Cooking class at The Spirit House, Yandina (Australia)

So I mentioned that we went back to Australia a couple of months ago. We had lots of delicious Australian food - barbecues, fish and chips by the water, more Red Rock Deli chips than anyone should eat in a three week period. But the foodie highlight would have to be the cooking class I did with my Mum.

We decided on the Asian Home Entertaining class at the Spirit House in Yandina. The Spirit House is a beautiful mostly-Thai restaurant and cooking school set in picturesque rainforest-like surroundings on the Sunshine Coast, north of Brisbane.

If I'm going to do a cooking class, I like to do something that I don't know well and am not confident in. I don't really cook Thai food, so this class definitely appealed. The class was run by Annette Fear, the long-standing Head Chef at The Spirit House and co-author of three Spirit House cookbooks. Annette was fabulous - she is obviously well-travelled and hugely experienced and yet she was so friendly and approachable and not at all intimidating.

We started the class with a chat about the dishes we were going to make and Annette gave some background on them and told some lovely stories from her travels. We then all moved inside to start the preparation. My big take-away from the day would definitely have to be how much preparation is involved in Thai cooking. I think we spent most of the class preparing!

We were all given different jobs, from chopping piles of chillies to shredding green papaya and grinding fresh spices for a curry paste. Once all the ingredients were chopped and set aside in containers, the cooking began - although, to be fair, that part was quite quick!

Across the class, we made:

Steamed Prawn & Chicken Wontons with Avocado Salad

Spiced Crispy Rice Fish with Grapefruit, Fennel & Thai Basil

Massaman Curry of Duck with Caramelised Sweet Potato & Cashews

Young Coconut & Lime Sorbet with Red Papaya and Mint Salad

We started with the wontons, which were made with ready-made wonton wrappers (apparently, no Thai person would ever make their own - you would be specialised in this, so buying them is okay!). We had quite a production line set up to fill and fold the wrappers although I don't think Annette was too impressed with our technique!

The wontons were steamed in huge bamboo steamers and served with a light salad of avocado, tomato and cucumber and either soy or red rice wine vinegar for dipping. The wontons were excellent - really tasty, really impressive looking and deceptively easy to make. Great idea for a dinner party as you can largely make them in advance.

The finishing touches were then put to the main courses and we sat at the tables outside next to the pond to tuck into the whitebait salad and massaman curry.

I really enjoyed the whitebait - they were really tiny New Zealand whitebait and didn't taste super fishy. They were prepared simply, coated in rice flour and deep fried, so they were light and crunchy. They were served with a salad of grapefruit and fennel, two ingredients I am not all that enthusiastic about. They were nice enough in the salad, but even looking at the recipe now, I am struggling to get excited. It is a shame, as Annette was telling us that Thai salads are a really underrated side to Thai cuisine (except for the ubiquitous Thai Beef Salad!).

It was always up against stiff competition, but the salad did pale in comparison to the Duck Massaman Curry, which was - quite simply - wow! It is certainly not a low-fat meal, but the rich duck meat with the coconut curry sauce, roasted sweet potato and cashew nuts was a guaranteed winning combination. If you were making this yourself, it would be reasonably time-consuming, but again, is something you can make mostly in advance. You definitely need to serve this when there are more people to eat it with you - it was too good and too fattening to risk eating it all yourself!

Annette did explain to us that a Thai meal would normally be a number of dishes such as this curry and salad together. The different dishes balance each other out and means the Thai people don't eat enormous amounts of such a rich dish as the curry. It is quite a different approach to eating than we normally take in Western cuisines.


We finished up with a Young Coconut Milk and Lime granita served with Red Papaya. I've never liked papaya and still didn't like it now. The granita was very subtly flavoured, so this dessert was not all that exciting for me. Still, the granita is a flexible technique, which can be used to make lots of variations on a simple, light dessert that was appropriate after the curry.

All of this was washed down with a couple of glasses of wine, which combined with all that food, made the drive back to Brisbane then the Gold Coast rather long!

This was quite a different cooking class to what I've done previously. The food was stunning and really different, but because it was cooked by the whole class of 20 or so people, individually, we didn't get to do that much or even see everything. It was less involved on the cooking front than other classes. Still, Annette was great, the food was excellent and the surroundings are idyllic.

Massaman Curry of Duck

For the curry
4 duck Maryland, jointed and drumstick trimmed (could also use chicken or stewing beef)
3 cups coconut cream
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
6-8 pickling onions or golden shallots, peeled
500g golden sweet potato, peeled, cut into 5 cm pieces and seasoned
3-4 tablespoons Massaman paste (see separate recipe)
2-3 tablespoons light palm sugar
2-3 tablespoons fish sauce
4 tablespoons tamarind water (see separate recipe)
1 large red chilli, de-seeded and sliced
1/4 cup roasted unsalted cashews, roughly chopped

Heat a heavy based frying pan and cook the duck pieces until well coloured. Set aside.

Open the coconut cream without shaking and separate the cream from the milk. There should be about 1 cup of cream and 2 cups of milk. Place the milk in a saucepan with the duck pieces, adding just enough water to cover if necessary. Set the coconut cream aside to use later. Bring the duck to the boil without covering and then simmer on a low heat for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. This duck can also be paced in a baking dish with the coconut milk and cooked uncovered in a moderately low oven (160 degrees). Once the duck is cooked, remove from coconut milk and reserve milk.

Meanwhile, place the seasoned sweet potato and onions in a large baking dish (with low sides) with the vegetable oil, toss well to coat and bake in moderate 180 degree oven for about an hour or until browning on the edges and cooked. Remove and set aside.

heat 1/2 cup of the reserved coconut cream in a wok or saucepan and simmer for about 5-10 minutes until the oil starts to separate. Add the curry paste and cook gently until the paste smells rich and fragrant. Add the reserved coconut milk, light palm sugar, fish sauce and tamarind water. Bring to the boil, then add the cooked duck pieces, sweet potato, onion and 1/4 cup of remaining coconut cream. Simmer for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with the red chilli, cashews and remaining coconut cream.

To make the curry paste
12 large dried red chillies, seeded and soaked in hot water until soft then chopped finely
12 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 cup peeled and chopped onion or shallots
2 tablespoons galangal, peeled and chopped
2 stalks of lemon grass, trimmed and chopped
3 tablespoons coriander root, cleaned and chopped
1 tablespoon salt

Spice mixture
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seed
4 cm piece cassia (hard cinnamon stick)
8 cloves
5 cardamom pods
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon mace

Dry roast the coriander, cumin, cassia, cloves and cardamom pods in a fry pan over a gentle heat until just starting to color and smell toasted. Place in a mortar and pestle or spice mill with the white pepper and grind to a powder. Stir in the mace.

Place the paste ingredients in a mortar and pound to a puree. Mix in the spices. Store in a screw top jar or freeze in cubes and just thaw the cubes as required. Keeps for 6 months frozen.

Tamarind water
1 tablespoon of tamarind pulp
1/2 cup boiling water

Put tamarind pulp in a bowl, pour in boiling water. When cool, mash pulp with a fork and strain the liquid through a sieve. Retain this liquid, discard the tamarind seeds and skins.

The Spirit House
20 Ninderry Road
Yandina, Qld, 4561
Australia

Afternoon tea at the Ritz

It seems like ages since I've sat down to write a blog post and well, it has been ages! It has been a long list of sorry reasons (we moved flats and decided to switch from BT to Sky, the process of which involved consecutive requests for cable tv, phone then internet - each involving 3-4 weeks between steps; we went back to Australia for a visit for three weeks; work has been crazy; excuses, excuses).

In that time, we've still been cooking and eating and doing lots of awesome food stuff, which means I now feel guilty and overwhelmed about what I haven't blogged! So, I am prioritising. Only the most interesting things that have occurred over the past few months will be recorded for posterity . . .

The first would have to be our afternoon tea at the Ritz. This was a Christmas present from my parents, which we finally got around to booking in about May this year, only to find that the first sensible time available on a weekend was in August! So, on a beautiful sunny August day, we headed into the London institution that is the Ritz.

The hotel is incredibly ornate and over the top, matched by the staff in their tails or white jackets and black bow ties. It all feels a bit like a stage set! Along with another 70 or so people, we were shown to our table for the 1.30 seating. The process runs like clockwork. They hold five seatings a day, seven days a week, turning people over every two hours, but somehow not making you feel like a cog in a system. Quite impressive.

Our voucher was for the champagne high tea and we were provided with our glass of Ritz champagne, while we perused the extensive menus of teas. I must profess to being not much of a tea drinker (and certainly knowing very little about different varieties). I decided to try something a little different in the Rose Congou, described as 'a black tea from Guangdong, China, enriched with rose petals giving a gentle, light rose aroma to the tea'. Kyle was less adventurous with his choice of Ritz Royal English, 'an exquisite Kenyan blend of malty Assam and the fine flavour of Ceylon'.

The white-jacketed waiters whisked the stands of food efficiently to each table while our tea was being poured and we got into the serious business of eating. Afternoon Tea at the Ritz is obviously hugely traditional, so you're not expecting anything unusual or uncommon here.

The sandwiches included cucumber (don't get it!), cheese, smoked salmon, ham, chicken and egg. They are all incredibly dainty, served as little fingers of crustless bread with simple fillings. Quite pleasant.

The scones weren't included with the first tray of food, but were brought around at the point in proceedings where one was supposed to have finished sandwiches and could move on to scones while they were still warm. Very efficient! The scones were exceptional. I often find scones a bit heavy, particularly with this much food, but these were warm, light and fluffy. We had lovely little pots of delicious strawberry jam and artery-clogging clotted cream, which were both traditional but very good! For me, the scones were the highlight.

We were now ready to move onto the top tier - the cakes. Unfortunately, by this time, I was already really quite full! This is a problem with afternoon tea - you start with sandwiches and run out of room for cake! But, I had to do my duty and persevered through a pistachio cake (average cake, decorated with amazing raspberries) and a truly exceptional chocolate gateau, made with rich, dark bitter chocolate. That was good. Kyle had the vanilla slice, which was okay - very hard to eat. Unfortunately, we had to pass on a fruit tart, blueberry mousse and a coconut macaroon. A tragedy. For some reason, the couple at the table next to us had ordered an extra cake to celebrate their anniversary. Needless to say, they ate hardly any and tried to palm some on to us!

Afternoon tea at the Ritz lived up to expectations as a truly English, rather posh experience. It is quite rare to go somewhere these days where people are all well dressed, but everyone really made an effort. I expected it to be more touristy, but the people there seemed to be couples or families celebrating occasions, so everyone was really positive. The staff were very friendly and helpful and the setting was most appropriate! It is expensive compared to other high teas in London, but let's face it, are you really going for the tea and sandwiches?

The Ritz
150 Piccadilly
London W1J 9BR

Bam Bou

Bam Bou is a French Vietnamese restaurant not far from Tottenham Court Road. I had read about it some months ago and thought the menu sounded delicious – a combination of the strong, tasty flavours of Vietnamese food cooked in the somewhat ‘fancier’ French style. Or at least, that is my interpretation! However you described it, it has been on my ‘restaurants to try’ list for a while, so when I saw that Top Table was advertising a deal for 50% off food, it seemed like the perfect opportunity.

The restaurant was already quite full at 7pm on a Wednesday night (the deal was only available Monday – Wednesday), but we were seated at a nice enough table for two in the corner. The menu was oddly laid out with white wines on the left, food in the middle and red wines on the right. Very strange.

Anyway, it was a really interesting menu with plenty of delicious sounding dishes, including prawns on sugar cane and pork, watermelon and cashew nut salad. It took us quite a while to decide and involved some serious negotiation. In the meantime, the waitress came over and, we thought, asked us if we wanted more time. We said yes. We thought they were being very generous when some edamame beans and giant prawn crackers arrived. Turns out, she asked us if we wanted some snacks to start. Still, they were very good, the edamame beans in particular are always a fresh, tasty nibble.

We finally ordered and our starters arrived quite quickly. Kyle had ‘won’ the first course and ordered the crispy-fried soft shell crab with chilli and lime. It was a generous portion of crab, crunchy on the outside making way for the soft give of the crab underneath. Almost more of a texture than a flavour, but that was more than made up for by the super-fiery chilli dipping sauce that accompanied it!
I chose the most non-date starter you can imagine (luckily we’re married, so that didn’t matter so much!) – Hanoi-style short ribs with chilli, garlic and red wine vinegar. This was also a generous serving of six ribs coated in a thick, sticky sweet marinade. The marinade was rich and delicious but it was all quite hard work and far too messy for public! Luckily, I was offered a couple of damp towels to clean myself up with!

Kyle’s main was the Sichuan-spiced duck breast with tamarind and chilli, cooked medium-rare, sliced thinly and beautifully presented on a bed of asian vegetables. The duck was soft and tender with the greens offering some variation in texture. The sauce was quite mild and could have done with a bit more kick.
While Kyle may have ‘won’ the choice for starter, I won the main and honestly – no contest! The Seared scallops, sweet pork and perilla cress was possibly one of the best dishes I have ever had. Four plump scallops sat alongside three big chunks of pork belly coated in a light, but sweet marinade. The scallops were excellent – well-seasoned, seared until caramelised and almost crunchy on top and with more flavour than I think I’ve ever tasted in a scallop. The pork was also good and the fact that it was pork belly was a pleasant surprise. The meat fell apart to the touch and the coating of sesame seeks offered a further flavour dimension. My only criticism – and this is nit-picking – is that the pieces were too big to be bite-sized and therefore elegantly eaten with chopsticks. Like I said, nit-picking. This was a classic, but very well-executed combination.

We also ordered some egg fried rice from the sides menu, which was also a good example of a typical dish. Lots of flavour, good bit chunks of egg and just the right amount of stickiness to be eaten with those chopsticks!

Seeing as food was 50% off, it seemed a waste not to have dessert. It is also one of the rare times I can remember Kyle looking at a dessert menu and instantly wanting something, that something being banana fritters. I must admit, I’m not a fan of bananas or of deep-fried desserts in general, so this was never going to be my thing. Kyle, however, thought they were fantastic! The pistachio ice-cream was not an obvious accompaniment and had a slightly odd flavour.
I chose the Vanilla and lime cheesecake with kiwi. The cheesecake was quasi-deconstructed with the buttery biscuit crumbled on top rather than forming the base. The cheesecake part was fairly standard and I had to really concentrate to detect any particular lime flavour. The kiwi was very strange – part of it looked and tasted canned. Can you get kiwi fruit in a tin? It wasn’t very pleasant.

Overall, the food at Bam Bou was generally very good and at 50% off, offered excellent value for money (all that food was about £30). The wine list was quite good with some unusual choices (we had a lovely Marsanne/Viognier blend) and service was attentive without being intrusive. I really enjoyed Bam Bou and I’m so glad we went – at full price, it would add up (fairly typical central London prices), but with this deal, it was a bargain for the variety and quality on offer.

Food: 9/10
Drinks: 8/10
Service: 9/10
Ambience: 9/10
Overall: 9/10

Bam Bou
Percy Street
London W1T IDB

Sort of Knickerbocker Glory

This recipe started out as Knickerbocker Glory made with stewed cherries, but I decided I couldn’t be bothered to stone cherries and substituted them for raspberries. I then decided the raspberries were too nice to do anything with and what was left was not really a recipe at all!

In the end, dessert was layers of fresh raspberries with vanilla ice-cream and half a crumbled up Flake, topped with grated dark chocolate and the other half of the Flake (it has been ages since I’ve had a Flake!). A step above kiddie food – yum!

Hot dogs with beer braised onions and warm potato salad

We’ve moved into our new flat! Hooray! And most excitingly, it has a garden. I have been missing our outdoor life from Australia. Actually, that sounds grander than it is – I’m actually not a really outdoorsy person. We had a fairly small back deck on our house in Australia and I did like eating dinner outside, having barbecues etc. After nearly 2 ½ years of what feels like being permanently inside, I was very much looking forward to our own outdoor space.

I was rather optimistic about our move and had planned a potential barbecue meal for Sunday lunch. In the end, the barbecue wasn’t actually constructed until nearly 4pm and we still don’t have a gas bottle, so the barbecue meal had to be cooked inside.

I knew I’d be busy, so I hadn’t planned a particularly complicated dish. Nor was it particularly Australian, more American really– hot dogs on the barbecue. Still, served with onions that were sweet from slow braising in beer and a warm potato salad with a bit of Dijon mustard for some kick, it was a tasty first outdoor meal. And most importantly, it was sunny!

Hot dogs with beer-braised onions
Serves 4
Delicious magazine – August 2009
4 large frankfurters
3 large onions, sliced
125ml beer
1 tbsp butter
4 hot dog buns, to serve
Mustard and ketchup, to serve

1. Light / preheat a barbecue and a large, heavy-based frying pan. Prick the frankfurters all over with a fork. Put them on the frill and the onions in the pan, in 1 layer. Keep turning the frankfurters every 2 minutes until they are getting char marks, and keep tossing the onions in the pan. (I just simmered the frankfurters)

2. Put the frankfurters in among the onions and pour a couple tablespoons of beer over the top, causing the pan to sizzle. When the beer has evaporated, keep adding a little bit more at a time to the pan until all the beer has been used up.

3. When the onions are golden, add the butter and cook for a few more minutes until they turn an amble ale colour.

4. Split the hot dog buns (and I always think they should be toasted), add the frankfurters and onions and serve with mustard and ketchup (we also added some cheese).

Dijonnaise potatoes
Serves 2
Delicious magazine – August 2007

300g baby new potatoes, scrubbed and halved
½ bunch spring onions
3 tablespoons of dijonnaise (I just mixed about 3 tablespoons of mayo with a teaspoon of Dijon mustard to make this)
Handful of wild rocket

1. Boil the potatoes in a pan of lightly salted water for 12 minutes or until tender. Drain, tip into a bowl and cool slightly.

2. Add the spring onions, finely sliced, along with the dijonnaise and the rocket. Season and toss together.

Polenta with peppers and tomatoes

I made polenta recently to go with some pork chops. It is an interesting alternative to the normal carbs, but invariably, I make way too much. This time, I decided to put it in a tray and refrigerate the leftovers in the hope that inspiration would strike.

A couple of days later, after a survey of what we had in the fridge, I decided to pan-fry wedges of polenta and serve them with a sort of stew of red peppers, onion, garlic and tomato on a drizzle of balsamic glaze.

I will admit, I am not a recipe inventor. I am mostly a follower of recipes and rarely cook without one. I was, however, quite happy with my efforts here. The peppers were sweet and juicy and provided lots of flavour for the rather bland base of the polenta. The balsamic gave it some tang and altogether, I thought it worked quite well. The biggest challenge for us when making up recipes is knowing when to stop adding ingredients and I think we did well. Along the way, I didn’t add olives, feta and chilli – all decisions I am happy with.

Polenta with red peppers and tomatoes
Serves 2

100g polenta, cooked according to packet instructions, spread out on a tray and cooled
Red pepper, sliced
Half an onion, sliced
Two tomatoes, cut into thin wedges
Two garlic cloves, chopped
Olive oil
Drizzle balsamic glaze

Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add the onions and stir for approximately 5 minutes. Add the peppers and cook over a medium-low heat for a further 10 minutes. Finally, add the tomatoes and garlic and cook for another 5 minutes or until everything is soft. Season well.

Meanwhile, heat more olive oil in a frying pan (a grill pan would be even better so you get the fancy lines) over medium heat. Cut the polenta into triangle wedges and pan fry each side for 1 -2 minutes (it is already cooked, so you just need to heat it through).

To serve, drizzle the balsamic glaze onto two plates. Lay the wedges on top and spoon over the peppers.

The most amazing hot chocolate

I feel a bit like Gordon Ramsey – he always describes things as the most amazing. And possibly there are better hot chocolates out there, but this would have to be on the list. And it comes on a stick, so that’s quite exciting.

We bought these in Brussels ages ago and have only just got around to using them. It was one of those things where I always felt like I needed a slightly more special occasion to crack them out and there never was one. In the end, it was a random Sunday evening.

Basically, you warm a cup of milk and stir the great big lump of chocolate on the end of a stick into the milk until melted and enjoy. Really easy, really chocolatey, really good!

Moro, 8/10

For our last couple of anniversaries, we have splurged on a really fancy meal out - Pied a Terre in 2007 and The Square in 2008. Both were exceptional meals (unfortunately before I started this blog) and a lovely way to spend our anniversary. This year, our anniversary fell two days before moving flats and three weeks before a visit back to Australia. With the finances already feeling a little pained, it was hard to justify a super-expensive, Michelin-starred meal out. In the end, we decided on Moro, a restaurant that always gets great reviews, including recently being recognised as the Best Restaurant in the 2009 Observer Food Monthly awards.

Being so close to my work, we were fairly early and so headed to The Ambassador across the road for a drink. The Ambassador is a restaurant (and the food smelled really good - I'd like to go here one day), but they were more than happy for us to grab a drink at one of the tables. There was a great wine list (I had a glass of Deutz champagne) and a few beers on tap (Kyle had a Budvar). The service was great and it had a really lovely vibe. Unfortunately, by the time we were ready to go, it was absolutely pouring down! Luckily, Moro was close.

We had a reservation, which you absolutely need - they were busy the whole time at both tables and the bar. There was a real buzz to the restaurant. We were shown to our table and given bread and olive oil, offered tap water and then asked if we had any questions about the menu. This was a bit of a theme for the night - our waitress was very intent on making sure we didn't order something we didn't like.

For starter, I chose the grilled squid, rocket and coriander salad with preserved lemon. The squid was so soft, it was silken in texture with just a few crispy bits on the edges. The rocket and coriander salad was coated in an oily, lemony dressing and dotted with pieces of chilli, adding a spot of heat to that soft calamari. The recommended drink was a glass of Tio Pepe sherry, which I have had before in Spain but struggle to order. As it was recommended, I decided to give it a go. It is an amazing drink - cold and oily to start, then immediately warm and exploding with flavour in your mouth.

Kyle's starter was the very simple para negra jamon with figs. As this contained only two ingredients, it was vital they were amazing. I think the ham was - it was so meaty, deliciously salty and almost tannic like. Two out of three of the figs, however, were a bit average. They didn't look that good and were slightly mealy in texture.

My main was the wood roasted pork with field and wild mushrooms and braised chard. I was warned by the waitress that the pork was roasted whole and cut into slices, so contained some fat and crackling - was that okay? I agreed it was, but when the dish arrived, I can see why she mentioned it. It was very fatty, but the fat was meltingly soft against the crunchy crackling and pork meat. It was a huge portion and was piled onto an equally large portion of chard. All of that was sitting on a pool of jus and piled with mushrooms. The mushrooms were really tasty, lots of flavour and meaty texture. Initially, the jus tasted similarly beefy flavoured, but the salt in the jus became increasingly overwhelming and ended up being the predomiant flavour in the whole dish. I do like salt in my food, but this was just too much.

Kyle's main was charcoal grilled sardines with salpicon salad and corn migas (fried corn breadcrumbs). We did have to ask what both of these accompiments were and the waitress also checked Kyle liked oaky wines before he proceeded with his order of an oaky white Rioja. The dish was very summery and almost like an over-sized tapas plate. The oiliness of the fish was balanced by the crunchiness of the migas and the freshness of the salad. And the oaky white Rioja went well.

After these enormous (well, mostly mine) main meals, dessert was a bit of a challenge, so we decided to settle for the malaga raisin ice cream and a couple of glasses of Pedro Ximenez sherry. In fact, in retrospect, this was also the anniversary of when we first discovered PX at Pied a Terre. Truly one of the most amazing drinks - liquid raisins. The ice cream was a perfect conclusion - light and creamy but with chunks of fruit and the odd hit of rum to give it a kick.

I think Moro mostly lived up to expectations. It can be a risk going to places like this that carry a lot of hype, but the restaurant did offer a great night out. It wasn't perfect - there were some problems with some of the food, the chairs were pretty uncomfortable and I did find it somewhat disconcerting that the couples sitting either side of us were Australian (do they group us?!). That being said, some of the food was really good, the service was excellent, the menu was interesting and the atmosphere was brilliant.

Food: 8/10
Drinks: 9/10
Service: 9/10
Ambience: 9/10
Overall: 8/10

Moro
34-36 Exmouth Market
London EC1R 4QE

Dotori, 8/10

I have written about Dotori before and we have been a few times, but this time, I finally convinced Kyle to have something other than the Katsu Curry. I was really keen to try the Japanese set menu, particularly the sushi and sashimi. This is probably not the kind of thing you should admit as a bit of a 'foodie', but I do find sushi quite intimidating. It is expensive and so difficult to just randomly pick off a list, but I do enjoy it when I have it.

The restaurant was quite full on a Sunday lunchtime and rather than share a table, we opted to sit at the bench at the window. The downside is that all your chopstick skills are on display for everyone walking past, so pressure is on not to drop anything!

The set menu started with Gyoza - hot, crunchy fried dumplings filled with chicken mince and served with a delicious soy dipping sauce.

The next course was a somewhat dramatic plate of tempura king prawns. The prawns were meaty and large enough to stand up to the crispy tempura batter. Another dipping sauce complemented this dish.

The next was the sushi and sashimi platter, beautifully presented on a traditional wooden board and comprised of 4 pieces of sashimi and a special roll. Neither of us have ever had sashimi before, so I'm glad this was good. There were two pieces of salmon, one tuna and one that we weren't sure of! The salmon and tuna were better than mystery fish and had an incredibly clean, fresh taste and a surprisingly firm pleasant texture. I really enjoyed the sashimi. The sushi was also excellent, in my opinion, although being far from an expert, I couldn't really say how it compares to others.

We had a choice for the final course between chicken teriyaki and seafood yakisoba. As the chicken teriyaki is my equivalent of Kyle's katsu curry, we went with the yakisoba. The thin noodles were coated in a delicious sweet rich sauce interspersed with plenty of big chunks of seafood, including prawns, calamari and mussels.

Unfortunately, the service was not quite up to its super-friendly standards on this day - the waiter seemed to be having an off day. Still, all of this food was excellent value at £25 (it would have included a coke or green tea as well, but we had Asahi instead, which was extra) and a brilliant way to try some different dishes from a Japanese menu. If you're a Japanese philistine like me, anyway!

Food: 9/10
Drinks: 6/10
Service: 7/10
Ambience: 8/10
Overall: 8/10

Dotori
3 Stroud Green Road
London, N4 2DF

The Drapers Arms, 8/10

I rather fancied a drink after a particularly awful day at work and recalled a recent post by Dos Hermanos, where they raved about a new cocktail bar near Angel called 69 Colebrooke Row. After a suitably decadent cocktail (Blush - Rose Infused Wybrowa Vodka with Rhubarb Syrup, Perrier-Jouet and a Grapefruit Twist), we went for a wander up Upper Street and then off the beaten track to find The Drapers Arms, recently reviewed by Giles Coren. Amazingly, I managed to find it based on my memory that the street started with B and it was equal distance from Angel and Highbury & Islington tube stations.

The Drapers Arms is pretty classic gastropub fare and was a world away from 69 Colebrooke Row - from fancy stools and cocktails to mismatched chairs and real ale on tap. The daily menu was a typed one pager containing a selection of 'solid' dishes, nothing too fancy, good sound English fare. The wine list, however, was actually quite good and included three types of sparkling wine by the glass - to be commended, in my opinion.

We chose a table in the corner and were surprised to be offered table service. After placing our order, we were given some complimentary bread and butter, including one of the best sourdoughs I have tasted in such a long time. There was a real yeasty sourness to it that meant I ate far more than was strictly necessary. The butter, unfortunately, was unsalted. What is the point?

After gorging myself on bread, I moved onto the razor clams and a glass of prosecco, while Kyle opted for a pint of Spitfire and the devilled kidneys on toast. I've never had razor clams before so I can't comment on the relative qualities of this example, but for me, they were delicious. They were more remiscent of squid than, say, scalllops, with a pleasingly chewy texture. The accompanying red onion pickle was surprisingly good for someone who doesn't like uncooked onion. It had a softness and flavour that must have involved some lengthy soaking. The dish was fresh and summery and I really enjoyed it.

Kyle's starter was as far from fresh and summery as you can imagine (and to be fair, the weather was hardly fresh and summery!). The kidneys looked like little sausages on the toast, but carried an amazing depth of flavour from plenty of worcestershire sauce and mustard. They were served on more of that excellent sourdough, soaked through with the sauce. Very traditional, very good.

After our wonderful salt beef experiences in New York, Kyle found it difficult to go past the salt brisket served with mash, carrots and green sauce. The meat was soft and succulent and the very herby sauce cut through the fattiness of the meat.

I ordered the guinea fowl with bacon and mushrooms for main. What's that you say? That's not guinea fowl? No, that's what I thought too. This was most defintely lamb leg, which I had not ordered. I finally re-located our waiter, who agreed I had ordered the guinea fowl, took the lamb away and then came back to say apparently they're out of guinea fowl, don't know why they gave you the lamb. Slightly odd to be out of something and just choose the replacement yourself. In the interests of time, I chose to take the lamb back and the waiter agreed not to charge us for it. All well and good, but unfortunately the lamb was the least successful dish of the night. It was okay, but it was pretty boring and the lamb managed to have both excessively fatty sections and dry sections. I would never normally order something like as it would be too easy to cook myself and this proved why. Shame.

Still, it didn't put me off trying the chocolate cake with cherries for dessert. I wasn't quite expecting it to be literally served with cherries, but as cherries are so good at the moment, it was actually really lovely with the rich dense chocolate cake and clotted cream. The chocolate cake definitely made up for the disappointment of the lamb.

The Drapers Arms was a really lovely gastropub, with generally well-executed British food based on simple, seasonal ingredients and a good range of ales and wines. The atmosphere was lovely and the service was good (apart from the issue with my main, but I guess they compensated as much as they could). I would return to The Drapers Arms, but would definitely choose the more unusual dishes from the menu.

Food: 7.5/10 (But would no doubt be an 8 with the right dish)
Drinks: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Ambience: 8/10
Overall: 8/10

The Drapers Arms
44 Barnsbury Street
London N1 1ER

Gooseberry Fool and Gooseberry Crumble

I don't think we even get gooseberries in Australia. I'd certainly never seen them until I came to London. There are my Dad's favourite, cape gooseberries, known in the UK as physalis - a somewhat less pleasant name! But they are not even remotely similar.

Gooseberries look a little like grapes, but are apparently too tart to eat in their uncooked form. We tried these ones, though, and they actually tasted rather reminiscent of grapes and weren't too sour at all. Kyle thought they tasted a little like that equally rare and unusual New Zealand fruit, the feijoa.

They have a very limited season and are available only sporadically in our fruit and vegie shop. I can't really rely on them being there but bought a punnet two weekends in a row. So two very classic British Summer desserts in a row - Gooseberry and Elderflower Fool and Gooseberry Crumble.

The fool was a lovely blend of gooseberries, yoghurt and cream and was delicious served with some crunchy biscuits for texture.

The crumble was less successful. The gooseberries created so much juice that even though I poured a lot out, it still bubbled over so much that the crumble was quite soggy. I found the flavours pleasantly unusual, more tart than I expected from tasting the raw fruit. The excessive juice did taste delicious, all syrupy and sweet and the crumble (that wasn't drowned) was crunchy from the hazelnuts. Kyle, unfortunately, found the fruit a little too tart and the lack of crunchy crumble disappointing.

So overall, the gooseberries were a mixed result at best. The thing is, they are so rare, I'll probably cook them again next year anyway!


Gooseberry and elderflower fool
Serves 4

500g gooseberries
100g caster sugar
2 strips pared lemon zest
2 heads elderflower (optional)
3 tbsp elderflower cordial, or to taste
142ml pot double cream
150ml fresh ready-made custard
Sponge finger biscuits, to serve

1. Put the gooseberries into a saucepan (there is no need to top and tail them) with 2 tablespoons of the sugar, the lemon zest, and the elderflower heads, if using. Cook over a low heat until the juices start to run from the gooseberries, then cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the berries are soft. Remove and discard the elderflower heads and add the rest of the sugar. Turn the heat up a little and cook for 4-5 minutes to reduce the liquid a little. Remove from the heat when it's just beginning to catch on the bottom of the pan. Leave to go cold.

2. Remove and discard the lemon zest from the pan. Rub the fruit through a sieve into a large mixing bowl and stir in the elderflower cordial, to taste.

3. In another bowl, whip the cream until it just starts to form soft peaks. Carefully fold the custard into the gooseberry purée, followed by the cream, so that the mixture is nicely marbled. Spoon into 4 serving glasses and chill for at least 1 hour before serving. Serve with the sponge fingers.


Gooseberry and elderflower crumble
Serves 4

450g gooseberries
150g caster sugar
Elderflower cordial
1 small orange, zest and juice

For the crumble:

100g plain flour
100g unsalted butter
100g caster sugar
50g blanched hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
Vanilla ice cream to serve

1. Preheat the oven to 220˚C.

2. First make the crumble. Place the flour and butter in a bowl and using your fingertips work together until a breadcrumb texture has been achieved. Add the sugar and the hazelnuts and work through the mix until fully incorporated and the topping has a textured uneven appearance.

3. Wash the gooseberries, remove the husks and pat dry with a clean tea towel. Top and tail them if necessary.

4. Heat a frying pan and add the sugar and orange zest, then add the gooseberries, orange juice and elderflower cordial. Place over a high heat until the gooseberries begin to release their juices, shaking the pan frequently. Divide the gooseberries among four individual ovenproof dishes.

5. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the gooseberries to cover them, tap the dishes on the work surface to remove any air pockets. Bake for about 8-10 minutes until the topping is golden brown and the gooseberries are bubbling up around the sides. Leave to stand for 5 minutes to cool slightly before serving.

6. Serve with a scoop of the vanilla ice-cream.

Chicken liver pate

I recently made Delia Smith's Autentic Ragu Bolognaise again (it is still the most amazing ragu sauce recipe) and as per last time when I made chicken liver crostini, I had chicken livers leftover that I just couldn't throw out.

This time, I decided to try one of my favourite restaurant appetisers - chicken liver pate. Of course, I was completely disorganised, so had to find a recipe with ingredients I already had or could easily obtain in my local neighbourhood at 4pm on a Sunday (we have no large supermarket in the immediate vicinity). I decided to go with another Delia recipe, but with a few changes. I used nutmeg instead of mace, and despite going to 6 local shops, had to use prepared mustard instead of mustard powder.

The recipe required a bit of tasting and adjusting to balance the brandy, mustard and seasoning, but we were happy with the flavour in the end and I was particularly impressed with my cheat's version of clarified butter on top (I just held the spoon against the butter solids when pouring the melted butter from the frying pan onto the pates - worked really well!). The recipe made a lot, so we ate chicken liver pate several times for a week. Luckily, it was really good - smooth, rich and packed full of flavour. It was best with toasted brown bread (we also tried crackers) and was best once fully chilled but taken out of the fridge for 30 minutes to bring it up to room temperature.

I always suspected the reason this is on so many menus is because it is cheap, easy and really tasty. It definitely is all those things. The question now is whether I'll keep ordering it out when I know I can make it myself (and I know how much butter is in it)!

Chicken Liver Pate
Delia Online
Serves 6

225g chicken livers, rinsed, patted dry and trimmed
2 tablespoons cognac
2 level teaspoons mustard powder
1/4 level teaspoon ground mace
1 level teaspoon chopped thyme, plus extra for garnish
2 cloves garlic, crushed
salt and pepper

To make the pâté, take a medium-sized, heavy-based frying pan, melt about 25g of the butter in it and fry the chicken livers over a medium heat for about 5 minutes. Keep them on the move, turning them over quite frequently. Then remove them from the pan using a draining spoon and transfer them to a blender or food processor.

Now, in the same pan, gently melt 150g of the remaining butter and add this to the blender or food processor. Then pour the brandy on to the juices left in the frying pan (to capture all the lovely flavours), and pour that over the livers.

Now add the mustard, mace, thyme and garlic, season well with salt and freshly milled black pepper, and blend until you have a smooth, velvety purée.

Next, divide the between 6 ramekins (or pots). Then melt the remaining 50g of butter, pour a little over each one to seal, press in a sprig of thyme, and leave them to get quite cold.

Cover with clingfilm and leave them in the fridge till needed. Serve with toasted brown bread, cut into triangles.