We get strange looks when this Amuse Bouche is placed on the table.

“Tomato Soup with Grapes”, present our Service staff.

“But where is the Tomato?”, quiz our guests.

It is only when they taste it do they realise that it is packed with Tomatoes.

It is a wonderful way to start a dinner, this chilled soup is easy to make and leaves a lasting impression.

It all begins with the Service Staff telling the diners that it is a “Tomato Soup“. Immediately you think that it should be reddish, or you think that the staff are playing a joke on you , or have made a mistake .

The surprise arrives when you actually taste it, as as I said above, it is packed with Tomato flavour.

The Grapes have been peeled and deseeded, then placed in the freezer for 20 minutes.

The clear chilled Tomato soup added, this too has been chilled in the freezer for the same amount of time.

To make the clear Tomato Soup/Essence/Consomme, Tomatoes are semi-blitzed with a few Basil and Coriander Leaves before being placed in a Superbag (you can do this with a clean damp cloth) and hung in the fridge overnight. The drips of “juice” will slowly filter through and will be very clear, but will be packed with flavour.

This liquid can be served warm (heat it up slowly) or chilled, which I think is better.

As I said, the surprise arrives with the taste, mainly because we associate Tomatoes with the reddness of their skins. Much the same as we associate Red Wine with Red Grapes, even though Red Grapes also produce a clear liquid (the Red Wine “Colour” is obtained from their skins).

Different versions of this soup are being worked on. We are extremely excited about a clear “Tum Mhak Deng” Soup, which will be served with Chilli Flakes for the brave.

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We have also reworked the presentation of our Tuna Sashimi with Gazpacho. Instead of pounding the Shallot Toasts, we have decided to serve them as small cubes, and less Basil is used as we have doubled the Coriander in the Oil.