Kimchee - muted Korean in Holborn May 2013

How the times have changed… A few years ago, a moodily lit, artfully ambient dark wood and slate room serving authentically ethnic South East Asian cuisine would have had queues out of the door. And it's certainly not that Kimchee is any worse than original contender Busabi Eathai, on the contrary, but we're no longer surprised at being able to eat such exotica in the midst of the city.

Kimchee promises an 'authentic, full Korean dining experience in the heart of London…' Apparently their founder hand noticed a paucity of decent ones. Given the number clustered round the Tottenham Court Road end of Covent Garden, he hadn't looked that hard. That said, you can't quibble with the description he provides. It's certainly a full experience, the menu must have forty or more dishes on it, many of them not seldom seen outside Seoul.

The majority of dishes fall into the 'small plates' territory. An extended number of them are a riff on the battered and deep fried, though sadly the few we shared didn't deliver anything that soared above the ordinary. Overly thick fried dough smothered the life out of already fairly tough squid, the knockout blow delivered by an acrid sweet chilli sauce. A Prawn Tuigim delivered a measly two (albeit decent) crustacea locked in a 'tempura' batter overcoat that could have held Hannibal Lecter.

Things got slightly better with the main, a competent if pedestrian dolsot bibimbap. After a heavenly experience in Naru a few months ago, I was definitely in the mood for another go on the hot stone bowl filled with gradually crisping fragrant rice and veg. Here it just lurked rather than jumping out. There was no discernible sesame aroma, scarce veggies and little kick from a side bowl of chilli sauce. If I'm back, it'll be to take something from the evocatively fragranced grill at the front of the restaurant, the smell of which was one of the few real highlights of the place.

Despite uncomfortable bench seating, the dark woods and soft stone delivered a handsome enough dining experience and for a business lunch where you're more concerned by chat than chow it gets a nod for being unobtrusively acceptable. It's a missed opportunity but one that still just about manages acceptability in the hinterlands of Holborn.

Review of Vanilla Black - June 2010

Where: Vanilla Black, Holborn
With whom: The Vole
How much?: £30 for three courses or £24 for two courses 

Hidden away on a tiny cobbled street behind Holborn's bustle, Vanilla Black is a cultish vegetarian oasis more in the mould of laid back Michelin starred food emporia Arbutus than the often holier than thou High Veg of somewhere like Saf. There are no opinions shoved at you, and no ethos that you have to subscribe to, they just want to serve you good ingredients, cooked well, in a calm friendly atmosphere. That those ingredients happen to all be vegetables, seems a coincidence.

This approach is unlike San Francisco's Ubuntu or New York's Dirt Candy, two other great, high end, vegetarian experiences this committed carnivore places in his top dining experiences of recent years. Both of them celebrate individual, specific veg in their dishes, with Ubuntu (where all of the food is grown within 20k of the kitchen) offering Cauliflower cooked four ways and a wonderful Carrot Gnocci and Dirt Candy (an all together grittier, East Village experience) presenting Corn, Mushroom and Pumpkin as the stars of their own dishes. I digress.

One chatty server took pity on me while waiting for the Vole (once again...) The friendly staff are a contrast to their severe black uniforms but fit nicely in with the clean grey-green and white walls. When she finally arrived, we settled down in the quieter front section of the restaurant - the fact that someone called Dharma was enjoying their birthday revels in the rear section was the only hint of hippie that we saw all night - the rest of the clientele were smart, though not overly dressy and given it's location, there were more than a few suits floating through the celebratory groups.

An amuse of 'fresh tomato with celery salt' was as nice a shot of Virgin Mary as I've had and a good palate cleanser. If I admit to not being overly impressed with a starter of Sweet & Sour Glazed Beetroot with Wasabi Cream it was only due to a severe food envy. This was suffered from my (single, solitary!) taste of The Vole's Puy Lentil Dhal braised in red wine and served with a potato puree, curry oil and a crunchy moorish spice mix - one of the best variants on a, quite frankly often plain, dish I've tasted.

A perfectly subtle and lovely Ozzie gewurztraminer (from a little boutique producer in Clare Valley called Skillogalee if you're interested...) perfectly chimed with our mains. It was now The Vole's turn to suffer food envy. Her Asparagus and Chervil Pesto Crumpet with a leek tagliatelle was perfectly executed but my Ribblesdale cheese pudding was one of the tastiest dishes I've eaten this year. It arrived with a side of tart pineapple puree that seemed initially incongruous, but set off the creamy soft set cheese pudding perfectly. A dish of two halves, it came paired with a poached ducks egg sitting resplendent on a stout and expertly prepared smoked potato cake. The two worked together well. Too well for me to let the Vole have more than a morsel.

If the deconstructed carrot cake I had to finish had a flaw, it was only in it's size. The elements all came together as expected, though the carrot 'halwa' was more of a puree. 

We were pretty much the last to leave at 10 and while the restaurant had been full during it's 8pm sitting, I definitely thought they could, and should, have been busier. Every now and then remember that it's not all about the steak or the burger and give Vanilla Black a go. You won't miss the meat (for a night anyway).