Living the high life – London’s The Shard (310 metres) – Shangri-La Hotel – London.

Living the high life

London’s The Shard (310 metres) – Shangri-La Hotel – London.

Contributed by Jens Hoffmann

I enjoyed a fantastic hot spot for accomodation and food in London, visited “The Shard”.

Whats this, just another new big “house” in London?

No, rising a mighty 310 metros into the sky and towering above many London’s landmarks, The Shard makes an impression on the captlas skyline.

“The Shard” is a architectural highlight. Furthermore one of the tallest buildings in Western Europe.

The viwes are breathtaking and with the restos Hutong, Oblix and Aqua Shard haveing caused a stir among foodies.

Occupying floors 34 to 52 of he The Shard, the five-star hotel is the first venue from Shangri-La in UK.

It is also a “new symbol” for London and will attract the guest as much as the London Eye.

The Shard is a vertical city which features offices plus the Shangri-La hotel.

The height of hospitality. It is the tallest hotel in western Europe, the luxury hotel Shangri-La is on 19 floors in the middle of the shard. Within full length windows throughout, guests can enjoy spectacular views from all 202 rooms and suites and also from the the hotel’s Göng bar on the 52 floor.
It features exclusive super prime residential apartments and the top levels will consist of the
capital’s highest public viewing gallery offering 360° views of the City of London.

London hipsters will get stunning views of the capital and its surrounding countryside.
The Shard is jointly owned by The State of Qatar which has a strong commitment to invest and build in the UK as part of Qatar’s 2030 Vision, which is the country’s roadmap to achieving a sustainable, diversified economy. The Shard forms part of this portfolio.

London Bridge Quarter is a mixed-use development regenerating this part of London’s South Bank.

The Shard and its sister development The Place are linked seamlessly with London Bridge Station through a new central plaza, public realm, bus station and train station concourse.
The tower is also the second-tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom and replaces the Southwark Tower, a 1970’s building located on London Bridge Street. The Shard offers high density vertical development at a transport hub and will be the UK’s first truly mixed use tower, devised to interface with London on many levels. The architect, Renzo Piano, designed the Shard as a ‘vertical city’ and it is for sure that it becomes the beating heart of the lovely London Bridge Quarter.

And if it wasn’t luxurious enough, the venue features a stunning infinity swimming pool.

Enjoy.

Let’s talk F&B: Linving the high life – Staggeringly, Gong, located on level 52, is the highest Champagne bar in London.

Cheers.

My personal resto tip: Gordon Ramsay!

The kitchen here is cooking at very high two/three Michelin star level, the main problem is getting a reservation.

Clare Smyth took over and retained the restaurant’s three Michelin stars after having trained previously at Louis XV, amongst other restaurants.

The meal began with cheese gougeres, which are always a welcome way to start a meal. A lot of restaurants make these, but not so many do them well. They should ideally be served warm, have plenty of cheese flavour and of course the choux pastry should be very delicate. Bread is supplied from the Flour Station, a selection of white, brown, black olive, rosemary and slices of potato and honey bread. This was certainly very good, though I always think that bread should be made from scratch by a top kitchen (unless you are in Paris or Lyon, where near perfect bread can be bought).
Pumpkin soup was poured over roasted cep, ricotta cheese and Alsace bacon, with a bacon tuile on the side of the plate with pumpkin seeds as garnish. This dish was perhaps the least successful of the meal, the bacon flavour coming through nicely. Ballotine of smoked confit duck with pears (pickled, poached and pureed) was served with walnuts and pain d’epice. This dish had good balance, the acidity of the pear working well with the richness of the terrine. Even better was warm foie gras with sweetbreads, carrots and almond foam and Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar. The foie gras was of high quality and had silky smooth texture yet deep liver flavour, the vinegar gave balance to the dish and the sweetbreads themselves were a triumph, having gorgeous texture.

A take on carbonara was made using soft hen egg yolk, smoked pomme puree, caramelised onions, Iberico ham, smoked bacon and onion consommé, topped with an emulsion of four year old Parmesan. This was a rich and comforting dish, it could be argued that there were a lot of flavours going on here, but it was yummy and delicious.
Scallop was cooked with with lardo di colonnata (pork lard from Tuscany) and served with apple, walnuts, celery and cider emulsion. The scallop had nice natural sweetness and was lightly cooked, the apple provided a balancing sharpness, but while this was an enjoyable dish the flavours did not really stand out for me.

Roast turbot was served with cannelloni of artichoke and parmesan, cep and truffle with a sauce of black truffle, red wine and beef. This was a very good dish, the turbot carefully cooked and well able to stand up to the rich sauce, the cannelloni particularly good, having soft texture and with lots of cep flavour packed into the pasta. I slightly preferred this to sea bass that had been pan-fried and served with rock samphire, Oscietra caviar and a veloute of caviar and oyster. The fish was excellent and accurately seasoned.

Pre-dessert was lime and apple sorbet with lime mousse and avocado, diced Granny Smith apple, eucalyptus and shiso (Japanese mint). This was a pretty and refreshing dish, the sorbet having excellent texture and the lime providing freshness.

London calling.

We love it to be here.

My restaurant tip #2: Sushi Samba @Heron Tower:

Located on the 38th and 39th floors of the Heron Tower, SUSHISAMBA delivers a unique blend of Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian cuisine, culture, music and striking design to the City of London. The location features the highest outdoor dining terraces in Europe, offering unparalleled, 360 degree views of the City. Two panoramic glass elevators whisk patrons from the ground to the 39th floor, opening up London from inside-out as the lifts climb further and further upwards. SUSHISAMBA’s main dining room – with its dramatic ceilings – overlooks views of London with floor-to-ceiling glass on three sides. A grid of lights hung through the open bamboo ceiling at varying heights creates a magical experience during daytime and evening, creating an intimate dining experience. The indoor-outdoor elements featured throughout the space, most notably, the designed structural orange tree on the west terrace. The tree sculpture reinforces the earth-to-sky motif while being an artwork in itself, reminiscent of great 20th century art and creates a dialogue with the street art found throughout the space.
The Heron Tower better known as “110 Bishopsgate” is a commercial skyscraper in London. It stands 230 metres, making it the tallest building in the City of London financial district and the third tallest in Greater London, after the Shard in Southwark and One Canada Square at Canary Wharf.

Address:

SUSHISAMBA London

Heron Tower “110 Bishopsgate” (London, EC2N 4AY)

London is always fun, it is great to be here.

Finally, we enjoyed a concert of “Florence” in the Royal Albert Hall. GREAT!!!!