alisonhogarth

Wan Chai Corner + a day out in London (25.3.12)

The Boy managed to get tickets to see Rufus Hound present My Teenage Diaries at the Drill Hall (RADA). As the recording was in the middle of the afternoon, what else could we do but visit Chinatown for lunch?

After a brief telephone consultation with my dad, he recommended Wan Chai Corner.

We managed to get the table right next to their Cantonese BBQ bit. From left to right, pork belly, soya chicken, char siu pork, roast duck, and squid/cuttlefish.

We decided to go for several dim sum dishes and a couple of BBQ dishes. The first to come was cheung fun with dried shrimps. I thought it wouldn’t have been fried, and rather more goopy, but it’s been a long while since I’ve had cheung fun and I’m used to the char siu one. However, the XO sauce was delicious - full of shrimpy chili goodness.

Next came the Boy’s order of the BBQ duck. It was delicious - the fat almost spurted out when you bit into it, the flavoring was perfect, and the meat wasn’t tough or dry. The bonus was that we got a very good view of the chef who chopped it for us.

The BBQ pork belly came next. I never used to be a fan of fatty meat - I couldn’t stand it as a child, but I have since been convinced. It was a lovely blend of textures, and like the duck, tasted lovely.

For some reason the Boy wanted to order spring rolls. Possibly as the menu said “garlic” and “prawns” next to it. I didn’t try these, but the Boy says the garlic prawns were juicy and firm. 

Our steamed dim sum items came next - above are the siu mai. These were possibly better than a lot of siu mai I have had, and there were actual whole prawns in them rather than small chunks. Yum.

The final dish to arrive was the scallop and prawn crystal dumplings. The softness and sweetness of the scallop was a nice counter to the firmness of the prawns.

Defeat! I think we ordered a little bit too much - sadly we were unable to take anything home as we had to go to the recording in the afternoon. We also ordered a lot as the prices seemed so cheap. And it was truly delicious.

We ended up waiting around a fair bit for the recording to start, but it was funny. The guest was Jackie Kay, and although I thought the programme was supposed to be comedy, there was a lot of serious things to think about in it. We also made some friends in the queue, who after the recording took us to a pizza parlour.

The pizzas were cheap - not a lot of toppings but there was plenty of oregano to shake on top, along with a delicious garlic-infused oil. Sadly, we scoffed the pizza before I could take a picture - but it was the type where it was so thing that you fold it over and eat like a sandwich.

We finally made it back to Marble Arch, where the bus goes from, after stopping off in a pub behind Selfridges somewhere. Here is a picture of a lady feeding pigeons. Note: pigeons are evil.

Seriously - next time you want some decent Cantonese roast, go to Wan Chai Corner. And if you want pizza and you happen to be up on Goodge Street, go to Icco.

Wan Chai Corner - 3 Gerrard Street, Chinatown, W1D 5PD

Icco - 46 Goodge Street, W1T 4LU. www.icco.co.uk

The Great Snowman Decorating Adventure of 2012!

So you all know I’m a sucker for a bargain, and when I saw this, I just *had* to have it, darling, so I persuaded the lovely @joe_bwab to buy it for me.

It is entirely possible that it also appealed to the five year-old in me.

Being child-friendly, it came with a complete set of instructions. I would like to say I followed them to the letter, but looking back on them now I realise that I may have taken some artistic license with the placing of various sweets. 

See the pots of wonderous delight? Clockwise from bottom left - fizzy sweet things for the scarf, assorted chocolate buttons and strawberry millions, chocolate “goo”, white-flavored “goo”. But of course you figured that out anyway.

When they said “chocolate goo”, I did expect something… more gooey. This was more like rather hard icing sugar, the type that (if you’re one of those cupcake people) you roll into beautiful roses and butterflies to put on top of, well, cupcakes. The brown goo tastes vaguely like the sort of chocolate you used to get in those fake chocolate cigarettes, the white goo like stale sugar, but somehow I don’t think the point of this kit is how it tastes…

Being the good girl that I am, I followed the instructions and used the brown goo on the brown hat. Being the awful decorator that I am, I decided the most efficient way to keep the icing on the hat was by rolling uneven sausages. Like I said, I am about 5.

It took some willpower not to eat all these straight away. I mean, look, they’re small, cute, and chocolatey. Apart from the marshmallows. Anyway, the pink things are Strawberry Milions, the brown chocolate balls like those ones you get in a Muller Crunch Corner.

Snowman Stage One. Don’t even ask what I was thinking with that middle button.

Snowman Stage Two!

Finished snowman!

The snowman is looking for its friends, but alas, no snow in Oxford today.

Seeing as I can’t really tell what gender the Snowman is, she shall be called Cindy, and she will live forever in our fridge (until @joe_bwab runs out of Toblerone).

This post has been brought to you by an open-faced smoked salmon salad sandwich and quite possibly too much cola.

Ashmolean Autumn/Winter menu tasting (23rd August 2011)

Through the magic of Twitter, I managed to reserve a place + 1 at the Ashmolean Dining Room’s autumn/winter menu tasting. As I’d never been to a menu tasting before, I was rather excited. Here are my brief notes on the dishes.

(click on the pictures for a larger version)

STARTERS

Cornish crab pannacotta and toast

The pannacotta was lovely and smooth. The shredded crab meat was mixed with chili and chives (possibly), which added a nice background heat to the dish. Possibly my favourite starter.

Salad of toasted cauliflower, pine nuts, raisin and caper dressing

This was probably my least favourite dish of the evening - but that’s probably because I’m not a huge fan of cauliflower. I found it quite bland as the dressing didn’t pack the caper punch that was promised and was overly sweet. However, it could be nice as a mild side salad.

Serrano ham, figs, Chardonnay vinegar and honey syrup

This was a nice, simple dish where all the flavours worked together. My dining companion noted that the syrup reminded him of the Champagne ribs at Shanghai 30s (which we highly recommend) - probably due to the Chardonnay vinegar. A nice mix of sweet and salty.

Cauliflower & truffle oil soup

I much preferred this offering of cauliflower as opposed to the salad. It was rich, creamy and very smooth. A bit like eating velvet. Good stuff.

Trealy Farm air-dried ham, celeriac remoulade

When I took a mouthful of the ham and celeriac remoulade together I found the celeriac overpowered the ham a little - however, as a separate mouthful, the ham had a lovely delicacy to it.

Grilled squid, marinated in lemon, garlic and smoked paprika, rocket salad (also available as a main)

I’m also not a huge squid fan, having been subject to too many plates of rubbery squid - but, this was fantastic. The bits of squid which were properly charred lent a nice, crunchy texture, in contrast to the slightly chewy bits of squid.

Platter of seafood - cured herring, Royal Greenland prawns, Clare Island organic smoked salmon, caperberries (also available as a main)

Everyone on the table commented that the smoked salmon was absolutely fantastic. It was bursting with flavour without being overbearing. The herring was quite juicy. The prawns were sweet but a little bland unless dipped in the sauce. And caperberries, well, I love ‘em.

MAINS

Sauteed pearl barley, wild mushrooms, leeks and spinach

I found this dish a little bland. The pearl barley was quite hard, which lent an interesting texture in contrast to the leeks and spinach. The mushrooms were a needed ingredient, and the dollop of sour cream on the top added a little more to the dish. Probably my least favourite main.

Chargrilled bream, glazed lemon chicory, chive cremè fraîche

I didn’t get to taste much of this dish as my dining partner wolfed a fair amount of it down while I was picking over the pearl barley, but the little bit I did taste was delicious. The lemon chicory was not needed but was a nice little crunch in contrast to the melting flesh of the fish.

Charcuterie - Serrano ham, wild boar saucisson, pâté de campagne

The ham was just as nice without the honey and Chardonnay dressing as with. My favourite on this platter was the pâté - nice and chunky.

Lamb rump, chargrilled vegetables, black olive jus

This was another dish that was demolished by my partner and I. The lamb was delicious - it may have been the best lamb I’ve eaten. There were even little crispy bits here and there. The chopped bits of olive from the jus on top of the lamb gave it a bit more flavour, but the meat didn’t need any embellishments.

Monkfish tail saltimbocca, wilted kale, salsa verde

The monkfish tail was very meaty and solid. The kale was a perfect foil for the tail, adding it’s salty, buttery juices to the meat. Yum.

Braised rabbit leg, Savoy cabbage, roasted carrots, grain mustard and tarragon sauce

This was the first time I’d had rabbit. My partner said it was like chicken - I found it was more like turkey with a deeper, more interesting flavour. The meat slid off the bone, and was very tasty.

Lemon sole meunière

I quite enjoyed this - it was very lemony and was nicely crispy on the outside. The flesh slid off the bones easily, which was a relief for my partner. The potatoes tasted like - potatoes, with a lot of butter.

Salad of candied beetroot, spiced pecans, goats cheese fritter, citrus dressing

Although this is listed on the menu as a salad, I would have put the goat’s cheese fritter as the main ingredient - it was a fairly solid lump of goat’s cheese encased in a crispy batter. I found it a little rich, but the candied beetroot definitely helped to calm the palate. The spiced pecans (I think they were spiced with ginger) were a nice little nibble.

PUDDINGS

Cheese - Isle of Mull cheddar, Manchego, Cotehill blue

It’s quite hard to go wrong with the cheese on this platter. I adored the Isle of Mull cheddar (if only all the cheddar in our fridge could be like this one!). As usual, the Manchego went well with the quince. My partner found the Cotehill blue to be overpowering, but I enjoyed it well enough.

Paris brest

By this stage I could only manage tiny nibbles, but my tiny nibble of the Paris brest was very nice indeed. The praline cream really complimented the choux pastry, as I imagine it was meant to.

Chocolate & amaretti sponge, fudge sauce

This dessert was also delicious. It was quite heavy, but the crunchy amaretti at the bottom added a nice lift.

I’d like to thank Ashmolean Dining (@ashmoleandining) for a lovely evening. Cheers!