A recent visit to London’s KERB from Hawker Chan, Singapore’s famed Michelin-starred street food vendor, got us thinking about the new wave of laid back Michelin.
If you missed Hawker Chan (so did we, never fear), longstanding Michelin-star holder Pied à Terre has just launched the concept restaurant Cook Love at Dinerama. Here, they’re applying their Michelin knowledge to make dishes that have the same focus – seasonal, innovative, modern – in a more relaxed setting. An oil drum BBQ will be used to create a smoky flavour for things like scallops, and a smaller portion of the rich but delicious cacio e pepe at £5 sounds just right.
Speaking of oil, over in Bangkok, 70+ year old Jay Fai may just be our new favourite food hero. Slinging her crab omelettes daily (which are essentially submerged in oil and carefully rotated), she was awarded a Michelin star for her street side wok-fired creations a little over a year ago (which sounds like unfortunately, it’s been a bit of a curse…). We’d make the trip here – and gladly pay the $30 US for the omelette on a stool– to see her ski goggles in action alone, but it sounds like we’re not the only ones.
Back in London, StreetXO, sister restaurant to the three Michelin-star DiverXo, offers an express menu, so having Michelin on the fly, in a restaurant, is possible. For £25pp (min two people), you can choose from two menus, both which include four courses (with dishes featuring names like Galician octopus who spoke Indian and carpaccio of Hamachi ‘fish and chips’), and a dessert; deal. And over at Kahani, should you want to learn how to bring the Michelin cooking home, Michelin-starred chef Peter Joseph will be teaching a masterclass on March 30 (£100, email to book), showing you that Indian cooking doesn’t have to be heavy, as he learned from his mama.
Aw.
