(Fake) Pork Thing - Sung Choi Bao - sort of

Thank you to my Sis-in-Law for the inspiration ..... tastes better with pork, but quorn is an acceptable substitute! 

Simple Blend of Fresh and Store Cupboard Ingredients

Preparation Time:  Depends how fast can you chop + add 10 minutes cooking time!  

Ingredients:

Pork Mince or Quorn for 2
1 Diced Onion
1 Diced Pepper (red or green)
Squirt of Ginger (Gourmet Garden)
Squirt of Chilli (Gourmet Garden)
3 tbsp Oyster Sauce
3tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
1 Tsp Five Spice
Small Tin of thinly sliced Water Chestnuts

Stirfry in Wok on medium heat whilst preparing the paste

1 Seeded Green Chilli (into hand blender pot)
4 garlic cloves
Handful of Coriander Leaves
Slug of Olive Oil

Blend and add to the wok

Finished Mixture

That is pretty much it.  Slice Spring Onions and Cucumber with a generous helping of hoisin sauce this goes well in wraps or for a more healthy option use iceberg lettuce in the place of a wrap.  We are going for wraps tonight ... simple, not too high in fat or calories but totally scrummy!!

It looks a bit like this - don't forget the salad garnish and Hoisin Sauce!

Nadia's Takeaway

It's latest name is Nadia's

This place, situated on quiet Southwold near Tesco has recently raised it's game.  The place is inviting from outside with its lovely interior design with its mood lighting and cushions. 

After having two below average deliveries (yes we get them to deliver despite only being five minutes away) and abstaining from their services, the curry urge took hold.  After the disappointment of Shakil's and their failure to compensate anything, we thought enough is enough.  

The original meal plan was to be a homemade pasta and salad.  Nope.  Walking past Nadia's with Dexter-Woof sealed our fate.  We popped in and reminded them of the 20% discount owed and ordered when we got home.  Alex went for the biryani which is loaded with saffron, so I couldn't try it and I ordered a korma sauce with a garlic nan to dip into it.  The popadums were ok, the red sauce wasn't a patch on Shakils, but they went down well with some of Alex's gorgeous mango chutney.

The food exceeded expectation and I would say that their garlic nan was the best I've had so far in Bicester.  It would have been nice to know if they had changed their kitchen staff, but with the hefty discount we received I decided it would be rude to start enquiring.  We let the food do the talking.  

They have the makings of a most competitive restaurant, if they had the space.  Such a shame they don't as I think they would do well.  For us, to be able to walk somewhere local that isn't the Bure Farm, would be amazing.

Well done, Nadia's, our faith is restored.  just deliver that same quality a few more times and I will mourn Shakil's no more!

Thai Green Curry

My Thai Green Curry With Jumbo Prawns

I first learned of it in Bangkok and here is my UK version ....

GREEN PASTE

Forget the pestle and mortar get a mini food processor!

• 3 Green Chilli's
• The Zest of One Lime and it's juice (keep what is left)
• 1 onion
• Fresh Coriander
• 4 Garlic Cloves
• 4 lime leaves
• 1 chopped Lemongrass stalks
• 2 inches of ginger stalks
• 1 inch of chopped Galangal
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp Cumin powder
• Half a Tsp Of Tamarind Paste
• A generous slug of Olive Oil

Feel free to experiment with the above ingredients as nothing is set in stone!

Whizz it to within an inch of its life in a blender!

THE REST

• Pack Of Raw Jumbo King Prawns or Diced Chicken
• 2 Tins Coconut Milk (light or full fat - you want it to be more soup like add veg stock and extra Milk)
• Green Pepper (diced)
• 3 Handfuls Of Frozen Sliced Green Beans
• Cooked, Thinly sliced new potatoes (about 6 will suffice)
• The Lime Leftovers 
• Tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
• Straight To Wok Noodles

Using a large wok and a small amount of oil on a high heat, stir fry the prawns/chicken with the pepper and soy sauce then add your homemade paste.  Chuck in the lime then the two cans of coconut.  Bring the temperature of the wok right down and simmer.  Add in the green beans and potatoes.  Add more chilli and garlic (of the lazy variety) if needed.  After simmering for 20 minutes or until the flavours have fused add your noodles and serve!( Don't eat the lime!!!!!)

Shakil's - The End Of A Love Affair

Since this is about a restaurant, why did I originally post this review on my personal blog? Alex asked me to put this one on here so as to not come across like every place we frequent is amazeballs.  

Since Shakil's opened I have been a great fan of the interesting dishes on offer, the quirky table wear, the corny entertainment nights and the delivery service.  I haven't been able to fault the place up until recently.  I compare it to the great establishments up North in Rusholme.  Rusholme has not been a suburb but a collective name for literally hundreds of curry houses spanning over a mile for decades.  As you can imagine, the competition is so great that the food has to be outstanding.  Shakils is up there with the best.  

What is the problem? You may ask.  I think it stems from them losing their head waiter to Mehfil (which in my opinion is a very poor establishment) and getting more competition locally.  I still can't fault their specials.  The Jolphoy Chicken is mouth-watering as are many dishes off that particular menu.  Their more traditional dishes aren't as good.  I have found this as a result of going vegetarian although the spinach and paneer balti goes down well.

My two last visits have been disappointing at best.  Rushed service, errors with orders, tricking us into having complementary shots whilst we wait to pay due to the machines not working then being charged and dishes just not coming out up to scratch.  

It is all very well creating a great reputation for yourself but it makes it all the more obvious and disappointing when standards slip.

Not content with giving us a poor experience in the restaurant, it seems that the takeaway service is starting to fail too.  Alex and I try to have one takeaway a fortnight when money is tight and so Shakil's comes top of the list more often than not.  It started off good but these are our experiences of late:

• Ordering at 6:30pm, food arrives at 8:15pm with an apology and food that is stone cold.  It was their error, they admitted it yet no compensation was offered
• Ordering two curries and 2 nans, checking the amount that is to go off the card to find we have an extra curry and some rice which they refused to collect and refund.  We didn't want three currys.
• Nan Bread missing.  No apology or offer to rectify the situation
• Sauces missing for the popadom section of our meal.  Again they didn't care.  
• The online site is crap.  For example it is impossible to use their online discount since there are no options to switch paneer for meat.

Wake up call for Shakils.  Bicester is changing.  It is evolving and you need to keep up or go under, we have so much choice these days and loyalty only goes so far!

 Best save up and hit Cabbages and Condoms ... 

Mi sono affezionato Valentino's!!

Valentino's Heaton Moor - My favourite of all time!

 Valentino's is my favourite Italian restaurant ever.  It's often the tucked away eateries that come out best.  I grew up in Heaton Mersey and as a family we used to go out for a meal every Saturday night.  We had to ditch the Bernie Inn after Paul drank too much "helter skelter" and vommed all over a man's jacket! Before Valentino's we used to drive out and try different places all over the North West.  Italian food has always been a favourite with all of us Power's, Curtis-Power's, Sandy's and Sandy-Goodey's.  (There were only four of us in the beginning but it is best getting in all the names!)  Everyone knows how much I love Eros Ramazotti - well it is thanks to Valentino's and Chico for introducing me to him!

It was on walking up to the Moor Top (nickname for the Heaton Moor main drag of shops and pubs), we spotted a new Italian that had opened for business.  We had to investigate and were so impressed it became a weekly pilgrimage.  It opened in 1989 and is still thriving today.  There success, other than food and ambience, is mainly down to the fact that as they have thrived and grown over the years, they have not rammed any more seats in there and treat every customer so well regardless of the occasion.  Popularity has not made this family run business drop their standards in any way (Shakil's stop resting on your Loral's).  The menu is largely the same to this day. Not many independently owned establishments last 25 years.  It's longevity speaks for itself.

An intimate, Italian restaurant

It is fair to say that I have sampled everything off the menu in my time.  I like to focus on pasta's and calzone's these days as they are second to none.  The house wines are excellent and the staff are amazing.  It really is a little gem in a quiet suburban area but I have not found anywhere even close to this place.  I have fond memories there and always find time to go on a nostalgia trip every time I am in Manchester.  I keep willing local Italians to recreate this level of quality and I have been to loads of them in search - I am let down every time.  When I tell myself to disregard Valentino's, other establishments are pretty good.  Below are some of my favourite dishes that I have had most recently - if you go, be sure to have the Costellete di Maiate - ribs in the chefs special sauce too.  All of it is yum!

Funghi alla Valentino's - creamy winey garlicy mushrooms

                                                                                           

Gamberi Romana - Garlic Prawns

          

Spagetti Carbonara

Calzone Chef - stuffed, folded pizza with that special tomato garlic sauce

The best garlic bread ever!

The best onion bread I have ever had

And there endeth the review of my favourite ever restaurant.  If blogs had been invented in 1989, I'd have done it sooner lol!