Holiday Hiatus

This month was vacation time hence the hiatus on posts - I took a trip back home to London and ate my way through the weeks. It was a month to indulge in new hot restaurants, home cooking courtesy of my mum and friends, cooking classes and favourite UK snacks! Here are some pics to hopefully convert you into thinking England hasn't got any good food!

Kimbab made by a friend

 

 Fish and Chips in Oxford

 Proper Roast Dinner in Oxford

 Pie and mash with mushy peas from Pieminster in oxford

 Salted Creme Brulee Doughnut from Bread Ahead Borough Market

 Japanese Breakfast at Koya, London

 Learning to make Ramen at Yuki's Kitchen, Crystal Palace

 Spicy Fried Chicken and Beef Carpaccio at Bao, Soho London

 Lamington Doughnut by Crosstown Doughnuts, Broadwick Street London

 My Mum's Pho, London

This was only a small portion of what I actually ate, not including junk food like Salt & Vinegar Hula Hoops, M&S Strawberry Trifle and Profiterole desserts, Thai Food in Clapham, Spicy Chirashi from Wasabi, Pork Pies and Scotch Eggs from South Bank Food Market, Bubble Tea and Matcha slushies and so on - it was endless! 

I will be back tomorrow with a new post, so check back!

 

Pure Delicious' Mulligatawny Soup

When the temperature drops, straight away I crave something warming and hearty. But when you know it'll get back up to the 90s you kind of want something in the middle. As I was flicking through the Pure Delicious cookbook, this recipe for Mulligatawny Soup caught my eye with it's bright yellow liquid and contrasting pop of colour from the pomegranate seeds.

Now, I have heard of mulligatawny soup before and was pretty sure I had had it before, but there's no harm in testing it out.

Yay or Nay: Yay

This soup has a similar flavour profile to a Vietnamese Curry my mum makes, or even Katsu curry so it was definitely a hit. The only issue was making this in advance meant that when we were ready to eat this (the day after) it was waaaay to thick, almost like a stew but it was still tasty. Then again, it could have been the fact that I didn't have enough chicken stock for 8 cups, so I tipped what was left of the box in and figured it would be enough!

TIP: Don't add the stock and rice until you're ready to eat otherwise you won't get the consistency of soup.

The Woks of Life's Ants Climbing A Tree

This recipe for Ants Climbing A Tree has been sitting in my Pinterest to-make list and finally I had an opportunity to make it. What enticed me was my husband's and I's love for Sichuan food. Both of us are not big fans of Chinese food (apart from Dim Sum), especially as the offerings are usually horrible greasy western versions of traditional dishes. However, there is a local joint that is Proper, with a capital P, Sichuan cooking. How do we know? The clientele is a big hint (no one speaks English as well as the staff!). We love the spicy, numb your mouth spices although we HATE the super s-l-o-w service!

So instead of waiting around, I decided to make this dish based on its ingredient of spicy fermented bean paste - I have no idea if I bought the right thing but based on the ingredient list I have to just cross my fingers...

Yay or Nay: Nay

It looked so promising, the ginger and spicy sauce making everything a hot shade of red. The flavour is spicy yes, but doesn't have that much depth. It's kind of bland, it could be because I didn't have the two types of soy sauce and just used one, or the paste was the wrong kind but it was a big disappointment. Lesson learned, don't be fooled by styled food pictures!