Review: Nostromo

Even More Seafood in Split, Croatia

Freshly caught squid, grilled and served wit half a lemon
Swiss chard with potatoes on the side

Nostromo is a seafood restaurant located by an open air fish market in Split. Despite the crowds and the smells nearby, the establishment itself is decidedly upmarket. Or at least, it probably is during the height of summer. When we walked in for lunch in November, frames and paintings were strewn all over the restaurant, making the place seem like a haphazard artist's studio. However, a waitress popped over to us right away, and lead us away from the discarded art and up a wooden staircase. We passed numerous photographs of famous patrons and arrived to the first floor, where the venue still seemed to be a restaurant. Imagine white walls, wood paneling and tables laid out in yellow and white cloth. A chef's jacket hung on a peg in one corner, and a large pile of menus were stacked on one of the tables. All told, it definitely felt like we'd arrived off-season. 

The interior. Apologies for the poor photo, but
someone here is obviously on a mission to cover
all the walls with paintings

Of course, there is an upside to all of this. Only one other table was busy, and we were looked after well by our waitress. She left us to spend some time with the menus once we were seated, dashing off to the kitchen. As she came back to take our orders, I skipped the simple a la carte offerings to ask about the fish and seafood sold by weight. Quite a large part of the menu was priced by weight, with better quality fish and seafood (i.e. lobster) being more expensive. She explained that availability generally depended on the day's catch, a sample of which she brought over from the kitchen in a huge tray. Sadly, my friend had her heart set on "sea fruit" risotto, and I had to hold back from ordering an interesting looking but monstrously large fish for the two of us, opting for grilled squid instead. 

Mixed "sea fruit" risotto

The wait for our food was noticeable - I suspect - due to the risotto. We had some not so fresh bread on the table to pass the time, and were charged 10 KN a head for the privilege. Thankfully, our main courses were much better. My friend's risotto came out delicious and creamy - a testament to the rice used and a welcome respite from the drier risottos we'd had in the country. The quality (if not the amount) of the seafood stood out, and the ingredients were really what made the dish special. The story with my squid was similar. Grilled just right, the tentacles were slightly charred but the bulk of the meat was soft and chewy. Each animal was properly cleaned out, something I'm very particular about, and an area where many restaurants fall down. A squeeze of lemon onto my plate, and I went on to have what was probably my best meal in Split. I'd also ordered a side of Swiss chard, which was served stirred through with potatoes, and rounded off my meal rather nicely. Beware - the portions for sides are generous, and easily shared between two. 

Our bill came to 280 KN, including our mains, a diet Coke and a small glass of house red. The risotto was priced at 100 KN, while my 300.00 g of squid cost 130 KN. The lesson to be learned - the a la carte menu is reasonably priced, and the food sold by weight slightly more expensive. It didn't feel so bad though, especially for Split, where everything is quite expensive in and around the old city. In fact, Nostromo is the only restaurant at this price range where we felt satisfied with our food, given the money we had spent. The food is simple, and the cooking perhaps nothing so special, but the fresh ingredients are what makes the restaurant stand out. 

Food: 7/10

Service: 7/10

Atmosphere: 6.5/10

Value: 6.5/10

Final Score: 7/10

Contact Information

A: Kraj Sv. Marije 10, Split, Croatia
T: +385 91 405 666
W: N/A

NB. The final score, while influenced by the sub-scores, is a qualitative reflection of my overall impression of the establishment.

Review: Dubravkin Put

Seafood in Zagreb, Croatia

Elderflower mousse with white chocolate,
strawberry ice cream & edible flowers

My time in Croatia was an unexpected blessing. I had been squirreling away money over the year for a potential holiday, and off-peak prices allowed me to indulge in a short trip around the country earlier this month. All I knew about Croatia was their 1998 World Cup performance (classic story of the underdog surprising everyone!) and their beaches, courtesy of a friend who had spent a summer there. As such, most of the itinerary I put together was the result of rather impersonal Googling and Lonely Planet, but Dubravkin Put stood out as a definite place to eat from multiple sources, especially for its seafood. 

The interior. The entrance to the wine bar
next to the restaurant can be seen in the left corner

The restaurant is located in Tuškanac Park, a twenty minute stroll from Ban Jelačić Square in Zagreb's city centre. We made the trip for lunch one day and arrived at a mostly empty restaurant, and were given our pick of the tables by a waiter who spoke perfect English. Language had been a worry of mine before coming to Croatia, and we were equipped with a few phrases and ingredients courtesy of our guidebook, but almost everyone we met spoke a passable level of English. Menus at most restaurants were also available in English, unsurprising given many parts of Croatia are geared towards tourism, and Drubavkin Put was no exception.

Fresh bread. Our basked included wholemeal, seeded,
tomato bread etc., with olive oil already at the table

Our waiter brought us menus as we settled in, and proceeded to recommend wine to my friend at her request. We had a busy schedule for the day and so we decided to keep our meal short, opting for mains and desserts only. Sadly most of the a la carte menu was unavailable for lunch, during which the restaurant offers a shorter and less expensive selection of dishes. However, upon hearing we were biased towards seafood, our waiter recommended trying monkfish as a main course, even though it wasn't listed on the menu. We ordered this along with another main of tuna steak, and sat back to wait for our food. A batch of freshly baked breads that were brought to our table, and we sampled the different types - I preferred the tomato bread as usual - to pass the time.  

The 1-3-5 Rule

Toad-in-the-Hole

Toad in the hole with honey & mustard turkey sausage

This is me stealing yet another recipe from my partner's childhood. Toad-in-the-hole may be a very common British dish, bu it's usually made with pork sausage so I'd never tried it until yesterday. Wandering through Godalming last weekend we came across a farmer's market in town, and a stall by Harvey's Poultry Farm selling chicken and turkey sausages. At the end of the day they were going 2 packs for £5, so we decided to pick up a couple. It's not often I get to eat sausage - my local supermarkets only do pork or at best rubber chicken.

Harvey's Poultry Farm turkey sausages. As I couldn't
find them online I thought I'd at least upload this

I am going to digress slightly and talk about Harvey's sausages because they were quite special. They came in various guises: honey and mustard, curry, garlic and chilli, British herbs and so on. Even without a sale on I would recommend buying from them - they have samples for customers to try, so you can be sure of picking out something you like. It's a pity they don't seem to have an online presence I can link to. I assume the recipe I'm sharing below is to a well-known local standard, but for me it's the honey and mustard sausages we used that really made the dish stand out. The 1:3:5 egg, flour and milk ratio was originally given to me in ounces, and I've left the figures in for easy recall. Conversions to SI units are alongside the ounce measurements, of course, for civilised people. The amounts below should make enough for a light two person dinner. 

Ingredients:

• 1.00 egg
• 3.00 oz plain flour (approximately 85.00 g)
• 5.00 oz milk (approximately 140.00 ml)
• 5.00 honey and mustard turkey sausages (approximately 300.00 g)
• Butter, for lining an oven proof dish

Method:

• Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius
• Line an oven proof dish with butter before placing the sausages inside, spaced out evenly
• Roast for 10 minutes
• While the sausages are roasting, beat the egg gently and mix in with the milk
• Slowly incorporate the flour in batches, whisking to avoid clumps

Ready for the oven

• Take the sausages out of the oven and pour the liquid batter around them, before returning to the oven for a further 35 minutes
• Serve hot with vegetables and gravy (frozen and instant respectively if feeling lazy!)

Yup, that's frozen veg and instant gravy 

Additional Info:

The ingredients for the batter allegedly make a Yorkshire pudding, but don't quote me on this as British cuisine isn't my field. In case you want to experiment, pour the batter into special trays (similar to cupcake trays) with a bit of oil to weight the middle down. Apparently this will result in the fluffy puddings served as part of Sunday lunches here in the UK. 

Cake & Biskie in Soho

Review: Cutter & Squidge

Biskies: a Cutter & Squidge creation.
Think of a soft cookie & cake dessert sandwich :)

Some of the earliest reviews I posted on this blog were about cake in Bangladesh. I've written (and complained!) about dessert at many venues since, but I've never really posted about any other bakeries or confectioners. I admit I've gotten into a habit of depending on chains and supermarkets. Trouble is, while I know independents that do good coffee, their sweets are rarely worth a special mention. Cutter & Squidge bucks that trend completely. They serve amazing cake and a nifty invention of their own called a biskie - best described as a mini cookie and cake sandwich. I first found them by chance one night in Soho, when we were walking around after an early dinner in search of something sweet. This was always a normal thing to do in Asia, where cafés and the like open late, but everything shuts so early in the UK! Luckily Cutter & Squidge had the right idea, and their then pop-up was still open around 8 pm. I bought myself a huge slice of their Choc O'Berry Dream Cake, which turned out to be extremely delicious. The cake itself was rich and moist, with generous helpings of flavoured cream filling the layers and covering the outside. Fast forward a few months and they now have a permanent store on Brewer Street in Soho, which is great news for anyone with a sweet tooth. Their new store opens later than most cafés, which remains a plus, though bear in mind it's not late enough for post-dinner dessert. 

The interior, bright and expressive.
More seating than some of the other similar shops
in the area, but I can see it getting busy.

I've visited several times with friends, squeezing into the relatively small space. The venue has a few tables at the back, along with some counter-style seating by the windows. The interior, as seen in the photo above, makes me think "bright-plastic-happy", and while I realise it won't be to everyone's taste I feel its true to Cutter & Squidge's overall branding. The store operates the usual pick and pay at the counter approach, and staff will bring over your drinks or order if it's not something they can just hand you over the counter. Apart from cakes and biskies, the menu on the wall lists a small selection of hot and cold drinks, as well as a few sandwiches. Notably, they do a salted caramel matcha latte - which is great as even today there are too few places in London that serve matcha lattes. If you order one just remember to stir the drink properly, as otherwise you'll finish a rather bland cup like my friend, only to discover all of the caramel left at the bottom!

"OMG It's Green":
green tea and raspberry "Dream Cake"

Eating as a group meant has meant I've sampled quite a bit of what Cutter & Squidge has to offer, and almost everything has been as impressive as that first Choc O'Berry cake. Amongst the cakes, the Banoffee and the Chocolate and Hazelnut stand out as excellent takes on classic flavours. I've also tried the OMG It's Green pictured above, and while I liked it, I remember wishing for a slightly stronger flavour flavour. Amongst the biskies, the rich Salted Caramel Brownies or lighter S'mores are safe choices. I'm torn between what I like more here, the cakes or the biskies, but a Key Lime Pie biskie my partner once had is definitely my favourite. Imagine two layers of soft biscuit with a filling of lime curd and vanilla cream cheese, finished off a crunchy meringue topping! Unfortunately this was a special edition, and I've not seen it since. This is something to bear in mind about Cutter & Squidge - they do rotate what's on offer any given day, and not all the flavours you see online are always available at the store. 

Close-up: a S'more biskie

There is also the issue of almost Marmite-like personal preferences to the food they serve. I love my cakes to be lavished drenched in cream and frosting, but I know not everyone does. I also love the soft cookie dough texture of the biskies, along with their cream/sauce/curd garnishes. Yet I have friends who aren't fans - apparently the biskies' soft and hard textures feel odd. Just a little something to be aware of before making a visit. And speaking of visiting - a note on the costs. Biskies cost around £4.50 each and a slice of cake will cost almost £6. These prices won't come as a surprise once you experience (i.e. have trouble consuming) the generous portions, but they're still a bit higher compared to other stores. Given the quality of the confectionery, I wouldn't have minded, but prices for their full cakes online verge on the ridiculous and they lose points for that. Carry outs cost a little less, and the price of hot and cold drinks are quite competitive. But of course, you're not coming here for drinks!


Food: 8/10

Service: 7/10

Atmosphere: 7/10

Value: 5/10

Final Score: 7/10

Contact Information

A: 4 Brewer Street, Soho, London, W1F 0SB
T: +44 (0)20 7371 7056
W: www.cutterandsquidge.com

NB. The final score, while influenced by the sub-scores, is a qualitative reflection of my overall impression of the establishment.

Review: Yatai Izakaya

The Fanciest Japanese in Town

Lightly seared beef with seasoned soya

Yatai piqued my interest the very first time I walked past the restaurant. Housed in a glass fronted building over two floors - and with a balcony overlooking the street - it was a little more striking than the average Aberdonian establishment. A glance inside showed me an open grill, small wooden tables and a funky interior decorated with Japanese signs, labels and sake bottles. I asked around, and everything I heard back was positive, especially when it came to the interesting menu and the omakase eating style. The venue is modeled on a traditional Japanese izakaya, an informal bar of sorts that serves sharing portions of food along with drinks, though Yatai itself focuses more on the food.  

A glimpse inside

Omakase refers to “leaving it to the chef”, where you set a budget and dietary preferences, and let the chef take it away from there. This may sound like handing over too much control, but in practice I’ve found it to work very well, particularly because the folks at the restaurant run such a slick operation. I’ve visited with a group of five where our dietary requirements were quite complicated, with two of us avoiding pork and another avoiding fish, but our waiter organised a menu that worked for all of us – even making sure the members of the party who did want pork or fish didn’t miss out. The chef and the kitchen have always seemed to time the arrival of dishes very well, and I would recommend discarding any preconceived notions about courses and just enjoying the ride. The menu covers a whole range of food from sushi and sashimi to miso grilled meats, fish and vegetables, along with the occasional trendy fusion dish such as salmon ceviche appearing on the specials board.

Review: Benares Restaurant

An Indian Michelin

Bite-size poppadoms with gooseberry, tomato
and pineapple dips.

I like to keep an eye out for Indian fine dining recommendations. The cuisine is often similar to Bangladesh's, and I like the idea of being able have a special occasion meal that isn't European. I was in London last month, and decided to drop by for lunch at Benares for a mini-celebration. I admit my choice of restaurant was mostly based on its proximity to a prior appointment, but I should also say that the Benares lunch menu was more interesting than the nearby Gymkhana's. £35 for three courses and some extras seemed perfectly reasonable for gourmet cuisine around central London, and there were Bengali style fish cakes on the menu that I felt I really should judge for authenticity! 

Review: Britten's

Guildford Familiarisation

Inside Britten's

Guildford is a strange place. Overrun by Thai restaurants, I've found many a place where I quite like to eat in the town (village?), but none yet that I love. However, since I'm going to be spending a considerable amount of my time here over the coming year, I've decided I need to fix this particular problem. I visited Britten's as part of this mission - a restaurant I've often walked or driven past. Some quick research revealed the chef and owner to be a past Masterchef contestant, so earlier this week we dropped by for an early evening dinner with the expectation of some fancy food. 

Roasted root vegetable press, basil, truffle emulsion

And I can say fancy food is indeed what we were served. We normally dine early on weekdays, so we arrived for a pre-7pm table with the intention of ordering from the pre-theatre menu. The restaurant was unsurprisingly all but empty when we entered, though it filled up somewhat over the course of the evening. A waiter took us to our table, from where we had a good view of the ground floor as seen from the first photo in this post. The décor is minimal and clean, and I imagine this is the kind of space that works well both during the day and at night. We were handed menus before orders for drinks were taken, followed by orders for food. Decisions weren't difficult to make given pre-theatre menus are usually short, though I should mention Britten's offers a relatively generous selection of 4 starters and 4 mains despite this trend.

Review: Shri Bheema's

A "Desi" Brunch in Aberdeen

Chicken biriyani at Shri Bheema's, served with gravy
The best biriyani so far in Aberdeen city

Contrary to what a lot of people seem to think, I don't actually know a lot about Indian food. Obviously, there is some regional overlap with Bangladeshi food, but beyond that a lot of what I know comes from road trips through India and food related recommendations from friends. Shri Bheema was one such recommendation, and I was lured to the restaurant with the promise of an unlimited buffet for Sunday brunch. Walking in, I had been looking forward to stuffing my face, but once I tasted the food I was honestly taken aback by how good the food was. 

More Eid: Recreating Falooda

কাস্টার্ড ফালুদা 

Custard Falooda 

Custard falooda, now part of my dessert repertoire! 

I had to think twice before trying falooda for the first time. Someone had brought some home in a plastic container, and the folks were eagerly trying to make me sample a spoonful. I was probably around 10, and had never before encountered noodles floating in milk before. The dish's additional components of bright green jelly and slimy tapioca pearls just freaked me out - here was seemingly a dessert from outer space. In truth, however, falooda is apparently an import of faloodeh from Persia and has mutated into numerous variations in Bangladesh. While toppings can vary (nuts, fruit, jelly etc.), the common theme in almost every version I've had is a sweet rose-milk base, vermicelli and vanilla ice cream. Then last winter I visited Star Kebab, where they served me a very rich version based on custard. I was intrigued - they omitted ice cream to avoid being overpowering, but brought in crushed ice to preserve the cold dessert factor.

I decided to recreate the dish as accurately as possible, partly just to see if I could but also because I thought it would be something special to make around Eid. The custard recipe below is my mom's - in the past cream was difficult to procure in Bangladesh, and leaving the egg white in instead helps thicken the sauce. I also loathe to throw food away, so there's also that. Another thing that surprised me about England was how sugar-free all the custard is, and the extra sweetness is courtesy of the style of custard I grew up with. Bear in mind in this recipe the custard will be providing the majority of the sugar, rather than being an accompaniment for cake or pie. My favourite custard also smells nothing like egg, hence the generous lashings of (weak) vanilla essence and some nutmeg. I limited the rosewater to the jelly, mostly because I thought rose-flavoured custard would be just a little too overwhelming. I was quite happy with the result, although in the future I'll probably skip the jelly and the pearls and just go with fruits, nuts and noodles to keep my life simple. 

Bangladeshi Eid Recipes Incoming

খিচুরী 

Khichuri

Khichuri - the big yellow bowl of rice, accompanying
spicy duck, deep fried fish and tomato salad.
Dinner at my Nani's in Dhaka

Khichuri is great. A dish of lightly spiced yellow rice, it can easily be morphed from comfort food to something fancier for a dinner party. As the former our family has always cooked it mushy and watery, often with a few vegetables thrown in to make it "healthy". The variety served at dinner parties is usually drier, and tends to be cooked with a more complex spice combination. I decided it would be the carb entry for my Eid menu, so be aware that the amounts below are enough for 6 to 8 people. Why I cooked so much I don't know, given there were only 3 of us in the house! 

I've kept things simple in the recipe below, as while I like my khichuri I don't want it to overpower whatever dish it's meant to accompany. Khichuri has a few items its traditionally served with - think spicy chilli-onion omelettes and fried aubergine. Even more well known is the idea that it should be served with beef, on a rainy day during the monsoon season. Do what you want of course, though my personal opinion is that khichuri works best with spicier food, whereas polao is best for the mild.

Another Iftaar

স্যামন ভাজি 

Bangladeshi Pan-Fried Salmon

Courtesy of my brand new camera!

Looking back through the blog, I find it highly amusing that my last post for fish was also during Ramadan - and that I'd lambasted doing anything with salmon other than smoking it. I have to admit I've changed my mind slightly on salmon: pan frying it with the correct spices makes for a nice, easy meal. The recipe below is slightly experimental and based on how we traditionally approach fried fish in Bangladesh. Caught fresh, fish needs nothing more than a bit of seasoning, chilli and turmeric before being fried to a crisp. This rule is applied to pretty much any fish, which are descaled, cut into chunks along the spine, marinated in spices and launched into a pan of hot oil.

This process is easily replicated wherever in the world you are, provided you have access to freshly caught fish. When cooking frozen fish or supermarket fish in general, however, the starting product tends to lack flavour - and the end result is often not so satisfying. So I've taken inspiration from last year's recipe, and added mustard powder to the ingredient list below. I find it cuts through the "preserved" whiff of supermarket fish. And thus, served with scattered coriander, caramelised onion, daal and some steamed rice, salmon suddenly makes for a rather traditional Bangladeshi meal. 

Review: Amar Gaon

Authentic Bangladeshi Food in Brick Lane

King prawns with spinach, sprinkled with coriander

Finding a good Bangladeshi food joint in the UK has been a long-elusive personal goal. There was Grameen Khana during my time in Birmingham, and then Kolapata when I moved to London. The former was more a curry house serving a limited selection of Bangladeshi dishes, while the latter leaned towards being a proper Bangladeshi restaurant. However, neither was very good, and so I'm glad I finally made it to Amar Gaon in East London. 

An unassuming storefront

Given its Brick Lane location, it may be hard to believe Amar Gaon serves anything other than generic curry house fare. But the store sits within a cluster of typically Bangladeshi shops on the road, away from gentrified Shoreditch. And yes, I did write store: Amar Gaon is actually something like a general store combined with a canteen style eatery, where food is pre-prepared and served from a counter. There's quite a variety on offer, with everything from simple chicken curries to dishes with more obscure regional ingredients on display.

Post-Work Dinner

হালকা সাগ ভাজি
Shallow-Fried Spinach

The chilli isn't just to make the dish look pretty

I've written about this before, but growing up I hated most vegetables, especially if they were cooked the Bangladeshi way. I was partial to a few veggie bhortas, sheem (broad beans) and notably, spinach. When I say spinach I don't just mean the (single?) variety one can buy in UK supermarkets, but an entire range of leafy vegetables eaten in Bangladesh: red amaranth, Malabar spinach and even potato leaves. We have a collective word for these leafy vegetables in Bengali, shaag, and our family has always used spinach as the rough English equivalent.

There is good reason for the proliferation of these dishes in Bangladeshi cuisine. The plants in question are widely available, often growing wild, and can be foraged for free if you're eating the more esoteric varieties. This is important to many Bangladeshis who have to manage their diet while exercising limited spending power. Back home, leaves are often fried quite extensively, especially as people tend to use the older, tougher parts of the foliage and stem so as to not waste any part of the plant. The recipe I'm sharing below has a lighter touch. It's also mostly devoid of spices - something I know is often added as part of the typical Bangladeshi preparation - but I grew up without. An easy 15 minute dish that's great if you're running short on time on a weekday evening, although most typically shaag is eaten as a side as part of the bigger meal.

Lost in Translation

পেয়াজ পাতা দিয়ে গরুর মাংশ 

Beef With Leeks

Completely unrelated to the post - I need a new wok

Procuring and perfecting this recipe has caused unnecessary anguish in my life - driven primarily by Bengali-English translation issues between my mom and me. I grew up knowing that this dish was beef cooked with "piyaz pata", or translating literally, onion leaves. I'd always assumed that onion leaves referred to spring onions, but no matter how much of it I used, I never managed to recreate the flavours I remembered from my childhood. It was only by chance that my mom offered to teach me how to cook this a couple of years back for the blog, and in the process I realised the onions leaves in question were actually leeks! Queue a fond reunion with a long lost food memory, and a slight improvement to my atrocious Bengali vocabulary. 

This dish is a stir-fry that back home would be categorised as Bangla-Chinese - a type of cuisine reliant on "Chinese" ingredients and cooking techniques - but manipulated extensively for the local palate. Bangla-Chinese has quite a history in Bangladesh, stemming from the old trendy "Chinese" restaurants that sprang up around the city mid 80s and onwards. Even my mom's wedding meal was held in one of them. These restaurants have taken a bit of hit now that a greater variety of venues have set up shop in town, but the food remains popular in Bangladesh. Just Google a recipe for "Chinese vegetables Bangladeshi style" and it'll quickly  become obvious how widespread a phenomenon this is.

Review: Field Restaurant

Ending Edinburgh on a High

Sweet and sour quail with quail cannelloni 

Field is a charming little restaurant that I’m very glad we visited during our time in Edinburgh. We booked on the night at a whim – it was near Summerhall Place, where we’d just stepped out of an Energy Futures debate. We were quoted a 20 minute wait time for a table, but managed to burn through most of that during our slow, winding walk to West Nicholson Street. We arrived at what is indeed a tiny restaurant, seating perhaps 20 people at a push. The décor is black and white, and a large (painted) cow dominates the left wall as you walk in. Similarly quirky adornments are scattered around the room. Beware the slit wooden table surfaces – cutlery has tendency to fall through. A quiet buzz of chatter permeated the low lit room, creating a cozy, casual atmosphere.

Review: Castle Terrace Restaurant

A Bumpy Ride

The entrance

I was in Edinburgh with my partner earlier this week for a short city break, and Castle Terrace was intended to be the culinary highlight of the trip. Sadly, it proved to be a rather jarring disappointment and as such, I will be relatively brief with my descriptions here. 

Review: Kolapata

Something Bangladeshi

Lunch spread in Kolapata, Whitechapel
Authentic Bangladeshi fare in London

Update (30/12/16): 
I've changed the value score here from 7 to 6.5, given there are definitely other places in East London that do better food for a lower price. 

A Bangladeshi restaurant in the UK is a rarity, despite what the touts in Brick Lane would have you believe. Granted, a few of the British-Bangladeshi curry houses have started advertising themselves as Indian and Bangladeshi nowadays, and I'm glad to see this emerging confidence in "Bangladeshi" as a brand. But the reality is no South Asian label completely describes the dishes these restaurants serve, which remain firmly British innovations. Kolapata stands in complete opposition to this narrative, however, by not only branding itself as Bangladeshi but actually dishing up authentically Bangladeshi cuisine at the same time. I assume it is well known by Bangladeshi folk in and around London, as even my parents managed to hear about it in the short time they spent in-country.

Review: Mang Inasal

Filipino Barbecue Chicken

Grilled chicken, steamed rice wrapped in banana leaf,
a sachet of soya sauce and a sliced kalamansi. Food
from Mang Inasal served at home.

This post is a recommendation for Mang Inasal, rather than a full review. As such I won't be scoring as I usually do. I was going through my old photos of time spent in Manila this weekend, and I came across pictures of food that I really enjoyed and think others should try as well. Take this as a product of nostalgia more than anything else.

Part of me finds it hard to believe that I'm writing about a chain for my blog, but truth be told there are several chains worldwide that I often rely on for good food. It's for the usual reasons - consistent branding means that you know what you're getting when you walk in. And at Mang Inasal (Hilgaynon for Mr. Barbecue), what you're getting is simple but scrumptious grilled meats and fish served with rice and condiments. Much like any fast food chain, orders are placed and paid for at the counter. Food can be eaten in the restaurant itself or taken away. I've done both over my time in the Philippines - and as with any chain expect crowds during peak hours. 

Review: Thai Terrace

Car Park Luxury

I wasn’t particularly thrilled when my partner suggested dinner at a restaurant inside a car park. I immediately thought of a petrol station fast food joint, although I quickly realised my mistake as we arrived at Thai Terrace. The restaurant has a street-facing ground floor entrance, where a lift whisks you directly to a dining area above a multi-storied car park. The setting allows for great panoramic views of Guildford, probably unrivalled by any other restaurant in the town. 

The terrace, which I imagine is only open
during the warmer months

On the left, seating area by the bar. On the left, the dining space as you walk

further in past the bar.  

The first word that comes to mind as I write about Thai Terrace is grand. There's a generous footprint for the reception and bar area, which is all natural wood and Thai decorations. Beyond this is a bigger and more European dining space in brown and gold, with odd pieces of modern sculpture dotted around the room. The number of staff rushing around may be surprising, but as the restaurant filled up to capacity I was grateful for how many of them were about. There's a an outdoor terrace (surprise!), but it was closed during our winter visits. Staff at reception greeted us in a mixture of Thai and English, before enquiring about our reservation. We've always made a booking, but given the size of the restaurant I imagine you'd have a reasonable chance of getting a table without one. Expect a well dressed but rowdy, energetic crowd - couples, families as well as larger groups and office parties

Winter Desserts

লাচ্চা সেমাই
Laccha Shemai

Laccha shemai served with raisins. Well, a raisin - the rest sunk!

Despite being such a small country, Bangladesh seems to be home to a unending variety of food. Every time I've moved back home or just dropped by for a visit, I've discovered something new to take back with me and attempt to recreate. Laccha shemai is one such dish, which I first came across while at school in Dhaka during the early 2000s. I'd grown up on another form of the dessert - dudh (or milk) shemai - but I'd never been a big fan. For those of you unfamiliar with the dish, shemai is a form of dried or fried vermicelli, and may be tricky to get your hands on unless you live near an Asian supermarket.

Shemai or fried vermicelli, as seen pre-soaking

However, if you do manage to procure some cooking laccha shemai is the most simple thing. The recipe below essentially calls for boiling some milk, sugar and spices before soaking in the shemai and serving the dish warm. It's the perfect dessert for a cold winter, and its traditionally eaten during this season in my family. It's a casual dessert, served after dinner on a normal day. On the odd occasion its eaten separately as a snack or during tea, but that might just be me. I prefer laccha shemai to dudh shemai as it doesn't call for boiling the vermicelli along with the milk, leaving the strands with a chewy "al dente" quality. This in my opinion makes for a more interesting texture than the mush you're often left with for dudh shemai, but it does mean laccha shemai has to be consumed almost immediately after its prepared.  

Review: Yorokobi by CJ

My Local Takeaway

Beautiful, luscious bulgogi served with steamed rice

I lie. Yorkobi by Chef Jang is a proper restaurant, and I am just lucky they do a number of their dishes to take away. I've taken advantage of this fact a number of times, and dropped by for a sit down full dinner a few times as well. Located just two minutes from my front door and serving Japanese and Korean fare, Yorokobi is definitely my go-to local in Aberdeen. The town has an impressive number of restaurants, and although none of them so far have been amazing, a surprisingly large number of them have been very good. I'd even go as far as saying the local restaurant scene in Aberdeen is superior to Richmond, my last (chain-blighted) town. 

Heritage From Elsewhere

Apple & Blackberry Crumble

Apple and blackberry crumble served with frozen yoghurt

I first encountered crumble at a pub in Selly Oak during my university days in Birmingham. Served warm with a side of vanilla ice cream, it appealed to my fondness of hot-and-cold contrasting desserts. However, poor iterations over the years have made me wary - sometimes the apples have been a tasteless mush, or a side of custard has been bland and flavourless. I'm sure I've been sampling it in the wrong places (the work canteen is hardly the place to seek out good food), and so I'm glad to finally have a recipe of my own to use.

The instructions below come from my partner, who I called up one evening after having bought blackberries for the first time without knowing what to do with them. I am happy to report I have since found out that blackberries can be eaten raw as is, but more importantly the conversation precipitated a request for homemade crumble from me. Surprisingly my partner obliged - apparently crumble was one of the desserts he grew up on - and the results are what you see in the photo above. The actual recipe is adapted from an original by Merrilees Parker, and is available on the BBC website.