Girl who ate the world...

Matcha Cream Layer Cake Recipe!

2012-01-15T07:33:00.000-08:00

This was the only photo I managed to get of the cake as camera number 1 is broken and was playing up, camera number 2 was out of battery and my phone was not complying either!
Its in a box as I took it to my friends house as it was his birthday. He made some AMAZING sushi and everyone liked the cake so here is the recipe for you.
PS... It didn't look this good after cycling twenty minutes with it on the back of my bike over the bumpy Sheffield roads so I'm glad I took a before picture!

Ingredients

250g butter
250g sugar
250g self raising flour
4 eggs, seperated and whites whisked
1 tbsp matcha (green tea powder)
Creme chantilly
cute decorating stuff :)

Method

Melt together butter and sugar
Leave to cool slightly then add your egg yolks
Gradually incorporate your egg whites
Gentle fold in the flour and matcha
Place in two small tins and bake til springy and golden
Slice each cake in half once cooled then spread layeres with chantilly
Add more chantilly on top and decorate! Go wild!

Enjoy, ideally without smushing it up in a box on a bike first!

I've got a new blog!

2012-01-03T10:48:00.000-08:00

It's mainly for healthy food recipes and tips plus general ramblings and any information I find interesting!
If that's your cup of tea go check it out!

http://apocketfulofpomegranate.blogspot.com

The Broadfield Pub

2011-12-29T03:21:00.000-08:00

Ah, The Broadfield. I have many memories of visits to this pub, five or six years ago. "The Broady", as it was often referred to, had two pool tables back then! Unfortunately that was all they had going for them. I stopped going when I moved away from nether edge, and frankly the thought of seeing the same old miserable, drunk faces didn't exactly lure me back.
Then I heard word of a brand new ownership and re-opening. To be honest I didn't even know it had closed down, I could say this was because I was no longer interested and had moved on etc. The likely truth is that I'm quite oblivious to what's going on around me most of the time that I simply didn't notice.

Eventually, curiosity got the better of me and I went down to investigate. Wow! I couldn't believe how much it had changed! It looks amazing inside. They've knocked down the walls so its one big massive pub with a huge circular bar in the middle, housing a massive selection of whiskeys. I recognise a few of the clientele, friendly, lovely nether edge folk. Not old, not twelve and not drunk. I even spot kid acne amongst the crowd! Then one of my favourite songs started playing and after that I noticed they serve cocktails, this all made me very happy to have a great pub to call my local.

That was my first visit. I went back again a few days later to sample their extensive menu. They serve a range of modern and exciting dishes such as : thai salmon goujons with a green papaya chili dip, moonshine battered haddock with chips, mushy peas and tartare sauce and spiced cauliflower fritters with tamarind dip. There is also a separate mini board for their various pies and sausages.

I eventually decided on smoked haddock and salmon kedgeree with poached egg. My mum chose beef and ale pie with chips and mushy peas.
After a small mishap with our waitress spilling some of my mums pint of cider, which was supposed to be only a 1/2 anyway (bonus!) onto our table, the service went smoothly.

Our food soon arrived. My first thoughts were "my god that is a lot of food" and "nice egg".

This was unlike any kedgeree I had eaten before. It was under seasoned, there was very little, if any spice at all, oh and the rice was the wrong type of rice! This was more like a risotto. At least they got the egg perfect though. On the plus side there were lots of chunks of fish, albeit some rather fatty pieces of salmon. I ended up eating the chunks of fish, plus the egg and leaving a massive pile of rice.
My mum ate hers with no complaints. I tried a chip and it was nice, home-made but not the best pub chips Sheffield has to offer.

The waitress didn't seemed too phased by our leftovers. Looking at a few plates on their way back to the kitchen I can see why. You definitely won't leave hungry after eating here. Unsatisfied, maybe but not hungry.
We decided to share a dessert and opted for the delicious sounding banana-chocolate brownie.

This was very squiggle happy presentation. I tried some sauce which was not that dissimilar from those "treats" squeezy ice cream sauce in bottles you can buy. Disappointing.
The praline under the ice cream was synthetic tasting, and the brownie itself wasn't bad, but the chunks of chewy - I'd have had no idea what the hell this was if it hadn't stated it on the menu - banana, were.

Overall, as a pub to come and have a drink, this is great. For food, I'd probably eat somewhere else.

Food 5.5/10
Service 7/10
Value 7/10

La Mama Review

2011-11-04T10:21:00.000-07:00

La mama

Last week was my Mum's birthday. This called for celebration! So off we went in search of something tasty.

As we walked down London road, I spotted La mama. I'd never been in here before, but at the eat Sheffield awards on Monday night they won 'favourite European' restaurant so I reckoned they'd be good enough for my Ma.

So in we went, me, my mum and my little sister. A friendly lady greeted us and showed us to a table by the window. I was rather surprised to see we were the only ones in, but it was around 2pm and I guess there is a chance we'd missed the lunchtime rush.

We ordered 6 tapas from their special 'happy hour' menu. The décor is what you'd expect from a tapas place: yellow walls, tiny guitars, maracas and their eat Sheffield award hung proudly amongst various other European inspired decorations.
Soon enough out came the food.

The tapas were well presented and each one had great flavour and you could tell they were home made.

The patatas bravas were crunchy with a fluffy centre and coated in a spicy tomato sauce.

The tortilla was nice and chunky. The rice was well flavoured and enjoyed very much by my sister. I enjoyed the pumpkin fritters and their accompanying green chilli and coriander salsa very much, although not as much as I enjoyed the baked aubergine and goats cheese, a nice twist on the traditional Italian melanzana parmigiana.

The mushrooms were as they read on the menu: garlicky and white wine-ey but at (cost) for 7, I felt they were a little pricey.

Tapas are all about small portions though, I suppose.

We mopped up all the juices with some house bread which was average and had been drizzled with some very very good olive oil.

Next came the desserts which I was looking forward to. We decided to share chilli chocolate cake and a banoffee pie. The banoffee looked delicious but I only got to taste a tiny bit of the sauce as it was way too creamy for me, being lactose intolerant.

My mum and sister savoured it, each mouthful accompanied by a different moan of pleasure and facial expression to match.

I had some of the chocolate cake. It was nice but I was expecting a dark, glossy sauce and dense chocolatey sponge. This however was light and with a weak sauce.

Don't get me wrong, it was nice but I am one hell of a tough critic when it comes to cakes and this didn't really fit the bill for me.

The important thing was my mum enjoyed herself and the food was overall very good.

The bill came to £34.65.

I'll probably be back as they have live music nights and I'm pleased to have found a quality tapas restaurant so close to home!

Food – 7/10

Service – 9.5/10

Value – 7/10

Cake Party success!!

2011-11-01T13:32:00.000-07:00

Hello you may remember recently I mentioned i was having a cake party for charity.
Just an update to tell you it went well and a LOT of tasty cake was shared and eaten! Thankyou to everyone that came down and all together we raised over £40!
Here are some photos of the event.

I'm throwing a cake party for charity!

2011-09-04T12:02:00.000-07:00

And you're all invited!
.....Although there are limited spaces available so maybe not all of you..my advice is to let me know if you want to come sooner, rather than later!

This will be a great opportunity for people to get together, show off their cake making skills, enjoy other peoples delicious cakes, share recipes, drink tea AND raise money for breast cancer

Click here for the event details on facebook or leave a comment if you don't have facebook, but want to come along.

Tai Sun supermarket

2011-09-02T09:48:00.001-07:00

Today I visited Tai Sun for the first time since it has been refurbished and I was impressed!
It's so much cleaner and brighter and they've added loads more stock to their vast range of oriental delights.
Various exciting items (if you are easily excited as I am) included fresh brown crab, razor clams with half their juicy flesh protruding out of their shell, sushi, king prawns at about 12 for £2.50 and even fresh durian!
I could have easily spent a couple of hours in their just looking at all the food!
I bought all the items in the picture and have written a short review of some of them.
Soya milk was good in my tea and very beany on its own but, I can buy three times the amount for same price and the taste is just as good.
The pak choi and mushroom steamed frozen buns are amazing! Soft and delicately favoured plus they tasted very fresh. I'll definitely buy these again. They'll be great steamed with veggies as a healthy dinner.
The dried tofu is slightly odd and rather oily with a bit of background heat. The taste is sweet and with a meaty depth and a hint of sesame. Not too keen on those.
The red bean creams are delicious. Each one is like a hug in your mouth. They are marshmallows and their smell reminds me of being young which makes them strangely comforting.
They smell slightly custardy and don't really taste of beans... Warning these are very moreish I could easily have scoffed the whole packet of these.
The banana chips I didn't think would differ that much from regular ones but upon inspection I noticed they have no added sugar. I tried one and they are very different! They are a different texture and they also have that kind of 'slimey-ness' you get from eating a fresh banana (if you try them you'll understand).
They also stick to your teeth like nothing I've ever eaten before!
The deep fried and chilli tofu I will review by the end of the week as I've no room for them right now!

...The chilli tofu (top right in the photo) was delicious! I had it along with a vegetable and edamame stir fry and it was the nicest stir fry I've ever had! Best tofu I've ever had in fact and I've had a lot of tofu!
New staple food for me, that one!

Blackberry, pear and stem ginger crumble with an oaty topping recipe!

2011-08-24T05:41:00.001-07:00

I do love a good crumble and the other day, whilst cycling past an overflowing blackberry bush, inspiration struck.
So after getting thoroughly spiked and stung (note to self - shorts are not good fruit picking apparel) I came home with some tasty treats.

I've added pear to bulk it out and stem ginger because its awesome.
Ooh and due to my recent lactose intolerance diagnosis, its also vegan!

Ingredients:

Blackberries about 200g
Pears x2
Stem ginger x3 little chunks
Brown sugar, to taste

2 tbsp oats
200g plain flour
100g margerine
50g brown sugar

Method:
Simmer top 4 ingredients in a pan with a little of the syrup from the ginger. Do this til the pears have softened slightly 10 minutes ish depending on fruit.

Meanwhile combine the other ingredients in a bowl and crumble them between your fingers til you have what looks like breadcrumbs.

Pour the fruit into a ovenproof dish and add the crumble on top. Bake til golden!

Enjoy.

Café # 9

2011-08-15T05:50:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day of two and a half weeks off work. As I'm not going away during this time I decided to visit the only place in Sheffield I can think of where you can go inside and feel like you're a million miles away - Café # 9.

I do prefer to stay in the more suburban areas when I'm in the mood for reading and procrastinating whilst enjoying my food. I'm not sure why.. maybe its because a lot of city centre places are usually full of people nipping out of work for a quick coffee or lunch and as such, you generally tend to feel rather rushed and not able to fully relax, never-mind read a book!

I ordered my food then proceeded to walk slowly around the place, taking in the surroundings. There are so many fascinating things to look at, from the vast range of foreign currency stuck to the walls to various paintings, including a man with a turban and one of the café itself, being visited by Darth Vader...the latter may give you an insight into the minds of some of the regular clientèle here.

According to a faded newspaper clipping, this was a favourtie hang out for the late John Peel. I'm not surprised as the music playing is kind of a mix between Kate Bush and Joanna Newsom but even more bizzare.

My brunch arrives - a simple beans on toast washed down with a cup of tea.
Wait! Don't go just yet, I can assure you I'm didn't write this post to review their beans on toast.
I'm merely revisiting an old favourite hangout that happens to sell food. The menu isn't huge: a few cakes, toasted sandwiches and bagels. They also do amazing milkshakes - a must for a hot summers day if you're in the area.

I could take endless photos of the decor but half the fun is coming down and discovering it for yourself.
Café # 9 is full of eclectic charm and I'm sure I'll visit many more times in the future!

Thanks for reading.

Yuen Shan...again

2011-07-26T12:15:00.000-07:00

I first visited Yuen Shan last year. That review can be read here.

Firstly I'll apologise for the lack of photos, I wasn't planning on writing about this place but I just had to share my experience with you.

So I'll begin.
After having peanut butter and honey on toast for lunch today and yesterdays equally healthy lunch of cheese on toast followed by half a piece of cake and a cup of tea for dinner I felt my body was crying out for some nutrition in the form of vegetables.
Bit of an odd move then, you might think, for me to then visit a Chinese restaurant but I had my heart set on braised silky aubergines and some tasty greens.

I went inside after a quick glance at the window menu. I loved it last year so presumed it couldn't have got worse.

A young waitress eating dinner noticed me and, shocked, quickly swallowed whatever it was she was eating and then rushed over to greet me. She showed me to my table. There were two other people there, pretty quiet for half six. I perused the menu.
I noticed the Mongolian lamb and remembered how delicious it was. I didn't order that though as I stopped eating meat 8 months ago.

Just in case anyone is wondering, I have been a vegetarian for most of my life. I started eating meat when I enrolled in my professional chefs course as it wouldn't really have been possible for me to learn how to cook certain dishes, by which I mean those including meat, without tasting the food. I went back to a meat free diet but I still eat fish (pescetarian / vegaquarian..call it what you wish).

Back to the review - I chose braised aubergine, sautéed tofu with seafood and boiled rice. I ordered Chinese tea to drink.
The food arrived and looked well presented: glossy pieces of aubergine in a rich dark gravy and...hold on a minute..lumps of minced meat.
I've never ever sent food back as I find it awkward and know how annoying it can be from the chefs point of view. I even contemplated picking around the meat before deciding against it.

I called the waiter over and pointed out the meat, asking the obvious - "is this meat?"
He told me that it was and when I stated that it said vegetarian on the menu he was sceptical and even brought over the menu so I then had to point out the big bold words "vegetarian" above the list of dishes, one of which being the one I had chosen.

He quickly apologized and went back to the kitchen with the aubergine. My tofu dish arrived and I couldn't help but wonder who ate my food and then threw it back up onto my plate. Harsh, I know but this had to taste better than it looked...surely!!
Tough contest, I declared it a tie. The tofu had the consistency of no other tofu I've had before - similar to a wet squidgy marshmallow. There were chunks of carrots that had blatently gone off, overcooked squid and something not unlike a crab-stick. The whole thing was covered in a slippery, gooey, raw egg like sauce.

I'm not exaggerating at all. I have a strong stomach but this was way too much even for me. I couldn't physically eat any more.

The aubergine arrived with no rich dark sauce but it was instead accompanied by a pool of soy sauce and oil. I struggled to eat a couple of pieces. I had this dish many times in china, a few of those in seriously dodgy places but the grease slowly coated my entire mouth and lips and this combined with the traumatic tofu dish was too much for my stomach and I had to stop there.
I'd eaten six mouthfuls but already I felt heavy. I went to the counter, reluctantly paid my £13.70 bill and left the restaurant as quickly as I could.

The waiter even had the cheek to follow me outside and tell me I hadn't paid him enough before realising his mistake - again.

I buy a bounty from across the road, partly to remove the lingering nasty taste and partly for the nourishment the meal failed to provide. After all it has coconut and that's good for you, right?

I cycled past Pho 68 and look in the window. It's almost full and I couldn't help envying the happy looking diners.

On the positive side, they say you learn something new every day. Today I learnt that just because there is a vegetarian section on a menu in a Chinese restaurant, this doesn't necessarily mean it doesn't contain lumps of meat. Oh and I also learnt never to eat there again.

Thanks for reading.

Food 1/10
Service 2/10
Value 2/10

A new food adventure...

2011-06-28T14:02:00.000-07:00

Some of you may know I've been busy recently planning my own supper club - Sheffield's (currently) only and first!
They are basically like a restaurant in your home, you have a set menu and people come, enjoy the food, meet new people, have fun, pay and go home!
This is popular in bigger cities all over the world but not yet here in Sheffield.
I've got a new blog dedicated to it and you can visit it by clicking below... http://sheffieldsupperclub.blogspot.com/

Dhanistas

2011-05-24T12:28:00.000-07:00

After receiving lots of positive recommendations for Dhanista's, I decided it was about time for me to try this new(ish) Sri Lankan restaurant for myself. I also happened to stumble across a voucher online for £30 worth of food for two, for only £10! Very lucky indeed.

After some gentle coaxing to get my boyfriend to go, and avoiding the temptation from the aromas wafting out of the profusion of other restaurants on London Road, I arrived.

On entering I was rather surprised to see how bright it was: it was nearly 7pm and yet it looked like lunch time. Some curtains and candles might be a good idea so as to create a better evening atmosphere.

The staff were very welcoming and friendly. I could smell the aroma of various spices and garlic floating through the kitchen into the restaurant. Looking at the menu I remember feeling a rare excitement, mostly arising from the fact that there were so many dishes that I had never heard of, let alone tasted, before.

We chose masala squid and a mushroom dish to start, followed by aubergine curry, butter chicken, egg kotthu and pilau rice.

Our food arrived shortly after, and I dug past the unwanted raw onions to some very tender and tasty squid. I've never had squid 'Indian-style' before, but this definitely won't be the last time! However, I do feel it could have benefited from a dipping sauce of some sort.

The mushrooms were gorgeously rich and had been coated in batter, fried and served with a spicy tomato sauce.

I had been slightly worried, when ordering, about the portions being too big and daunting, but I needn't have worried as they were spot on. The mains arrived and, with them, mouth-watering smells.

Two whole baby aubergines and a rich coconut and lime leaf sauce made up my brinjal curry. It tasted as good as it smelt. The occasional surprise crunch of a whole fennel, cumin or coriander seed filled my whole mouth with the perfumes. An explosion of taste. The texture of the aubergine was spot on: charred on the outside with a silky interior.

The pilau was perfectly cooked and fluffy with various colours and spices. The egg kotthu (basically a chopped up paratha mixed with chopped egg and spring onions) is pure comfort food. It brings back childhood memories of my mums last-minute meals of fried egg on paratha - delicious!

The whole thing comes to just over £30 and unfortunately they don't accept my discount code as I'd not printed off the voucher and attempted to show them the e-mail on my phone. Oops, silly me. But, I suppose that this gives me another excuse to come down again another time!

I'm happy Sheffield has a new Sri Lankan restaurant to join East and West. I find that most other Indian restaurants simply do not compare, with their oil-laden dishes that taste exactly the same as one another. Give me more fresh and simple flavours from South India any day.

My trip to Dhanistas has sparked in me fresh anticipation for my holiday to India, thats for sure!

Food 9/10
Service 8/10
Value 9/10

Revolution De Cuba!

2011-04-25T02:13:00.000-07:00

It was Easter Sunday and very, very warm.
I decided to take my friend Robinn to Revolution de Cuba - one of my favourite bars in town.

Once inside the spacious and light interior, with its low ceiling fans we knew we had made the right decision.

One of the things I love about this place is the fact that once inside, you feel a million miles away from Sheffield...don't get me wrong I love Sheffield! Sometimes you just need to take a break though. this place with its funky artwork and live Cuban band makes a refreshing change from other drinking establishments in Sheffield.

I start off with my favourite cocktail - a strawberry daiquiri. This is dangerously good. Imagine a slush puppy, but made with fresh strawberries, ice and lots of rum! Perfect on a hot day like this.

The menu has various salads, burritos, tapas etc and we decide to go for their "3 small plates for £12" deal.
I order some nachos with three bean chilli and Robinn goes for chorizo and patatas bravas. We also get some mojito battered prawns to share.

The food arrives quickly and it looks well presented. I taste a prawn first and am pleasantly surprised to find it has been de-veined. The batter is crisp and has a hint of rosemary which oddly enough, works.
Even the accompanying salad garnish is well thought out, with fresh coriander and edamame beans.

The patatas bravas is perfectly seasoned and fluffy inside.
The nachos are bigger than i was expecting and are accompanied by guacamole, salsa and sour cream.
I love the chilli and there is just the right amount of topping. Not too much so that you pick up one chip and all the others are attached by a huge lump of solidified melted cheese. Just enough.
My only complaint here would be that the salsa is too sweet.

The waitress is very friendly and attentive and after ordering a mojito that was too bitter, she took it away and got us another freshly made and much tastier one.

I'll definitely be back for more delicious food and cocktails!

Food 8/10
Service 9/10
Value 9/10

Made by Jonty Review

2011-03-25T02:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterdays weather was truly stunning!
I celebrated my day off with a trip to hunters bar.

First stop was a haircut and manicure up on Greystones road,
the second stop was the Greedy Greek where I popped in for some delicious Strofilia and the third stop was Made by Jonty.

There's a nice chilled out atmosphere to the place and the two girls who served me were bubbly and friendly. I like the exposed brick walls and tasty looking cakes on display.
There is a large blackboard menu and an "all day breakfast" paper menu which includes the usual breakfast items as well as some very tasty sounding Eggs Benedict and Florentines.
However I am not really in a breakfast mood so go for the cauliflower cheese burger off the board and a hot chocolate to drink.
I sit upstairs and look out of the window at the nearby school with all the happy children finishing their day...yes it was a very late lunch!

Soon enough my hot chocolate arrives and is hot, milky and chocolaty. Just what you'd expect from a good hot chocolate!

Not long after the waitress brings up my burger. "Tell me what you think because I might have it for my lunch on Saturday!", she tells me.

The bread is nice but slightly disappointing as it didn't seem to be home made. The burger itself is great but could benefit from more cheese. Yet it makes a nice alternative to your traditional burger.

The accompanying sweetcorn relish is sweet and tangy with a bit of heat from the whole mustard seeds. The flavours work together with the rich cauliflower cheese well.

I'm stuffed so don't go for a dessert today but will be back if I'm ever in the area for more summer food or if I fancy a tasty breakfast.

The whole bill came to just over £9.

Food 7/10
Service 9/10
Value 7/10

...Oh and my fourth and final stop was at Nonnas Cucina where I purchased a slice of coffee and white chocolate tart for later. It was gorgeously decadent!

Spring Vegetable And Goats Cheese Filo Parcels With A Caramelized Apple Compote Recipe

2011-03-16T14:28:00.000-07:00

I tried a similar version of this last week whilst I was in Morocco, at the Earth Cafe.

The apple and goats cheese work very nicely together and when I made this at work it sold out pretty fast! Enjoy!

This is a rough-ish recipe as however many parcels it will make will depend on the sheets of filo you get in your pack / don't rip etc.

I used roasted butternut squash, courgettes, red onion, red pepper and blanched kale as my vegetables but you could use pretty much any!

Ingredients:
Pack Filo Pastry
Vegetables (see above)
Goats Cheese
Apples
Oil (for brushing)

Method:
Pretty straightforward really!
Preheat gas to 200 degrees C.

Compote

Peel and small rough chop the apples removing all the pips.
Cook on the stove in a pan with a little water and sugar.
It will stick slightly, let it do so as this adds colour and flavour!

Parcels

Roast your veggies or steam them, pan fry them, boil them it really is up to you, this is a very versatile recipe. Make sure to leave them with a bit of crunch.
Gently seperate your filo. Each parcel needs 2 sheets. lay these on top of each other. (Tip - with filo, a slightly damp tea towel, laid over the remaining filo, whilst you begin working on a parcel, helps it to not dry out!)
Layer your vegetables and finish off with a gooey slice of goats cheese.
Brush the sides with oil and fold them over like you are wrapping a present - bringing them over together neatly on top.
Garnish with remaining pepper and bake for 10-15 minutes
Serve with the apple compote!

Sorry I have no finished picture of the parcels but they did sell out before I had the chance to photograph any!

Braised aubergines szechuan stylee recipe.

2011-03-10T02:29:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone. I have just returned from Morocco and remembered this dish I cooked which I meant to put up before I left. The recipe is from Gordon Ramseys "Healthy Appetite" book.

I seldom follow recipes step by step, instead I usually glance over the recipe, using it as a guideline so to speak.
This time as it was a dish I ate a lot of in China and never having cooked anything like it before I followed the instructions carefully.
The result was silky, almost meaty like aubergines and very similar to what I was looking for.
I also added some Chinese five spice and instead of toasted sesame seeds I sprinkled on furikake.
Enjoy!

Wasabisabi's 7th Birthday Party!

2011-02-23T13:43:00.000-08:00

Last night I attended Wasabisabi's 7th birthday party, and what a great night it was!

I saw many familiar faces, and lots of new ones including Claire from the blog “Love to live to eat”.
It's always nice to meet fellow bloggers.

The place quickly filled up and I handed in my token for a free glass of wine which they filled nearly to the brim of a huge glass!

The décor of Wasabisabi is very typical of a sushi restaurant. It has a small water-lilly stream and waterfall in the corner, and nets with an abundance of paper fish dangling above our heads. This is topped off with a huge wooden boat, of which they also have smaller replicas on which they serve the sushi.
The dining area in Wasabisabi consists of a seating area down a couple of steps and a teppanyaki area up another few steps.

After another glass of wine I realised I needed to eat something soon as it was going straight to my head! Talk about cheap date!

I didn't have to worry about not getting enough food at all as the treats kept on coming and the next was huge tempura prawns that were spot on perfection.

I wandered up to the teppanyaki area and was told they would be starting in 10 minutes so I found a great spot and watched as the chefs did there stuff. They were very impressive with their juggling and knife skills. The prawns were the nicest prawns I have ever eaten in my life! I want to know what was in those metal canisters he was juggling about so much.

Next they cooked chicken and beef, and to be honest I was full - so I moved on to chat with some more people before leaving. I was shown a few tricks by my magician friend Ben who was there as well.

All in all it was a fantastic party! There was a really nice mix of people there which created a great atmosphere. Happy birthday Wasabisabi!

The Hilton

2011-02-20T08:55:00.000-08:00

This weekend I was down in London for fashion week as my sister won a competition and wanted me to go with her and I happily obliged of course!
The highlight of the weekend for me were the parts involving food obviously as I'm not really a fashionista but luckily for me there was plenty of lovely food for me to enjoy.

There was delicious canopes courtesy of M&S at the fashion show itself plus the next day, I visited the wonderful Borough market - a must for me whenever I'm in London.

There was free champagne, chocolate dipped strawberries and cupcakes in our executive room. The cupcakes were beautifully moist and not overly sweet. We didn't actually drink the champagne as there was so much free champagne along with wine and mojitos at the fashion show.

A new experience for me was the Hilton's spectacular breakfast selection!
There was everything you would get on a full English plus American pancakes or dropped scones as we call them here.
Also available was loads of fruit and mini pastries like croissants and pain au chocolate, cereals, various bread for toasting, sliced cheese and ham plus smoked mackerel...loads of stuff. There was even an omelette chef there to make you an omelette however you like it!

I ate some silky smooth runny scrambled egg on toast with mushrooms and smoked fish and a small dollop of beans plus a pancake and some cheese.
Strange combination I know but I didn't eat it all at the same time so its alright really. I went back for a bowlful of fruit and a couple of pastries and also took a couple of free marmite and a nutella and two little jars of jam as souvenirs!

It would be great to have such variety every breakfast time!

Za'atar Crusted Halloumi and Charred Veggies Mezze Recipe

2011-02-09T05:38:00.000-08:00

Today's beautiful warm weather has had me dreaming of BBQ food with its lovely charred and smokey flavour, best enjoyed in the sun.
So with this inspiration I decided to treat myself to a lovely mezze style lunch of charred vegetables, za'atar crusted halloumi and fresh bread from the 24 hour continental supermarket.

This is an easy recipe for you to try this at home for beautiful weather like this when you can't be bothered to get your BBQ out but fancy some delicious summer food.

Serves 1 greedy person or 2 as a light lunch with salad.

Chop some baby aubergine, okra and cherry toms and shallow fry them in a hot pan with a dollop of sweet chilli to get the caramalization going.

Dust cubes of halloumi in za'atar and add that to the pan.
Remove everything when it is slightly charred and serve!
I served with the bread and also some olives and sun blushed tomatoes I had in my fridge.

Yum!! Delicious

Bocconcini Di Capra Review

2011-02-08T12:48:00.000-08:00

I spotted this cheese in Waitrose and bought it, along with a rather seductive looking brie, which was almost spilling out of its cling film wrapper for irresistible price of £1!
The Bocconcini's price however, was nowhere to be seen and since it was only small I assumed it would be relatively cheap.
It wasn't til after I paid that I realised it was £3.25...I thought to myself, "damn this cheese better be good!"

I took the cheese to a friends so we could appreciate it together. Unfortunately for me, I neither appreciated, nor enjoyed it and thought the price was very unreasonable.
It smells of ammonia and goat and has a springy texture reminiscent of babybel. The rind is very much like a brie's. The inside is bland and there is no hint whatsoever of honey which the label promised.

The brie was lovely though! Which made me feel less miffed about the whole thing.

Cake 'R' Us Chinese Bakery

2011-02-01T09:38:00.000-08:00

My favourite cake shop!

I love this place. It makes me feel happy and excited from the moment I step through the door! This is partly due to all the colourful cakes and decorations. I also love admiring all the interesting flavour combinations such as pineapple and red bean, roast pork or salted egg puff.

I have tried the roast pork bun before, and it was an interesting mix of sweet and salty which I can't say I'm too keen on myself, but hey they have plenty of other cakes for me to choose from, so that’s why its still number one!

I love the tiramisu, black forest, chocolate truffle, egg tart and fried dough stick.
They are also incredibly light and fluffy too.

I'm off to a cheese fondue party tonight and bought some cakes specially for the occasion.
I got two tiramisus, a black forest slice and a mango cake...yum yum!

Sushi Express Restaurant Review

2011-01-26T09:06:00.000-08:00

I was flicking through the Sheffield magazine 'Toast' and at the back was a voucher for two free salmon nigiri at the new Japanese restaurant - Sushi Express.
I love sushi, and free stuff, so now all I had to do was find this place and claim my free food!
This was harder than I expected and the little map on the coupon wasn't much help but after nearly 30 minutes of searching I finally found it just down the round from DQ.

The first thing I saw when I entered was shelves containing strange Japanese snacks such as squid flavoured peanuts and various pocky.
Staff wearing too-big shirts covered in seashells greet me, and take me past the colourful snacks into the dining area.

I was pleased to see full colour photos of each dish on the menu - A bad sign in western style restaurants but good in places such as this.
I chose my favourite - Unagi Maki, some miso soup, tofu skin and my free roast salmon nigiri.

The miso soup wasn't hot which is a shame as it was pretty chilly outside but the hot green tea was, thankfully.
The sushi arrived shortly after and was well presented.
The salmon was still very rare, lightly roasted and very delicate. It was drizzled with a sweet yellow sauce.
The Unagi (eel) was great! Fresh with crunchy strips of cucumber.

I was surprised by the tofu skin. I wasn't sure what to expect but it was a sort of tofu skin pocket with rice inside. The skin itself was quite sweet and dough-nutty.
I ate the rice separately, dipping it in the wasabi.
Only suddenly I realize I was a bit over enthusiastic with the wasabi and I felt the burn all the way up into my brain it was very intense!

I finished my last salmon nigiri by dropping the rice from under it. Still clutching the salmon with my chopsticks I watched as the rice bounced off my table and onto the floor.
I turned around and the waitress was looking at me with the sort of polite smile that said "relax I have seen this many times before". I was rather embarrassed none the less.

I then ordered a Dragon roll. I was unsure about it but it did have a chef recommends star next to it so I decided to try something new.
Turns out to be a prawn maki with added tiny fish roe and a juicy tempura prawn that's shaped so it looks like a dragon - Very cute!
The prawns were slightly warm, whether that is a good thing or not I do not know.

The bill comes to £13. I like this place and I'll definitely go back when I'm in the mood for a sushi lunch.

Food - 7/10
Value - 7/10
Service - 10/10

I will be doing marks out of 10 for places now! If I remember that is..

Thanks for reading!

Simple Tofu and Oyster Mushroom Stir Fry

2011-01-26T08:41:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to cook more oriental food at the moment as I'm a huge fan of it.
I made this last night and my little sister loved it and I didn't think it was too bad either so here is the recipe for you, sorry I didn't take a photo.

Serves 2
Ingredients:
250g firm tofu - cut into squares
1 pack oyster mushrooms - sliced
1 green pepper - diced
garlic - crushed
ginger - crushed
a handful coriander
glug of sesame oil
bigger glug of tamari or soy sauce
splash of rice wine
chilli sauce
jasmine rice

Method:

Mix all ingredients except the rice and leave to marinade for at least 30 mins
Cook the rice and set aside to keep warm.
Get your wok or pan really hot, add some bland oil such as ground nut
Add the tofu squares on their own to brown them slightly then add the rest of the marinated ingredients including the sauce.
Cook over high heat for around 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
Serve!

African Style Groundnut Curry Recipe

2011-01-20T08:01:00.000-08:00

So I haven't done a recipe post in a while and I cooked a nice meal for me and my friend and thought hey I should totally write this one up!

Its a very versatile and unusual curry and you can pretty much chuck whatever vegetables, beans, meat or whatever you want in there!
I used sweet potato, halloumi and butter beans.

I have to admit to a product that I use which is very lazy but amazing...
Frozen ginger and garlic!
It comes in little cubes and you can buy it from most asian / general foreign grocery shops, where you can find it in the frozen food section. I love them!

PS. Sorry for the awful photo it really did taste better than it looked!

Ingredients:

1 sweet potato
1/2 pack halloumi
1/2 tin butter beans
1 red onion
garlic
ginger
1-2 tsp curry powder
1 tbsp peanut butter
1 tin coconut milk

Method:

Slice the onion and add to a pan to soften in a little oil.
Chop the ginger and garlic fine and add to the pan.
Peel and thinly cube your sweet potato and add this to the pan.
Fry these for five minutes - add a splash of water if it starts to stick.
Add your coconut milk, beans and curry powder.
Cube your halloumi and fry in a hot pan til golden then add that.
Cook until the potato is tender, stir through the peanut butter and serve with plain rice!

This is also lovely with a squeeze of lime, coriander or a dollop of chilli sauce or all three combined!
Enjoy!

Cocoa and Teabox

2011-01-18T11:58:00.000-08:00

I'm a huge fan of chocolate so you can imagine my delight when my good friend Rosie asked if I'd like to come with her to interview the lovely ladies at cocoa! Plus I was in need of some good chocolate and cocoa is definitely my favourite chocolate shop in Sheffield. Some of you will remember me blogging about it a while back.

Rosie also mentioned another company - Teabox who make, you guessed it...tea! Tea is another of my favourite things so this day was turning out to be quite a treat and I was eagerly anticipating meeting the people behind both businesses.

Unfortunately for me on Sunday morning I had a bit of a hangover but that didn't stop us from walking (in the rain, I might add) the half hour walk up to hunters bar to meet the family behind Teabox.

We arrived at the house and Kirsty greeted us and invited us into her lovely home. We went through to the kitchen and I noticed her shelves were stacked with foil fresh pouches of tea. On the table were some blueberry muffins which she had baked herself.

She offered us some tea and, after discovering I had a hangover, recommended her 'Tummy Rub' blend of various things including liquorice, chamomile and fennel. After mixing it and letting it steep for the required time she poured us a cup and also one of the fresh muffins!

We asked various questions and all agreed there should be more places that supply good, proper tea. The tea looks incredible, most of them including tiny flowers and the Earl Grey spiked with bright blue petals.

She even gave us a couple of pouches of tea for us to take home with us! I have to say I will be ordering more of the 'Tummy Rub' definitely as it soothed my hangover and perked me up ready for out next visit which was just down the road!

Even the outside of cocoa is enticing and that's before you enter to smell the gorgeous sweet chocolate inside! We greet Kate and Anne and they kindly offer us some more tea and show us to their wonderful little tea room at the back of the shop. We sit down and they then offer us some chocolate...me and Rosie exchange glances with a huge grin on our faces and say "yes please!"

We are then presented with six praline chocolates and six fruity chocolates! These are seriously good.

They tell us about way back when they first bought the shop and also their trip to Granada to a see chocolate being made. Their stories were helped with the addition of photo albums and it was all very fascinating to hear.

After a relaxing hour or so I buy a few things - A couple of chocolate bars and a cute tea strainer for my new tea and then we head on our way back home.

The Orchid Thai Restaurant Review

2011-01-08T08:43:00.000-08:00

Browsing the Internet a month ago, I came across an offer on groupon that I couldn't resist - "A Christmas journey" for two people at the orchid Thai restaurant. My mouth watered as I read the menu and after seeing that it was just £21.50 instead of the original £53.60, I bought my voucher straight away.

Last night, me and a friend braved the horrible, slushy snow and rain in search of this place.
We eventually found it, I was pleased once I realized its whereabouts as I had walked past many times, and always wanted to visit.

We step inside to see elegant, expensive decor, which surrounds a huge fish tank, which houses several large fish.
The waiter shows us to our table and hands us the Christmas journey menu. We are about to tell him what we would like when he informs us that we will be getting everything on the menu!
This makes our choice a little easier.

We help ourselves to the prawn and crab crackers. I say we, but I have only a small nibble of a crab cracker, as I'm not keen on them.

Our starters arrive almost immediately, but not before we giggle at the descriptions of the food - the "Penang Nuea" being particularly hilarious.

The food looks stunning. Well presented and with the addition of some beautifully sliced carrot in the shape of a butterfly and a flower - Very impressive.
I enjoy every piece of the starter especially the ribs with meat that fell effortlessly off the bone.

Our empty plates are taken and no more than five minutes later our mains start to arrive.
The "tradition beef slice" is served in a little pot over a candle and is thin, silky, melt in the mouth beef with a lovely peanut flavour and crunchy green beans.

The rice is fine as are the accompanying vegetables.

Salmon and aubergine is a combination I've never seen before but it works and is tasty.

The chicken has a moreish crunchy coating and a delicate sauce which is unlike the typical Chinese chicken and cashew nut I have tried and has a lighter, more delicate flavour.

My curiosities about the traditional Thai dessert are certainly not answered when it arrives. I fish about in the bowl with my spoon and find slices of banana, which I realise after placing in my mouth that they are very hot!

The sauce us light,sweet and coco-nutty and the toasted sesame seeds give a lovely crunchy texture and depth of flavour to the whole thing.

Overall I'm pretty happy - not only did I get a bargain but I got to sample great food that's a bit different from the standard Chinese meal out, and in lovely sophisticated surroundings!

Rococo Persian Basil and Lime Chocolate Review

2011-01-03T04:02:00.000-08:00

I'm a big fan of Rococo so when I got given a bar of this Persian basil and lime chocolate I couldn't wait to try some!

As you can see from the photo I did previously try a bit, but I had also consumed some mulled wine beforehand so it impaired my judgement somewhat, so now I've decided to do a fresh review.

The chocolate itself is shiny and very dark in appearance.
The first taste is bitter, reminiscent of coffee with citrussy notes from the lime and only a slight peppery-ness but no other distinguishing characteristics from the basil.

Although as I can only manage a couple of squares, and each one did taste different, there is a possibility that another square could have more of the basil flavour to it.
Very rich and satisfying - one to keep in your drawer for emergency chocolate moments.

Happy new year!

2011-01-03T02:25:00.000-08:00

Hey guys!

Sorry I've not posted in a while. I really haven't eaten out much over the festive period and the one time I did go out it was to somewhere I've already reviewed and I couldn't taste much due to a nasty cold anyway!

Still I would like to wish you all a happy new year!
Here's to another year of lovely food and happiness, plus more blogging from me!

Yama Sushi Review

2010-12-12T07:43:00.001-08:00

I'd heard great things about Yama on London Road and, after craving sushi for quite a while now, me and a friend decided to go along for supper.

It's very small, seating maybe twelve people, with low lights and elegant decor - my ideal kind of place to eat.

The waitress smiled when we arrived and let us choose where to sit. We decided to sit by the window. She handed us our menu and we ordered green tea that was served in a big pot with beautiful navy ceramic beakers to drink from.

The menu has a wide choice of sushi as well as a few noodle, soup and rice dishes - as well as tempura.

We opted for Unagi maki, a crab California roll, prawn and vegetable tempura, and some tofu miso gaku off the specials board.

We didn't have to wait long before our food arrived. It was beautifully presented on the black plates. The grilled eel maki (Unagi) was delicious: crispy eel, crunchy strips of cucumber and perfectly made sticky rice which complimented the oily fish very nicely. The finishing flavour being of the nutty black and white sesame seeds that the sushi has been rolled in.

The crab maki was very good and I loved the flying-fish roe: popping it between my front teeth, as I often do with the seeds in wholegrain mustard.

The tempura was just perfect. The accompanying dipping sauce was sweet and tangy with a hint of miso.

Our waitress brought us the tofu, and told us it was a new dish so any feedback would be appreciated. I was expecting a miso soup with tofu, but it consisted of two squares of fried tofu on sticks with a sweet miso paste spread on top. I loved it, and my friend (who isn't a fan of tofu) also enjoyed it.

I finished off with a bowl of miso soup, which had no faults whatsoever and was a perfect end to the meal.

Overall, I love this place. The food is so fresh, clean and light, and so well-made that I went back again the next night on my own. It will definitely not be my last visit. In fact, I'd go as far as to say this is my new favourite restaurant!

Keep up the good work, Yama!

The Old House review

2010-12-05T02:20:00.000-08:00

I'd been wanting to visit the Old House for a while, especially after seeing their menu online.

The fact that they make their own sausages and pies impressed me. So, when I walked past whilst Christmas shopping, I knew I just had to try a pie for lunch.
The place looks like most of the student bars in this area but with the addition of some comfy chairs and a fireplace. The main emphasis being on the huge bar with its vast array of spirits.

A glance at the cocktail menu persuaded me to make another visit, for drinks at least. One cocktail in particular, 'Toblerone' made with frangelico, kahlua, dark cacao, cream and honey sounds amazing!

Back to the food though. A friendly girl took our order. I went for the 'special pie of the day' which was beef and root vegetables, whilst my mum opted for a cheese burger. I chose mash over chips as I have a weakness for it, plus I'm not a huge fan of chips.

The food arrived and the presentation was okay. I was sadly disappointed with the mash as it was pale, dry, and desperately in need of some butter. My mum gave me a chip which was very good indeed. I made the wrong choice of potato accompaniment, obviously.

The pie itself was lovely: tender beef and some perfectly cooked chunks of parsnips and carrots in a rich red wine sauce. I liked the textures of all the different components and that it hadn't all turned into mush as most pies I've had tend to do.

The gravy was good with a nice meaty depth. The mushy peas were exactly that, mushy and pea-ey.

I was tempted by the desserts, especially pear and ginger sticky toffee pudding, but I seriously had no room left.

Overall I was satisfied. For two main meals, a tea and a pint of cider it comes to around £20, which is about average.

I'd give them 7/10.

Roast portobello mushroom with tallegio, roast cherry tomatoes and pan fried gnocchi

2010-11-30T09:46:00.000-08:00

Tonight I cooked myself this minimal effort dish which packs loads of flavour and takes about 15 minutes in total to make! The gnocchi, when fried, provides lovely stodgy comfort in this cold weather. Plus its vegetarian and healthy!...ish.

Easy peasy method:

Peel the mushroom and remove the stalk (this is my preference, you can leave it as it is if you wish).
Top with tallegio and place in a tin with halved cherry tomatoes. Season and drizzle olive oil over the whole thing then place in a hot oven.
Get a frying pan and place on the gas. When hot add olive oil and a little butter. When melted add your gnocchi and fry, shaking occasionally for about 3 minutes or until they are golden.
Plate up your food and enjoy! I added half a creamy and ripe avocado...yum.

Japanese style romanesco salad recipe

2010-11-19T14:05:00.000-08:00

Hello.
Confused as to what to do with this strange looking vegetable? Well here is an idea for you - Japanese style romanesco, brown rice noodles and daikon radish salad.
It is ideal for lunchboxes or serving as a side with steamed fish. Toss a few cooked prawns through for a complete, wholesome meal. This recipe is easily adjustable for how much romanesco/noodles you have and how many of you are eating.

Firstly here is a delicious Japanese salad dressing.
I've given quantities as a guess-timate.

3/4 cup sunflower or other flavourless oil
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
Glug of tamari or soy sauce
Glug of toasted sesame oil
Sugar or honey to taste

Now for the salad!

First of all remove the outer leaves from the romanesco and place in a pan of boiling water for about 5 minutes or until done to your liking.
Cook a pack of rice noodles according to pack instructions, I use brown rice udon noodles...delicious
Finely slice some daikon radish. If you're brave, use a mandolin for nice thin, even slices. Now add some roughly chopped fresh coriander.
I like to add some furikake - this is a Japanese seasoning made from black and white sesame seeds and dried seaweed. If this is hard to find use toasted sesame seeds or cashew nuts.
Once cooked, drain your romanesco and run under cold water for about a minute. Do the same with the noodles.
Combine all ingredients and serve..mmm!

A late post about China

2010-11-17T01:57:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I visited my good friend Si in China and had an amazing time. There was so much weird and wonderful things for a foodie to eat and see. From noodles being prepared fresh in front of you on a small street in shanghai to encountering some of the more unusual (foul) smelling food such as stinky tofu and durian.

I ate huge amounts of delicious food for so little money. You can go out with two friends and order plenty of food and beer and pay around £8 altogether. I only cooked one meal whilst I was there and ate out for the rest of it.

Some more weird things I saw included a newsagents type shop where on the counter where all the gum was, was a clear bag with water and boiled eggs! I found that hilarious and bizarre. Also a lot of the shops have pet cats, in restaurants, greengrocers or even clothes shops there would be a tiny little cat usually sleeping in a corner somewhere.

I saw lots of unusual flavour combinations such as tea boiled eggs, "refreshing" kiwi crisps and so many different flavours of pocky I wanted to try them all. I tried my first dragon fruit for about 30p as well as wax berries.

I saw the famous century egg and pig snout or duck beak, boiled and on a stick and also the equally revolting balut and also fish being decapitated so its sold fresh, the separated head still gaping for air.

One restaurant in Hangzhou had the funniest menu I've ever seen including one dish called 'print hot spice plant belly movie' and another 'sauce explodes the pig does'.
The food I ate the most whilst I was there was silky braised aubergines they were just amazing I've tried to get them back in England but they are not the same.

The street food in amazing all over China. You can get tiny sticks of barbecued lamb and fish for 10p. For breakfast once we went to a lady who made incredible pancakes, she'd clearly been doing it for years.

Another delicious food over there is at KFC oddly enough. They have these Portuguese egg custards which are seriously one of the nicest desserts I've ever had. Its probably for the best that they don't sell them over here...

I went on a 24 hour long train ride with bunk beds and people eating weird vacuum packed chicken leg and boiled eggs and noodle cups. The toilets smelt so bad I ate and drank minimum so I wouldn't have to use them. It was worth it to see the terracotta warriors in Xi'an though.

My last night was spent dining out in one of Shanghai's more expensive restaurants which was still cheap by England's standards followed by a walk by the river and then the best cocktails I've ever had in an expensive bar with the most incredible view of the shanghai skyline.

Platillos

2010-11-04T02:28:00.000-07:00

Whilst indulging in various fruit beers at the newly expanded Sheffield tap with a friend last night, we realised we were getting rather hungry. Stepping out into the cold, dark and rainy night we stumbled along searching for a place to supply us with delicious food.

Roughly half an hour later we were in Leopold Square contemplating whether to eat at Wagamamas or Platillos. We spotted a sign offering early bird tapas at the latter so strolled inside.

We went past the modern bar which had various tapas on the blackboard and up the stairs to the restaurant. There is a long bar behind, which is the kitchen, and a grill on which I noticed a chef barbecuing food throughout the evening.

We were shown to our seats and I noticed they are fans of the Spanish smoked paprika as they have large tins used as toothpick holders and cutlery holders on the tables.
The menu has your classic Spanish tapas such as tortilla and patatas bravas as well as a few Greek items and even Moroccan too.

The early bird menu offers three tapas and a dessert for £12. We chose three each, plus an extra couple on top of that, and two cocktails at £3.50 each with which to wash it all down.

Not long after ordering, the food starts to arrive. The portions were small but we do have eight plates between us!

The calamari that I tried first is very good - cooked to perfection and melting in my mouth. I then tried the red mullet escabeche, which they have cured and served as a whole fillet. This is a new experience for me, as I was expecting thin slices, but is good none the less.

The 'pat brav' had a nice kick from the paprika, but the tortilla was rather dull. The chicken wings were succulent - charred from the grill and with a smokey flavour. I nibbled an elegant looking kofte next, dipping it in its accompanying tzatziki which is very tasty and well spiced.
The slices of chorizo are okay - not the best but most definitely not the worst I've ever tasted. I mopped up the paprika-stained oil with some of the rye bread which is soft and a little sour, very delicious. The hojiblanka olive oil that accompanied the bread had a very bitter aftertaste which I'm not too fond of.

I am well and truly stuffed and unable to eat any more when I suddenly remembered the desserts!

A home-made vanilla cheesecake and baklava bombshell were placed on our table and we both stared at the food for a while, wondering where in our already crammed small intestine this might fit, before testing a small corner. The cheesecake is rather lemony for a purportedly vanilla variety and I was not expecting it to be that sour. However, the golden crunchy top was nice and moreish. The baklava was also very good, with the pistachio and honey working well alongside the cream and crunchy filo, and not at all greasy.

The combined bill for the two of us came to £42, which is reasonable for that quality of food. I very much enjoyed the cocktails and the atmosphere. I would recommend it and intend to return for drinks and tapas in the bar next time.

Dartmouth Food Festival

2010-10-27T11:32:00.001-07:00

Last weekend was the Dartmouth food festival!
I was lucky enough to visit the picturesque town thanks to my good friend Jonathan whose cousin and her husband own a b&b there and were lovely enough to let me stay!

I had a great time and ate many delicious things including the best brownies I've ever had which were lovely and gooey with cranberries and pecans...yum!
I also had my first oyster which was wonderful and saw some great chefs doing live demonstrations and got lots of free tasters.

The food markets were fun to walk around and south Devon chilli farm had a stall and being a fan of theirs already, I bought some spiced chocolate and a bottle of sweet chilli sauce.
I also tried raclette for the first time and it was cheese heaven, seriously incredible! Even the preparation was an experience to watch as the chef grilled the top of the cheese til golden and bubbling then scraped off a load onto some new potatoes and garnished with baby gherkins and pickled onions...delish.

On the Sunday we went crabbing! That was a whole new experience for me, basically you get a tiny string bag which you place bacon in then that's attached to a line which you throw over the side of the bank into the river below and wait for a bit before pulling up your line and see if any crabs are attached. It was so much fun! You count up your crabs at the end and then put them back in the sea. We caught 19 in total!

Dartmouth is a beautiful place. Everyone knows everyone and you can't stand outside a pub without seeing another one. There is lovely little shops and galleries, great live music and even a castle! Amazing!

The Eat Sheffield Awards

2010-10-13T12:18:00.000-07:00

Some of you may be aware that Monday night was the eat Sheffield awards!
An event where Sheffield eating establishments were all up for winning awards as voted for by the public.
I attended the evening with a few workmates and really enjoyed it. the reception was at the stunning winter gardens where we mingled, ate Yorkshire crisps and drank wine.

I bumped into my old college teacher Mick Burke - a executive master chef of great Britain this guy is amazing and taught me many skills including making the most beautiful hand made chocolate!

After an hour or so of mingling we were ushered to the the adjoining hotel where we sat at our tables and awaited our three course meal.

The starter was a sweet potato and coconut soup by glorious - Marco Pierre Whites range of fresh soups, it was nice but would have been better if it was homemade. The accompanying bread however was delightful.

The main was braised pork belly with vegetables and fondant potato. It was delicious and tender, the fat melt in the mouth. Very impressive considering the amount of people here eating tonight.

The dessert was our cow molly ice cream with glorified sprinkles including jelly beans, popping candy, honeycomb and chocolate amongst many others. The ice cream was lovely, very creamy and 'real' tasting unlike some of the synthetic vanilla luminous white stuff that seems to be trying to pass for ice cream these days.

The awards themselves were very entertaining to watch and although we didn't win any this year I felt that most of the winners were deserving.
I had a fun time, the food was much better than last years pie and peas!
I'll look forward to going again next year.

Homemade Review

2010-09-30T10:31:00.000-07:00

I'd heard very good things about homemade and after passing it at nether edge autumn market I had to go inside and try their food.
I met my friend Sarah there and we were the only customers at 2:30. They were preparing one side of the cafe for a private booking. As we sat down a few more people came in and this half of the cafe soon got full.
The decor is really unique and kitsch with vintage newspaper clippings along the wall and plastic polka dot table cloths . This gives the place a really good atmosphere and the friendly staff make you feel very welcome.

The menu looks nice and decently priced. I order a aubergine, courgette and tomato lasagna off the specials board whilst Sarah opts for a chicken wrap with sweet chilli jam.
I get to choose two salads with mine from the five salads of the day which include a tabbouleh, beetroot, puy lentil, kiwi and rocket and a mixed leaves one. I go for the tabbouleh and the kiwi and rocket.

The food arrives and we both dig in. My lasagna is really tasty and wholesome and gave me that warm feeling that home made food tends to do. I like the tabbouleh and the kiwi and rocket but then remember that I'm slightly allergic to kiwi so I leave it, apart from the kiwi me and Sarah both practically lick our plates clean and start to eye up the lovely looking cakes.

I can't decide and the helpful waitress recommends the chocolate yoghurt cake so I have that. Its served with Greek yoghurt which surprisingly works well as it counteracts the richness of the chocolate with its creamy tangyness. I try some of Sarah's lemon polenta which is also delicious.

After paying we wander through to the other room to check out their deli and its wonderful! Like a dream pantry full of local Sheffield treats like nattys welsh rarebit, our cow molly ice cream and even local pate!

I don't purchase anything today but I'll definitely be back, especially for their famous burger nights with seven different delicious sounding burgers and coke floats! Amazing!

Nether edge farmers market...again!

2010-09-28T11:14:00.000-07:00

This Sunday I attended the nether edge autumn market.
Unfortunately I was working at a bar the night before and didn't get home until 5:30am! The market started at 12 so I was rather tired and nursing a little bit of a hangover when I left the house just after 12.

I met up with my friend and we walked around, taking in all the wonderful sights and smells ranging from the interesting pedal powered smoothie maker to a whole roast pig and lots and lots of cupcakes...including savoury ones!

We nibbled a little bit of free cheese, pate and cheesecake, and purchased a few goodies to take home for later and each decided on a roast pork sandwich with all the trimmings but it was a bit too apple sauce-ey for my liking.

I bought some hand-patted butter, Waterloo cheese and eggs from the lincolshire poacher stand as well as some oyster mushrooms and a pear and ginger cake from the feel good cake stall which also had carrots in..or butternut squash, I'm not sure but all the cakes looked lovely and had various vegetables in and were very healthy I'm sure. Mine was tasty but quite stodgy..perhaps it wasn't cooked quite long enough.
I also bought an aubergine and mozzarella foccacia from the Italian bread stall which was delicious!

I was tempted by the cheesecakes and the savoury muffins but with my hangover getting worse and my wallet getting lighter I decided to call it a day and head home. All in all it was a lovely afternoon and its always nice to go along. I saw lots of friends I don't see very often which is always lovely.

Ooh and next month I'll be heading down to Dartmouth food festival !

Free Fruit!

2010-09-16T08:57:00.000-07:00

This month I have been taking advantage of all the wonderful fruits nature has to offer...and best of all they are free! I've braved brambles for fresh juicy blackberries all for the price of a few scratches. I've picked the tastiest plums from my grans back garden as well as lots of delicious apples and pears. I even took a few photos for you lovely people.

(seen outside a neighbours house - free cooking apples!)

If you are interested in picking free fruit of your own and learning more then go here to read about Abundance.

"Abundance is a project to harvest the seasonal glut of local fruit like apples, pear and plums. Each year hundreds of fruit trees go unpicked either because people don’t notice them, may not be physically able to harvest them or there are just too many fruits at one time. Abundance is a team of volunteers who have been helping harvest city fruit and redistributing the surplus to the community on a non-profit basis - to community cafes, nurseries, Surestarts and individuals."

Fancie

2010-09-05T09:22:00.000-07:00

When the lovely ladies from Fancie invited me and two friends down for some tea and cake we just couldn't refuse.
I have seen Fancie cupcakes all around Sheffield, they did a stall at the food festival and I used to see them a year or so ago at vintage clothes fairs as well, they are pretty popular!

We go inside and are greeted by two very smiley members of staff and a huge pile of beautifully decorated cupcakes. All of them different colours, flavours and sizes. They even do gluten free cakes. They have a few specials of the day that half of the profits from selling go to the Macmillan cancer charity.

The decoration is very dolls house-esque, very dainty with doilies and delicate china plates and tea cups.
I'm delighted that they stock tea pig teas and I choose rooibos creme caramel tea which one of the smiley cupcake ladies tells me is her favourite. It doesn't disappoint!

After much decision I finally decide on the chocolate cherry cupcake with sour cream frosting from the specials of the day. My friends choose lemon and snickerlicious.
I try some of my cake and it is very good. The sour cherries in the cake mean the whole thing isn't too sickly sweet and compliment the chocolate as does the sour cream frosting.
I try some of the snickerlicious and its very sweet I don't think I could manage more than two mouthfuls of that! I'm very happy I chose mine.

So that's another wonderful shop to be found on and around ecclesall road I'll definitely be back when I'm in the area for a cup of lovely tea and another tasty cupcake...

Otto's

2010-08-24T13:54:00.000-07:00

(the menu)

(falafel)

(Zalouuk)

(sardine)

(lamb cous cous)

(side veg)

So I've got less than an hour to find somewhere that's good and reasonably priced to eat this evening for 11 people (4 of whom are under 5 years old!) .
Much searching later I finally find a place which fits the bill - Otto's. After reading a few very positive reviews online I give it a go.
The staff are very friendly and tolerate the children and also are very apologetic about the fact they only have one high chair which is fair enough as I only called them an hour ago! There's free olives on every table which are decent.
Their is a specials menu as well as a house and a taste of morocco menu. The food is Italian/ Moroccan.
I am tempted by a few items off the specials including the squid but go for the pretty good value £14.95 for two courses menu which has various tagines and starters and desserts. I choose zaalouk and then a lamb cous cous dish and a ginger cheese cake.
We order after everyone arrives and after what seems like three minutes the food arrives!

My starter is tiny! I eat it and it has a nice flavour, kind of like a Moroccan ratatouille. I see a friends squid am very jealous and wish I'd picked that instead, especially after tasting it as its delicious... hot, crispy and tender. I also try some garlic chicken which is really good and sardines which are ok but the portion is small again (one sardine for £6).

The mains arrive and they all look amazing. You get your own little tagine and everything, the waiters lifting the lid after placing your food in front of you. I dig into my lamb cous cous dish and weirdly enough the first taste I get is Parmesan! Not very Moroccan at all so at first I think maybe I'm just imagining things but when my friend who has ordered the same dish says exactly what I was thinking I am pretty sure I ain't imagining this! I am sitting with three other chefs who all agree, as does anyone else who can smell it!

My friend asks the waiter about it and he very strongly denies the presence of Parmesan in the cous cous..which is rather suspicious. I'm guessing it was a mistake or just an italian chef getting a bit over zealous with the Parmesan. Apart from that the rest of the meal was lovely Tender lamb and vegetables. I sneak a taste of fish tagine which is good and I can taste the rosewater and preserved lemons. We ask for flat bread and are told there is none so we get bread rolls instead which I don't need as I'm already stuffed from my main dish.

The desserts arrive and my ginger cheesecake is definitely different. It's not bad, creamy with stem ginger and a ginger-nutty base and a slice of stem ginger on top with a cold custard drizzle around as well as a strawberry and a grape sliced in half...
My bill came to 18.95 and I got a free glass of white wine which compared to the wine I brought with me wasn't great.

Overall I'd say..
Food 6.5/10
Value 6/10
Service 9/10

Nonnas

2010-08-16T14:04:00.000-07:00

My french cousin Sara came over to mine and requested that I take her somewhere where she can eat ice cream so after thinking about it for a while I decided to take her to Nonna's on ecclesall road. I've been before a couple of years ago and it was really really good and as its Italian it has to have good ice cream.

As usual there's people sitting outside, its not that warm but then people do like sitting outside restaurants and bars on ecclesall road. We explain that we're only after dessert and the friendly waiter shows us to a bar seat. All the staff speak Italian amongst each other which is pretty cool, feels like for a moment you are not in Sheffield anymore.

The dessert menu looks good, I choose a blueberry, banana and white chocolate cake with mandarin mascarpone. Sara asks what different types of ice cream they have and the waiter lists about six different flavours to which she replies "I'll take them all"...with chocolate sauce and sprinkles! The waiter laughs and says he'll see what he can do. He returns with two spectacular looking desserts!
Mine is good. The cake itself tastes mainly of banana but I get a hint of white chocolate. The mandarin mascarpone is delicious, delicately flavoured and creamy. The almondy wafer thing is OK a bit bland.

I try some of Sara's ice cream which is very soft and tasty. I ask her what she thinks and she gives me a thumbs up. I like this place. Its sophisticated with great service and most importantly, great food. I'll definitely come again.

Mish Mash Review

2010-08-05T09:55:00.000-07:00

I had heard good things about mish mash and so took my little sister along for lunch.
We go inside and there's three other people relaxing with coffee.
A friendly waiter greets us and tells us we can sit wherever we like. We choose a table and order some drinks, there's lots of interesting fruit juices. I go for mango whilst my sister opts for pineapple.

There's sandwiches, breakfasts, burgers, soup and fish and chips.
My sister goes for the home made fish finger sandwich with crayfish tartar sauce.
I'm having difficulty deciding what to choose and go for the veggie burger. A few seconds later the waiter comes and tells me the veggie burger is the only thing they do not have - unlucky!

I ask him which dish is his favourite and he tells me the rib eye steak with blue cheese sandwich so I go for that as I just can't make up my mind.
The food arrives pretty quickly and is well presented on little wooden boards.
My sister takes one look at the tartar sauce and decides she doesn't like it which is good news for me as I love crayfish and tartar sauce and this was amazing - juicy little crayfish and tiny capers with tangy gherkins and mayonnaise.

The chips are very good indeed. I can't remember the last time I had chips this good. It's becoming increasingly difficult to find good chips in Sheffield. The last time was probably at the tasty two steps on sharrow vale road.
But anyway back to the food...My sandwich was pretty good although the bread was a bit burnt on one side and the steak was quite chewy but perhaps that is normal for rib eye?
The flavour however was delicious. The caramelised red onions and blue cheese were a marriage made in heaven and the steak was cooked to perfection.
I nearly killed my sister for nicking a chip as they were the best bit!

The bill was just under £15. The evening menu looks very nice and the decent selection of spirits behind the bar suggests they make some lovely cocktails so I'll definitely be back to spend an evening here.

Cocoa - The Most Gorgeous Chocolate Shop Ever!

2010-08-05T09:01:00.000-07:00

Today me and my sister went into the amazing cocoa on ecclesall road.
I don't often make the journey up there as its pretty far from where I live but when I do I make sure I pay this lovely shop a visit.

It's so beautiful inside with 3 different rooms that I saw.

The first room you step into is filled with the best chocolate in the world, shelves stacked high with goodies and walls lined with jars full of the magical stuff.
The lovely lady hidden behind this pile of sweet stuff was kind enough to let me take some photos and so I did but the shop is even more beautiful when you see it for yourself.

We entered the second room and it's like a dining room of a dolls house with teapots, pastel coloured things and chairs and hot chocolate and other drinks so you can have a nice sit down.
The third room upstairs was heavenly. Stunning cushions atop wooden benches, curtains draped across the ceiling and a shelf with more lovely things to buy.

We went back downstairs and I treated myself to some of the gorgeous and rich rococo chocolate and another beautifully wrapped bar and my little sister chose a few cute little chocolates from another shelf.

I pick up a leaflet that informs me of their very tempting chocolate tasting evenings..!
They also have a book club too which is a great idea! If only I lived closer!

(Sweeties and chocolate)

(Jars and jars of the stuff)

(The lovely lady behind some hand made chocolates)

(The tea room)

(Rococo chocolate)

(Upstairs)

(Beautiful)

(My 12 year old sister tells me she wants to live here)

(Butterflies)

(Cushions)

(My sisters chocolates)

(My treats)

Real People's Recipes - Dave's Nachos

2010-08-01T09:36:00.001-07:00

Today Dave made me his famous delicious nachos. I've had them before when he's brought them to parties. They make great party food and I must have the recipe. He invites me over for lunch and as I arrive he's halfway through making them...

Me - So Dave tell me how you've made the nachos.

Dave - I make it in layers and the first layer is just the plain nacho...nacho..you know, corn nacho. Then I layer in some avocado, some boiled egg, today I'm putting in something special from the garden - courgettes because they are available now so I steam them a bit then put them in with some mushrooms oh and I put some spring onion in and some olives, the pimento olives I've used today. I put some pine nuts in as well.

(Some of the ingredients)

Then I top it with some salsa mix then add an orange cheese, Leicester cheese. So I put two layers of that down then it all goes in the oven. You can put in different types of olives if you like but today I'm using pimento.
This one I'm making more tastier.

(Dave sprinkles on the pine nuts)

Its nice when you serve it with something else so today I'm serving some corn and some garlic bread with cheese. Since I don't eat cheese I put a special cheese on the garlic bread so I can eat that, and that's it!

Me - Looks tasty!

Dave - So it becomes almost like a meal. It can be seen as a meal.

Me - So many layers.

Dave - its two layers. You gotta use a good nacho. I tried the cheaper ones but they get too soggy so I switched back to the more expensive ones. If you wanna add spice to it you can but you gotta be careful with how it will mix with the other ingredients. The cheese is important you don't want to use one that won't fit in with salsa.

(Layering the cheese and salsa)

Me- so how long are you going to cook it for?

Dave - til the cheese melts. It goes in the oven.

Me - So whilst that's cooking why don't you tell me a bit about yourself?

Dave - I used to watch my mother cook all the time and so that's where I picked up my interest in cooking. I enjoy it. I eat better if I cook for other people as well.

Me - Where were you born?

Dave - I was born in Chicago, Illinois. I grew up here, came here to study.

Me - What year did you move here?

Dave - 1980 I studied psychotherapy and developed teaching methods for teaching science and other subjects

Me - When was the first time you made nachos?

Dave - Oh for my kids with my family

The nachos come out with the cheese melting through the layers and looking delicious and Dave cuts into it like a pie and gives me a 'slice'. It's delicious! What I love about this recipe is its versatility. You can use pretty much whatever you have in your cupboard/ fridge and everyone loves them. Plus there's lots of healthy veggies in there so it makes a very good lunch alongside salad or corn on the cob as I had today. Its wonderful party food. I think I might make it for a movie night in with friends. Thank you Dave for the recipe, interview and for cooking for me!

Exciting News!

2010-08-01T09:24:00.000-07:00

Hello readers!
I have decided on a new section to this blog. Its something I've never come across on a food blog before. It will be called real people's recipes.
Basically I'm going to find people with a passion for cooking and ask them about their signature dish, get the recipe, take some photos and of course eat some delicious food too!
There's nothing better than home made food and this new adventure will give me and you readers a chance to see some brand new recipes from home cooks which you can then try at home.

Thanks for reading my blog. I hope you enjoy whats to come!

Pho 68 Review

2010-07-27T10:37:00.000-07:00

I had a day off work today so decided to go for lunch somewhere as on my days off the last thing I want to do is cook!

I actually was planning on going to wasabisabi but its closed from 2:30 til 5:30 and it was just after 3 o clock so I walked a bit further down the road and came to pho 68. I've visited here before once on valentine's day and it was delicious and fresh so I was looking forward to it. They have a lunchtime deal on where you can get a drink, a main and dessert for £5.50 which sounds good so I go inside.

Its lovely inside, light green and white with photos and many lights. I sit in the window and there is two other tables in but pretty soon after I get my food they leave and I have the whole place to myself.

I choose honey ribs and aubergine and tofu in black bean sauce, honey ribs being one of my favourite dishes and the aubergine dish is one I had a few times whilst in china and was curious to whether or not it would be similar to this. I also order some plain rice and tap water.

There's free prawn crackers which I am not really that bothered about but they are crunchy and fresh which is good because they haven't been sitting out all day!

My ribs arrive and they look lovely, I attempt to eat them with my chopsticks which proves a challenge and the waiter who must have noticed my struggle brings out a bowl of water with lemon slices so I can use my fingers and wash them afterwards. I get stuck in to the ribs - quite literally they are very sticky with a rich caramel sauce that coated my teeth but in a good way, and tender pork within. I leave three which the waiter kindly puts in a little takeaway box for me.

My main arrives and the smell instantly reminds me of china and the waiter scoops some of the rice out of its little wooden holder into my bowl. I realise the honey coating from the ribs is now set hard around my chopsticks and try to lick it off and the taste kind of reminds me of those red dummy shaped lollipops you get sometimes when you are young on the beach.

I try the aubergine and its so good, silky slices of aubergine with crunchy green pepper and spongy tofu all in a rich dark sauce with spring onions, fresh coriander and those delicious salty black beans. The rice is perfectly cooked too. I can't manage it all so it gets boxed up and joins my ribs which will make a lovely dinner for me tomorrow.

The bill comes to £11. Great value. I'll be back.

Yo! Sushi

2010-07-23T13:47:00.000-07:00

I first tried sushi five years ago and really didn't enjoy it but that was back then so tonight I thought I'd give it another go to see if my taste buds have changed.
My friend invited me along to Yo! sushi in meadowhall and I have to admit, I was pretty excited about the idea of just picking your food from a conveyor belt full of different dishes.
My friend warns me that its very easy to get carried away and just keep eating and get a nasty shock when the bill arrives and its £60!

For anyone who has never been the way it works is there are six different colour plates, each is a different price from £1.70 to £5.00 and you just pick the ones you like the look of off the conveyor belt or choose hot dishes from the menu. The waitress counts up your empty plates at the end to work out your bill.

We try many different dishes, its a great place to go if you love to share your food which I do.
I think we tried about 15 different plates all of which I won't list on here but my favourites were the spicy chicken, crispy salmon skin roll, spicy pepper squid, chicken gyoza and the crunchy prawn.
I'm not such a big fan of the thick pieces of raw fish which is why I was pleased to see that they had so many other dishes to offer.

The food was delicious. Theres pickled ginger and wasabi for free as well as your own tap for still or sparkling water so you can help yourself to these, theres also a button for you to call the waiting staff with.
I have rediscovered sushi and Japanese food and I am a fan, such fresh clean flavours that leave you satisfied but not bloated. Hard to believe its a chain restaurant.

I had a voucher for a third off for registering on the website and our bill for three of us came to just under £40!
So if you are in meadowhall be sure to give this place a try for something different, fun and delicious.

Fagans...

2010-07-21T13:36:00.000-07:00

...The best full English in Sheffield?

My friend recommended this place to me for their full English breakfasts so I had to go try it.
We step inside and its very cosy. A traditional pub with friendly chatty staff, old photographs on the walls, newspapers, fireplace and dixie chicks quietly playing on the cd player.

The blackboard menu has some very tasty food at great prices most of which are 5.50 including ploughmans lunch, monkfish in bacon and a very impressive looking steak pie that I caught a glimpse of someone eating.
The most expensive item is the rib eye steak at 8.50 now that aint bad at all!

We both order the English breakfast and I decide against chips which I'm sure would have been lovely but a bit too much.
I also order a mug of tea and an orange juice.

The food arrives and its wonderful. A salty tasty mushroom, smoked bacon, proper porky sausages with sage, a grilled tomato, lovely beans, rich, peppery black pudding, brown bread toasted AND fried and a perfectly cooked egg to top it all off.

It was exactly how all full English breakfasts should be, home made and delicious!
I couldn't manage all of it and after stuffing myself I was ready for a kip.
I wish this place wasn't so out of town because it has a lovely selection of ales and ciders too as well as being so welcoming and comfortable but this definitely won't be my last visit.

Hong Kong Wok

2010-07-21T13:29:00.000-07:00

I noticed this new place now open where the Vietnamese noodle bar used to be on London road and thought I'd give it a try.
The inside is nicely decorated with wooden floors and a picture of what I'm guessing is the honk kong skyline.

The prices are average and the menu is pretty much identical to the noodle inn which is a few doors down so I go for what I always choose when dining at the noodle inn which is honey ribs.

I also choose aubergine tempura and my friend chooses chicken with crispy fried noodles.
The food arrives pretty quickly and the ribs are a disappointment, not as good as the ones from noodle inn.
The meat isn't as soft and there isn't as much of it.
My friend however, really likes them.
The aubergine tempura is really tasty, very light, crispy batter encasing a soft fluffy slice of aubergine served with a delicious black bean dip.

The chicken is very bland with no sauce just a few vegetables for company sitting on a bed of plain noodles which quickly go soggy from the juices. So a bit of a disappointment there with the exception of the aubergine which was lovely, don't think I'll be going here again.

Gluten Free Cherry and Almond Buns!

2010-07-18T08:02:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted a recipe in a while so thought I'd give one for these delicious little buns. I made them at work and a woman liked them so much and wanted the recipe as she'd never tried a gluten free cake that wasn't horrible and dry, most gluten free cakes do tend to be dry but a solution to this is adding plenty of liquid or moist fruits like I do with this one. I used fresh black cherries.

Ingredients

150g gluten free flour (I use doves organic)
100g ground almonds
250g butter
4 eggs
250g sugar
200g cherries
3 tsp g.f baking powder
few tsp icing sugar
few toasted flaked almonds

Method

Remove the stones from the cherries by giving them a little squash with a bowl or similar so the stone is easily removed (important - some juice will come out, you want to save this)
Cream together your butter and sugar
Add your eggs, mix til combined
Add the flour, baking powder and ground almonds, mix til combined
Add your cherries and give a quick mix
Spoon into cases and bake for 18 minutes at 180 degrees
For the icing mix the reserved cherry juice with the icing sugar to form a smooth runny paste, when buns are cool drizzle this over them and sprinkle with the toasted almonds.
Eat!

Sharrow Chef Of The Year

2010-07-18T06:59:00.000-07:00

Today was the Sharrow chef of the year competition!
I've been looking forward to this as I asked to be on the judging panel (not cheffing as I'm not in sharrow) and they said they'd love to have me.
I arrived and found the organiser who introduced me to the other judge, the third judged hadn't shown up but we found a guy who would be able to help judge part of it before he had to leave to go somewhere.

The first restaurant was East & West who are my favourite Indian restaurant in Sheffield so I was looking forward to watching them cook and tasting the delicious food. The second restaurant was La Terrazza, an Italian restaurant. The other two restaurants All Siam and Cool Runnings didn't turn up unfortunately.

East and West started and it was really entertaining to watch and the guy shared many tips as he was cooking some of which I'd never heard of including rubbing an onion (cut side) against a hot pan as it will stop whatever you are cooking which was in his case a pancake from sticking.

We had a sweet minty coconut drink to start which really helped to whet my appetite and was very refreshing.
Next was the pancake (dosa ) it was not as good as I've had in the restaurant but then they are having to make do with different equipment here so that could have been why. The filling was delicious though as was the next course - Kerala king fish curry, very nicely spiced with the meaty fish's own flavours still managing to shine through.

Me and the guy who couldn't stay long both agreed the flavours were superb, very fresh and aromatic. The third judge didn't rate the food as much though so while we gave him a 9 each, the third guy gave him 8. I managed to get a copy of the tasty recipes to try at home too.

The next chefs came on and they were pretty young, my age but the head chef had been cooking for 10 years because it was his dads place and he used to help out a lot. They brought out a cake they made with ricotta and decorated with physalis which was delicious and everyone loved it.

Polenta with salmon was their main course and it looked stunning on the plate, the chef brought out a bottle of wine for the judges to wash down the meal with which I could only have a sip of as I am on antibiotics but it did taste nice and complimented the meal well.

I gave another 9, it would have been a 10 but the polenta I felt was undercooked.
The other judges loved them and gave them 10 each which made la terrazza the winners of the huge Sharrow chef of the year trophey!

I had a great time, its a shame more people didn't turn up but I'll be going again next year definitely.

Amigos Mexican Kitchen Review

2010-07-06T11:48:00.000-07:00

Many times I've walked past what used to be Bohans Irish kitchen on London road and wondered what if anything is going to open next...but not this time as I noticed that its now Amigos, a Mexican kitchen serving traditional Mexican food, cakes and illy coffee.

Being a fan of Mexican food I just have to try this place. Luckily for me its just a few minutes away from my favourite pub as well so after a quick drink in the pub its a short walk up to Amigos to sample the food.

You may remember me mentioning the Mexican food I had at Sharrow festival which I thoroughly enjoyed, well this is the place! So I had high hopes.

The menu has classic Mexican dishes including burritos, tacos, enchiladas and nachos as well as a few cakes and some breakfast items too. Its all very reasonably priced with the most chilli con carne being one of the most expensive items at £4.25 and that's served with sour cream, rice and nachos.

I go for a roasted vegetable quesadilla whilst my friend opts for a chicken mole burrito. The food arrives and is well presented, we also get 4 dips - sour cream, guacamole, salsa and tomatillo sauce.

Without any hesitation we tuck in. I love the crunchy outside of the quesadilla and the delicious filling with the melted cheese and flavourful roasted vegetables with a hint of spice. My friend enjoys her burrito which is jam packed with tasty filling but is somehow managing not to collapse.

The tortilla crisps are also very good as are the sauces, the fresh tomato salsa being exceptionally good with its fresh coriander.
'Let me know if you want any more sauces', says the friendly waiter. We ask for another guacamole and he brings us one at no extra cost.

I have a chat with the owner and find hes been pretty busy which I'm not surprised by as Sheffield was in desperate need of a good Mexican cafe and this little place really hits the spot.
He also tells me he'll soon be doing delivery and also a lot of festivals too. We take a couple of oaty raisin biscuits each and he informs us they are made by his wife at home. All together the bill comes to £4.25 each.

Being this close to my favourite pub and on my way home from work as well as such good value this will definitely not be my last visit! Another wonderful eatery to add to the amazing selection available on London road.

Sharrow Festival

2010-07-04T07:50:00.000-07:00

Saturday was the wonderful Sharrow festival!

I have many memories of this festival which I've been to, I think every year since it started many years ago and the weather was just beautiful.
I got there a little too early I think as there wasn't as many people as I usually remember but the atmosphere was still there and there was loads of stalls selling books, food, tombolas, jewellery etc.

I was tempted by the fresh scones with cream and fresh strawberries but after noticing the Mexican stand and being a huge lover of Mexican food I got my food from there and it didn't disappoint.

I had a chicken burrito, the chicken marinated in mole sauce and served inside a tortilla with cheese added then warmed til the cheese melted.
This was served with sour cream, fresh salsa and guacamole.
My taste buds were in heaven! this was truly the best festival food I'd ever had, perfection and all for £3.50.

My one and only photo from the whole day was of course of the food.

I took a walk back to the stall and was overjoyed to find that they have opened a new restaurant on London road with more delicious Mexican food!!
I can assure you that you will soon be reading a review from the restaurant.

Back to the rest of the festival though, there was a little stall selling bits and bobs where I spotted a lovely green skirt which I snapped up which will be great for summer.
I have a browse through a vintage stall and find a stunning dress which fits like a dream so I also buy that.
Theres lots of delicious new food stalls that I've not seen before including a lemongrass and thyme one and a tasty vegan stall with the vibrant healthy looking dishes.

I rested my tired legs in the tea tent with a cup of tea and then noticed there was a dance group starting so had a wander over and they were actually really really good, can't remember the name unfortunately but there were 6 teenagers, street dance style with one being an amazing break dancer, it was very entertaining to watch.

I get pretty tired soon because I only arrived back home from my two week holiday in china on Friday so I'm feeling a bit jet lagged so I stroll home passing some of my favourite Sharrow shops on the way including the rude shipyard with its wonderful books which I had to take a look at and bragazzis which of course I had to go in and sit down with a tasty hot chocolate.

I also stopped by my old school Meersbrook bank which was having a fair and being with my two little sisters who also went there, I stopped to have a quick look inside but it was very quick as I was very tired and didn't see much except for a woman singing a Nina Simone song which sounded great and splat the rat and other similar stalls before I was on my way home.

Clearly Food Kitchen Review

2010-07-03T02:35:00.000-07:00

I decided to check this place out after seeing it on the guardians top ten budget places to eat in Sheffield and having not even heard of it I thought I'd give it a go.

Its a really nice little place, quite small with pizzas and a few quiches and hot pots and a few cakes too.

I'm having breakfast and the portobello mushroom, fried egg and roast tomato in a bread cake looks nice so I give it a go.

I sit upstairs and theres coldplay playing, good if you like coldplay..I don't really but this isn't a restaurant choice of music review so yeah back to the food..

The sandwich comes and its huge! I really can't fit it in my mouth so use cutlery, it needs seasoning as it tastes like theres none of it on at all, the bread isn't that good but then again that could be because I have very high standards for bread.

The egg is lovely though, as is the cup of tea I wash it down with.
I choose banana cake for afterwards and its really tasty, I just love banana cake!

I take away a brownie to share with friends which I thought was pretty good, very sweet though with not much real cocoa flavour but good for people with a sweet tooth. My friends had different opinions, some said too sweet and one tells me its from a supplier as he's had the same ones elsewhere which wouldn't surprise me as most places buy their cakes in, in fact I can only think of a couple that don't.

All together its around £7.
Its a nice place to relax in as theres lots of cooking magazines which are my favourite kind.
I'll probably go back again.

The Bohemian Review

2010-07-03T02:14:00.000-07:00

This review is from when I visited about a month ago and didn't have time to write

I have to add that I worked there about 2 years ago and it had its ups and downs and I was made redundant before Christmas as they weren't making enough money to keep me there.

I had no food in the house so decided to stroll down the road to the bohemian.
Its a nice little place, very bohemian style with huge chalkboards with the specials and a nice looking cake stand.

The waitress was friendly and polite and I had a quick chat with the chef before ordering my food along with a hot chocolate which was very sweet but OK.

The menu is mainly vegetarian with vegan and fish options and only recently they started doing meat as well, I'm guessing because there isn't enough vegetarians in meersbrook to keep their business alive.

Its warm outside so I go for calamari and deep fried brie with cranberry dip.
They arrive along with free falafel and some salad on a plate, theres a lot of it and I dig in.
The brie is nice enough, crispy and mild with the sweet dip.
The calamari tastes shop bought which makes me think the brie may also be shop bought but they are still tasty, not amazing but good.
The falafel is good but could do with a bit more spice which surprises me as the owners are Asian and have cooked many delicious spicy foods but they weren't there tonight as they are building a orphanage in Pakistan at the moment, according to Jeff the chef.

I would have liked a glass of wine but they don't serve it, its bring your own though so go prepared unlike me.

Maybe I made a bad choice and just happened to pick the items that didn't taste very home made, maybe I should have gone for the three cheese gnocchi or veggie lasagna or sole fillets but it was hot outside and I wanted food you could pick at.

The desserts look good and vary from sticky toffee pudding to cheesecake to chocolaty slices. I go for a chocolate and fruit nut slice and its very big again.
I didn't finish my main course so I have a few bites of the very hard slice and take the rest home.

Sorry for the bad photo

The whole meal came to £10.

Pizza Hut Review

2010-06-08T12:36:00.000-07:00

Ok I know, I know but I have a weakness for pizza hut. Its the only junk food I like probably due to all the family meals there when I was younger and then starting off my cooking career working there at an early age.

Anyway I thought I'd head down for some lunch to see if it was still tasty.
We choose the buffet bar which includes pizza, pasta and salads and its £6.50ish

Theres 8 pizzas to choose from and since I'm not really into meat at the moment I go for the vegetarian deep pan pizza. Being a massive fan of cheesy pasta I add a scoop of their 'four cheese vegetable pasta' to my plate as well as a few tasty salads, jalapenos and extra cheese for the pasta. I'm impressed with the salad selection!

I sit down and eat the pizza which was not too bad, not as good as I remember but still nice. I eat some of the potato salad which is lovely as all potato salad, no complaints there.

Then I go for some of the cheesy pasta...oh my!!!! Its delicious! I love this pasta, its very very moreish and probably very not good for you but I can't stop eating it.
I finish my food then help myself to some more pasta, finish that and then go back for EVEN MORE!
I know, but it really is good. It tastes homemade. You know when you get shop bought pasta and it just has that weird artificial taste? Well this doesn't at all and I'm craving it right now as I'm typing this. The peas aren't so good but the rest - amazing.

I have an apple juice to wash it down and mine and my mums food together comes to just over £16. Pretty good as you could have salad for starter then pasta or pizza for main. Or if you are like me, pile my plate with everything, then pile again with pasta, then a bit more pasta, then back to the salad bad for the apple slices and grapes to finish it off!

Sheffield Food Festival

2010-06-03T11:52:00.000-07:00

Cheesecake stall -
I bought a grapefruit cheesecake which was lovely and not as sour as I'd expected

I bought a few pork scratchings from here which seemed like a good idea whilst I was sipping moonshine but after putting a piece in my mouth with stubble on I quickly changed my mind.

Posing with the bakery boys.

The students from my college

Amazing watermelon art by aagrah.

The fountains.

When I first heard about the Sheffield food festival I begged my boss to let me have time off so I could go and check it out but since three other staff were having time off I was needed in the cafe.

But! Luckily for me, the boys who were doing our bakery stall were going down to the peace gardens with some bread and flyer's and my boss said I could go along as well! I was happy and went down handed out some flyer's and then bought a lovely pint of moonshine and relaxed in the wonderful sunshine.

I had a wander around and saw a student who was in my class at college and a tutor doing a demo in the chefs demonstration area and watched for a few minutes. I also got lots of yummy tasters and saw my auntie and niece who i spent some time with, my niece was enjoying cooling herself off by running through the fountains along with the 50 or so other children who were doing the same.

I took a few photos, bought some delicious squid from the wagamama stall where the guy was admiring my totoro purse and had another moonshine and a piece of cheesecake before heading to the playground with my niece and playing on the swings etc before heading home.

Andrews Cafe Review

2010-05-19T07:53:00.000-07:00

I've heard this place is good so I went to go in at about 1 but it was too busy so I came back an hour later and it was still quite busy but it didn't take me long to get a seat.

I sit down and see a sign for an outdoor terrace area so ask to be seated outside but she points to one table on its own which I don't think is really much of a terrace but its lovely weather so I go sit there admiring the view of the back of marks and spencers.

Theres not much variety on the menu which can be a good or bad sign. I ask what quiches they have and the waitress replies 'cheese and onion or salmon and watercress' so I go for the salmon and a dandelion and burdock.

The food arrives about 3 minutes later! It is a big piece of quiche with some salad, coleslaw and some crisps. It looks nice on the plate, very colourful with the crisps giving a European twist to it.

The dandelion and burdock is fentimans which I love and its very tasty.

I try some of the quiche and its disappointing. Soggy bland pastry with metallic tasting salmon which can either be because its tinned or on the turn. Either way its not very good. I can't taste the watercress and the eggs are very bland too.

Maybe I'm spoilt because I work somewhere where I get to eat the most delicious quiches made with fresh pastry and organic eggs, who knows but at least I've got something to compare it to.

The salad isn't dressed and the coleslaw has chunky bits of carrots to suggest its homemade but doesn't taste it, crisps are nice as are the two cherry tomatoes. But overall its a sad plate of food.

I decide to have a cake. There's the usual selection victoria sponge, chocolate, carrot (with weird orange carrot shapes on top made of icing), cherry scones etc I go for the classic victoria sponge and the waitress brings it out with a strawberry on the side which is tasty and the cake is light and tasty with a creamy filling.

I finish up and pay the bill which is £13.70. Expensive and over hyped I won't be visiting again as theres much better places with better food for less money.

Akbars Restaurant Review

2010-05-04T11:26:00.000-07:00

I've heard this place is really good so when my cousin and aunt and niece invited me along I wasn't going to say no!

We arrive and the place is pretty huge. Two big wooden doors welcome you to the stunning interior full of twinkling lights, elephant statues, Buddha heads etc. The Waiter leads us to our table which is in a huge room that seats at least 100 people.

Its a bit dark in here and I worry slightly about not being able to see my food. There are real rose petals on the table, it has a very romantic feel to the place.

I have a look at the menu and order the seafood balti at £9.95, my family go for chicken balti and another chicken dish which I cannot remember.

We have a few poppadoms to start and four dips, one of which is a fresh coriander with lime and green chillies which is delicious but very spicy. The tomato and onion, raita and mango chutney are average.

The food arrives and its tasty, I cannot really see what I am eating though but it has lots of lovely coriander and the spices compliment each other well.
I'm not overly impressed because Pakistani food is the food I was brought up on and I've had better but it wasn't bad.
Theres also a huge family sized naan which is delicious with a lovely onion seed flavour.

Most of the customers are rich fur coat wearing women in their twenties or middle aged couples, theres only one Asian family in the whole dining room and a fair few children. I spot a waiter carrying some sort of chicken nuggets and chips to one child and hear happy birthday being sang along with a recording of the same song being played at the same time..except the everyones singing out of sync.

For dessert I have a rassmali, its refreshing and soothing but not really outstanding.
To be fair I had very high expectations but found it to be over hyped.

I guess I've also been spoilt with my family's wonderful Pakistani food and it would have to be very very good to beat that so yeah if you've not been brought up eating such food then I'm sure you would enjoy it very much so.
However East & West still remains my favourite Indian/Pakistani restaurant by far and the food is just outstanding.

The bill for three curries, two boiled rice, poppadoms, family sized naan and three desserts comes to just about £40.

Sheffield Food Market

2010-04-30T10:18:00.000-07:00

Hiya lovelies! I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while but I've just been eating at the same places over and over (bragazzis, noodle inn and east & west). They are my favourite three places to eat in Sheffield at the moment and I've written a review for all of them. Next time I try somewhere new I'll be sure to tell you guys all about it!

So anyway I went to the food market in fargate today after work and there was loads of wonderful stalls selling lovely yummy delights for me to purchase and enjoy.

I bought 3 kinds of cheese, some kabanos, spanakopita, sweet caramelised cashews and some french pastries.

I've written a description of the various foodstuffs that I bought:

Gouda - deliciously smooth with a slight tang. Quite farmy tasting if you know what I mean but very easy on the palette and mild.

Chive cheese - mild, oniony flavour characteristic of chives with a mellow cheese background. Average.

Creamy French (forgot the name) - This tastes like most french cheeses do. Slightly mature and a little tongue tingling, sort of tastes like brie does but without the texture. The texture is more of a port salut with tiny holes. Good for french cheese.

Spanakopita - I bought this to remind me of my trip to Greece a few years ago but unfortunately it does nothing of the sort. Its claggy stodgy pastry with a very bland flavour. Smells slightly of dried mint, no hint of spinach or feta. Disappointing.

Kabanos sausages - You get a few in a little tub for £3 which is not too bad. The stall holder was doing the 7 salamis for a tenner than I've seen them do everywhere I've ever seen them and I was tempted but I just don't know what I'd do with all that meat. The kabanos are great though. Not too chewy skins with a juicy filling, a good amount of fat and no horrible gristly bits. Very yummy.

Sorry some of the photos are rubbish, my camera charger broke so I had to use my phone!

Noodle Inn

2010-04-17T00:20:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to see Seth Lakeman at plug. I'd never heard of him but my friend asked me to go with him and he's into him so I tagged along, turned out to be really good actually and afterwards we went to noodle inn on London road for some supper.

I wasn't planning on blogging this place at all as I was pretty tired and didn't think it would be that good to be honest but it was very very good! We got there at about 10 o clock and it was pretty full but they found us a table and we sat and ordered food.
They are famous for their noodles here as the name suggests with the names and descriptions of the different noodles on a sign on the wall, its decoration is very modern with a large fish tank and a wide screen tv showing a Chinese programme. the tiny kitchen door keeps swinging open as the waiting staff run back and forth and theres only 3 chefs in there with a few ducks hanging by the ceiling for company.

I don't want noodles tonight though so I opt for honey ribs and crab and sweet corn soup whilst my friend chooses schezuan beef, salt and pepper king prawns and some egg fried rice.

I pick up a rib and place it in my mouth. my guest does the same and our faces are both of extreme pleasure because these are simply delicious, a crispy outside with soft tasty pork inside all coated in a thick honey sauce.
The prawns are also tasty and very fresh with a light crispy coating and a generous helping of chillis sprinkled on top.

The beef is ok, very tomato-ey with not much depth.
My soup is bland until I add some soy sauce then its delicious with little chunks of prawn and crab and sweetcorn.

We finish out food and I go to wash my hands in the toilet and am totally stunned! This is the coolest toilet I have ever seen! Its huge, theres mirrors on two walls that are as big as the wall. The paint is black and theres a led flashing light of hello kitty on the ceiling, a wide screen tv on the other wall and then a Chinese toilet like the one in that episode of the simpsons with all the little buttons etc.

I sit down and try the buttons, they don't work and I'm slightly disappointed but still amazed by this super cool lavatory. I go back and join my friend.
Theres a scoop of free ice cream waiting for me which makes me even happier and we ask for the bill. It comes to £20.60!!!!

This amazes me, very cheap and I leave very happy. Best Chinese food in Sheffield, great end to a great night for me! Oh and I didn't take any photos of the food but here are some of the amazing bathroom! - Sorry for poor quality, taken using my phone.

The ceiling

the toilet buttons

distressed looking lady on the tv

Toilet

Free ice cream!

Update!!

More photos!

the view from the outside

Lovely honey ribs!

Heeley City Farm Cafe

2010-04-10T11:42:00.000-07:00

To celebrate this wonderful weather we've been having in Sheffield recently I decided to go to heeley city farm with my mum, sister and best friend.

It was lovely and sunny and we saw many different animals including a peacock, goats, chickens and pigs.

After all this stroking goats and staring at the sleeping pigs waiting for them to do something other than be asleep we decide its time for lunch and stroll on into their newish cafe on site.

Theres a variety of extremely reasonably priced foods, all vegetarian and vegan such as sandwiches, flans, potatoes, soup, salads etc.
I order a baked potato with cheese and three salads, an organic cola and an innocent smoothie for my sister. It comes to an astonishing £4.25.

My friend orders an onion tart with salad. It arrives and its delicious, the salads are very fresh tasting, the rocket being grown on farm and the beetroot with sunflower seeds particularly delicious and the cous cous is not too clumpy or dry, perfectly cooked.

My sister eyes up my potato and decides to spend her pocket money and order one with beans. It's only £1.50 and is a decent sized spud with lots of nice looking beans and a salad garnish, great value for money and she says its very yummy.

For afters I order a piece of apple cake which is absolutely gorgeous, so moist and tender with cinnamon, which I usually detest but in this case I found to be very tasty and complimented the apple beautifully.

This place is very cheap and does tasty food.
They also sell herbs and fresh eggs from the chickens, so if you are ever in the area between 9:15 and 4 (the opening hours) be sure to pop by!
They also sell herbs and fresh eggs from the chickens

The Blue Moon Cafe

2010-04-07T13:31:00.000-07:00

Ah the blue moon cafe, it was my favourite place to eat a few years ago when I was a vegan/vegetarian.
I remember it as being very good so decided to give it another visit.

Its a beautiful building with loads of light shining through. Theres art on the walls and about 1 million little flyers and postcards on the noticeboard varying from 'have you seen my cat?' to advertisements for yoga classes and also one asking anyone if they know who killed their mother which I find kind of strange but fascinating to read through some of them.

It smells quite a bit of patchouli but I suspect thats from the vast majority of the diners being hippies. I walk in a bit more and smell delicious food. I'm getting hungry!

I look at the menu and it has dishes such as pea soup (gluten free and vegan), aubergine and chickpea bake (vegan) cauliflower, cheese and brown rice bake, hommity pie, a couple of quiches and something with sweet potato.

It all looks and smells delicious. I choose the cauliflower dish and ask for some salads to accompany it aswell as a hot chocolate and a orangey chocolatey slice thing.

It tastes good! It is seasoned well although quite heavy on the cumin but luckily for me I love cumin! The salads -cous cous, rice and peas, lettuce and tomato- are all good, the rice and cous cous also being heavy on the cumin but it doesn't distract too much from any of the other flavours.
Its a good meal. I feel full but not bloated.

I sip some of the hot chocolate and taste some of the chocolate slice. Its very very sweet. I think because its vegan they have compensated for the lack of tasty dairyness by adding bucketloads of sugar. I can't manage it all but I'm sure someone with a sweet tooth would love it.

Altogether my bill comes to just under £10 which isn't too bad, I'll go again but there are other places in town that would definately give blue moon a run for its money.

Jabulani review

2010-04-02T14:05:00.000-07:00

I met up with my dance group in Jabulani, a new restaurant on London road.
Its African and apparently had been given a good review by the star so I was looking forward to it.
The decor was nice with a beautiful spiral staircase and a few colourful paintings.
Theres no music as the speakers are broken unfortunately.
I have a look at the menu. Theres a variety of dishes including grilled gizzards, cous cous, fufu, marinated cow insides, steamed bean cake and 'designer soup'.
We are the only customers in and theres 9 of us, its a Wednesday night.

The waitress is friendly and answers our questions about the food such as 'what is cassava?' and the chef even brings out one to show us (Its like a yam).
A few dishes on the menu are not available and some of them she even tells us not to order as they are not nice!

After much consideration I opt for fried rice with goat and plantain. We order our food at about 8 o clock and sit chatting for a while.
After about half an hour I'm getting really hungry having not eaten since lunch time, an hour passes and I'm contemplating eating my napkin.
Theres banging and lots of noises coming from the kitchen and the waitress goes in to help the chef out, I'm not sure why they didn't hire another chef as they knew we were coming as we'd booked it.
Finally our food arrives...at just after 10 o clock!
Everybodys comes at different times, mine comes at about 10:30 and others are waiting even longer, some of the food doesn't arrive at all.

Theres a bowl of ogbono which is blended wild mango kennel seeds with a variety of vegetables for people to try as the person ordered it doesn't like it and I try some and it is very disgusting, slimy and brown with a strong taste of washing up liquid.
The plantain is nice as is the fried rice although it is very greasy. I have five chunks of goat in a oily sauce and I put one of them in my mouth, its very tough, it takes about a minute of chewing til I can swallow it and after all that my mouth aches. Another piece is just gristle and I have to spit it out, pretty embarrassing.
I give up on the rest of the goat and contemplate never eating meat ever again.

I try someones fufu which is cassava dough, its like smash but has the texture of wallpaper paste, it tastes of nothing and feels like glue in my mouth. The steamed bean cake turns out to be surprisingly nice tasting but I just can't eat any more because I'm no longer hungry.

The chef asks if everything is ok and gets mixed replies. He also strangely decides to offer football tickets to us which he had won in some church raffle.
We pay separately and mine was £12.99, I give the waitress £15 and tell her to keep the change. I don't see this place lasting very long at all but at least it was an interesting experience however I will not be eating there again.

London!

2010-03-30T12:16:00.000-07:00

Hiya readers, sorry I haven't blogged in a little while but me and my friend went to visit another friend in London!

I had a great time, the highlights being Camden market, borough market and brick lane as well as some lovely bars which served yummy cocktails as well as tasty street food and gorgeous cheeses and cakes from the market stalls.

So heres some photos for your viewing pleasure.

An excellent hangover cure at the local caf'

Gouda at Borough market

Yummy chocolate treats

A man selling olives

Some delicious bread I bought a piece of

Nice looking salads

Mushrooms

Cured meats

Fresh squid

Ackee and saltfish

Tasty fresh smoothies

Feel free to click for bigger photos. I had such a wonderful time. I love London and can't wait to go again!

Nether Edge Farmers Market

2010-03-21T12:56:00.000-07:00

Hooray!
Today the day finally arrived for the farmers market in nether edge!
I had been looking forward to it all week and it was fantastic!
The sun was out from 11 o clock and stayed around til 4 it was probably the nicest day we've had all year, very lucky indeed.

There was lots of entertainment including morris dancers, a brass band and bowling as well as all the wonderful stalls that ranged from cakes, cheese, meat, some vintage clothing, books etc it was all great and there was also a bar on the bowling green so I had a couple of pints of moonshine in the warm sun with friends which was very pleasant.

Here are a few photos from the event.

Carrot cake bun - tasted of onion seed...

Morris dancers

Lovely cakes

A brass band

More cake

Various mushrooms

Yabba

Coconut chicken with rice and peas and my moonshine - they were both delicious

So as you can see it was a truly wonderful day, beautiful weather and a chance to catch up with old friends and relax and just enjoy yourself.
I can't think of any other way I'd rather spend my day.

Creamy mushroom and kale puff pastry pillows

2010-03-17T12:31:00.000-07:00

These are a delicious treat as the creamy mushroom part is very rich.
I like to serve these simply on their own as a meal on the go or with salad.
I used crimini mushrooms from waitrose but it works well with any variety.

Ingredients
1 pack of mushrooms
1 onion
butter
curly kale
splash white wine
cream
garlic
puff pastry
beaten egg

Method

First fry the onions with the garlic in butter til softened
Add wine and let the onions absorb the wine, season with salt and pepper
Add the mushrooms, fry until mushrooms are golden
Add the cream, reduce for 5 mins and set aside
Steam or saute some kale until cooked, season, set aside
Cut puff pastry into squares
Add a spoon of the kale to the middle of a square
Add some mushrooms (not too much juice)
Brush the eggs around the side and place another square of pastry on top
Crimp with a fork to seal and make a small slit in the top
Brush the egg on the top and bake for around 10 minutes or until puffed and golden

Yuen Shan

2010-03-14T09:27:00.000-07:00

I was sitting in the pub with my friend drinking rum when we both realised we were getting rather hungry.

I remembered this place having visited there about 6 months ago and it being really good so I suggested we go visit.
It was only two doors down from the pub that we were in so we didn't have far to go.

We arrive and its full. Most of the customers are Chinese which is always a good sign when you're dining in a Chinese restaurant.
After waiting for about 5 minutes we are seated to our tables and are given the menu.

Its all you can eat for £11.99, its not a buffet as the food is cooked fresh to order but you just keep on ordering dishes until you can't eat any more.
You choose your dishes, write down the number on a piece of paper and hand it to the waiter.

There is free prawn crackers and green tea.
I'm not too keen on prawn crackers but my friend says they're the best ones he's ever had and I'm so hungry I eat a few anyway.
We also order some wine and it comes with an ice bucket.

Our food arrives soon and there is crispy wontons first which are mainly pastry with a tiny bit of prawn in the middle so we weren't too impressed by them.

Next is beef in satay sauce and thats tasty, can't taste any peanuts though but its still good nonetheless.

Malaysian lamb is next and arrives with pancakes, cucumber, hoi sin sauce and leeks, like crispy duck is normally served but with lamb instead.
I prefer the lamb to duck because its very sweet and not as fatty as duck.

Shredded crispy chicken is basically strips of chicken skin that has been coated in a batter, deep fried and then covered in a very sweet sticky sauce. It tastes good but is very hard. This is the one we end up leaving the most of.

The spare ribs in chilli sauce however are very delicious, slow cooked pork so that it just falls off the bone. My friend realised this as he picked up a piece by the bone and it the meat just slid off and fell into the hoi sin sauce!

We're pretty stuffed but choose one more dish when the waiter returns - salt and pepper ribs which would be really tasty if they weren't so incredibly salty.

Stuffed, we force as much food down us as we can and ask for the bill which is around £32 so we leave £36. Good value food that is quite tasty.
I'll probably return when I fancy lots of tasty Chinese food for only £11.99.

Sri Lankan Peppers

2010-03-09T09:23:00.000-08:00

These delicious little peppers pack loads of flavour and sold out when I put them on the menu at the restaurant!

Ingredients and method

5 red peppers

--half, scoop out seeds and roast til softened

1tsp cumin
1tsp coriander
pinch cardamon seed
1tsp ground ginger
1tsp turmeric

--blend all the above into a fine powder

2 onions, sliced
2 garlic cloves, squashed
nice bit of ginger, grated
salt

--fry the above, in oil til onions have softened - add a little water if it sticks

--add the spice powder

10 cherry toms
1 cup black eyed beans
2 handfuls of curly kale

--add these to mixture, cook for five minutes

1 tin coconut milk
a handful fresh coriander
1 lime, juiced
2 tsp harissa (or chilli)
1tsp sugar

--stir in the above to your mixture, taste and season if needed

--spoon into your peppers, scatter on

handful flaked almonds

--warm up for a few minutes...now eat and enjoy!

I served with salad and a nice raita.

East & West Restaurant

2010-03-07T04:28:00.000-08:00

I was sitting in the pub drinking a pint of moonshine and contemplating what to have for tea when a friend suggested this restaurant he had been to before.
"It's really good", he says so off we head to find the restaurant.
Nestled in between a phone shop and a plumbers this place looks a little dodgy and I'm starting to wonder if this place really is any good.

We go inside and its tiny, theres paintings on the walls, a nice one of an elephant aswell as reviews and a big menu with photos of the dishes.
It seats twenty people at maximum and theres a lovely smell of cumin in the air.
It has a take away feel. Reading one of the reviews on the wall by martin dawes I realise that it started out as a chippy and the owners got more and more requests fro Indian food and it progressed from there.

We sit down in the window and the waiter hands us a menu. Theres no alcohol so we both order mango lassi which arrives shortly after in a plastic take away cup.
Its delicious.
Soon I realise that I need to go to the bathroom so ask if they have one only to be sent off on some mission through a door, down a jenel, past the next door neighbours washing line and through part of the kitchen into a little bathroom which is nice enough.

After finding my way back I discover poppadoms have been placed on our table as we've been waiting (about 10 mins). It is served with raita and mango chutney and it is tasty.

Shortly our 'Dosa' arrives and its huge! about two foot long, its a sort of rolled up crispy pancake accompanied by a coconut relish, a chilli sauce and another one which tastes of onions and garlic and spices.
Inside the dosa is a potato and onion masala which is very fresh tasting, with plenty of lovely onion seeds and turmeric.

A few moments later our Kerala king fish curry arrives along with a egg rotti.
I taste some of the curry and I'm blown away it is wonderful. Sweet and coconutty with one hell of a kick!
It's hurting me to eat but it tastes so so good i can't stop. I'm very thankful for the big jug of water that arrived with our meal.
The rotti is also very good, with spiced egg inside but that curry really is the highlight of the meal and I keep going back for more, the flavours are so perfectly balanced, its superb.

There's some desserts to choose from gulab jamun, rassmali etc but we are stuffed and feeling very satisfied.
The bill arrived and it £18.50 for two of us!

I'm trying to think of the last time I went out for food that was this good and I can't think of any.
The food is so fresh tasting, not like most Indian restaurants I've been to where every dish tastes the same.
I'll definitely be back, making sure to try everything on the menu!

Dinner party

2010-03-01T09:22:00.000-08:00

Last night I had some of my lovely friends round and cooked them dinner, there were 8 adults and 8 kids so I had to make something which would feed a lot of people!

I decided on a chicken casserole with dumplings, I used my biggest pan to start it in and then transferred it into three pyrex dishes and placed the dumplings on top and into a hot oven for 45 minutes.

I served it with mashed potatoes, carrots and broccoli and everyone loved it! Even the picky children loved it and everyone had seconds.
I'm glad it was such a success, its always nice to sit with friends and chat, drink wine and eat lovely food.

Heres the recipe that inspired me - its also in Jamie Oliver's 'cook with Jamie'.

I made a few changes, chicken instead of rabbit and thyme instead of tarragon in the dumplings. I also used a pale Italian ale which worked rather nicely, all in all it was a very tasty meal.

My best friend stayed over and we drank pink champagne with strawberries, a great end to a great night.

(thanks to sarah for the photos)

Parthenonas

2010-02-28T02:49:00.001-08:00

Me, my mum and sister decided to go to this greek restaurant on london road.
We got there at about half six and the place was empty.
The place looks nice inside, although a bit dark but has lots of plants and sculptures with a window so you can see into the kitchen.

We sit down and I have a short conversation in greek with the owner showing my knowledge of five greek sentences! (I went there on my own for two weeks a few years ago)

I order peroni to drink and decide on spanakopita and keftedakia to start, thats spinach and feta pie and meatballs to those who don't know.

My mum makes groaning noises after trying a bit of meatball and then declares them all to be hers, I taste some and its nice, a bit of ground coriander in there and some other spices with a rich tomato sauce over, the rice they are sitting on is cooked well.
The spanakopita is also nice although the filo is a bit underdone, theres mint with the spinach and it goes nicely with the feta. I just wish there was a bit more of the filling.

Our mains arrive next and I've opted for halloumi with sausages and salad from the specials board, my mum chose moussaka (aubergines,potatoes, mince and bechamel) and my sister makaroni me kima (spaghetti, mincemeat, bechamel).

The presentation is very good but I'm not too keen on the sausages which taste of not very nice wine and leave most of them, the halloumi isn't squeaky, it tastes very sheepy and has a very strong flavour which I'm not sure about.

I try some of my mums and seem to only get potato in a bland sauce, another taste and its exactly the same, shes enjoying it though.
My sisters also enjoying hers and claims its the nicest meal shes had in ages so I try some and its hollow like long macaroni and its ok, nothing to get excited over.

The owner who has been watching us since we got here which is acceptable as we're the only people in here sees we've finished and brings us the bill.
Its £35.20 including drinks.

I don't think I'll be rushing back to this place any time soon

La Patisserie

2010-02-21T08:52:00.000-08:00

Finally Sunday has arrived and I celebrate this wonderful day by visiting not one but two places to eat.

The first is the amazing greedy Greek, good food is guaranteed at this little deli and I order a gyros wrap with pork and halloumi and its delicious, heres a photo if you're interested.

Time for something sweet now and I wander down ecclesall road to la patisserie, a nice little place, very unpretentious just serving tasty simple food.

I order a chocolate teardrop and my friend opts for a toffee slice.
I taste some and my eyes widen and I have a big grin on my face because they are very very good indeed.

A great way to spend a Sunday, can't wait for next week!

2010-02-20T06:00:00.000-08:00

Gluten and sugar free elderflower and honey sunshine buns!

These delicious buns are sweetened with only honey and natural fruit sugars and are flavoured with the delicate tasting elderflower. I made them at work and the customers absolutely loved them!

I use organic whole earth sparkling elderflower here.

Ingredients

250g honey
250g butter
250g gluten free flour
3tsp gluten free baking powder
4 eggs
1/3 tin of elderflower
zest of 1 lemon

Method

Combine butter and honey until smooth
Add eggs, mix
Add flour and baking powder, mix
Add the elderflower until it resembles cake mixture, not too runny or thick
Spoon mixture into bun tins
Bake in a medium heat oven for about 25 minutes or until they are ready
Drizzle with more honey and sprinkle over your zest. Enjoy!

La Tasca

2010-02-19T00:02:00.000-08:00

Last night I decided to go out for dinner after eating the only food available in my cupboard - instant chicken noodles...well I say eating but in fact I only had mouthfuls before I gave up. I used to love them when I was younger but now my palette is more sophisticated.
In some ways its good because I can taste very well indeed, picking up traces in food that not very many others would at all, but in other ways its bad because I eat food and it just tastes horrible, whereas other people can just live off easy to prepare ready meals etc I couldn't.

So after 'wasting' my hunger on something that tastes rubbish, which I hate doing so much, I call my friend and persuade him to come out for some food.
I look for online vouchers and find a 50% off la tasca one and having neither of us ever eaten there we decide to head there.

We arrive and the place looks really nice and theres a nice atmosphere.
As we are waiting to be seated I notice a sign saying that on Fridays and Saturdays whenever you buy a drink at the bar you receive a free tapas, just like in Spain.

We sit down and look at the menu, we get a bottle of estrella each and some olives to start.
The olives are ok but some are very sour, we finish most of them and await the rest of our meal.

The food arrives and theres fried chorizo, spanish omelette, beef estafado (casserole) prawns, calamari, courgettes with a blue cheese dip and chicken wings.

I taste the chorizo and its not bad but has a very find texture, not lumpy and chewy like better quality chorizo is.
I try a bit of the omelette and I am surprised by its resemblance in texture to a sponge and the taste to match, I don't detect any egg or potato whatsoever, my friend, also a chef is equally as confused to what on earth it is.

The beef casserole is my friends favourite but has a metallic taste like its used tinned tomatoes, maybe the whole thing came out of a tin who knows, but it tastes not too bad.
The prawns (6 of them) are drowning in a pool of oil, they taste nice, you can't really go wrong with prawns I guess, they are the smallest king prawns I've ever seen though and at nearly £1 each you'd expect bigger.

The calamari is good, not chewy, bit bland, bit greasy but it tastes nice.
A funny point came when, in the candlelit ambiance my friend went for a piece and I watched him put it in his mouth then quickly remove it and put it back on his plate.
"What was wrong with that bit?", I ask. "It was the lemon", he replied. That was probably the highlight of the meal for me.

The courgette is greasy with a bottled blue cheese dip that is strangely not blue at all, not even any little specks but looks just like runny mayonnaise but tastes pretty disgusting.
I eat the chicken wings though, they're nice because you can't really go wrong with them, its just chicken wings.

We finish and ask for the bill, it comes to just under £50, I'm shocked then realise they haven't counted my voucher yet so it comes back to £23.

If I ever had to come here again I'd go for the free tapas with every drink and just sit at the bar, at least then as I'm getting more and more inebriated I won't have to taste the food.

2010-02-15T09:46:00.000-08:00

Conchiglie pasta with rainbow trout, smoked salmon, asparagus and green beans

This is a great recipe, its very versatile and packed full of vegetables and fish so full of vitamins, the cream and salmon add a luxurious touch and you can choose your favourite vegetable instead of the ones that I've used.
You could also use any fish - prawns would be delicious here!

Ingredients

trout fillet
smoked salmon
cooked pasta
asparagus
green beans
onion
garlic
double cream
butter
fresh parsley

Method

Slice onions and garlic small and add to a pan of foaming butter.
Fry until softened then add your chopped vegetables
Cook until done to your liking
Pour in the cream
Add your sliced fish
Taste, season and stir through the fresh parsley, being careful not to break up the fish
Stir in the cooked pasta
Serve and enjoy!