I'd been waiting for this event from the day I found out it was happening - a pop-up consisting of Asian food and hiphop music, what's not to love about that mash-up?!
I've been avidly watching the build up on Instagram to the 11th June when the launch of XO was dropping in Leeds at Mr Nobody. Watching the pictures of amazing looking dishes all with exciting ingredients had me salivating from the start. Well done boys, you got me hooked.
I'm a huge fan of Asian food, it's my go to cuisine, the meals I crave when I'm having a good day - or a bad day for that matter and this all sounded right up my alley.
Leeds has some fantastic restaurants but not really anywhere that wow's, nothing that makes me shout "Yes! Goddammit I could eat that all over again" so I had high expectations.
I've been to South-East Asia, I've tasted the meals from all over and the guys at XO are claiming that they're bringing something new to the people of Leeds and my god did they deliver! A tasting menu like no other I've tried before.
Arriving promptly at Mr Nobody, we got ourselves a cheeky little cocktail, starting with the delicious Cherry Blossom containing Jinzu gin, cherry blossom tea and lemon with added sparkling water. It was gorgeous, nice and sweet with a beautiful floral flavour.
Being seated soon after, the first course came out pretty quick, that's what I like, none of this messing around malarkey. A quick look at what was coming out and the dish I was super excited for, the cheeseburger springroll! The only thing I can complain about is that there wasn't enough of them. I'd eat these all day everyday if I could. It sounds like a strange concept, but isn't that what this thing is all about?! These are little parcels of heaven, meaty, cheesey heaven.
Soon after came the prawn, yuzu and sourdough, otherwise known as prawn toast. A beautifully thick slice of sourdough toast with an even thicker layer of prawns with a delightful coating of black sesame seeds served with a scrummy mayonnaise for dipping. Soooo good!
Next came another big favourite of mine, the sweetcorn, siracha and parmesan. A cob served with a siracha mayo and grated parmesan. I was a little worried that this was going to be really spicy but it had a beautiful heat to it, the flavours all compliment each other incredibly and went down so so well.
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| sweetcorn/siracha/parmesan |
A cheeky little dish consisting of silken scallop, xo and pork floss came next. It was little but it packed a punch. There was heat and incredible texture and all delicious flavours rolled into one little taster.
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| silken scallop/xo/pork floss |
Up next was tuna, burnt watermelon and togarashi. This is tuna steak with watermelon a Japanese spice and something a little controversial...a raw egg. This was delicious! Mixed all together the flavours were amazing, this pushed me out of my comfort zones but I am so glad it did! It was interesting and the texture was new but it all came together in the best way.
The next dish to be tasted didn't appear on the menu so was a very nice surprise. It was called a rice cake, but it was so far removed from the bland bits of cardboard you have when you're on a diet. It was such an interesting texture, kind of like the gluttonous rice you get in rice pudding or sticky rice but even closer than that. You just need to try it to understand. It was beautiful! Again, I could've eaten so much more.
After this, a cod, miso and seaweed dish was served. The seaweed covered a piece of cod in a creamy sauce, beautifully cooked, the fish was flaky and just fell apart at the touch of a fork. We all know that's a good sign of someone who knows what they're doing.
Now onto the penultimate dish. Bo-ssam. A slice of pork belly which was cooked just so that we could shred it ourselves. There's something so rewarding about pulling apart a piece of meat. Served up with some baby gem lettuce as a wrap with some hoisin sauce and kimchi. The lettuce brought something refreshing to the dish. Pork can be dry but this wasn't at all, mixing all these ingredients together was a total taste sensation. And I can tell you I was walking straight into a beautiful and delightful food coma.
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| bo-ssam |
There was one final course to go, dessert...it didn't matter how full I was but for the Hangover Cone, room magically appeared in my happy tummy. A waffle cone, with ice cream, pretzels, brownie pieces, ready salted crisps and so many other little bits of goodness I don't want to give it all away because all I can say is YOU HAVE TO TRY THIS! It's a masterpiece, a showstopper and a work of culinary genius all rolled into one.
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| hangover cone |
While all this incredible food was happening, the guys serving were doing a fantastic job, they knew what they were talking about and answered any questions we had about the dishes. One of these people included was one of the two behind this fantastic event, Matthew Hawthorne. He was insightful and attentive and always happy to help with a big smile on his face, the perfect host.
The music was banging and suited the food so well, all I can say is, when you get the chance to get a ticket, buy one because these guys are doing something special. It's not just a meal, it's an experience, everything comes together, and these guys absolutely rocked it!
XO out - bad boys for life ;)
