Fish Head Rice Noodle Soup 鱼头米饭

Lately I've been hit by desperate cravings for homely noodle soups. I'd like to think my desperation would make me unfussy, that hunger trumps putting myself through inconvenience. Wouldn't it just be fine to make up some soup through stock cubes, toss in noodles and fillings? Nope, that's not how us noodle lovers roll. I of course had to make everything from scratch and traipse around London for the "right" ingredients. But then I wouldn't have discovered some very interesting details about one of my childhood favourites, Fish Head Rice Noodle Soup.

Pan Chai

Pan Chai opened in April this year to one of the world's retail meccas: Harrod's in Knightsbridge. The latest in the Mango Tree restaurant group, its menu bears similar characteristics to predecessors Awana and Mango Tree itself. We perch on booths in the famous Harrod's food hall underneath a wavy green "awning" and dive into the dishes.

Hungry Ghost Supper

August marks the 7th Month in the Chinese Lunar calendar where the Gates of Hell open and Hungry Ghosts roam the mortal world, seeking a place to feed their empty bellies. There are multiple rituals that accompany this Chinese tradition of seeking "approval" from dieties and spirits of the former living. It is in a sense a Chinese "All Souls Month" as joss-sticks are lit, prayer paper is burnt in remembrance of loved ones no longer with us. A large part of the occasion involves offering food to appease finicky ghosts.

That's where we come in. Two Hungry Girls were invited by our talented friends at Platform 65 to host a never-seen-before pop-up at a beautiful Marylebone townhouse for the Hungry Ghost Festival. A script regaling stories of Gods, Ghosts and Ancestors was performed by Cui & Ming, who also took guests on a tour around the house explaining the traditions and superstitions of this feast.

Panda Panda: Deptford Banh Mi

Have I mentioned Vietnamese has infiltrated Deptford? This little outlet has been around for a while but having this good a Banh Mi close to work is well worth the plug.

Baozi Inn

Sigh. And that is saying something when one starts a blog post with a sigh. I did so much want Baozi Inn to help me recreate some of those Beijing highlights I had been fortunate to experience last year but alas. For a second I wondered if that was an unrealistic expectation though when somewhere says it serves real “Beijing Street Food” then they’ve talked the talk. Now wok the wok, I say.

Le Gia: The Growing Vietnamese Scene in Deptford

No need to list reasons why one would not venture into Deptford for well, anything. Unless of course one worked round the corner in Greenwich and was offered the chance of a lunch adventure to the local Vietnamese by a foodie colleague. Whilst Deptford is generally an adventure black hole it is strangely home to some quality and destination Vietnamese restaurants, the best known one in the area being Café East.

Colleague S seemed to have uncovered a little gem. Le Gia was very no-frills, harshly stark in fact and we were the only customers at that lunchtime service. Only. Which could have been slightly eerie but S AKA Tomatoes and Radio Wire and I were not once short of food stories to exchange. I always appreciate a spirited companion that is game for good food no matter the surroundings.

Though we were provided with what looked like an ample menu, we still lunged forward at Beef Pho Bo each and Beef Summer Rolls. Yes this was very one-track minded but S here needed an iron shot after giving blood the day before. And when it was this good, gimme that iron!

Supperclub Challenge for Social Media Week London 2012: Craft Cakes meets Hungry Female

What a whirlwind week. I arrived back in the UK to find myself with only four days to plan for a Supperclub challenge hosted by the Great British Chefs in line with Social Media Week London 2012. The challenge was simple: host a supperclub or dinner party to raise money for Action Against Hunger's Love Food Give Food fundraising campaign. We needed to make at least two dishes from their suggested recipe list, blog about them and of course rally the troops to donate some dough.

I could only face such an undertaking with someone whom I knew was a maestro in the kitchen, who came in the form of Leigh Koh Peart, founder and owner of Craft Cakes. A talented and creative pastry chef hailing from (neighbour!) Singapore, we instantly agreed that we summon our South East Asian repertoires to bring a twist to the suggested recipes. 

The Menu

We are gluttons for punishment (pun intended). All we actually needed to do was produce a three course menu, using at least two recipes from the list. Our final menu was, erm, rather more elaborate...

Aperitifs

Lychee Sangria & Nibbles

Menu

Tea-Soaked Eggs

Cucumber & Wood Ear Fungus Salad

Lemongrass Pork Skewers

Grilled Honey Soy Chicken Wings

Steamed Tofu topped with Crunchy Shallots
Asparagus & Prawns

Fish & Asian Bouillabaisse Sauce

served with Steamed Rice & Condiments

Dessert

Green Tea Profiteroles

Tea & Coffee

Bring Din Tai Fung to London!

Ahhh. It feels good to be back in London. So much is familiar but I've only been back for a while and already I know there are many exciting things to catch up on. And one exciting thing that I must tell you about is Mr. Noodles' ambitious campaign to bring Din Tai Fung to London. I'm thrilled!

(image from  http://eatlovenoodles.blogspot.com)

Originating from Taiwan, DTF is an excellent restaurant chain famous for their Xiao Long Bao. A specialty dumpling, these are famous for a delicate skin (traditionally folded 18 times) carrying a little burst of soup next to a juicy stuffing. DTF also has many other tasty dishes and is an all-round champion for Taiwanese-style Chinese cuisine. 

Why the big fuss about getting them to London? Because London deserves awesome Xiao Long Bao from an expert maker. And so far, I regret to say us Londoners have been denied this privilege. There are some that try but somehow just miss the mark. DTF is across China, South East Asia and with branches in Australia and the United States so it ain't fair. 

If there's fire (and an appetite) in your belly for great-quality dim sum and authentic Chinese food, please add a comment to Mr. Noodles' blog campaign here! You deserve to have these exquisite treats available to you!

Mr. Noodles is the jovial owner of Eat Noodles Love Noodles who lives in London and adores (guess what?) his noodles and dumplings. Hungry Female has indulged in the pleasures of DTF in Malaysia and Beijing  so knows that this crusade is worth it. 

The Icecreamists

Whoa momma. Remember the blizzards London has seen in the last two winters? I wonder if they were really made of ice cream seeing the craze that has exploded in this city. The Big Smoke could now rival Italy with some seriously good ice cream or gelato, owing to the success of institutions such as Gelupo, Scoop and Chin Chin Laboratrists. And then someone comes along and pushes everything to the next level.

The Icecreamists opens officially this week on Maiden Lane, Covent Garden and boy do they do it with every flourish and extravagance. The melange of bright fuchsia, gun metal, gothic black, and references to S&M in their brand is an immediate sensory playground.

From the playful quotes that adorn the walls from luminaries who’ve dabbled in the creamy delight, the erotic names of their items, to their awesome mission statement of “To Liberate the World from Ordinary Ice Cream”, I dig their strong, wild and hedonistic brand. And this doesn’t get lost in the ice cream itself.

As part of their preview invitation, their tasting menu consisted of a helping of ice cream followed by an ice cream cocktail.

Now a Malaysian can’t really turn down the offer of a Chilli, Ginger and Lemongrass ice cream. It was actually spicy with proper chilli flecks! Yowza! It immediately inspired a need for Pad Thai. Adored the consistency which was a cross between a sorbet and an ice cream.

We were also surprised that the Choc and Awe, in it's divine dark decadence, made of 70% Ecuadorian Dark Chocolate, had no cream in it. After those two, the equally rich and vanilla-flecked Vanilla Monologues almost tasted meek. 

And those sensational flavours were just the warm up. The headliners in this scoop are by far the cocktails. Amongst the most flamboyant is the Molotoffee Cocktail, which is a banoffee baked alaska, flambed at the table and finished off with some rum spray. Uh huh, uh huh!

The baked alaska was egg white perfection and definitely very boozy. By the time we got to the ice cream it felt like we had drowned in a toffee river. 

And this seductive, velvet red temptress was the berry dominatrix of the Icecreamists' erotic world. Miss Whiplash not only had a lasting effect, I even felt slightly tipsy after. Smooth and glossy, it's almost a sorbet made from berries soaked in vanilla vodka. Whoopah!

Lastly, the Toast Mortem was a pool of molten chocolate gelato with Frangelico (hazelnut liqueur) and hazelnut bits, served with toasted panettone. This decadence clearly doesn't end. Two slices of panettone wasn't enough to soak up all that chocolate! I really enjoyed the subtle peanut note in that. 

Making an impact on the London dessert scene would be an understatement. The Icecreamists have done a Lady Gaga, strutting their stuff on the cream catwalk with ludicrous abandon, heady frivolity and pure fun. Indeed their Baby Gaga flavour is reportedly made of real breast milk. I LOVE IT! These are premium products, and with serious prices: £2 something for an ice cream scoop and just under £15 per ice cream cocktail. I promise this is a memorable trip though. Viva la diva.

Khon Thai

I have a very duplicitous nature about approaching food. Whilst swooshes, liquid nitrogen and a famed name above the door is an occasional treat, when it comes to Asian food I return to my brazen and primitive roots. I don't require ash, acrobats hanging from ceilings or immaculately trained waiters, just seriously delicious, straightforward food. That doesn't make it simple, it means one has to rely solely on the tastebuds.

And my tastebuds tell me good things about Khon Thai, a modest outfit in Swiss Cottage. By modest I mean abominably stark and bare in terms of decorum. Behind a translucent green curtain at the front, are two long tables, a counter for ordering food and so many plastic flowers it's like a Frida Kahlo parade. It appears like your typical local take-out, so why the fuss? HOW does it even make it to a blog post?!

Because flavour-wise, it's probably the most memorable Thai I've had in a long time. You may remember in my local NW neighbourhood, we're starved of good Asian places, so I'm rearing to check any new openings in this genre no matter how humble. Though humble in taste, these dishes are not.

The dish that caught our attention was the Hor Mog, a fish paste mixed in with egg and red curry paste, then steamed in a banana leaf. This brought me straight home. Sweet and slightly spicy from the paste, the texture of a good steamed egg is light, puffy and maybe even velvety. Small pieces of fish added extra texture.

A sharp and tangy papaya salad kept us peachy and cut through any heavy curry flavours.

And we just had to try the Green Curry. Just one word: perfect! Richness from the sauce, and enough kick to get that nose at a healthy run.

So that was visit number one. We had visit number two very shortly after...

If there had to be one let down, the Steamed Sea Bass Thai Style was that black sheep. Good sweet and sour going on from the limes, Thai basil and lemongrass, but this little fish was cooked from frozen, totally affecting the texture.

At our previous visit, the insider tip from the front of house were the homemade corn cakes ("All our starters are homemade, madam"). Nice crunch and soft inside, but sliiggghhhttlly over-cooked.

The winner this time though was the Laab salad (Minced Chicken). I class myself in the Super Spicy Chilli League, and this made me reconsider my pride. Loaded with that acute chilli blast upon first taste, it does dissipate quickly, but man does it make an impact. A very good impact. Beautiful Thai tangyness that makes you think of sunny beach holidays.

And to end, a Massaman Duck Curry. These guys do their curries well. Often Thai restaurants in the UK serve watery slop that is truly sad, but this perky and coconutty version was the real thing.

My goodness, it's a turning point for NW. Khon Thai is a family run business, which began as a stall in the Swiss Cottage Farmer's Market. I dare put my South East Asian card down and say this is probably the most genuine Thai place I've been to in the UK. I just love its humility, which further adds to the authenticity. Fantastically warm and cheerful service, it's one of my favourite local spots. You'd be pushed to spend more than £12 per person for about 3 shared dishes and rice. It's also BYO, with a massive basket of complimentary spicy prawn crackers!

The Junction Tavern

I rarely go to a pub on Sunday if it's not for a Sunday Roast, but I could be swayed if there was more food like this.

Speaking of rare occurrences, I don't usually frequent Kentish Town despite being four minutes away by train.    The Junction Tavern has given me a new reason and inspiration. The Pork Belly was bursting with ambrosial piggyness, cushioned by floaty mash and accompanied by a bean casserole that had spice and stewed goodness.

For some reason I was craving fish and chips, and was initially disappointed when this wasn't on the menu. Well, there was no real need for it to be there, and otherwise I wouldn't have discovered these plump and hearty Smoked Haddock Fishcakes. Their rotundness made me gaze in adoration. And those were good fishcakes, nice ratio of smoky fish with potato cake. It's chunky tartare sauce was neither overloaded with capers nor too creamy. 

And what a Sticky Toffee Pudding to remember. I can't remember a time before when the top and bottom of a Sticky Toffee was still crisp from the oven, whilst every moist crumb in the middle soaked up a glossy toffee sauce like a mother clasping a child to her bosom. This was the absolute business. To bring us all the way to heaven was a rum and raisin ice cream, why have we always been eating this with plain vanilla?!

This is what Sundays are all about. A carefree amble to eat homemade food cooked with pride, and a buzzing ambience amidst engaged customers and an open kitchen to see the action. The service is seamless, they weave in and out without much fuss and with much efficiency. For two mains, one dessert, and several drinks, it was circa £23 per head. To call it a destination pub might be a tall order, but local residents should delight. And let's not forget the Sticky Toffee Pudding....

Hummus Bros

I'm starting an obsession with pestos, sauces and generally anything great for bread dipping and splashing over pasta. It may have to do with finally getting a food processor after all this time. Another blog post methinks, to expand upon the subject of all things dip-worthy, as in the mean time...

It was very timely to be invited to my first bloggers event (coinciding with Hungry Female's one year anniversary of blogging!), a tasting evening at Hummus Bros. A recipient of high praise at the time of their Soho opening in 2005, I had sheepishly never been before then.

The concept is simple, and effective. Take hummus as a base, whack on a topping of your choice, choose a side if you wish, and voila. A tasty, healthy and good alternative to the ubiquitous sandwich.

Chunky beef was an instant hit with me. Slow-cooked with a small hint of spice, I piled this high on my pitta.

Their special that occasion was Chicken Tikka Masala, which I had my reservations about. More like a paste, than chunks of chicken in a curry sauce, it lacked any spice or heat. Rather like Indian baby food.

Christian, one of the founding Hummus Bros, was however brilliant at taking feedback and actively suggested trying the beef with guacamole if that was more to our liking. Excellent suggestion as that ended up being my favourite combination, leaning more towards a Mexican palate.

Sides at Hummus Bros are almost as big as the main courses, and we're not complaining! We tried the smoky aubergine, which may have had a tad much of tahini drizzled on top. Erm, it's not like that wasn't in the hummus already...

Falafels are always a crowd pleaser and done nicely with chunky tzatziki and fresh salad.

Me being a chilli fan, very much welcomed the tangy green chilli sauce which is an optional accompaniment, which went perfectly with my beef and guacamole combo.

Sweet caramelised mushrooms was a good pairing to the rich hummus, though could have been charred more. Then again I am a smoky-tasting, barbeque lover.

My only real sticking point were the desserts. Malabi, which I interpret as a Middle Eastern pannacotta, was too set, too sweet from the date honey sauce and with no real balance of flavour. Baklava, which I usually adore, was again too sweet and stodgy instead of being fluffy and light.

The hummus itself is rather creamy and rich, it's more like a sesame butter! Really full in flavour, it's a cracking idea to place toppings to offset it's velvety texture. Interestingly, it's not made with garlic or lemon, like how it's done traditionally, in case customers are allergic to garlic.

Christian and Ronen were professional, cheerful, open about receiving constructive criticism and mingling with their customers. I fully support their manifesto in offering a fresh twist to lunch time nibbles, wanting to cater to numerous "-free" diets and having a fun time in getting the word out there. At an average of £4-8 for a main dish, which includes your pitta, and circa £3.50 for a side, I think it's definitely worth a try. And a try again.

Tom Aikens: Art on (many) a Plate

As much as I love food photo taking, I needed a night off from surreptitious snapping at the dinner table. It didn't quite work. Especially when plate after plate of exquisitely arranged morsels arrive and you're at a restaurant no lesser than Tom Aikens. I had been gifted a cheese and wine pairing at the restaurant as a present last year, but as the restaurant could not guarantee when the next class would be at the time I rang, they offered to convert it into "spend" at the restaurant. Good move.

Whilst the Big Boy camera stayed at home, I was grateful that my baby compact (always at handbag reach away) captured these highlights...

From the word go, beautiful little things were presented for our delectation. The cep bread reminded me of a French fleur-delys, and the buttermilk roll had delicate olive oil and sea salt flavour.

Who would have expected a trio of amuse bouches? An olive "sphere" was pure olive essence, with tiny bits of crunchy olive on top, and burst in the mouth with salty aplomb. Ferran Adria anyone? The duck liver sabayon was deep, smoky and full of body given that it was basically a foam. My favourite was the parmesan beignet. A savoury doughnut in bite-size form! Genius!

Sometimes I think these fancy chefs deliberately give simple names to dishes, to amaze you when it turns out to be far from simple. My "Crab and Avocado Salad" was more like the Garden of Eden. Sweet crab, creamy avocado and slight bitter crunch from the endives. All punctuated with herbs and micro-veg. Gotta throw a cheffy phrase in there.

For the fashionistas in the crowd, doesn't this stunning composition invoke a dreamy Erdem dress, oh so Spring 2010?

Images from style.com

I was still in Eden with the red mullet and pistachio risotto for my main. I'm a sucker for beautiful fish and this was no disappointment. I was taken by the silky fish, earthy pistachios and extremely decadent piles of greenery. Can greens be decadent? They can be at Tom Aikens. 

If there was a prize for a dish inspired by a Christmas carol, the partridge with pear and a truffle mash could have taken number one. Rich and superbly cooked game.

By the time these gorgeous petit fours came along, I was ready to get liposuction. We tried the Earl Grey, Jasmine and Armagnac truffles from the chocolate selection and the Lemon & Thyme financier and doughnut from the cakes. Doooughhhhhnuutttttt, Homer Simpson style, is all I can say. 

Probably one of the most decadent meals I've ever had, with finesse at every step. It's a slick operation with your-wish-is-my-command type service. You can't have this every day, but you can certainly have it once in a while. And definitely when you need to feel special.