If you know me IRL or have read the blog long enough, you know that I am endlessly fascinated by delicacies from different cultures, including unusual food. I have spent a full therapy session trying to decipher what could be the reason. The outcome was that this weird food fascination is not necessarily bad as long as it makes me happy.
And this is the story of me eating bushmeat in London to celebrate my birthday.
It started with me telling Fafa that all I wanted for my birthday was to eat bushmeat, which translates to I want him to join me in eating unusual food in the name of my birthday – but I also wished for other gifts. Yeah, I too, sometimes wonder why the man wanted to be with me, but it’s too late now!
Fortunately, it was also a little too late for him to change his mind when we stepped inside Archipelago, a niche restaurant in London specializing in exotic dishes, including bushmeat.
Archipelago London
The restaurant itself was kitschier than I expected it to be. It’s filled with random stuff from all over the world, from Budha statues in various sizes to Kitsune figures as a centrepiece of our table. Even the tables and seats were a mishmash. Moreover, the wall was painted in bright orange, which could easily be headache-inducing in different circumstances (e.g. not my birthday dinner).
We were seated and asked to open the rolled parchment placed on our tables to order the drinks. Then came the food menu. I remember being so excited seeing so many choices of meat I hadn’t eaten before.
Since it’s my birthday, I got to choose, Fafa said. So I did; I went for Thar Delusion (camel on quenelle with vinegar dressing) and Serengeti Strut (Zebra jerky with a side of smoked onion and pickle garlic) for starter and Syncerus Caffer (hot and spicy jerked buffalo).
While waiting for the food and drinking terrible British wine, we eavesdropped on the conversation of the first-date couple at the table beside us. All I could say is the awkwardness quickly filled the air of the small restaurant.
Bushmeat Verdict
The food eventually came. The cured camel, though nowhere as good, reminded me of the Hida beef sushi we had in Takayama, Japan. Unfortunately, the dressing was so bland that it failed to elevate any flavour of the dish.
Then zebra jerky came second. Again, it tasted like poorly cooked low, quality chicken meat. Again, the sides that looked pretty on the plate lacked impact.
Finally, the main dish, the hot and spicy buffalo, was placed on a wood plater came. Though the presentation was pretty on point, it didn’t taste hot or spicy. Instead, it tasted like a lump of uncooked and unspiced canned meat.
I didn’t come to Archipelago expecting the food to be delicious, but I didn’t expect the food to taste like they didn’t put any effort into the cooking method. As if as long as it was edible, it was okay to serve. The thing is, I have had bushmeat before – kangaroo and crocodile in Australia and deer meat in Singapore. They all tasted delicious, and I was disappointed that all three bushmeat were nowhere as good.
And there is more. Even more than the loud orange surrounding and the disappointing food, the service in the Archipelago was awful (shout out to the blonde waiter who behaved like they were made to work without pay there). They didn’t help, refusing to give us any recommendations for food or drink. These questions were answered with “depends on what you like”. When Fafa asked where they got the meat, they responded with one word: “farm“.
Zebra farm in London? That would be something, wouldn’t it?
The last thing they did, which pissed me off the most, was half-throwing a piece of cake with an unlit candle on the table and the most insincere happy birthday wish ever. I mean… it would be better if they didn’t bring the cake at all (and I had explicitly told them not to do anything when they asked whether it was my birthday which I guessed Fafa must have mentioned when he made the booking).
This last point served as a reminder of how hospitality can break and make a restaurant. If the food were good, I might be able to ignore it but on that day, that was the last straw.
Do I regret eating bushmeat?
The thing is, I wanted to eat bushmeat for my birthday, and I got to tick that off, so in that sense – not at all! But we both agreed that the overall experience in Archipelago London was a major letdown. We are never coming back; I am sure I can find other unusual food in other parts of the world.
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Totally agree with the review, that crocodile meat we ate in Cairns was so good.