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What ho, Apologies for the mahousive lateness of of this. (What's a couple of =20 years between friends?) The ravages of time and vast amount of booze consumed that night have =20= dulled my memory. Please correct any factual errors, or chip in with =20 an opinion. I've not been doing a lot of restaurant-going recently, thanks to a =20 poverty-inducing month-long cookery course at http://=20 www.ashburtoncookeryschool.co.uk. It was great, though. And I =20 recommend the place to you all. Tom. Archipelago - London W1. It's hard nowadays to find a restaurant without a theme - Pacific Rim =20= Fusion, the glamour of Old Europe, and the like. Most of the time, =20 these are short-lived gimmicky flashes in the pan that barely allow =20 time for the grout to dry on the kitchen tiles before the place is =20 gutted for the next crackpot venture. Archepelago's theme, however, =20 is different. Actually, to be more specific, the theme is difference: =20= everything about this place is designed to be unusual and ecletic - =20 the culinary equivalent of putting Marylin Manson next to Mozart in =20 one's record collection. Opulent decay is a strong theme in the decor of the dining room. Each =20= piece of furniture is noticably different; the walls are decorated =20 with objets trouv=E9s from various cultures, and soft furnishings are =20= decorated with throws and cushions of every tone and fabric =20 imaginable (with the possible exception of chain mail, but it =20 wouldn't surprise me...) Even the table furniture is unmatched and =20 quirky. Discussions over who has the most interesting fork swiftly =20 degenerated into who had the most inappropriate wine glass. (I think =20 that Ben's bucket-sized vessel was more favourable than my thimble.) =20 The overall atmosphere was something between a Moroccan bazaar and =20 one of those middle-England furniture shops that sells candles and =20 roughly-carved figures from Polynesia or thereabouts. Cocktails were served, and menus were delivered. As to be expected =20 from a place that positively revels in eclectism and opulence, the =20 delivery was carefully thought out and beautifully executed. Menus =20 come as ribbon-wrapped scrolls of aged paper; cocktails with quirky =20 garnishes (My "Swamp Thing", tasting like the offspring of of a Mint =20 Julep and a Mojito, came with a golden rubber frog semi-submerged in =20 its green murky depths.) Interestingly, although the menu contains exotic ingredients, the =20 composition is pretty standard for western European cuisine: one =20 protein component, one starch, and something vegetative for flavour =20 and texture contrast - typically something fruity and sharp. This =20 makes sense for pitching exotic fare at a primarily British audience =20 without deviating too far from the "meat and two veg" norm. That =20 having been said, it does pose an interesting question about how =20 normalised meal composition is across the world: how do different =20 cultures compose their dishes for maximum appeal, while retaining a =20 nutritional balance? As we were a sizeable group, we ended up with a fair cross-section of =20= the oddness on offer. I plumped for the conservative options, mostly =20 out of reaction to my companions' lust for the eccentric, but also =20 out of a fear that "that probably tastes a bit like chicken". In the =20 case of the peacock, the latter certainly turned out to be true! Starter: Duck salad, with a pomegranete and pistachio dressing First impressions of this dish were extremely favourable: it looks =20 fantastic. The salad leaves (mostly red chard) were verdant and shiny =20= with a rich, sweet dressing. The slices of duck were perfectly-cooked =20= - caramelised on the outside, and dark red within. Pomegranete pieces =20= and pistachio halves dotted the plate, looking flavoursome and crisp. And the flavour was good: all of the ingredients were as fresh and =20 flavoursome as their appearance suggested. The duck was lovely - =20 smooth and soft and rich, which contrasted nicely with the =20 pomegranete and pistacho, with a crisp texture and sharp flavour. Granita: There were three granite, and we tried them all. The tequila =20= and black pepper was king - the pepper really opens up the tequila =20 flavour, which is blissfully shorter in the mouth than the liquid =20 variety. The strawberry and vanilla (CHECK?) was overpoweringly =20 saccharine, but the mango (CHECK?) trod the fine line between sharp =20 and sweet nicely. Main: Honey and Chilli pork loin with lime-flavoured couscous Another beautifully presented dish =3D a rectangular plate with a mound =20= of cous-cous, pressed into a square, and a deep bowl of thinly-sliced =20= stir-fried pork. The cous-cous was excellent - very limey without being too sour, and =20 nice and fluffy. The pork was less good, being extremely rich and =20 sweet, and not very anisey. It was, however, piping hot, and =20 beautifully textured. I think that this dish would be improved with =20 less pork, and a side dish of something bitter and crunchy (radiccio =20 salad?) to counter the very sweet taste of the meat. 'Love bug' salad with crickets and locusts: The crickets (I didn't get a locust!) were lovely: crisp and nutty =20 and light. I've become an instant convert to their crunchy goodness =20 and will be ordering them at every available opportunity. The salad =20 otherwise was OK, with plenty of chard (which I like), but the =20 dressing was almost as sweet as the honey pork, and rendered the =20 whole thing a bit opressive and not terribly refreshing. Dessert: I would like to say that the dessert was as wild culinary experience =20 as the savoury courses. However, with the exception of the chocolate-=20 covered scorpions, they were pretty nondescript in both their design =20 and execution: sweet and fruity. The scorpions were enjoyed by those =20 that tried them: "A bit like a Crunchie bar", was the overriding =20 consensus. Overall, Archipelago was a really enjoyable experience. The food was =20 interesting, fresh, and competently cooked, but with a tendency =20 towards tasting rather cloying. But it's not the sort of restaurant =20 that you'd go to for the quality of the food, more for an exotic =20 experience. And Archipelago certainly delivers on that front - all =20 your senses are bombarded with quirky, offbeat curiosities. It's a =20 lot of fun.=
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