Archive for 2015

Food Hunting at Borough Market, London

Thursday, November 19, 2015 0 Comments A+ a-

There we go, food hunting at the infamous Borough Market, London.

No doubt, Borough Market has gained popularity among Asian tourists especially in the recent years and has been listed as one of the Must-Visit location. It was a cloudy Saturday afternoon. Despite the gentle drizzle, the market was bustling and fully packed with people, mainly the tourists.
The first stop - Pie & More, the beef pie with mashed green peas. Compare with the pie and mash green peas in A-Pie-Thing in PJ, this pie definitely scores big. The beef were well cook (tender) and the pastry was fluffy and did not turn overly soggy even though it was submerged in the brown sauce. The green peas were not overly mashed, so you can still taste the peas chunks. For only €4, this is really value for money. Not to mention, there were really filling.
Borough Market, London
Pie & More
African Ethiopian cuisine is not common is South East Asian and we really tempted to give it a try. The dishes looked absolutely appealing. For €5.50, the meal box came with 3 types of side dish of your choice to go with the flavored rice. We opted for spicy chicken, spinach and yellow split peas mash. The meal box tasted as good as it looks especially the split peas mash. The down side of the African meal box is the carbo overload after-effect. You would get very thirsty after the meal. 
Borough Market, London
After a plus size freshly squeezed strawberry and apple juice, I was totally satisfied and called it quit. The light snack, pan fried Gyoza ended the food hunt in Borough Market for the day. There are more things I would like to try in my next visit, such as seafood paella, scallop burger and panini cheese toast.
Borough Market, London

Legendary Crispy Duck @ Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant, Bayswater London

Sunday, November 01, 2015 0 Comments A+ a-

Crispy Duck at Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant, LondonTrip to London is not complete without tasting the legendary Crispy Duck at Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant (at least for me). It is in my Must-Eat-List whenever I visit London. There is a Four Seasons Restaurant in Empire Mall, Malaysia which has the same dish in their menu. Unfortunately, the taste and texture are incomparable to the original London version. For the authentic taste, the London's version remains the sole winner.
Crispy Duck at Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant, London
The duck skin is crispy whilst the duck meat is tender and juicy with a hint of Chinese herbs. You will surely crave for more after the first bite.

 The complete set comes with duck (1/4 , 1/2, whole bird at your choice), pancake wraps, sweet sauce, cut cucumber and scallion strips.
Crispy Duck at Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant, LondonHere is how I enjoy the dish.
1. Spread the sweet sauce on the wrap
2. Top it up with shredded duck meat, some scallion and cucumber strips on the wrap
3. Wrap it and devour ....
Crispy Duck at Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant, London
The final look of my crispy duck wrap. Yum!!
Crispy Duck at Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant, London
The 1/4 bird set comes with only 8 slices of pancake wraps and there are definitely more meat left for rice. These crispy duck meat is indeed fantastic to go with rice. You may order some vegetable or dishes to enjoy along. You will never go wrong with this stir-fry kailan with scallops. Crunchy kailan and fresh scallops are fantastic pairs.
Crispy Duck at Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant, London
Chinese dinner is incomplete without a bowl of hot soup (especially during cold days in fall/winter). The wantons wrapped with minced pork and shrimps. Judging from the look, you can tell how good it is. 
Crispy Duck at Four Seasons Chinese Restaurant, London
Despite the not so friendly service, it doesn't stop me from keep coming back. A hearty and satisfying meal.

Address:
84 Queensway, London W2 3RL, United Kingdom

Asian Inspired Spicy Pickles & Grilled Curry Chicken Fillets Recipe

Sunday, October 18, 2015 0 Comments A+ a-

Grilled Curry Chicken Fillets Recipe
The Sun does not come out to play as often now, this signifies that Fall/Winter is near. Gloomy days really make me crave for something spicy for lunch. With chilies, onion, curry powder stored in the kitchen, I know exactly what dishes I shall prepare which could spice out my dull palette - pan-fried curry chicken fillets and  spicy pickles.

 Spicy Pickles
Asian Inspired Spicy Pickles
I love vegetable pickles especially the spicy and tangy ones as shown above. This is one of the popular dish back home, either in Chinese 'mixed rice' stalls, Indian mamak stalls or Malay nasi campur stalls, you can get it easily. With the right ingredients, you could prepare a jug of homemade pickles which tastes as good as the one sold.

 Ingredients: cucumber and carrot (cut into chunky fries strips), pineapple slices (cut into cubes),sliced onion and chili, sugar, rice vinegar, salt, water.
Instructions: Rub the cucumber with some salt, put aside and let them 'sweat'. So that the cucumber strips will turn crunchy. In a bowl, dissolve the sugar in hot water and pour in the rice vinegar. The sugar, water and rice vinegar ratio is 3/4: 1/4: 1. Drain the cucumber and mix the rests of the ingredients (carrot, pineapple cubes, sliced onion and chili) into the vinegar solution. Store it in refrigerator for 2 hours before serving.
Acar
I ended up using the canned pineapple since I couldn't get fresh pineapple from the supermarkets. You may remove the chili seeds if you dislike spicy food, but I prefer not to de-seed the chili for some extra 'kick'. Red shallots may add-up the extra kick too, unfortunately I can't get it here, so I substituted with Bombay onion. The pickles does not disappoint me at all, it turned up to be a great side dish full with flavours - spicy, tangy and sweet. Very appetizing in fact, a must try dish!

 Curry Chicken Fillets
I am very proud with these curry chicken fillets. They are well seasoned, moist and tender,  a recipe worth sharing indeed! They are not hard to prepare either. Check out how to prepare these ...

Ingredients: Chicken fillet (preferably chicken breast), curry powder, salt, pepper, sesame oil, soy-sauce, cooking oil.
Instructions: Mix the curry powder, salt, pepper, sesame oil, soy-sauce in a bowl. Pour over the mixture onto the chicken fillets. Some rubbing will help to ensure the chicken fillets are well 'coated'. Marinate the fillets for 2 hours. Heat up the cooking oil in a pan and pan-fry the chicken fillets under medium-high heat for 5-6min. You may oven bake the chicken but they may turn a bit dry. Pan-fry could be a better option as you may control the heat to keep the fillet moist and juicy.

Happy trying!

Interesting Local Food You Should Try When Visiting Denmark

Sunday, October 11, 2015 0 Comments A+ a-

Danish are well known for their distinguished Danish pastries. However, there are much more great Danish food that you should not missed when visiting Denmark.

 1. Open Faced Sandwich
smørrebrød
Traditional open faced sandwich, also known as smørrebrød in Danish is actually a single slice of bread (often whole-grain rye bread) with different toppings including spreads, cold cut, cheeses, eggs, roasted beef etc and complemented by leafy greens, herbs or pickles.

 Smoked salmon and caviar (sometimes with shrimps) smørrebrød and liver pate smørrebrød are commonly served in Danish cafes. Cafeteria in Fotex hypermarket serve affordable smoked salmon, shrimps and caviar smørrebrød. For DKK49 (USD7), you can enjoy fried fish fillet version too, quite a deal to be honest. 

2. Hotdog: Danish Hotdog Stands
Danish hotdog
Hotdog stands dotted almost every city around Denmark and they are easy to spot. Stop by and pick your favorite hotdog or sausage at the stand. "Hotdog" is universally recognized as hotdog comes inside a bun. However, the Nordic version is more than that. You may have Frank Hotdog which the hotdog is stuffed inside a hollowed out baguette with the sauce of your choice i.e. ketchup, tangy mayo or mustard. Hotdog and Ristet Pølse on the other hand are served separately with the bun.
Check out the various type of sausages available for your selection.

3. Liquorice Candies
"Denmark has a particular love affair with everything liquorice - liquorice chocolate, candies, ice cream even beer" " ... very true statement instead. Liqourice candies are perhaps the most popular one among children and adults. There are huge selection of liquorice candies sold in most of the Danish' supermarkets. Comes in vibrant colors and various flavors, be prepared to be spoilt with choices. Colorful gummy candies and marshmallow are available too. Liqourice is an acquire taste to some. Tip for first timer, instead of buying a big bag, you may get the liqourice stick for DKK3 (per stuck). Remember to bite and chew. Enjoy!

4. Sunset Boulevard - Danish Fast Food Chain
Sunset Boulevard (fastfoodrestaurantkæde)
Same concept as the US sandwich chain Subway, Sunset Boulevard is the Danish home grown fast food chain serving freshly made sandwiches and burgers. Thick and juicy patty coupled with fresh lettuce and tomato slices, the hamburger is a winner (sorry for McD's fans).
Sunset Boulevard, Danish fast food chain)
The sandwich is equally good, freshly grilled chicken pieces pair with secret yellow sauce that could beat the sandwich from Subway. The crusty fresh baguette made the great difference. The herbs blended fries is also a highlight. They taste so good and you can eat it on the own without any dips. One more thing is they don't turn soggy easily.
Sunset Boulevard, Danish fast food chain
The fried chicken wings is a Must-Try too. Not all the Sunset Boulevard outlet have it in the menu, perhaps it is only for limited time only. Well seasoned, full of flavor and you will be blown away after the first bite.

Spinach Salad (Sigeumchi Namul) and Kimbap

Wednesday, October 07, 2015 0 Comments A+ a-

Sigeumchi Namul

Leafy spinach is my all-time-favourite. Spinach is so versatile and can easily turn into delicious dish just by simply stir-frying it. In today's recipe, I am going to show you the simplest method to prepare spinach, the Korean way without heating up your pan. It is known as Sigeumchi Namul in Korean or in spinach salad in English.

Ingredients: 1 bag of spinach, sesame oil, sesame seeds, rice vinegar and salt.
Instruction: Boil the spinach in hot water for 30 second. Drain the spinach and cool the spinach under the cold running water. Squeeze out the excess water. In a bowl, mix the sesame oil, rice vinegar and salt to taste. Mix the dressing with the spinach and sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds before serving.

The delicious spinach salad goes super well with my home baked chicken breast and potato wedges.

Not only I eat it as a side dish for my baked chicken and potato wedges, I even have it in my kimbap (Korean seaweed roll).
Korean seaweed rice roll Seaweed, rice, sesame oil, rice vinegar are the main ingredients for the kimbap. For the rests, you may have any of your favourite ingredients. For me, sigeumchi namul, cocktail sausage, carrot stripe, egg roll cut into stripes are all that is required.

The kimbap rice is a bit under seasoned for this first attempt. Perhaps, some soy-source may help to enhance the taste. I will remember to add it in the next time.

Summer Fruits

Sunday, September 27, 2015 0 Comments A+ a-

Summer fruits
Who could resist the great Summer in Europe? Sunshine in the Summer always shed away all the depression mainly causes by the often rainy and gloomy autumn plus winter. I can safely bet that 9 out of 10 Europeans will tell you they LOVE summer to bits.

 No doubt Summer is the best time to enjoy the sunshine and embrace tons of outdoor activities. One should also not miss relishing some great summer fruits too such as berries, melons, peaches etc.

 My weekly shopping cart were full of summer fruits and I even pluck some from the garden. Check out the pic above - a handful of wonderfully delicious homegrown berries i.e. raspberries, red current and strawberries. Lovely color ... (p/s: Sorry about the half-ripe strawberries as the ripe ones have been eaten by birds or insects.)

 The small round shape, smooth skin red currents were surprisingly sweet. I enjoy the the sourness of the bright-red raspberries. These fresh berries are powerful natural antioxidant and are an excellent source of vitamin C, plus there are low in calories especially for raspberries.

 With Autumn quickly being usher in, perhaps I will need to wait till the next Summer for some homegrown "berries power". The song Wake Me Up When September Ends from Green Day starts to play:

 Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
Wake me up when September ends
......
......
Hope everyone had a great Summer. See you in the next Summer!

Garoeda Indonesisch Restaurant @ The Hague

Wednesday, September 23, 2015 0 Comments A+ a-

Tea with Dutch butter cookie
For almost a year, I have always mistaken Garoeda Indonesian restaurant as a western restaurant although it is indeed an Indonesian restaurant. Neither the exterior nor the interior correspond to the typical Asian restaurant feel (maybe a little giveaway by the wood carving). Perhaps you will have the same thought too if you happen to pass by the restaurant at the corner of a busy shopping street.

The restaurant serves a wide array of tasty yet affordable Indonesian cuisine, nasi rames, bami, rijsttafel etc. However, what sets this restaurant apart from other Indonesian restaurant in town is its unique ambiance.
Garoeda Indonesisch Restaurant


Garoeda Indonesisch Restaurant

Garoeda Indonesisch Restaurant
The whole restaurant is brilliantly illuminated by natural sunlight, thanks to the wide window panels around the restaurant. Wooden yet not too bulky furniture, complete but not too elaborate table settings make the restaurant extra cosy and comfortable. Even if I am not here for food, I could spend a relaxing afternoon here, sipping through a cup of tea while enjoying a novel.

The afternoon when we popped by for lunch, there was a TV shooting going on in the restaurant by local TV production company. I was pretty sure it was the great decor that brought them here.

 It is indeed worthwhile to check out the restaurant even if you are not keen to try out the food. A pint of Bintang beer or a glass of wine at the bar corner will surely light up your evening.
Address: Kneuterdijk 18 A, 2514 EN Den Haag, Netherlands 
Phone: +31 70 346 5319

Best Japanese Treat in The Hague, SET Genki Tei

Saturday, September 05, 2015 0 Comments A+ a-

Best Japanese Treat in The Hague, Genki Tei
A colleague from home country happened to be in town for a conference plus workshop. Being a good host, I offered to bring her for a food hunt around The Hague. Perhaps gotten tired with sandwiches, cold cuts, cheeses, croquettes, pancakes etc for the past few days from the workshop, she specifically requested for Asian food. Plus an additional request for something light but can fill the stomach at the same time.

 I know exactly where to bring her for a good treat, it is non other than my favorite SET Genki Tei Japanese Restaurant! Instead of ordering the usual bento lunch sets, we went for the Ala-carte sushi and assorted Japanese side dishes, okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake) and Gyoza (meat dumpling).

 We enjoyed the tamago roll (egg roll) wrapped in seaweed as the complimentary appetizer. The green edamame provided a contrasting texture in the egg roll. They were indeed beautifully wrapped and just looked like a sushi ... but without the rice.
Best Japanese Treat in The Hague, Genki Tei
Tamago wrapped in seaweed
The sushi platter we ordered consists of 3 types of sushi - the scallop sushi, shrimp sushi and Unagi eel sushi. Oh boy, the scallop was fresh and instantly melt in my mouth. I do believe the scallop had been lightly torched instead of being grilled since it was moist and juicy. Kudos to the chef for a well executed dish. The scallop went well with the Ikura (salmon roe) too. Salty roe paired with sweet scallop is simply perfection!
Best Japanese Treat in The Hague, Genki Tei
Scallop sushi
The shrimp sushi was equally good as well. Instead of Ikura, the shrimp sushi was topped with Tobiko (flying fish roe) which are smaller in size. It has different texture as compare to Ikura which are slightly more fishy in taste. I especially like the sushi rice as there were avocado cubes in it. Thumbs up!
Best Japanese Treat in The Hague, Genki Tei
Shrimp sushi
Being a big fan of Unagi (grilled eel), this Unagi sushi really made my day. Usually the Unagi bento sets are quite expensive, so I was pleased to at least get a bite of the Unagi I craved. How I wish the unagi slice could be a bit thicker. I do appreciate the small details by the Chef, check out the the sesame seed sprinkled on top of the eel. I do not recall having something like this back home as the Unagi usually served plain, just with the teriyaki sauce smear on top.
Best Japanese Treat in The Hague, Genki Tei
Unagi (eel) sushi
Chicken karaage is also my all time favorite. Perfect side dish for ramen. Don't they look appetizing?
Best Japanese Treat in The Hague, Genki Tei
Chicken karaage
Fried fish cake was one of the dish from the fried dish platter. This was my least favorite as it was merely the processed/frozen fishcake you can get from the Asian grocers, which were coated in batter and deep-fried.
Best Japanese Treat in The Hague, Genki Tei
Fried fish cake
These fried shrimps were good. Well coated breadcrumb batter and well controlled frying temperature helped to "lock down" the freshness and juiciness of the shrimps.Best Japanese Treat in The Hague, Genki Tei

Crispy fried shrimps
The Okonomiyaki is another highly recommended dish. I have tried it for several times but still not bored with it. Check out my earlier post. Perhaps it is the tasty bonito flakes that tempted me to keep coming back for the okonomiyaki. Check out how generous the bonite flakes on it, simply irresistible.
Best Japanese Treat in The Hague, Genki Tei
Okonomiyaki
We ended the hearty meal with pan fried gyoza (meat dumpling). Yes, they tasted as good as they looked, crispy on the outside and juicy inside.
Best Japanese Treat in The Hague, Genki Tei
Gyoza
Some quick burps and big smile after the meal signified how satisfied my colleague was with today's Japanese' treat in Genki Tei. I know I scored ... opps, it should be Genki Tei scored!  
Address: Schoolstraat 4, 2511 AX Den Haag, Netherlands
Phone: +31 70 363 8839
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