January 16, 2011

Mien Tay

122 Kingsland Road, E2 8DP

This was my first ever experience of a Vietnamese restaurant.
I’ve been to many Thai, Chinese and other oriental restaurants, but until that night I was a Vietnamese Virgin. I have a good group of experienced friends however to guide me through, some of who have Asian ancestry and have grown up on such food, so I trusted their suggestion of the choice of location.
Walking along this street in Shoreditch I noticed that it seemed to be a mini Vietnam haven. How to choose which one to go in? I had been recommended this place, but otherwise I would not be able to decide from the front.

Once inside we were seated at our pre-booked table and the giggling began. We all love our food, and we love to giggle about food, and thankfully this place is very accommodating. It was a cold snowy Wednesday night and very busy, I’m not sure if this was just due to it being the lead up to Christmas, or the popularity of the place.

Mein Tay

For starters we had Vietnamese spring rolls- absolutely delicious, stuffed with vermicelli noodles, minced pork and mixed vegetables, wrapped in rice paper and deep-fried – not something I’d ever had before and they did not disappoint, accompanied with lightly picked carrot and cucumber and burdock leaf to wrap the rolls in if you so wished.
Mein Tay
For main I decided on the Pho- rice noodle soup with sliced Beef and Brisket. I’d never heard of Pho before, but I was informed that it is a very complex broth that is made over the course of many hours. Accompanying the beef was a selection of vegetables – chilli, coriander, bean sprouts, which you drop as little or as much into your Pho. It was a hard choice as there was such a wide range of wonderful sounding dishes, but I was very happy with my selection- it was flavoursome without being too overpowering, and it was so very filling I struggled to finish it. We all shared and tasted each other’s dishes, and I would recommend any of the other dishes at the table- rice noodle and goat dish, rice noodle and seafood, goat with lemongrass ad chilli and a rice noodle and beef dish. All fantastic flavours and great portion sizes.
Mein Tay

Mein Tay
To end a fantastic evening was the surprise of the bill- although should not have been such a surprise- I had seen the menu when ordering. It came to £10 per head, which for the size of my belly afterwards, efficient service and lots of laughter you really can’t complain.
Mien Tay on Urbanspoon

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January 11, 2011

Spinach and Ricotta Lasagne

I didn’t have a recipe for this- all the ones on the
internet had ingredients that I didn’t have in my cupboard, so I
thought I would just make it up. I made a basic cheese sauce using
milk, flour, butter and cheddar cheese. In a separate pan I lightly
fried an onion in some butter, then added the spinach. Once wilted
I added the ricotta. I layered the lasagne sheets, sauce and
spinach, and then sprinkled the top with cheese. Put it in the
oven, watched Eastenders, and then came to see what had become of
it. I don’t think I’d made the sauce quite thick enough, but other
than that it tasted pretty yummy. Spinach & Ricotta Lasagne

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January 9, 2011

Goat’s Cheese & Tomato Tart

This was my first attempt at making a tart- and it tasted
pretty good even if I do say so myself. I found this recipe in one
of my files- I had torn it out of a Good Homes magazine from May
2007, and thought I would give it a whirl. I found it easy to
follow, easy to make, and it tasted delicious. I used big beef
tomatoes, and found I didn’t actually use the whole 500g but that’s
up to personal preference. I used a 20cm cake tin rather than a
baking sheet- but this made it a little too thick so I would
recommend either using a larger cake tin or just a flat tray. Goat's Cheese and Tomato Tart Goat's Cheese and Tomato Tart
Serves 4
Ready in 50 minutes
1 medium potato, peeled and chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
85g/3oz cold butter chopped
7 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried
140g/5oz plain flour
500g/ 1lb 2oz tomatoes thickly sliced
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
100g/4oz soft goat’s cheese
Olive oil for drizzling
1. Turn theoven to 200°C (180°C fan)/390°F/Gas 6. Boil the potato for 12
minutes then drain.
2. Fry the onion in 25g/1oz of butter for five minutes until it starts to brown. Strip the leaves from four sprigs
of thyme and add to the pan, or add half the dried thyme.
3. Rub the remaining butter into the flour. Mash the potato, add to the
mixture with seasoning and the onion and any pan juices. Mix to a
soft dough, then press into a 23cm round on a greased baking sheet.
4. Arrange the tomatoes on the dough and drizzle over the vinegar.
Sprinkle over the remaining thyme and season. Crumble over the
cheese, drizzle with oil, then bake for 35 minutes until the base
is golden.

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December 21, 2010

San Francesco

19 Catherine Street
London, WC2 5JS
0207 836 6354

So it was my baby brothers 21st birthday and we met up for the day with my parents and after a while we became quite hungry. We were in the Covent Garden area, and not sure what food we fancied.

We turned down Catherine Street and spotted this cute Italian restaurant called San Francesco. It wasn’t very busy inside, so an authentic Italian man was able to seat us immediately. There was a 2 course set menu, which is what I went for, but there was a lot of choice on the menu. Sometimes I need some boundaries with my food choices!

For starter I had a delicious warm avocado with prawns and mushrooms, all mixed together and served in the avocado skins. Really lovely and creamy but not too overwhelming. My dad chose the breaded Camembert that he wolfed down very fast so I can only assume it was tasty.
Starter
For main course I had the Trout with capers and prawns and a tomato sauce. We had potatoes and green beans served once our dishes were on the table, silver service style. Apart from when I stupidly took a bite of the tail without really looking at it and therefore got a mouthful of bones, I really enjoyed my dinner. The trout was nicely cooked, and the contrast between the flavours was just right.
Trout, capers, prawns
By this point I was pretty full, enjoying the wine and joking about with my family. The waiter brought out the desert menu and at first we thought we were too full. But on further inspection of the menu we all decided that perhaps we had some space in our feet.

After stuffing ourselves to the brim we thought it was time to leave, settling the bill and being actually quite impressed. It came in around £25 per person including service charge, which considering the location, the amount and quality of what we had just consumed is actually very good value.

The place had a lovely atmosphere and had that real personal touch that you don’t get with the chain restaurants. You could tell it was a family run restaurant and the staff actually care how your meal is. I have spent some time in Italy, and I would say that it is authentic Italian food. I would definitely go back again, and suggest that you try it too.

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December 11, 2010

Welcome

Hello and Welcome to my blog.

This is my space for sharing with the world my favourite places to eat, my not so favourite and just generally anywhere I happen to stumble upon.

I have not been asked to write up these reviews, these are simply how I feel about these restaurants.

I want to share them with the world as I have enjoyed them that much.

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