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Ric and I ventured to the far reaches of East London to try a new restaurant that we had been hearing a lot about. The chef came from El Bulli - consistently ranked as the best restaurant in the world - and opened up Viajante in a restored Town Hall building in Bethnal Green. Now, Ric and I are happy to travel to out of the way places for a good meal, but when I had to walk 40 minutes further East from my office (which is already pretty far East), through council flats and deserted streets, and past a bicyclist who ran into me then yelled at me for getting in the way, I arrived more focused on why the chef decided to put his restaurant in the middle of nowhere than looking forward to the food we were about to eat. A glass of champagne calmed me down a little bit, and I was happily ready to focus on the food, but when the menus came they offered us the choice of 6, 9 or 12 courses. That's it. No hint of what might make up those courses, no a la carte option to at least get a feel for the type of food or get excited about. And no wine list to look at. So, after lots of discussion we opted for the 9 course. I don't mind when a tasting menu is kept secret, but I would have liked some glimpse into what we were in store for (which you can usually get by looking at the a la carte choices).
The food was very inventive, adventures, unique... and some of the course were delicious. But others, like the raw venison, were just a little much. I've included the top secret menu below (which you're given after you've finished the meal) in case any one else wants to venture into the far east and try it out... at least you'll have some idea of what to expect!
Thai explosion (amuse bouche)
Scallops with carrot, mustard and watercress
Charred leeks milk skin, and leek ash emulsion
Braised salmon skin and friend aubergine
Lobster, potato, confit egg yolk and saffron
Sea bass toast, garlic kale and S. Jorge
Venison (raw) in hay, cauliflower and onion
Roasted squab with beetroot and pistachio
Desserts
I've pasted a few pictures below, but they're pretty low quality so you can check out this (much more professional) food blog if you'd like to see more! http://www.thelondonfoodie.co.uk/2010/05/london-restaurant-reviews-viajante.html
Venison
Salmon
Squab (and Ric)
We all know that James eats better than most of us, but just in case you needed a reminder, here's a pic of the fish pie Ana made him today for lunch. It makes me hungry just looking at it! Yesterday's menu included scrambled eggs for breakfast and pea soup for dinner, which he loved. Of course. Also turns out he's a HUGE fan of kiwi...
I finally managed to post some videos of James walking on Flickr... go check em out, it's hilarious! We made them private, so you have to be a connection of mine on Flickr in order to see them. http://www.flickr.com/photos/rachelbremer/
James got his first haircut on Sunday. Let's just say that he's not a fan of the barber's chair... luckily it was a pretty quick process because he screamed the entire time. I think the poor hair cutter was traumatized. But he really needed it... the baby locks were getting really long! He now looks so nice and clean cut! Hopefully it won't grow quickly enough that we have to do that again anytime soon!
A couple "after" shots: 
