skip to main |
skip to sidebar
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
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!
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 2Delicious 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.
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 tomatoesServes 2100g polenta, cooked according to packet instructions, spread out on a tray and cooledRed pepper, slicedHalf an onion, slicedTwo tomatoes, cut into thin wedgesTwo garlic cloves, choppedOlive oilDrizzle balsamic glazeHeat 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.
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!
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. 
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. 
Posts
