Salmon with Beetroot Risotto – Chez Boom

Do any of you have a prejudice against some food? I know of some people who rather than say what they don’t eat can only state what they do! I despise fussy eaters… I’m not so bad as being Chinese, we are known to eat anything but I do have stuff I try to avoid and beetroot is one of those food that I am adverse to. As it is, I don’t have a sweet tooth and the fact that it stain your hands…. yeeee….

Anyway, saw this recipe on the Food Explorer booklet from Westfield London and was seduced by it’s vibrant colours. Thought it will work well when done at Chez Boom’s seeing the lighting at his place washes out all colours. Also curious as to how risotto made with pearl barley will taste like.

So the ingredients include (clockwise from left), ready to eat beetroot, fennel bulb, an apple, salmon fillet and pearl barley. Not included in the lineup shot are black olives and fish stock. Decided to add some leftover black olives which Boom have hanging around from previous day’s dinner thinking the black will contrast nicely with the red risotto. A copy of the recipe is also available here.

So you boil the barley in the stock till tender and all the liquid has been absorbed then you added in the pulverised beetroot. The barley took close to an hours to be ready which is a tad long but good as unlike risotto made with arborio rice, you don’t have to stay and stir.

About 10 mins before the risotto is done, stick the salmon fillet into a preheated oven. Instead of thyme, I topped the salmon with stem of the fennel bulb crushed with some salt and pepper. Waste not want not!

The fennel and apple salad was straight forward, I pimped it with sesame seeds, sesame oil and chili flakes for an Asian touch. Worked out pretty well, good contrast with the rich risotto.

Viola! Have to say this was a great success, the pearl barley was smooth and creamy yet still retained a bit of bite. The beetroot gave a slight sweetness and also thickened the risotto. The addition of black olives apart from bringing more colour, also countered the sweetness of the beetroot while the fennel and apple salad gave the dish a refreshing edge.

Will definitely try other risotto versions with pearl barley in future!

Chez Boom
Somewhere in West London
Open 24/7, 365 days a year
Strictly by invitation
Only for the worthy

Chicken Lasagne – Theo’s Cafe, Sackler’s Studio Southwark

Found this small cafe inside Sackler Studio while wandering around the office area. Sackler’s Studio is part of Shakespeare’s Globe Theater and the cafe can be accessed via Bear Gardens along Park Street.

Theo’s Cafe serves breakfast and lunch as well as toasted sandwiches, snacks and cakes for your tea break. Today’s lunch choice included roast pollack, cottage pie, chicken lasagne and a chicken and mushroom pie. There is also a daily soup and a choice of salads. All mains comes with a choice of salads and starts from $5. I went with the chicken lasagne with the couscous, roast squash and feta salad as well as the coleslaw. The lasagne was £6.50 and I threw in a can of Coke, total was £8.

Though I love pasta, I’m have never really been a lasagne fan. Not too sure why, perhaps most places serves a square of it which can look insubstantial for greedy Junk. But looks always deceived and I was stuffed to the brim after lunch today.

First up the salads. The coleslaw was made with a combination of purple and regular cabbage with some sliced green beans throughout. The purple cabbage gave the salad a nice lilac shade which was visually pleasing but otherwise, it tastes like a normal coleslaw. The couscous, roasted squash and feta salad was something else. The combination of the sweet squash and the salty feta was a treat, would have been better if the squash and feta cubes were cut a tad smaller. As for the lasagne, it was pretty darn tasty! The tomato sauce was not too strong with the bechamel and cheese sauce taking center stage. The generous portions of spinach layered throughout helped to cut down the richness and using minced chicken made much more sense than beef in this case.

I’ll definitely be back to try other lunch specials at Theo’s Cafe.

Theo’s Cafe
Sackler Studio
Bear Gardens off Park Street
Southwark
London SE1 9DT

*Chinese New Year Special – Steamboat, Chez Boom

恭禧發財! Happy Chinese New Year to all the Chinese readers out there. It is a tradition to have reunion dinner on the eve of the first day of the Chinese New Year and seeing I don’t have family here in the UK, reunion dinner will have to be just Boom and me. Steamboat or hotpot is a typical dish served for reunion dinner and I thought it is a good idea especially when the weather is on the chilly side.

The Boom and I made a trip to a close by Asian supermarket to stock up on in ingredients on Saturday morning and as expected, the shop was busier than usual. Hoo Hing is a smaller Asia supermarket compared to Wing Yip and it caters more towards the trade business than individual shoppers like me. But it is substantially closer than Wing Yip and it has all the things I need for a steamboat dinner.

Run down of what we had to cook in the steamboat. On the protein side, we had thinly sliced beef and lamb and they take less than a minute to cook in the hot broth. These are pre-sliced, frozen and comes in deep plastic trays. The portion you can see is just half of each box and they are about £4.95 per box.

For seafood, prawns are a must while the clams are from Waitrose. Wanted to get fresh prawns but they were not available so frozen ones will have to do. If I recall, the box of frozen prawns were about £6.80 while the clams were around £4. Prawns on the shell is a must as the shell helps to impart flavour to the broth.

Other must have items for steamboat are an assortment of balls! No, not that sort. These are balls made from fish paste or meat paste. We have 2 variety this time, pork and fish balls. Fried bead curd and knotted bean curd skins are also good for steamboat and a couple of noodles to end the meal if one is still hungry.

As for greens, we have chinese leaf and water morning glory. I also got some enoki and buna shimeji mushroom which adds some texture to the spread.

Steamboat is never complete without dipping sauces. Decided to be luxurious and we have 3 different sauces. A homemade chili sauce made with chilies, garlic, shallots, ginger, lime peel and fermented prawn paste, this is the one in the big orange bowl. The creamy looking sauce is made with tahini and fermented bean curd and the last one is a Cantonese Suki dipping sauce from the Asia supermarket.

As for the broth, the fiery looking one is from a soup base used in Chongqing hotpots while the plain looking one is made from juice from the clams and a fish stock pot. Both the Boom and I thought the fiery one is tastier.

Finally, steamboat in action! In all, a very enjoyable meal and for once, there was minimum leftovers which was a good thing.

Hoo Hing
A406 North Circular Road
Park Royal
London NW10 7UB
0208 838 3388

Chez Boom
Somewhere in West London
Open 24/7
Strictly by invitation
Only for the worthy

Mixed Pasta – Caffe Fratelli, Clink Street, London Bridge

Though it’s Friday and Borough Market will be in full swing, somehow did not feel like getting lunch there. Passed by this cafe while walking to work and the offering looks good enough for a try.

Caffe Fratelli is located next to the Clink Prison Museum and just around the corner from Borough Market. The cafe is bright and spacious and is a good place to rest your feet after sampling what Borough market has to offer. Looking at the signage, they serve both breakfast and lunch with the typical pasta and toasted sandwich varieties.

I decided to have a mix of the Pesto Farfalle and Chorizo Penne. By itself, the farfalle would have cost £4.40 while the penne will be £5.55. I was charged the higher of the two which I didn’t really mind.

Have to say I was disappointed with both pasta. The sprinkling of parmesan on top of both pasta melted and congealed by the time I’m back in office and stuck all the pasta pieces into a big lump. Though the farfalle is the right shade of green, there was hardly any taste of pesto and the pasta itself was tough and gummy. The penne fared slightly better. The tomato sauce is the right side of tangy while the small bits of chorizo is smoky and provides some chew as the penne in comparison was way over done.

Seriously felt cheated having to pay £5.55 for it. Maybe the Chicken Escalope flatbread might salvage my impression of the place. But I doubt I will be back anytime soon.

Caffe Fratelli
Victor Wharf
Clink Street
London SE1 9DG
0207 234 0000

Mediterranean Chicken Pasta Salad – Rosie Tate Cafe, Southwark

Refusing to accept that my lunch options is only confined to the vicinity of Borough Market, I went for a short walk yesterday when the sun was out. Started walking towards Tate Modern but not along the river banks and came across a rather new commercial development with the typical high street eateries but also some independent food outlets. My urge to blog has been ignited again!

The Jubilee Line was delayed today due to some person stuck between the platform and the train at London Bridge. Wonder how that could happen as there is a glass gantry which separates the platform and the train at London Bridge. Anyway, London Bridge station was thus closed and had to get off one stop earlier at Southwark. Knew I will pass by Rosie Tate Cafe on my walk to the office and decided to grab something for lunch.

The cafe is very spacious with separate chillers for sandwiches, pick and mix salads and prepacked lunch boxes. Of the lunch boxes, there is a choice of Chinese rice and noodles,  Caribbean style rice and choice of meat, some rice and curry as well as a range of salads.  They are all reasonably priced with the rice and noodles between £4 – £5 while the salads cost slightly less. I decided on the Mediterranean Chicken Pasta Salad which cost only £3.25! Bargain!

The fusilli pasta is lightly dressed with a pesto dressing and it is topped with shredded cheddar cheese, some black olives, cheery tomatoes, some shredded marinated chicken, rocket and a veg stew made up of courgettes, aubergines and mange tout. The portion was generous but to be honest, the salad is just what it is, nothing special. But for £3.25, how could you complain?

Rosie Tate Cafe
19 Great Guildford Street
Southwark
London SE1 0HS
0207 928 9100

Pork Ramen – Wagamama, Clink Street, London Bridge

Today’s post might not to everyone’s liking since I’m going to blog about a High Street joint. There is a Wagamama just around the corner from work and I was starving and craving for something nice and warming. Sorry if you’d thought I sold out.

With the recent ramen craze sweeping major cities around the world, London is in on the act as well. Recent openings like Tonkotsu, Ittenbari, Bone Daddies and Shoryu were all blogged to death by regular food blogs. I did try out Tonkotsu with high hopes but sadly they were dashed beyond oblivion. Understand that Wagamama revamped their menu slightly to jump on the ramen bandwagon so thought why not give it a chance?

Decided to go with the Pork Ramen seeing it’s supposedly new on the menu. Also gave myself a treat with a side order of Tori Kaarage, for those of you not in the know, tori = bird in Japanese, i.e. Chicken Kaarage. Also added some sliced red chilies as I can’t live without heat! The ramen was £8.50, the kaarage was £4.85 while the sliced chilies were £0.70. All in lunch was £14.10. Service was not included and since the servers were all very attentive, I dropped £16 when the bill came. Junk deserves a treat sometimes.

I was glad I gave this a go! The Tori Kaarage had a very crispy and well seasoned coating of batter which has seaweed mixed into it. Unlike most places, the kaarage were truly bite size pieces, like the popcorn chicken from KFC. While the size is convenient for popping into your mouth, I think there is a higher tendency for some pieces to be dry as the size means the moisture in the meat is more exposed to the heat. The dipping sauce that came with it complimented the kaarage well, a mix of soy sauce with some chili and garlic. Recommend that you squeeze some of the lime juice into the dipping sauce to give it a tangy edge.

On to the Pork Ramen. Ok, I really pimped this up with the chili oil and shichimi togarashi provided. On hindsight, I could have saved £0.70 for the sliced chili since the complimentary condiments gave me the heat I wanted. Pimping aside, the miso and chicken broth was deep but not too coying, the noodles had a nice bite while still maintaining the fresh ramen texture, the menma, wakame and pea shoots added some crunch while the half tea stained egg could be marinated a bit more. But the true delight of this dish has to be the barbecue pork belly slices! The portion was generous, the belly slices were tender with melt in your mouth fat yet has the smoky and charred flavour typical of a good searing. Thought I died and gone to heaven.

So in all, Junk was a very satisfied customer. Two thumbs up!

Wagamama
1 Clink Street
London SE1 9BU
0207 403 3659

Haggis, Neeps and Tatties – Chez Boom and Sillfield Farm, Borough Market

One of my biggest past time on weekends is cooking. I’m always looking out for inspiration of new things to cook be it recipe from newspaper, supermarket freebie magazines or fellow food blogs. Seeing it’s Burns Night last Friday and I have a wee bottle of Scottish Whiskey hanging around, decided to grab some proper haggis from Borough Market and give Haggies, Neeps and Tatties a go.

Wanted to get haggies from The Ginger Pig but they were sold out by lunch time. Had to resort to Plan B and got it from Sillfield Farm next door instead. The haggies supposedly comes in 2 sizes but they ran out of the big one so I had to get 2 small 3/4 pound ones instead. They were £3.95 each, not cheap considering it’s made from offal.

For those of you who are curious, haggis is a traditional Scottish dish made from sheep’s pluck which is it’s heart, liver and lung. The cooked and minced pluck is mixed with onion, oats and various herbs and spices and stuffed in a casing so it’s something like a sausage. The “parcel” is boiled but unlike sausage, you don’t eat the casing.

The classic accompaniment to haggis is neeps and tatties. Mashed turnip and swede and mashed potatoes. After reading several recipes from the interweb, I’m still not sure whether neeps refers to turnips or swede. Decided to go with swede since I thought the slight sweetness will go well with the rest of dish. Also made a basic Bisto gravy but added some leeks to it.

I know the picture don’t look great, the lousy lighting at Chez Boom makes everything looks yellow (Junk included, well she is already yellow afterall). The pile with the green bits is the mashed potatoes, the green bits are chives.

This is not the first time I have tried haggis but have to agree with Boom that this is best one we have both tried. The haggis is not dry at all and is rich and wholesome, no trace of offal taste at all. Combined with the creamy mash and slightly sweet mashed swede, it was the perfect meal for a cold winter night. Boom liked adding whiskey to the haggis while I prefer it without. Somehow the whiskey was too harsh for my taste. In all, really enjoyed it.

Chez Boom
Somewhere in West London
Open 24/7
Strictly by invitation
Only for the worthy

Sillfield Farm
Borough Market, Middle Market area
8 Southwark Street
London SE1 1TL

Thai Green Chicken & Seafood Curry – Furness Food Stop, Borough Market

It’s Thursday today and Borough Market is in full swing, compared to other weekdays, the atmosphere is much better. I know I will have choices galore and rather then wandering around undecided, I set my mind on something warm and preferably with rice. The first few stalls I came across were hogging pies and sausage rolls which I will file for the future. Then I came across this place.

Furness Fish & Game sells fresh seafood, poultry and game. They also portion off a part of their stall to sell takeaway for punters like me. Not a bad idea seeing most of the ingredients in the ready made food is from their produce stall.

On offer today was a Seafood Paella, Thai Green Chicken & Seafood Curry and a Vietnamese Chicken Curry. Was tempted by the paella but peeling prawns and shelling mussels at my desk while blogging sounds too messy even for me. I might be able to multi-task but I’m not an octopus!

Decided to go half way and went with the Thai Green Chicken & Seafood Curry. While waiting for my food, spotted the soup kettle and had a portion of Fish Soup as well. Handed over a £20 note and only got £10.50 back. Told you Borough Market can be expensive! The curry probably cost £6 while the soup is £3.50. There was no price posted and I did not bother to ask.

The Fish Soup is like a bisque, smooth and creamy and you can still taste small flakes of fish in it. But it does smell pretty fishy and I think it’s a tad too salty. I liked it though. The curry also fared pretty well. The sauce was rich with coconut cream and there was plenty of normal and shitake mushroom, capsicum, baby potatoes. A bit mean on the chicken and I only spotted 3 small shell on prawns as the token seafood. Surprisingly, the rich made the dish! Not too sure what rice it is, definitely not basmati or jasmine. Probably the bomba rice they used in the paella.The grains are plump, slightly sticky and it was nicely seasoned with salt. The combination of salty rice and the slightly sweet curry was magic.

See, I was so excited with my food that I forgot to take a closeup pic till I was almost done. Tsk, tsk, Junk, what are you like eh?

Furness Fish & Game
Borough Market Middle Market Area
8 Southwark Street
London SE1 1TL

Pulled Roast Herdwick Lamb Wrap – Cumbrian Speciality Meats, Borough Market

Most people think that Borough Market only trades from Thursdays to Sundays and is dead  early in the week. Strictly speaking, that is true as most of the stall selling fresh produce are closed. But there are a few stalls catering to lunch seekers open at the Green Market area.

Was thinking of giving Soul Food a try but alas, they are not opened. So I went with the stall with the most crowd, Cumbrian Speciality Meats. For Monday to Wednesday, they only have their Pulled Roast Herdwick Lamb wrap so my choice is made. The lamb is roasted, pre pulled and heated up on a electric cooker like the wild rice. Apart from the lamb, the wrap is served with herb wild rice, a mix salad and 2 sauces. A simple yogurt and cucumber and a slightly spicy yogurt sauce. The wraps are made to order and it’s £5 each.

What attracted me to the stall was the whiff of gamey lamb. Some people love it, some don’t. Taste wise, I think it’s ok. I would have loved more lamb and I think the portion of lamb I had was overheated and thus dry. But the gamey lamb taste is still there and mixed with the mild sauce was tasty enough. The wild rice was nicely spiced with coriander while the small portion of salad gave a much needed crunch.

I never expected to eat cheap at Borough Market so can’t really complain about the price to size ratio. Let’s just say I can always have soup at the office canteen to bulk up. Sorry for the blurry picture, it’s a cold day afterall.

Cumbrian Speciality Meats
Borough Market Green Market Area
8 Southwark Street
London SE1 1TL

Red Thai Beef with Noodles – Chozen, Borough High Street

Saw this place on my way home last night and thought what a quirky and imaginative name. The fact that they serve sushi and noodles makes it a must try.

Chozen is located along Borough High Street, diagonally opposite Stoney Street, one of the entrances to Borough Market. The name of the joint is a word play on “Chosen” but spelled as “zen” so you know they serve Japanese inspired food. Subtle but rather effective I think.

The set up is very much like Wasabi where you can get hot food from steamer trays and cold sushi from the fridge area. A variety of udon noodle soup is also available. Just pickup a udon container and the counter staff will top it up with soup. Price wise, I think it’s a tad more than Wasabi but not so bad to be obvious.

From a choice of red thai, green thai and katsu curry and also black bean with either veg, chicken or beef, I went with the Red Thai Beef and got egg noodles as carb instead of rice.  Was asked would I like to go large/upsize for £1.50 more, I simply had to say yes. Total came up to £7.15.

The smell when I opened the container reminded me more of satay sauce then red thai curry, strong whiff of peanuts. The beef was thinly sliced and very tender with courgettes, kidney bean and peppers scattered throughout. Taste wise, it’s definitely not red thai curry. I would say this is more like a slightly spicy stew. Not too bad if you are not expecting red thai curry.

I will give their udon soup noodles a go when I’m craving for something soupy next time.

Chozen
59 – 61 Borough High Street
London SE1 1NE
0207 403 0031