Namaiki revisit

cinnamon roll blondies, glass eels

Food news of the week:

I’ll be honest, my first time at Namaiki was a pretty major letdown, but after courses like garlic sauce-marinated scallop and two-week aged tuna during my second attempt, there’s no turning back. Headed to Toad Bakery in Peckham as well to try out their pistachio white chocolate pastry, but it was their everything bagel croissant stuffed with cream cheese that really stole the show. And today’s cinnamony recipe is a high school favourite, and one of my favourites to make, eat, and share.

favourites at my second Namaiki visit below

Science of the week:

I eat plenty of unagi but glass eels are a species I’ve never come across before. These transparent juvenile American eels migrate thousands of miles from the Sargasso Sea to North American and European coasts, showcasing remarkable adaptability and resilience. Understanding their lifecycle and migration is crucial for conservation efforts, as they face challenges like overfishing and habitat loss.

Insight of the week:

Charles Taylor, who I first encountered only in The New Yorker’s most recent issue, posited that personal identity resides in communities and groups, not in our individual brains. This perspective emphasises that our identities are shaped by our interactions and cultural contexts, highlighting the importance of our social environment in defining who we are. Taylor's view = personal growth is deeply connected to the wellbeing and vibrancy of the communities we belong to.

Recipe of the week:

Let’s take it back to one of my earliest ones! They are chewy and soft, with crispy edges.

Ingredients

For the blondies:

• 1 cup (125g) all purpose flour

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 tsp baking soda

• 1/4 tsp fine salt

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (or fresh, if you have that wonderful sort of thing on hand. I didn’t, though of course fresh is always best)

• 72g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

• 1/2 cup (100g) white caster sugar

• 1/3 cup (65g) packed light brown sugar

• 1 egg

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

For maple vanilla icing:

• 3/4 cup icing sugar

• 1/2 tsp vanilla

• 1 tsp maple syrup

• 1-2 tbsp of milk

Directions

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F). Line and grease an 8-inch square pan. Alternatively you can do this in an 9×5-inch loaf pan, it just means you have to bake the blondies for longer, at least 25 minutes. Always check with a dry wooden skewer– if the batter is wet bake for 4-5 more minutes, if there are moist crumbs you’re good to go. In a medium bowl, briefly whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

In a separate, larger bowl, whisk together both sugars and melted butter, then whisk in the egg and vanilla extract. Using a rubber spatula, fold dry into wet ingredients, and you should get a relatively thick, grudgingly mousse-like batter. It will be a little hard to drop off the spatula. Pour into the square pan and bake in oven for 20-22 minutes (or as previously mentioned, 25 minutes if baking in a loaf pan). The golden-brown top should form a sugary crust and the edges should have started pulling away from the sides.

Let cool completely in the tin. Whilst you tolerate the wait, make the icing. Whisk all the icing ingredients together in a small bowl, with a fork or whisk. Add the milk drop by drop, until you get a consistency that’s runny enough to drizzle over the blondies. Once the blondies have completely cooled, drizzle the icing in whatever patterns you desire all over the blondies. Cut into square pieces and enjoy a bit of chewy, crusty, cinnamon heaven.

Restaurant of the week:

I get that it’s for publicity, but I wish the restaurant wasn’t on full view in the middle of Soho, especially when you’re paying premium amounts (almost £200pp for a full dinner tasting course, the lunchtime is much cheaper) for full, uninterrupted flavour. The constant peepers by the long and open looking glass of a window was perhaps the only little letdown this entire meal, but the kindly chefs and stunning food more than made up for it.