Tribute & Journey Around the World (Almost)

At 10.57 pm just a week ago, I received an important message on Whatsapp- my bestfriend who is in Dubai had rushed to the hospital…

His wife’s water broke. 

Flashback to the very same Monday morning- I created a secret group on Facebook targeted at all of our mutual friends to record a short video congratulating him- the baby was due to be delivered today,but unfortunately his eagerness to be in this world fast tracked his delivery.

I was so afraid that our friends who had originally agreed on participating would cancel out- the idea was afterall to congratulate him beforehand so that we can channel our excitement and to help ‘psychologically’ ease his wife’s labour pain. 

I have had friends who had delivered their child- but I had never been so involved throughout the process as this. I met Amil when I sat next to him about 6 years ago during HRM lecture then we ended up in almost all group projects- HRM, Strategy, MNE, Operations Management & IB. We even had the same supervisor for our final thesis! Out of all the guy friends that I have, my mum was especially keen on Amil – Amil is different. He was the guy who became the shoulder for me to cry on- during all of my ups and downs, the one I am so comfortable to tell him anything because I know he wouldn’t judge me, the one who would ensure that I eat and sleep when I was so busy studying, the one who would cook for me- even if it was only instant noodles and also the one who would sacrifice sleep just so that he would accompany me while I completed my PhD proposal.

We were extremely close…..we were inseparable….in short Double Trouble.

Anyone reading this, would misinterpret our friendship and most would question the platonic ‘friendly’ love that we share for each other. BUT trust me, in the world where everyone have if not huge, slight bad intention on others- or even a world full of expectations- when one give, something is expected in return- the good old ‘genuine, true friendship’ still exists and that is what we have. 

When Amil got engaged 4 years ago- I compiled a similar video- but to me it felt as if it was just a moving powerpoint slides- it was OK and I don’t even remember what programme/ software that I used to compile everything. 4 years later, I became eager to show improvement on my compilation even if it is just a hobby. After I sent out the message- I kept on thinking about ideas on how to start the video or even how it would flow- what best to tell a story within this video (also something that was lacking from the engagement video- Yes I am a huge critic on everything that I do!).

In the beginning, I was lost.

Somehow in between applying for jobs and studying for my Viva and quite honestly probably thinking about my Viva which will be held 2 days before Xmas that I came up with the idea to include some sort of animation– a simple present and bow untied- but I don’t have any background in animation. So I messaged Daz. Daz had been my knight and shining armour when it comes to anything technical. This is also probably the result of being such a bad friend who generalise Daz into the ‘anything technical/ technological’ category. But it was worth it! When Daz has no clue on animation, he knows a friend who knows the ins and out on animation/ graphic design. The friend however responded: ‘She won’t be able to learn animation in just a day’. Regardless, what a blessing when they suggested for me to use ‘PowToon‘. It wasn’t hard to use it and I signed up for the free account. 

The next day, I received two videos. A video affirm my idea on how to embark with this project. It was sent by a friend whom I specifically instructed to play a ‘nursery rhyme’. When I first asked him to participate in this project- he thought it was rather peculiar since he didn’t know the parents but felt that it is a nice idea so he didn’t mind. I felt overjoyed as I know how busy he has been, so for him to actually be able to sit down and record something- was more than appreciated. It was his comment and effort that made me realise; in comparison with the engagement video which comprise of friends who only knows Amil, I would add a section on friends whom I know but are strangers to Amil.

For the next few days, I became extremely involved with the project- I had to ‘cold-call’ more like ‘cold-message’ our mutual friends and asked them if they would send a video, if yes- when etc. Surprisingly, the participation rate among our mutual friends were low. Everyone was either too busy or would eventually make empty promises which then led to no video submitted. Lets just be clear Amil wasn’t only nice to me but he was also nice to everyone. Also to my surprise my friends who don’t know Amil were more than willing to participate- it didn’t even take long for them to agree. This is especially the case with Kasia who is currently travelling around South East Asia with limited internet connection. Kasia had a lot of ideas on how to shoot hers but her camera failed her- in the end she had to resort to a vid of her doing a shot as per polish tradition using her friends phone- but it was still beautiful.

In the end, I learnt a lot about friendship when executing this project. There are simply friends who wouldn’t question your actions because they trust you, genuine friends whom you would want to keep throughout your whole life, friends who would be there for you, friends who would support you and whatever crazy ideas that you may have because they know off your intention. At the same time to becareful with friends who can be two faced- they were never willing to be part of anything, they are just downright pretentious.

Because of this lesson that I learnt throughout the way- I immediately changed the strategy for my project. At some point I wanted to start with a ‘how I met your father’ theme for our mutual friends and then add a section on ‘everyone around the world is eager to congratulate and welcome you’. Given the low participation rate among friends and quite honestly I simply felt lucky to even get hold of the videos also considering how busy they are plus the lessons learnt- I changed it to ‘baby’s first outlook on different cultures around the world’ and contacted more of my own friends around the world to participate. I couldn’t include the USA and Australia but the idea then focuses on an important lesson to be shared for a newborn child, which is to know that wherever he will be at, there will always be someone somewhere around the world who will be there for him.

As an international student- this pretty much summarises my life at this very moment. Given that most of my friends had graduated and moved back to their home country, they are still present in my life- Facebook, Whatsapp and imessage helps tremendously- in fact all three platforms had been crucial in contacting and receiving videos for this project. It is also a nod to my friendship with Amil. Amil had been updating me on a weekly basis his wife’s pregnancy progress and also how he felt during and after the labour. How he has developed a new found respect for his wife and mother- how he cried hugging his mum just after the baby was born. I felt included.

I don’t know if I will ever get married neither do I know when will I ever be having a child, so this moment was exceptionally special- it is the closest to understanding the feeling of having or bringing a child into this world. Although clearly just the beauty of it- not being able to truly understand the pain endured.

My Most Important Inspiration

So last night, I finally managed to compile all the videos- all 36 audio/video files. It was 7pm when I could say that I am finally satisfied with the result. It was with difficulties- technically- throughout the process. First off- registering with a free account on PowToon doesn’t allow me to download my movie and also there is a limitation for the movie- only 5 minutes- in fact I had to upgrade to a ‘student’ account which cost me $12 for a year- which I thought was a reasonable price so I did. Then it turns out that because it is only a student account and not a pro account, I couldn’t add videos on to my animated frames- I would have to save it via slideshow. There I was sitting and thinking ‘DAMN IT, if engagement video was more or less a moving PowerPoint slide this will literally be an animated slideshow’. 

It was all too confusing for me to find a video editing app online and not to forget that I might download a virus instead for free apps- so I ‘shy’d’ away from that. I looked at all my video edit- iphone apps- Magisto,imovie, Cute Cut and ProCutX but it was CuteCut that provided me with what I am searching for. So I prepared all my animation frames on PowToon- saved it as a movie, downloaded it on to my Iphone5 (Note: I used ‘TV static’ as the transition for most of my animation frames which helped me in my video editing process, Clipboard is Ok but very tricky- other types of transition makes it all even more complicated). I did my first trial and uploaded it on to youtube, showed a couple of friends including Amil’s sister and asked her what she thought- I wasn’t extremely satisfied with it- seems like some part of the video was ‘unstable’ and some of the words were almost cut off. So I edited my PowToon slides again.

At the same time, I didn’t know what songs to add on to the video. Gary suggested something old school- and he pointed out a few songs that had been used in babies advertisements but I don’t necessarily felt the connection with any of the songs. Daz suggested ‘little wonder’ which I thought was good but not great. Akhila suggested satisfaction but after reading through the lyrics- I noticed that it is simply inappropriate. I don’t exactly know how I came up with choosing ‘Love by Nat King Cole’ but it is definitely more than perfect for the video. Fly me to the moon was chosen because of Reshmi’s speech.

First Trial Vid  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Zk9W5lY3eE&feature=youtu.be

In the end, I must have made 5-6 copies of PowToon Movies, I then divided my final edition into 9 parts- which helped me to add videos as I receive them from my friends. Even with the 5-6 Powtoon movies published- I still had to amend and add additional animated frames as I continued to receive videos from friends. For instance- Emre went on a roadtrip and he wasn’t in London- I didn’t want to ‘lie’ especially when this is a story to be told to a child- so I had to edit the first part of my video. Then I misjudged the length of Michael’s speech- Michael only sent me a voice recording, so I had to adjust his animated frames part. Oh and then I thought Kasia was still in Hong Kong- but she was in Boracay- so I had to re- arrange all my animated frames. By the time I had to make all these adjustments- I already included the songs- and I was extremely careful with the songs- I wanted to cut it while someone is congratulating but at the same time I wanted it to be a good flow- so I counted the seconds used for each frame- which obviously made it such a tedious process when I had to edit the frames. It didn’t make sense for me if the last words from the song was not followed when the song started again. 

After I was satisfied with everything and began compiling all the 9 parts- I made a rookie mistake. I didn’t know that CuteCut is connected to my Iphone files, I would have imagine that the app stored its own version of the videos etc- so when I deleted the single videos to make space on my iphone, my compilation was unsuccessful- but thankfully it didn’t take long to generate new copies of each parts.

When compiling risk averted- for some reason it took forever for me to upload the video on Dropbox- well i know the reason- the movie is 16 minutes long and it is 531mb. I used a lot of tactic to keep Amil awake- it was almost 8pm in the UK so 12 am in Dubai. By 12.30 I succumb to pressure and informed Amil that I had been stalling him because I have something for him. It wasn’t until 10.00pm in the UK/ 2am in Dubai that the file was eventually uploaded- but it was funny. It didn’t take long for him to download it but he couldn’t view it. The file was saved on ‘.mov’. He couldn’t wait until this morning, so he grabbed his laptop and tried to download it, this time his internet connection failed him. So he only managed to watch the 4 minutes preview- in the end we decided to just wait until today. Before I passed out, I uploaded the video on facebook- for some reason, it was stalled. I also tried to upload it on YouTube- not realising that I have to verify my account if I am to upload a video that is more than 15 minutes long. So basically, all the effort for last night turned out to be a waste. In the morning, I tried again with Facebook- it was briefly uploaded but was immediately removed because of Copyright Infringement- Ah well. I almost gave up but then I realised I could just verify my YouTube account- which I did- I think it took me about an hour or so to upload it on YouTube.

By the time I posted my YouTube link on FB, Amil had just finished watching the full video- he asked the help of his friend to convert the video to ‘.mp4’ format.

Honestly, it has been such a journey- 36 of us were involved in this project, 24 cities, 14 countries and 15 languages all within 4days. I am extremely thankful to all of my friends who entertained my crazy idea and helped me to execute my project. It is not perfect, but it is more than worth it. Oh and I would highly recommend Powtoon as well as CuteCut- not even once that either crashed! Special Thanks to everyone 😀

Final Video

A Messy Affair: MEATLiquor Leeds

When I first came across MEATLiquor Leeds, I was extremely excited. I was with Al and we were roaming around looking for a bar after an extremely mediocre Italian dinner at Primo. Al decided last minute so we didn’t have a lot of choices to choose from. He was also pretty adamant on having Italian cuisine and it was on a Saturday night. Al mentioned that Primo is rated at 3.8, so it could be good but he wouldn’t guarantee. As we walked into the establishment, we noticed that the restaurant was only 1/2 full and it was at 8pm. We knew immediately that not a lot should be expected from Primo. I don’t think it should be called a restaurant because it provides more of a 1990s/early 2000 bistro vibe. The service was rather satisfactory but the menu felt like reading a long un-inspired list. I opted for the Ravioli and Al settled for the Risotto. Our selections couldn’t have been more lacklustre. The only saving grace was the portion size and the house red was not bad. I told Al, Primo made it to my ‘OK’ level because it seems to me that they made their own ravioli. That it was not purchased from any supermarket, the tomato sauce that accompanied the ravioli was however, disheartening.

We soon found ourselves subconsciously confirming on how average our dinner was by discussing on the criteria that makes a restaurant ‘special’. Al pointed out that an impressive restaurant should provide the feeling of ‘limitedness’; in short ‘exclusivity’ which Primo failed to offer. A selection of seasonal- cant be found at other establishments 4 starters, 6 main course and 4 desserts on a menu would have been preferable. This signals ‘courage’ and the ability for the Chef to focus thus delivering only exceptional quality meal. Gone are the days when restaurants should provide a vast amount of choices- customers can do that at home, when they do decide to cook. Al added that restaurants should provide a set of carefully thought- limited choices. Possibly a good consideration given the ADHD attribute that our generation is often associated with.

I then remembered the time when I used to live at St John Woods. I had the opportunity to admire the long queue outside MEATLiquor on Welbeck Street everytime when I walk home from Bond Street. Observing from across the road, MEATLiquor oozes the feeling of exclusivity, signals the determination of the diners. As a part- time Londoner, I can vouch for the commitment of the diners: in a hustle-bustle city, when everyone is often rushing from one end to another, when the choices to dine are almost limitless, it is extremely extraordinary to witness such persistence, especially for a burger. Often after witnessing such occurrence, I am left with curiosity- how out of the world good can the burger be? Possibly I was never their kind of customers and thus left me less than determined to queue- so I never did.

Haz, a friend of mine who is also the producer of an Arabic food programme, Oklat Mico convinced me that MEATMission in Hoxton is especially worth a try and in fact because of his job, he has dined at all the MEAT branches in London. So the excitement to come across MEATLiquor in Leeds- without having a clue that they have opened a branch in Leeds- was definitely an answer to my overdue visit and THERE WASN’T ANY QUEUE OUTSIDE- well it was 10pm when we got there.

From the moment when I walked downstairs, I was already impressed. If walking into Primo felt like a trip back to late 1990s/ early 2000- the upbeat vibe at MEATLiquor definitely suited 2014. Having said that, I could be bias as we were greeted by the bartender making a flaming cocktail. Ever since Cinnamon Soho introduced me to ‘Burning with Passion’, I had been a huge fan of flaming cocktails that I simply had to get whatever that flaming cocktail was. Al had a ‘hobo’ beer.

Burning with Passion, Cinnamon Soho, London

The ‘Flaming Wonder’ @MEATLiquor Leeds

The ‘Flaming Wonder’- still have no clue what the actual name is, was so good that for the past few weeks I had been nagging AL to bring me to MEATLiquor. Unfortunately both Al and I had been busy, so we never did. Last weekend, I suggested to Vas that we should check out the German Market- had a glass of mulled wine there but the market consist mostly of food stalls so there were not a lot to do- after browsing for 15minutes or so we were done. Vas reminded me on how enthusiastic I was to write a review on MEATLiquor but for some reason we couldn’t find it- ha A PhD student & a MSc in Cyber Security student couldn’t make use of their Google Maps- what a sight!- in fact we spent a lot of time walking around Trinity Centre and it could have been a good 20 minutes or so until we found it. I was rather intoxicated when I went there with Al and we did come across it by chance so I was not much of a help!

To me, this wasn’t just a burger- this is afterall ‘the’ burger place with an extraordinary long queue- the place where I no longer have to travel all the way to London to have my monthly dose of ‘flaming wonder’. A lot was riding on MEATLiquor to be amazing.

The restaurant wasn’t full when we reached there at around 6pm but it did get busy at around 7/8pm. I eventually decided on the Green Chili Cheeseburger and Vas ordered the Dirty Chicken Burger. However, they ran out of chicken fillet (that was quite shocking!). Considering that there are only two options for chicken burger- the least that MEATLiquor Leeds could have done was to stock up with some chicken fillet, afterall the Buffalo Chicken Burger is spicy and not a lot of customers can handle spice so a slight disappointment there! Vas ended up choosing the Cheeseburger and we also ordered a portion of fries to be shared.

When I studied the list of cocktails available- I couldn’t help but to opt for the House Grog. The fact that it is limited to 2 per person, to me screams ‘IGNORE THE REST, PLEASE CHOOSE ME!’ I still wanted to keep my sobriety in tact especially when Vas isn’t drinking, otherwise I would have gone for a second cocktail- either Zombie Apocalypse or Game Over. The House Grog didn’t disappoint. It was fresh, sweet and perfectly blended that it masks any alcohol taste but at the same time lethal. 

Given that the distance is rather close in between each table, I was borderline ‘intrusive’ when I kept on admiring the Chili Cheese Fries that the next table ordered. The service was rather fast- wasn’t long until we were served. The burgers came on a single shared tray- quite a unique concept, providing an intimate feel. ‘Environmental savvy’ haaa!!!! Although it did eventually became a messy affair 😀 I secretly wished that I wasn’t dining with a guy, if I was with Belle, I would have picked the burger up with my own barehands, and just get into the whole messy mood. I recalled Jamie Oliver’s first episode on Comfort Food when he asked his friend if it is OK for him to eat the burger with his hands- and the friend responded by saying that ‘there is no other way to eat a burger’– probably that reduced my ‘burger-eating’ experience- just a little bit. On a second thought- they weren’t lying with the chillies- IT WAS EXTREMELY SPICY even for me, one who grew up eating spicy food- so a ladylike- fork & knife bites was more than adequate. The beef patty was perfectly cooked- medium rare. Cutting the burger into half was an absolute delight- it was a perfect ‘VISUALLY SATISFACTORY’ layers of all ingredients- the bun, cheese, beef patty etc.

House Grog, Green Chili Cheeseburger

Vas asked ‘Have you thought about what you will write on your review’ to which I responded ‘I need to sleep on this’. At that point, my mouth was clearly burning, I could feel sweat running down my forehead too. He said ‘But you chose a spicy burger’. He was indeed right, I did make a concious decision to choose something spicy, but at the same time there is a fine line in between eating something spicy and having something that is absolutely unbearable, that it masks everything else which would have allowed it to be a composition of a perfect burger. The Green Chillies unfortunately was not the only ingredient, the beef patty should be on an equal playing field to which the green chillies should have been a perfect compliment. At the beginning and end of every bite, I could only taste green chillies. The fries helped. I was also glad that we never bothered to order the Chilli Cheese Fries.

The over-the-top extreme explosion of green chillies reminded me of the Nasi Padang served at an Indonesia Warung in London. I would sweat profusely whenever I dine there but I would never order anything else but the Nasi Padang. However, the green chillies are often served on the side instead of mixed with the rice- so every bite is a choice unlike the Green Chili Cheeseburger.

Nasi Padang @Indonesian Warung, Charing Cross Road- Pic Stolen From Steph

Regardless, I am not disheartened from visiting MEATLiquor again- probably would order something more subtle next time so that I can make a better judgement. The burger was definitely filling that we couldn’t even bring ourselves to finish the shared fries. As far as my dining experience in Leeds go, it definitely was better to taste something rather than having had to taste something as mediocre as the food served at Primo even if both offers different types of cuisine.  However, I still couldn’t rationalise the hype behind the long queue outside MEATLiquor on Welbeck Street, at least for now, not for the burger but I would definitely queue for the cocktails.

Spaghetti ai Gamberi with a Twist

I woke up late this afternoon, well I slept at 5/6am this morning so I am allowed. These few days had been busy with job applications deadline back to back. I didn’t even get to celebrate Halloween nor rest. I thought I get to rest today but I woke up to an invitation for a test to be completed by Wednesday morning. Vas told me to just rest today because I have had an extremely busy week. I stayed in bed for probably 2hours before I felt so hungry. I decided to use the chitpotle chilli flakes again. However, I don’t know if I should make a prawn spaghetti or use pancetta- in the end I decided to use both.

I also decided to use capers. I stopped by Marks & Spencer when I went out to get coffee and grabbed a jar of Capers which cost me £2. I saw some fresh Spaghetti, so I took that too- that costs me £1.45. I then went to the fresh seafood section and found the Honduran King Prawns, it would cost me £5.50 for 280g. I wanted a smaller portion so I went to Tesco to get the prawns there which came up to £3.70 for 175g. I also bought pancetta for £2.

I still have plum tomatoes, garlic, parsley and Parmesan cheese at home. This is the first time I am trying all these ingredients together. Anyway, the full ingredients are as the following:

For 2 Servings
A whole bulb of Garlic- smashed/ bruised
One can of Plum Tomatoes
One packet of Pancetta (£2)
175g King Prawns (£3.70)
2 tablespoons of Chipotle Chilli Flakes
1 tablespoon of Capers (£2)
Half a packet of parsley- chopped
250g of Fresh Spaghetti (£1.45 for 500g)
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Parmesan Cheese- Freshly grated

Methods:
Heat up the oil, add pancetta until crispy. Turn down the heat to medium, add garlic but becareful not to burn the garlic. Reduce the heat lower and add the Chipotle Chilli Flakes. Add a can of plum tomatoes, season with salt and let it boil on a low- medium heat for 10-15 minutes.

Add prawns and wait for 5-7 minutes until the prawn is cooked. Add spaghetti, mix well. Add capers and the chopped parsley.

Grate some Parmesan cheese, taste and season when necessary!

Enjoy!!! I hope you will like it- has the balance of spice, sour and crunch from the caper but not overpowering, sweetness from the prawn, smokiness from the pancetta and just pure comfort from the Parmesan…

Total Cost Spent £9.10 (£4.50 per serving)

Buon Appetito

The King of High Street Italian Restaurant?: Jamie’s Italian

When I reached Birmingham last Friday, I had to cancel all of my plans. The reason was simple- it was raining so heavily that there wasn’t any way that I could carry on with my plan. Ah the joy of living in the UK!!! I didn’t know my way around Birmingham and the two times that I went there- most recent was to go to Gatecrasher which to me wasn’t all that exciting to begin with- but it was for Adi’s bday. I simply had to follow the crowd and he even booked a bus to get there. Then the other time, I went to Birmingham was with my parents and my dad’s client showed us around- so I never explored Birmingham and the client thought being Asian and away from home, he brought us to an Indian restaurant- no complain there!

I didn’t want to take the risk of meeting up with Matt late, plus my stomach was growling- so the initial plan to go to Barber’s Institute of Fine Art while waiting for Matt to reach Birmingham had to be cancelled.

I took the coach to get to Birmingham- the return trip only costs me £20 in comparison to £43 had I taken a train. The journey only took me an hour extra each way so I didn’t mind it that much plus I was not in a rush.

When I reached Birmingham Coach Station, I didn’t know where to go. Matt and I had agreed on meeting at Birmingham New Street- it would have made sense to go to the art gallery as I would have had to take a train to the university station- but since I left my umbrella at home, I thought I would find a restaurant and have my lunch + dinner instead but keyed in the direction to Birmingham New Street on my Google Maps.

I walked past through the Bullring centre when I saw Jamie’s Italian. I would have chosen a local pub but I thought to myself, ‘I’ve never tried dining at Jamie’s Italian… So why don’t I?’ I came across two of the establishments in London- the Islington branch and the Covent Garden branch. Again, never bothered to walk in.

My only experience when it comes to Jamie Oliver’s restaurant is Barbecoa at St Paul’s. That experience was mediocre which probably made me became very cautious about walking into yet another Jamie Oliver’s restaurants. The selection of food wasn’t all that amazing, it was pretty limited and if I remember correctly I ended up with Lamb Skewers (no longer on the menu- I wonder why?!) However, this was three/four years ago- interesting thought there- an experience some years ago still have an impact on me up until last week- in the end it was a cooking show and some recipes that I tested made me open to have another go at Jamie’s Italian! The company- my bestfriend and a friend whom we both have known since college were amazing- probably why the experience wasn’t all that bad! Oh and it helped that the bottle of Riesling they had on the menu was excellent.

From my experience, the selection of alcohol beverages really could make a break a restaurant. I found that a lot of Michelin Star restaurants when they have an impeccable selection of wine and champagne but often only a few have an outstanding collection of really good cocktails. Take Hibiscus for instance, the Hibiscus martini is too strong on the combination of the alcohol that I wasn’t able to taste the Hibiscus flavour- it was there but it was overpowered- for something that should be flowery/ more feminine- this was definitely a man’s drink. This is also how L’Atelier De Joel Robuchon constantly landed on my heart that sometimes I would just go to the Salon for desserts and drinks.

Anyway, so I walked into Jamie’s Italian not knowing what will be on the menu nor the charging price for the dishes. The waitress was really friendly and before long I was seated. I took a look at the menu and I was delighted to see a huge selection of cocktails to choose from and I wanted to choose something that I’ve never had before but I failed miserably- I settled for a glass of Strawberry Daiquiri.

Jamie Oliver’s Strawberry Daiquiri

The best Daiquiri that I have ever had was in Greece two summer ago. It was a frozen daiquiri which only cost €4.50- what a bargain!!!! Jamie Oliver’s Daiquiri however is a long way to go to achieve the same feeling that I had when I took my first sip of the Daiquiri I had in Greece. It wasn’t that it was bad- it just didn’t have the oomph- the brightness, the freshness. It did make me a little bit tipsy after only a glass- so props on Value for Money!

Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri that I had in Greece

Another reason which made me eager to dine at Jamie’s Italian is because of Jamie Oliver’s new cooking show: Jamie’s Comfort Food. In fact the show was so good that during one of my trip to Waterstone I almost picked up his cookbook- but then I figured since I can find the recipes online, it would have been a waste of money. I have tried to make the Mac and Cheese and it really did come out amazingly. Recipe was easy to follow and the result was superb. Plus I made that with my wounded leg so I got to show off to my friends 😀

Extremely Cheesy, Mac N Cheese – Jamie Oliver’s recipe

Another dish that I’ve made using Jamie Oliver’s recipe was the Grandad’s Mussel Linguine (Linguine con cozze di Nonno). The outcome to me was, ‘speechlessly satisfying’. I was even more happy by the fact that I only spent about £4 to make it and it was more than enough to be shared by 4 people (I had most of the ingredients at home- only needed mussels which I bought from Sainsbury’s- only pain was to debeard and clean the Mussels) . However, I did add a glass of Gavi which I had lying around. I immediately knew that as much as the osso bucco would be such a good meal for such a cold rainy day, it was one of the seafood pasta on the menu that would have been my choice.

The hardest part of making Mussels Linguine is to debeard and clean these beautiful babies.

My Mussels Linguine as per Jamie Oliver’s recipe served with a glass of Gavi and Strawberries

I kept going back and forth in between the squid and mussel spaghetti and the fresh crab spaghettini even when the waiter suggested that I try the porcini fettuccine instead. Carluccio’s had been my favourite high street italian restaurant for porcini fettuccini, I could have easily made a comparison and could have easily come to a somewhat skewered conclusion on which establishment is my King of High Street Italian restaurant but I didn’t. The researcher in me was simply curious on how a pasta which costs me ONLY £4 to make at home would compare to its £7.95 more expensive cousin. So, yes, I had to choose the squid and mussels spaghetti.

The spaghetti is a squid ink spaghetti which I am yet to be impressed by any restaurant. The one served at Strada is borderline tasteless and would require heavy seasoning action if I do order it (Jamie Italian’s spaghetti was a tad bit mushy and I would have preferred for it to be more al-dente but it was seasoned well).

The service was good. It was so different from most other high street Italian chain restaurants. It would have taken forever to be served at Zizzi- both in London and Sheffield. I found hair in my food when I last went to Zizzi’s Baker Street branch after having half the plate- left the rest because I immediately lost my appetite and didn’t bother to visit Zizzi anymore after that with the exception of few days after my birthday as I was given a voucher for a free main course.

When the pasta came, I was shocked- I felt totally robbed. There were only a few pieces of mussels- in comparison to when I made it- some of the mussel shells were also empty. The plate looked rushed and dirty- no cleaning around the plate before serving. There wasn’t any love for the food served. I have never sat in front of such a rustic looking plate even at any of the other high street chains.

Squid and Mussels Spaghetti

Strada and Zizzi has always kept the presentation clean. As mentioned above, Strada has kept it so clean that it is often left tasteless. Bella Italia and Spaghetti House on the other hand is a good safe bet for the price that one will be paying for. Although both will shy away from serving seafood pasta- only the usual linguine gamberi. Zizzi is a hit and miss- on a bad day you can taste every inch of the lack of freshness of the food served. Carluccio’s is good. Before dining at Jamie’s Italian, Carluccio is definitely my top pick. With the added benefit that I have the choice of changing the sauce  from being served with butter sauce to a standard marinara sauce (Im fussy like that but they don’t mind it- so needless to say, service is top rank at Carluccio’s).

So where does Jamie’s Italian rank?

Despite the lack of mussels or the display of empty mussels shells (is that what they call it?) and the messy looking plate with splashes of pasta sauce, the surprise came from the taste of squid and octopus. The name of the dish is squid and mussels- so I was truly shocked when I had that bite of octopus- it added depth to the dish. I have tried seafood dishes at Strada, Prezzo and Zizzi and this dish is clearly the winner. So needless to say, Jamie Italian would be my top pick alongside Carluccio’s.

However, the researcher in me was still left with an uncertain feeling- I wanted the dish to be so good as good as the Jamie Oliver’s recipe that I found online- but it just didn’t quite measure up. The question then became-is being the top amongst High Street restaurant enough- over the course of time, will it be enough to get diners out of their home to dine there- when clearly the recipe Jamie provided is so much more satisfactory and wasn’t hard at all to execute (probably this is where the added benefit of having octopus in the dish justifies the whole dining out experience- IT IS HARD TO COOK OCTOPUS TO PERFECTION! NUFF SAID!) After the meal, I kept on wondering- would I have been more satisfied had I ordered starters? Probably, but since I’ve already passed the starters hurdle and went straight to order the main course- I thought I might as well order desserts.

I was set on the brownies or even the artic roll when the waiter came and suggested the Amalfi lemon cheesecake. Since I refused his suggestion on main course and clearly he must know better, I finally gave him the chance to impress me.

He wasn’t lying! It was probably one of the best cheesecake I’ve ever had. The meringue was so soft- with a marshmallow texture. What would have been a speed dial to diabetes was saved by the tartness of the raspberry and the zing from the lemon curd. It was spectacular- every bite was a phone dial away to an absolute foodgasm.

Amalfi Lemon Cheesecake with Meringue, Raspberries and Lemon Curd

In the end, I had a rough start- messy plate with empty mussels shells lying around but I didn’t leave feeling disappointed. I thought to myself ‘I knew Jamie Oliver had it in him!’ That cheesecake was so spectacular that I decided to return to the establishment the very next day but the waiting time was 30 minutes and I was in a rush so I had to resort to a nearby Japanese restaurant- worst decision ever.

It has been almost a week now but the memory of the cheesecake still lingers. I would definitely visit another Jamie Italian’s establishment soon to try out more dishes. So watch this space.

Instant Solution: Three Cheese Tortellini, Amatriciana Sauce and Bistro Salad

At the moment I am busy applying for jobs and practising for psychometric tests. Probably for comfort seeking reasons that I had been having random late night cravings in the form of Kreme Ball with chocolate sauce from KFC (yes.. KFC can you believe it?) At £1.49 it provided me with what I needed after a long day of intense mental activities.

Last night I had a different craving- the sudden thought of having apple turnover came out of nowhere. So I made a late night trip to Tesco but the apple turnover looked so sad that I couldn’t bring myself to grab it and I decided that I would go to Marks & Spencer today instead. In the end, I walked into KFC AGAIN to grab another Kreme Ball (ahhhh!!! Can’t believe I fell for it again!)

Waistline Expansion Contributor- Kreme Ball with Chocolate Sauce from KFC

While enjoying my Kreme Ball, I decided to watch Hells Kitchen. The episode was on Italian food. I struggled to understand how some of the contestants weren’t capable of making a decent carbonara or even spaghetti vongole (I mean these are pretty basic and you don’t have to be an extraordinary Chef to make these dishes even at home)!

So, when I woke up today, naturally, not only that I was excited to buy my apple turnover but I also wanted to cook Italian food. I then proceeded with my plan to go to Marks & Spencer. I started searching for ingredients. Honestly, I had no specific plan in mind and I allowed the ingredients that I can find at M& S speak to me. Without a doubt everything is so much more expensive in comparison to Tesco, so I figured the best way is to make something that is packed with flavours and keep the cost low. I still wonder if prices are the direct reflection of the quality of ingredients purchased- the parmesan that I ended up buying is £1 more expensive than the parmesan I would usually buy from Tesco but at the same time it has been matured for 18 months. (Now that I’ve opened the pack of parmesan cheese that I bought- WOW, the cheese is so soft and the texture is amazing!!!)

Another cooking show that I had been watching lately is My Kitchen Rules. For the past two episodes, the contestants had been making tortellini. I had never made my own pasta and this is something that I would attempt to make at some point in my life- just not today. I went to the fresh pasta section and grabbed a packet of Three Cheese Tortellini. This costs me £1.50. I know that I am making Italian food but at the same time, what strike me almost instantaneously was the flavour combination of ham and cheese (or in my case Bacon and Cheese). So I decided to make Amatriciana Sauce to go along with my Tortellini. 

On my way to Marks & Spencer, I went to the world food aisle and saw a small jar of chipotle chilli flakes. I thought to myself, Bacon, Cheese and Chillies should be good. The chilli flakes costs me £1.79. I also grabbed the diced Italian Pancetta which costs me £2.00. I then decided to grab a packet of Bistro Salad (only because it was the most different from the salad leaves that I would usually use and also the cheapest) to balance the richness of the meal. The following are the ingredients for my take on my Italian Food Fiesta.

Ingredients for Amatriciana Sauce (For 2 Servings):

1 Onions (Sliced)

4 Cloves of Garlic

1 Canned of Plum Tomatoes

Italian Diced Pancetta (£2)

Chipotle Chilli Flakes (£1.79) – Depending on how spicy you would want your sauce to be, I added One Tablespoon but I love spicy food!!

One Tablespoon of Olive Oil, Salt and Pepper as Required

Ready, Set and Go

Method:

Heat a tablespoon of Olive Oil and add Pancetta. Sauté until golden and crispy. Turn the heat down. Add in One Teaspoon of Chilli Flakes (OR Tablespoon depending on how spicy you want your sauce to be) and add Onions and Garlic. When the Onions soften add in the plum tomatoes. Season with Salt and Pepper as Necessary.

Saute

Add the Three Cheese Tortellini(£1.50)  into the sauce and wait for 2-3 minutes.

I don’t usually dress my Salad (£1.75), so I added it on top of my meal but a tablespoon of Olive Oil, A Tablespoon of Lime Juice and Some Grated Parmesan Cheese (£2.70) will be an amazing addition as a side for the dish.

I then added some grated parmesan and pepper just to complete the dish

In the end the total cost spent for this dish was: £9.74 (£4.87 per serving) 

The Cheese Tortellini is actually £0.50 cheaper than if purchased in Tesco!!!! Packed with flavour and it is not too thin (Highly recommend it!!!) 

I can tell you that my first bite was close to what I would call as an ‘orgasmic bomb’! Everything was perfect and as I had expected- the heat from the chilli flakes was counterbalanced with the cheese, the bacon added some smoky flavour and depth while the salad added some earthiness to it.

I will definitely be making this again, so Enjoy!!!!

Three Cheese Tortellini, Amatriciana Sauce and Bistro Salad

 

 

I Hit Pause: Minced Turkey Padprik Fried Rice

I didn’t think I was still traumatised by my burnt leg accident or that I would be. I had been back in the kitchen countless times and even after I came back from the A&E. But after I wrote Truth and reading it over and over again, I felt that Belle was right. I wrote it when I had been off my painkillers and that I am no longer in pain. Reading truth made me relived those painful moments and made me recalled every thoughts that I had then.

Last night, I felt terrified to even enter my kitchen. Everywhere I looked at reminded me of that day. I was even shaking when I grabbed the wok to make scramble egg last night (yes another Tuesday- another dirty pan and another time when I had to resort to my wok- this time it was 1am) it all seemed like a déjà vu to me.

Then I thought to myself, Probably this was what I needed, a closure… A confession! An acknowledgement that I failed myself in order for me to truly pick myself up once again.

For dinner tonight, after surviving on yoghurt and granola for the past few days, I decided to make minced Turkey padprik fried rice. This is a healthier version, the meat to rice ratio is higher, so arguably low carbs and full of vegetables. Ingredients are as following:

11/2 cups of cooked rice
4 Red Chillies (only because my red chillies will expire soon) -£0.60 (Tesco)
500G Minced Turkey – £2.45 (Tesco)
Tesco Carrot, Cauliflower and Brocolli – £1.10 (Tesco) – Cut it into smaller pieces
3 Tbs of Chilli Sauce
3 Tbs of Tomato Sauce
3 Tbs of Oyster Sauce
2 Onions (Sliced)
1 Tbs of Crushed Chillies (only because I like my dish spicier)
Salt for seasoning
Some Lettuce as a garnish

Methods:
Heat a tablespoon of oil on to pan/ wok, when the pan/ wok is warm add in onions and then add in carrots, cauliflower and broccoli. When the onions and vege soften add in oyster sauce, chilli sauce, tomato sauce and crushed chillies.

Leave it for 10 mins on medium heat.

Add in the minced Turkey, mix all the ingredients together, add in salt to season the meat.

Make sure that the minced Turkey is almost cooked before adding in the rice.

As it is already late at night and I don’t have any kafir lime leaves, I didn’t add it to the dish. To my horror I didn’t have garlic either and didn’t want to add garlic powder instead.

It is really easy but at the same time flavourful. Enjoy!!!

A Mouth Full of Freshness: Sushi Express

I have a habit- if I visit a restaurant once and enjoy it- I will keep on visiting the same restaurant over and over again. In Sheffield, this is true for Sushi Express and Yummy’s Noodle Bar. I place the importance on growing with a restaurant and of course, at the same time, I know that I am guaranteed the comfort and return on my food investment.

It has been around 4 years since Sushi Express open its door. I remembered the first time when I visited the restaurant- everything was so minimal, there wasn’t a clear concept and it felt as though it was a bridge in between what seemed like a really clean Japanese takeaway and an open kitchen type of restaurant, similar with Wagamama- with the exception that when both serves Japanese food, Sushi Express do serve Sushi as the name would suggest and there seems to be nothing so ‘express’ about it. Not to say that the service is slow but I do associate express with a takeaway like, low quality establishment- which Sushi Express has nothing to do with. Potentially it is a psychological trap- with the restaurant trying to attract more customers by suggesting that it is similar to a takeaway restaurant- which is a shame because it is such an elegant and exquisite place!

I had never been to Japan so I can’t comment on the authenticity of the dishes served and to be perfectly honest, when I was still living in Malaysia, I was never fond of Japanese food. My brother, on the other hand, had always been a huge fan and if it was his turn to choose the restaurant where we would dine at, I would have to just stomach it. Probably salmon, tuna and all other main Japanese food ingredients are hardly associated with tropical countries such as Malaysia- so the sense of freshness of the food served was lost.

Ironically enough, my curiosity and enthusiasm when it comes to Japanese food started with Wagamama. Wagamama is probably not the most authentic of Japanese restaurants around but when I came across the establishment, I was living in Canterbury and the selection of restaurants to dine at was limited. Even with Wagamama, I eventually got bored within a year or two and having said that I only visited the restaurant when my parents were in town- there had always been something that was not quite there. The food felt lacklustre and more often than not, there is a disconnect. Take the prawn chilli men for instance, the soba noodle often tasted under-seasoned and then when combining the sauce with the noodles, the noodles simply doesn’t absorb the sauce, leaving the dough-y noodle after taste. The yasai cha han- Japanese fried rice is an absolute waste of money- I can fry it with my eyes blindfolded- but probably won’t given how I burnt my legs before stir-frying noodles almost a month ago. I didn’t mind the raisukaree, I actually quite enjoy it- to me it felt like a lighter- fresh cousin of green curry. However, my favourite for Wagamama had always been the amai udon- it is a shame that when I checked the menu online today, it is no longer there. Instead I was presented with yaki udon which seems similar based on the description. Ever since I moved to Sheffield, I had only been to Wagamama three times and I’ve lived in Sheffield for five years now.

Although Wagamama sparked my interest on Japanese cuisine, the two years that I lived in London changed my Japanese food experience drastically. I learnt to love Ramen- which I never did before until my bestfriend introduced me to my love at first sight- Shoryu. The Ramen broth was so spectacular that it left me speechless EVERY FREAKING TIME!!! In fact, I would bug my bestfriend to have lunch with me given that the distance from her office to Shoryu on Regent Street is only 5 minutes. She always informed me so as to not get my hopes up ‘Just bear in mind that if there is a long queue, we can’t!!!’ Thankfully, for all the times that we planned on going to Shoryu, it will be packed but we never had to queue. At the moment, I am still yet to dine at Bone Daddies– which is apparently similar with the exception that at Bone Daddies- it will get messy! There are also other Japanese restaurants such as Ukai at Westbourne Grove which serves a limited menu but everything is fresh and if I remember correctly- they don’t serve hot meals; Tokyo Diner is truly forgettable, You Me Sushi is average- never quite like the Teriyaki dishes plus the sushi is a bit too ‘mushy’ for my liking, Mori is OK if you can close your eyes while paying for the meal etc. Chotto Matte which is the Japanese- Peruvian fusion restaurant was OK although it could have been amazing. When I went there, thanks to my ‘paparazzi’ behaviour, we managed to identify that they had missed out on one of the dishes as we opted for the tasting menu. It was quite disappointing in the sense that a tasting menu should work similar to a symphony- there should be a coordination- one should come after the other so when we missed out on one dish and even worst having had to clarify with the servers on their mistake instead of them realising that they have made a mistake, I would say that in the end I am 50-50 on it. There are of course a longer list of Japanese restaurants that I do wish to visit at some point.

The Irresistable Shoryu’s Ramen

In Sheffield, I had been to Wasabi Sabi, sadly Yo Sushi and had ordered from Sakushi. It must have been quite awhile since I visited Wasabi Sabi that all I can remember was- amazing ambience, expensive and small portion of food served and to top it all- came back home still hungry. For Yo Sushi, I must have been extremely hungry to even walk to the food court at Meadowhall- since lets face it, if anyone can avoid or refrain themselves from dining at Yo Sushi- PLEASE DO SO! For Sakushi, the portion is small and it never taste fresh- the only time I will order from Sakushi is if I don’t have any cash and is craving for Japanese food otherwise I won’t bother.

The first time when I went to Sushi Express- I came with Joule. We were both on our way back home- I was still staying at Trafalgar St, behind Devonshire Chippy then. I ordered the beef with tokyo sauce bento- it was ok, nothing special. However, Joule ordered a whole bunch of food which I was able to steal. At that time, I wasn’t certain if I would visit Sushi Express again but my family came for a visit that summer and one of the day when I had just came back from the IC, I decided to stop at Sushi Express- at that time they sold assortment of ready made sushi. I grabbed a box, bought it and gave it to my brother. My mum who had never been a fan of sushi nor Japanese food- took one and couldn’t stop praising on how tasty it was. I can still remember her words- Rice was cooked perfectly, the fish/ seafood weren’t slimy and there was no fishy smell. Few days after that the three of us dined at Sushi Express- we had what would eventually became the common food that I would order up until today.

The first dish is the unadon, comes at a hefty price of £13– the sauce is amazing and so is the fish- I didn’t mind paying that much for it although it is the type of dish that is more of a luxury than a repetitive habit. In comparison to Sakushi’s Unagi Kabayaki Don, Sushi Express is better in terms of the portion, the price is £0.45 cheaper and Sakushi’s has a slight taste of earthiness to it- which could indicate that the eel has not been cleaned properly.  Four years later and nothing changed for Sushi Express- the portion size is still the same, the taste of the food is the same too and if I had to pick on something, I don’t seem to remember the price then. However, I did feel that the ratio in between rice to eel is imbalanced- there should be more eel or quite simply lesser rice. The unadon should come with a free miso soup, PLEASE ASK IF THEY FORGOT about this- the miso soup however, is a hit and miss- sometimes it can be a tad bit salty, sometimes it is enjoyable- so NEVER ORDER IT (It is £1.50 for something that is so uncertain too!)

Unadon at Sushi Express

Another one of our favourite is the 8 pieces Deluxe Dragon Maki at £12. It is an inside out sesame coated roll filled with blanched king prawn, ripe avocado and topped with tasty teritaki eel. Garnished with mayonnaise and flying fish roe. The sauce that accompanies this dish is amazing, the sushi itself is spectacular that to me, it deserves a standing ovation. I didn’t order this dish during my pre-bday dinner this year but I did so last year and last year’s summer. During both visits- they managed to maintain the quality.

Deluxe Dragon Maki at Sushi Express, October 2013

Krish ordered the Salmon Sashimi at £5.80 when we went there recently. Personally, for a better value for money, I would opt for either the Salmon & Flying Fish Roe Don at £4 or Salmon & Salmon Roe Mini Don at £4.50. I’ve ordered the mini don but not the flying fish roe, and it is a bowl of joy! I couldn’t observe any drastic difference in between the two roe-don dishes and the salmon sashimi but only the benefit of having rice and roe at at least £1.30 cheaper.

The 2 pieces Roasted Salmon Nigiri at £2.60 is good- they have managed to cook it to perfection- some restaurants did manage to overcook the salmon thus left it dried. This is one of my brother’s favourite. However, they definitely have downsized the portion as last year, again uncertain of the price charged then but it was priced for 3 pieces instead of the 2 pieces as currently offered. My brother would also order the 2 pieces Roasted Crab Stick Nigiri which costs £2.60. I would not order this as I would avoid eating artificial food at all cost- so I am in no position to comment. However, they didn’t downsize this dish- there were 2 pieces then and there are 2 pieces now.

Roasted Salmon Nigiri and Roasted Crabstick Nigiri at Sushi Express

I had also tried the Octopus Nigiri, Squid Nigiri (2 pieces for £2.60) and Surf Clam Nigiri (2 pieces for £3). I enjoyed the octopus nigiri thoroughly, not a fan of the squid nigiri- it was just OK and first time ever that I tried surf clam and hadn’t done so since (clearly not memorable enough or simply not value for money- probably would do so for my next visit just to remind me of how I felt about it).

The Salmon Roe Gunkan is one of my favourite, there used to be an option to order just a piece (at £2.30) of it but now diners are forced to order two pieces at £4.50!!!!The price made me hesitant to order it but Krish ordered it, although now this left me feeling like a bad friend since I should have advised him to just order the Salmon & Salmon Roe Mini Don- it has everything that he wanted for a total price of £4.50, instead of the £9.80 that he paid for the sashimi and salmon roe gunkan.

Other than that, my brother had ordered the Rainbow Maki (8 pieces for £7.50), Dragon Maki (8 pieces for £8.50) and Summer Maki (6 pieces for £6) all of which are amazing but if it was up to me, I would stick with the Deluxe Dragon Maki. I did order the Spicy Salmon Maki (6 pieces for £4.50) just last week- They used shichimi togarashi to coat the sushi- Krish found it spicy, I didn’t. I found the portion rather small and at some point thought that they have downsized the size of the maki, but then I realised that was the first time I ordered it at Sushi Express. However, at my fourth piece, I was already full plus I did have my unadon before that. Taste wise- it is different than other spicy salmon maki that I have had- I was never made to taste shichimi togarashi before and quite honestly, it felt a bit alien to my tongue- but hey at least it was an authentic experience! In terms of whether or not, the spices mask the taste of the salmon- I didn’t think so, but then again I can handle my spices. Weird enough because we ordered the Kimchi (£3.20) and he was fine with that- the Kimchi was well balanced, flavour wise but if we weren’t splitting the bill, I wouldn’t have ordered it.

2014 Pre Birthday Dinner- Salmon Sashimi, Unadon, Kimchi, Spicy Salmon Maki and Salmon Roe Gunkan

The Vegetarian Maki (6 pieces for £4.80) and the Tofu Skewer (£3) are my mums favourite. Personally, I wouldn’t order the tofu skewer as it is a tad bit greasy. I had also ordered the Octopus Skewer (£.250) once and that was a total let down- octopus was tasteless- it wasn’t marinated well or probably should have been marinated longer. The vegetarian maki on the other hand is really refreshing- not quite sure how they managed to wrap the cooked Chinese leaves around it, but it is good.

Vegetarian Maki, Miso Soup and Salmon Salad

The absolute no-no for Sushi Express will be the Salmon Teriyaki (£7.80). The fish is a tad bit dried and I know that I can do a better job. Once in awhile, when I wanted to pamper myself, I would order the Kaisen Don (£8.20). This include a selection of raw fish sashimi slices including 2 salmon, 2 tuna, 2 scallops, 2 octopus and 2 sweet shrimp, crushed ginger, wasabi and Japanese omelette served on a bed of sushi rice. The sweet shrimp is probably a let down and probably I just can’t bear the thought of eating raw shrimp- but that is simply my personal recollection. The corn is a good touch (or I think it is corn) adds crunch to the whole dish. Oh and for my pre-bday dinner last year, a group of Japanese diners pre-ordered an octopus dish- THAT WAS AMAZING!!!! I don’t remember what it is called but apparently it is a special order. One of the waiter was really nice to allow us to taste it for free (thumbs up for that!!!)

The Mysterious Octopus Dish at Sushi Express

Salmon Teriyaki at Sushi Express

Overall, after almost four years of visiting Sushi Express- although there are dishes that I would avoid and sometimes I would smirk over the bill, it is one of the best Japanese restaurant that I had been to in my life- of course I had never been to Nobu yet, so I can’t make any comparison. The seafood is fresh- didn’t need much to be done to it, they definitely showed respect to the ingredients and allowed the ingredients to shine. Sushi at Chotto Matte was fresh too but Sushi Express certainly has more flare and personality with the food that they serve- in short there is love, care and attention! Reminiscing to the first two years of their establishment- I can still remember the times when they would hold some sort of food photography session, assuming that the pictures are to be used for their menu- always thought they didn’t need a lot of

marketing because the product that they are presenting is good enough to speak for itself. I felt that way then and I continue to feel the same now. There is also a sense of consistency in terms of quality- which is always something that is difficult for restaurants to achieve- the change in management, chef, suppliers could all contribute to the lack of consistency- but they didn’t seem to suffer from that- Not at all! I am glad to have this very special experience, especially in making my London foodie friends who are often so picky about their food to leave Sushi Express utterly speechless. So, for anyone reading this post, if you would like to recreate the same experience with your friends, visit Sushi Express at:

8 Milton St, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S1 4JU

Phone:0114 279 7669

Where To Go For Dinner Tonight?: Anchorage Sheffield

This is the first time that I am writing a restaurant review on Thalia On A Budget. For my other blog, ChicGeeknPetite, I wrote two reviews, one was for Brindisa London and another became what I would refer to as my ‘famous-infamous’ blogpost. This was on the two Michelin Star Restaurant owned by none other than Claude Bosi, The Hibiscus. The blogpost: Once Upon A Meal- Hibiscus 29 Maddox Street was retweeted by The Hibiscus which brought a number of new readers to my blog. However, my hectic lifestyle at that time sort of translated into the lack of management of ChicGeekNPetite- my blog became out of focus and towards the end of it, I found myself ranting on unnecessary topics rather than staying true to the reason on why I started it in the first place.

From then up until now, I had been to a number of restaurants, but none which inspired me to write about it until today. Anchorage is a relatively new restaurant within the compound of the West One Plaza. The only other restaurants around the area which I had been to include: Wa Ding Canteen, Korean Ginseng Restaurant and Han Cantering- all of which are Asian restaurants. Around summer this year, Anchorage handed out 50% discount but I never bothered to visit the establishment- now that I had been there, I can’t stop thinking about how stupid that decision was. Afterall I live in West One!

So at the beginning of this month, my friend, Mal informed me that he will be coming up to Sheffield from Portsmouth and asked if there are any new restaurants that all of us should go to. I then suggested to him- since the date he would be driving up to Sheffield is just a few days before my birthday and I will be inviting the same group of friends for dinner- so why don’t we have a join celebration- my birthday and Mal’s visit to Sheffield. Without thinking twice, I suggested Anchorage– I’ve walked pass the restaurant often enough to notice it since Ink & Water is slowly becoming my favourite coffee shop. The suggestion was made without even looking at the menu.

Then I looked at the menu and I was in shocked! I saw ‘Tomahawk Steak’ on the menu and that was it!

As a foodie, most of my knowledge about food comes from watching cooking shows. I do dine out from time to time- when I have sufficient money to do so and also learning from my aunt or friends or even reading about food/recipes online. Lets not forget my cooking experiment at home. Food is the one thing that I am consistently passionate and often curious about- WITHOUT A SINGLE DOUBT!

I wouldn’t have heard about Tomahawk Steak either if I didn’t watch Knife Fight, Season 2 Episode 12- Beef Forequarter. The host and also the owner of The Gorbals– Ilan Hall mentioned that a beef forequarter is 25% of a whole cow. In that episode, I thought Adam Sappington was cheeky- offering to butcher the beef forequarter and then ran away with the Tomahawk Steak- the eye of the rib- which is the best piece. But then again, it is a competition and if you are presented with a drawer full of diamond, you would runaway with it. I did pity Michael Smith for trusting Adam, but one thing to learn is to give a good fight- make the best out of the worst scenario and he did just that! What was so special about this episode was how Adam made a deconstructed and reconstructed Tomahawk Steak- served with olive oil poached baby potatoes. One of the judges- Naomi Pomeroy bit into the bone and one could see her ‘giving her foodgasm’ face. Although the other two judges commented on the lack of sauce- but they did mention that they were being picky when the steak itself was cooked to perfection.

I am that kind of girl- one who eats, one who love her steak and one who is consistently on a lookout to find the best cut, the unusual cut etc. Hawksmoor and Goodmans in London are famous for their porterhouse and Gaucho is famous for their Argentinian flare but for the 10 years that I had lived in the UK- I haven’t seen Tomahawk on any restaurants’ menu. Otherwise, I would have been all geeky and would have researched about it!

So, it was absolutely shocking when I came across Tomahawk Steak on Anchorage’s menu and I didn’t have to travel far to have a go at it. I managed to convince Mal to share it with me and quite honestly- that was my marketing tactic to get Mal to confirm on Anchorage as our destination for dinner that night. The steak was approximately 2lb bone-in Ribsteak as the menu suggested, served with Bone Marrow Gravy, fries and coleslaw- comes at the price of £34 (for two) which means it only costs £17. 

Tomahawk Steak

When comparing the prices for steak this is relatively value for money, even in Sheffield.The Wig & Pen offers Pan fried Flank of beef steak with hand cut chips, pickled chiili’s, rocket and wild garlic butter for £14. Meanwhile, Strada offers Bistecca Di Manzo Rib- Eye 250 grams for £17.95. It is a 35-day aged rib-eye steak with fries and rocket salad. Served with either Gorgonzola (NV) or peppercorn sauce. I couldn’t provide more comparison as I am hardly actively searching for steakhouses in Sheffield.

When comparing the standard/ quality in between Anchorage and the top steakhouses in London, hands down it is of the same level and probably even more with the added incentive of value for money. The portion is without a single doubt- more than enough. Mal couldn’t even finish his portion so it was probably good to be shared for 2 and a half people. It was quite funny actually, before I came into the restaurant- the boys were ‘bitching’ about how they should order something light with the assumption that I won’t be able to finish my portion- well the boys were wrong! The steak came perfectly cooked, tender and juicy. The bone marrow sauce was flavourful- the chips were delightful and most importantly THE COLESLAW was light enough not to fill you up quickly. Overall the Tomahawk steak which I came for and championed for- was an absolute winner!!!!

Tomahawk Steak with Bone Marrow Gravy and Coleslaw

Raj ordered the hanger steak which was served medium. I found that, however odd because hanger steak is best served rare to medium rare, in short almost blue. Unsurprisingly, Raj found his steak to be tough but he didn’t want to make a fuss and asked for replacement. To be fair, if it is served medium then even with the replacement it will still be tough, probably something that Anchorage should consider. Thankfully, Raj benefited from part of our Tomahawk portion- so no love lost there for Anchorage!!!!

Shaun then ordered Rack of Pig for £24 which was meant to be shared for two, but he had it all to himself. He said the portion is good enough for one, who is hungry or one with a huge appetite. He was happy with it.

Rack of Pig

Queenie ordered the meatballs which costs her £10. She enjoyed it thoroughly.

Meatballs

For drinks, I ordered the Hemmingway Daiquiri and Strawberry Fields. I thought with The Old House and the Wick at Both Ends just around the corner- there is no way Anchorage couldn’t surprise me, but I was absolutely wrong. I especially enjoyed the Hemmingway Daiquiri- perfect blend of alcohol without being too overpowering. Strawberry Fields was refreshing.

Hemmingway Daiquri

Overall, the impromptu birthday celebration turned out to be a memorable one and with a heartbeat, I would dine at the Anchorage again. I am still left speechless on the quality and presentation of food at the establishment- everything was done with an in-depth thought process. The mini meat cleaver was an amazing touch! My mind kept on thinking ‘Can’t believe I am dining in Sheffield when without a single doubt, I would associate Anchorage with high end restaurants in London- and I have had my fair share of dining at Michelin star restaurants etc!’

Happy Me

There were few things that can be improved: (1) The service– everyone was friendly but at the same time I didn’t even manage to sit down before being asked what I would like to order for drinks and (2) Reservation– We already ordered our food when Mal received a phone call from the restaurant to confirm our reservation- which was rather puzzling. Having said that, these are really minor criticism when everything about the restaurant is perfect.

P/S: I am sorry for the quality of the picture as it was indeed rather dark.

So anyone reading this blog, please don’t think twice to visit Anchorage, it is really worth it for the amount of money that you will be spending! oh and please reserve your table- we wanted to reserve for 6 more diners but couldn’t as the restaurant was fully booked!

Anchorage Bar

Unit 3, West One, Fitzwilliam Street, Sheffield, S1 4JB

0114 327 7143

 

Saw it on TV, and can’t stop thinking about it!: Ramen Burger

Everyone around me knows that I watch a lot of cooking shows from Masterchef UK now on to Masterchef US, My Kitchen Rules Australia to MKR New Zealand, Chopped, Top Chef, all of the Heston Series and more recently, Jamie’s Comfort Food, Knife Fight and Snack Off. On top of that, I read about food during my free time and check out recipes to find inspiration as well as to learn about more cooking techniques.

So, couple of weeks back while eating dinner, I decided to watch the latest episode of Snack Off. I told Darren that Snack Off is probably the equivalent of Keeping up with the Kardashians with the exception that it is for food. One probably won’t learn a lot about food, but still it is good entertainment after a long day. I must admit that I kept watching it because of Chrissy Teigen- she’s just so sexually inappropriate on the show- it is fun to watch! For the second round, the mystery ingredient was Ramen. Derek who aced the first round made Ramen Burger. I didn’t pay a lot of attention to it at first because it is after all snack off and not masterchef etc, but what changed was the fact that during deliberation, Jason Quinn criticised on the level of creativity involved since the picture of a Ramen Burger is on the set of Snack Off. There I thought to myself ‘If there is a picture of it, it must have been done before!’

It didn’t take long to find out that it is a legit thing, with the help of my friend, Google of course. I saved a picture of it and showed it to Darren and Olly. I told Darren that if it takes less than 30 minutes for a non professional cook to manage a Ramen Burger, I can do so- especially given that I don’t have any time constraint. I kept thinking about the Ramen Burger and immediately thought about Paul- he will definitely jump over the thought of having a Ramen Burger. Paul loves ramen and grilling- in fact, if he is at home, I doubt there is anything else in his ‘dinner vocabulary’ other than Grilling. I then went to sleep.

When I woke up, my hand couldn’t stop researching on how to make a Ramen Burger. However, most of the recipes seems to be tackling the Ramen Burger as if it is simply a normal burger with  the exception of using a Ramen Bun. I on the other hand is still keen to keep the integrity of the Ramen- as much as I can but at the same time at the lowest cost I could. I then began my day while eating my lovely granola parfait breakfast, researching on how to make Ramen broth. An article that I read suggested using pork bones and the bones are then to be boiled for 20 hours (Well, I dont have that much time to spare but to an extend I do have some time to partake in slow cooking process).

There are few times when I’ve had Ramen. I am not one to be fond of soup noodles. The first time was in Korea (weird enough), once in Malaysia and more recently yet frequently at Shoryu London with my bestfriend, Belle. Ramen at Shoryu is simply delightful. It is packed with flavours that I sometimes do dream about it.  I can still remember the taste of the broth at the back of my head- flavour of bone, meat fat, garlic and ginger. In one of the episode of Masterchef US, I recalled when the contestants had to cook pho during their pressure test and Gordon Ramsay mentioned that with Asian broth the trick is to add layers and layers of flavours to the broth as time passes by. I knew from the start that I simply had to make the broth as a side sauce. I also recalled a creamier sauce and I thought to myself- ah perfect! I could attempt this, cook the broth down so that it will have a thick consistency and this could be my interpretation of mayo.

Staying true to the concept of my blog which is living on a budget – I only used ribs, garlic and ginger to make my broth. I only needed a bowl of the broth for this meal. Using the three ingredients as the first layer allows me to create a tom kha soup. As I am not using a lot of meat to make my broth plus shorter amount of time used and from my understanding, the creamy tonkatsu broth is actually formed from meat fat, I used coconut milk for creamy texture (any Japanese will definitely roll their eyes on me, SORRY!!!! Probably I was thinking of a way to kill two birds with one stone, plus I was cautious when I added the coconut milk as not to overpower the taste of the meat). 

For an authentic ramen broth, please visit: http://norecipes.com/tonkotsu-ramen-recipe/

Broth Method:

Blend 5 cm of ginger and a whole bulb of garlic, saute the blended mix, add in ribs and add water enough to cover the ribs.

Cook it at low heat and when the broth simmers then add in coconut milk. Keep it at a low heat, add salt as the time passes by. I left it for 5 hours.

After 5 hours, I removed all of the ribs and huge portion of the broth. I then cranked up the heat to medium and cook down the broth.

Tom Kha method:

After I removed a huge portion of the broth and ribs, I add in lemongrass, blended finger chillies (10-12) and lime juice (I used 2 lime). It is hard to find galangal in Sheffield anyway and I didn’t have lime leaves in hand. I cook this at low heat for another hour.

It cost me: £5.59 to make the broth and £2 more to make a tom kha soup with ribs.

I then kept thinking about what will I be served if I am having Ramen at shoryu- Somehow I am keen on making beef patties. In Jamie’s comfort food, he mentioned that the tricks of making burger, although he grilled it outdoor and I only have a grilling pan/ oven grill, I am still very much optimistic that I will make it – all that was required was 200grams of ground chuck and that was it (other recipes calls for the use of eggs to combine the meat etc.) I season the meat and as informed make a loose patty so that this will allow room for the fat to melt in between. Bought the ground chuck for £1.10 (200grams at the local butcher nearby).

Jamie’s Burger: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MS99Hu94dFM

I am allergic to mustard and because this will be an Asian burger, I decided to make a teriyaki sauce to coat one side of the patty with. I added 1 tablespoon of soya sauce, 1 tablespoon of mirin, 1 tablespoon of cooking sake and 1 tablespoon of honey- ingredients that I already have at home.

A burger is not complete without the vegetable condiments. I couldn’t find lettuce at tesco but saw chinese leaves for £1 so I decided to make Asian slaw. I added one tablespoon of sesame oil, two tablespoons of siracha chilli sauce and one tablespoon of white wine vinegar. I also added onions and chillies (cut diagonally).

Now, lets not forget about the Ramen ‘bun’…it cost £0.42 at Wading to buy a pack of Nissin instant Ramen noodles (probably cheaper elsewhere but I wasn’t bothered to walk around today).

So what I gathered from recipes that I can find online is to blanch the noodles, add the seasoning, add eggs and shape the noodles in a circle form.

I didn’t want to use the seasoning, seeing that it is unhealthy and im sure my ‘mayo’ will add the Ramen flavour. So, instead, I added salt and garlic powder to the ramen the same time when I added eggs. I left it in the fridge for 30 minutes or so. IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO COVER THE BOTTOM OF THE CIRCLE FORM AND ALSO TO MAKE SURE THAT IT IS ABSOLUTELY COMPACT- So press it down!

The result is as the following:

Enjoy!!!!

Ghosts of Childhood Pasts (2): King Prawn in Sambal Sauce

Recently, I came across an interesting photo- article, A 4-Year-Old Girl’s Honest Reactions To Some Of The World’s Fanciest Food. I couldn’t help myself from salivating whenever I look at all the pictures in the article, and lets not forget on how the description of each dishes didn’t make it any easier either. However, when I contrasted my reaction with the reaction as provided by the little girl, I then began to wonder; at what age did we start to develop a more sophisticated palette or even at what age did we become more concern on what we eat- what influenced our decision in terms of the food that we like and the food that we don’t and also the type of cuisine that we enjoy the most?

When I first started cooking, it was a pure coincidence- I was 16 then. As I have mentioned, my mum wasn’t very keen on the idea of me cooking. My mum herself doesn’t cook. It wasn’t even because of my rebellious nature that I learnt to cook but because at that time in life I was simply bored of the food served in my high school canteen and therefore I joined the hospitality club. ‘You’ll get free lunch every other Thursdays’. Who would have thought, this simple phrase as uttered by my friend Liz was what that woken the ‘crazy for cooking’ beast, otherwise buried in me. As it turned out, the ratio in between male and female students that joined the club was imbalance. The club was predominantly joined by male students- not a surprise there. Somehow, the supervisors for the club thought that I’ve cooked at home when all I ever did was sit in front of my grandma or aunt while they were preparing/ cooking.

The first dish that I made was chicken padprik. Although padprik is often associated with Thai cuisine but because of the proximity in between Thailand and the northern part of Malaysia, Thai food is synonymous with Malaysian food. However, I must admit that the Malaysian padprik is only an interpretation of the Thai padprik and both are very distinctive. Out of all the South East Asian countries, Malaysian cuisine share the most similarities with Indonesian food. As for Singapore, I believe that the country simply select the best dishes from Malaysia, add both soya sauce and curry powder and call it ‘Singaporean food’. (Way to avoid ‘food plagiarism’ LOOLLL)

One of the most famous Malaysian dish is sambal. David asked me last night, what sauce is that? If I inform him that it is made by combining chilli paste and onion blended with garlic and ginger, I doubt he can imagine the flavour. Instead I told him that it is similar to tomato passata but instead of using tomatoes, I used chillies. HAAA!

Sambal is actually the melody to every Nasi Lemak and in fact the pride & joy of every Malays. For those who haven’t heard of Nasi Lemak, it is the Malaysian equivalent to English breakfast or Dim Sum (YES, WE EAT RICE FOR BREAKFAST- Not just a normal rice but coconut rice!) . If anyone is to try out Nasi Lemak when visiting Malaysia, some of the restaurants do offer Nasi Lemak but opt for Nasi Lemak as sold by hawkers/ street food vendors. They sell it every morning, probably up until 11am. You will then get to choose from a variation of sambals- squid sambal, liver sambal, anchovies sambal, prawn sambal, chicken sambal, cockles sambal etc. It is definitely authentic but could be a bit spicy for those who can’t handle heat. The price can range from as cheap as probably £0.60 to £1.50.

As I have mentioned in my previous post, my first experiment with making sambal was not as smooth sailing as I wished it would have been. I didn’t even know how to make chilli paste and I didn’t know then the correct ratio in between the onion mix and the chilli paste. However, all that changed in the first year of my PhD, Ikhwan and the gang often invited me to their apartment on Friday night. Arvindd and Ikhwan will be sweating away in order to serve us Nasi Lemak. Arvindd was always in charge of making sambal, Ikhwan was in charge of the fried chicken, as for the coconut rice and other condiments- these are probably team effort between Jinn, Robyn, Joule and Ashwin- although hardly Ashwin! Ikhwan left in my second year so the Nasi Lemak Friday night ended and Arvindd left in my third year. In my second year, I invited friends over for my birthday celebration, it was the night before which soon changed my sambal learning process. Arvindd came over to teach me the techniques of making a perfect sambal. ‘I cant believe an Indian person had to teach a Malay girl on how to make sambal!’– he commented. Ever since then, I had been making sambal on my own- without even having to look at the recipe. I have even made variations of sambal (not in terms of the protein but the cooking techniques)- goreng berlada, sambal without using shrimp paste and sambal using shrimp paste.

For dinner last night, I made King Prawn Sambal. I figured this time around, I’d give my shrimp paste a rest and truthfully I wanted to make Goreng Berlada King Prawn but somehow blended the chillies rather finely and I knew that any hope of making a goreng berlada would end up as a disaster. I fried the king prawn separately in order to avoid overcooking the prawn.

Ingredients:
I used 30 Dried Chillies (only because I have used the dried chillies before and it is not spicy- becareful with the type of dried chillies used, some might be spicier than the other). I suggest using 15 dried chillies first, soak it in boiled water, keep changing the water until the dried chillies soften and then blend it- make sure that the chilli paste is of a thick consistency. Then repeat this process for the other 15 dried chillies (you can keep the chilli paste for up to 5 days max).

1 Red Onions (or 5 shallots), 4 Garlic and 3cm of ginger- blend together and again, make sure that it is of a thick consistency.

500 grams of king prawns

First Time Purchasing from Simmonite

Tumeric powder

Tamarind Paste/ Juice

Sugar and Salt.

Method:
Marinate the king prawn with tumeric powder and salt, set aside.

Ingredients: King Prawns marinated in Tumeric Powder, Chilli Paste and Onion Mix

Heat up 2 tablespoon of oil in a frying pan, sauté the onion mix until it changes to a darker colour. Add in the chilli paste and mix together until the mix turn into a dark red colour.

Add in 2 tablespoons of tamarind paste and some salt. Taste it.

Tips: If the sauce taste predominantly of chillies, keep adding tamarind paste. If it ended with a sour taste, add in salt. If it is too spicy, add in sugar or onions and cook the onions down.

Fry the marinated king prawn and mix it with the sauce.

Fried King Prawns

I had my King Prawn sambal with blanched samphire for added salty flavour and for crunchy texture.

King Prawn Sambal with Samphire

I already have most of the ingredients except for the tamarind paste and king prawn. The tamarind paste costs £1.40 at WaDing and I probably made the worst decision to buy King Prawn from Simmonite which costs me £9 for 12 pieces. The samphire on the other hand only costs me £1 per pack which is an absolute bargain in comparison to Waitrose. In fact, in Sheffield it is almost impossible to buy Samphire- they don’t sell it in Sainsbury’s/ Tesco close to where I live and Waitrose is just out of reach. Lets not forget the ‘WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT’ look whenever I ask the assistants at Sainsburys. The dish will last me for good 3 servings so that should cost £3.80 per serving.