Too Hot To Handle @ Bi Bim Bap

Bi Bim Bap is a bright, colourful and fun Korean restaurant in Soho that specialises in, as the name suggests Bi Bim Bap.

Hot Pho @ Cay Tre

I’m a big lover of the Cay Tre Vietnamese Kitchens, as they style themselves. Viet Grill and Cay Tre in Soho have given some of the best Pho and Bun Cha I’ve tasted in London.

Hawksmoor at the Guildhall

A couple of weeks ago before the wife went on a “work trip” to Venezuela and before I started my new job in sunny Clapham, we kind of had a celebration by having lunch at Hawksmoor at the Guildhall.

It had been quite a while since we’d had a good steak that was memorable, and we both felt we were long overdue another one.

I’m not sure why I chose this one over the Shoreditch branch, but I think it was the rave reviews that J had given me about the breakfast he had there with Stevie P one morning, and plus door to door by one bus. Sorted it.

Sunday Roast @ The Ship Tavern

The Ship tavern is situated down a small back alley behind Holborn station. The pub is a small, old and pretty gloomy looking place. Sometimes first impressions are deceiving.

An ale house has been situated on this sight since 1549, refreshing the locals  and workers of Holborn for nearly 500 years. Catholics used to hold secret masses here during the reign of Henry VIII, when being a Catholic was not in vogue. Maybe the Church would get more people to mass if they again held the 6pm service in a pub. A thought.

As Holborn is pretty empty and most of the shops and offices are closed at weekends, I’d imagine this pub is pretty lifeless on Sundays.

The downstairs dimly lit bar had two old geezers sitting at opposite ends of the bar looking distantly into their beers. Great atmosphere.

We ventured upstairs to the Oak Room restaurant. It wasn’t much better, but at least some Japanese tourists were speaking to each other. But as we were both nursing some bad hangovers from a night of Polish vodka and Chilean pisco sour drinking. The small chit chat was a welcome.

The Sunday roast menu is pretty good, we were tempted by the whole chicken (£20) to share, but somehow it would have been a bit too much, and with the way we were feeling it could have been the worst thing to have.

Pork or Beef that was the question. I needed some hair of the dog to level out my blood/sugar/alcohol level. So a pint of 1549 house ale was ordered whilst we made the moist important decision of the day.

The ale arrived in a tankard. I cannot remember the last time a pub, especially one in the city serving beer in a tankard. Very old skool.

As with a lot of pubs these days, the prices were a little on the higher side, but we were in Holborn. (Roasts between £12 - £14).

My topside of beef was well cooked and thinly sliced, and there was plenty of it. Amazing. It was nice and juicy and had a good taste, although I don’t normally eat topside as my roast, but it was pretty good.

The pork came as two large slices of thickly cut belly, great crackling and well was probably the tastiest piece of pork I’ve had in a long long time. Really bloody good. We couldn’t finish one of the slies, and it made some great sandwiches that night at home.

Both plates came with the same accompaniments. They really do serve a good yorkie, large crispy and damn tasty, a Yorkshire granny would have been proud of that. The tatties were soft and fluffy with a slight crispy outer. The only downside was the veg, a small portion of sautéed cabbage, a few carrot sticks and a small floret of cauliflower. Where were my peas.

A couple of other tables were occupied by the time we left, which on any other Sunday would have made this an average place, but with the way we were feeling it was just perfect. But Holborn at the weekend, you cannot really expect anything else.

I’d love to return and try this place in the week, as they have a pie night every Tuesday. A pie and a pint for £10. Can’t be bad. On Wednesdays is Moules night.

This had been my first roast in a while and it was a bloody good one. If you are in the area, I’d definitely give it a pop especially if there is a crowd of you, as the atmosphere could be lacking. But the food and the staff do make up for that.

Beef – Part 2 – The Asado

Some time in our very ancient history, some hunter gathers killed a beast of some kind. Now up to this point our ancestors had been eating meat raw. Now, who knows how, maybe a piece of meat fell into a fire, maybe a couple of guys were chatting and some meat was left hanging near a fire and when they tasted the cooked flesh. They were hooked. Who knows, but it’s as good a theory as anything, and maybe true.

Since then we have been cooking meat over flame. The word barbecue, as we know it comes from the West Indies. Barabicu. Where the local population used to cook meat over a wooden grill to give the meat a great taste. It’s still cooked like this in Jamaica today.

It’s in Argentina that slow cooking meat over a charcoal or wood fire has risen to the heights we know it today. I’ve had braai’s in South Africa. They are damn good, but maybe it’s the quality of beef and the cuts in Argentina that make an asado so good.

The asador or parrillero is king in Argentina. These men who stand in front of those searing hot altars are like Priests praying to the Gods. We all pray to the God Beef. Well I do anyhows.

To make an asado is very natural to Argentineans. It’s a meal to bring the family together. We used to have our Sunday lunch which, with the piece of beef as a centre point used to bring our family together for a few hours once a week.

An asado take time, patience is a virtue for an asador. It takes an age to get the wood to be red hot. Something your average British bar-b-q’er does not have the patience for. That’s why everything is black on the outside and raw in the middle. Food poising alert at any British Bar-B-Q.

The blocks of wood are lit several hours before they are needed. This will give them time to burn, flames die down and the red hot heat to emerge, which is what you need for a long slow asado. As time progresses more logs are lit and kept to the far side to be used as and when the others loose all their molten power.

Now asados in the home differ from those in a restaurant, as at home you will eat a piece of meat, then another will be taken off the grill for you to eat, so everything is at its succulent best. In a restaurant everything will turn up at the same time, with some cuts of meat, chorizos being part cooked beforehand, and sometimes over cooked and dry.

The parrilla in restaurants is like a mixed grill, where you will get a small piece of everything. Ranging from kidneys, intestines, skirt steak, rib eye, chorizos, morcilla or even some tasty ribs. It just depends on the quality of the establishment, and the price you pay.

We were once given a tremendous amount of fat with a parrilla once. The waiter looked seriously embarrassed and angry at the asador. It was a cheap place, and the waiter paid the price, as we left no tip. I think he knew that was coming, as he had a face of resignation on him when we left.

Some of the best asados I’ve had have been had at friend’s homes though. Well they are always best. We normally spend hours chatting, eating, drinking, more eating, chatting and drinking with some more eating at the end.

Always first comes the chorizo and morcilla. Once these were polished off, which is always quickly. Then out comes the offal selection. Kidneys, liver, heart and sweetbreads. Normally you would only get one of these, it just depends upon the skill of the asador, and wether or not they like offal. Some do, some don’t.

Then if there is a veggie in the audience there will always be the provolone cheese. A disc of the best cheese ever to hit the grill. Charred and smoky. It’s a great addition to any asado, even if veggies are not present.

Then the slow process of bringing out every cut of meat. Piece by piece after one has been eaten, out pops another. My first home asado lasted 3 hours. A small affair, but Nilda, just kept bringing out cut after cut until I was the last man standing and continued to eat right up until the point of my stomach exploding. Remember that scene from Alien. That’s how I felt for several hours. Painful.

The skill of the asador is on show so time and perfection is key here. As some cuts require less or more cooking than others.

The meat in an Argentinean asado is never marinated. Only a generous application of salt just before it hits the grill is added. The grease from the meat is never allowed to hit the coals as this produces flare ups and smoke, which affects the taste of the meat. This never enters the mind of a British Bar-B-Q’er where speed is of the essence as who knows when the rains will come.

All that is ever served with an asado is some bread. A very simple mixed salad, consisting of sliced onion, sliced tomato and lettuce leaves. All drizzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil, and seasoned with salt n pepper. Also the most famous of sauces. Chimichurri. There is a lot of bad chimi out there, but it’s basically a simple sauce of chopped parsley, dried oregano, crushed garlic, salt and pepper. Whisked together with olive oil. You can also get a chilli version that I prefer on offal rather than the steaks. These sauces are a side not to be smothered on the meat as I’ve seen many a tourist do. Shameful.

To be honest the best drink to have with an asado is a full bodied red. Something with a tonne of tannins, as the meat with smooth them down to pure heaven. Beer does work also, but it bloats me and therefore I have to eat less meat. So………

People only think the food of Argentina is just red meat. There are other things to which Argentines consider to be there national dish. But for me the best thing is a really good cut of meat, cooked to succulent heaven over some red hot coals, drunk with a nice glass or three of red wine, but best of all it’s best eaten with friends. 

Beef – Part 1 – A Short History

Argentines consume on average 68kg of beef per person per year. Now imagine that in a population of 40,000,000, at least 8,000,000 are under 10 years of age and therefore do not consume a great deal of beef. The over 70’s which there are more than 2 million can not eat too much either. Then you have the dozen or so veggies that for some bizarre reason do not like beef. Weirdo’s. So that leaves about 30,000,000 people consuming 2,720,000,000kg of beef annually. Which means your average meat eating loving person eats nearly 2kg of beef a week. Jeeze. Now that’s a lot.

Now consuming that amount of beef must have problems for the local population. Studies show a risk of cancer development, and cancer is the 2^nd highest killer in Argentina, but they do not have the highest cancer rate in the world. Not by a mile. High cholesterol also is high in red meat eaters, mainly due to the saturated fats in the meat, but that doesn’t stop people from eating huge amounts of beef. Maybe it’s the mate they drink continually.

The Spanish first introduced cattle into Argentina in the 16^th Century. These beasts enjoyed the pampas so much they multiplied very quickly. With the invention of refrigeration ships and the lack of beef in the Northern Hemisphere the export market exploded.

This in turn created the Gaucho, like the North American cowboys, gauchos were generally reputed to be strong, honest, silent types, but proud and capable of violence when provoked. The gaucho tendency to violence over petty matters is also recognized as a typical trait. Gauchos use of the famous "facón" is legendary, often associated with considerable bloodletting. Historically, the facón was typically the only eating instrument that a gaucho carried. It was common for a gaucho to hold a large piece of meat in his teeth and to cut away what he would keep using the facón.

Today, there is basically not enough beef in Argentina to feed the population. Whilst we were there, beef prices were soaring by 50%. As all cattle farmers have ditched beef to grow soya, as it gives them more money, but as we know bad, bad, bad for the soil.

Beef exports have been banned for the moment, but this has been going on for the last few years. But I can see that Argentina may have to import some beef to keep prices low. An unthinkable scenario. But it may yet happen.

As everyone knows the quality of Argentine beef is 2^nd to none. The old English breeds like the Shorthorn, Hereford, and the Aberdeen Angus have all thrived on the Pampas. Thousands of km’s of open pasture for them to roam and feed. Now that’s the way cattle should live. Over 150 years of pure breeding and cross breeding has made the meat some of the best in the world.

But with all things, having a great product does not naturally mean it tastes great on the plate. This is all down to the masters of the asado or parrilla.

To part 2. 

Pho - Is it just a Noodle Soup ?

Pho, is with out doubt the national dish of Vietnam. It is a bowl of white noodles served in a clear beef stock. In Hanoi, it seemed to have taken on obsessional status. They seem to have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I am sure there are people who eat it 3 times a day, everyday. It comes in many different variants, the most popular is Pho Bo, or Beef Pho. thin cuts of beef, like brisket, flank or steak. Although Pho Ga, Chicken Pho is pretty good also. You can make it with anything really, intestines and other offal are popular. 

The stock is made in the usual way of simmering beef bones, with roasted veg and spices for several hours till you have a stock to die for. This is really the backbone of a good Pho. Without a good stock it would be just a beef noodle soup, as you get in some Chinese restaurants. The noodles people use are always fresh white ones. No self respecting Pho seller would use anything else. 

The noodles are put in the bowl first, then the stock is added, and finally before it is served a garnish is added. This seems to differ from shop to shop, maker to maker. This is what sets some apart from others. Mostly spring onions, coriander leaves, basil, bean sprouts are used. We had one today off a lady who sprinkled crushed peanuts on top. Yummy. Depending on the shop you will also get served a dish of other herbs to add at your will, like mint, and a few I have never seen before. You always get a bowl of lime wedges, chilli sauce, chilli slices and fish sauce to add as well. I am in favour of a little more heat to my Pho, but only after I have tasted a bit already. I like to see how good their stock is before I pep it up a bit. Phở is pronounced with a falling-rising tone in Vietnamese, as if asking a question in English. It is therefore pronounced as FUH? But I try my best to say it properly, I think I am generally understood though. Especially when asking for Pho in a Pho shop. Kinda obvious what I want. 

Pho originated in Northern Vietnam, and only spread to the rest of Vietnam in the mid 1950's, after the division of the country. The Northerners who did not want to be under communist rule headed South and took Pho with them. Noone is sure how it came about, maybe from the French and their stock making skills, or it was created out of the scraps that the people could afford. Similar to all good peasant dishes. Their are also those who say it was came from China, but the Vietnamese, I am sure would kill anyone who said it was that. They still hate the Chinese. Not surprising after 1,000 years of rule. 

Some of the best Pho I have had here in Vietnam, has actually came from a chain. Pho 24. It's a clean, trendy place, but lacks atmosphere of your smaller family run business. Other good ones have been at Pho 2000 in Saigon. In Hanoi, the best Pho is where the crowds are, and these places are small family run. They do not look much, you sit on small plastic chairs at small tables. You have to wipe the chopstix and spoon before using them. So if I see a shop with a lot of local people, then 99 times out of a 100 it has to be good Pho. and until now, this has never failed me. 

Pho connesueurs, will say that the best Pho is from the north, and the southern style from Saigon, is somewhat sweeter. Pho Hue style contains bits of offal, like steamed blood. Yum, yum.  This what Lina was eating in Saigon, when that chilli tried to kill me, but as it was Pho, I forgave it. 

To say wether Ramen noodles are better than Pho is a question I am avoiding. Lets just say I am addicted to both, and lets leave it at that shall we.