Monday 27 June 2011

Leluu Supper Club



On Friday, for my friend Lucy’s birthday, we chose to dine out at a Supper Club, something I have wanted to do for a while now. Supper Clubs are a new phenomenon sweeping across London. People open up their homes to diners and show off their cooking skills and the diners pay to eat. Lucy is a huge fan of Vietnamese and having searched for somewhere local to her and read many reviews we finally came across the renowned Leluu Supper Club located close to London Fields.  I haven’t eaten Vietnamese food many times so I was excited at the prospect of trying something new, and I sure did…

The Supper Club Experience
The experience was similar to that of a restaurant as the four of us knocked on the door and were welcomed into the East London home of Uyen Luu and shown to the table where we would sit for the night. We eagerly awaited our first course as the tables filled up around us with different groups of friends, some shared tables with other groups and others, like us, had a table to themselves. Bring your own beer/wine was a bonus so everyone had the drink of there choice to sip throughout the meal. We hungrily gobbled up the first course; little did we know that there would be 7 more courses to come!


First Course: Fish Cakes

Fish cakes wrapped in lettuce and dipped in sauce

It was an intimate dining experience as Uyen Luu served each course herself and the atmosphere was buzzing with chatter and laughter. I was especially thrilled that there wasn’t a menu to choose from; we were all given the same dishes throughout the evening (decision-making is not my forte, especially when it comes to food; I want to try everything!)

Second Course: Prawn and Pork Spring Rolls

Spring Roll with Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce
    

The gaps in-between each course left us all in suspense. Even my fussy and complicated friends couldn't wait for the next dish, each light enough to leave us wanting more. Luckily the wait was never too long, and each dish was so full of flavour that the time was spent debating and questioning the unusual ingredients. I can see why singles Supper Club nights are so popular as the food is a great conversation starter and you are likely to be sat next to a like minded food lover, in more than one way!


Third Course: Sweet and Sour Soup
 

Nikki - the ex-anorexic: "I can't believe I just ate 7 dishes for dinner and found them all delicious, and now I’m even tempted to lick clean my pudding cup of orange and vodka panacotta! The chicken salad was my favourite dish."

Fourth Course: Carrot and Chicken Salad
Carrot and Chicken Salad with Prawn Cracker

Lucy - the vegetarian turned casual meat-eater, for fear of complicating our host: "Those little steak medallions wrapped in vine leaves tasted pretty dam sexy.  The fresh spring roles were my fav - the noodles with fresh mint and chili sauce were orgasmic: light, chewy, big, flavorsome and fresh."

Fifth Course: Steak Wrapped in Vine Leaves

Alice - the fussy eater: "Such a cliché but... the steak really did melt in my mouth. I loved the crisp chicken salad with the naughty prawn crackers. The fish cake starter was interesting and fun, and we used our fingers and got to embrace a tactile sensation."

Sixth Course: Spicy Aubergine and Tofu Noodles

Me, Georgia - the-starter-and-main, easily skip-dessert kind of girl: "I was so full by the 6th course but somehow had space for dessert. And my oh my it was delicious, no regrets, I wanted more! Also, considering I have never been a fan of sweet and sour dishes, the soup with fish and pineapple was light and refreshing, not the sickly sticky flavour I usually relate to such a dish." 


Seventh Course: Passionfruit Panacotta

 

 
At the end of the evening, the lovely Uyen Luu joined us for a drink, and we got to thank her for such a delicious meal and hear all about the inspiration behind Leluu Supper Club. We all had a fantastic evening and left high-spirited, with thoughts of how we could organize our own Supper Club in the future. 


The End of a Lovely Evening
  
Leluu Supper Club can tailor the meal for both pescatarians and vegetarians, too.
Prices start at £35 and you are advised to bring your own alcohol.
Leluu Supper Club also holds a popular singles night, for those who are interested.
If you would like an evening at Leluu Supper Club, you can book a table here.
 
If you want to find a Supper Club near you, try looking here.

1 comment:

  1. it was so lovely to meet you and your wonderful friends! You ate everything course after course and cleaned up your bowls and plates - it made me feel really good - I love it when people eat everything.

    It was really interesting to hear about your father and to get to know you all a bit at the end - I didn't want you to leave and enticed you to stay with more wine : )

    Please come again. I also really look forward to eating all your food too

    Love Uyen xxx

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