TheKua Does Food

This weekend I finally ended up having dinner at Urban Turban on Westbourne Grove. I can’t remember how it got on my list of places to go, perhaps it was the Time Out Top 50, or some random website. When we arrived for dinner (just after seven), I thought that the dining room seemed pretty empty for a Saturday night. It doesn’t help that it’s split into two by the bar, with only a few tables visible from the outside.

We were shown to our table, conveniently located by the window, where numerous passer-bys could see what the fuss was all about. After all, its very classic Eastern dark colours, high ceilings and mood lighting certainly catches the eye. We were presented with menus, including their wine list also listing a whole set of cocktails on offer. Their food menu is split into three main parts, the first section focusing on “tapas-style”, with the second part being more classic dishes, and a small section that included two set menus, one including a “hot rock” grill where you finish the food off at your table with a rock that keeps its temperature for some time.

We decide to start with two tapas dishes, unsure about the portion sizes since each “tapas” dish was £7.50. The pictures above are the “Gun Powder” prawns, and the Crab and Corn Cake. Both dishes were served with a slightly spicy sauce and whilst quite shareable, weren’t worth the price of each dish. The Gun Powder prawns didn’t really have the peppery pizazz one might expect from the name, and the crab and corn cake were delicious and tasty, wasn’t particularly memorable.

We moved on to the main meal, where we’d ordered the lamb biryani (£12), saali chicken curry (£10), and an aubergine curry (£6) as well as two naan (£3 each). As you can see from the picture above, their naans are huge, since most of them are stuffed with some sort of filling. They had a lot more a unique assortment of them including the chilli garlic naan (that tasted a lot like this sauce, simply spread on top).

Out of the dishes that we picked, the aubergine curry and the lamb biryani were definitely my favourites. The aubergine was hearty and extremely flavoursome, while the lamb biryani reminded me of the few that I remember seeing in India where they were sealed and cooked with a pastry topping (Urban Turban uses a richer, flaky puff pastry and recommend you mix it in, though I remember it was only supposed to be used as a cooking mechanism). They also served it with yogurt mixed with fenugreek that left a distinctive taste, not something that my sister enjoyed but I did.

Urban Turban serves delicious food. I just don’t think it’s worth the price you pay (at least not out of my own pocket). For a dinner for two costing £65 without any alcoholic drinks (1 mango lassi for £3.30, and a nutella colada for £5.50) the food just didn’t really warrant the price. Service was reasonable though I also still question whether or not they can charge 12.5%.

Name: Urban Turban
Location: 98 Westbourne Grove, London W2 5RU
Website: http://www.urbanturban.uk.com/
The good: Modern decore, friendly service and some interesting dishes
Not so good: Well over priced tapas dishes or just in general.

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Newly opened and just around the corner from Holborn tube, this new bakery/cafe/coffee store is in a little bit of a hidden part of the very busy area. Good because that means not really lining up for their deliciously made coffee! A bargain at only £1.60 for a takeaway latte, and made with the wonderfully roasted Monmouth coffee beans. Unfortunately they didn’t have decaf when I went along but the normal one was superbly made.

I’m not quite sure what the rest of their offerings are. I saw a number of different breads and pastries and, what looked like, some organic cider (or simply fancy juice?) in their refrigerator. If I happened to be working this area, I’d definitely come back for a morning or lunchtime brew, and check out what else they have to offer.

Name: Fleet River Bakery
Located at: 71 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3JF
Website: http://www.fleetriverbakery.com/

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I stumbled across this little cafe on the way to Oxford Circus and noted that it looked like a great place to stop in. Actually, I stumbled across their Food and Wine bar on Lexington Street and was drawn in with their legs of cured meats hanging in the window. What a weird place to find something like this, yet I couldn’t help but be drawn in like a fly to see what it was all about.

I asked if they did coffee and mentioned that they did around the corner at their other shop on Beak Street. I had time to drop in, so thought, why not? As I stood there, waiting for a takeaway latte (notably more expensive than Monmouth at £2.50) I heard other Australians and New Zealand accents around me. I’ll admit it took them a while to make one so I had a little bit of time to look at their very tempting ciabattas and paninis. When I did finally get the coffee, it was delicious and perfect for that weekend coffee. Definitely highly recommended although it’s a shame all the good coffee stores seem to be packaged around the same area, and not spread out more around London!

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My uncle kindly lent me this recipe from one of his books. I tried this with a couple of the pork bellies that I had left over in the freezer from Christmas time (one of the only butchers selling pork belly at this time only sold the whole pork belly!). I’ve posted the original recipe though I make comments at the bottom about what I changed.

The Marinade Recipe:

• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon yellow bean sauce
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon red fermented tofu
• 1 tablespoon Chinese spirit (Mou Tai) or brandy
• 1/2 teaspoon roasted sesame oil

The Rest:

• 750g pork loin
• 2 tablespoons maltose or honey

The Method
Mix the marinade ingredients together, cover the pork and leave in the fridge for at least 6 hours. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celcius and pick a pan that allows you prop up the dish with water in the bottom. Cook for 10-15 minutes and baste with the marinade. Reduce the heat to 180 degrees C and cook for another 8-10 minutes. Brush with the honey and lightly brown for another 4-5 minutes turning to char around the edges.

The variants
Both times, I tried the recipe without the red fermented tofu. I had a look at a couple of Chinese grocery stores and couldn’t find it, so figured I’d try it without it. I also ended up using Shao Hsing instead of the Mou Tai since I figured any Chinese spirit would be okay, and of course, I substituted a pork belly for the pork lion. I’d read a number of sites mentioning although it’s fattier, it ends up being more moist if slow cooked. I’d also probably consider trying it with pork shoulder or pork neck next time. I did the slow cook method (150 degrees C for about 2.5 hours, finished at a higher heat for the next half hour) and the meat was incredibly tender and moist.

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