December 5, 2015

Fly Me to London: Pictures and Shikumen Bar & Restaurant


Good Eats at Dorsett Shepherds Bush!



While staying at Dorsett Shepherds Bush in West London, I also enjoyed some really good eats at the two restaurant located in the hotel. From breakfast to lunch and dinner, both restaurants Pictures and Shikumen Bar & Restaurant offers diners a treat from Western and Asian cuisine set in an elegant and stylish ambiance.


Pictures


The all-day dining contemporary brasserie restaurant is located on the ground floor of the hotel. Managed by the hotel, Pictures serves European menu liven up with a touch of Asia from breakfast to lunch and dinner. The restaurant has two dining space. The main dining room is spacious and design with an elegant contemporary flair. Themed in muted grey wall contrasted with rich wood and black tables and wall panels, Pictures also has lots of framed mirrors and black & white photos of yesteryears movie icons. Silver velvet chairs paired with black tables for contrast blended into the theme beautifully.





The second dining space is a private room named Red Room. Located discreetly behind the well-hidden door next to the Audrey Hepburn corner in the hotel. A gorgeous vibrant red lite up the room with the combination of grey, silver, black and white themed colors. The room echoed the classy themed from Pictures’ main dining room with lots of yesteryear movie icons in black and white. This room is perfect for private parties and gathering whether it be business or personal!









Every morning before we start our day, we visited Pictures for the spread of luscious English breakfast. I enjoyed the spread of buttery pastries and croissants, mini muffins, cold cuts and cheese, cereals fresh fruits and creamy yoghurt. From hot buffet warmers are thick grilled Cumberland sausages, bacon, sauteed mushrooms, grilled tomatoes and baked beans. Order your eggs freshly prepared at their egg station.




Since Dorsett Shepherds Bush pride themselves in theming the whole hotel with an Oriental touch, Pictures also serves up some classic Asian breakfast favorites of dim sum, porridge and congee with pickled vegetables and Fried Noodles. The overall breakfast spread may not have a long list like our typical Asian hotels but the spread is definitely delicious and consisted of quality dishes that will leave you satiated happily.



MAB Pilot Parker and Dorsett Bear met for the very first time and joined us for our breakie!

Service is another plus point here as every morning, the staff greets you with lots of smile, perking up your mornings with much pleasantness.


For lunch and dinner, Pictures serve a la carte menu of European dishes. We were hosted by General Manager of Dorsett Shepherds Bush, the gracious Hilary Cross for an unforgettable lunch. The whole restaurant looked even better during noon time as the natural lighting lite up the room beautifully.


We started our lunch with a wholesome and creamy Carrot & Pumpkin Soup. A bowl of thick and comforting flavours of root vegetables served with freshly baked crusty bread rolls did wonder to warm up our appetites for more to come.


Our main course was a delectable Barbary Duck Breast with Red Cabbage & Plum Sauce . Barbary duck, also known as Muscovy duck, is famous for their rich plump and firm meat despite it being leaner that the usual local ducks. A whole duck breast is skillfully rendered on its skin till crispy and finished in the oven for medium doneness. The flesh is so succulent and has a light pinkness on the firm meat. Served with a tangy and fruity marmalade and plum sauce, the duck slices were superb in flavours. Accompanying the duck was fondant potatoes, tangy braised red cabbage and some micro greens. A must- order if you love duck!


For those who prefer a vegetarian option, there is the Pea Risotto. A creamy risotto studded with pea shoots, asparagus, broad bean and carrots cooked in vegetable stock and finished with lots of shavings of parmesan cheese.


Dessert Platter of Pineapple Upside down Cake, Crème Bruleé Cheesecake and Brownie took our lunch ending to the sweetest heights. I couldn’t be any higher on cloud nine! Three sumptuous and sinful desserts won many hearts that day, including mine.

From warm caramelized Pineapple Upside down cake of moist cakey batter with whole cherries and juicy pineapples, each bite of this cake with vanilla ice cream was heavenly on my sweet sense. The star of the plate was definitely the Crème Brulee Cheesecake, another heavenly concoction showcasing the best of both worlds of cheesecake and crème brulee. The cheesecake literally melts-in-the-mouth with rich silky sweetness contrasted with creamy layer of cheese and buttery biscuit layer. The brownie was decadent with dark chocolate notes and went well with the ice cream too.


The culinary team behind Pictures


There are many more dishes on the menu that looks tempting at Pictures. From Crayfish Cocktails, Potted Duck Salad to Slow Cooked Pork Ribs, 28 Day Dry Aged Cattleman’s 8oz Striplion, 21 Day Aged 6oz Scotch Fillet, Point Brewery Grimsby Baby Haddock and more, there are also new age sandwiches with hearty fillings!


PICTURES
Dorsett Shepherds Bush
58 Shepherds Bush Green,
London W12 8QE, United Kingdom
Email: info.shepherdsbush@dorsetthotels.com
Tel: +44 (0) 203 262 1026

Website: http://www.dorsetthotels.com/unitedkingdom/london/shepherdsbush

Business Hours:
Daily 6.30am to 10.30pm




Shikumen Bar & Restaurant


If you’re in London and hankering for Chinese, visit Shikumen Bar & Restaurant at Dorsett Shepherds Bush for a feast of fine dining Asian specials. Shikumen, owned by Malaysian born Simon Chai, has already created quite a buzz in the dining scene when it was awarded the Bib Gourmand in the 2016 Michelin Guide. Shikumen (库门) translates to “stone gate” and is a style of housing blending Chinese and Western structural styles that is unique to Shanghai. Echoing its denotation, Shikumen Bar & Restaurant showcase their Chinese cuisine injected with a touch of modern Western creativity. Serving a list of house signatures and a selection of handmade Dim Sums daily, it is now a popular hot spot of many who enjoys fine dining cuisine with an elegant flair.




The restaurant has 150 covers with a further 16 covers in the bar area, is beautifully designed with a classy and modern Oriental Shanghai theme. The handsome and bold restaurant has an overall cherry wood themed paired with cream, muted greys and black. Oriental art pieces completed the elegant ambiance at the restaurant.




Dinner commenced with the much famed 18-folds of beautifully pleated soup dumpling of Xiao Long Bao. Sufficiently impressive and delicious in flavours, we sip our broth from the dumpling gently before savoring the delicate savory note of the minced filling encased in the thin dumpling skin.



A house signature of Legendary Roast Duck seemed to be a favorite as seen on many of the tables that night. A whole gorgeously lacquered duck carved at our table side with précised knife skills and quickly sandwiched into hot steamed mantao bun and thin pancake with hoisin sauce, cucumber and scallion. I would have certainly love a bit more crispy skin with the duck, nevertheless, the duck was moist and tender. I also enjoyed the option of the pancake skin and mantao bun for a different texture.


As with most Chinese meals, soups are a must and ours was the classically famed Sichuan Hot and Sour Soup. Piquant and spicy in heat, the thick soup has all the usual ingredients of the classic soup. A solid balance of sour, savory, sweet and spicy flavours, whetting the palate for more dishes to come…



Our next dish paid homage to the king of crustaceans in Stir Fried Lobster with Chili & Garlic. A generous portion of pieces of lobster cooked in house signature chili and garlic sauce was definitely a crowd pleaser. Despite the robust flavours of chili and garlic, I can still taste the sweet flesh of the tender lobster. It was certainly a delicious finger-licking good moment while enjoying this dish!


We also had Shikumen’s Legendary Roasted Lamb Rack. A trimmed lamb rack cutlet was well marinated with savory and sweet Asian flavours. Served with an unusual pairing of wine poached pear, I especially enjoyed the caramelized bits of the lamb.


Our last savory course was a big filler of Pan Fried Tofu with Seafood in Pumpkin Sauce, Stir Fried Asparagus, Lotus Root, Mushrooms and Pumpkin and Vegetable Fried Rice with Edamame. While the fried rice and stir fried vegetables was decent, it was the pumpkin that was deliciously yummy. House made soft egg bean curd smothered in a lightly creamy and sweet pumpkin sauce also had the popping sensations of flying fish roes to give this dish another textural component.


Dessert Platter of Mango Grapefruit Tapioca Pearls, Sweet Black Sesame Ball and Green Tea Pudding highlight all the favorite classics of Chinese desserts on a plate.



Highlights for me were their Xiao Long Bao, Legendary Roast Duck and in Stir Fried Lobster with Chili & Garlic. Do call for reservations as this restaurant garners a good crowd with all its scrumptious dishes!



SHIKUMEN BAR & RESTAURANT
Dorsett Shepherds Bush
58 Shepherds Bush Green,
London W12 8QE, United Kingdom
Email: info.shepherdsbush@dorsetthotels.com
Tel: +44 (0) 208 749 9978


Business Hours:
Monday to Saturday: 12:00pm to 11:00pm
Sunday: 11:30pm to 10:30pm





This trip was made possible by Malaysia Airlines, UK Visit Britain and Dorsett Shepherds Bush London. All stories and comments in my posts are purely derived from my own experiences through the trip.

*Look out for more posts coming on UK Visit Britain sites!


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2 comments:

  1. The breakfast spread looks good, drooling at the sausages and ham~~

    ReplyDelete
  2. Aghh, I didn't get to try their duck when we were there, looks lovely!

    ReplyDelete