A very tasty lunch in London today!
Humo is a restaurant which has the principal theme of wood-fired cooking, with influences from Japan (it’s a sister restaurant to Endo at the Rotunda) and executive chef Miller Prada’s native Columbia. The result is a menu where the flavour of woodsmoke is prominent, with an open kitchen where all diners can see the chefs at work. I sat at the counter and conversed with some of the chefs and got to see a number of other dishes being prepared which left my mouth watering for a future visit.
I took the four course lunch menu and added one extra as a supplement, so my lunch comprised the following dishes:
1. Aged yellowtail sashimi with a ponzu & coffee sauce – a dish which I felt was average at first bite but enjoyed more and more as I ate it – the sweet tangy sauce ended up being very moreish.
2. “Garden salad” of smoked potato, wild rocket (arugala for American readers) and edamame. Adding a smoky flavour to a green salad is a masterstroke. I never thought I’d enjoy a salad as much as I enjoyed this bowl – hard to describe but incredible to eat.
3. Hand-dived scallop cooked on wood from whisky barrels, served with sliced pear and a whisky sabayon. The scallop had been seared on the outside imparting the flavour of the barbecue, but barely cooked in the centre – the pear and sabayon both added sweetness. The smoky flavour on the scallop was superb but I might have liked another flavour or texture here.
4. Monkfish with green peppers and a green mojo sauce. Who could fail to enjoy barbecued fish? It was absolutely delicious in its simplicity and balance.
5. “Rubia” dessert – dulcey cake of four nuts, whisky barrel & cacao ice cream, some kind of thick custard, grapefruit and biscuits. I could be still eating this now and be happy. The cake and custard in particular were superb.
by h0m3r