March 2010
35 posts
3 tags
Dinner: Coriander Chicken
I sort of made this up on the fly, but it turned out really well — I am most pleased!
I marinated for about 5-10 minutes a few cubes of chicken breast in a mixture of finely chopped coriander, grated ginger, finely chopped chili, garlic, fish sauce, soy sauce, a little brown sugar and the juice and zest of one lime.
Then I stir-fried it all and served it with some steamed tenderstem...
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Chef Anna Hansen is Kiwi of the Year in the UK! Go Anna!
Anyone else think she looks a little like Selma Blair?
Sleep-deprived. Is chocolate (in this case some Novipiu from Italy) at 8.30am too much too soon?
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Brunch: Pearl Liang
It’s interesting how what’s on offer at yum char/dim sum changes depending on the country.
It was our first time at Pearl Liang. Ambience-wise, it’s a pretty nice place. Cool, camouflaged toilets.
Service-wise, it was a mixed bag. We had a mixture of servers, some much smilier than others.
Onto the food. What we found particularly stand-out about this place were its...
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Dinner: Sea bass with anchovies, potatoes and...
One of my favourite dishes. Thank you River Cafe cookbook!
I’d eat this every day if sea bass wasn’t so expensive..
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Dinner: Cheesy Potato Bake
More cheese….
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Dinner: Gnocchi with a blue cheese sauce
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My First Le Creuset
My birthday surprises were all but over.
Check it out folks, my first-ever 6-piece Le Creuset cookware set.. *droolage*
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There is NO substitute...
… for NZ Nestle Reduced Cream. I don’t care what some people say about certain tinned creams in the UK being the same, they’re not!
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Breakfast: My First UK Crumpet
Texture-wise, it was nice and juicy, but I think I prefer the NZ kind.. there’s an particular smell to the NZ kind which used to bother me, but now I kinda miss it.
The NZ kind also doesn’t come pre-browned. Crumpet toasting kiwi-stylez is a dangerous business..
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The Hidden Psychology of Menu Design
Pretty interesting article from April’s WIRED UK issue.
Apparently menu consultants recommend centering menu items as a right justification usual leads to customers comparing things by price.
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Dinner: Pham Sushi
I quite like Whitecross Street. When I was a visitor to London a few years back, I was lucky enough to have some time to kill before I left for the airport, so I wandered down Whitecross Street on a weekday.
I was quite excited, because I had never experienced the option of having a pig on a spit on a school day! It seemed a bit naughty.
On Thursday evening, a group of us went to Pham Sushi,...
5 tags
Dinner: Cafe Grove
Cafe Grove in Ealing is a little place that serves big Polish portions — so much so that they even have specially labelled takeaway containers for the inevitable doggy-bagging.
I was expecting a quiet birthday dinner for two the other day, but instead was the lucky receiver of a wonderful surprise party!
The venue seems to be made for such occasions. It comes complete with a dark staircase...
4 tags
*insert wok pun here*
A few weeks ago, I wandered into Chinatown and picked up a wok from one of the Chinese supermarkets. It was a flat-bottomed Hancock wok.
I have no idea if it’ll be any good, but it’s GOT to be better than the crap ones at IKEA — don’t do it folks!
This Hancock wok was much easier to lift with one hand than the beast from IKEA. Pretty cheap too.
I gave it a good...
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Malaysian Food Goodness
I haven’t tried any Malaysian food in London yet, but this promo could be a good chance to dip my toes into the sambal pool..
Canton Arms got mentioned in the The London Evening Standard yesterday. That’s at least two mentions in less than a week.
With all these very happy reviews, the Arms is gonna have its hands full..
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Dinner: Charlotte's Place
A short walk from us is Charlotte’s Place. I was very excited about coming here, as I hope that it will come close to being a replacement for our beloved Salsazucca (RIP) in Tokyo.
Despite having written down a completely different name to the one I had booked under, the service was impeccable. It was friendly, human, informative and not too intrusive.
^ Halloumi and polenta with...
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Dinner: Walnut-crusted Lemon Sole
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Dinner: Three Courses
We had a special guest join us for dinner one night, so we thought we’d try out a 3-course combo.
^ Pierogies — complete with fingerprint marks — bought from a local Polish deli with kale, walnuts and parmesan cheese.
^ Pan-fried lemon sole with salsa verde (making that stuff sure tests out one’s chopping skills), tenderstem brocolli and vine-ripened cherry tomatoes.
...
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Lunch: Wallacespace, Covent Garden
Food at conference/workshop spaces can be a bit touch and go, but the kitchen at Wallacespace’s Covent Garden venue put out some pretty tasty tucker the other day.
There were two options for lunch — a meat one, and a vege one. I went for the vege option, which was a deliciously creamy and perfectly cooked leek risotto with Fontina cheese. It had a slight bite to it, which I always thought...
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Dinner: Noodle Soup with Fish Balls
It didn’t take me very long to start craving this again.
After a trip to the Chinatown in Soho, I was armed with a packet of little dried fishies, a packet of PROPER* egg noodles, some Chinese fishcake and fish balls.
Deep fried scallions are a pain in the arse to prepare, but I enjoy the challenge.
We had some kale kicking around in the fridge, so I used that instead of beansprouts.
I...
2 tags
Quest for the perfect half-boiled egg: Attempts 4...
Above is a medium-sized egg put in stovetop-boiled water (taken off the stove after boiling) for 7 minutes.
The inside seems a little watery.. whites are a tad firmer than I was hoping and yolk could be a little less runny..
This little eggy was done the same way as egg #4, but for 8 minutes. Pretty good, but I would’ve preferred a slightly softer white..
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Look Ma, No Scales
Made chocolate brownies and cheese scones on Wednesday night sans scales.
They turned out really well.. a big hit with the workmates..
4 tags
Dinner: Porcini Chicken
I like it when friends invite you round for dinner and make fancy stuff from River Cafe cookbooks..
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The Clifton Kitchen
After a marathon few weeks of eating up a storm in Wellington and Sydney, I had decided that I should cut back on my sweets and snacks.
Despite myself however, the following day after my flight back to London, I somehow found myself having a very civilised afternoon tea at the lovely, friendly cafe that’s part of the Clifton Nursery in Maida Vale.
I had a giant slice of their delicious...
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Conspiracy at Brick Lane Markets?
Around 2pm on Sunday, there was an almighty power cut at the Up market (?) part of Brick Lane markets. Food vendors were forced to pack up their things for the day.
Coincidentally (or was it?), there appears to be a new food stall area where a former brewery used to be. I say “new”, as it’s new for me since I last was there about a month ago.
The new food stall area is much...
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Cinque Cafe
Found ourselves back on King St. before my flight. Refreshed ourselves with a tall, cool glass of watermelon and rose water drink.
Thank YOU Sydney!
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Brunch: South End Cafe, Newtown
A cute, corner cafe in south Newtown, decorated with lots of old mirrors on the walls and old furniture.
Deelish flat white. I might have my NZ citizenship revoked for saying this, but I found this Ozzie flat white to be less bitter than its Kiwi counterpart.. *sweat*
It’s always difficult to decide what to get for brunch. I’m always tempted by the usual staples of poached eggs,...
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Dinner: Newtown Thai
One thing I love about visiting Sydney is the availability of Thai and Vietnamese food.
Here we have some cheap and cheerful eats on King St. in Newtown. Newtown Thai also have an “express” joint somewhere along the same street.
Heavenly crab balls. Yummy crab meat inside, crispy goodness on the outside.
They look like kiwibirds up close!
Delicious pad thai. Nice noodle...
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Quest for the perfect half-boiled egg: Attempts 1,...
I’d be surprised if a blog by anyone who spent any part of their childhood in Malaysia didn’t at some stage didn’t reminisce about eating a haf-boiled egg for breakfast, dusted with a little white pepper and a dash of soy sauce.
Unfortunately, I’ve never been able to make the perfect one (soft whites, not runny, thick, gooey yolk) at home. I’ve read about techniques...
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Pie Time
I like having an aunt from Texas — I don’t think you can make bad pies if you live there.
Lemon meringue pie.
Pecan pie.
More pecan pie..
Up close and personal pecan pie..
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British Pie Week
So far, I’ve managed to consume:
Steak & Guiness Meal Deal from Square Pie (Tuesday dins)
Leek, Potato and Blue Cheese Pot Pie from the office canteen (Wednesday lunch)
Both were very good, although I would’ve liked more of a blue cheese kick to my Wednesday pie.
6 tags
Dinner: Noodle-y Goodness
It was my last dinner in town, and Mum had to pack two of my requested meals into one.
Kong foo chow, made by my aunt. I prefer the way my grandma makes the noodles extra crispy, but this was a pretty close second.
Soup kuay teow. The fish balls aren’t too ball-like due to Mum doing them very quickly by hand. Still tasty though. The kuay teow noodles were refreshed from their dried...
3 tags
Brunch: Sweet Mother's Kitchen
Sweet Mother’s is near impossible to get into. A New Orleans/Creole/Cajun-inspired joint, it is extremely popular. Super friendly service, and great food at affordable prices.
I really wanted to call these Baby Got Back Ribs, but they’re just Baby Back Ribs. With hush puppies and curly fries. The meat came off the bone like a dream. These were sooo good. The hush puppies had a nice...
February 2010
40 posts
2 tags
Goodbye Rose Gray
Sad news. River Cafe’s Rose Gray is no longer with us. I didn’t realise she was ill.
4 tags
Tuatara Pilsner
Another great Kiwi beer.
