Asian – Page 6 – TheKua Does Food

Dinner at Suan Lum Night Markets

April 30, 2010 Patrick Asian, Bangkok, Restaurants, Thai

On the very first night I got to Bangkok, I knew that I had to stay up as late as possible to beat the jetlag you get from travelling eastward. Fortunately Bangkok has plenty of things to do at night time, including their famous Suan Lum Night Market. I was staying very close to the Asoke BTS and it was ridiculously easy to get the night markets, catching an underground metro where you get off at Lumphini where the markets sit pretty much right outside.

Unlike many other outdoor markets, these ones tend to centre around a number of buildings that don’t move, instead roller doors opening to reveal most of the contents of each of the market stalls. On one side of the market (I discovered much later) they have an open seating food court-like dining plaza where you “buy” food currency and exchange them for the food items with the ability of refunding any food currency you don’t use. It’s a practical way of ensuring the money is collected centrally and you still get some variety.

Ending up much hungrier, I ended up at a food stall that was on the other side of the market – the cafe was also open air and noticed a mix of tourists and locals eating here. I don’t actually remember catching the name of the place but it’s directly opposite the restaurant hosting the puppet theatre show. They did have menus in English although I already knew what I wanted – the famous Pad Kee Mao (Drunken Noodle). The waiter asked me if it’s okay hot, and I instantly replied – of course.

I also ordered a large Chang beer because it seemed to be the local beer of choice and it was ridiculously hot and steamy I thought would make a good accompaniment for the noodle dish. I also got to choose the type of noodle (flat rice noodle vs egg noodle) and the type of meat. It wasn’t long before the dish arrived. As you can see above it was full of fresh Thai basil, loads of chilli and fresh peppercorns. It also definitely packed a lot of heat with the first mouthful turning on an instant fire. Deliciously spicy but not uncomfortably so.

The best part about it was that I spent about THB140 for the entire meal – not even GBP3.

Hao Zhan

April 4, 2010 Patrick Asian, Restaurants, UK

Hao Zhan has been on the list for some time, although has been on the “special occasion” list since prices are much higher than your ordinary Chinese restaurant. Fortunately, I found out this restaurant is bookable using the Taste London card, where you can order 2-4-1 on dishes, making it a much more reasonably priced meal after all. Hao Zhan distinguishes itself from other places in Chinatown, taking a more modern and upscale theme on Chinese food. They offer a huge mixture of various cuisines even with dish like Marmite Prawns (didn’t oblige them on them on this one).

Tables for two are packed tightly next to each other, obvious that they are better suited for four people at a time if you want a bit more privacy. However the restaurant is brightly lit, and its black lacquered tables and almost-neon jade green sign (not as cheesy as you would think) definitely makes it stand out from its neighbours.

Here are all the dishes that we tried:

Jasmine Ribs – Amazingly tender with plenty of flavour, these ribs were a perfect way to kick start the meal. Its meat, slightly sweet and lusciously smoked, more importantly pretty much fall of the rib style. Accompanied by a bowl with a lemon wedge and wet towels for additional cleaning power.

Chilli Quail – We shared this as part of our appetiser, including small fried quails legs and wings covered in a chilli salt mix with fried onions. Flavoursome without being overtly salty. The spice was enough to give it gentle heat and add to the flavour without being overwhelming.

Assam Prawns – A strong, flavourful curry concentrated into a rendang-like paste covering prawns and served in a crusty bread bowl. The prawns were massive – much bigger than any king prawn that I’d seen and still flavoursome to boot. The curry paste was a touch salty, concentrated down and then absorbed into the crusty loaf but when eaten with the loaf was a lot more balanced.

Seafood fried rice – This seafood fried rice packed lots of flavour and would have been perfect as a dish on its own. This fried rice also had a decent amount of meats mixed into it. As you can, it was also presented nicely in a little container.

Honey black cod – As you can see from this picture, this piece of black cod was a generous proportion, even for the £18 it cost. The honey was subtlety flavoured yet was still present throughout the entire dish. Even the strength of the Assam prawns couldn’t take away from its flavour. Served with fresh asparagus and a sweet sauce (it tasted like pomegranate mayonnaise) we both weren’t too thrilled about.

Fried ice cream – This is a dish very popular in Australian-Chinese restaurants and I know of only one other Chinese restaurant in London that serves this. Everything about this one was almost perfect, from the crisp outer shell to the perfectly right ice cream consistency – neither too firm or too soft. The only weird thing about this dish was how they put tomato sauce on top (when I’m used to some sort of chocolate or strawberry syrup).

Although pricey, the quality and service of Hao Zhan is definitely better than your average Chinese restaurant. With the Taste London card, it’s made even more affordable and reasonably priced.

Our meal for two (including two lychee juices) cost just over £50 for the two of us.

Name: Hao Zhan
Found at: 8 Gerrard Street, London, W1D 5PJ, London
Website: http://www.haozhan.co.uk/

Bar Shu

March 20, 2010 Patrick Asian, Restaurants, UK

I’d heard much about Bar Shu before finally eating here last Friday. It’s most well known for its Northern Chinese cuisine, easy to probably get in mainland China but distinctly less popular and hard to find around England. I’ve noticed many Northern Chinese restaurants popping up around London and just haven’t found the opportunity to try any of them.

I booked Wednesday night for a party of eight for Friday evening. By booking ahead for such a large party, we ended up in one of their private, more intimate function rooms on the second floor – a little bit hard to find but for the privacy, definitely worth it. Over the phone, they told us we could only have the seating for 2 hours but the evening must have been very quiet since we were allowed to sit there all night.

Not being familiar with Northern Chinese, Bar Shu is considerate to have a highly visual menu making it easy to pick. Fortunately I was dining with lots of people familiar with the cuisine so I didn’t have to worry about it.

Here’s all the different things we dined on:

Fragrant Chicken in a pile of chillies – Reminded me of the black chicken I had in Hong Kong. My mouth watered in anticipation just from trialling the spiciness in this dish. It definitely has a lot of kick although the pieces of chicken were very minuscule, literally hard to separate from many of the other ingredients.

Dry fried green beans with minced pork – Nice green beans that had a subtle flavour, made salty by the addition of the pork.

Pock marked old woman’s beancurd (Ma Po Tofu) that was saucy, but not as fiery as I had hoped. It was a strangely sweet sauce as well.

Assorted meats in a fiery sauce – ox tripe, pig intestines, pig’s blood and luncheon meat in a more subdued spicy sauce. It’s very much a lucky dip for textures.

Boiled sea bass with sizzling chilli oil – This is a spectacular dish that I recently saw cooked on Poh’s kitchen. It’s not for the faint of heart with, literally a bowl of oil at the table. The fish was magnificently cooked though – soft and succulent and that slight heat from all the chillies. It’s not as hot as you’d think it would be considering the fish was immersed in all those spices.

Bar shu cold noodles with chicken slivers – The cold noodles helped bring a slight relief to the bombardment of spices and flavours. The noodles were drenched in a sesame soy sauce with garlic

Jellyfish ribbons in dark chinese vinegar – A lovely mouth feel that also was a great way to prevent the mouth from being overwhelmed by spices.

Lotus Root with Woodear mushrooms – A delicately light dish that was another great, non-spicy dish. The lotus root crispy like an apple and the mushrooms providing a strong earthy flavour.

Numbing Beef – This was supposed to be an appetiser and it simply turned up first before the rest of the dishes made their way to the table. It was definitely what it was called on the menu with the Szechuan peppers kicking in with its numbing effect.

Chinese vegetables – Even a simple dish like this was drizzled with chilli oil, though this one was barely noticeable after all of the other dishes.

Perhaps it was because we had a private room upstairs, but service wasn’t as rushed and prompt as most Chinese restaurants were. They didn’t keep the water topped up as much as they could have, but the waitress checked in just enough for the weekend. The food is decadent and particularly rich with oil and spices, so it’s not a dinner you want to have every night. However there is no doubt the food was well executed and full of flavour and sensations you tend not to have in many other cuisines (even your typical Cantonese Chinese restaurants). Delicious!

Name: Bar Shu
Found at: 28 Frith Street, W1D 5LF, London
Website: http://www.bar-shu.co.uk/
Phone number: +44 20 7287 8822

The Modern Pantry

March 7, 2010 Patrick Asian, British, Restaurants, UK

I’ve eaten at Anna Hansen’s bisto for breakfast before so I was pretty happy to go here for my flatmate’s birthday dinner last weekend. What made it all the more exciting was having seen Anna at the Taste of Christmas last year and talk passionately about her cooking interests and the thought behind dishes such as her Sugar-cured New Caledonian prawn omelette, spring onion, coriander, smoked chilli sambal. Therefore when I sat it on their menu as a starter (£8.50), I couldn’t but help myself and order it.

Although it’s pricey for a starter, it was deliciously put together – perfectly cooked egg, slightly sweet prawns and and the homemade chilli sambal adding that depth of heat to the dish. I’d definitely get this one again.

For my main, I ordered the grilled miso marinated steak onglet, cassava chips, feta cheese and salad with green pepper relish (£16.50). The onglet is an interesting cut of meat, often called the butcher’s cut because there is only one of these per cow, and it’s flavour and taste and tenderness often mean butcher’s would rather keep it than sell it. There’s a good reason for it, since it was so tender and really nice. Interesting, the waiter asked if cooking it rare was okay – completely fine with me in a restaurant I trust who knows what to do with it.

I finished the meal off with a hokey-pokey affogato(£4), a combination of two rare items to find in London that I would definitely regret not ordering it the next day. Delicious hokey pokey ice cream (effectively crumble mixed through ice cream) and then served in small cup with an espresso shot tipped on top. I absolutely adore the contrast brought about by dishes mixing hot and cold sensations.

I can highly recommend this place for a great evening. Service was prompt, and not even noticeable at times, the perfect sort. Even though we were the last ones out and hanging around quite late, no one ever asked us to leave.

Name: The Modern Pantry
Found at: 48 Saint John’s Square, London EC1V 4JJ
Website: http://www.themodernpantry.co.uk/

Tripping to Asia and back in one night

March 4, 2010 Patrick Asian, Cambridge, Indian, Restaurants, Thai, UK

We organised yet another team dinner out in Cambridge, this time deciding to hit a restaurant called Asia. I’d read some great things about it so I was quite excited to do so. I’d arranged the booking a week in advance, although I was surprised when I called up the day before our dinner to find out that our booking disappeared into the ether. Fortunately they still had space for our change in dining numbers.

We sat at a very local freehouse (St Radegund) in Cambridge (highly recommended for a very pub-like experience) when I received a call from the restaurant telling me that their Thai chef did not turn up. I thought this was quite nice of them, though understandable, when half of their menu is Thai.

We also had strange service throughout the entire night, mainly because we had a bit of a newbie waiter asking one of his colleagues to come across. I think it was the first five questions that sent him running that triggered us to have a bit of a laugh of it throughout the night. Strangeness continued throughout the evening, with the wine menu being presented with an one extensive page each, of red and white wines, yet then to be told only four bottles were available of the 20+ listed.

On to the food. The menu was pretty large, although being “pan-asian” they only seemed to have Indian/Pakistani and then Thai foods. This is probably a good choice because pan asian restaurants tend to offer greater variety of cuisines at the cost of quality. Fortunately they hadn’t sacrificed quality. I skipped the starters, although everyone else said their starter was delicious. They certainly looked like it. Then the mains finally arrived and I almost regret ordering the plethora of side dishes.

I ordered their Chicken Lababdar (Tandoori chicken tikka cooked in lababdar gravy with fresh ginger, green chilli, coriander and finished with cream) which ended up deliciously spicy and creamy at the same time. It was a hugely generous serve (as were all of the main dishes), hence regretting the presence of all the side dishes we ordered.

We ended up taking all the leftover food home. Despite all the strangeness, if you simply treated this as an Indian/Pakistani restaurant the food is definitely worth going for. I can also recommend ordering their mango creme brulee.

Name: Asia Dining Room
Found at: 66 Regent Street, Cambridge, CB2 1DP
Website: http://www.asia-dining.co.uk/cambridge

Pad Kee Mao

February 14, 2010 Patrick Asian, Recipe, Thai

One of my favourite Thai dishes is the famously spicy Pad Kee Mao. Its spiciness is said to contribute to its English translation, “Druken Noodles” not because the noodles are drenched in any particular liquid, but because you often need to reach for a drink due its spiciness and best drunk with beer.

Not all Thai places serve this noodle, but I often ask them if they do it off the menu (great where they actually have a real Thai chef). I’ve successfully made this at home, so here’s the recipe that I used:

Ingredients

4 tbsp water
2 tsp brown sugar/palm sugar
1/4 tsp rice vinegar
1 1/2 tsp gold mountain (a classic seasoning sauce used in Thai cooking)
1 tsp soy regular
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp smashed thai chillies
1 sliced chilli
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 block of firm tofu cubed into bite sized pieces
vegetables
flat rice noodles, separated into different strands
bell pepper/capsicum
onion
Thai basil (optional)

Method

Combine the water, sugar, gold moutain, soy, oyster sauces together with the smashed chillies. This will be added at the end of the cooking.
Prepare all vegetables – slice the onions, peppers into fine strips. Cut the vegetables into similar sizes.
Fry the tofu until it has a relatively crispy skin and set aside
Reheat the pan, starting with the garlic, onion then adding the chili to fry off.
Cook the vegetables and when ready, add the noodles. Having previously separated them makes it easier to mix together and still leave whole
Add the tofu and then fry until the noodle is soft and cooked. At the last moment, throw in the prepared sauce and stir until the noodles are evenly coated with it
Just before serving, I like to mix some Thai basil through to add another layer of flavour

Beef Rendang

January 25, 2010 Patrick Asian, Recipe

I’ll put my hand up. I’ve been obsessed by beef rendang ever since having Vanessa’s slow cooked version at our gathering back in November. I was a bit worried because they used a slow cooker, tenderising the meat something over like eight hours of cooking. Although they aren’t particularly expensive, I really don’t need a slow cooker in the kitchen just yet. Looking around on the Internet, there are plenty of versions of beef rendang. Here’s the version that I used (it’s a slightly modified version by that provided by John Torode here).

Ingredients:

1 lemongrass stalks, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (peanut, or olive is fine)
1 1/2 large onions, sliced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
4 red Thai bird’s chillies, seeds removed, chopped
1 thumb-sized piece ginger, peeled and chopped into very fine slivers
1 thumb-sized piece galangal, peeled and chopped into very fine slivers
1 bay leaf
750g braising steak cut into 2.5cm cubes
400g canned coconut milk
250ml strong veal or beef stock, heated

Directions:

For the beef rending, pound the lemongrass to a pulp using a pestle and mortar. Tip the lemongrass into a small bowl.
Heat the frying pan over a medium heat. Add the coriander, cumin seeds and turmeric and dry fry until fragrant. Tip the spices into a spice grinder or the pestle and mortar. Grind the spices to a powder if using a grinder, or pound in a pestle and mortar until the spices are as smooth as possible. Set aside.
Fry the onions, garlic, chillies, ginger and pounded lemongrass to the pan in the heated oil and cook gently until the onions have softened and the mixture is fragrant.
Add the reserved ground spices and the bay leaf and fry for a few minutes more.
Add the meat and increase the heat so that it browns on all sides. Stir until the meat is completely coated with the spices – this will take a few minutes.
Add the coconut milk, bring to the boil, then add the hot stock.
Turn the heat down low and continue cooking for at least 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally until the sauce becomes thick and coats the meat well.

I changed some of the preparation and ingredients to John’s recipe. I added the fresh galangal because I wanted a bit more of that gingery flavour it imparts and another dimension is always great in a curry. I also extended the cooking time on a slower heat because I wanted the flesh to fall apart. I didn’t reduce the liquid until the meat was already soft to ensure that all the pieces had a chance to sit and boil equally in the liquid. I also added another chilli, figuring that it would still retain its partial heat but not overpower it.

Serve with freshly steamed vegetables and some white rice. Enjoy!

Singapore Chilli Crab

January 4, 2010 Patrick Asian, Recipe

One of my favourite memories of Singapore was trekking across to the east coast and enjoying in the famous Singapore Chilli Crab. Looking on the net, there are plenty of ways of making it, but here’s one that I’ve tried using a few elements from various recipes.

I’ve found a decent place in Chinatown that sells fresh crabs that I kill and clean at home. I’m not sure how it would turn out with the frozen variety. Try fresh as much as possible!

Ingredients

2 tablespoon of oil (any vegetable oil is fine)
3 tablespoons of minced ginger
2 tablespoons of minced garlic
1/2 chopped onion
shao xing wine
4 birds eye chillis
1 bottle of pureed tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato sauce
1 spring onion chopped up
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce
1 egg
1 tablespoon coriander chopped

Method:

Fry ginger, garlic, onion in the oil
Add chopped chillis and shao xing wine
Saute crab until pink

Add tomato and chilli sauce
Add spring onion
Pinch of salt
Cook for a bit covered
Just before serving, crack a scrambled egg into the sauce and mix together
Serve and sprinkle with fresh coriander

When you’re done, serve the crab with freshly steamed Man Tao – you should be able to buy these in any Chinese supermarket in the frozen section. They only take five or ten minutes steaming. Alternatively you can fry them but it’s probably healthier not to.

Banquet at Mike and Vanessa’s

November 5, 2009 Patrick Asian, UK

A while ago, I’d promised to work with Mike and Vanessa to put together a bit of a feast. We got a few friends and family in and indulged in a huge amount of food. Mike and Vanessa hosted in their new flat (it has heaps of space) and we all enjoyed the night. I think we kicked off somewhere around half past six and before we know it, it was already midnight with some people having to leave to catch the last tube home.

Here’s what we had in the banquet:

Japanese Gyoza as appetisers. Crispy on the bottom, and steamed pastry encasing a cabbage and pork mixture.

We then served all of the main dishes including:

Singapore Chilli Crab – A tomato based sauce infused with chilli, ginger, coriander, garlic, herbs and spices bound together with egg and served with freshly steamed man tao.

Beef Rendang – Slow cooked beef in a reduced coconut and curried coating to the point where all the meat falls apart in your mouth so delicately.

Pad Thai – Thai style rice noodles mixed with various proteins, vegetables and the special Pad Thai sauce, topped with peanuts and lemon wedges.

Chinese Beans – Green beans crisped stir fried and served while still firm

We started finishing off dinner with some winning dessert wine that Mike and Vanessa picked up somewhere on their holidays in Germany.

Dessert then followed with coffee in the form of Pistachio Biscuits and Pistachio Ice Cream.

Great company. Delicious food. What more do you need?

Ebisu

September 6, 2009 Patrick Asian, Copenhagen, Japanese

Now that I have a bit more time not commuting I’m going to try to backtrack some of the wonderful places I’ve had a chance to eat at in the past.

One of the first that springs to mind is Ebisu, owned by D&D London (formerly Conran restaurants). D&D London is always well known for all their stylish restaurants and Ebisu is no exception, housed in a harbour side building offering three different dining experiences (Italian, Japanese and Bar & Grill). Ebisu is just one of them.

Each table is complete with seasonings including white pepper, salt, and the lovely Japanese pepper mixture, Shichimi, all with a very nicely presented container. Whilst waiting for everyone to arrive for dinner we ordered some wasabi peas and some edamame. Although I wouldn’t think there to be that many differences, the wasabi peas were definitely the best I’ve ever had, strangely fresh and full of wasabi-goodness.

The following dish is the yellowtail carpaccio with an orange and ginger dressing. Light, summery and super fresh tasting.

Disappointingly the following dish, advertised as “rock shrimp” weren’t the same rock shrimp that is farmed in the US that I’ve had at both Nobu and Morimoto. The tempura shrimp was still delicious, light and crisp batter with the grated ginger and delicious dipping sauce.

Definitely the highlight for my meal was the Robata Grilled skewers. The one at the back my personal favourite (pork belly that was soft, lean and yet full of flavour), the other, a beef skewer with miso.

Freshening it up was a wonderful freshly cooked asparagus with yuzu hollandaise. The asparagus was perfectly cooked, still crisp yet soft at the same time. The yuzu flavour wasn’t particularly strong but present enough to give it that extra zing.

Service at Ebisu was pretty impeccable. Our tap water was filled up pretty consistently and we were asked enough whether or not things were okay. Whilst I’d probably keep this place as somewhere particularly special, it was a great treat during the week.

Name: Ebisu
Website: http://www.customhouse.dk/uk/customhouse.html
Location: Havnegade 44, 1058 København K, Denmark