Breakfast in Bed

Yay... another Friday, another weekend. It means two days of lie ins and leisurely breakfasts.

Toast, beans and fried egg topped with Maggie sauce and white pepper. The best way to eat fried eggs. Oh and the eggs have to be crisp round the edges.

Dim Sum - Chuen Cheng Ku, Chinatown

I usually do enjoy giving my two cents (pennies?) worth of constructive criticism of the food I eat and the places I eat at but this time round there will be nothing constructive to say about Chuen Cheng Ku. It was an utter waste of a meal and money.

Stuart and I usually end up at Royal China for dim sum, mainly because it's an invitation by one of my uncles and really .. who would turn down Royal China dim sum? It's good and fairly consistent. If it's just the two of us, it's usually a restaurant in Chinatown and even though I had hoped to try Harbour City on this particular day, we gravitated towards Chuen Cheng Ku - loved by my father for its trolley service and his continued ambition to fill every square inch of the table, if possible, with every dish available from every trolley. This time my father was safely tucked several thousands of miles away in Malaysia but Stuart and I were horrendously hungry and wanted food NOW! Chuen Cheng Ku seemed like the obvious choice.

We had barely sat down when the first of trolley waitresses came thundering towards us - all good since we were starving but giving us a few minutes to settle down would have been .. well, nice. Alright, this is the "Chinese restaurant way" but it still annoys me. And so the usual hard sell of each dish began. Stuart left the choosing to me and I was harassed beyond belief. By the time the last trolley waitress had shown us her wares ... the first one reappeared. We hadn't even started to eat yet!

The usual suspects - har kau and siu mai. It's an almost automatic order for me though I must admit they aren't my favourite dim sum dishes but they usually are a good indicator of how good the dim sum chef is. The har kau was alright- the skin was just thick enough and the prawns were fresh and crunchy. The siu mai was a disappointment. There were large bits of fat and gristle from the pork. Ergh.

I love my Xiao Long Bao but find that so many places just can't get it right. Chuen Cheng Ku is one of them. There was no pipping hot broth in any of the dumplings. All were bone dry with bits of fat and gristle in the filling.

The noodle wrapping for the Char Siu Cheong Fun was acceptable but there was more barbecue roast fat in the filling than pork.

Another favourite of mine are Steamed Beancurd Rolls. Here they were filled with chopped up bits of prawns and pork and pork gristle and pork fat. Do we spot a trend here? Ok I know fat and gristle is commonly used to bulk up all sorts of stuffing - sausages, burgers ... anything that is minced, chopped and reformed. But I do mind terribly when I can so blatantly taste and feel it in my mouth. Horrible bits that should be cut (ground, minced, obliterated!) smaller or really shouldn't be there at all.

Aubergine Stuffed with Prawn Paste in Black Bean Sauce was done rather well. It was one thing that I hadn't anything to moan about.

The pastry for the Char Siew Puff was too sweet and tasted overwhelming of cheap margerine. Again there was so much fat in the filling. Bulk it up, bulk it up with fat!

In true boy style, Stuart wanted meat. He was looking longingly at the siew yoke from the roast meat trolley but as I dislike roast pork, we settled for roast duck. I'm not sure how much there was on the plate - definitely more than a quarter and less than a half. They like to pick and choose what they give you and heaven forbid if you dare question them! Duck is a fatty meat, I know that (and so is pork ... I know that too) but this dish came dripping in oil. Not the best roast duck I've had.

It was a filling lunch, if not a very good one, with enough food to feed three at least. What surprised me was the bill. I've always considered Chuen Cheng Ku to have one of the cheaper dim sum menus but on this fateful day I discovered (noticed) they do not publish their dim sum prices anywhere. Not on the laminated dim sum menu on each table, not on the large menu by the window outside and most definitely not on the sheet each waitress ticks when a dish is handed over. By counting the dishes and a simple process of elimination, we discovered we were charged £8-9 for the duck, about £6 for the stuffed aubergine (for 2 pieces?????) and about £3.50 each for other dishes, bringing the whole meal to a grand total of £40 for the both of us. I found this outrages! The quality was poor and the service was horrendous (but I always expect bad service in a Chinese restaurant anyway ... it's some kind of mode I go into when I step into a Chinese eatery). The number of dishes added up, so we paid and left. I was in no mood to ask questions about the bill. The staff were already having a squabble between themselves when we left. What I did do was check the prices on the menus of about six other restaurants on Gerard Street, including Harbour City where I had originally planned on going to. All six had a price list of their dishes and none had such high prices. Staples such as har kau and siew mai were priced somewhere between £2.90 to £3.10. I was just having a look at the photos I took of the dim sum menu at Pearl Liang - har kau for £2.80 and siew mai for £2.50. Chuen Cheng Ku is a rip off with bad food and service. I will definitely be steering my father well away from it on his next trip to London.

Sunday Salad

I'm an odd creature - I crave salad in winter and dream of soup in summer. On this particular sunny autumn's Sunday, it was crispy thin slices of chorizo with beetroot (I love the stuff in vinegar, which I believe quite a few people detest), leftover boned roast chicken thigh, black olives and mixed salad leaves. I made a quick vinaigrette with grain mustard, white wine vinegar, sunflower oil, salt and pepper.

Happy Birthday, Stuart! Dinner at The Bountiful Cow

It was Stuart's birthday and we decided on something cheap and cheerful (and no, the local Weatherspoons for a Tuesday curry didn't quite fit the bill though that is where one of his birthday dinners took place ... many, MANY years ago). The Bountiful Cow seemed as good a choice as any but with a slight edge of a Toptable discount. I'm still quite amazed at the efficiency of the Toptable booking system. I made a request for a table on the Toptable website at 6PM, feeling quite certain that the restaurant would not have received the booking but lo and behold, there was a table waiting for us when we arrived at 7.30PM.

It was a slight downer that we had to choose from a set menu but 2 courses for £13 was too good an offer to miss. All the dishes on offer were straight off their main menu, minus the steaks (which apparently they are quite well known for .... they are called The Bountiful Cow ...) so there were some pretty decent choices.

Stuart started with Rillettes of Duck served on toast with sliced red onion and cornichons. The birthday boy was happy.

My Smoked Salmon with Bread, Butter and Lemon starter was incredibly generous. There were 4-5 slices of smoked salmon but I was a disappointed (and surprised) that someone in the kitchen felt the need to drizzle extra virgin olive oil over the slices of bread. Surely the butter would have gone quite cheerfully with the bread? I'm quite sure now I don't like extra virgin olive oil anywhere near my smoked salmon. The two strong flavours just collides and sends the wrong signals to my taste buds.

For mains, Stuart had the Steak Sandwich, which according to the menu is made with aged beef and sauteed red onions. Before the mains arrived, Stuart confessed that he was a little worried that meat would be tough as is the case with many steak sandwiches (the horrid person in me would have loved to roll my eyes and ask why he ordered it if he was worried but .... it was his birthday). Stuart needn't have worried, the meat was lovely - tender and moist with plenty of flavour. The serving was generous and the chips were pretty darn good - chunky and crisp. Lovely.

I went all out and ordered the burger - made with course ground steak and served with salad, sliced onions, a baby gherkin, bacon (my choice of the 'free' additions - the other choices were a fried egg or cheese) and chips. They certainly aren't stingy on their portions in this place. The burger was large - the main menu claims that their burger is a BIG 14oz/395g but Stuart reckoned that this was no where near that big. Even the piggy in me was pretty happy I didn't have to face a larger burger. I was really quite happy with what I got, but hey I'm no burger connoisseur. The mince was chunky and there was a lovely charred flavour from the flames. Even my portion of 'free' bacon was generous :) I was a happy bunny ... so was Stuart, he got half of my main meal.

The Bountiful Cow is certainly worth a try, especially with the Toptable offer. It's a little pricey otherwise - the burger goes for £12.95 ... a little steep. It's an intimate little place located just off High Holborn and less than a 3 minute walk from the tube station.

The main menu

The Bountiful Cow
51 Eagle St, London WC1R 4AP

Safadi Express, Holborn

A new Lebanese restaurant has opened in Holborn joining the usual mix of sandwich shops and Japanese/oriental takeaways. One word - yay! There's always room for variety during lunchtime.

On my first visit I tried the Special Safadi for 1 Person Lunchbox for £8.95. A little more than I would usually pay for lunch but there was absolutely loads. Mixed starters of houmous, moutabal, stuffed vine leaves and tabouleh. A main of mixed shawarma and a basketful of warm Lebanese bread. We even got a little bowl of mixed olives and dessert of Lebanese pastries for free.

For my next visit I got the chicken shawarma wrap with chips and a soft drink for £4.95 (not photographed). A lot lighter on the purse and tummy.

Safadi Express
113 High Holborn, London WC1V 6JQ

St Germain - Farringdon

A good chinwag most definitely calls for a good few leisurely hours with plenty of food and drink - soul food for a girl’s sanity. Forget margaritas and cosmos on a Saturday evening and welcome to the world of discount Mondays! J, my partner in crime for the evening, and I were headed for St Germain, a French bistro in Farringdon that offers a very nice 50% discount.

There's always room for bread

At ten to seven that Monday evening, the restaurant was eerily quiet and empty bar an elderly couple tucking into their mains in a corner. For a split second I was tempted to turn around and hightail it out of there, dragging J with me but the waiter spotted us (just in time?). Our welcoming Australian waiter exuded such enthusiasm, which was both refreshing and slightly suspicious at the same time. I kept expecting him to falter at some point over the course of the evening – to buckle as the restaurant began to fill up about 10 minutes after we arrived. But he never did … definitely a nice tip for him there. And as there was a nice big fat discount to be had (our pre-dinner cocktails were also discounted – 2 for 1 – courtesy of the 5-7PM happy hour), J and I decided it would be rude not to go all the way and order three courses.

For starters J went for the Crispy Pork Belly served with spiced carrot, honey and a star anise dressing (£5.50). Five pieces of five spiced roasted pork (over-spiced with overwhelming tones of star anise but otherwise nice meat) with carrot (the word that came to mind when I tasted it was … dehydrated) and a sweet sauce/dressing. J was a lot keener on this dish than I was for the simple reasons that I’m no fan of roast pork (especially crispy roast – argh!) nor am I overly fond of Chinese five spice.

I started with the Stuffed Baby Squid served with chorizo, chick peas and sherry vinaigrette (£6.00). The squid was a little too charred but I was still pleased with my choice. The squid was still tender and the stuffing of chorizo, raisins and chickpeas complemented it nicely. I was little skeptical of the inclusion of raisins when I saw it mentioned on the menu (dried fruit in any savoury dish is a bit of a no-no for me) but I was pleasantly surprised. The tartness of the sherry vinaigrette cut through the dish and lent a sour element to the sweet raisins.

J had the Couscous Baked Monkfish with ras el hanout spiced haricot beans and toasted almonds (£16.00) for her main. The fish was well cooked but instead of being used as a coating, the couscous would probably have been better off as an accompaniment – in a nice mound on the side. Instead it was hard and gritty and just a bit disappointing. J wasn’t too keen on the beans but I quite liked them although the spicing did concentrate a little too much on cumin and turmeric.

I wanted steak and with a little persuasion from our very cheery waiter, I decided to go for the Bavette Steak served with spinach and mushroom jus (£13.00), the Monday plat du jour. I should have perhaps a little more weary when the waiter said ‘flank’ when I asked him what bavette was. I’ve always associated flank with long hours of gentle cooking and I’m still inclined to think that way. The steak was cooked medium rare to ensure the meat didn’t get too tough but it still had too much a chew in it for my liking. The portion was of buttery spinach (underneath the meat) was incredibly generous and the earthy mushrooms were sautéed and served on top of the steak. My separate order of frites (£2.75) was served a little too oily and limp.

It was a unanimous decision that J and I would order desserts to share. Well, actually we were supposed to share all the dishes ordered but there was such obvious preferences for certain dishes that both of us didn’t get any further than a few mouthfuls of the other’s dish, just as a little taster. Our first choice was the Tarte Au Citron served with crème fraiche (£5.50), which was deliciously tart and light. It was the obvious choice as the end to of a filling dinner. However, both of us didn’t think that the crème fraiche was necessary. It’s tartness wouldn’t have made a dent next to the lemon. If the idea behind it was to cut through the citrus tang, then perhaps some whipped cream or even clotted cream would have been a better choice.

At the other end of the dessert spectrum we decided on the Valrhona Chocolate Terrine served with crème anglaise and crushed pecans (£5.50). We were slightly disappointed when the chocolate terrine portion was so small but what a punch it packed! Bitter chocolate in a smooth mousse with crunchy little pecans nuggets. The crème anglaise was hardly worth mentioning. Thin custard and chocolate sauce squiggles across the plate – why mention the custard and not the chocolate sauce on the menu, especially when it was really quite insignificant on the plate? I am slightly baffled. A very nice dessert that contrasted nicely with the lemon tart but if I had to choose between the two … the Tarte Au Citron would win hands down.

The discount was certainly an incentive for venturing to Farringdon (let's just forget the fact that I work 10 minutes down the road in Holborn) but I'm not sure if I would go back. The food was nice but not great (not enough to entice me back anyway) and there's way too many other restaurants to try. At the end of the evening J and I (with a little shrug) agreed it was an OK meal so imagine my surprise when a week later I received an excited text from J informing me that St Germain had been awarded the Best Festival Menu (2-course lunch for £10) for London Restaurant Festival. Good but surely there's better?

St Germain
89-90 Turnmill Street, London, EC1M 5QU

'Tweet ...!'Tweets the Tweeter

Believe it or not I have finally caved in and signed up for a Twitter account ... something I though I would never do. And I'll tell you why too ... I read about Tweet What You Eat, described as a 'Twitter-based food diary'.

I've kept food diaries before and they are very good at keeping me terribly conscious of what I eat but as most diaries go, I've always been too update it lazy after awhile. Perhaps, just perhaps, I would be better this time. So far I'm on 230 calories today and it's past 3PM. If I'm very, very good for the rest of the day, it means I can have dinner of 1700 - 3 Big Mac meals plus dessert!

Sunday Roast - Roast, Borough Market

We had big plans for the last Bank holiday weekend but for one reason or other (mainly because we were feeling old and creaky), we decided on Sunday roast instead - chunky cardies and knitting bags were left safely at home. With dozens of suggestions flying about, we finally headed down Southbank towards Borough, home of gastronomic delights (just steer clear on a Sunday - the one day the market is deathly quiet), only to realise we hadn't a clue where Roast actually was. I knew it had a good view over St Paul's (though we would later discover that 'good' was stretching it a little far), which points to it being on a upper level...indeed a good start ... However, there was no need for tilted heads - quick thinking Roast (or just a restaurant who had many a lost customer) had very kindly left a trail of signboards leading all the way to the restaurant, right above Brindisa. So far so good.

The view from our table; the dome of St Paul's in the background

Lunchtime and we hadn't booked a table (we were still deciding on a venue right until we met up at Waterloo) but it was past 2PM and it was a Sunday. This played to our advantage as having missed the lunch rush we managed to secure a table fairly easily - sitting at the bar for only about 10 minutes whilst enjoying the strains of a tinkering piano in the background. The large main dining area was bright and airy, split into 2 levels, with large windows. It's one of those rooms that would be lovely in summer (nice English summer mind you ... a degree or two warmer with the sun overhead would mean sunburned diners sitting in an overheated conservatory) but pretty dismal in the middle of winter. However, whilst saying that we did turn up on a pretty dreary, overcast day and we were in perfect temperature throughout our 5 hour stay (yes, 5 hours ... Sunday lunches are supposed to be leisurely, are they not?).

Roast offers a Sunday roast set menu at £26 for two courses or £30 for three courses. Everyone went for three courses. It wasn't a difficult decision for any of us.

We feasted on bread (the downfall of every meal) whilst waiting for our food. It was a choice of white or brown with lush Netherend Farm butter (it was so yummy that I even did a little research and found out it is stocked by Waitrose. Yay!). Testtiment to either how hungry we were or how good the bread was, we had an extra 2 baskets of bread and another round of butter.

In celebration of not going out, getting drunk and falling over ill like a bunch of first year university students at freshers week, we had a couple bottles of Sussex's finest bubbly - Ridgeview Merret Bloomsbury 2006. Snickering aside for any mention of English wine, this was actually rather excellent. Winner of several awards, it tasted soft, clean and crisp - everything I like for easy drinking. Again I did a little research and this is sold at Waitrose (really have to love good ol' Waitrose).

There was an almost silent round of applause when our starters arrived. We were never going to be content with just bread, butter and bubbly. R had the butternut squash soup with spiced sour cream, which she gave the two thumbs up to. I had a tiny taste and it was like being wrapped up in a warm comfy duvet.

P and J both had the Laverstoke Park buffalo mozzarella with baked figs and mint. I'm not usually a fan of figs (too many tiny pips for my liking) and was a little hesitant to try any but oh wow ... this certainly changed my idea of figs. Intensely flavoured - sweet and caramelised, it went very well with the creamy cheese. The mint brought a hint of freshness to each mouthful.

Taking a step back from dairy, I opted for the potted gammon served with piccalilli and toast. The little chunks of meat were tender and the tart piccalilli cutting nicely through. But I've never had piccalilli before (it's one of those old fashioned English delicacies which I'm not drawn to trying just for the sake of tasting it) and cannot say if this was wondrously delicious or just bordering on average. If I had to be negative, I would say it was a teeny bit too tart but yes, it's a pickle .. so it should be .. well, tart.

For mains, both R and J had the slow roast Wicks Manor pork belly with Bramley apple sauce. A very generous serving of meltingly tender pork encased in crispy crackling. Happy smiles from both R and J. I had some of the pork minus the crackling (I'm not a fan ... seriously not a fan) and apple sauce (it conjures up the image of bottled baby dessert) and it was lovely.

P and I both had the roast sirloin of Welsh Black beef served with Yorkshire pudding, horseradish and Coleman's English mustard. Cooked to medium rare just the way it should be. P had second thoughts about this dish when she saw the 'cooked to medium rare' note on the menu but ordered it and thoroughly enjoyed eating it. The Yorkshire pudding was light and crisp. The meat was gorgeous and the serving was generous (this always scores big brownie points with me). I was a very happy bunny indeed.

The cooks selection of vegetables - minted runner beans and roasted potatoes in beef dripping were served in separate dishes for us to help ourselves. The beans were tender with just a touch of butter and mint to bring out the flavours. Roasted spuds in beef dripping ... oh so bad and yet so good. Crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

By the time our plates were cleared and we handed the dessert menu, we were grumbling about the evils of too many bread baskets and rounds of butter. But we soldiered on. High on every ones list was the pear and raspberry crumble with custard. Very good it was too. The best bit was the crumble top. Crunchy and 'bitty', it was just my idea of a good crumble.

I had my eye on the Eton mess with elderflower jelly but was sorely disappointed when the waiter returned to say that they had run out of jelly. I could have the Eton mess by itself but I didn't actually want mess when I placed my order. I wanted elderflower jelly. It had to be banoffee pie. Oh the dairy ... the dairy! The pie wasn't too bad but you know when you don't want something but had to eat it anyway because you had ordered it? I usually want banoffee pie as a teatime treat, not really as a dessert ... it's a little too heavy. My slice came sitting on a mass of chocolate and caramel squiggles (as good or bad as any good quality chocolate and caramel sauces) and a large wafer like round stuck into the whipped cream top. I say 'wafer like round' because it was rather indistinguishable - not particularly sweet nor particularly crunchy nor particularly nice to eat. A bit of a waste of time. Disappointing.

It was a delightful meal. The last seating on a Sunday is 3.45PM with no dinner service but we stayed past 7PM and we were not rushed to leave. There were still a few lingering diners at other tables. It was deliciously relaxed. There was even entertainment in the form of our waiter, who though very efficient and courteous at all times, found himself on hostile ground with P. It was just one of those situations where two people just don't like each other. He was never rude, just very French in the way of being quite (OK, very) self assured. The rest of us found it hilarious though ... and he did have gorgeous eyes.

Roast
The Floral Hall, Stoney Street, London, SE1 1TL

Fresco - Bayswater

Visits to Bayswater usually end with a meal at a Chinese restaurant with a large plate of roasted duck as the centrepiece. I love Chinese and I like duck but after awhile it does get little … well, boring. So, it’s ‘hurrah’ for an ex-colleague of mine, Rosa, who lives in the area and has absolutely no interest in eating anything Chinese (I should really dislike her :) but with the sort of food that comes out of most Chinese restaurants, I don’t blame her). Hanging out with Rosa usually starts with a drink (or more) before heading off to Fresco - with their made to order fresh juices, wraps and Lebanese maze.

I’m a fan of the mix plate – where I get to choose 3 dishes from a selection of maze with a side of warm pita and pickles for about a fiver. Bargainous! If I really wanted I could actually construct my very own (very large) maze sandwich. It’s thoughts like that that really gets me excited. Two staples on my plate are the moussaka and tabouleh. The oil drenched aubergine in garlicky tomato sauce with the stray chickpea is SO good. I have been known to get a takeaway portion of this for lunch the next day. Let’s just say whoever gets the seat next to me on the bus home will have wondrous smells wafting their way at some point in their journey. For harmonious balancing, I order the tabouleh – the aubergine to make me all tingly happy and the tartness of the salad to make me feel less guilty for consuming the whole portion of oily aubergine. I do actually like tabouleh – honestly! The third item on my plate usually varies depending on my mood. On this visit I got the falafel, which had probably been heated up in the microwave. I like my falafels piping hot, straight out of the deep fat fryer – so these weren’t great (unless it's the falafel, spinach and tomato sandwich from Pret A Manger - something about the tomato chutney that they use ... do they actually use tomato chutney or am I just going a little crazy?).

It would be rude to all that way and not get juice. Unfortunately I am frequently rude – big mix plate + big glass of juice = unhappy tummy. On the odd occasion I’ll be reckless and go for the full whack - papaya, mango and mint mix.

Fresco
25 Westbourne Grove, Westbourne Grove, London, W2 4UA

Lunch in the Sun

I've been such a grouch lately. Mainly because the weather has been turning and autumn has always been a real downer season for me. It conjures up images of having to return to school after 3 glorious months of doing absolutely nothing at home. Ergh ....

I grabbed my last chance of lunch in the warm sunshine at the weekend and actually sat on my balcony with a plate balanced on my lap. I must admit I have NEVER eaten on my balcony before. It must be one of those crazy things the sun does to us.

Lunch consisted of a 2 egg frittata topped with smoked salmon (the very un-posh itty-bitty stuff that comes in wee packets - yup the bit that gets sliced off the beautiful long slices that go for astronomical amounts), sweet cherry tomatoes, mangetout, sliced chili and mature cheddar. A very strange combination indeed but tasty. Heck ... anything that has melted oozy cheese over it is good! Washed down with a banana and strawberry smoothie.