Jersey potatoes were, understandably, as good as they as they come having been dug up that very morning from nearby fields as this makes it considerably easier to wash for one. The head chef (Lee Smith) regailed to me afterwards that this was the other bonus of having from the ground literally hours before, in that the soil simply falls off when washing as opposed to potatoes that have been allowed to store for a week or two which need brillo pads, up to industrial sanders to clean off properly.

Finally, the strawberry soufflé was lovely and strong sweetness was just about dealt with by cucumber ice cream which was a pleasantly fresh combination. I thought the strawberry coulis was a bit bland but a very nice decoration and supporting textural support to the soufflé none the less and the best thing on the dessert were perhaps the strawberries themselves being so utterly ripe, sweet and juicy….sorry Mr Soufflé, you were lovely but the strawberries just stole the show.

The staff kindly let me simply get on with things on my laptop in the upper terrace with coffees afterwards which came along with some nicely done macaroons and petit fours. Apart from having to continue to ward off a persistent pigeon obsessed with my sweets, sat in the enclosed terrace was a perfectly pleasant way to finish the meal and along with staff who continued to be attentive with routine visits up to the terrace (good hospitality), this rounded off a highly satisfying, value for money lunch that had a very good rate of return. I am now basically way more incentivised to get myself to Ormer in Mayfair and see how the format is at Flemmings Hotel and I have no doubt the a la carte and tasting menus at this restaurant would be exciting.

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This was the first Michelin starred restaurant of three (at time of writing) to explore on Jersey. Ocean restaurant sits within the island’s only Small Luxury Hotel (The Atlantic) and as such the interior is relatvely formal in its design. There were some real hits of flavours from this menu and the service was entirely professional and welcoming at the same time. It is clearly more appropriate for an evening setting and I certainly wouldn’t shy away from staying at the hotel for a night as well based on its pleasant look and feel, but this is at a premium price for the privilege.

The meal kicked off with an eel with potato espuma and herb oil amuse bouche which had a lovely boost from the truffle. The tuna starter had a lovely blend of salt and freshness at the same time and this was an equal pleasure to have along with perfectly fresh white crab and a cucumber sorbet that was as smooth and balanced as they come – very good openers.

The meal kicked off with an eel with potato espuma and herb oil amuse bouche which had a lovely boost from the truffle. The tuna starter had a lovely blend of salt and freshness at the same time and this was an equal pleasure to have along with perfectly fresh white crab and a cucumber sorbet that was as smooth and balanced as they come – very good openers.

However, I was not prepared for the sheer delight of the Fillet beef, with truffled polenta, seared foie gras, crispy Parmesan – this was just absurdly good with onion base that was wonderful. My only criticism of this dish was the fact that the polenta after a few minutes started to make the lovely jus turn in to a mashed sauce. However, this was a small side effect.

A pre-dessert of milk jelly, saffron granita, saffron culé was a little odd and was definitely the part of the meal that I thought could be changed as it was a little like licking copper and generally too bitter for me. The main dessert of Mojito however, was different from the norm in a good way and I enjoyed the sting from the mojito foam but this was only just cooled down by the mint ice cream. The chocolate was lovely but overall (and these are mirco thoughts), the acid had quite a battle with the soothing ice cream.

So a couple of things that weren’t my favourite but these were soothed by the higher echelon hospitality (which will happen when the head sommeiler comes direct from Midsummer House for example) and the niggles I had were frankly blown out of the water by the outstanding fillet of beef dish with its supporting acts working together so well. The £95 for dinner for one with some very well paired drinks represented average and fair value for money, with the a la carte of £55 for 3 courses (which turned out to be 5 courses) was therefore very good value for the food alone. A very nice place overall and in the end I was sorry to be leaving as my timetable could only allow a couple of hours there.

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One of the most eagerly awaited visits for me. I always remember Marcus Wareing’s look of disbelief on the Great British Menu (GBM) when he saw Michael O’Hare’s dishes for the first time; I could see his engines of anger beginning to fire up owing to how utterly alien they looked…until he tasted the beauty of what it turned out to be, replacing his emotions in to virtual elation. Not only did Michael O’Hare go on to champion the GBM fish course (which I was delighted to see on his menu on my visit) but he also picked up a Michelin star the same year. As a summary for my visit here, there is no doubt in my mind that his signature dishes are some of the finest I have ever tasted but I thought the opening snacks were less successful. It was still a fantastic meal, strange as it was to enter a clothes shop as the entrance to get to the elevator to the third floor of this very different looking restaurant – but it’s good to be not boring and usual(!). I believe they are moving down to the basement in mid-late 2017 where entering the restaurant will be through its own door, which will obvioulsy be a good move and less confusing for new comers. Overall, a superb meal.

Opting for the full tasting menu, it started with several snacks, first up being a foie gras mini-doughnut which had beautifully runny foie gras and the play of sweet from white chocolate coating at start was a little strange but as they mixed it balanced well. Then, an utterly luscious piece of octopus which was so smooth with gorgeous, soft lemon butter with capers and paprika emulsion. Next up, a mini bun with XO sauce and mint which was a little too squidgy, for me with bits sticking on anything that touched it – not my favourite.

Opting for the full tasting menu, it started with several snacks, first up being a foie gras mini-doughnut which had beautifully runny foie gras and the play of sweet from white chocolate coating at start was a little strange but as they mixed it balanced well. Then, an utterly luscious piece of octopus which was so smooth with gorgeous, soft lemon butter with capers and paprika emulsion. Next up, a mini bun with XO sauce and mint which was a little too squidgy, for me with bits sticking on anything that touched it – not my favourite.

Then a whole Denia Prawn from Spain, which was bright red, very soft and a nice way to present in that the barbequed head was advised to be pulled away enabling you to squeeze the head to coat the raw body with its own ‘brain sauce’. This is a deep water prawn which comes from 10,000 feet below the surface as deep water prawn. In spite of the originality of the ingredient and the presentation, unfortunately the deep sea flavour combined with the sludgy quality of the body, meant I’m afraid this was just not my thing as I believe there are only certain fish that are good to have raw and this was a little step too far for me.

Anyway, on to the wagyu which was gloriously tender with clever presentation but I ended up getting more olive oil than wagyu flavour. The hake with dumpling and garlic and Aki (Jamaican fruit) sauce with chilli on top was cooked beautifully and was delightfully salty and creamy sauce with just enough heat from the chilli and wholeness from the dumpling – this was lovely.

Next was a crab lasagne with a lovely combination of heat, fat, freshness, crunch and richness of egg and acidic touch of bilbury gel on top – everything worked well together and for me with this dish which was very enjoyable. Then, it was time for the eagerly awaited signature cod, which really was outstanding – if it wasn’t I would say so, but this was a total victory. The cod melted in the mouth like butter, the crunch from potato was near wonderful and light, the squid sauce was decadent and rich but fresh and not too salty at the same time which was all outstanding. The only thing I could fault on this dish was at the end a fair amount of the potato shavings had fallen in to the squid sauce losing their crunchful purpose but when the flavours are as good as this, you tend to forgive things like this.

Then another really strong dish came in the shape of pork loin and shoulder with burnt breadcrums that was somehow sweet, with a clever, edible shell from garlic sherry sauce, anchovies and anchovie emulsion. The design, execution and flavour of this dish was an absolute winner with sweets, salts, richness and tender meat all coming together in such pleasant harmony. The main plus point on this dish I thought was the fact that the garlic, anchovies and rich sauce were powerful but crucially didn’t allow the main singer of the band to be drowned out so I thought this was sheer quality.

And if I thought it couldn’t get better then frankly the milk chocolate, (spray painted silver) honey, violet, potato puffs and potato mousse was one of the nicest desserts I have ever had. You just wouldn’t expect any of these combinations to work and yet they absolutely did, through a stunning play of cream, puff, sweet, bitter and textures. The potato mouse was just awesome and the gooey violet cream was original and fresh, backed up by a perfect crunch within the chocolate – this was simply brilliant and goes in to one of the best all time dishes folder….

Petit fours came in an original way as well with a perfect cup cake with praline and edible paper along side a unique ‘head’ cup. The remaining sweet nibbles had a lovely pop in middle of the liquid with a light cream and the salted caramel with milk chocolate and caraway on top had an interesting aniseed and fennel fragrance.

This was a superb meal no question. The real explosions came at the signature dish time, but it was all highly original, fun and served with attentive and warm hospitality. Because the design of the restaurant is so different and unique, it actually works for any equation whether it is a fun lunch, a romantic occasion, or for plain food nuts like myself – it’s all well done and I give it a hearty thumbs up for all.

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A 12 hour layover in Singapore between midnight and midday led me to do a scan of all eatery options and this coffee shop option (smaller format of hawker dining) was available at 0930 in the morning. And as a bonus it is only one of a handful in the world that is Michelin starred (another in Singapore and also options in Hong Kong). Of the 4 pork dishes I opted for the dry noodles with pork liver and pork balls. The genuinely lovely part to this was the fact that the sauce to go with the carefully prepared noodles was a gloriously soft and sweet vinegar. This was unexpected and with the pieces of fried fish skin was out of the norm. Although I wouldn’t normally opt for this at breakfast, it was great to see and do and there are not many other places in the world where you are able to have Michelin starred food and a whole meal for the equivelant of £6.

I had a pleasant chat with a local couple that educated me to the fact that this wasn’t a traditional Singaporean breakfast but ever popular here none the less as the quality of the noodles were so refined (it can be very easy to make noodles unable to maintain texture having being in a broth for a lengthy period) and also on account of the wonderful sauce. Although this isn’t what I would have for breakfast either, it was good to do and if you are planning on having this option, may I recommend bringing a book or something to pass the time in the queue and keep a very careful listen to the numbers being called out in the build up to your ticket and don’t miss it(!).

I had a pleasant chat with a local couple that educated me to the fact that this wasn’t a traditional Singaporean breakfast but ever popular here none the less as the quality of the noodles were so refined (it can be very easy to make noodles unable to maintain texture having being in a broth for a lengthy period) and also on account of the wonderful sauce. Although this isn’t what I would have for breakfast either, it was good to do and if you are planning on having this option, may I recommend bringing a book or something to pass the time in the queue and keep a very careful listen to the numbers being called out in the build up to your ticket and don’t miss it(!).

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On recommendation of contacts, this was another place tried in the evening context and although I was surprised about the absence of any atmosphere or charm (the restaurant is set within a shopping mall andalmost feels a bit like one inside), there were some very satisfying Asian dishes here that were easily superior to anything you would not normally get in an average Asian restaurant in the UK (as should be the case). Particular favrouites included the sensationally sweet and soy pork, the wonderful lamb with cumin sauce and chicken popcorn with honey (although this was pretty much deep fried calories on a plate). The duck green curry was a litle dissapointing (set thick and a little cloggy) but there really wasn’t that much not to like. Perfect for dining at in an admin context before hitting the nightlife scene – not very warm or conducive as an environment for cosy occasions needed by couples.

Food Grade: 67%

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Happy Chappy is a delivery service for Chinese food in Bali with their flagship restaurant itself located in Seminyak. Thankfully this option turned out to be very good for a Dim Sum brunch (only served on Sundays) as the highlight of the week which we did and showed a good array of fried and steamed options brought to the table. Most notible were the prawn and sesame bites served with a beautifully softened horseradish sauce (not done that before) and home made hoi sin sauce to go with the obligatory Peking duck. Another surprise was the wonderful diced pork to go in to lettuce leaves and the only low moment was the chicken skin which I was most looking forward to (and somehow managed to not take a pic of) as this turned out to be tough and more batter than anything else.

However, this was a great option for a Sunday outing, particularly for brunch with just above an average Chinese food option with caring service and a very good vibe to the restaurant. Beware of crazy Australians that may wish to spontaneously start dancing in the bar area reminding me that I love them….. in a way…… ?

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I am sucker for Anthony Bourdain as he is one of my primary food compasses whenever I go to a new environment so it made absolutely no sense whatsoever to not come to Bali and not do this venue which Bourdain had some of the finest pig produce ever. This turned out to being the third installment of the Ibu Oka brand in Ubud, Bali. Same format, just bigger, the pigs are slaughtered and spit-roasted every day and then ‘painted’ with coconut water throughout their 5 hours of spit-roasting. This causes the coconut juice to caramelise on the pig skin giving a coconut / sugary glaze to the skin which was very good to have although I found this a little faint when having the skin at lunch. The owner kindly showed me around the roasting areas and the array of spices and herbs that went physically in to the meat prior to roasting which was great to see. A great place to enjoy with Bintang beer and even if Bourdain hadn’t been here, I still would have been as curious to try the skin above everything else – a lovely thing to try.

Food Grade: 58%

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This was undeniably the nicest restaurant of four that I visited on my trip to Bali. There is vegetation everywhere to decorate a snazzy restaurant with a delightful garden terrace dining area as well. The food explosions of the braised and pulled lamb with garlic and chilli to go in the perfectly fluffy pancake with a sweet sesame sauce was superb and a brilliant change from the normal Peking duck version with hoi sin, the signature pork was heavenly as was the butter chicken. There was only one low moment (lamb with duck egg) that with too much egg white remaining on the yolk but overall this place generated some very happy people. The cabernet sauvignon red we had was gorgeous to accompany and there were genuinely delightful dishes here. This is definitely one to go to if you are anywhere near Seminyak and would be excellent for couples and larger, celebration groups alike.

Food Grade: 77%

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Gilbey’s is a Michelin recommended restaurant (as at 2017) in Windsor with a front room that simply looks inviting by its front bar with a conservatory dining room in the back. Evidently popular for post-work de-stressing occasions and the odd family gathering, business was thriving on the Thursday evening visited. The food was generally comforting with influences from France and the UK but the tale tell signs that separate this from a higher-end eateries were basic errors such as breeze-block hard butter brought to the table, powdery & cold bread, under-seasoning of some parts (the mash in particular), staff not even wanting eye-contact when in a hurry, mistaken dishes and staff knowledge being limited on the dishes. The non-food parts of these observations are certainly not crimes, but as the restaurant repotire expands, it does become easier to see where the gaps are between restaurants. A comfortable option to go for if in the vicinity.

Food Grade: 54%

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