Sorting out festive stomach rumbling week by week
Having successfully dealt with Christmas dinners - see our eating-out reviews for Italian, Latin American, traditional and Christmas dinner by a swimming pool - its time to ponder on New Years Eve. If you plan to eat out on this most auspicious of dates, what would you expect from the experience? Something big, something fancy, something a little bit out of the ordinary? Step forward the 10-course tasting feast at the Park Plazas Chino Latino on Londons Albert Embankment, designed to celebrate the pan-Asian restaurants 10-year anniversary.
Its a star-studded menu line-up in a very stylish hotel that manages to be welcoming at the sametime; from the men who opened the door for us to the friendly restaurant and bar staff. Nobody batted an eyelid when we asked for our chopsticks to be swapped for forks with food this tasty I didnt want to be scrabbling around for stray grains of rice on my plate!
We started off what was both an elegant and marathon-like session with a plate of Tenkasu rolls little sushi rolls of tuna, seabass, salmon and avocado; an impressive looking Himalayan salt block holding tasty slivers of sashimi with a tangy red pepper dressing; and a sweet note of mini beetroot stacks with cream cheese and a port reduction.
Next was a trio of marinated blow-torch salmon marinated for 24 hours our server told us, we were suitably impressed; a sample of grilled scallops served on what looked like pistachio nuts but was actually (more consultation with the waitress) crushed wasabi peas; and a show-stopping creation, served on a silver hanging stand, featuring little cones of wagyu beef taquitos with aji panca chillies, jalapeno and avocado little mouthfuls of loveliness!
All that and we were only at the main course you can see why this would tick the pulling out all the stops box for New Years Eve! Our mains were full-sized dishes of a chunky Chilean seabass, lovingly slathered in chipotle miso, which was smoky and sweet, and a plate of lamb cutlets, marinated in Korean hot pepper paste and served with wasabi cream, rich and succulent.
Finally and by this time you would really need the New Years Eve DJ (who kicks off the dancing from 10.30pm on the big night) to come and help you work it all off we had desserts of passion fruit cheesecake and Moshi ice cream. The Moshi ice cream is an elaborate-looking Japanese delicacy of ice cream wrapped in soft fluffy dough, and it was just a simple cheesecake I thought until we dipped in - gorgeous passion fruit oozed out, delicious.
You can see why Chino Latino has won awards for its cuisine and its a really cool place to hang out as well, all red and womb-like with a rather fabulous bar just off the dining room (thats where youll be doing your dancing on the night).
The New Years Eve tasting feast costs £79 per person and tables are available from 5.30pm until 10.30pm, with dancing in the bar until the early hours. To book call 020 7769 2500 or email London@chinolatino.co.uk. Overnight rates at the Park Plaza in December from £129 per room per night based on two sharing a standard room, visit the website for more information.
Christmas & New Year's inspiration
Last minute shopping? See our online Christmas gift guide. Or if you're shopping on the high street, check out the BHS Christmas shop for great ideas and some very good last-minute discounts - you can also browse it online
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