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.

Sunday Roast and Beer @ The North Pole

Renovated and reopened last year and renamed the North Pole, this craft beer pub with over 22 beers and ciders on draught and more again in bottles behind the bar, this is slowly becoming my new hangout.

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.

A day out in Cambridge and the St John's Chophouse

It’s amazing really, since we moved to London 10 years ago this November, we have hardly left the capital to visit other areas of England, well apart from many a long haul trip to far of climes.

As when we lived outside this metropolis we were always wandering around this fair country of ours, but since then we’ve hardly done this. Does that mean that London is too good to leave? Me thinks not, we’ve just lazy that’s all.

Alberto Lechona – Where pigs goto heaven.

We were told about this small joint, which has been sitting in the same spot since 1974 serving wonderful plates of lechona. Which is a Spanish/Latin version of the Italian Porchetta, or my favourite the Balian Babi Guling.

So after a small shopping spree buying the necessary bits and bobs for our home cooking business, we stopped there for a small lunch.

They sell the Tolima version of lechon. The pork is served mixed with rice and a small salad, with a delicious crispy piece of skin on top. You can either buy a pound or half pound of meat. As my belly is growing at the moment and I am trying to stop it reaching out so I can not see my feet, I opted for the half pound version. The waiter looked at me if I was some sort of nancy boy.

Lina had a (large) Tolima tamale. She got a respectful nod form our waiter. The Tolima version of the tamale comes with more meat, less maize. The Paisa version is the opposite. It came with mixed meat of pork (of course), chicken and a boiled egg, which had all been steamed inside a banana leaf.

I like eating tamales, and I helped Lina finish hers, but after a while the maize just gets to me. I think I’m anti-maize, which explains why I’m not a big fan of arepas.

My lechona was perfect. Nice soft meat, crispy skin and was the perfect size, even if the waiter kept giving me dirty looks as he walked past. No tip for you.

So when instead of having one of those huge hamburgers or hot dogs on La Ochenta late at night after a few beers in Medellin, I will be heading to Alberto’s for some delicious porkie treats.

Recipe for Chiang Mai Curry

Below is the recipe from Baan Thai of their version of Chiang Mai Curry described in my own way.

For the Paste you will need : 

10 Dried Red Chilli's

5 Tbsp Chopped Thai Shallots

2 Tbsp Minced Garlic

1/2 Tbsp Very finely chopped Galangal

2 Tbsp Finely Chopped Lemongrass

1 Tsp Shrimp Paste

1 Tsp Salt

1 Tsp Chopped Coriander Root. 

For the Chiang Mai Curry itself : 

150g Pork Belly, cut into 3cm cubes

1 Tsp Chiang Mai Curry Paste

1/2 Tsp Masala Powder

10g Peeled Garlic

10g Sliced Shallots

15g Pickled Garlic

2 Tbsp Fish Sauce

20g Brown Sugar

1 Tbsp Tamarind Juice

10g Sliced Ginger

4 Tbsp Dark Soy Sauce

Method

Curry Paste

1. Soak the dried red chilli's in water for about 2 minutes.

2. Pop the garlic into the mortar and pound it well. Add the shallots and lemongrass and pound again.

3. Add the galangal, kaffir lime peel, coriander root and pound it some more. 

4. Add the red chilli's and pound again.

5. Add the shrimp paste and pound it until all is combined and is a smooth paste.

6. This paste can be kept for a few months in a jar in the fridge. But fry it off in oil in a wok until it releases its aroma. This will stop it going sour.

7. If you make the paste in a blender, if you can, pound it a little to release the oils. This will make the finished curry taste so much better.

Chiang Mai Curry

1. Put the pork, Chiang Mai curry paste and the masala powder into a bowl and massage the meat until well covered. Leave to marinate for at least 1 hour. More if possible.              Over night in the fridge would be best.

2. Heat a wok. Add the pork to the wok. Cook over low heat and stir constantly for 2 minutes. No oil here, as the pork will release a lot of fat.

3. Add water to the wok, just enough to cover. 

4. Simmer for 1 hour covered over a low flame. Keep checking and keep replenishing the water to the same level. Stirring occasionally.

5. Check the pork after an hour. If it is cooked, add the garlic, pickled garlic, shallot and sliced ginger. Stir.

6. Add the fish sauce and brown sugar. Stir. 

7. Add the tamarind juice. Stir. Once the sauce is nice and thick, it is ready. Check seasoning one last time.

8. Serve with Sticky Rice and Enjoy .......

This was one f my most enjoyable curries I have ever made. Not only was it fun to make, but it ate very well also. If you do get the chance, I recommend you give it a whirl. You will not regret it. Enjoy. 

Baan Thai Cookery School

www.cookinthai.com/index.php

Hanoi Hannah

I was expecting good things from Hanoi. It all however stared very bad. I really have an aversion to taxi drivers, and the guy who took us to our hotel,decided to ride around town for a bit to extract as much money from us as possible. I had heard that Hanoi has this reputation, which is a shame as the rest of Vietnam is fantastic.

We stayed at a hotel in the Old Quarter, which is great and atmospheric, apart from the massive amount of moto's, taxis and cyclos around. Making life a little dangerous at rush hour. 

Food is everywhere, people from Hanoi have a montage of foods to choose from. It is easy to find a good Pho shop, as I always say if it's busy then its good. Had some fantastic Pho Bo and Pho Ga. We had Pho everyday for breakfast, really does set you up for a busy day of sight seeing. I wonder if Uncle Ho had Pho everyday. 

We also got to have for lunch one day, Bun Cha. Barbecued pork, served in fish sauce and complemented with noodles and salad leaves. This really blew me away. I smelt the pork being cooked from a couple of streets away. Bizarre thing was the wind was blowing in the opposite direction. Somehow my nose homed in on it. Seated on small plastic chairs only fit for children in England. Biting into that delicious pork was pure heaven. I am a sucka for anything bar-b-q'd, as my obsession with it back in England can tell. Although I call myself an amateur compared to the folks at www.barbecuebible.com ... They are really obsessed. The whole combination of pork, fish sauce, salad leaves and noodles is a real mind blower. Why we only had this once, is beyond me, but time and other foods to seek out kept us away from this little street corner. 

A lot of the food in restaurants in the Old Quarter are really designed for tourists. So the food has been dumbed down, to one place where it really had no taste at all. How can anyone make duck with 5 spice powder taste of nothing is beyond me, but they succeeded. 

We didn't really have to search high and low for fantastic food, it just entailed a slightly longer walk than normal. We revisited Quan Ag Ngan, the same place where we had eaten in Saigon. Exactly the same great food, same layout, just as packed. I just love the way they cook either chicken, pork or shrimps in lemongrass and chilli. It has a real edgy bite to it. Lina opted this time, as she tried to have in Saigon, was the steamed mudfish. It comes with rice paper and salad leaves for you to roll your own. It was a good meal for 2 or even 3. But we did see some guy having it to himself. So greedy, but respect is due. The fish was so delicate, that anything else but steaming it would have killed the taste. Also no chilli dip was served, just leaves. Really fantastic. We did start t panic, as we always do not take large amounts of money with us, so we were panicking a little, until we got the bill as to wether we had enough money to pay for it. The fish was per kilo, and it was a big fish, but it came in just under a kilo. Phew. That will teach Lina to be so greedy. 

I had walked past Quan Com Pho, it did not look anything special, but something attracted me to it. So had a look inside. Full of local workers munching on some great looking food. The owner invited us in to eat, but as we had just had Pho, was not up to more food just yet. But I remembered the spot where it was, and we returned a day or so later for lunch. So glad we did. It would have been a crime to miss it. We never had that much, we just fancied some beers and something to eat whilst we were drowning our thirst. So we ordered some grilled squid in a honey sauce, and some clams in lemongrass and chilli. That combo again. To be honest we could of eaten everything on the menu. The squid had a real sweet taste to it, and it was a nice contrast to the citrsuy, chilli tang to it. Divine is the word we both kept saying afterwards. 

I had wanted to do a cooking class in Hanoi, but time and sight seeing kept me away. It would have been at Highway 4, if I managed to get my arse in gear in time. We did however eat there n our last night in Hanoi. The menu is a lot different from the normal places we had eaten at in Vietnam. Very French influenced. As you climb the stairs to the roof tp terrace, you can view all the activity in the kitchen. I  like places that show off the kitchen, it says to me, that we are claen and we do not mess around with your food. 

As we had eaten lunch, we decided on just the man course. Which to be honest, would have done a small dinner party rather than just the two of us. We had stir fried chayote with garlic and chilli, and a dish of pork leg simmered in some local wine (which I have forgotten what it was). It was melt in your mouth stuff. The fat was creamy and unxious, the sauce was thick and sticky and clung to the pork. This is my kinda food. Instead of rice to go with, they suggested bread to mop up those juices. Fabulous recommendation. Half way through I had to take a break and rest for a while before I made the final assault. We left a little bit of fat, didn't want to be see as really greedy gits. Even though we are. 

All in all Hanoi has some really good food, it's just unfortunate that a lot of people who got there, never get to eat this..... 

I Got To Cook !!!

We were lazing on the beach in Nha Trang, soaking up a few rays, making our pasty white skin look a little bit more healthy. When I overheard a conversation between two couples. One couple had been here before, and was telling the other about a local restaurant called Lac Canh. He was describing it as a local institution. A real gem of a place, mainly visited by locals. This intrigued me. He described the food there and how it was cooked, which sent my taste buds into overdrive. 

Later I enquired in our hotel about Lac Canh, and they raved about it. Saying most people go their at least once a month with the whole family. What more of a reason did I need. Dinner was set. 

We strolled to Lac Canh, which was at the other end of the beach, it was a pleasant walk. As we drew nearer to it, we could smell the meat being cooked. My pace quickened somewhat. When we arrived, it seemed as if the whole place was on fire. The smoke made it hard to see. We were shown to our seats and given a menu. We were promptly visited by a beer girl, this time from San Miguel. We ordered a large bottle. Best to order one at a time here, as it gets warm quickly, and I want to get out of the habit of drinking beer with ice. Around us were tables full of Vietnamese families, enjoying themselves. Laughing, joking with eachother and eating loads. 

The menu is short and sweet. A small section on beef, pork, chicken, fish of varying types, a salad or two and a drinks section. What more do you need. 

To begin with we ordered some beef, which was marinated in an in house concoction. Which I gathered consisted of chilli, garlic, rice vinegar and lime juice. We also ordered a plate of shrimps, a salad and some baguettes. 

A charcoal bar-b-q arrived on our table, the coals were red hot, glowing like the sun itself. On top was a grate for us to put our food on to grill. 

The beef arrived first, so with chopstix I placed a few pieces on the grate. The smell was divine, as it dripped onto the coals, smoke would drift up. It was heaven. 

At Leiths, I was always taught, that when you cook a steak, to know when it's done, it's all in the touch. So with chopstix in hand, I prodded the beef slices to see when they were done. Not sure if my teacher had this in mind when she taught me, but it worked. The beef came off perfect. Cooked, but still juicy. 

Popped a bit in a piece of baguette with some salad and munched away. Delish. Taste was divine, a little bit of heat from the marinade, some taste from the flames, but it was so moist. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it. 

We cooked a few more pieces of beef, before we went for the shrimps. I had never cooked seafood on a bar-b-q before, well once before, when I got drunk and dropped them on the floor. So, this time I was a little bit more sober. As the heat from the coals was still quite high, they cooked pretty fast, turning them every so often, moving them around the grill as not to burn them to much. Peeling red hot shrimps with chopstix is a difficult job, but Lina is a natural at it. I may start hiring her out. They were delish, not as good as the ones we had n Bangkok, but pretty close to it. They were still juicy, but the taste of an open grill made them better. 

To be honest we ate the rest of the prawns and beef pretty fast. Easy to do when food taste this good. Now being a greedy git, I couldn't resist ordering some more. Shouldn't have, but I did. So I ordered some slices of pork belly marinated in the same in house sauce. These were a little more tricker to cook, as the fat kept dripping on the coals and flames would shoot up through the grates and lick the pork slices. So I had to be on my toes and keep moving them around the grate. They tasted divine also, the crispiness of the pork fat and the juiciness of the meat and their marinade was to die for that night. All washed down with several bottles of San Miguel beer, it was a fun night out. Plus I got to do a little cooking also. All this for about 5 pounds. I was in heaven.

Even though it was late, we decided to walk back as we were quite full. But with a full stomach and a happy heart, no walk is to long.