Choccywoccydoodah are back exclusively on the Good Food channel, weeknights at 9pm from Monday 2nd Julyfor
a new series of chocolate mischief and mayhem with even more glitz,
glamour, celebrities and of course spectacular cake designs. The Choccywoccydoodah team has recorded a single
called ‘Say it with Cake’ featuring the Brighton and Hove gay male choir
as well as the odd celebrity including David Hasslehoff, Brian May,
Tara Palmer Tomkinson, and the cast of the West End musical, Wicked!
This
third series of the hugely popular observational documentary sees
business booming as the orders for Choccywoccydoodah’s inspiring and
outlandish cakes continue to roll in. The pressure is on as the team has
to create a stag’s head inspired cake to be auctioned at a showbiz
charity fundraiser, attended by A-listers including Ronnie Wood and
Manolo Blahnik. The cameras will also be rolling to showcase the team’s
unconventional lives as they attend a whirl of society events and
glamorous parties, and meet the great and the good, from royal
dignitaries to celebrities, delivering cakes and chocolate treats along
the way.
Choccywoccydoodah is new and exclusive to Good Food weeknights at 9pm from Monday 2nd July (Sky / HD 247, Virgin 260)
If you want a quick fix on your weekly or monthly burger cravings, then you should definitely drop by MEATmarket (MM) in Covent Garden. Being the sister of MEATliquor, you can expect quality of the burgers at MM. Only MM is faster (order, sit and eat) and with a smaller menu, you don't actually need to spare 10 minutes deciding. MM is located above The Jubilee Market in the heart of Covent Garden (designated entrance on Tavistock Street), overlooking many installs occupied by tourists. Inside, you will find long benches with stools, with an open kitchen. The menu is small but it is enough for a pseudo fast food joint. It offers variation of beef patties burgers, dogs, sides and shakes.
We ordered a Dead Hippie (2 beef patties, lettuce, cheese, pickles, minced white onion and dead hippie sauce) // Philly Cheesesteak (shaved rump steak, cheese, peppers and onions) // Poppaz (Jalapenos and cheese with ranch dressing) and bottomless soda.
The Dead Hippie is similar to a Big Mac, but with their special Dead Hippie sauce, it makes sure that the burger stays juicy while you indulge it. The beef patties have been marinated well and deserve to be the stars of the burgers. The Philly Cheesesteak is very filling, though it seems to be in normal size; once you bite into it, your mouth is filled with cheese, steak and peppers all well balanced together.
I actually wanted to order the Corn Puppies (mini corn dogs), but they have been too popular that MM has actually ran out of them! However, the crispy Poppaz were not disappointing either. Even though personally I am not a big fan of cheese, but the flavour of the Jalapenos managed to come through the cheese.
All in all, MM is the place to go to for burgers. However, it does come as a little bit more expensive than other burger joints (Byron, McDonalds etc).
Over the weekend, we had a craving for Korean cuisine. Our usual "go-to" restaurants would be Koba, Arang or Arirang, but all of those would be full without reservation on a Saturday evening. After a long walk (working our appetites), we went to Asadal, located next to Holborn tube station.
I had heard good reviews from my native Korean friends and they said that it is really good and authentic.
The restaurant is located at the basement, and once you are downstairs, you will see a spacious dining area with partitions dividing in between various tables.
The menu is quite comprehensive with a few odd Japanese-Korean fusion food options as well. We ordered our favourite Yuk Hwae - Raw beef slices with pears and egg yolk; Fried sliced fish cakes and rice cakes in a spicy sauce; Spicy tofu and seafood and egg casserole and Sashimi salad with rice.
All in all, the food was average, our favourite was the Tofu casserole - very hearty and spicy, packed with flavours. Asadal has not won us over from our favourite Korean restaurants in London, but it was a new pleasant try.
Despite the traffic due to the Jubilee pageant, I managed to visit the Street Food Festival at Southbank Centre over the long weekend. I didn't stay for long, because of the weather (non stop rain) which completely took the fun away of this festival.
There were many stalls selling and promoting their own various products and range of food, however, maybe due to the weather (stalls were outdoors), there were less stalls than I had anticipated. I really do hope it is down to the weather. It would have been a good food festival offering a wide range of food.
There is nothing that says "Summer is here" more than a good homemade Eton Mess.
I wanted to do a twist from the traditional Strawberry flavoured one, don't get me wrong, I love strawberries, but it is 'boring' and it does not really correspond with my personal excitement of the arrival of Summer hence Mango, it is exotic and definitely screams Summer.
To make the Eton Mess, you can either make your own Meringues, or buy them at supermarkets. I wanted to make everything from scratch, so I made the Meringues the day before.
Meringues 3 large egg whites (best at room temperature for a couple of hours - aged) 175g caster sugar
Preheat oven to 150°C. Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks, then gradually add the sugar, continue to whisk until all the sugar is incorporated. Spoon the mixture into 6 meringues on a lined baking sheet or tray, then place in the centre of the oven, turn down the heat to 140°C. Bake for 1 hour After an hour, turn off the oven, and leave the meringue sitting in the oven until it is cool or preferably over night.
Prepare the mangoes first. Place 1 mango into the juicer and pulse until it resembles a puree liquid form; Skin and dice up the other mango and place them in a bowl and refridgerate; Whisk the double cream in a large bowl until it thickens, then mix in the greek yogurt;
Assembling: Break the meringues into chunks, place them at the bottom of your serving bowl, then spoon the cream mixture, spread some mango puree on top - repeat twice. Then top with the diced mangoes and meringue crumbs. Finish with swirls of mango puree around the bowl.
Was craving for a good Japanese simple lunch in Angel one weekend, and came across Tenshi. A tiny and cosy restaurant located on Upper Street, serving simple and traditional Japanese food. As you all know, there are many restaurants and cafes on Upper Street, with various and different cuisine, however, I think Tenshi is the only Japanese restaurant at the moment.
It is a small restaurant, with limited seatings, however, do not be put off by it. Sometimes, what I find in Japanese restaurants is, the smaller the restaurant is, the better their food is.
Given a busy Saturday lunch hours, I unfortunately was given a seat next to the entrance. We were quickly given the menus but no drinks were ordered. The menu is pretty comprehensive, offering the most popular Japanese food - Sushi, Donburi, Tempura, Katsu, Noodles - pretty standard.
We ordered the Takoyaki (Octopus balls); 2 pieces of Sea Bream Nigiri and Hamachi (Yellow Tail); Chicken Teriyaki Bento and Pork Katsu Bento.
If you want a no fuss Japanese meal around Angel and Islington area, visit Tenshi, as it offers good and traditional Japanese food for a very decent price.
There is always something comforting about dumplings,
in particular homemade ones. I have always made my dumplings with shop bought
dumpling pastry, and though they are easy and convenient, I felt that it is
missing something in taste and texture. Thus, this time, I have decided to make
everything from scratch.
Homemade dumpling pastry is simple, but a word of
warning – it is time consuming! So make sure you have a couple of hours to
spare and preferably a chair or stool to sit while working on the kitchen
table.
This recipe makes 48 dumplings
Dumpling pastry:
500g
Plain white flour or all purpose flour
250g
Cold water
1)
Sift the flour into a bowl, and make a well in the middle
2)
Pour in the cold water into the flour gradually, while mixing and stirring with
a wooden spoon, to form a dough
*You may or may not need extra water, please
judge by the texture of the dough*
3)
Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, just to bring the mixture all together and
to loosen it a bit
4)
Leave it to rest for around 1 hour in the bowl
5)
Divide the dough into quarters (working with smaller portion of dough is
easier)
6)
Roll each quarter into a log shape, then cut into chunks (approx. 2-3cm wide)
7) Using
your palm, flatten each piece into a disc; Take the rolling pin, and roll out
to a circle, about the size of your palm
8)
Make sure your work surface is dusted with flour to avoid the pastry from
sticking to it
Now
for the filling; the most common meat we use is minced pork. I marinated the
minced pork (500g) with 3 tbsp of soy sauce, 1 tsp salt, 3 tsp rice wine and 1 tbsp of sesame oil. Then to the meat, I
added diced black fungus (黑木耳) (alternatively you can add Chinese mushrooms冬菇), Spring Onions; for
a bit of spice, I added some pickled vegetables (榨菜). Give everything a good mix,
just to make sure they all stick to the meat. If the vegetables are not
sticking to the meat, add a little cold water just to give it a help.
To
make the dumplings:
1)
Place a sheet of the pastry onto your palm
2)
Take about 1 ½ tsp of the meat mixture and put it in the middle of the pastry
3)
Wrap the dumpling, starting from the centre, working to the sides, press gently
with fingers to make sure the sides are sealed (otherwise the meat will pop out when you cook them later)
4)
Dust them with flour
5)
Repeat until everything is used up
To
cook the dumplings:
1)
Carefully place the dumplings into boiling water
2)
Cook them until they float on the water
*You
should see the dumpling pastry becoming translucent*
Best served
with vinegar (black not white) and some chilli oil; Alternatively you can pan fry them.
Earlier this month, I wrote of my dining experience at The Jugged Hare on Chiswell Street in the City(review here), and I decided to give it a try again.
Once again, both the restaurant and the bar areas were completely jam packed. And even after 10pm, there were still incoming diners (they had the option of post-theatre menu).
We sat on the side of the restaurant by the window, overlooking the open kitchen. A lovely waiter came to greet us and brought us a bottle of sparkling water following as we had requested. He introduced the specials to us - pie and soup of the day, daily specials on the rotisserie. The daily specials were actually written on the blackboard, but it was not visible to us from where we were sitting.
We ordered the Black pudding croquettes with Guinness sauce to share; as for starters, we ordered the Breaded Skate Knobs with Tartare sauce and Bath chaps with Langoustine.
The Black pudding croquettes were really appetising, and it is certainly a change of how black pudding is usually cooked. The Breaded Skate knobs were well executed, the fish was meaty and batter was cripsy but not overly oily, the tartare sauce was complimentary. The Bath chaps - as expected quite fatty, made from pig's cheek or jaw, but it was perfectly balanced along with its golden thin crispy texture; the Langoustine was succulent and its fresh taste helps to wash away some of the chaps' fat.
Both starters were top notch, and I would be more than happy to have them as main; though I did find that the size of the starters were rather generous, in fact, we were pretty full after devouring those tasty starters.
As for main dishes, we had Monkfish tails with cockles and caviar butter and a 350g Rib-eye on the bone steak, accompanied with chips and gravy. We also ordered a green salad and Parsnip and garlic gratin as sides.
The Monkfish tail was cooked on the bone so that it remained succulent and sweet. Monkfish is a very meaty fish, some even say it is a cheaper version of lobster. The caviar butter was not as buttery or creamy as I had expected, but the dish needed a sauce. Apart from a few bites of sand while eating the cockles, all in all, it was all right, but I found the dish to be too fishy, from the Monkfish, cockles and the caviar. It sort of needed a kick from something or another texture to complete the dish. As for the steak, it was just a steak with chips. The highlight of the dish was probably the gravy, perfect to dunk your chips in. However, as for the steak itself, it was average, but of course this is no steakhouse. The Parsnip and garlic gratin was a yummy sidedish, both parsnips and garlic were cooked right through, but yet still have a slight crunch. Usually when we order a green salad as a side, we would expect it as a much healthier option (in comparison to chips or mac and cheese), but there were just far too much salt in this green salad. I could literally taste the coarse salt when I bit into the crunchy vegetables. It was just too salty for anyone's taste.
Desserts were Chocolate mint pot and Bread and Butter pudding with vanilla ice cream. The Chocolate mint pot was really rich with a thin layer of mint at the bottom of the pot. The Bread and Butter pudding was much bigger than I thought! Made with layers of pain au chocolats (which is more exciting than plain old croissants!), custard and currants, along with butterscotch sauce; along with the homemade Vanilla ice cream, the dish was complete.
I have always been a big fan of breads, all sorts of bread (literally) and as a bread lover, I am as passionate as one could be when learning to make breads. Thus, I signed up to the one day Bread making class at Leiths School of Food and Wine to master the basics of bread making.
A few tips before the class: - bring an apron (if you do forget, they can provide you one in class) - bring a notebook and a pen (trust me, you will need to remember the helpful tips)
Upon arrival, you will be seated in the dining room where coffee, tea, and fresh baked pastries are served as breakfast. This is the 'waiting room'; you will then be given a booklet specifically designed for your course (bread making in my case). Inside the booklet, you will see the schedule for the day, what sorts of bread will be demonstrated and baked, and most importantly, recipes (which you will be following later on).
After everyone in the class has arrived, we were led to the demonstration room. I felt like a student again (and a geek), front-row seat, making sure I jotted down all the notes and tips I gathered from the demonstration.First of all, we were introduced to fresh yeast (my first encounter) and the standard process of bread making (mixing, kneading, proving, knocking back and proving again). The demonstration includes making the doughs for an enriched white loaf, Italian bread (foccacia) and how to make your own starter (for sourdoughs for example).
After the learning and notes taking session, we went to the kitchen, where hands-on baking began.
The kitchen area
First, we had to make the dough for the Enriched White bread. The enriched part is from the butter, egg and milk that we added. Usually, you can make a white bread with just flour, yeast, water and salt. This enriched flavour bring a slight sweetness to the bread, and a yellowy colour as well. Once the dough is done, we had to place them by the ovens to let them prove. Meanwhile, we got on with the dough for the Foccacia - a bit wetter than the white bread dough. Knead, knead, knead and let it prove. Third dough - we made a Soda bread dough with fruits and nuts, which does not need to be proved (as we used bicarbonate soda as an active agent instead of yeast). We were given a lot of freedom in terms of how to shape our breads. I stuck with the classics, and shaped my Fruit Soda Bread as 4 round rolls. As for my white breads, a small loaf and a plait.
My white breads before and after second proving
Our breads were happily baking in the ovens, while we had our simple yet warming lunch. One of our bread chefs made us a Carrot and Coriander soupand of course breads go best with soup! We ate the breads which had previously been demonstrated to us in the morning. As soon as we tried the breads, we all thought "if only our breads turn out to be this good!"
After lunch, we had to glaze our white breads which have had their second proving. We were given poppy and seasame seeds to decorate our white breads. Then all we had to do was to wait for them to be baked.
The course ended around 2.30pm. Because with breads, it is very time consuming with a lot of waiting around, most of the hands-on baking were done in the morning.
I left the school with some much joy and satisfaction that I felt like I was a little kid who had just made her first art sketch. Oh, and of course with many freshly baked loaves of bread.
I would highly recommend anyone who is or would be interested in learning to make your own bread. Freshly homemade breads are the best, and I can guarantee that you will not be shopping for bread at your bakery shops for a long while!
This is also a great activity for your weekends, afterall, baking is very therapeutic and brings great satisfaction. What is the best thing to do but baking when the weather is just being so unpredictable?
