A late ‘Happy Halloween’ from the UK! 👻🎃It’s been quite an eventful night as a second lockdown has been announced tonight… However, I shall remain positive for the upcoming month and take it a day as it goes. 😊 I hope all of you will be enjoying a fun Saturday night whatever you will be doing and wherever you are! 👌
And I did get around to doing some small things to celebrate this Halloween by making some little ‘devil’ steamed pork buns! 😈 They weren’t absolutely perfect but were great fun to do (and hilarious too – I keep changing the design as I was making them before finally settling on one! 😂)
Have you heard that it’s common for one to lose their appetite in the summer? I sometimes wonder if is it really to do with the heat, or people are careful about watching their beach bodies? Either way, the heat wave today didn’t seem to have affected my appetite at all (though it did change my diet to mainly compose of cold drinks and ice creams…🍹🍦🍧🍨) So, today, I paid a visit to Bao in London Soho.
Their Signature Classic Bao with Braised Pork, Peanut Powder and Coriander
I was introduced to this place by a friend of mine two years ago. It is quite well known in the city and this particular branch I visited usually have a long queue outside (especially in the evening), so I was quite lucky today that I managed to get straight inside without waiting. The restaurant is known for serving Taiwanese street food with some old classic dishes and some with a modern twist.
I’ve come here a few times before and I must say the food is delicious. Though a warning to big eaters like me, because the dishes are small, you might get carried away ordering too much and ended up with an expensive bill! 😅 (The place does offer £90 to order everything on the menu. Feel free to give it a try haha!) Their signature classic bao did not disappoint as the bread bun was soft and fitted perfectly with the rich, tender pork filling.
Guinea Fowl Rice
The second dish I ordered was the guinea fowl rice. It was recommended to mix the rice and the toppings together before eating. It was a simple dish but one that very much reminded me of home. The guinea fowl was tender and the yolk brought the life to this dish.
Fried Pig Trotter Nuggets and Pig Blood Cake, a Taiwanese Classic
Next were two of my favourites here. 😋 The fried pig trotter nuggets were crispy on the outside but very juicy on the inside. Pig trotters are often considered cheap meats, but it is enjoyed in many Asian cuisines. Now, I am actually not a fan of pig trotters (despite being loved by many in my family), but this modern spin is one definitely not to be missed by me, especially when paired with the green chilli sauce.
On the other hand, pig blood cake is a very traditional, classic Taiwanese street food. The reason I love this dish so much is because it reminds me of my time growing up eating pig blood curd in Hong Kong, and also when I used to have black puddings for breakfast whilst I was living in Scotland. The rich, savouriness of the pig blood mixed with the sticky rice and cured egg yolk might not be one for everyone, but it certainly ticked a lot of my boxes. 😉
Have you also tried Taiwanese food before? Let me know about any thoughts you have in the comments! 😊
After a few days of less than ideal weather, London finally welcomed back the sun. In fact it was so hot today, I had been constantly filling myself up with cold drinks and ice creams! 😅
Despite the heat in the underground threatened to melt me alive, I continued my search for good food and arrived in Eat Tokyo. Those of you who lived in the city might be somewhat familiar with it as they do have a handful of branches dotted around London. Japanese cuisine is definitely one my favourites to eat. Before it has become such a mainstream cuisine internationally, it used to be quite a high end thing to eat back in the days. During my childhood whilst growing up in Hong Kong, my family and I used to spend ages queueing to eat in Japanese restaurants. It was quite a luxurious treat to me back then!
The one thing I like about Eat Tokyo is that, besides big, bold flavours, they serve large portions for around the same price you will get in similar restaurants. My first dish was a yellowtail sushi. Yellowtail is one of the best fish to eat raw in my opinion. It has a very tender and light texture, and pairs very well with the pickled ginger that accompanied the sushi. I must confess I have an obsession with pickled ginger, which my grandmother used to make regularly when she was still with us.
The second dish was a foie gras with daikon. Most people when they think of foie gras, their mind immediately jump to French cuisine but it’s actually also a fairly commonly used ingredient in Japanese cuisine as well. Daikon, for those of you who are not sure, is a Japanese radish. This radish is famous for its juiciness and sweetness, and it is best served after cooking for a long time in a broth or sauce, where the daikon will become very soft and flavourful. (My family is obsessed with daikon and used to fight over who gets to eat the last pieces!) In this dish, the richness of the foie gras contrasts very well with the lightness of the daikon, though I do think the sauce is slightly on the heavy side.
The last dish was what they called a katsu sara, which to me was a katsudon with rice served separately. Katsudon is a classic Japanese dish consisting of breaded pork cutlets cooked in eggs, vegetables and a sweet soy sauce, and then served over a bowl of rice. It is also an old favourite of mine since I was young. I had so many happy memories eating this dish as a kid.
I wasn’t able to finish it however, so I got a doggy bag with me when I left. At least that’s my lunch set for tomorrow!
(P.S. As if it wasn’t enough to fill me up already, I also went for a gelato afterwards…. 😂 You heard of the saying that “you always have room for desserts”?)
Tango's Baking 