by Richard Vines
A new electronic device called the Mosquito emits an annoying high-pitched whine only audible to young people. Stores use it to discourage gangs from congregating.
Some restaurants have been employing a similar trick for years, only this one has the opposite effect. They play loud music that young diners fail to notice or sometimes even enjoy. Adults, by contrast, are intensely annoyed and vow never to return.
Haiku, a pan-Asian eatery in London, is a suitable place to experience this sonic cleansing. In an empty room last week, the staff happily worked to electronic beats. My guest Peter Emina, the director of the film ``Eminem: Behind the Mask,'' tried to explain it, but sentences like ``This is Royksopp'' didn't help.
I turned to the menu as a distraction, and that certainly did the trick for a while. Haiku, the London incarnation of a Cape Town restaurant, combines the cuisines of Japan, China, Thailand and India. It's the perfect spot for those who fancy some sushi, followed by dim sum, then a nice green curry and tandoori chicken.
Pan-Asian places are popular in London. E&O has been doing it for years, and the talented chef Ian Pengelley, who cut his teeth there, is now at Gilgamesh. Just down Regent Street from Haiku, Cocoon was going great guns when I last visited. The E&O stable of Will Ricker now includes XO, Cicada and Great Eastern Dining Room.
Butter Chicken
So what does Haiku bring to the table that's new? Indian food is the main thing. But the butter chicken and the lamb rogan josh I tried over two visits were run-of-the-mill for a city that boasts some of the best sub continental restaurants in the world. Chicken cheese kebab was better, though hardly outstanding.
The restaurant is so hard to find, I entered the office block next door and told the puzzled guard I had a booking. The design - of Haiku, not the office building - is loosely Japanese, with tiled floors and hard wood for sounds to bounce off. Three kitchens span three floors, though diners are being confined to the ground level until Haiku gets busier.
There are delicious cocktails such as the spicy samurai (sake, fresh apple, chilli, apple juice) and a melon martini, all at £10 a pop. The Japanese dishes are good, too. There's a generous sashimi platter at 18 pounds, while the rainbow roll (prawn, salmon, tuna) is very pretty indeed.
Among the other dishes, the Thai fishcakes were juicier than those I had recently at Mango Tree, a fancy Thai restaurant, and I've no complaints about the dim sum or spicy barbecued duck with tomato and chilli. The dim sum were fat and firm. And I've just spotted that the menu also includes a version of bulgogi, Korean barbecued beef. There's a refreshing dessert of three ice creams made with different kinds of tea.
Supermarket Wines
The wine list is a missed opportunity, offering the usual supermarket-type selection of favourites such as pinot grigio instead of focusing on South Africa. I much enjoyed the Springfield ``Special Cuvee'' Sauvignon Blanc 2005, from Stellenbosch. It costs £30 here, and less at J. Sainsbury Plc. (Sainsbury has ordered the Mosquito, the Sunday Times says.)
The main menu is too long - I counted 150 dishes – and with such diverse cuisines, diners need some sort of say in the order in which the food is going to show up. The service is friendly enough and the place was reasonably busy on a Friday night.
Haiku is fine if you like Asian cuisines, without being too fussy, and if you're not paying for yourself. A dinner and a lunch each cost £150 for two, including wine, cocktails and rather more food than most people might order. A waiter said Haiku plans to develop lunch menus. I wonder how it opened without them. It's not bad, but London competition is tough. Haiku may have done well in Cape Town. It's going to have to try harder here.
Haiku, 15 New Burlington Place, London, W1S 2HX. Tel. +44 20 7494 7777.
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