Congo (DR & Rep of) - The Bash

Restaurant:  The Bash

Location:  71 West Green Road, London, N15 5DA

Date of visit:  12 March 2016

Time of visit:  8pm

For the first time since this project began in 2009 we have combined two countries in one visit, for fairly obvious reasons. I have tried desperately to find out if the cuisine of the Democratic Republic of Congo is at all different from the food of the Republic of Congo. Nothing suggests that they are anything but identical. And as they both come together on my reference list of sovereign states (under C for Congo) I decided this visit would cover both.

There are a handful of Congolese restaurants in London. I settled on one of two on the same street. I actually decided to go for the option further along West Green Road, called Okapi, as they seemed to have more traditional Congolese dishes on the menu. I texted the restaurant to book a table a few days in advance, and received a confirmation. However, on the day of the planned visit I received another text informing me that due to refurbishment they were unable to open that day.

A little disappointed, and slightly suspicious, I decided we'd just go for the other, closer, restaurant on that street. Again, I tried to book a table for two on their website but never received a response.

We arrived just before 8pm on a Saturday night, and instantly doubled the number of diners when we walked in. No need to book then. The waiter saw us to a table, and quickly presented us with the menus. Straight away we could tell this guy was a courteous professional, and this remained the case throughout the visit.

The menu itself was fairly limited in variety - a handful of starters, a little more in the way of mains, and about the same choice of side dishes. The emphasis for main dishes was on meat and fish, with little in the way of sauce in accompaniment. The sides consisted of different types of potato, plantain or cassava bread.

As for drinks, I couldn't see any evidence of local African lagers, although Nigerian Guinness and Dragon stout were on the menu. Most lagers had two prices, but it was unclear if those were different measures of draft, or bottle sizes. Wine was pricey - £7 a glass.

As we looked through the menus, we took in the environs. The decor in this place was incredible. Huge faux-crystal chandeliers, detailed patterned wallpaper, silver wall decorations, elaborate fixtures and fittings. There was a Congolese music performance displayed on many TVs and pumped into the restaurant. The same performance lasted our entire visit and was actually quite entertaining. At times it was so loud we felt like we were directly in front of the stage. Unfortunately the mic feedback during the performance was often piercing in the restaurant!

We got to ordering. Elle and I both went for lager - Heineken for me, Bud for Elle. We didn't specify which size, just leaving it to see what we got. As for food, I ordered half a chicken and Elle went for the "barbecue (taba)", which was lamb, on the suggestion of the waiter. For the side dish we went for the "3 in 1" - a plate of roast potato, roast sweet potato and plantain.

The waiter left the restaurant. Then came back with the drinks. We're almost certain he bought them at a nearby off-licence. Impressive markup at a resell price £6.50 for a 660ml bottle!

Shortly after that, he returned from the kitchen to advise that my chicken would take at least 25 minutes to come. I got the impression he expected that I would just go for something else, but I was happy to wait. I was getting pulled in by the music on TV!

As we waited, the restaurant gradually got busier. It is open until 2am, so I dare say this was still very early for most. 

The toilets are worth mentioning, and that is rarely the case. You needn't miss any of the performance on the main restaurant TVs, as there is a TV in the bathroom while you sit and do your thing. Or if you are standing, doing another thing, you're also covered with a TV above the cistern. Green LED lighting illuminates this single unisex facility. Mind the remote control perched on the sink as you wash your hands...

In reality, the food took almost 40 minutes to come but this wasn't an issue. Elle's BBQ lamb came first - a large plate very full of bitesized pieces of dry lamb on the bone, topped with fried onions and a small pot of mayonnaise. My chicken was also barbecued, clearly with some kind of coating, and also topped with fried onions. The side dish of potatoes and plantain was decently sized. The waitress who brought the food returned to ask if we wanted chilli sauce. If only she knew how much we wanted this! She returned with a small pot full of oily chilli sauce. 

The half chicken was a good size, and cooked absolutely perfectly. No pinkness at any point. But absolutely not overcooked anywhere. The skin had a great seasoning and grilled taste, and the meat was succulent and plentiful. The onion topping was welcome touch, and offered a contrasting flavour. 

Elle's lamb was very impressive. The portion was more than generous, and each piece of lamb was full of meat, albeit fairly fatty. Each piece needed a good bit of attention to eat around the fat and bone, but the meat was really tasty. It's fair to say there was more than a hint of cooking fluid (read: paraffin) which infused itself in the taste of the meat, but it wasn't too off-putting! 

One of the most impressive parts of the meal was the side dish. The plantain was absolutely perfect. Not at all greasy or oily. Just beautifully done - the best we've ever had. The potatoes were done to similar perfection.

Overall, this was a really satisfying meal. Maybe a little pricey for what it was at just over £40 overall, but the portions reflected the price. The service was exceptionally good and very attentive. And the overall atmosphere and presentation of the restaurant really added to it.

Comoros - home cooking

After a good run of restaurant visits, it was back to obscurity with the next country on the list: Comoros. The islands are nestled between the south east coast of Africa and the island nation of Madagascar. The history of Comoros sees many different settlers from many parts of the world - Africa, Indonesia, Portugal for example - and each group of people left their own mark in many parts of the culture, including the cuisine. As such, the country is rich in culinary options.

One of the most common national dishes is "le me tsolola", which essentially is a simple stew with a regional slant. For instance, it contains a staple of the region: bananas. And coconut milk. And combines meat and fish. This was sure to be interesting!

The choice of meat and fish seemed to be left up to the chef, and traditionally was no doubt determined simply by what was available at the time of cooking. I decided to choose what I'd guess is the most commonly eaten meat, lamb. Tripe was an option. Technically, an option. I was never going to choose tripe. Ever.

As for the fish, I wanted just a simple, white fish so I opted for a couple of fillets of river cobbler - Tesco's cheapest. It does the job.

Also involved were two green bananas, two onions, four tomatoes, a tin of coconut milk and seasoning (salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper).

Already the first step seemed odd to me. The fish and meat - cut into pieces - were to be fried together in oil until well browned. And rather predictably at this stage the fish began to cook and break up very quickly. Into tiny flakes, as fish does. To this I added the chopped bananas, onions and tomatoes, poured in the coconut milk and brought this to a simmer. The seasoning was added at this point, and the stew left to simmer for an hour or so.

As the time passed, it became clear that somehow there was too much liquid. It became more of a soup than a stew. And the fish was gone. Disappeared. It essentially became part of the soup/stew/sauce/liquid. A stock.

The meal with served with white rice. On eating, it was actually really quite pleasant. The flavour was sweet with a little kick from the cayenne pepper. The lamb was cooked beautifully, maybe a touch too much (probably as I tried to boil away some of the excess liquid!). The fish flavour was less than delicate. Barely noticeable. What *was* noticeable was the occasional sweet mush of banana. The texture was as unusual as was the contrast in flavour from the fruit.

Overall, it was an enjoyable meal. A pseudo soup-stew with a very different combination of flavours. And no tripe.