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.

New Culture Revolution

After many years of abusing my body with very little exercise and a lot of food, my good wife has finally persuaded me to join a gym to try and get healthy and also to shed a few pounds of midriff that has developed around my belly.

An Overdue Return to Song Que on the Pho Mile

I miss Vietnam. I have been thinking about this wonderful country for a while now. I want to return, but then again I want to return to a lot of places, but this weekend Vietnam had been playing on my mind.

It had been quite a while since our last visit to Song Que, and it was due a revisit. The reason for this is, as with most cities, too many choices to be had.

As I live at the other end of Kingsland Road in Stoke Newington, it’s a brisk walk that builds up your appetite.

Noodles at Ramen Seto

For some strange reason I have never walked down Kingly Street before. I know, it’s incredible. Just why hadn’t I ever crossed over into the back part of Carnaby Street. I’m glad I did as I’ve discovered a whole host of gems. Deshea being one of them, and Ramen Seto being the other.

We were in need of some soupy nourishment. As we walked past 2 happy campers in the window were eating two large bowls of noodles. We were hooked and decided to return later for lunch after some also much needed shopping was completed. 

Luckily when we returned the same 2 window seats were free, and even better it was soupy warm inside. That warmth you only get when everyone is eating noodle soup, so the air smells and feels like noodle soup. Not sure if that explains it but I’m sure you get my drift.

Ordering was pretty easy. We both wanted the ramen soup. Lina had the Seafood extravaganza, and I opted for the pork chashu ramen. It had been a long day so far, so we ordered a small plate of gyoza to get our stomachs happy until the main even came along.

These little pot stickers were first steamed then finished off in the pan, they had a lovely crispy coating that made them easier to pick up with the chopsticks. The filling was a wonderful pork and vegetable, nicely seasoned, nicely cooked. With a soy sauce dip they were the perfect way to relax and get ready for the main event.

I cannot recommend the ramen soups here enough. Both of them were jammed packed with fillings. The seafood was literally spilling over the edge of the bowl. OK a slight exaggeration, but I’ve never had a bowl of noodles so stocked with filling before. Squid, prawn and some very tasty fish balls mixed in with some nice noodles and a pretty good stock base.

My chashu ramen noodles were just as good and packed out. The thin slices of pork were slightly dry but the stock moistens them up somewhat. Thankfully the half slice of boiled egg was not over boiled. Phew. A personal pet hate.

OK the stock base was not the strongest or the best I have ever had, but at these prices it was a whole lot better than it should have been. It was quite mild, but it did allow the other ingredients to speak for themselves.

Ramen Seto will never compete with Koya, but then again who can. But it offers a good bowl of noodles at a good price. Something of a rarity in London these days. I shall return.

Koya - Noodle Heaven in Soho

Update : February 2011
Hadn't been to Koya for what seems like an age, but as the wife is off home for a couple of weeks, we decided to have lunch at our favourite Udon noodle restaurant. 
As ever everything is perfect, the broth is as favourable as ever. The Prawn Tempura Atsu-Atsu seems to be a main stay with us. But with the addition of Tanuki (extra batter) mixed in with the soup is a real winner.
The Ten Curry Don is the best curry sauce I've had outside of Japan. Really deep and rich in flavour. The accompanying Miso soup was a little weak and lacking in any strong miso flavour. 
But Koya is still streets ahead of any other restaurant serving noodles in London. 

I had to nail my feet to the floor so I wouldn’t go visit Koya when it opened. I’m kinda of the belief that every new restaurant has its tweaking problems. There is always something that isn’t right on its first few weeks. If it’s a good place these will get ironed out and run smoothly. From what I could make out Koya had no such problems, and my expectations grow through me waiting. Thankfully it turned out to be better than I expected.

Maybe I was going mad but everytime I walked past Koya, it was calling out to me. I could hear a soft whisper calling my name. Something was calling me to come in and try their noodles. I could hear a voice whispering that they had good noodles. I had to eat there, and as they specialise in Udon and nothing else. They had to be good.

Koya is very simple in it’s design. It’s not big on clutter, but where is in Japan. The menu is listed on boards on both walls and in keeping with the design of the restaurant, it’s also uncluttered. It’s short and sweet. It’s broken down into roughly four parts.

Atsu Atsu -  Hot Udon in a cold broth.

Hiya Atsu – Cold Udon with hot broth.

Hiya Hiya – Cold udon with cold broth

Danburi – Rice bowl with various additions.

As it was such a beautiful hot sunny afternoon I opted for a Cold Udon with a hot broth with the addition of some pork. Lina as she is a bit traditional in her soups had Atsu Atsu Niku. Hot Udon with a hot Broth with beef.

The meals took their time to come, which I was really happy about, as the expectation had more time to reach unobtainable heights.

When they finally arrived, not only were we taken back to Japan, but also I think I was smiling like a little Cheshire cat. Stupid as it sounds, I was truly happy. The cold noodles dipped in the hot broth for a second made them a delight to eat. The crispy seaweed on top added extra textures I would never have thought possible in London. The broth was rich and meaty but still very delicate. I am so jealous that people can do this with their stocks. The noodles were cooked to perfection and tasted great. Obviously kneading that dough by feet really helps.

Lina’s soup was just as good but totally different. It had a rich miso taste to it that was the other end of the spectrum of mine. Excellent.

The waitress came round to inform us the kitchen was closing and if we wanted to order something else. I had my head over the bowl slurping up some noodles that I didn’t look up, but just shook my head.

That was probably some of the best soup I have tasted since we left Asia. Rich and full of flavour. Awesome. I didn’t think we would get great stuff here in London. But we have.

At £10 a pop the noodles are not the cheapest in London, but they are the best. Oh yes.

Baozi Inn – Part One of a Trilogy

When I used to work in Soho, the Baozi Inn after it opened became a place where I used to go and eat when I could not face staff food at the restaurant anymore. Which after a while was quite a lot. After cooking the same food, you kinda get fed up of eating it. Not good. Especially, as I loved the food we used to cook, but seeing it all the time, you need a change. That’s why chefs are whores to their trade, changing restaurants at a drop of a hat. The thought of something better in the next place. Or maybe just the thought of a different cuisine.
But luckily China Town has a few, a very few places that I love to eat at. C & R, Rasa Sayang and the Baozi Inn. All for completely different reasons. Although you can kinda see a link between them all.
The Baozi Inn is the little baby brother of reopened Bar Shu and the new Ba Shan. Both will be reviews here at a later date no doubt. I just need to revisit them. Good times ahead.
The menu is short and sweet and in pictures. It consists mainly of dumplings. Although I prefer the (used to be) hot Sichuan spicy beef noodles. It lacked a lot on our last visit. But the bowl of Wonderful Heaven noodles was in name and dish, heavenly.

I can see a down turn in the quality of the dishes though, the noodles looked and tasted a little cheaper than they used to be. The quality of the final dishes were not what they used to be. Maybe this has to do with the new immigration laws and less and less Chinese students are finding it easy to get work nowadays. Who knows, but the food the other day was not as good as when it opened. Hopefully this is just a short blip and it improves.
Even with it’s slightly tacky Mao style décor, it is a nice place to eat at and one of the stars of the oh so same same bad food of China Town. The service is short and sharp, which is kinda the standard in China Town, but at least these guys are willing to talk about the dishes or give recommendation. I once asked a waiter in a Chinese restaurant nearby about a dish, and he looked at me as if I was the most annoying person in the world. He never did answer my question. He did shoot me a shitty look as we departed and no tip was left for him.
The Baozi Inn is a nice enough stopping point for some give me energy noodle soups. I am hoping our recent visit was just a one off. Another visit in a month or two will tell me this.

Life Cafe - Kuching

Our second visit to the Life Cafe was just as good as the first. It is situated opposite the Black Bean Coffee shop, which was fast becoming our second home in Kuching. The same table and two chairs outside were always kept clear for us. I'd like to believe this, as coincidences are too much sometimes. They only sell 100% pure Sarawak coffee from estates in the hinterland. They have a wide selection of teas from Sarawak also. But it's the homemade peanut cookies that keep bringing us back, as we get one with each coffee. Bribery always works with me. 

Life Cafe has a short menu, mainly consisting of noodle dishes. We were tempted by them, even the Eight Treasure Crocodile Soup was screaming out to me to be eaten, but it the sight of pork on the menu that drove me wild. We had been in Malaysia for over a month by now, and we had seen no pork on any menu. We had even seen chicken ham and sausages, but alas no pork. So the thought of eating some fatty pork was too much to say no. 

Now should I have Hakka Pork Leg or Pork Rib Stew, which I could have with either rice or noodles. Getting sick of rice so noodles it was going to be. I have actually had both as we ventured back there the following night as well. Well you can never have to much of a good thing. 

The Hakka Pork Stew had glorious chunks of fatty pork. Oh my god they were good. The stew was made up of a typical Chinese stock, which included 5 spice powder and star anise. The following night the Rib's were just as good, but the sauce was lighter and not so strong, but still as good. The noodles were thin and worked well with the stews. The Hakka Pork would have been a Smash with mash also. Get it. 

Lina had a Lamb Stew which for the exception of pearl barley and potatoes, any Irish Gran would have been proud of. So lamby. So good. 

This was a real surprise coming from a Chinese cafe in a small town in Malaysia. Kuching was handing out surprises on every corner and we were loving it. 

On our third visit to the cafe. Lina decided to have the Eight Treasure Crocodile Soup, and some steamed pork and leek dumplings. The Eight Treasures we found out were Chinese herbs, some tasted better than others. One tasted a bit like cardboard. The crocodile itself didn't really taste of much, but was moist and well cooked. The star of the show was the soup itself. It was really different. The herbs gave an indescribable taste to it, but overall it was pretty good. 

The dumplings were filled with pork and eek and came with a soy sauce and minced garlic dipping sauce. Reminded me a lot of the momo's I used to eat in Tibetan restaurants in Khatmandu. Gorgeous. 

For the second time that day, I had chicken curry with noodles. This was the better one of the day. This had a thick gravy at the bottom of the bowl, enough to coat the noodles, but not drown them. I am getting fed up with thin watery gravies, so this was a welcome change to get a nice thick one. Yummy. 

Street food Part 2 - Bun Cha

Some of the best street food in the world comes from Vietnam, and the best street food in Vietnam comes from Hanoi. The streets are awash with small stalls selling everything from Pho to ....... ...... Everything comes to life early morning and ends long after dark. Some really good food starts to appears late morning, just in time for the lunchtime rush, and around sunset for dinner. 

We were wandering around old Hanoi around lunchtime, when I began to smell the aroma of bar-b-q'd meat. As we neared the corner the smell was becoming incredible. The closer we got, the more my mouth was salivating. What we came across was a small shop with some low tables and chairs out front. There were a couple of girls grilling the meat over some charcoal burners. What we had encountered was Bun Cha or bar-b-q'd pork and noodles. A popular Hanoi lunchtime favourite. 

We had to wait for a little bit as the place was packed. A very good omen. We finally managed to find two seats and a table under a tree. We were really not sure on what we were going to get, so we just ordered for 2. What came were 2 plates of fresh rice noodles, 2 bowls of bar-b-q'd pork in a fish sauce stock, and a dish of salad leaves. Everyone around seemed to have their preferred way of eating them. Some people were mixing noodles and salad leaves into the fish sauce and pork, others were just mixing the noodles and eating the leaves separate. I enjoyed dipping the noodles into the sauce and then eating them straight away. The pork was succulent and had a lovely chargrilled taste to it. The fish sauce stock, was just the right side of fishyness. Any more and it would had overpowered the pork. 

It was such a delight to eat. The noodles were as fresh as could be. The pork was chargrilling before our very eyes. The salad leaves were fresh and had a great taste to them. I am getting to love mint more and more as a salad leaf. This simple dish just typifies how fresh ingredients used very simply are worth their weight in gold. This is what I am trying to do with my cooking. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. But in Vietnam, the times it works, they are incredible. I hope that I can reproduce Bun Cha in my own kitchen one day, as good as we had in Hanoi. And what made it even better was that it only cost us 20,000 Dong each, about £1.50p for us both. Could life get any better. 

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. 

Noodle Heaven

We were led into a false sense of security by our time in Japan, thinking that all noodles were going to be that good. We were to be disappointed. I could not remember eating noodles before from a Chinese restaurant either in London or here in Hong Kong, so it all came at me as a shock.

After countless attempt to find somewhere that did good noodle soup. We eventually found 3 that hit the spot. 

The best was a small stall in the Cooked Food Centre in Bowrington Road Market. Shop number 3 if an of you want to try. I suggest you do.

The noodle soup base was really well made and full of flavor, and we could actually taste how good the noodles were, and they were really good. 

I had barbecued pork on mine, and Lina went for duck. Yum yum yum..... 

I noticed that when we were paying he also did a good mutton curry. Bet they would be fab with noodles. 

Next was Mak's Noodles, a small hole in the wall. We encountered this place on a Sunday lunchtime and had to share a table with an old couple, who looked like they were enjoying their food. It was packed with old couples and families on for a lunchtime treat. 

I had beef brisket noodles and Lina opted for pork with shrimp wonton noodles. Again as above its the soup base that makes it, this one had a slight fishy tang to it that a real delight to eat. our other one was a small place opposite Mak's. Again same deal really, only slightly cheaper. Really good soup base. Wish I'd have gone for the wide noodles.  

Overall our time in Hong Kong had shown us what a delight it is. We have experienced a lot more than we thought we were going to. We were both quite sad to leave as we had grown quite attached to the place. 

Our final meal was actually Sashimi and Sake. It really was just an excuse to use my new knife. Hahahahahaha ..... 

Next stop Macau ..... 

Sashimi and Beers

Nara is a small town, very close to both Kyoto and Osaka. It used to be the old capital of Japan many centuries ago. It has about 8 UNESCO sites, so it is very popular on any trip to Japan, especially with the Japanese. The weekends make this town a crowded place. After a hard days sight seeing, we were in need of some food.

I was in the mood for some Sashimi and a beer, nothing too grand, just something simple to relax to after a hard days sight seeing. We found a place close to the Ryokan where we were staying. No room on the tatami mats so we sat at a table and had a gander at the English menu. I went for the Sashimi and Lina went for Noodles. As you can see from the foto’s what we got was far from simple. Everything was so well presented and designed on the plate that it really does resemble a work of art. 

The bowl on the right contained the smallest squid I have ever seen, but they tasted divine. I really got into sea urchin, it looks disgusting but has a distinctive taste to it. The fatty tuna melted in my mouth. Heaven. Only downside was the cuttlefish, which I have always found a little tough. Even cooking it in the UK, it always is tough.

Lina’s noodles had a fantastic stock base for the soup, which they all did. The addition of Tempura prawns was an added delight to a heavenly dish.

The following night after another hard days sight seeing, we headed to another local joint, but this time it was a kinda teriyaki dish, that is mainly made up of egg and cooked by the chef and then popped onto a hotplate for us to eat at our leisure over a few beers. This dish comes from the Kansai region and seems very popular as the place was packed. The first one we ordered was Korean style with pork, kimchi and a special Korean spicy sauce. For what it was it was pretty good, the 2^nd one was a chow mien type dish. Again pretty good, but it was the atmosphere that made this a good meal, and a pleasant end to our stay in Nara.

Next stop Kyoto.

Shotgun Noodles Tokyo Style

We arrived in Tokyo after a 12 hour flight from London, bleary eyed and hungry. We somehow managed to get to Ikebukuro quite easily using Japanese Railways. Checked into our Ryokan and headed out to grab some nosh. Priorities.
We were kinda partial for some noodle soup as it was bucketing it down in Tokyo that very morning. So we wandered around for a bit and decided to pop into a Ramen shop that was full of people. Always a good sign. As we stepped in we were greeted by our waitress/server from behind the counter who pointed to our seats and a machine by the door. It turns out you have to choose your dish from this machine, buy a ticket and give it to the waitress.
As our Japanese extends to about half a dozen words and zero characters, this was going to be a challenge. So we decided to play Shotgun Noodles. Quite randomly we picked one that had 300g of Soba noodles and one that had 200g. Paid our money handed over our tickets and duly waited. Bet Russian Roulette was never this fun.

What came was a very pleasant surprise, thankfully no Deer Hunter ending for us here. Two bowls of soba noodles and two bowls of hot broth to dunk them in. Mine had a slight hot and spicy chilli creamy taste to them, with some pork on top. Lina’s had pork on top also with a real meaty taste to it.
It is considered impolite not to slurp your noodles, this going against everything my mum always taught me, decided to slurp away. After a few flying noodles and a bit of sauce on my glasses, all went well. I can’t say if a local heard me slurp they would think, ahh he’s Japanese, but I am getting the hang of it now. Both bowls of noodles were delicious. and a great introduction to Japan, after a flight from hell.
Later that day we found a pretty good Izakaya, which are the Japanese equivalent of pubs. Apart from these places stay open till 5am. So wish all pubs in UK were the same. They serve beers, sake’s and other potent alcoholic beverages. Plus most sell some fantastic bar snacks. This one sold a lot of Yakitori (grilled meats, fish & veg on sticks). Had a few pork belly sticks, all washed down with some fine Japanese lager.
That nite we went to a Yakitori place (see above) that also had some fried titbits also. We were kinda coherent but jet lag had started to set in big time. We sat at the counter and began to decode another Japanese menu. (Looks like this was gonna be another shotgun session) but thankfully they had an English version. So we began ordering. First was pork tongue, which came with a hot mustard, dipping sauce. Then Chitterlings (again) in soya sauce, these had a real nice smoky charred taste to them, nothing like the delicate version in St John’s 2 nites before. Then we had some beef tripe which had a miso pate wiped on then grilled. Delish. Then some normality with breaded tender chicken with a special sauce. But we saved the best to last, a split salted pigs foot with the same hot mustard sauce. Now this was greatttttt.

Wow all this one day 1. If it carries on like this, this is going to be one great trip….