Thank God it’s Friday! I’m sure you feel the same way too! What bothers me is the weather, it doesn’t seem to have improved. Looks like we had only a week of good sunny days and that was probably weeks ago. I hope the sun will come out and play soon!

 

Back in the kitchen, I was trying to gather all the ingredients that I needed for the dish that I had been wanting to make (also had been craving to have) - Sweet and Sour Pork, slightly spicy. I do like some sweet and sour dishes but not from some of the Chinese restaurants though. Most of them use the same kind of same ‘off the shelf’ sauce that looks to have too much food colouring and tastes too sweet. 

 

I know I would be disappointed if it’s not up to my taste. So, I usually don’t order sweet and sour dishes when I go to Chinese restaurants. In fact, I go to Chinese restaurants mostly for Dim Sum. My favourite? Still, it’s Yauatcha. I have been there for several times and tried different things and I think this is the BEST Chinese restaurant on my list for Dim Sum.

 

Talking about Yauatcha , when Arnaud’s mom was in London, we went for Dim Sum and that was when she had her first Yum Cha experience. She wasn’t sure if she would like them. But, after some explanations and descriptions, she decided to give it a try. Did she like it? Of course, she does! (Who doesn’t? hehehe..) 

 

Right, let me bring myself back on track. I was talking about Sweet and Sour Pork, hey? So, what makes my recipe different? Well, it’s just the sauce that I make tastes better (it’s not only sweet and sour but Sweet, Sour and slight Spicy) and I don’t use any sort of food colouring.

 

 

Probably Chinese Takeaways are just a few blocks away. But, try to make this once and see which one you prefer. It doesn’t take you long to cook. To serve it with rice, just let the rice cook in the rice cooker (if you have one) or in a saucepan while preparing this dish. Now, let’s dash to the kitchen and start cooking!

 

Ingredients:

250g - 300g pork loin (cut into cubes) 

** Pork can be marinated before (to enhanced the flavour) with a dash of white pepper,  1 tbsp chinese rice wine, 1 tbsp soya sauce

1 clove of garlic

1 medium onion (cut into thin wedges)

2 sprigs of spring onions (cut into about 5cm in length)

some cucumber (cut into cubes)

some fresh (or canned) pineapples (cut into cube)  ** I prefer fresh pineapples

2 tomatoes (deseeded, skinned, and chopped)

0.5 red pepper (cut into cubes)

some corn flour 

some sunflower oil for deep frying and stir frying

 

Seasoning for the sauce: (these are just rough estimation)

2 tbsp sweet chili sauce

1 -2 tbsp maggi tomato sauce

1 - 1.5 tbsp maggi chili sauce

0.5 - 1 tbsp dark soya sauce 

3-4 tbsp soya sauce

0.5 tbsp corn flour

some water

 

Method:

1. Heat up a wok or saucepan with sunflower oil enough for deep frying. Make sure the oil is hot before putting the pork in. This can usually be done by putting in a wooden chopstick, if bubbles form around it, then it’s hot enough. 

 

2. Coat the pork in corn flour then deep fry them in batches. Fry until golden brown. 

 

3. Then, put them in a plate laid with kitchen towel and set aside.

 

4. Heat up a wok with some oil. Slightly brown the garlic and onions. Then, put in red pepper. Stir.

 

5. Add in the chopped tomatoes after 2-3 minutes.

 

6. Meanwhile, put all the seasonings for the sauce in a bowl and add some water. Mix well. 

 

7. Pour the mixture in and stir.

 

8. When the sauce starts to get warm, put in cucumber, pineapple and spring onions. Followed by the deep fried pork.

 

9. Give it a good stir for 2 - 3 minutes so that the sauce coat evenly on the pork and other ingredients. Adjust the seasoning if needed.

 

10. Dish and serve with boiled rice.

 

 

It has been on my to-do list for quite a while but I never get around to make it. There is no excuse as I got two of the most important ingredients (Tennis biscuits and Caramel treat) from a South African friend of mine. These are the products that you can only get from shops that sell South African products.

 

When I went through the larder, only did I realise the expiry date of the Tennis biscuits is in June. We are now in the end of May, so I thought I had to do something about it. Off I went to a nearby shop to grab some other ingredients to make Peppermint Crisps Fridge Tart. This is truly a South African dessert. I didn’t know this dessert until I knew Kristin, my SA friend living in London.

 

 

All I have to say about this dessert is that there’s so much flavours in it. What makes it special, I guess, is the mixed flavours of coconut, peppermint, caramel, and chocolate. Despite high in calories, I convince myself that it is OK to eat this once in a while.

 
No, it’s not difficult to make at all. As long as you got all the ingredients, it’s just a matter of less than 25 minutes I reckon. However, it takes 3-4 hours to set.

 

 

If you are new to South African food (which I am), why don’t start getting to know their cuisine through this dessert?

 

Ingredients:

1 tin 3/4 tin or half a tin of caramel treat 

300ml of double cream

2 small bars of Peppermint Aero (grated)

2 packets of Tennis biscuits

 

Method:

1. Whip the cream to just before it’s stiff.

2. Mix the caramel treat till smooth.

3. Fold the caramel treat into the cream.

4. Add grated Peppermint Aero.

5. Put a layer of crushed Tennis biscuits in a buttered dish. Scoop in some caramel mixture.

6. Then, continue with another layer of crushed Tennis biscuits. Continue with the layers until the mixture finishes.

7. Sprinkle the remaining grated Peppermint Aero on top of the tart.

8. Put into the fridge for 3-4 hours to set.

 

Note 1: You may use condensed milk to make your own caramel treat by boiling it. When it starts bubbling, turn the heat off. You will notice that the colour will turn slightly brown and the texture thickens. OR get a tin of Carnation Caramel, it’s similar I believe.

Note 2: I use small glasses instead of a dish to serve in small portion and also it looks prettier.

 

 

 

 

I struggled to choose a nice and good standard restaurant for Sunday lunch as most them that I shortlisted are closed on Sundays. After all the phone calls, I crossed off some of them on my list. Left with one that I finally thought would be the one to go. A 2 Michelin-Star restaurant, located in one of the nicest part of the West End, that offers a reasonably priced 3-course lunch that sounds pretty impressive. I believe in my choice, so, I booked a table for 3.

 

 

It was slightly more than 2 weeks ago that we went to The Capital Restaurant for a special lunch. I said special because it was for Arnaud’s mom birthday. I did actually check the menu before I decided to book. I always make sure I do this before I book a restaurant.

 

 

It wasn’t a very busy Sunday, most probably because it was Bank Holiday. We were greeted by a friendly waiter and then led to our table.

 

 

Each of us got the lunch menu in our hands. Within seconds, I knew what I was going to have. (Having read it before hand for a few times) However, I did have to admit that I was contemplating to either have Rabbit or Fish. Both sounded really good to me. After a few minutes, we all knew what we wanted. Later, the sommelier ran through some of our choices of wine and we then settled with a bottle of Red Bordeaux.

 

 

We started with an amuse bouche of Lobster Consommé. This had tempted my appetite, wanting to eat more. Casual chat took place while we were waiting for our entrée. Soon, the waiters presented our entrée in front of us. I had Home Cured ‘Treacle’ Salmon with Deep Fried Soft Shell Crab. In fact, we all had the same. Absolutely delicious as this dish contained all my favourites! The salmon is really special, never tasted anything like it before. Two thumbs up!

 

 

 

For the main, my decision finally was to have Roasted Leg of Rabbit with ‘Tian Provençale’. The meat was so tender and juicy. It was served a tiny tortellini by the side. How pretty that was!

 

Dessert was the crucial part as I had told the restaurant manager to do something special on the plate as it was Arnaud’s mom birthday. As the dessert was presented to her, it came with a lit candle. She was surprised and happy.

 

I chose to have Caramel Moelleux, Jivara Mousse with Banana and Vanilla Ice Cream. It was pretty nice but not one of the best desserts that I have had.

 

However, I must admit that the overall lunch was wonderful - good food, a special day with great company.

 

 

So, what do I think of The Capital Restaurant? I personally think it’s surely a 2 Michelin-Star restaurant. The service was great, the food was delicious. Moreover, the lunch is reasonably priced. Overall rating, 8.5/10.

 

 

I love all kind of noodles, be them in the soup or just in stir-fry. Stir-fry is always the quick way to satisfy hunger. The ingredients could be anything you fancy. I do like to have prawns in my noodles. For a change, I made beef with basil in black pepper sauce to go with egg noodles.

 

If you don’t eat beef, chicken or pork could be the substitute. And if you want to make it a bit spicy, just add some freshly cut chilies in your stir-fry. Without wasting more time as I’m getting hungry by just looking at the picture, here’s the recipe:

 

For 2 persons

 

Ingredients:

150-200g dry egg noodles

2-3 cloves of garlic (chopped)

Some freshly cut red chilies

A good handful of Basil

300g of thinly sliced beef

2.5 tbsp dark soya sauce

0.5 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp fish sauce

Freshly ground black pepper

About 100ml water (about 1 tbsp to use with corn flour)

Some olive oil

1-2 tsp of corn flour

 

Method:

1. Cook the dry egg noodles according to the packet. About 2-3 minutes as they will be used later for stir-frying. Drain and set aside.

2. Make sure the wok/pan is hot. Drizzle some olive oil.

3. Put in the chopped garlic. Cook until fragrant. Then, put in the cut chilies.

4. After that, put in the sliced beef. Stir.

5. While the beef is cooking away. Mix Oyster sauce, Fish sauce, dark soya sauce and black pepper in the water.

6. Once the beef is almost cook, pour in the sauce mixture and give it a good stir.

7. Adjust your seasoning if needed.

8. To thicken the sauce a bit, mix the corn flour in water (about 1 tbsp). Pour in the sauce and stir. You will notice the sauce becomes less watery.

9. Put in the cooked egg noodles and mix well.

10. Served warm.