January 2014 – Pheebz Eatz

CELEBRATE! KERB at the Gherkin is back!

Once upon the time, Kerb market started introducing really great street food to London. Londoners, all too accustomed to cardboard pre-packaged sandwiches, were very excited by this sudden flavour explosion across the capital. Kerb became really popular and started sending traders to the Gherkin, allowing all the City workers to be well fed too.

But one day, something terrible happened. The City of London decided that it was far too pretentious and sterile to allow a lively, delicious and buzzing street food scene to thrive. It banned Kerb from cluttering up its tightly controlled urban environment.

However, people of the City were very sad. They were hungry. And they were angry. Even worse, they were hangry. Their Thursday al fresco lunches were replaced with bland ‘al descos’. Perpetual gloom settled over the City and it rained every day (oh wait, that might just be England).

Talks between Kerb and the City of London continued, and the City had to grudgingly admit that a lot of people missed street food. So several negotiations and dinosaurs later, and after the slaying of a few metaphorical dragons, Kerb triumphed in the Battle of the Bland, and glorious grub once again glimmered at the Gherkin.

The Londoners rejoiced and not even the perpetual rain could dampen their enthusiasm or their appetites.

The End.

In other news, I tried a Bacon Candy Mother Flipper burger (bacon fried in maple syrup, American cheese) and it was awesome.

Borough Market: The pride of Scottish food and drink

Venison steak with haggis and turnip purée

Last Friday, I was lucky enough to be invited for ‘a wee dram and a taste of Scotland’s finest fayre’ at ‘The Shindig’ in the newly renovated Borough Market Hall. Being a massive foodie, I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate Burns Night – albeit a day early!

I was really excited because Macsween haggis were in attendance. I’m a huge fan, having sampled an amazing fusion menu using their produce at The Quilon last year (keep an eye on the blog for some great haggis recipes by Jo Macsween, including haggis babotie).

Macsween is a third generation family company based in Edinburgh. Jo and James Macsween are really creative in their approach – not only producing traditional haggis, but also vegetarian haggis (with black kidney beans, lentils, and vegetables) and black pudding. All of these are available in their original forms but also in 60-second microwaveable versions, which are just perfect for snacks! Their haggis is unusual in that it only uses the lung of the lamb, as opposed to the liver. I was initially reticent about losing my ‘haggis virginity’ but found the flavour to be rich and rewarding, and the fact that it contained offal was not noticeable at all. So good are Macsween haggises that they won THREE gold stars at the Great Taste Awards 2013.

At the mini-market, they were dishing out delicious samples of their haggis with some turnip purée. And then there was a genius collaboration with The Wild Game Co. – rare venison steak topped with haggis and the turnip purée. Look at this beauty:

I really highly recommend The Wild Game Co. as their beef burger canapés were fantastic. Really, really delicious meat – succulent and perfectly cooked.

Walking round the market, we came across some chillies and some strawberries…

Sound like an odd combination? Well, I can assure you that these go perfectly together and that Simply Add Chilli have really come up with a triumphant chilli jam. I wanted to apply it to some Camembert, atop some oatcakes from Perthshire Oatcakes who were also in attendance.

Of course, a party needs some booze! There was some fantastic ale from the Windswept Brewing Co. My partner in sampling was particularly impressed by the Tornado – a 6.4% single hop citra IPA.

And no party would be complete without some music:

This wee showcase demonstrated that Scotland has some top quality produce to offer. To be honest, I’m planning a summer trip there already! Thanks to Macsween and R and R for the invite!

PS: here’s a bonus giggle for you. Whilst reading up on haggis for this blog post, I found the following gem quoted in a BBC article: “A 2003 survey suggested that a third of US visitors to Scotland believed the haggis was an animal. Nearly a quarter thought they could catch one.”

Review: A Gin Journey by Shake, Rattle and Stir, London

Gin lovers, listen up! Gin haters, listen up too! Embarking on Gin Journey will change your relationship with gin forever. By the end of your voyage, you will have found a huge amount of love for it, and maybe even be craving some more…

What is a Gin Journey? I hear you ask. Doesn’t this sound like a rather messy alcoholic accident waiting to happen?

Well, I can guarantee you that there’s no mess unless you have a drinking problem like myself (I repeatedly miss my mouth – my hand-eye coordination is a lifelong work in progress). However, a fair amount of alcohol will be consumed – purely in the name of education.

OK, I lied – there is some education and a whole lot of fun.

Gin Journeys are the brainchild of Leon Dalloway, founder of Shake Rattle and Stir. His website describes him as ‘originally from Leicester, corrupted in Manchester and inspired in London’ – and Gin Journeys in the capital are a seriously good inspiration indeed.

Starting off in the City of London Distillery, our group gathers around a table where candles illuminate gin samples laid out next to glass beer mugs of a milky brown cocktail, topped with a beautiful white foam.

This is Leon’s signature cocktail, the award-winning ‘Hans Off My Daughter’ – a fantastic concoction of Sloane’s gin, mulled stout, chestnut liqueur, chocolate liqueur, bitters, and egg white, dusted with cocoa. The name is a pun based on the story of Hans Sloane, founder of the British Museum and name donor to Sloane Square, whose work in botany introduced some of the main flavourings of gin to the UK. Apparently poor old Hans had a daughter who was a bit of a character and married a suitor he deemed very unsuitable indeed.

Just one sip of this cocktail will explain exactly why it won Leon a trip to Amsterdam, although sadly he wasn’t presented with any wayward daughters as a prize.

This heavenly beverage was just the beginning of our evening. A Gin Journey involves five bars, five cocktails and five gin samples, whilst being chauffeured around in a minibus. At just £50 a head, it is ridiculously good value, especially when you consider that the evening consists of far more than tantalising the taste-buds: a Gin Journey is an educational tour. Leon is a great public speaker, talking us through the history of gin and its distilling process, engaging us with more titbits of information at every stop. History has never been so interesting.

As to exactly where you’ll be heading and what you’ll be drinking, I wouldn’t want to spoil it for you. (Also, my dutiful note-taking and scholastic approach dramatically declined after the second cocktail.) However, expect to visit beautiful, quirky and atmospheric bars in Chinatown, Tower Bridge and Shoreditch, and to encounter a Bramble and a Negroni along the way.

If you’re looking for a fun night out that’s a bit different – educationally alcoholic or alcoholically educational – Gin Journeys are for you. I had a fantastic time and, by the end of the evening, all I could shout was: Chin Chin, more gin!

To find out more, visit Shake, Rattle and Stir.

Review: Dozo, Old Compton Street, Soho

Originally published under my alias Queen Spatula on Tryum.com. Check out the site for more great foodie recommendations.

If, given the Christmas splurge, you’re hardly feeling flush for cash this January, it can be highly inconvenient to find yourself in central London and in desperate need of lunch. Such a situation can also ruin any new year resolutions you’ve made on healthy eating.

Let’s consider the following dilemma. You only have £6.90 to spend on lunch. You could get a burrito and screw the health repercussions. Or you could get a take-out salad and a juice. You may feel saintly but your stomach will likely be despondent within a half an hour, and the chances are that some pre-packed lettuce really didn’t excite your taste-buds.

Or how about option three: you could go to Dozo, get a delicious Japanese set lunch and feel absolutely amazing. This comes with the added bonus of getting to smugly gloat at any passer-bys with supermarket sandwiches.

Wedged next to Soho’s famous G-A-Y club, Dozo has a modest store front but a surprisingly authentic interior. It’s beautifully decorated – a large koi (carp) adorns the walls and low-set tables with a dropped floor replicate dining arrangements common in Japan. It’s a little dim inside but it’s an oasis of calm in one of London’s busiest districts.

Of course, you can’t see its exquisite décor from the outside. What is really going to draw you in is the following sign:

A lunch set for £6.90? Really?

Some scepticism is perfectly understandable. That is until you’re presented with a beef teriyaki bento with perfectly cooked rice, two sets of pickles, a side salad and some miso soup. The teriyaki sauce is fantastic – full of great umami flavour and steering on the right side of sweet – and the salad is fresh with a great tangy dressing. What’s more, if you have penchant for drinking the sauce – and who would blame you when it tastes this good – the waiting staff will take pity on you and provide you with a spoon 😉

There’s a whole lot more than teriyaki dishes in the 12 – 3pm offer: crunch on some prawn and vegetable tempura, tuck into tonkatsu (deep-fried breaded pork cutlet), slurp through some ramen or dine on some sushi. Again – any of these for £6.90.

So my sound advice to you is… go and strand yourself in central London immediately and wait for lunchtime. Dozo will leave you with a happy and healthy body and wallet.

Website: http://www.dozosushi.co.uk/soho/
Where: 32 Old Compton Street, Soho, W1D 4TP
When: 12 – 3pm weekday lunch, also open for dinner. Details here.

Review: Hurwundeki, Korean café, Bethnal Green

This is the era of postmodernism. Gone are the days of restrictive categories and set definitions. Why should a café just serve food? And why shouldn’t a hair salon serve a decent lunch?

Welcome to Hurwundeki – a place that can take care of both your hunger and your haircut needs. Located in the railway bridge arches next to Cambridge Heath station, you might be forgiven for thinking they sold tyres rather than Korean cuisine. Even more baffling, despite the industrial store front – blue corrugated metal – the yard is filled with ancient play park toys and eclectic chairs.

The inside, however, exudes a kind of shabby cuteness. Chandeliers dangle from the brick arches above tightly packed tables. There’s a simple open kitchen, which allows you to spy on large tubs of kimchi and other dishes being freshly prepared.

Peeking into the open kitchen... — Peeking into the open kitchen…

A cursory glance at the menu will tell you that there’s more than classic Korean fare on offer – udon noodles make an appearance and bulgogi beef is to be found holidaying on top of bread! Hurwundeki are proud to have just launched a fusion lunch menu, which includes Korean salads and Koran curries on sourdough bread (a new kind of open sandwich perhaps?). There are both traditional and modern Korean dishes with some surprises thrown into the mix.

I went straight for the classic – the beef bibimbap (£6.50) served with an egg yolk on top. I love this dish in that it is fresh and filling. Hurwundeki’s version did not disappoint and, mixed with the chilli sauce, it was the perfect pick-me-up weekend lunch that I was hoping for.

My lunch partner took a chicken stir-fry on rice – simple but tasty – and we shared some chicken dumplings or mandu (£4.50) on the side.

We were both feeling a little sleepy on a Saturday afternoon but again Hurwundeki had us covered: we happily caffeinated ourselves with a latte and a mocha. For those fancying something a little stronger, you can bring your own wine (or maybe even some soju if you want to keep things Korean).

Finally, if you feel you ought to smarten yourself up, step through the arch and get yourself a haircut in a room decorated with eclectic old objects, looking more like a period set piece than a hair salon.

Hurwundeki – Reasonably priced traditional and fusion Korean dishes with a whole load of quirky charm thrown in.

Website: www.facebook.com/Hurwundeki
Where: 98-299 Railway Arches, Cambridge Heath Road, London, E2 9HA
When: Mon – Fri 8am – 10pm, Sat 9am – 10pm, closed on Sundays.

Review: House of Ho, Soho – Vietnamese by Bobby Chinn

When writing a review, or indeed anything at all, Wikipedia is an invaluable source of information. However, I’m a little perplexed by the Wikipedia page for TV chef Bobby Chinn, who is the man behind trendy Soho opening, House of Ho. The page [last accessed: January 11th, 2014] is sparse on information and opens with the golden line: “Bobby Chinn, born 3 April 1964 in Auckland, New Zealand, is a restaurateur and a curt and at times a disrespectful television host in Hanoi, Vietnam of mixed Chinese American and Egyptian heritage.”

Unflattering description or no, the arrival of Chinn’s House of Ho has been causing quite a buzz on the food scene in London. Chinn already has successful restaurants in Hanoi and Saigon, and expectations were high. All I can say is that, if the description of him is accurate, I pray he doesn’t read this review: despite being really, really excited, I left House of Ho extremely underwhelmed.

Located on Old Compton Street, House of Ho is sleek, modern and beautifully decorated. Simple, sharply cut wooden tables loom through the dimly lit restaurant. The layout is particularly interesting with the space divided into corridors and alcoves for those wanting to dine in a more intimate setting.

Service was warm and friendly. One of the waitresses either did not have enough English or enough knowledge to describe items on the menu, but such hiccups are to be expected in the soft opening.

We settled ourselves down and contemplated the menu, which is divided into ‘Light and raw’, ‘Hot and grilled’, ‘Ho’s dishes’ (the house specialities), ‘Sides’ and ‘Desserts’.

It is only when we started tucking into the dishes that disappointment began to sink in. We first tucked into Seafood Ceviche with Mangosteen Coconut Dressing and Truffle Oil (£9). Undeniably, it looked completely stunning. It included a mix of sea bass, squid and shrimp and should have been light and refreshing. However, none of the flavours settled together; it ended up overly tangy and haunting our mouths for an unpleasantly long period afterwards. I far preferred the rendition I recently had at Chotto Matte.

The general theme of the evening, however, was blandness. We worked our way through Pho Cuon Wild Mushroom (£4) (rice noodle rolls), which were completely unmemorable, followed by possibly the most unexciting pork ribs I have ever tried (£6.50). They were tamarind barbecue. Apparently.

Depressingly, my dining partner who is about as keen on food as cats are on swimming, turned to me and said, “If I’m picking up that the food here is unexciting, then there is definitely something wrong.”

Shaking beef - shake it and it vanishes! — Shaking beef – shake it and it vanishes!

Fortunately, there were a few dishes that broke away from this. Like the ‘Shaking Beef’ (£14) which is simply wok-fried beef with soy, but had just enough umami flavour to hook us. However, it was so small that I was afraid that a violent sneeze might vanish it.

Morning Glory - don't you look like this in the morning? — Morning Glory – don’t you look like this in the morning?

The Grilled Chicken Wings with Chilli and Oyster Sauce (£6) were sticky, gooey and really quite tasty, but the stand-out dish was the Morning Glory (£4) – water spinach. Yes, we couldn’t quite believe that our favourite dish was a vegetable side.

The Moulton Marou Chocolate Cake (£6.50) was also really delicious – both rich and intense – although the lemon and coffee sauce on the side jarred horribly.

It’s a shame the service slowed down towards the end of our meal. It took a while to get dessert and ages to get the bill. When it did arrive, we were so very relieved that we went during the soft opening with 50% off. I think I would have been shaking more than the beef if I’d paid full prices.

House of Ho 2/5 – Underwhelming, bland and overpriced. So very disappointing.

Food 2.5/5 – Hit-and-miss flavour-wise.
Value 2/5 – It may be Soho but I am perplexed as to why House of Ho is being marketed as affordable dining. Maybe the average customer has a very small appetite?
Atmosphere 2.5/5 – Loved the décor but the music was intrusive and completely incongruous.
Service 3/5 – Friendly, but a little slow (potentially soft opening issues).

Website: http://www.houseofho.co.uk/
Where: 57-59 Old Compton St, Soho, London W1D 6HP
When: Lunch and dinner, every day

Happy New Year & Festive Food (incl. Paul A Young + Konditor & Cook)

Happy New Year! Hope that you’ve all had a lovely time and – most importantly – that you’ve all eaten lots of delicious food!

Food is the most important aspect of family life in my household and it takes on extra importance at Christmas. Our meal isn’t the traditional turkey: my parents did make turkey one year and I was mildly (read: very) disappointed, not because they’d cooked it badly, but because turkey just isn’t beef. And if you read this blog regularly, you’ll know how much I love beef.

So our Christmas dinner, cooked by Dad, looked like this:

That’s a whole lot of beef, seven vegetables, Yorkshire pudding and lashings of gravy and horseradish sauce. Incidentally, the dinner prompted a discussion about some really great home-made horseradish that we’d had recently… and that would be from Beard to Tail. Worth ordering).

On boxing day, our tradition is to have roast ham. With a sugar, mustard coating with cloves. And parsley sauce. All prepared by Mum (yes, my parents take turns at cooking if they aren’t doing a kitchen double act).

I love my parents’ cooking but there’s one thing they don’t do – dessert. But this is no problem at all – not when there are so many tasty sweet treats to be had. I was lucky enough to win some Konditor and Cook goodies from The Little Loaf, a beautiful baking blog where every recipe looks so edible I want to gnaw the screen (seriously, you should check it out). You may know I’m a big fan of Konditor and Cook’s brownies so I was thrilled to try their mince pies, which had gorgeously firm pastry and a rich filling.

Big loves goes to their cinnamon stars. Imagine eating a hot cross bun in a soft biscuit format. That’s what their cinnamon stars are like. They’re probably all off the shelves by now, but if not, go grab yourself a packet and try to stop yourself from eating them all at once.

This Christmas, I was also lucky enough to be given some Paul A Young chocolates. I have been wanting to try these for ages so discovering the box sent me jumping around the room with excitement.

Paul A Young is particularly famous for his salted caramel chocolates and I can confirm that yes, they are very good. You want to eat them now. Oh yes you do.

I also very enjoyed this cinnamon chocolate, which was beautifully smooth (possibly the orange and cinnamon dark muscovado caramel and gold).

But my heart fell for the Marmite truffle. You read that right – Marmite. I was actually sceptical about the flavour combination because Marmite is not something I’ve ever wanted to put with chocolate. However, Mr. Young’s recipe dispelled all doubts – the Marmite’s tangyness blended seamlessly with the dark chocolate. So addictively good. I guess you either love it or you hate it 😉

Marmite truffle - love it or hate it — Marmite truffle – love it or hate it

That wasn’t the end of my food-related Christmas presents. My mother bought me a fantastic, top-notch casserole dish from Le Creuset. So far, I’ve only made sweet potato and red pepper soup in it but I’m hoping to branch out and bring you some more recipes soon.