Dining Experiments – Kadiris
BW and I were lucky to be invited to a supper club known as Dining Experiments which was held at a secret location in Chancery Lane. Running late as usual, thanks to me, we made it there in good time – just as the food was about to be served! We made our way to the lower ground level of the venue to find a huge dining space packed full of people! I’ve never been to a supper club before; usually because they don’t seem to have any halal offerings on the menu, so you can imagine my excitement at the prospect of being invited to one of the rare halal ones!
The guest caterer of the evening was Az from Kadiris. Kadiris, although being known well for their restaurant in Willesden, are better known as being one of the best Indian caterers in London. I would know this myself as they happened to cater one of the events at my own wedding, so I was especially looking forward to what Az would be offering us that evening. We had been scarcely informed of what the evening would hold for us other than to expect an Asian Fusion menu. Amidst all the diners, projector screens, and DJ, BW and myself were able to find a spot on one of the tables and squeezed in.
Lime and Mint Granita
A spoonful of refreshing crushed ice with lime juice and mint. Almost like mojito (virgin) on a spoon!
Compressed Rose Melon
A tin can containing three chunks of sweet watermelon that had been infused with rose water to give a slight aromatic flavour to the melon. A nice touch to get the meal started but didn’t give me that “wow-this-is-so-different” experience I was waiting to have.
Edible Bouquet of Flowers
This was served on the top of the can of watermelon however we weren’t sure whether we were to eat this together with the melon, or one after the other, or even separately. I just popped the whole thing in my mouth. From what I can recall, the bouquet definitely consisted of peppery rocket as this was the first flavour I got however all the other components were lost on me. Definitely different, although it was a bit of an unnecessary addition.
Prawn and Crab Dumpling, Langoustine Consume, Tamarind and Yuzu Gel
A doughy dumpling packed with delicious prawn and sweet crab meat. It was then doused in a hot consume that had been made with langoustine. The tamarind and yuzu gel were delicately blobbed around the plates and I ended up mixing them into the consume. The dumpling was very, very good, and I was sad to see that they only had given one, but I ended up devouring the addictive consume at the end!
Lamb Slider with hint of Umami
You guys know I’m a sucker for burgers so imagine my delight when i spotted these babies on the menu. Juicy little lamb patties of heaven were topped with a dollop of burger sauce and placed in a teeny, soft burger bun. As for the hint of umami (meaning “pleasant, savoury taste”, the supposedly fifth taste other than bitter, sweet, salty, sour), I’ve never really been able to pick up it in my foods – dont most things have a “pleasant, savoury taste”?! It didnt matter, I ended up running back to the kitchen, and taking two more cute little burgers for myself, and three lamb patties for BW.
Az’s spicy Chicken Shop Wings
The wings arrived in a cardboard box; a massive reminder of back in day when you would go to your local chicken shop after school and order some chicken (questionable) wings. But these wings were different – firstly, they were actually chicken, and secondly, they were so finger lickingly delicious that BW finished his, some of mine, and was on the hunt for more. They had been doused in some sort of spicy, sticky, and subtly sweet sauce, and it was great fun to look around the room to see everyone using their hands to get stuck in.
Soy Mutton Steak
Three medium-well cooked mutton slices were placed on a plate, but sadly had gone cold. Its tough to say what type of seasoning had been used, if any at all, and while the meat was flavoursome and tender, the taste overall was nothing out of the ordinary. Going by the last two courses, I had expected a huge kick of flavours.
Homemade Red Thai Chicken Curry
Huge platters of fluffy rice white were served with crispy onion strings and spring onions on the top. Small pots were then delivered that contained a bright, radioactive red curry containing chicken chunks and colourful peppers. The first flavour to hit me was the spice – a cheeky underlying hotness – followed by the familiar Thai sweet coconut milk, and what seemed like a tiny bit of Indian spices.
Dome & Carrot Cheese Cake
A bright blue dome that when cut into revealed a sweet chocolate mousse on top a think sponge layer. The carrot cheesecake was also a dome in shape but the cream cheese was a little overbearing and rich.
Creme Brulee
One of my all time favourite desserts but in a smaller, more compact version. A pod of sweet custard with a touch of vanilla and a layer of burnt sugar on the top. It was stunning and melted in your mouth although I was expecting more of a crunch from the top sugar layer.
Per person, the supper club had cost £40 excluding drinks. This was a great price considering the quality and variety of the food we received. Although the portions were small, they were definitely filling, and we left satisfied with our meal.
As for my first supper club experience, I think this one had too many people, and so despite a great effort from our host of the evening to keep things flowing smoothly, we often had to wait a while between courses. It was approaching 11:30 when we were served the chicken curry (the event started at 8) but nonetheless, we had great fun connecting with BW’s old friends and making some new ones too!
This was also the first official supper club Dining Experiments had held and they definitely made a nice evening of it. I’m definitely in for the next one! In the event that another dinner will be held, tickets will be sold online, but I’ll be sure to keep you guys in the loop! I will point out that even with the meat being halal, there was alcohol was present as the top floor was a bar and guests were allowed to bring their drinks to the table.
