I think an explanation of the featured photo for this post is warranted.
This is not food. This is a pepper shaker. Although used to great effect by the restaurant staff to show how you should eat the dumpling with your hands. Given the lack of my external eating opportunities over the last few months, I was tempted to give this a bite. Much in a way that two of my fellow diners seem intent on trying everything in sight.
The front of the restaurant is a leafy paradise, showing that someone has a green thumb and is good at decoration (unlike me). When I tried to do something similar in my house a while ago, it turned out rather brown and dead instead. Attention to detail at the front brought my hopes up as I thought that such careful methods would also translate to the kitchen.
Acharuli Khachapuri, legendary boat shaped bread stuffed with cheese and baked in the oven. An egg is added during baking and the whole delicious mix is topped with a pat of butter. Originates from Achara – Black Sea region of Georgia. The instructions when this boat cruised over to be served was scramble the egg into the liquid cheese. Although I usually frown on the customers being asked to prepare their food themselves in this case the task was basic enough that I just had to lift a bit more than a finger. The result was rather delightful. Freshly baked bread with a cheese/egg mixture fulfilled the umami taste with carb depth of the bread. A good start to the meal.
Mushroom Khinkali, four hand-pleated dumplings filled with mushroom julienne and served with sour cream. Thick (but not too thick) casings around a finely diced mushroom core, the vegetable meatiness satisfied on many levels especially when combined with the smoothness and slightly sour taste of the cream.
Meat khinkali, four hand-pleated dumplings filled with minced pork & beef and hearty broth. The meat version required a different technique on account of the soup. If you weren’t careful, it would all spew out creating a mess. Perhaps a reminder that if you should deal with those with inflated egos, prick them too much and then although not much except hot air comes out, this can be one of the messiest things to clean up.
Beef chashushuli, traditional slow cooked beef in Saperavi wine with potatoes, onions, herbs and Georgian mountain spices. The mountain spices in this case were a little touch of chili to lift things up. The beef was decent if still a bit chewy, so not reaching melt in the mouth state yet. Instead, the potatoes were the stand out of this dish. Retaining structural integrity they had spent the last few hours happily marinating in the sauce. To create a dish that tasted as if all the stew was concentrated in the potatoes.
Honey cake, delicious homemade honey layered cake filled with caramel cream and drizzled with homemade dark chocolate. Something that looked as if it was something fairly annoying to create. Compared to the best specimens of this that I have seen, it was not bad. Although perhaps a bit too resistant to cutting as compared to the softness of other versions I have had. The taste was not bad though if a bit too sugary sweet in that artificial way rather than relying on more natural sugars bestowed by honey.
Due to happy life circumstances, I am exploring my new neck of the woods, Dulwich. Thankfully if Kurtuli is an example of what I am to expect, I think I’ve picked the right spot to live.
A quiet eating 8/10.
Lunch (2 course equivalent) was GBP25 per person excluding drinks and service.
Kurtuli
65 Lordship Lane,
London, SE22 8EP
