Have you ever wondered what it is like to eat in a 1-star Michelin restaurant? Well, my bro and I just did that on Fri afternoon for lunch at Tom Aikens. It was a 2-hour long affair and the food was good. We were surprisingly full after the meal although the portions looked so small. Gor and I were saying things like "Now, now...any time soon." and "I like my sister but there's only so much we can talk about over lunch." Really not the sort who'd wait more than 15 mins for each course. Yes, I'm impatient. Trained by Chinese restaurants plus my frequent meals in front of the comp. =P

Remember a previous post about amuse bouche? Now...Tom Aikens' amuse bouche is the real deal with truffles and cream of something (can't really decipher the waiter's French accent sometimes). Yummy!!

I think Tom Aikens (left) is not bad looking and he has a twin brother! Gor thinks he looks like a certain animal, which I shall not name. =P


Anyway...enjoy the pics! Pardon the blurry-dreamlike quality. I used my phone cam as I didn't want to spoil my image when we were in a chi-chi restaurant!!

My starter of rabbit with mango and lemon sauce. The rabbit wasn't gamey and it was very tender.

My main course of Pollock with pork on a bed of chickpeas. The pollock is a very bland tasting fish so it was nicely paired with the braised pork, which gave it a slightly bacon and smokey taste.

Gor's pigeon breast on polenta. I've got no idea how the chef did it...but the pigeon was so tender. It wasn't cooked through so it isn't tough but the meat was still red and tasted oddly like liver.

My dessert of Rhubarb with rose ice cream and jelly. Don't ask me what that froth is. Tom Aikens seems to like froth a lot. Gor's asparagus soup looked similar to this. Yes, his soup was froth. Taste test on this - Bandung ice cream with Rhubarb. Gor's dessert was more impressive.


Tada....Gor's Coffee dessert which had espresso cream, chocolate cake infused with espresso and cream. Much much yummier than mine. Although mine felt lighter and was a good ending to a perfect meal.

After dessert came the petit four of caramelised sugar (mango, sesame seeds, coconut and pistachio), madeleines (almond and ginger -yuck), chocolate squares (earl grey and orange), cream with berries and
mousse (white chocolate with black olive oil, wine with orange, pistachio and a couple more flavours that I can't remember).

2 hours. I still can't get over how long the lunch was. The service was, of course, excellent and you felt like your every whim and fancy would be fulfilled. The small dining space meant that it was cosy and didn't feel too ostentatious, which was good because I didn't want to feel like a wannabe most of the time.


Another Michelin-starred restaurant near Tom Aiken's is Bibendum. This lovely restaurant is aptly located in the former Michelin tyre factory. They've got a less expensive cafe just outside, so you don't have to splurge just to eat quality food...although, considering that this IS London, everything might feel like a splurge (hur hur).

If you're ever in London, I say just go to ONE of the several Michelin-starred restaurants just for the experience of good food, wine, which may leave you feeling like eating is more like an orchestra. Go for set lunches as they're usually priced around GBP 29.50 (excl. VAT and svc charge).