Chinese Kitchen - Savoy Centre

Many thanks to my CCU sister for introducing me to this terrific Malaysian Cafe. There was no way I was going to discover it on my own because its in the middle of SAVOY CENTRE. This place is what I consider the Singapore equivalent of Bukit Timah plaza and Katong Shopping Centre but less "hip". Seriously, the only people who go there are the grannies and uncles who convene for their Weegie chitty chattery over lots of sugar overloaded pastries. (Ok I lied. I secretly go there for bubble tea hahaha)

I was really surprise to be greeted by a scene of mainland chinese and BBCs chowing down on what looked like wanton mee and horfun. Amongst them, the local Angmohs were seen eating the usual chicken curry chow fan and "Singaporean Fried Noodles".

My fears were only alleviated when I saw the Chinese character menu and spoke to the Malaysian waitress. I knew I was in for a treat.

Aa ordered an aromatic plate of Malaysian beef curry rice. Yes, it looks like any other curry but when you take the first bite. "Boleh la~!" "Sedap man!" I could almost start speaking Malay. It was really that good. Maybe they used a premix maybe but whatever it is, I wouldn't mind eating it again.

I obviously went for my favourite dish. Quite ironic eh to be eating Chicken rice cooked by a Malaysian. What to do, unless I open a store, God knows when will we see a restaurant here opened by a Singaporean.

By time this was served, the Lao Ban Niang (Lady boss) who spotted my "attention seeking" camera came over to say harlo. Instantly, she knew we were from Singapore. Suprise !! -__-

Soon after she started explaining to me that this store has been around for some time. She din hesitate to do abit of PR (not the kind that I get involved with at work) and kindly informed us that the kitchen is not open on Sunday and in the evenings BUT! they have a sister store on Cambridge Street which opens in the night.

Going back to the chicken rice, the star of the dish was the chilli. It was fresh, tangy and garlicky. The chicken was not the plump silky version but was good enough for me just as the rice was shiok enough for me to want another plate.

I wasn't sure if it was a lunch time offer but the main meals all come with a free drink. Not bad rite ~ ! £7.5 -8.5 for a main meal plus free drink. The drink I had was called San se cha. I couldn't make out what it was initially but when it came, it made visual sense. 三色茶 was a multi layered tea of milk tea, more milk (maybe coconut milk) and GULA melaka

Innovatively impressive.

Its been awhile since I wrote such a lengthy post but this place really does deserve a visit.

p.s: NO I DIDN't get a discount or free meal !! for this post haha

Chinese Kitchen
-------------------------------

Savoy Centre Sauchiehall St
Glasgow, G1 1
(0141) 333 0067
Open Mon to Sat till 5pm
Close Sunday.


Canton
-------------------------------
67 Cambridge St
Glasgow G3 6

Breakfast @The Drake

The flat stumbled upon this wee breakfast place tucked away in a basement along woodlands road.





French Toast bigger than the size of your palm with organic honey

A full scottish fry up bound to heighten all lipid levels.



Its nothing to wow about but at least, its convinient, cosy relatively cheap and does the job of satisfying one's breakfast craving.

I shall return.


p.s: only available for weekend brunch

The Drake
---------------------

1 Lynedoch Street
Glasgow, G3 6EF

http://www.thedrakebar.co.uk/

When you have Pandan Leaves, You make Pandan Chicken

What a find. They actually do sell pandan leaves in SeeWoo. 2 quid for a huge bunch. Considering these grow like weed in my backyard. 2 quid is actually quite expensive.
Can't helped it. these leaves took the long haul flight from Thailand to UK.


After deboning some chicken thighs and drumsticks, I simply rolled the pandan leaves over them to make little flat parcels. You could either fry, bbq or bake them. I went for the fuss free option of baking them.

Taste wise I would have prefered them pan fried or bbqed. Nevertheless, these batch turned out marvellous.

The remaining leaves were used to make Nasi Lemak. YUM YUM YUM



Check out the recipe I got off here.

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 .

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

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***

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...

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.