Moroccan Style @ Mamounia Lounge Mayfair

Back in November, I received an invite to sample the newly refurbished Mounima Lounge in Mayfair, but Christmas time in the travel industry includes having to go to many Airline and Hotel parties, oh how I tire of them… Yeah right….

What We Ate Last Night : Lamb Fillets

I have been lucky enough to be sent a wonderful box of lamb and vegetables from Silver Fern Farms this week to try out.

The Kiwi based Silver Fern are a new supplier to a certain supermarket, who shall remain nameless of around 95% fat free New Zealand lamb. Fat free you say.

They are pre packaging portions of Loin fillets, rump, racks and leg roasts in individual portions that can be easily chilled in the fridge and used as and when.

To be honest I’ve never been a fan of New Zealand lamb, as I’m sure the best quality lamb is never shipped over here, plus this being fat free I was pretty skeptical. But I agreed as I was intrigued and wanted to give it a fair shot.

So in the week a wonderful box of 2 packs of loin fillets, a bunch of spring vegetables, fruit yoghurts, butter and ice coffees arrived on our doorstep. Awesome package all nestled on a bed of hay. Looked like a really country hamper.

Cannot comment on the yoghurts as they went pretty quickly for someone else’s lunch the following day. But I’ve been well informed they were very good. Same really with the iced coffee, but I’ve never been a fan of, unless it is in Hanoi with lots of condensed milk in it.

I never really buy the fillet, as I’m a rump man myself. I love the fatty parts, as it’s where the flavour is.

In each pack were two fillets, and I was became very curious and wondered if they would cook the same as a fillet of beef. Guess what. They did.

After 10 minutes lingering on a plate of olive oil and black pepper, then seasoned with salt at the last moment, they were put onto a hot griddle pan and cooked away for a few minutes on each side until they were done rare. Just how I like them.

Maybe they could be cooked to medium rare, but any more and you may as well bin them, just like beef.

As I am fast becoming addicted to bulgur, I thought I would use that instead of the medley of vegetables we were sent. Well it was kind of mild and I so want Spring to come as soon as possible.

So I soaked the bulgur in a bowl of boiled water for 10 minutes or so, and then dressed it as I normally do my couscous.

Mixing in plenty of olive oil, chopped tomatoes, parsley, mint, cumin powder, paprika, crumbled feta cheese, some small cucumbers, salt and pepper.

I think this was the quickest meal I’ve had this week and there was enough to last for lunch the next day. Brilliant.

To be honest there is a reason I go for the fattier parts of meat. Fat equals flavour. But this surprisingly had a subtle lambyness about it that with the nutty bulgur worked very well, as nothing over powered each other. A good combo.

The lamb was very soft and melted in my mouth, pretty surprised. It actually tasted better the next day, and we had a few slices left over that went into a noodle soup the day after and again tasted a little stronger.

We have the 2^nd pack in the freezer and I’m wondering what else I could do with it, apart from griddle it. Maybe a lamb Wellington could be in order. Defiantly have to pull my finger out for that. But I’ll let you know.

I’m not sure if I would buy these packets, but as I do the above but with bavette steak in the summer for lunches this could be a very good alternative.

Mahdi - It was like coming home

I was a little apprehensive to return to Mahdi, mainly because of all the places I had eaten at before and revisited recently, they have all let me down. Badly. What if Mahdi was to do the same to me. What if it had changed. What if had gone downhill. What if… I didn’t like it anymore.

I have eaten at Mahdi more than any other restaurant in London or anywhere. I mean we are talking at least once a month, sometimes a lot more, for at least 5 years maybe more. I mean we are talking well over a 100 times. I was nervous.

Back in 1998 we went to Asia for a while and when we came back we moved to Islington for a bit, then a year in Latin America followed, and again back to North London. This meant Mahdi became a thing of the past. But as we now both work in West London, I was hoping Mahdi would be visited more often. Not quite as much as before, but maybe I was hoping for too much.

My Mahdi sits on an interesting part of King Street in Hammersmith. It’s far enough away from the shopping arcade so it is a little quiet, but not too far that people don’t know it is there.

It’s on the other corner from the cinema, and like most restaurants in this area it caters to them a lot, although unlike the other ones, Mahdi has a steady following of fans, so it doesn’t need those cinema goers to survive.

Another restaurant we used to eat a lot in this area was the Green Chilli, a fantastic Indian that unfortunately could quite never break into the market, whilst serving great contempory Indian food it was always empty. I passed it the other week and saw a big wooden door in place. It was definitely closed and for good. This saddened me.

My Mahdi is a small family run restaurant and has grown over the years. When we first started eating there all those years ago, the service was slightly erratic, but the warmness of everyone made up for any shortcomings. The décor has changed from simple to slightly more artistic. Plus they have grown into the shop next door, which gives you more space. No more waiting for tables, and a better atmosphere.

The food is simple, well cooked, well priced, large portioned and fantastic. It’s mainly made up of grilled meats served with freshly baked bread, (the oven is by the door as you walk in, so you are hooked from the off) a simple salad and/or rice. It’s mostly lamb with some chicken thrown in as well for good measure.

They also have a good selection of Persian and Near Eastern stews as well. I think I’ve tried them all. I think. Oh well I will just have to start going through the menu again to make sure.

In winter I always steer clear of the cold starters, like in summer I do not even look at the hot ones. Their hummus whilst not having tahini in it, is one of the few things on the menu I never did like. I just prefer my own. Fussy like that.

But their baby lamb kebabs are what it all about. Juicy, seasoned perfectly, cooked to the point of OMG. Utterly good.

Over the years we have got into our own little habits there. I’m more a bread and rice fan where as Lina is more salad and a little bread. They serve a creamy yoghurt sauce, which Lina drizzles over her salad, where as I pop it on my kebabs. They also give you small sachets of butter. I never knew what you were supposed to do with them, but over time I have been mixing them in with my rice. Unxious is the word, and with a shake of the chilli powder it works a treat.

Before, when we were greedy guts we used to eat everything there and then, but as now we are maturing in years and have more control. (Can’t believe I just wrote that. Me, control. Never) We take at least half home for work the next day. Perfect. Plus as it is kinda on the route home from work, I have their number in my mobile, so we can order take away and have a feast at home. Just feel sorry for the other tube passengers.

I am truly a happy man, as entering Mahdi the other week was like coming home. It felt the same, it felt comfortable. It was as if we have never been away, the food was the same, the waiters who were there from before recognised us and welcomed us back. I was a happy man. We ordered the same as before. It was as I remembered it. The meat was tender and juicy, the bread was hot from the oven, the service as ever, friendly and warm. I was a happy diner.

I am back and Mahdi never changed. Hoorah for same same. I just wish the other places I used to love wouldn’t have changed. If only.