Had a lovely flat white at Caffé Nero. Smooth and full of flavour.
Tonkutsu Pork Ramen
Back in February I was on a trip to Helsinki in Finland for a few days for work. I was staying at the Scandic Hotel Simonkenttä in the heart of the city. Looking for a good value meal, I chose Momotoko in the Kamppi shopping centre, which was conveniently located near my hotel. The food was delicious and reasonably priced. Though I was in Finland and part of me wanted to try authentic Finnish cuisine, I was on a budget and really enjoy Korean-style food. The ordering process was simple: you place your order at the counter, and they bring the food to your table.
I had enjoyed both the pork donburi and chicken donburi at Momotoko, so looking again for lunch I headed there. This time I went with the Tonkutsu Pork Ramen. This was ramen noodles with Tonkotsu pork broth and pork belly. It was accompanied by marinated egg, seaweed, sugar snap peas, bamboo shoots, spring onion and roasted garlic.
The bowl looked fantastic, it was really tasty. Full of flavour and the pork was very tender. The broth was well flavoured and was delicious.
Isle of Wight Heirloom Tomatoes
One of my favourite salads is a simple dressed tomato and mozzarella salad with basil.
Though you could use cheaper tomatoes and mozzarella, sometimes it’s nice to up the ante and do something a little more special.
I have had Isle of Wight heritage tomatoes before, I got them from the M&S at Cribbs Causeway (my local M&S Food Hall didn’t stock them). It was a nice surprise to see my local Waitrose selling a box of Isle of Wight Heirloom Tomatoes. I was also impressed that the box was only £5, which I thought was good value.
In comparison, the M&S Isle of Wight heritage tomatoes are £2.75 per pack, and the Waitrose box contains about the equivalent of four or five M&S packs.
I’ve bought the box twice now and each time I have had a different range of tomatoes in each box. There are large tomatoes, red, yellow, and orange varieties as well.
For my simple dressed tomato and mozzarella salad with basil, I take a selection of tomatoes from the box and slice thinly and put in a bowl. I then add some torn up basil leaves. I always tear up my basil leaves ever since seeing Jamie Oliver on a TV advertisement saying they should be torn and not cut. Still don’t know if that’s right, or that was just a Jamie Oliver thing… I am sure I have seen Gordon Ramsey chop up basil with a knife.
I then dress the tomatoes and basil with olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Having seen Marcus Wareing use white balsamic vinegar when he made a dressed tomato salad, I might get some of that and try it the next time I make this dish.
To finish off the salad I put a whole burrata mozzarella ball in the middle, which I added some olive oil and black pepper onto.
Burrata is an exquisite Italian fresh cheese with a unique texture. It starts with a pouch of fresh mozzarella, which is then filled with a rich, creamy mixture of stracciatella—shredded mozzarella curds and cream. The name “burrata” comes from the Italian word for “buttered,” which perfectly describes its luxurious consistency. When sliced open, the firm outer shell gives way to a soft, spilling interior. This creates a delightful contrast between the solid exterior and the milky, buttery filling.
Delicious.
Pipp & Co Doughnuts
Pipp & Co are a relative newcomer to the bakery scene in Bristol. I had been meaning to go there for a while, so when I did I was impressed with them. More traditional than the Americana style of Krispy Kreme or Tim Hortons. These sugar coated doughnuts are filled with different fillings, all very tasty.
Teriyaki Chicken Donburi
Back in February I was on a trip to Helsinki in Finland for a few days for work. I was staying at the Scandic Hotel Simonkenttä in the heart of the city.
For a quick good value meal I went to Momotoko in the Kamppi shopping centre, it was close to the hotel, and it was nice food that was reasonably priced. Part of me wanted to have some authentic Finnish food whilst I was in Finland, but I was on a budget, and I quite like Korean style food. You order at the counter and then they bring the food to your table.
I had enjoyed my previous donburi at Momotoko so when needing something to eat it was easy to head back there. This time I went with the Teriyaki Chicken Donburi, this was rice with teriyaki sauce and chicken slices. It was accompanied by marinated egg, shiitake mushrooms, edamame beans, marinated cucumber, sesame seeds and spring onion.
This was a delicious bowl of food, fresh and tasty. The chicken was tender and nicely done. I liked all the accompaniments, I did like the egg and the mushrooms.
I also had another Kimchi Fried Chicken Bao, which I had on my previous visit, This was chicken fillet, salad leaf, fresh cucumber, kimchi, momo-mayo and spring onion in a steamed bao bun.
This was similar to bao buns I have had elsewhere. A crispy piece of chicken, the freshness of the salad constructing well with the kimchi. Really tasty bun.
I have since found out that Momotoko has now closed down, so if I ever get back to Helsinki, I won’t be able to taste these dishes again.
Another Spanish inspired rice dish
I made and cooked a paella, or a Spanish inspired rice dish.
I diced an onion, some red pepper, and some chestnut mushrooms. I also cut up some green beans.
In a hot large frying pan, I put some olive oil and I cooked off some smoked pancetta. I then added the diced onion, pepper, and mushroom. I also added the green beans.
When this was softened, I added 200g of paella rice. To this I added some paella seasoning, paella seasoning, Carmencita Paellero Paella Spice Mix.
This is according to the description the number one selling spice mix in Spain.
I ensured that the rice was coated added some chicken stock and water. Stirred once and left it to cook.
I served it with some prawns and squid.
Round Doughnuts
I do quite like, what I suspect we would call posh doughnuts, but don’t always like paying the high prices we sometimes see.
Back in February I was on a trip to Helsinki in Finland for a few days for work. I was staying at the Scandic Hotel Simonkenttä in the heart of the city. The Kamppi shopping centre was next to the hotel. Whilst I was at the hotel I popped out, with an idea to get some snacks from the supermarket, but as I passed Round Bakery, I saw their donuts were 50% off. They looked very nice, so I bought two of those. I got a chocolate one, and a maple and coconut donut.
These were excellent doughnuts, despite being reduced they were still nice and fresh. I liked the decorations which added to the doughnut. What I didn’t find out until now was that all their doughnuts are vegan.
Korean Pork Donburi and a Chicken Bao Bun
Back in February I was on a trip to Helsinki in Finland for a few days for work. I was staying at the Scandic Hotel Simonkenttä in the heart of the city.
For a quick good value meal I went to Momotoko in the Kamppi shopping centre, it was close to the hotel, and it was nice food that was reasonably priced. Part of me wanted to have some authentic Finnish food whilst I was in Finland, but I was on a budget, and I quite like Korean style food.
You order at the counter and then they bring the food to your table. There were quite a few choices, so I went with the Korean Pork Donburi. This was rice with Korean style sauce and deep fired tofu. Accompanied by marinated egg, shiitake mushrooms, edamame beans, Momotoko-kimchi, sesame seeds and spring onion.
I really liked the tender pork in this dish. The freshness of the edamame beans was a good contrast to the deep spicy pork and flavoured mushrooms. The pork was tender, and I liked the addition of the egg.
I also had a Kimchi Fried Chicken Bao, which was chicken fillet, salad leaf, fresh cucumber, kimchi, momo-mayo and spring onion in a steamed bao bun.
This was similar to bao buns I have had elsewhere. A crispy piece of chicken, the freshness of the salad constructing well with the kimchi. Really tasty bun.
I have since found out that Momotoko has now closed down, so if I ever get back to Helsinki, I won’t be able to taste these dishes again.
Bunsik is coming to Bristol
Cabot Circus is set to gain a new restaurant called Bunsik, which specializes in Korean street food and corn dogs.
The menu online looks interesting and the prices at the Manchester branch looks like good value for money as well.
No date when it will be open, but when I was at Cabot Circus at the weekend, I saw that the outside was all done up.
I think I will try and get there when it does opens.
Fish and Chips at the Inn
Having just had an excellent tour of the Thatchers cider press and a fair number of tastings, we decided that we would get some lunch from the Thatchers owned Railway Inn. The Railway Inn is owned by the Thatchers cider company who are also based in the village of Sandford, which is on the A368 between Weston and Churchill.
I went for the (small) fish and chips from the bar menu. This was fish fried crisp in a cider batter, with chips, mashed peas and tartare sauce.
This was a lovely plate of fish and chips. The batter was nice and crisp; I loved the chips which were perfect. Overall, a tasty plate of food.