Archives for category: Food & Drink

How did Rick Stein managed to put his autograph on a biscuit?

I am pretty sure they are factory made. I know it is probably done by press but how could he get the line so sharp, crisp and deep into each biscuit? How could he stop the dough from getting stuck on the fine mould?

I must admit I only bought the biscuits because of Rick Stein’s smilely face on the box. It reminded me of his cookery programmes on TV about fresh and local produce and made me forget that I actually have been to his restaurant in Padstow and was disappointed by the over-priced but averagely tasted seafood. (I am so weak!)

How did the biscuit taste? I actually quite like it. I have to ration it to one piece at a time though as it contains 24% of fat.

If you have any idea what he might have done to put the autograph on the biscuits, please leave me a comment to let me know! Cheers! Continue reading >>

Tags autograph, cheddar cheese, Davidstow, oat biscuits, Plaistow, review, Rick Stein, savoury

Categories Food & Drink, my good book

Cheapest (and best value) Michelin starred restaurant in the World?

By winkypedia

February 26, 2011 //

Yauatcha, Kai and Hakkasan are the three Chinese restaurants which currently hold 1 Michelin star in London. They are in my good book, however, they are no way as charming (and cheap!) as One Dim Sum 一點心- a tiny little dim sum restaurant in Hong Kong, which recently received a Michelin star in Hong Kong & Macau’s Michelin guide.

Photo above shows the shop front of One Dim Sum- The bright red Michelin sticker is dwarfed by laminated signs in Chinese stating the that the toilet is for the use of customers only and that they are recruiting waiters. (!) Possibly the only restaurant in the world where they draw more attention to toilet usage than the Michelin star award. Hmm, it shows an interesting sense of priority.

What truly is astonishing was the value. A meal for 3 people, that left us all more than comfortably full, for HK$160 (£12.60)! That was under £4.20 per head for a meal!!

Proudly on display was also a laminated colour photocopy of an interview with a Japanese magazine about their signature dish- Chinese rice cannelloni 布拉腸, which was prepared the traditional way, ie. by hand pulling with plain cloth. Continue reading to see what food you can eat at this Michelin starred restasuruant >>

Tags best value, cheap, Chinese, dim sum, Hong Kong, Michelin, review, Star

Categories Food & Drink, my good book

Heston Blumenthal’s Lapsang Souchong tea smoked salmon

By winkypedia

February 24, 2011 //

Heston Blumenthal, chef of Fat Duck ( the 3 Michelin starred restaurant and one of the top 3 in the world) and Dinner (his new restaurant which explores ancient British recipes) collaborated with high- end supermarket Waitrose to create a range of food products from condiments to pies. I have already reviewed his coriander and rose salt, Vanilla mayonnaise and steak, ale & kombu pie. Is his latest product Lapsang Souchong tea smoked salmon any good?

The Scottish salmon was actually smoked by both oak and Lapsang Souchong tea, is a black tea originally from the Wuyi region of the Chinese province of Fujian. Upon opening of the pack, there was a strong smoky aroma. Even though it did not smell like tea, it was very pleasant and appetising. According to Heston, the Lapsang Souchong tea leaves are ‘traditionally smoked over pinewood fire Continue reading >>

Tags dinner, Fat Duck, Heston Blumenthal, Lapsong Souchong, oak, review, smoked salmon, tea

Categories Food & Drink, my good book

Nopi – a restaurant for sharing, with Asian and Middle Eastern influence

By winkypedia

February 19, 2011 //

Nopi is the latest restaurant from the group behind the successful Ottolenghi chain of restaurants. Its cuisine is an exciting mix of Asian and Middle Eastern influences and they postively encourage diners to share dishes, making for a fun and informal way of eating a wide selection of dishes. Ideal for the diner who craves variety.

There were originally different menus for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner. But apparently they have decided to keep it simple for now and just serve lunch and dinner. Dishes for lunch and dinner are arranged in 4 simple categories: meat, fish, vegetables and sweet.

All the dishes were beautifully presented, like the rose veal carpaccio, beetroot and kashk (photo above). They were in small portions, similar to that of Spanish tapas or Chinese dim sum, as they were designed to be shared.

We played our favourite game of ‘what tastes Chinese?’

The seared scallops, pickled daikon and green apple (photo above) were a delight, they were seared and served with what we assumed was a variation of XO sauce. Scallops served with a sauce made of dried shellfish and oil. Continue reading about Nopi >>

Tags Asia, London, Middle East, Nopi, Ottolenghi, restaurant reviews, review, SOHO

Categories Food & Drink, my good book

Snake soup and Wild Animal Banquet- Chinese delicacies

By winkypedia

February 12, 2011 //

Yes, we eat snakes. Traditional Chinese medicine books noted that snake is good for us, especially during winter time. It helps you to be stronger against the cold.

There are many ways of eating snake. I remember seeing snakes being taken out from baskets and being butchered alive on the street in Hong Kong when I was little. Their gall bladder was taken out and dipped in a small glass of transparent alcohol. The ~~killer~~ seller then gave it to the onlooker (usually men) who offered the highest price for it. It is believed to be good for manhood. These days, open snake slaughtering is banned as it is considered to be cruel and unhygienic. We usually have snake in the form of soup.

A good snake soup should have lots of snake meat. A lot of restaurants offer snake soup during winter time but the soup tends to have more chicken meat than snake meat. It is kind of cheating as chicken is obviously cheaper! It is better to have it in snake specialist shops, among which Snake King Hip is the best. It is a broth made from 5 different types of snake Continue reading >>

Tags Chinese delicacy, gall bladder, gecko, Hong Kong, review, Snake King Hip, snake soup, soft shelled turtle

Categories Food & Drink, my good book

Geoduck – an underrated shellfish

By winkypedia

February 9, 2011 //

Geoduck is not a duck. It is a salt water clam. In Chinese it is called 象拔蚌- ‘elephant trunk clam’ as it has a long and chunky siphon, which looks just like an elephant trunk. It looks a little ugly but it is yummy! I am surprised Heston Blumenthal, chef of Fat Duck ( 3 Michelin starred restaurant and one of the top 3 restaurants in the world) and Dinner (his new popular venture in Mandarin Oriental, London) have not used them for his quirky Fishy Feast already!

The best way to cook geoducks is to have them steamed with garlic, spring onion and glass noodles. It is tender and the fresh garlic complements very well the natural sweetness of the geoducks. The glass noodles enhance the texture in the mouth.

Alternatively, geoducks can be enjoyed as thinly sliced sashimi. They are naturally sweet. The texture is a little similar to Continue reading about Geoducks >>

Tags Chinese cooking, clam, 象拔蚌, geoduck, Heston Blumenthal, Hong Kong, review, seafood

Categories Food & Drink, my good book

Dinner by Heston Blumenthal- ancient British cuisine with a magical modern touch

By winkypedia

February 2, 2011 //

{Post last updated on 7th June, 2011}
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal is Heston’s first London restaurant. We had our Chinese New Year Eve’s meal there, before any restaurant critics wrote their review. We decided to do so solely based on Heston‘s reputation (as the chef of Fat Duck, the 3 Michelin starred restaurant, one of the top 3 restaurants in the world), and that of the Mandarin Oriental. We then went back twice more to try out the menu and shared our experience with friends!

Meat Fruit (c.13th to 15th century) was my favourite starter as it was fun and playful. We were happy to see the mandarin as in Chinese, it has the same pronunciation as ‘gold’ which is what we like having for Chinese New Year! What looked like a perfect mandarin was actually a chicken liver parfait enclosed in a thin layer of mandarin ‘gel’. The parfait was smooth and it was perfect with the subtle mandarin gel. What you see is not what you eat is also the signature of Fat Duck. Does that mean Dinner is a twin of Fat Duck?

Not quite.
The dishes at Dinner have much stronger historical references than those of Fat Duck. They were so proud of their source of inspiration, that they actually told you at the back of their menu where they got the idea from for each dish and from what time period the dish is from. Continue reading about Dinner by Heston Blumenthal >>

Tags Beef Royal, dinner, Heston Blumenthal, London, meat fruit, pork chop, review, Salamagundy

Categories Food & Drink, my good book

The Company Shed in Mersea- an adventure of seafood and more

By winkypedia

January 29, 2011 //

It is a treat to go to the Company Shed, both for the value for money seafood and for the enjoyable journey. It is situated on Mersea Island, which is not far from London but it has a completely different pace. It is calm and relaxing. It is a perfect place for weekend lunch!

It is run by Heather Haward, whose husband and son are the producers of the some of the finest farmed flat oysters in Britain. The Haward family deals directly with local fishermen who land their catches daily. It started off as a fishmonger but its eaterie is as popular.

For £11.95, we got a seafood platter which could cost easily double in other restaruants. I think I had better smoked salmon and mackeral elsewhere. The shrimps, crevettes, cockles and crab were lovely though.

My favourite dish was green- lipped mussels with parmesan and herb crust. The mussels were big, meaty and succulent. The crust was fragrant and tasty. It act as a little ‘lid’ Continue reading >>

Tags Company Shed, Mersea, native oyster, Pacific oyster, prawns, review, scallop, seafood

Categories Food & Drink, my good book

Oysters- Native Vs Pacific/Gigas

By winkypedia

January 27, 2011 //

In the UK you can only get 2 types of oysters; the Native, and the Pacific/Gigas (photo below). On our last trip to the Company Shed, we were unable to sample the delights of the Native oyster as it was summer, this year we returned when the Native oysters were in season. After hearing so much about them, and how they were a gourmet delight, I was expecting great things from them.

Native oysters are only available when there is an R in the month, whereas Pacific oysters are available all year round. The Natives are nearly twice the price of the Pacifics. However are they worth the price difference? Continue reading >>

Tags clams, Company Shed, Mersea, native oyster, Pacific oyster, review, Richard Hawards, shellfish

Categories Food & Drink, my food experiments

Fantastic Japanese cake and green tea- Minamoto Kitchoan

By winkypedia

January 26, 2011 //

Minamoto Kitchoan is a traditional Japanese cake and confectionery shop based in Kamakura, Japan. This shop in London has been opened for quite a long time. It is a lovely place to buy special cakes for Japanese festivals, gifts for friends or for yourself!

Here is a little secret that few know (as they do not advertise it): Continue reading about the secret >>