Posts

Posted on

Had my usual…

When I get to Wagamama, part of me says, try something new, another part of me says, I like the yasai yaki soba, which is mushrooms,  soba noodles cooked with egg, peppers, beansprouts, onion, pickled ginger, crispy fried onions and sesame seeds.  I decided I would have this and some mushroom bao, another dish I regularly order. 

I don’t always order this, when I was visiting a branch of Wagamama at Cabot Circus recently, I had Honey Fried Chicken and Chicken Pho. Whilst in Nottingham though I went with the yasai yaki soba I had different bao.

This time we were back in London and visiting the Wagamama branch at Covent Garden. We have been there before and had an issue with the delay in getting the gluten free dish we had ordered to the table before everyone else finished their food. Part of that was that the server took our main order, but a manager has to take the gluten free order for the table. 

We were quite early in the evening, there was no queue, and we were shown to our table, one aspect of Wagamama which is useful in central London, and to be honest elsewhere as well, is that not only do you not need to book, but you can’t book anyhow. So, just turn up and see if a table is available. When we came to order, we asked for the manager straight away, so we could order everything together.

I really don’t mind that Wagamama bring out the dishes when they’re ready, but we did have to wait nearly an hour for our food. Luckily this time all our food arrived within a reasonable timeframe.

I enjoyed my yasai yaki soba, though I always think it could do with more mushrooms. If I order the chicken yak soba, I get a fair amount of chicken, with the mushroom version, they appear to be quite stingy with the mushrooms.

This was rather tasty, I like the contrasting textures and flavours in this dish.

I also enjoyed the mushroom bao buns. The crispy aubergine is a nice touch which gives the dish a contrast of soft fluffy bao bun, the crunch of the crispy aubergine, and the delicate texture of the mushrooms.

We all enjoyed our food and we settled the bill using the app. As we left there was now a queue which was out of the building and down the street. 

Posted on

Beef Carpaccio at 3 Brasseurs

Dunkirk

Last summer I was on a driving holiday to Europe. On the way back we stopped at Dunkerque for an overnight stay before our ferry and final drive home the following day.

The 3 Brasseurs restaurant was close to the hotel and had an extensive menu. I wasn’t that hungry and wanted something different so I went with the  beef carpaccio, which was dressed with pesto oil, capers, parmesan shavings, lemon, tomatoes, mozzarella, and rocket.

This was a very pretty plate of food. The beef was delicious, thinly sliced, and very fresh. I really enjoyed this dish.

Service was smooth and friendly and we had a lovely meal.

Posted on

Tonkutsu Pork Ramen

Tram in Helsinki

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.

Tonkutsu Pork Ramen

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.

Posted on

Isle of Wight Heirloom Tomatoes

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. 

tomato and burrata salad

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.

Posted on

Pipp & Co Doughnuts

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.

Posted on

Teriyaki Chicken Donburi

Helsinki

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.

chicken donburi

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.

Posted on

Another Spanish inspired rice dish

I made and cooked a paella, or a Spanish inspired rice dish.

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.

Posted on

Round Doughnuts

Round Bakery

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.

Doughnuts

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.

Posted on

Korean Pork Donburi and a Chicken Bao Bun

Helsinki in the snow

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.

Scandic Hotel Simonkenttä

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. 

Korean Pork Donburi

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.

Chicken 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.