For London Restaurant festival this year I only managed to try out one deal from bookatable.com. Pictures at Dorsett Hotel, a Chinese owned hotel filled with seductive dark colours and an art deco feel. £15 seemed like a great deal for a 2-course meal, that was nearby to go after work with colleagues.
The hotel has a tiny bar at the corner, with few chairs and tables. The restaurant Pictures is an all day brassiere, with Asian-Western food, taking up the side of the hotel. The dining area was empty when we arrived for out 8pm reservation. Only 2 tables were occupied, meaning we had the full attention and service from the staff. We all knew what we wanted, and placed our orders right away. The server joked and asked why we wasn’t going for any alcohol, prior to that we already hit the local pub for drinks.
The plate of duck watermelon arrived, shredded pieces of duck confit, and with the thumb sized chunks of watermelon accompanied with greens. I liked the sweetness of the fruit and contrasting saltiness of the duck, lightly dressed in a sweet sauce.
Ok, the next dish may look like something that came out of your butt; you know the caramelised looking brown colour, rough lumpy texture of meat. I assure you Beef Rendang is good. Rich in spices, layered with garlic, shallots, ginger, meat oh so tender and not chewy. The final aftertaste is the coconut milk that the beef was simmered for hours. It went down very well, without any rice.
Stick around for desserts, as it was a great ending for the evening. Apple tarte tatin is becoming a favourite of mine ever since I had it at Malaysian Nyonya Supperclub. The upside down French tart, plenty of fruits compressed together in a bowl of cream, swirled with raspberry sauce.
My colleagues and I really enjoyed the meal; even with the added extras the bill came to roughly £25 a person.
58 Shepherds Bush Green London, UK W12 8QE
{google_map}58 Shepherds Bush Green London{/google_map}
