Saturday 27 August 2011

Roasti Bubbly Jocks




C and I had a great lunch at Roasti Bubbly Jocks last weekend. I can't recall the number of times I have driven, walk and ignored this wee restaurants on my way to Sainsbury and Morrisons. Its a pity this restaurant is not located nearer to byres road.

The food is unpretentious and in every way charming. COuld it be because we had lowered our expectations before going to the restaurant? Or was I biased towards the their contemporary Scottish style of cooking

The big question was how could there be no one here on a Saturday afternoon when 5pm does such a great lunch time deal





I have taken alot of pre-meal bread shots recently. TOday, we have sun dried tomato bread? .
*




Mediterranean Fish Chowder. Rouille Crute. A very healthy portion of seafood medley that was good enough as a main meal on its own.





The vegetarian option of Cream of Celery Soup, Parsley and Croutons.





Seafish with Tagine Chermoula on Roast Aubergine. A Morrocan inspired dish that reminded me of sambal fish minus the heat.





Slow Roast Scottish Lamb Shoulder with very refreshing mint pea.



I highly recommend this place for lunch. Huge portions , home cook goodness PLUS great value makes a perfect start to the weekend.



p.s: Cash or cheques only


Roasti Bubbly Jocks
----------------------
450 Dumbarton Road, Partick

Glasgow, G11 6SE

Tel: (0141) 339 3355

Wednesday 24 August 2011

a wAffLe, 2 scoopes and many many berries


20110804-040-2, originally uploaded by jiapui.

Needing a sugar rush.... I am falling asleepp.....zzzzz




*Taiwan bubble teaaaaaaaa g***

Saturday 13 August 2011

Fresh from the WHoleSale Market

Many many years ago (actually only 3) I remembered watching this cooking video on youtube about this chef who was trying to make Jamaican food in Glasgow. One of the dishes required the use of Mangoes and for some reason, he actually had to go to a wholesale market in Glasgow to get it.

Somehow or rather shopping in Costco where things are huge and excessive has stirred up my curiosity for seeking out this food heaven.

The motivation was so strong I actually woke up at 6am to drive to the market. Thankfully its not that far away from my place; quite near the Royal Infirmary in fact.

Turns out the market wasn't the food heaven I was hoping for. Bustling vendors, throngs of traders,s piles, basket, crates of vegetables and meat produce... none of which was to be seen. Sighz... At one point my heart almost sank because the seafood wholesale market that I wanted to explore was not to be find. One of the lads pointed out to me I was in fact in the wrong section of the compound.... I had to drive up the hill.... -__-"

And as I arrive at the top , seagulls and the familliar smell of the seafood reignited some hope. I had indeed found the seafood mecca in Glasgow. There were only 3 stores that were operating. I in particularly had loads and loads of styrofoam boxes filled with all sorts of fish laid out over his shop. My instinct told me that had to be the store to buy from.

John Vallance was the name of the store. The man himself wasn't Mr Vallance but the 3rd or 4th generation of fish mongers. No prices were available here, everything was by word of mouth. I take it the more you buy the cheaper it becomes.

My intentions really were to get some langoustines. The experience in Lochleven really left me craving for more. The going rate was 15 pds/kg. With little to reference from, I had to ask him how many pieces I would get with each kilo. 10 - 12 medium - large crustaceans apparently. The last time I ate at Macullums, it was like 6 pieces for 15 pounds. Unhesitatingly, I scooped up all the langoustines he had that day. 2 huge kilos of it. To top it off, I got another kilo of clams from him.

All the prep for the seafood feast was done in an hour that I got home but it wont be until 10pm that night before I'll get to eat them. Thanks to Aa who was on call...
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Here's what we had.......





1 Giant plate of chilled langoustines with homemade garlic mayo and warmed smoked salmon lemon vinaigrette salad. It was really satisfying having so many of them to eat. Though the taste wasn't as intense as the ones from Lochleven, these ones will do for now. Personally, 8 out of 10.





The tails were not small at all. None of that shrimpy business. Its the big boys we are talking about here.





The clams were soaked for almost a day in salted water to get rid of the sand. I decided to make a spagh vongole out of them to supplement our crustacean starter.





Here's our massive spaghetti ala vongole for 3. A little salty and alittle less garlicky than I would like. The next time I'll nail !!!

All in all, it was a worthwhile trip. Perhaps some lobsters next time ? hahaha



20110730-197, originally uploaded by jiapui.

Viva La Cheese: Cheese and Wine Tasting Session




This is a long overdue post. Almost 2 months in fact. Opps. Anyway let's get on to the cheesy side of things.

The story goes like this: The team at Sopexa have organised a night of Cheese and Wine appreciation at Pechkams@The Glass hoouse. Thanks to this whole food blogging business, I got a wee email invitation about it and thought I had to bring K along for some Formaggio.





I have to admit my knowledge of Cheese is atrocious but the lovely Roving Fromagiere, Phoebe Wellar reassured me that I would know at least 10 new French Cheeses by that evening.





OatCAkes, Grapes and some celery to accompany our beautiful platters of cheese. *the cheese smelt so bad they actually smelt good after awhile





Cheese anyone?





Here's Phoebe trying to explain to us about the different types of cheese.





It wasn't all about tasting. After-all, it was a cheese appreciation session and she made us grab some of the harder cheeses, squash them to release the essential oils and give it a good sniff.





Looking very learned here.




The range of cheese that we tried for the evening were Emmental, Tomme de savoie, Comté, Brie, Camembert, Saint Nectaire, Petit Langres, Epoisses, Bleu de Causses and Bleu d'auvergne.

My favourite had to be the Comté. A semi hard cheese with a savoury nutty flavour. I could have just snacked on it and I reckon melting it over some button cap mushrooms would be a great appetiser .

Old favourites like brie, camembert and emental never fail to impress me. Boy am I going to miss all these cheap and good quality cheese when I go back home.

Blue cheese was never a favourite of mind. Sad to disappoint you Phoebe but I really tried lol.

All the cheese above been wiki-linked if you wanna know more about them.

Overall, the experience was fun, enlightening and certainly filling.





Thanks to Phoebe for guiding us through the French Cheese. If you would like a cheese and wine appreciation session right in your own home, do check out her website above.






The wine for the night was kindly sponsered by the French Connection and the Cheese courtesy of Peckhams.


Many thanks to Sarah for the Invite. K and I had a Great time.



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