All posts tagged: fish

Eating out in Shoreditch – Pitt Cue, Rök & Som Saa, and breakfast at Ruby’s

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So, I pretty much ate my way round around Shoreditch over a couple of days last week. In order to justify such excess, I offer this as my recommendations should you find yourself kicking your heels in the City of London and in need of sustenance. My hit list had included Pitt Cue, Fish (at Borough Market) and Som Saa. Two of these feature, Fish was replaced with the sublime Rök, which I stumbled upon when heading somewhere else and there were a couple of random additions. First up  (and a random addition) Busaba Thai, on Old Street, this is a chain, it seems there are 16 of them. This might explain the service. This was a “we’re tired and starving, what’s close?” choice, rarely a good basis for a restaurant decision, but needs must and all that. Spacious and dimly lit, with large shared tables, the interior is clean and modern with the odd nod to Oriental style, (paper lanterns) but it is subtle and not in your face. As there was barely anyone …

Borough Market – I know, I am such an old romantic

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I’ve not met anyone that doesn’t love London’s Borough Market. It’s not just the fabulous range of fresh produce, meat, seafood, products, herbs, spices, bread and street food, it’s the atmosphere it evokes. Like much of London, its history colours your sense of the present. I defy anyone to walk towards the Market nestled under the iron girders of the  railway bridge above and not find themselves cast back to any number of films, novels and exhibitions that describe the sights, sounds and smells of historic London. You feel you are walking in the footsteps of thousands of others stretching back hundreds of years who have come to this place to meet and to trade. And indeed you are, the market is believed to go back possibly as much as a 1000 years. It is situated at one end of London Bridge, for centuries the only route over the river and believed to have been built originally by the Romans (which then became a strategic defence against the marauding Vikings as they sailed up the …

Poke at Black Roe, Mayfair

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Well, I won a Twitter competition. I have won a few things on Twitter, a couple of books, some vouchers. This time I won the opportunity to join Black Roe in London’s Mayfair for a tasting evening. So, here’s the thing, I wasn’t able to attend on the evening due to a family illness so I thanked Black Roe and suggested they offer the prize to someone else. They didn’t take me up on that but instead offered us a complementary meal in April. And so it was that we headed to London last week for a bit of shopping, to check out my Daughter’s work placement, mooch around Borough Market and enjoy lunch at Black Roe. A big, big, thankyou to Black Roe for generously extending the prize to include all 3 of us. Black Roe is a Poke restaurant (no, I didn’t know either…. it is pronounced “pokey” btw). Poke is a traditional Hawaiian raw fish salad and Black Roe has its own dedicated Poke bar where the chef prepares the fish from …

Thaikhun, Nottingham – our first visit, definitely not our last

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Last week we were invited to eat at one of Nottingham’s newest Thai Street Food restaurant offerings, Thaikhun (pronounced Tycoon). Thaikhun has taken up residence in the new Foodie area of the redeveloping Victoria Shopping Centre, in the area around the old Clock Tower which, for so many years, was the slightly sad side exit to the Centre. The clock tower area is now in the process of a full revamp  soon to be home to lots of new eateries, some already open, others planned. There is an astonishing number of new restaurants opening in the city, it will be interesting to see which ones survive the course. My money is on Thaikhun being one of the survivors. Thaikhun is one of a small chain of outlets in the UK   – with a fascinating back-story of the characterful owner (who we were delighted to meet at the official opening a couple of weeks ago) which takes you from her home in rural Thailand to a street-cart in Bangkok and then to the UK and …

23rd January 1942, Cod a la Biscaienne

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Today is Armistice Day so a good day, I thought, to share with you something we found amongst my Grandfather’s papers. It is a menu from the Troop Ship HMT Thysville, setting out Breakfast (love that the Oats are branded – not just any old oats!) Luncheon and Supper for Friday 23rd January 1942. On the back are lots of hand-written names, notes and messages, mostly in Afrikaans/Dutch.  I do not know where the ship was going, but do know that my grandfather served in the Military Policy and the Royal Artillary in Burma. Does anyone have any information on this ship? I would love to hear it. In the meantime I thought I would share this menu, I do wonder if this was for officers or all ranks, but have no idea. There are two courses – Brandade of Cod a la Biscaienne and Ragout of Mutton Printanier that I can find no on-line recipes for, if anyone can help with the ingredients for these I would be extremely grateful. Thank you.

LohiKeitto – that’s Finnish for a traditional, creamy, buttery, indulgent Salmon Soup.

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To me, the best soup ever. As summer turned to Autumn overnight last week, as school started and there was a distinct nip in the air, I needed something comforting to herald the new season. I used to live in Finland and this soup was taught to me by an elderly Finnish lady who grew up in Lapland in the very north of the country, where calories are properly necessary to keep out the cold. This has them in abundance but don’t let that put you off. Just promise yourself an extra long run next week.     Traditional Finnish Salmon Soup (and home-made bread) (as usual, my measurements are a guide only – add to taste) 200g onions, 800g waxy potatoes, 150g Butter, 2 litres of Fish Stock, 6dl of double cream (I acutally used a bit more than this, well quite a bit more, as I love it), sea salt, a tiny pinch of all-spice, 4/5 Bay leaves, depending on size, 500g skinless and boneless salmon, loads of Fresh Dill to taste Method Simmer …

Aw Shucks, do you swallow or chew? Oyster season is upon us……

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I know, I know, sorry. But, hey there is an “r” in the month and, love them or hate them, the oyster season has started and I can’t help but get a bit giddy. I am a big oyster fan, so I thought I would dedicate this short piece to the briny, slimy, tasty and expensive joys of new season oysters. So, in the best tradition of food blogging –  here are 6 things you may or may not know about oysters  (“pearls” of wisdom, you may say):- 1 There are only 5 main types of Oyster, but there are 100s of varieties and their shell, shape and flavour change mostly according to the very specific area and type of water they inhabit. Oysters are always “local”. If you are in the UK, go for Native if you can, rather than Rock (but both are good). Most types of Oyster (apart from deep sea ones) don’t make pearls. I know, bugger isn’t it? 2 I am an “ostreaphile” – an oyster lover. Get me. 3 …