Eating in Tenerife!

Ok so I just came back from a week's holiday in Tenerife and ate so much food that I have put on almost half a stone no joke. But the food was so good that it had to be eaten and tested out by me. Because we went on a package holiday the hotel provided us with half board which was a buffet breakfast and dinner every day we were there. I wasn't really expecting much from hotel food as I have oftened experienced below standard quality food but this was to my amazement. The food at the Paradise Park Hotel was lush! Not only did it taste home cooked but it was also very authenic Spanish/Mediterranean with alot of flavours. It was also different everyday which was nice. Here are some photos of the food I had. 

One of our lunches consisted of tiny baguettes with lots of different fillings that we could choose from. However, the menu was all in Spanish and without understanding any of it we just decided to pick any at random and hope for the best. At first we didn't even know we were going to be served baguettes and so ordered quite alot but nonetheless they were very tasty although abit too much for the two of us.

Another time we had lunch at a tapas bar called El Cine in Los Christianos which was fantastic. It is definitely worth visiting and it's full of locals that you know you won't be dissapointed. They often have a long queue as it's so popular even when the menu only has around ten dishes. Prices are reasonable too with most dishes costing around 5euros.

Chicken wings were very tasty and seasoned well

Most of the food served is fresh from the sea such as grilled cuttlefish, hake, sardines, herring, mackerel, prawns, fish of the day, fried octopus, squid etc. And all the food is cooked to perfection. 

Grilled hake fish with tomato and onion salad

Grilled octopus and king prawns

Grilled mackerel

Dim Sum at Home

Yesterday I went over to a friend's house for some home cooked Chinese breakfast. We had dimsum which means 'touch the heart'  when translated into English. Typically in chinese restaurants dimsum would be small bite-sized portions of food served on little plates. In chinese we call it 'yum cha' which means to drink tea, and chinese tea is usually drank together with the meal. Usually chinese families go on a weekly basis to yum cha and this is the time to gather the whole family together and catch up on everyone's lifes. 

Table nicely layed out with Chinese bowls and plates. Chinese tea served in beautiful teacups.

Deep fried spring rolls with meat and vegetables

Steamed Chicken Claws with Black Bean Sauce (豉汁蒸鳳爪)

Glutinous Rice wrapped in Lotus Leaves (鮑汁糯米雞)

 Glutinous rice with pork, dried scallops, mushroom, chicken, egg yolk and water chestnut

Congee with preserved egg and thin pork slices

Shaomai (燒賣 siu maai): Small steamed dumplings with either pork, prawns or both inside a thin wheat flour wrapper. Char Siu Bau (叉燒包, cha siu baau): Steamed barbeque pork buns

A selection of sweet buns and egg tart

The Spot Soul Food Kitchen

Big Mamas Kitchen

Today me and my friend Charlotte went to try out some soul food which is traditional African American food. Soul food became popular in the 1960s and is commonly known as slave food that was left over from the plantation. The African American slaves cooked with 'greens' such as collards, kale, cress, mustard and pokeweed. Discarded cuts of meat is also used in their cooking such as pig's feet, oxtail, ham hocks, pigs ears, pigs intestines, tripe and skin. 

We went to "The Spot" in Kilburn. Visit website: www.thespotfood.com

The place is rather like a fast food takeaway with about four tables and the food is served in polystyrene boxes with plastic knives and forks, (this is probably why the food was so cheap as they can save on washing up costs). Nonetheless, the food was tasty although not presented in the most classiest way. It reminded me of Big Mamas Kitchen and the lady who came out of the kitchen was an African quite chubby woman who I assumed is the main chef hehe.

Spicy Ribs, Macballs and Candid Yams

MacBalls - Macaroni Cheese in a crispy fried ball

Meat Gumbo, Mac Cheese and Mash

Sweet Potato Pie with vanilla ice cream

Malaysian Curry Laksa

Malaysian curry laksa is one of my favourite Malaysian dishes and it is one of the first things I would eat when I go back to Malaysia. It is a very popular dish that can be found in almost all the hawker stalls in Malaysia although there are many different versions depending on which area you are in. Curry laksa can be described as a curry noodle soup and the noodles are usually yellow egg noodles and rice vermicelli. The dish is often complimented with chicken, prawns, fish balls, fish cake, tofu puffs, beansprouts and long green beans. Other ingredients can also be added such as seafood eg.cockles, lobster, crab. 

It is very difficult to make curry laksa taste exactly the same as those served in Malaysia as we can't find all the ingredients in this country and for some reason everything just tastes so much better in Malaysia. However I have found this curry laksa paste made by Tean's Gourmet which is the closest replica. It is a pre-cooked concentrated spicy paste from ground fresh spices.It makes it so much easier to cook without having to get all the right spices.

Ingredients :

• 1 packet of Tean's Gourmet Malaysian Traditional Curry Laksa Paste
• 1lb of chicken breast
• 12-16 pcs of dried tofu (Tofu puff)
• 1 packet of long green beans
• 4 hard boiled eggs
• 1 can of 150ml coconut milk
• Half a packet of bean sprouts
• 600gm of yellow noodles or vermicelli
• 1 packet of king prawns cooked
• 1 packet of fishballs
• 1 packet of fishcakes

Method:

1. Boil your eggs in hot boiling water until fully cooked and leave to cool. Peel and cut into slices.
2. Get a pot of 1500ml of boiling water and cook the chicken breast. Slice the chicken into thin slices andset aside. 
3. Mix 1 packet of Tean's Gourmet Curry Laksa Paste in the boiling water that was used to cook the chicken.

4. Add in 150ml of coconut milk and bring to a quick boil then switch to a low fire. 

5. Add in the fried tofu.
6. Blanch the fresh yellow noodles and vermicelli in boiling water until cooked, then set aside.

7. Cook the bean sprouts and set aside.
8. Divide into 4 large bowls with the noodles, bean sprouts and green beans. Then add the sliced chicken breast and hard boiled eggs on top. Pour the hot steaming curry laksa into bowl with the fried tofu.

7. If you want more taste and spice, you can add some soya sauce or fish sauce and chilli paste. Also lime juice for a slight kick.

Delicious Home Made Scones

YUMmmmm.....

After having such a yummy afternoon tea with my boyfriend yesterday I decided to make some home made scones today. I used to make them a long time ago and I don't know why I don't make them more often because they are just so good. 

Ingredients:

• 440g plain flour
• 50g baking powder
• 80g butter
• 150g double cream
• 150g milk
• 80g sugar
• 1 egg

Method:

1. Rub butter into flour to create crumbs.

2. Add baking powder and sugar

3.Mix double cream and milk together and add into the flour mixture.

4. Bind all together by hand, add sultanas if prefered, until a dough is formed.

5. Roll flat to about 2cm in height and cut into round shapes using a circle cutter.
6. Glaze the top of each one with beaten egg. 

7. Cook at 180°c for about 15mins until golden brown.

Spread some strawberry jam and a dollop of clotted cream and it is just heavenly!!!!

A Lovely Afternoon Tea

I went for a lovely afternoon tea with my boyfriend at The Leonard Hotel near Oxford Street. It is a small beautiful hotel with pretty boutique decorations and many art paintings on the walls. After a long walk along the busy and crowded Oxford Street, it was so nice to sit down and relax in this peaceful and tranquil hotel.

The dining room is quite small but very elegant and the soft music added its the peacefulness. The tables are wonderfully dressed with beautiful English crockery. The service is also top class and nothing bad can be said about this place. The whole experience was just delightful.

The Afternoon Tea consisted of:

• YOUR CHOICE OF TEAS, EARL GREY, PURE GREEN TEA, PEPPERMINT, DARJEELING, MINTY GREEN TEA, WHITE JASMINE, WILD BERRY, CAMOMILE TEA 

• SELECTION OF FRESH HOME MADE SANDWICHES, 

• TRADITIONAL HOME MADE SCONES WITH FRESH CREAM AND PRESERVES, 

• SELECTION OF FRESH PASTRIES

£16.50 PER PERSON

It was Sylvester's first time having afternoon tea and you can see that he was so eager to try it out. I think he definately enjoyed it especially the scones with clotted cream.

The scones were delicious! They were made fresh and served hot so that they will just melt in your mouth. It was perfect together with jam and clotted cream. I think I couldn't have asked for more. It was a perfect end to a long day of walking. 

The middle plate consisted of vanilla cheesecake and two chocolate muffins with chocolate cream and vanilla buttercream. The lower plate was a selection of sandwiches which were ham and mustard, smoked salmon and cream cheese, cucumber and egg mayonnaise.
 

Overall I would say this place is definately one of my top choices for high tea. It was so delicious and such a relaxing atmosphere and I highly enjoyed myself. It is also value for money compared to The Ritz which is so overpriced. 

Another Korean Meal

It seems like I can't get enough of Korean food. I love it so much I will never get sick of it because it's just so tasty. Today I went to Sarang in Golders Green with my family. It used to be called Kimchee a while ago and has now changed it's name to Sarang but fortunately everything is exactly the same even the menu. Each table has its own BBQ grill in the centre which is what we went for. 

Firstly we had some side dishes which included kimchee (spicy pickled cabbage), pickled vegetables and seasoned beansprouts in sesame oil. We also had a bowl of seaweed soup each which is something similar to the Japanese miso soup.

The Korean tea we drank has a different sort of flavour to other oriental teas and tastes quite nutty. Korean tea can be made from fruits, leaves, roots or grains. The one served to us was roasted rice tea called Hyeonmi cha (현미차).

Fried meat dumplings with sweet vinegar sauce

Spicy rice cakes with seafood

Jap Che - Stir fried glass noodles with vegetables

Now we come to the mains which is my favourite Korean BBQ meat. We ordered three different types of meat; beef, pork and chicken. 

This is Bul Go Gi - thin slices of beef marinated in a mixture of soy sauce, garlic, pepper, sesame oil  and topped with onions. It is one of the most popular Korean BBQ dishes and the meat is very tender and sweet.

Apart from the BulGoGi we also had Daeji Bulgogi (spicy marinated pork) and Dak Bulgogi (specially marinated cuts of chicken). All three meats were cooked on this hot barbeque plate which was very fun to watch. The waiter cooks it infront of you on the table and the smell is just wonderful. 

My father attempting to cook the meat himself

Of course I could not eat Korean food without ordering my favourite Dolsot BiBimBap (assorted rice in a stone pot). As always I went for the beef one with a raw egg that cooks once the rice is all mixed together. The stone bowl is so hot that the rice sizzles and must be constantly turned so that it doesnt go hard at the bottom. Mix it with some chilli paste and it tastes so good.