The English Country - Cotswolds

On our second day in the beautiful Cotswolds, we visited several towns and villages and decided to have English cream tea in one of the many tea shops in Stow on the Wold.

St Edwards Hall, Stow on the Wold

After a big English breakfast at the hotel, we decided to have a light lunch. So we went to one of the many tearooms/coffee-shops in the village to have a proper English tea.

Egg and Watercress Sandwich

The egg and watercress sandwich I had was delightfully light and tasty. The egg was well boiled, seasoned and creamy with mayonnaise.

Scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam

The fruit scones were nicely baked, risen well and warm with sweet fruits dotted through them. A big slab of clotted cream and a big slab of strawberry jam on the scones was just simply delicious! That's what I like about English afternoon tea.

Stow on the Wold

Then we went visiting a fairy-tale like, pretty village called Lower Slaughter, which is part of The Slaughters in Cotswolds. We also visited Bourton on the Water, which is next to The Slaughters. Another beautiful town with lots to see like the Birdsland, a perfumery museum and a motor museum.

Then it was time to feed ourselves again and we went to this very nice country pub restaurant in Chipping Norton.

The Masons Arms

The Masons Arms (recommended by The Good Food Guide) looked everything like an average pub, but it also offers a very beautiful room for fine dining next to the bar.

A very warm and inviting place with a nice ambience.


To start......

Basil Gnocchi, Roasted cherry tomatoes and Truffle soup

The truffle soup was thick, creamy and well seasoned. It had a really rich, acidic flavour of tomatoes running through it and the fragrance of truffle peaking through.

The basil gnocchi in the soup was very fragrant and beautiful with the strong notes of spice from the basil.

A very nice starter to increase one's appetite for the next course!

Poached loin of rabbit, carrot and orange soup, carrot rappee

The poached loin of rabbit was well executed with a very good combination of flavours from the sweet and acidic carrot and orange soup.

The rabbit meat was nice,soft and tender and the carrot rappee gave a nice crunch to the dish.


To follow......

Pan roasted breast of Gressingham duck, fondant potatoes, honey glazed baby onions, red cabbage

My housemate's second duck dish in two days!

The duck this evening was well cooked (not as pink as the day before's) and not too tough, the meat retained its juiciness and was well seasoned.

The potato fondant was rich and buttery but tasted a little bit bland and could have been better if the edges were browned a little bit more.

The red cabbage was well cooked (much better than the day before's) and complimented the duck dish really well.

Pan roasted fillet of venison with mustard crust, spiced pear & blueberry vinaigrette, roast new potatoes

The venison dish was beautifully presented.

The spiced pear was sweet, soft and had the wonderful flavours of spice. The blueberry vinaigrette was thick and rich with its acidity cutting through the strong taste of venison meat.

I loved every bit of this dish but the main ingredient of this dish was a bit disappointing. Although the venison was medium cooked, I found it rather tough and dry.


To finish......

Vanilla creme brulee and raspberry sorbet

The vanilla creme brulee was amazingly delicious. It was light and creamy with a very well balanced vanilla flavour to it and the raspberry sorbet was wonderfully sour.

A very nice dessert to end the meal after a heavy main course.

Lime Posset with cherry compote

The lime posset was wonderfully citrussy and had set very well. It was thick and creamy, a dash of that sweet cherry compote with each mouthful of the refreshing lime posset was just perfect!

I was pleasantly surprised with such fine food being served in pubs dotted around the beautiful country of the Cotswolds!

Mama MiaTheatre Outing

5th December 2010

December, the time to be festive! The cold winter and snowy season here makes the atmosphere very christmas-y. Hence I went for this festive burger from McD's aptly named the Festive Deluxe meal!

McD's I'm lovin' it :)

The Festive Deluxe

Festive Deluxe burger

The Festive Deluxe - "A 100% beef patty with a honey BBQ glaze, cheese, bacon, red onion rings, Batavia lettuce and smoky peppered mayo, all served in a square cheese-topped Facaccia bun". Beef patty was sweet and succelent nicely flavoured with melted cheese and peppered mayo. The lettuce and red onion rings added crunchiness to the whole burger. Verdict - 9/10 for a McD's burger!


Before the show:

For dinner, we went to a restaurant near the Millenium Centre - The Miller & Carter steakhouse-bar-grill.

The menus

The menu offers , as the restaurant name suggests, lots of different kinds of steak from different beef parts. All the steak meat was aged on the bone and allowed to mature up to a certain number of days depending on the type of meat. They offer ribeye, fillet, rump, T-bone, sirloin, definitely a rather wide range to choose from!

Cosmopolitan

I have tried a few cosmopolitans in other places before and they bring a sweet taste. But the one I had here was more towards the bitter side, I should say, it tasted a bit like cough mixture! Maybe they added a bit too much liqour to my liking.

Fork & Knife for the steak

6oz Rump

I ordered a 6oz Rump steak, medium cooked, served with 5 mushrooms chasseur sauce. The dish comes with crispy homemade chips and salad.
 The steak was grilled with herbed butter, very succulent and the fragrance from the butter just increases one's appetite! The mushroom sauce was made with sauteéed mushrooms and shallots and a white wine reduction which is then simmered. It has a rich tomato, mushroom taste and was full of flavours perfect for the steak!

Baked Lobster

Baked Cheddar Mushroom

As my friends were not that hungry, they each orderd 2 starters.

The baked lobster was made of lobster meat in a classic thermidor sauce served in clamshells while the baked cheddar mushrooms were made of mushrooms in melted cheese with a crispy herbed crumbs served with garlic bread.

As I didnt taste either dish, I could not really comment on them but no complains from my friends means they are alright.

After the show:

Nothing better than a warm cuppa at below 0 Degree C.

We went to this cafe-bar called 'a shot in the dark'. A cosy, contemporary cafe popular amongst university students. The one good thing I like about this place is that it opens till very late in the night, and of course, they serve very nice coffees and food.

Hot chocolate

Nice, rich, hot chocolate made with hot frothed milk. Perfect!

Home Sweet Home 2010 - Part 3

Entered in retrospect, I only just realised that I have forgotten to make these entries of simply delicious food I had back home in September! Perhaps I was too busy enjoying the food that I have forgotten to share them but I must share them as they are just - simply delicious!

 'Kari Laksa' with a squeeze of lime juice...hmmm hmmm hmmm...there are many varities of laksa in Malaysia and this is the curry variety. Laksa is a coconut curry soup made of ground dried prawns and laksa leaves, served with noodles, tofu, prawns, fish sticks and sometimes chicken strips. Then garnished with coriander and served with sambal chili paste. There are even different varities of curry laksa in different parts of Malaysia! The dish tastes of chili spiciness and sandy texture from the grounded shrimp. Absolutey amazing! This dish is one of my favourites everytime I go home. It was introduced to me by my father. He found this in the Inanam district of Kota Kinabalu. I also like this coffee shop because I can order either small or big bowl of curry laksa. I must say that, a small bowl is quite enough to fill me up ;)

Dragonfruit, commonly found in Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand and sometimes Malaysia. Normally we find the variety of dragonfruit with white flesh, but this trip back home, we found some with purplish red flesh! This is a fruit rich in vitamin C, fibre and other minerals. The flesh is sweet with a hint of sour and has a slight crunchy texture due to the black tiny seeds. Very refreshing to eat!


Next stop, a popular destination for students, working class people and everybody else for a chat, meet up with friends or just simply a nice place to relax -Papparich. Serving 'Malaysian traditional delights' in a modern way.

 Red Bean Ice- Red bean dessert in blended ice and soya milk. Three of my favourite dessert/drink blended into one nice cup of drink! Very refreshing and cooling!

Cincau Ice- Grass Jelly served in blended ice, evaporated milk and topped with a swirl of fresh cream!

 Nasi Lemak- Literally translated into 'fat rice'. Traditionally served wrapped in banana leaves which gives it a very fragrant smell. This dish is served with cucumber slices, half a hard boiled egg, sambal chili paste, fried ikan bilis, roasted peanuts and fried drumstick in curry sauce. The rice was boiled with coconut milk, ginger and lemon grass which gives a very nice fragrance and taste. This is a national dish of Malaysia and mostly served as breakfast in coffee shops or sold at roadside stalls.

 Roti Bakar- 'Grilled toast'. Instead of using the toaster, this in-house-made bread is grilled on hot iron rods, giving it a crisp outer layer while retaining the softness of the bread. This one is served with a very thick layer of crunchy peanut butter = YUM!!!

 Roti Bakar served with evaporated milk. Again, YUM!










The very famous 'Iced Milo Dinasour'. Milo is a very popular drink in Malaysia, made of chocolate and malt powder, produced by Nestle.This particular drink is named 'dinasour' because of the amount of milo used to make it! It is made with many tablespoons of milo mixed with hot milk, then ice added to it. On the very top, many more tablespoonfuls of milo powder are added!

Fuchow noodle with fried chicken strips and minced pork. My favourite noodle dish! Found this in a foodcourt, not the best of the best fuchow noodle, but this will do as it is not easy to find in KK anymore!

Wonton Noodle -Dumplings stuffed with minced pork and chopped prawns, served with rice stick noodles. 

Beef tripes, beef meat and beef tendon served with rice stick noodles in beef broth. Very delicious! A popular dish in Kota Kinabalu, you can almost find one or two or more shops serving this dish in every district!

Last but not least. Mom's home-made rice wine prawn soup. Rice wine is a special Hakka wine made from fermented rice starch converted to sugar. Expecting women often takes soup made from rice wine during pregnancy up till a month after giving birth. According to Hakka tradition, this soup is very nutritious for expecting mothers.

Really cannot wait till my  next trip back home :)

Taipei Food Journey Day 4 and 5

18th September 2010

Danshui, Taipei district. Another small town towards the north of Taipei.

Danshui stuffed fishball

Internal view of fishball

'Ah Gei'

Stuffings of 'ah gei'

Danshui old street offers many 'small eat' or 'siao chi' in Mandarin which are like local delicacies. One of the most famous delicacy is called 'Ah Gei' which means Japanese 'oily/fried tofu'. The main difference  between the stuffed tofu found in Jiu Fen and Danshui is the stuffings inside. The stuffings used in Danshui's tofu is vermicelli - a kind of transparent noodle which is chewy yet very soft at the same time. The tofu is also wrapped in fish paste to keep the moisture and flavours inside then cooked in a special sauce containing 'fermented soy bean paste'. The sauce taste a bit salty and a bit spicy.

The stuffed fish ball in Danshui is very similar to the one found in Jiu Fen. The only obvious difference is the shape - oblong in Danshui.


Back in Taipei city:

We went looking for  this famous place called 'Ah Zhung Mian Xian' as recommended by friends and guide books. This shop only sells ONE dish and it is always very crowded. The dish that they sell is very simple yet very delicious. The dish is made of 'large intestine' and thin noodles. The noodle used in this shop is the 'red' variety which does not dissolve into the soup when cooked or kept warm for a long period of time. The broth made by this shop is slightly thickened and they used a secret recipe which made this simple dish exceptionally delicious. It is so delicious that you want more and more. I have always refused to eat offals but this dish is just irresistable! One 'special feature' about this shops is that most customers stand while they eat the bowl of noodles.


19th September 2010:

Due to strong wind and rain from the typhoon, we decided to stay indoors at the hotel. Even when staying indoors, we were never short of food! I am mentioning this instant noodle as it is one of the most delicious one that I have tried so far. NB it is inadvisable to have instant noodles regularly due to health warnings.

Even though this is just instant noodles, the noodles were really chewy and the soup was full of flavours. What more can I say about a packet of instant cup noodles, it is quick to cook and it fills your stomach!

That's the end of my food journey in Taipei, I will definitely be back for more! Perhaps next time I will  be travelling down south for more food!

Taipei Food Journey Day 3

17 September 2010

Day 3:

We took the bus to a small town called Jiu Fen in the Riufang District of Taipei. The town is situated on a steep hillside by the river opening out into the sea at the northern part of Taiwan. This small town has a very long narrow street that goes round the town in a big circle, with shops on both sides of the street. This is called Jiu Fen Old Street. There are many shops selling local delicacies and dishes only found in Jiu Fen.

Jiu Fen Old Street

Fuchow style Fishball

Minced meat fillings in the fisball

Wild boar sausage glazed with honey

Lots of squid balls

A stick of squid balls

Stuffed Tofu

The inside of the tofu

Taro/sweet potato Balls Dessert

Fuchow style fishballs - Taiwan is an island off the coast of a state called Fuchow, mainland China hence lots of Fuchow/Fujian people settled in this island. This is also where a lot of the local delicacies and dishes orignated from. The Fuchow style fishballs were made from local fresh fish made into paste. The fish paste was used to wrap around marinated minced meat, then producing round-shaped fishballs. These fishballs were then cooked in homemade soup and served hot.

Wildboar Sausage - Sausages made from wildboar meat gives a taste of game meat. The sausages are chargrilled with coal and glazed with honey which gives them savoury and yet some sweet taste.

Squid balls - As the name says, these are deep fried balls made with squid and dipped in homemade chilli sauce. These squid balls are really chewy and goes really well with the chilli sauce.

Stuffed Tofu - Another Fuchow styled dish. Stuffed tofu is also a Hakka delicacy. There are two main differences, that I found, between Hakka and Fuchow style stuffed tofu. Hakka stuffed tofu are normally stuffed with mixture of blended fish, minced pork, prawns, some herbs (they may be some varieties of different ingredients depending on what was taught to the next generations within Hakka families). Fuchow stuffed tofu are stuffed with marinated minced pork. The second difference is that Fuchow style tofu are stuffed with filling THEN the opening is sealed with fish paste to keep the moisture in. The stuffed tofu is then cooked in homemade sauce.

Taro/Sweet potato balls dessert - Only found in Jiu Fen is another local delicacy. It is either served hot or cold. These taro balls are made from Taro (sometimes called yam) and sweet potato, sweet potato flour, water, seasoning and sugar. These balls are cooked then served in sweetened water, red beans, green beans or yellow beans can also be added when served.

After spending the morning in Jiu Fen, we went back into the city centre of Taipei and hunted for the famed Hello Kitty Sweet Shop.

Hello Kitty Shop in Da An:

The sweet shop/restaurant has a Hello Kitty theme. The shop offers many cakes and desserts shaped in Hello Kitty or has some sort of Hello Kitty deco.

After doing some shopping, dinner time fast approached. We wandered on Yong Kang Street as recommended by a sales lady at a departmental store.

Plate from 吃饭 Restaurant

As we were walking along the street we caught a glimpse of a restaurant called 吃饭 'Chi Fan' which literally means 'eat rice' in Chinese. As we havent't had any rice for days, this was of course the obvious choice amongst all the many restaurants on that street.

Three layer pork belly 'stewed'

Rice served with chopped pork belly

Restaurant Special Tofu with dip

As you can see from the photos, it was a really good choice of restaurant. Starting with the three layered pork belly meat. The meat is made of a layer of skin, second layer of fat and third layer of meat. The pork belly was stewed in restaurant own-made sauce for hours and hours which created a very tender meat and the fat melts in your mouth. I have only one word to describe this dish - YUMMY!!!!! As with any great dish, as a Chinese, I must have rice to go with it. This odinary looking bowl of rice is far from ordinary. The rice was boiled from 'high-class' rice grain. The texture of the rice is chewy, soft and has a perfect level of stickiness which makes it a very delicious bowl of rice. To add to the deliciousness of the rice, chopped pork belly stewed for hours add much flavour to a simple bowl of rice!

We also ordered the house special fried tofu (beancurd) with a chilli dip. Although this dish is uncomparable to the deliciousness of the pork belly dish, but still, it is a very nice dish to go with the rice.


After dinner, of course we must have dessert. This mango dessert was recommended by the sales lady at a departmental store. According to her, a popular Korean celebrity once visited the shop for it's famed mango dessert!

Mango Avalanche

The mango dessert in this shop is not famous for nothing. As with many shop that serves very nice food, this shop was very crowded, all the time! With many different mango desserts to choose from, we opted for the 'Top 1' popular dish called Mango Avalanche. The dish is made with mango syrup poured on blended ice, then fresh mango pieces, mango jellies are piled on it then topped with shop own-made mango ice-cream. Just by looking at it can make one drool!

Dessert done......to be continued on Day 4