Crabshakk: A seafood showcase

Crabshakk and I met when I was still a student. It was love at first sight and taste. A combination of modern chic designs coupled with its rustic fisherman decorations left me hungry for what it was going to offer.

2 years down the "fishing"line, my heart still goes on ..... -__-""


~ rite... enough of my post nights gibberish ~


Truth be told, I really enjoy every experience that I have been here and I say this again, I'll choose it my first choice to showcase the seafood of Scotland in the Westend.

Unlike poultry/meat restaurants, seafood restaurants tend to rely on the catch of the day to decide what's on the menu. Unpredictable but that's the charm that it brings.

The "spoofs" aka razor clams turn out wonderfully flavoursome. I have been eating this the chinese style with soy, sesame oil and garlic. What I din't realise until now was that bacon made a great pair with the razor. *or issit everything just taste nice with bacon hmm.

I've had plenty of tuna and sardine sandwichs but the novelty of this upscale fish sandwich really turned me on. Chunky sweet white fish, smoked makeral and did i see crab meat as well .. It packed a load of species in there. The only let down was that it was too big to fit into one bite. PLUS. the use of toast was a double edge sword. On one hand, it helped prevent the sandwich from being too soggy but then it made it extra difficult to bite through without making all your fillings fall out of it.

These scallops were huge and very very very expensive but worth every single penny. Again I see the neat bacon trick used to enhance the flavour of the scallops.

Can't imagine a seafood restaurant not being able to make a decent fish supper. Afterall, a good one relies on the owner's ability to source a good supply of fresh good quality.
This got C's 2 thumbs and 2 toes up.
The chips were outstanding. Maybe they were awesomely fried in goose fat mmmhmms..



So are you ready to crabshakk???

20110813-094, originally uploaded by jiapui.

Cail Bruich West End

Cail Bruich West is located in the bohemian district of the city's west end, adjacent the hinterland of the Glasgow Botanical Gardens.

Under the guidance of chef patron Chris Charalambous we offer a sumptuous menu adhering to our principled aim of seasonality and freshness. Our respect for Scottish food and a passion for evoking that special dining experience for our customers mark our uniqueness in our industry.

We have a range of menu's that will cater for all occasions from classic brunch dishes through to our seasonal a la carte.

The warmth of our family owned and operated restaurant permeates into the dining room ensuring our diners an intimate culinary affair. Our wine list is carefully from small suppliers around the world crafted to create the perfect partnership for our menu.

~~ Quoted from the Website ~~

This post is way way way over due. It was my birthday dinner treat from C. hahah how nice eh

I can barely remember what these dishes were called but this one certainly looked like a terrine of some sort.

Here is my pea soup with a nice poach egg. Its one of the best soups I've ever tasted. Very velvety in texture. Very posh indeed

Scabster Hake, Ratte Potatoes, Samphire and hollandaise. C had this.
Ever heard of Samphire?? I love it!!

I went with pork belly. The pork was good, moist but lack the crispy skin. As for the corizio chick pea side, I din;t feel that it was a good pairing. just seem abit too dry and overwhleming in taste?

Lastly a vanilla rice pudding and.................. a chocolate moose?




Thanks C

Cail Bruich West
----------------------------
725, Great Western Rd,
Glasgow,
Lanarkshire
http://www.cailbruich.co.uk/


G12 8QX

The Butchershop Bar and Grill

My flat really likes the Butcher Shop.

Good Quality Beef.
Master Chef cooking
Competitive Prices
Great Atmosphere and Service
Convenient Parking



Do check out their Côte de bœuf! and Steak Frites Tuesdays


P.S: Quick break. Back to Work..

The Butchershop Bar and Grill
---------------------------------

1055 Sauchiehall Street
Glasgow G3 7UD
Tel: 0141 339 2999
http://www.butchershopglasgow.com/

My Pasta alla Carbonara

For a dish whose origins are obscure with some saying that it was a dish cooked for the Coal miners of Italy, I am half certain that most of us associate it as a dish consisting of bacon and grated cheese simmered in a cream based sauce.

If pasta bolognaise was the black version of chai tau kway, this must be the white version.

If the cream based carbonara was the soup version of mee pok , my version would be mee pok tar.

My dear UK friends, are you lost? I'm sorry if I have confused you but this 8 month abstinence has started me comparing the local delights with my home favourites.

To be accurate, when I mean dry I do mean the egg sauce version which consists of no cream. My rationale is that the cream will overshadow the aromatic flavours of the charred bacon and freshly grated cheese.

Ingredients
------------------------
1 packet of streaky smoked bacon
100g gram (half a triangular block) of grated parmesean / grana padano
8 close cap mushrooms
4-5 cloves of garlic
3 eggs
500g pasta (my current favourite is de cecco)



1. Mix grated cheese with 3 whisked eggs. What you want is a thick gooey mixture
2. Bring to a boil 1L of salted water. Throw in the pasta
3. Start cooking the rest of the pasta once its in the pot.
4. Stir fry garlic, bacon until charred and then throw in mushrooms.
5. Drain pasta after cooking it as per the recommended cooking time minus 1 min
6. Throw it into the pan of bacon and mushroom. Stir through once.
7. Turn off the heat. Pour in the egg cheese mixture onto the pasta, avoiding the pan. Stir it through and let the heat from the pasta cook it just enough before it coagulates.
8. Finish off with more grated cheese and pepper. the Salt from the cheese and bacon should be enough to make savoury .