The Ultimate Summer BBQ Pork Fillets

This is something inspired both from Jamie's cookbook and the unexpected good weather on Saturday morning: Blackened BBQ Pork Fillets. Great for parties and ever so popular during summertime since the sauce is just finger lickin' good :) Try it out and see if I'm right!

Ingredients wise its slightly lengthy, as we're gonna create our own marinade pretty much from scratch, so let's take this opportunity to build up your spice rack ...

What you'll need:
500g pork fillets (serves 2-3)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp full of paprika
2 cloves
4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
120g good quality tomato ketchup
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
a small bunch of fresh thyme, leaves picked and finely chopped
zest of 1 orange, and juiced (or if lazy, just use fresh 100% orange juice with pulp/juicy bits)

metal/wooden skewers (optional)
lemon juice (optional)

So there you go, not too bad eh? This recipe is a good start for you to start dabbing into the world of spice and knowing what they look like and how they smell, what they go well with etc ... bringing your culinary skills to a higher level with more tools in your hands!

Ok, so maybe we need a mortar and pestle, to grind those cloves, cumin and fennel seeds. And since I couldn't find one at the supermarket, I omitted the fennel seeds, bought ground cumin instead, and use all my power and might, with the back of my knife, slamming and trying to crush the cloves into powdery form, with 50% success rate, so not too bad hehe. Best if you have the mortar and pestle to grind it to release the aroma, but if not, don't beat yourself over it yea?

So first, mix the cumin, crush cloves, garlic cloves, generous amount of paprika, thyme, orange juice and zest. Then add the ketchup and spoonfuls of balsamic vinegar and gently incorporate them and you got yourself some mean BBQ marinade there, dip a finger in and taste and see ...

Next up is easy, just put your pork fillets in to marinade, at least 1 hour, preferably whole morning/afternoon for me! Refrigerate and rub your hands (or tummy if you prefer) in glee ...

So after 5 hours, I took them out of the fridge and used wooden skewers to present the pork fillets in kebab style, easier to cook in that sense. But if you don't have them, no worries again, it's not necessary, you can just cook them on the BBQ/grill and flip them around with a tong.

Time to test out my new grill pan, keen to get a few professional charred lines on my meat :P So heat up the grill and start cooking! Should hear a loud sizzling noise right away, make sure you have cut the fillets properly as its quite difficult to cook if it's too thick. You should have extra marinade leftover and use these to brush over the meat whenever you turn sides. Cooking should take about 15-20 minutes per batch on the grill. You should start seeing the marinade getting thicker and meat getting into a nice dark color as below ...

When it's done, leave it aside for 5 minutes to rest, whilst you prepare a very simple salad of your choice. I had mine with plain lettuce, cherry tomatoes on the vine and some sweet corn, with a light lemon salad dressing and balsamic vinegar. Then slice your meat up in serving portions and feast!

The Finger Lickin' Good Factor

I've always hear comments that KFC in the UK doesn't taste as good as the ones in Malaysia. So this is to supplement What the Foodies' recent post on KFC in Malaysia. Sounds strange to me given that its an international chain and the food should be standardised. Well, the only way to find out is to try it out for yourself! For me, finding a partner in crime was easy, just tag along P who occasionally has to satisfy his fried chicken cravings...

So we got a Classic Variety Meal set, which was accompanied with the tagline:

When you love everything at KFC why not have it all? Original Recipe Chicken, Hot Wings, Crispy Strips plus fries and a drink really answer those KFC cravings!

Heh, it definitely reminded me of my childhood days, though I was more of a A&W fan then (amazing rootbeer floats!). One thing I noticed was that KFCs in the UK seem to have a reputation or at least give the impression of a lower quality food chain, than say in Malaysia. Back home, KFC, A&W and McDonalds seem to be on par in terms of food standards, restaurant upkeep and customer service. I was surprised that even the KFC branch in Leicester Square seem to be a little bit messy and run down, unlike the now newly refurbished McDonald chains. Seems like they're lagging behind the race ...

Anyways, back to the fried chicken. I love the crispy strips best! Strips of boneless breast fillets deep fried till perfection. Such a sinful creation since its so easy to eat them all if I'm given a bucket full of it. I think tastewise it's pretty similar to Malaysia, though not ordering coleslaw and mashed potatoes with gravy is probably the reason why most feel that its different to the familiar versions at home. And they have baked beans on their menu here too, strange...

The finger lickin' good factor is definitely a mystery. Will definitely try my own version soon, probably a BBQ one to suit the weather these days :)

The Roadhouse Tex Mex Mania

Time to revive the American fast food days, with a Tex Mex twist! The Roadhouse near the Covent Garden market fits the occasion perfectly. It gives the whole authentic experience, with the American diner deco, food quality AND quantity a class above the TGIF chains! There were special Happy Hour deals with buy one get one free cocktails before 7pm too, combined with a half price offers on mains, definitely one good value place for excellent Tex Mex selections.

Starters was Nanchos Grande, and they do mean every bit of that phrase. Definitely an overload of melted cheese with crisp tortilla chips, served with a cheese fondue, sour cream, salsa and fresh guacamole!

P had Philly Steak Sandwich, a tender 8oz prime sirloin steak with caramelized onions, sautéed mushrooms, red & green peppers and topped off with melted cheese dipping gravy. Comes with a little salad garnish and some fries on the side too.

I on the other hand, was feeling more carnivorous that day. Given that I don't take beef pretty much limits the menu (majority is steak/burger variety) to chicken, pork or fish. And there's no way of having fish in an American diner (leave it to the French :P), so it's definitely Smokin' Ribs and Chicken: half rack of bbq ribs and a grilled breast of chicken basted with smoky bbq sauce, served with french fries and onion rings. I did try to minimize the guilt by swapping the fries and onion rings with mashed potatoes and some salad :P Looks pretty mighty to even finish both chunks of meat, but we both did a pretty good effort at it in the end. The nachos had probably taken more space that we thought, haha

A place that I'd highly recommend, especially for big groups of party, since its hard to find restaurants in London that actually fits big groups of people. Fun place for Hen/Stag Nights out too, I did spot a table or two of those whilst there. Cocktail selection is vast, encompassing most of the famous American ones like Cosmopolitan, Big Apple Martini and Texas Fizz.

On the way back I spotted these interesting scooters as well. Which would you prefer? A Spidey one or classic green Vespa? You know me, choice is always the latter :) Happy Easter to all of you!

Burger With A Difference

With all the posh burger chains mushrooming in the city (e.g.Gourmet Burger Kitchen and Hamburger Union) , the once humble and simple burger has somehow achieved some sort of status upgrade from their fast food days, to 'posh' gourmet food. Some interesting food development, it's as if taking fried rice and making them upmarket just by sprinkling it with abalone and truffles (eeks)

Hence I proceed to experiment with this concept after spotting some venison burger at Tesco. Mind you, I'd love to make by burger patties from scratch, but unless I plan it early and appear at the butchers with my odd request of venison mince, that'll have to do. Besides, it looks like some hefty quarter pounders, and venison is my favourite meat :)

Simple and good dinner with a bit of fun flipping the burgers in the air, though I still have yet to have the guts to risk my dinner, all I offered was to take a photograph of it in action :P Ingredient was pretty simple, just matching the burger with burger buns, loads of onions (fried caramelized onions are THE BEST!), mushrooms and some BBQ relish and we are set to go for some flippin' exercise here ...


So this was my version of a posh makeover of a burger dinner, with a bit of wine and jazz :P


PS: Tesco Venison burgers are pretty amazing I must say

Back on 5th Ave!

So, I finally passed all my exams yesterday! Woohoo, my life is back (for the moment), before I start work on Wednesday, hehe :)

It's back to the New York story, this time along 5th Ave in continuation of the (mostly window) shopping spree...

Here's the large Disney store along the street, filled with every imaginable kind of stuffed toys you want, yes, there's Mr Donald and Shrek in there too. It's about time I started growing up and out of these, :P

Any of you a 'The Apprentice' fan? Here's the exterior of Mr Trump's Tower. Had lunch inside too on the last day before I left. Definitely an air of sophistication which somehow leaves you in awe as you see the display of jewelry and other merchandises. Music at the bar was great too (it was Frank Sinatra's and other musical-y songs, suits a Sunday brunch for me!), though food wise wasn't that impressive, so let's not waste too much time on that...

More importantly, I managed to meet up with a good pal HH, who is working in Tokyo now, was there was training at the same time too! Yes, Japan! It was cool catching up with him in Little Tokyo, keeping each other updated of what has happened so far in the past 1-2 years since he left uni, and of course, life and work in the land of the samurais.

Dinner in Little Tokyo was even better! The place was near Aston Place on the green line, where Little Tokyo is situated. Humiliatingly, my Japanese reading skills has deteriorated that I can't read the name on the sign board as it's only written in Japanese. Nevertheless, that and the presence of many locals eating there is definitely a positive indication :)

And we were spot on! Can you believe this big mug of Asahi/Japanese beer just costs $3? HH was definitely a happy man munching and drinking away, haha

I had my first try of Oden, which according to Wikipedia, is a "winter dish consisting of several ingredients such as boiled eggs. daikon radish, konnyaku and processed fish cakes stewed in a light, soy-flavoured dashi broth." The yellow condiment you see by the side of the bowl is Karashi (Japanese mustard).

To me, that's the Japanese version of 'Yong Tau Foo', a common Malaysian dish consisting of various fish cakes or vegetables/tofu stuffed with fish cakes, boiled fish paste dumplings etc, in a flavorful broth. I loved the Japanese version too! It's the ultimate comfort food

And we had few other dishes too! The glutton in us resurfaced especially since everything was relatively cheap in US dollars, effectively 50% off compared to London! Stir fried yakisoba was good as well, not too oily or salty. The beer definitely made me regret stuffing myself silly, happens after the weeks of deprivation of Asian food :S

It was a friend Sasha's birthday a few days later too! Visited the Grand Central Terminal, a majestic looking subway station, which looks best at night with the beautiful chandeliers lighting the large hall, with many restaurants and shops in it too. Amongst them is the ever famous 'Oyster Bar', and (duh) as the name suggest, seemed famous for their seafood and oyster selection. We decided to go upper class, celebrating her birthday with a glass of champagne with a couple of fresh oysters.

Geez, you must be thinking, but its fun acting like a posh snob sometimes! What's life without a bit of fun and giving yourself a little treat?

New York, New York

Phew! Finally had some time to settle down and post up my American trip ... Thanks for being so patient. I've finally got over my jetlag, yet got caught in preparation for some regulation exams, and in fact still have not shifted my stuff fully.

Glad to be back in London, but starting to miss the buzz of NYC whilst training there! And of course, all the new found friends I've made :) I've only been in NY for 9 days in the whole of my trip to US, and hence we definitely made the most out of our short time there. Hehe

First night arrival in NYC after classes in Princeton, headed straight to the Hudson hotel. It's a pretty cool concept for the hotel, which looks and feels like a bar in the first place. The reception was pitch dark with small glimmers of light from the chandeliers, adjoining to the hotel bar/club, and there was no hotel sign outside saying 'Hudson Hotel' even, that I'm surprised the cab driver knew where to take us!

Anyways, by the time we settled down and went out for dinner, it was near midnight, and I've passed my hunger stage such that all I could stomach was this salad:

Taste wise disappointing, though slightly interesting presentation of it. Perhaps it was rather late for the restaurant to have freshly prepared chilled salads with good dressings.

Meanwhile, this is a typical scene taken outside my hotel, near Columbus Circus subway station. It's right next to Central Park, and just thought that a picture of the ubiquitous yellow NYC cabs are interesting :)

After a late Friday night out at the Hudson bar, miraculously I managed to drag myself up at 9am to go shopping with some friends at Century 21, which seems to have pretty good discounts, a place near Ground Zero/Wall Street. Here is a picture of the construction area near Ground Zero, pretty dusty I must say, especially on a humid day.

Macy's was up next, as it's apparently the largest departmental store in the world. Lunch was at the food court there, which has a wide array of selections. Always thought that food courts are the best places to check out what local specialties a place has to offer. As I was browsing through the sections, I saw this Pasta Board, which has Pasta a la Vodka, LOL. Not very appealing after a late night out full of that :P Interesting nevertheless

Dinner was at this place near the hotel called Landmarc, a place for good steak and REALLY NICE atmosphere. It was quite dark, but lit with dreamy yellow lights and candles. Food was great too, but unfortunately the food pics didn't turn out nicely due to dark light conditions. But I managed to get this chicken dish M had as I was trying out my new camera's zoom, and it turns out pretty good except for the odd glass at the left. :P

The next few days we were shifted to The Benjamin Hotel on East 51st Street. Seems like a boutique hotel with little rooms but classy decor. Can you believe that they actually have a 'PILLOW menu' for you to try on?

Time for some touristy stuff, and Rockefeller center was on the main agenda. This picture probably didn't do the architecture justice, as the building is pretty tall, but cut midway in this picture to show the beautiful waterfall and restaurant/bar they had at the basement.

C had a Caesar salad as she was 'detoxifying' after another late night out again, haha. A salad finally up to par I must say. Even the simple tomato basil soup I had was made to perfection, doesn't taste like it's out of a can, accompanied by freshly baked breads and mini madelines.

Food pics are rather scarce during the first few days in NYC as people were hungry and I couldn't snap their food photos in time, and of course, taking pictures of food was so foreign to them that I had to explain several times! More coming up next on my New York escapade!

Gourmet Burgers

Man, once exams are over, everything is a mad rush (still) in preparation for graduation. Have been going out and eating out most of the time and cooking less these days. Hence the these few upcoming posts would be highlighting a few nice places to grab a bite whilst in Cambridge (UK).

A new burger chain recently opened, marketed itself as an upmarket burger chain called Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK). I decided on the Venison burger, with spiced red currant & cranberry sauce and salad. This gigantic thing appeared right in front of me, while I just burst out in laughter, thinking of what strategy I could implement to chow down this thing which is like 20cm tall. Mind you, even if I open and stretch my mouth to the maximum, at most I could attack 60% of the height in one bite. Trying it the civilized way with a knife and fork was the way to go for me, despite the slight annoyance that I should get my hands on it and eat it the real way. :P The meat was medium done, which is perfect with a hint of pinkness, however, I found that the spiced red currant sauce was in fact over-infused with mustard which made it too hot to eat it in one go, where I started to burst into tears as the heat goes up into my nose instantly! But it was good all the same by taking out some of the relish, think they have a flavor imbalance there which is a pity for such a nicely done burger.

On the other hand, P had the Cajun Burger, 100% Aberdeen-Angus Scotch Beef, served with smoked chili mayo, salad & Cajun relish. We ordered a portion of fries for sides to share as well. This is how the Cajun burger looked...

And the cross section (innards) halfway through the quest of eating it neatly without dropping all the contents... As you can see P has better skill in managing his burger and manage to chow it down using his hand, cutlery free, hehe

Overall, I think it's a nice place to check it out, slightly pricier than other chains, but probably worth it only once in a while for a treat. I somehow prefer simpler yet equally tasty burgers in some pubs, and even Ramlee ones which size suits me better. I was full halfway through that giant burger already :) But for more exotic types of meat and sauces, do check GBK out.

Gourmet Burger Kitchen
43-45 Regent Street
Cambridge
CB2 1AB

Opening times
Monday to Friday 12pm to 11pm
Saturday 12pm to 11pm
Sunday 12pm to 10pm

Chicken a la TGIF

Final installment of the Chicken series!

Let's try a new variant this time, on my (relatively) new grill pan. This is even faster but requires the chicken to be marinaded at least 3 hours before hand, better overnight. The marinade I put was rather spontaneous, with what I have really, so here goes.

Thinking of having something western a la TGIF, let's call this recipe that then, hehe. My attempt at the Jack Daniel sauce, LOL

Chicken a la TGIF

Marinade

2-3 tbsp of brown sauce
2 tbsp of Hoi Sin (chinese plum sauce, slightly sweet but salty)
1 tbsp of Mirin (sweet Japanese wine, any sweet wine would do)
1 tbsp of olive oil

Ingredients

1 Chicken breast, sliced sideways to increase surface area ('butterfly')
Mixed vegetables (fresh or frozen, portions as desired)

Steps

1. First, mix all the marinade in a bowl, and pour over the chicken and coat well, refrigerate (at least 3 hours )
2. Get the grill pan hot, and you can oil it a bit before hand to prevent the chicken sticking to it
3. Put the chicken breast on the grill and spread evenly, reserve excess marinade
4. Meanwhile, prepare/cook/boil/microwave the frozen/fresh vegetables

5. Turn the chicken breast over after about 3 minutes on one side to prevent sticking/burning, should cook in about 10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the meat
6. Meanwhile, add 1-2 tbsp to the reserved marinade, and microwave it to high heat till boiling
7. Pour the marinade on top of the chicken and serve with vege as side

Voila, there you go!

3 chicken breast, 4 different ways ... I've tried to vary it across cuisine and methods, using common ingredients in various ways. This is quite fun and perhaps might be of use to those who needs some ideas :)

I liked especially the charred looking lines the grill pan gave, but perhaps it might have been overdone :)

Craving for Burgers

Burger craving striked last week and this is what I've got. Attempted a Burger King "Mushroom swiss" styled one with melted cheese and mushroom on top of it. Simply chopped the onions fine and mix it with the minced meat (pork used here), seasoned with salt and pepper, dusted with a bit of flour and pan fried.


Had to make mini burgers instead as I overstuffed them with onions and they wouldn't hold together, heheA long (seriously) post next only after I finish my dissertation, hopefully by mid of next week!

American Pancakes

Having supressed some essays, I must say I can't wait for the workload to stop! Anyways, my posts have been accummulating like crazy, hence this is gonna be a slightly long picturesque post, so prepare for a feast (for the eyes lah)... :P

I had cravings for American pancakes with maple syrup last weekend, having got bored with cereal or English fry ups for breakfast. Was quite surprised with the results, well, its not that hard to begin with and the ingredients are easy to find.

American Pancakes

3 cups (I used my rice cups instead) of self raising flour
1.5 cups of milk
1/4 cup sugar (or less if preferred)
1 egg
1/2 tablespoon salt (very important)
some oil

Basically all you have to do is mix everything up till a nice consistency, i.e. no lumps. Heat the pan till its hot, with a little bit of oil. Then use a ladle and scoop the batter to form a nice round pancake shape. It cooks really quickly if the pan is sufficiently hot, and hence you'll have the time of your life flipping pancakes in the kitchen! should take about 2-3 minutes each side maximum

Spread a chunk of butter and drizzle with generous amount of maple syrup, and you'll get THIS! :D



More follow up posts coming up soon, as I'd already wasted enough time and will have some crisis tonight, LOL. Hope everyone is surviving term well!

Hot Dogs!

Pipping hot from the States!
Remembered watching an episode on HotDogs on Discovery Travel and Adventure last summer, America's Favourite Hot Dogs or something like that. I wonder how they actually eat it without making a mess...
And this is Chilli + Cheese fries, if im not mistaken