TheKua Does Food

Where’s the good coffee? Fernandez and Wells

February 18, 2009 Patrick Coffee, UK, Where's the good coffee?

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!

Char Siu

February 11, 2009 Patrick Asian, Recipe

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.

Where’s the good coffee? Lantana

February 10, 2009 Patrick Brunch, Coffee, Restaurants, UK, Where's the good coffee?

I heard about this small cafe from one of Time Out’s suggestions. It’s tucked away in a small pedestrian alleyway just behind where Roka is. My main reason for visiting this cafe was the coffee, although after hitting a big session at the gym, I thought I’d also test out their brunch menu, particularly since there’s not really enough places around that do it well.

In terms of coffee, they offer all the typical offerings although I went for the Flat White since it was on offer, a perfectly dark colour, creamy enough to tantalise the palette without overwhelming the taste buds. Bonus points to them for also automatically serving up a glass of tap water with it – something many other cafes and brunch places fail to do.

For my brunch, I went for something I wouldn’t normally get: Corn Fritters with a poached egg, oven roasted tomatoes, rocket and lime aioli (£8.50). Plenty of other dishes really appealed to me and I’d definitely think about returning although I think it might be a bit nicer in the spring or summer where you can dine at their al fresco tables just not practical in the wintery winds. I wasn’t quite sure what to think of the corn fritters although I did enjoy it all. The lime aioli brought a welcome sharpness of the peppery rocket, though the combination of the poached egg and over roasted tomatoes seemed to turn the dish slightly too soggy for my liking.

Name: Lantana
Found at: 13 Charlotte Place Fitzrovia London W1T 1SN
Website: http://scramblingeggs.blogspot.com/
The Good: Thumbs up to awesome coffee, friendly service and an appetising variety of pastries and takeaway foods. Go there!
The Bad: They don’t really have that many tables to sit at. I can’t wait to return in spring though I’m sure I’ll drop in way before then!

Georgetown

January 28, 2009 Patrick Asian, UK

I ended up at Georgetown on a Sunday night via one of the 50% off TopTable deals. Rather than a la carte, they had a smaller, simpler menu with limited choice for starters, main and desserts. Fortunately they had enough of a selection that we could all have something different and share. Well, that is, at least what we had been planning. When the dishes arrived, they seemed to be focused more on complete individual meals, rather than a more proper asian style of sharing different dishes with people.

I ended up with the chicken curry, chunks of chicken breast in a light curry sauce but tasty nevertheless. What impressed me at this restaurant was that they served each dish with a couple of different types of vegetables such as my dish that came with some sort of beetroot salad, as well as braised vegetables, yet another dish being served with a stewed red cabbage mixture instead. It’s easy for restaurants to have a single “side” pot that they keep scooping from and I appreciated this isn’t what Georgetown had.

The food was pretty decent, though I’m not sure I would have paid full price (£13) for the dishes that we did have. All of it was flavourful but I do think that their their decore and environment left it feeling rather void and empty. “Colonial” style made it feel old-fashioned, and I guess the fact that it was completely empty up until the time we left didn’t leave any good impressions.

Name: Georgetown (closed)
Former location: 10 London Bridge Street, SE1 9SG
The good: Reasonably tasty Malaysian food
The not so good: “Empty” atmosphere and questionable value for money.

Where’s the good coffee? Taylor St Baristas

January 26, 2009 Patrick Coffee, UK, Where's the good coffee?

Things are certainly looking positive for the London coffee scene, with the Taylor St Baristas store near outside Liverpool Street a worthy addition. It almost makes me want to work on a project for a bank. Almost.

They have two locations in London (as well as one in Brighton that I’ll definitely visit when I head down there) though their Richmond site is not particularly convenient for me. Currently commuting out of London for work, I was interested to see if any of them were open on the weekend. I checked their website but couldn’t find any details about opening hours (though they either corrected it now or I just didn’t see it). Instead, I sent them an email and got a very pleasant and prompt response about their locations (map locations included) and their times.

Their more convenient location (for me at least) is their tiny store found on New Street just off Bishopsgate. This Sunday, it was pretty empty. My guess is that I went there for a pretty late time (2pm) and the constant drizzle forced people to move away. That’s fine with me since it meant I got to sit at one of their chairs, and ended up chatting to the lovely Irish barista about the store and how long it’d been there for. Kudos to the store for hiring someone so passionate about her coffee and profession. It sure beats the pale kids they hire at said-chain who don’t know to operate a real espresso machine.

Anyway, on to the coffee. I ordered a flat white. It’s slightly more expensive than the one they serve at Monmouth (my benchmark) at £2.20. That’s fair enough for having a sit-down coffee as well. The ratio of milk to espresso was perfect, and the espresso strong but not burnt. They even went to effort of pouring latte art on top (okay, well it was a slow day). Very nice all up. If I was working in the area, I’d definitely make an effort to go there for my daily dose. The sandwich (£3.90) was pretty good too. Thick crusty seeded bread with a hearty slab of ham and cheese. Heated up, it was the perfect lunch.

If you’re in the Liverpool Street area, I’d highly recommend people head here. It’s slightly hidden from view but they do fantastic cups of coffee.

Name: Taylor St Baristas
Found at: 1A New Street, London, EC2M 4TP
Website: http://www.taylor-st.com/
The Good: Great coffee, nice little cafe. They even sell Bundaberg Ginger Beer, Cherry Ripes and Freddo Frogs!
The Bad: There wouldn’t be much space for people to all sit down for lunch, but I’m betting their take away coffee is still fine.

The Electric Brasserie

January 24, 2009 Patrick Brunch, Restaurants, UK

I’ve had the Electric Brasserie on my list of places to go for a while, so when I went to catch up with Gerrod and Kristy, I thought it’d be the perfect place to have brunch on a Sunday.

I booked ahead since I knew that it was pretty infamous for long queues, and a very busy front of house. It certainly paid off because we had a comfy table in the back dining room, away from the hustle and bustle of the front counters, and away from all the people gawking at your meal while they wait near the bar.

We sat in one of the corner seats, so we all got a chance to lounge back on the comfy leather sofa whilst we perused the menu. I ordered some coffee while everyone else ordered some orange juice. Service was prompt, definitely not the, in your face you might have suspected. We had a couple of hiccups during the meal, with the first being two coffees and one orange juice arriving instead of the other way around. The other hiccup was that they charged us for the additional coffee, so it’s a good thing we checked the bill.

We ordered our food, with Gerrod getting the eggs benedict (pictured first), Kristy, the pancakes (just above), and myself, the French Toast with a side of bacon (pictured below). The food didn’t take too long to arrive and we were soon tucking in. I think I remember Gerrod raving about the benedict, and Kristy enjoyed the pancakes. Both of their dishes looked really good.

I thought that the toast looked a little bit on the small side, considering my favourite 202 up the road serves it with two large slices. Fortunately combined with the excessively rich maple pecan butter smeared on top, it was plenty to fill me up until dinner time. I didn’t finish the side of bacon, because even “crispy” wasn’t quite as cooked as much as I would have liked.

Name: The Electric Brasserie
Found at : 191 Portobello Road, London, W11 2ED
Website: http://www.electrichouse.com/#/brasserie/electric_brasserie/about_electric_brasserie
The Good: Comfy, enjoyable atmosphere out back away from the heaving crowds waiting out front. Decent food and reasonably priced considering its popularity and location.
The Not So Good: Service was a bit of downer on our particular trip and quite disappointed with the bacon.

The KFC Phenomenon – Bon Chon Chicken

January 21, 2009 Patrick Korean, New York, Restaurants

KFC (Korean Fried Chicken), not the southern Kentucky kind, is taking over the streets of New York, or at least according to the NY Times. Perhaps it’s the twice cooked, Chinese style frying technique that renders the skin super thin and crispy that makes it so appealing. Or perhaps it’s the care and the diligence that they have about only preparing the chicken fresh so everyone can enjoy the hot and aromatic smells.

Since I didn’t get to go to any Korean Fried Chicken joints on my previous trips to New York, I made some effort to have at least a lunch at one of them, and ended up in the Flushings location of Bon Chon Chicken, conveniently located very near to where I was staying with some relatives. Apparently the chicken is more popular at evening time, when people clock off from work and want a few beers which might explain how we were the only people eating here at lunch time. A few people did ring ahead for their takeaway orders since they have the refreshingly strict, only cook to order policy.

A waiter greeted us promptly when we entered, asking us if we’d been here before and gave us some time to peruse the menu. We thought we’d start with a small selection of wings, and pig out on the fries and popcorn shrimp as I’d read about how they seasoned the fries instead of simply pouring salt on them.

Strangely, he delivered the fries and popcorn shrimp first, as if it was an appetiser, although considering how large the serve was, it would have been plenty for lunch for the both of us. Sprinkled liberally with garlic and rosemary, the shrimp and fries were amazingly crisp and super tasty. Combined with three types of dipping sauces (sweet chilli, hot chilli and a tomato ketchup), we cycled through the different sensations as we finished off the large bowl.

Korean Fried Chicken Wings And Drumsticks at Bon Chon Chicken

It wasn’t too shortly after than he brought out the chicken wings and drumsticks, I think a combination of four pieces of each type. They offer a choice of sauces, and in order to trial both of them, ended up having half and half, the first, a sweet garlic soy, and the other, a hot chilli sauce.

I have to admit that the Korean fried chicken impressed me. The skin stayed super crisp for the entire time, with the insides succulent and juice. What sauce they had didn’t overpower the flavour of the chicken, instead adding a different dimension. They also make it so that the sauce isn’t like what you’d have on buffalo chicken wings – a messy covering that ends up everywhere including your hands and your face. Instead, it seemed like a thin-glaze that somehow stayed on the chicken itself to continually make the chicken stand out.

I have to admit I had a hard time trying to decide which one was my favourite flavours out of the two. The garlic soy was slightly sweet, and the perfect balance, neither being too sweet, nor excessively garlicky. The hot sauce, on the other hand, lived true to its name, even to the point it started to make me sweat. The sauce also wasn’t just hot, it had some nice flavours and I appreciated the fact that the sauce brought on a continual heat, rather than the mustard or wasabi inspired instantaneous hit you might expect.

After our meal, a very reasonable price as well, I can understand why it’s becoming more and more popular. KFC is not a fast food to be taken lightly. It’s a different spin on something very classic and manages to deliver in surprising ways.

Name: Bon Chon Chicken
Found at: 157-18 Northern Blvd, Flushing, NY 11354
Website: http://www.bonchon.com/
The Good: Crisp, amazingly fresh flavours and a unique twist on the classic fried chicken. This location is also a nice place to hang out, having been renovated recently and looking pretty stylish.
The Not So Good: Don’t be fooled by their website describing their chicken as healthy. It may not have as much coating to soak oil up, but fried chicken is still fried chicken.

Nineteen Ten Mexican Kitchen

January 20, 2009 Patrick Fast Food, Mexican, UK

Nineteen Ten is a welcome addition to one of the food courts found at Shepherd’s Bush Westfield shopping centre. Unlike many of the other “chain” presents, Nineteen Ten is independently owned and run, serving a mean selection of tacos, burritos and fajitas very much in the californian-mexican trend that has been hitting London. It’s bright yellow sign attracts people to the sign and they even have little menus to take with you if you want to simply think about what you want as you shop.

Ordering is simple. You walk up, wait in the queue, and ask for burrito/taco/fajita with one of the many meats. They were out of the barbacoa meat (anything that’s been cooked for a long time is my sort of ideal dish) so I ended up with a steak fajita. Unlike many of the other burrito joints around town, they actually use a flavoured rice (I think lime), and a little bit more of a variety of choice when it comes to fillings including two types of beans. I didn’t have the guacamole but my sister did and she said it was wonderful.

Serving size wise, it seemed about the same size as what I’d get at Freebird, or Daddy Donkey although at Westfield you end up with a plate as well as foil, so at least you won’t end up dripping it on yourself. Priced at £5.50, my burrito was pretty good value, and was very tasty.

I’d definitely recommend this place if you want something different and you happen to be in this area of town. I can’t say that I’d go out of my way just to get here (although I did for this particular visit) but I would definitely return again.

Name: Nineteen Ten Mexican Kitchen
Location: Westfield Shopping Centre, Shepherd’s Bush/White City
The Good: Tasty, fresh and reasonably sized burrito. Guacamole was apparently quite tasty. A wider variety of filings to choose from.
The Not So Good: Asking for extra hot wasn’t particularly hot, and like with pretty much the rest of the food court, you almost have to fight for a place at lunchtime.

Tapas at Alta

January 18, 2009 Patrick New York, Restaurants, Tapas

alta On my yearly catch up with Mike in New York, he arranged for us to visit an updated tapas place in the village called Alta. When you walk in, many people chose to eat the bar even though there are tables at the back. Since Mike booked, we were lucky to have one of the tables upstairs, and with an open view of the floor below us, was a really great place to perch for dinner.

The interesting thing about their menu is that it’s not classic moorish food, instead drawing upon a large variety of flavours. We ended up picking three to four dishes each to share, and got to enjoy a mouthful of each dish. Some of my more favourite dishes included the Crispy Brussels Sprouts, Grilled Chorizo Wrapped Gulf Shrimp, Pulled Pork Empanadas, and the Squid Ink Paella. Best of all they also had some amazing desserts including a trio of donuts each filled with a different flavour (chocolate hazelnut ganache, apricot lavender jam, and cardamom cream).

Between the five of us I think we ended up paying US$50 (including tax and tip) though we only had a bottle of sparkling water and two cocktails.

Name: Alta
Location: 64W 10th Street, NYC, 10011
Website: http://altarestaurant.com
The Good: Interesting variety of tapas. Nice spacing around the tables. They even offer a deal where you can order everything on the menu, though you’d want a larger group!
The Bad: Too many dishes to choose from

Manhattan’s Max Brenner

January 17, 2009 Patrick Dessert, New York, Restaurants

With some additional time to kill and some chocolate cravings, we decided to head to Union Square to try out Max Brenner’s. I’d heard about them in Sydney, and saw the store last time I was in Manhattan but couldn’t quite justify having a meal there. It’s location near Union Square is fairly large and definitely popular and even at 4pm seemed to be heaving with people having late lunches or just there for dessert.

Looking around, one of their most popular dishes seemed to be the fondue that included a flaming pot to allow you to “roast” marshmallows and other items that arrive with the hot chocolate pot. The two of us tried half a chocolate pizza (pictured above), though a quarter of it (for both of us) would have been enough. Imagine a light pizza base, smothered with chocolate sauce and then topped with hot chocolate marshmallows. Indulgent? Absolutely, and it was far too sweet for me.

They have some funky mugs like the hug me, and for iced drinks, the bizarrely shaped Alice mug with the words “drink me” on them. They also do other foods that you can follow up with the chocolate menus but given the desserts, they’re probably rich enough by themselves.

Name: Max Brenner
Location: 141 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003
Website: http://www.maxbrenner.com/
The Good: Lots of interesting flavour combinations involving tons of chocolate. A nicely decorated store, airy with plenty of tables. Our waitress was excellent, even informing us that our pizza was still taking some time. Even have some cafe tables for those just wanting a dreamy hot chocolate.
The Not So Good: The round shapes of the room make for some very awkwardly positioned tables. Many of them crammed in right next to each other where you have to shift the table to the left or right unless you’re stick thin (which you definitely won’t be at the end of the meal)