Tea for two at Lahloo Pantry (now closed)

Saturday Rich and I took a trip to Lahloo Pantry in Clifton Village I was very eager to try their Valentine's Day special, wild rose tea. Lahloo Pantry particularly excited me because I do not drink coffee so tea is my caffeinated vice.

It was quite busy on Saturday afternoon but we were shown to a little table downstairs, after filing past the many delicious looking cakes and open sandwiches on offer. I had already decided on what tea I wanted but was almost swayed by the smoky spiced tea. Rich went for Nokcha, a green tea that was described as; "Uplifting and moreish, this biscuity green tea will brighten up the most challenging of days." As it was almost Valentine's we also decided to treat ourselves to 4 of the pink heart shaped macaroons we had spied on our way in.

Our tea was served in little glass teapots but I noticed a number of the teas had Japanese style black ceramic ones, which I now really want for myself. The wild rose tea smelled ever so subtly of old English roses it was gorgeous and refreshing plus free hot water for re-infusion was available for most of the teas on the menu. Rich really enjoyed the Nokcha and felt very chilled out afterwards. Those macaroons were the king of any tea table, soft chewy with what I think was a passionfruit paste to sandwich the halves together, perfect for sharing with your Valentine or just to keep to yourself, they are that good and I really hope that macaroons are kept on the menu.

I am tempted by their afternoon tea menu, as an option for my birthday in 2 weeks as it is a perfect way to while away a birthday afternoon. Lahloo Pantry is definitely up my street, slightly kitsch and vintage decor give it a relaxed feel so I was unsurprised by how busy it was and expect it to continue to do very well I cannot wait to go back, hopefully this weekend.

Take your loved one for a rose tea and heart macaroon date tomorrow you will not regret it. To view their menu for brunch, cakes or teas visit their site

Tomorrow Rich and I go to The Town House on Whiteladies for Valentine's dinner, cannot wait!

A Visit to The Old Bookshop

Rich and I are big fans of tapas.  Experiencing eating only tapas on a mini break to Madrid in the famous tapas quarter, La Latina, only fueled the fire further.  We have hosted a few tapas nights, and so far my chorizo baked in wine and herbs is my signature tapas dish.

Last night Rich and I and our friend Phil went to try out The Old Bookshop on North Street in Bedminster. The Cathy Jones Trio were playing and being partial to a spot of Bossa Nova as well, this seemed like the perfect night out...and so it was.

A small, yet perfectly formed venue complete with wall to wall bunting, typewriters on the walls and instruments as lamps. As a fan of the 50s both the decor and atmosphere were slightly twee and totally up my street! As a former DJ I would love to host a Rock n Roll night there and really make the most of this fantastic venue.

The three of us each decided to go for 3 tapas for £10 deal so chose 9 off the 16 long tapas list and nursed a bottle of rioja whilst we eagerly awaited the tasty mini delights. Mini was not the word to describe what was delivered to our table. Nine generous sized dishes, and their sauce accompaniments, rocked up and I suddenly realised just how hungry I was.

Each one of these dishes was a taste sensation, all served on beautiful mismatched vintage china, I had a lovely peacock on mine. Most of the ingredients used were common to tapas menus but each one had a slight twist on the traditional dishes. Although I could not fault any of the dishes, some I favoured slightly more than others. The root vegetable bravas with turmeric aioli was gorgeous the vegetables were soft and roasted just enough to make them wonderful with the earthy turmeric dip. The huge bowl of fried salt and pepper cuttle fish with sweet chilli dip was cooked perfectly and totally addictive.

My final favourite, I think, was the hot and spicy jerk chicken drumsticks, they were sweet but with a slight kick. The chicken just fell off the bone and the flavour had infused through out and melted in the mouth. I was slightly disappointed not to have room left to try the deep fried Mars bar in vanilla batter, but hoping this curiosity will stay on the menu for a bit til the next time I can make it down for another visit.

They also do Pieminister and mash for £5 and such scrumptious looking cakes. I cannot urge people strongly enough to check this place out. The atmosphere was relaxed and happy, helped along but the lilting Brazilian melodies from Cathy Jones. You can tell that it will be a great success with such fantastic food I cannot wait to go again it was everything I could have hoped for and more. With El Rincon, Bristol's only other truly fantastic tapas bar, at the other end of North Street I am now planning on doing a mini tapas crawl from one end to the other and very soon! Visit their website for more info.

Also for a bonus here is my pretty peacock plate, that I would pay good money to have a copy of, if anyone has any tip offs let me know.

Mouth Watering Short Ribs

A second post from resident barbecue enthusiast Joe about what he got up to last weekend...

At the moment BBQing for me is about experimenting with cuts of meat I've never cooked with before. Last weekend a visited my favourite butcher, Ruby and White's on Whiteladies Road, to pick up a rack of beef short rib.  I was pleasantly surprised with how much meat was on the bone. The cooking, I decided, was going to be similar to a brisket as it was a lean tough cut that would need a lot of cooking.

I marinated the short ribs for 18 hours in a dry rub of onion, garlic, tomato, cumin, corriander and paprika powders plus a bit of ground chipotle chilli for some smokey heat.

So the next day I got up bright and early to get the smoker fired up.  I filled two chimneys with lumpwood charcoal, fired them up and poured the rest of the coal on one half of the smoker. The idea being that you cook the beef with indirect heat.  That way it won't burn so easily.  On the other half of the smoker next to the coals and directly under the ribs I had a tray filled with hot water to keep the outside of the beef from drying out.

As well the coal I added small amounts of oak throughout the cooking process to add that smokey flavour.  Smoking can be easily over done and over smoked food can taste bitter. Thankfully this wasn't the case. The ribs were cooked for 7 hours at 220f. In hindsight 6 hours would have been enough they were then left to rest for an hour.

Now I know what you're thinking, " he's burnt it!" but the fat 'fat cap' does go that colour due to the dry rub. I could have used less dry rub to be honest, I think I got a bit carried away. The meat itself was as juicy and as tender as they come.

And the left overs made a good chilli con carne. I even have some more left over a Naga curry! Real man food I think you'll agree ;-)

Mmm thanks Joe the photos are making me drool at my desk, not a pretty look. A great second post for the week, a review of tapas at The Old Bookshop in Bedminster and a report on steak with peppercorn sauce to look forward to later in the week.

My First Pie!

This weekend I conquered my pie making fears and it turned out miles better than I could have expected. Both Rich and I have a soft spot for the magnificent Pieminister Moo and Blue pie, seriously go try one, so decided this would be the flavour I would replicate for my own pie. I went with beef, ale and stilton for my main ingredients, Rich chose Bombardier ale, one of our friend's favourite drink choices, to marinade the beef in. I soaked the beef in 400ml of Bombardier, crushed garlic, a handful of peppercorns and some fresh thyme for about 4 hours but apparently leaving it overnight is best.

I then sifted out the beef and rolled it in some pepper and herby flour and fried it until mostly brown then sifted it out again.I added celery carrots and 4 shallot halves to the pan and added some of the ale marinade and some redcurrant jelly and cooked for about 10 mins then I re-added the beef, paprika and 450ml of beef stock and let that cook down, covered, for about 40mins. To my joy a lovely thick gravy had formed in the saucepan and it smelled amazing. I poured it into my pie dish and dotted lumps of stilton before adding the puff pastry top and some air holes.

 I cannot get over how easy it was to make, I was really expecting the flavour not to be as full and strong as it turned out to be. Definitely the best thing I have cooked for a while, Rich is already eager for the next pie installment. Perfect Winter fuel. Go forth now and make pie!

Shout Out of the Week Goes To....Revival Cafe!

Ever since I started working in the centre of Bristol about 4 years ago I have tried to be strict on bringing my own lunches but about 3 years ago I found Revival, just next door to St Nicks Market, a place that will easily make me break my habit. Their paninis are my weakness. Today I folded again after nearly a full week of being lunch efficient. Revival Cafe also does a huge selection of hot drinks, soup, baguettes, sandwiches, toasted flat breads and baked potatoes with over 10 fillings to choose from and they are all under £5. They do some mouthwatering home made cakes and all the portions and fillings are very generous and you would certainly not go away hungry.

Revival Cafe is housed in a lovely building which nestles in next to the gorgeous All Saints church on Corn Street, sources local ingredients where possible and is definitely my go to place for when I want to treat myself to lunch. My personal recommendations would be the barbecue chicken, smoked ham and mature cheddar panini, or bacon, brie and cranberry, however you cannot beat their tuna mayo jacket potato either. To check out their full menu visit them online. So if you haven't visited Revival Cafe yet, what are you waiting for? Go next week and get something tasty to warm you through the minus temperatures.

Massaman Style!

So last night I attempted my first Massaman Thai curry, I've made green curry before but I've never tackled my favourite thai dish. It went better than expected but this dish is by no means healthy! Coconut cream and milk, beef and peanuts being some of the main ingredients this is more of a delicious indulgence but one I cannot resist! The result was so creamy and nutty it could easily have been from your local Thai restaurant, both Rich and I were bowled over by yummyness (TM  my friend Jayne) that I will definitely be sharing this with friends when they come round for dinner. Plus I am now able to create pleasingly shaped rice, hurrah for aesthetic rice shaping.

All thanks to a little book on Thai food which mum gave me for Christmas, yes in part I cheated and used Massaman paste from an Asian supermarket but this recipe added extra spices and goodies so it was only half cheating. The recipe is a bit long to type out but I took a photo of it and I will stick it up at the end of all the lovely food photos. I have already bookmarked by next Thai recipe, caramalised pork belly with star anise.

A Visit to Za Za Bazaar

Rich marks his first post on the blog with a review of the new all you can eat buffet experience, Za Za Bazaar, down at the Harbourside, complete with plate by plate photos! The next post I shall follow up with later will be how I got on with Massaman curry, without further ado I give you Rich...

And so finally after about a month of it being open, I made my way to Zaza Bazaar, Bristol’s new ‘premium buffet dining experience’, or Temple Of Gluttony - depending on your point of view. But  the facts first:  it offers seating to potentially 1,000 hungry eaters, it’s based in the old site of naff club experiences BRB and Baja Bar, and it’s fantastically busy, so if you do ever intend on going along book early.

So first impressions weren’t altogether that great. The ‘reception’ is about 10 feet from the main entrance, and on the Saturday we went there was a queue of about fifty people in a mass queued up back through the door and outside all looking generally confused, and the three people behind the desk looking lost. Luckily my eating companion and Za Za veteran knew to just push through, say we’d booked, collect a ticket and then head upstairs. Genius.

Once you actually get in, Za Za is probably the best looking buffet diner you’ll have ever seen. Nice wood flooring, clean and spacious and lots of bright neon-lit stalls that will make more than a few people think of Bladerunner. Unlike certain other buffets, you don’t have to pay at the start of your gorging. Instead you hand your ticket in and are shown to your seat, asked for drinks and told to go nuts. And seeing as you have to walk past most of the food on offer on the way to your seat you’re also pretty clued up as to what you want to eat by the time you sit down too.

Six stalls offer a variety of dishes under the headings of Indian, European, Tex Mex, Far East, Salads and Desserts. All pretty self-explanatory, and it must be said all pretty delicious looking. My eating friend knew what he wanted, so he was off. I was on a research mission however and therefore decided I had to try a bit of everything. First up was the Tex Mex stall, and aside from generic chips and chicken nuggets (who goes to a buffet, pays £10-20 and then just eats chips!?) there was a nice array of fresh looking meats, so I settled on a spicy burger with lots of chilli and gerkin, and one of each type of chicken wing. The burger was okay, but the wings were excellent. Strong flavours abound, nicely meaty and – a crucial one this – not greasy and oily.

Round two I thought to move on from meat, so went to look at the Salad stall. Mostly unappealing dry vegetable went untouched, as is the problem with air-con for 1,000 when combined with fresh food, but I took a clump of lettuce and one of each of the sushis on offer (with a healthy dollop of wasabi of course). Heading back in the general direction of our seat I spied the freshly grilling peri-peri chicken and thought I’d have to try some of the succulent looking hot goodness. To finish off the plate I went with some rice and a small piece each of the lamb rogan josh and butter chicken. Sadly then the sushi was ‘competent’, but ultimately felt like an own brand 99p pack from Iceland, while the rogan josh was bland and watery. The butter chicken on the other hand was really very delicious, and the peri-peri chicken was fantastic. If you try one dish at Za Za Bazaar in fact, seriously, have the peri-peri. It was that good.

 Plate #3 was a purely Far East excursion, with oyster broccoli, some mystery cauliflower, Singapore noodles, sweet and sour chicken and chao chao pork forming a nicely light final savoury course. The noodles were good, not soggy or rubbery, the vegetables were properly cooked, not solid and not mushy, and the two meat dishes were great. The chao chao pork in particular comes highly recommended.

Taking advantage of the vast array of desserts was a hard choice. Faced with unlimited Smarties, jelly beans, ice cream, a chocolate fountain, cup cakes, all manner of jellies and much more besides,I settled on a trio of chocolate, taking in a profiterole, mini-brownie, and chocolate cake cube with icing so dark… it scared me frankly. I also grabbed one of the ultra-chocolicious cup cakes and hoped I wouldn’t regret the extra weight gain. Food friend had no such qualms however and bundled everything into a bowl, covered it in ice cream and then put half the bowl under the chocolate fountain. The desserts were great happily, and the fountain chocolate hardened nicely to form a shell of chocolate that can only be described as awesome.

After all that we needed a walk to ease the burden of full stomachs, but generally I enjoyed the Za Za. On the downside there’s a lot of chicken dishes, with little else, and the vegetable selection is somewhat lacking. Additionally the drinks are somewhat ludicrous. Order a pint of coke and you will get a pint of ice with 5ml of coke. Also the pricing is more expensive in evenings and weekends, and the available selection seems to match that of the price, so if you’re thinking of the cheap weekday lunch, prepare to be disappointed.

Foodwise it’s the best buffet you’ll find, with a decent array of food for carnivores, less so for vegetarians, and an ever changing guest option (poor sushi soon to be replaced by more promising Thai food). If you don’t like buffet eating then obviously Za Za will not convert you; the organization of the door staff is bizarre and the £20 option for weekend evening seems slightly ridiculous when you could just go to a decent restaurant for that price, but otherwise this is nicely presented eaterie with some good food and in nice surroundings. And it beats the hell out of Baja Bar, which was just abysmal wasn’t it?

If you are still curious check out their website

Char Siu Sticky Ribs

Ok so a Monday night may not be the best time to do a bit of experimenting in the kitchen but I thought I'd give it a bash. So attempted char siu sticky ribs with my usual home made chips and roasted butternut squash. Rich's mum is some what of an expert at Chinese cooking so this was a little daunting but the out come was delicious. I used really meaty ribs and boiled them for 30-40mins first to tenderise then I marinaded them for over an hour but really to get the best flavour it should have been for a few more hours or over night. Then I baked them in the oven for about 25 mins at 190 degrees.

marinading ribs

 Here is what I used, I cannot be sure of exact measurements but these are the closest estimates.

3 tbsps hoisin sauce

2 dessert spoons brandy, rum, or bourbon

2 dessert spoons of clear honey

2 tbsps soy sauce

2 tbsps dark sesame oil

1-2 tablespoons hot sauce, such as sweet chili sauce or any other hot sauce, depending on how much of a kick you want 

2 dessertspoons grated fresh ginger

2 cloves crushed fresh garlic

2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder

very sticky char siu ribs!

*drooooool*

I hope you are now as hungry as I am after posting this. Now I return to thinking hard about a good couple of Bristol restaurants to visit on Valentine's Day and then a week or so later, my Birthday. If you have any recommendations please pass them on. I have a few ideas in mind but would be good to get a second opinion or two.

Cookie Testing

So whilst Rich went for his first visit to Za Za Bazaar this weekend, a blog post from him to follow on that shortly, I got back into testing cookie flavours. Last Autumn I discovered the perfect cookie recipe. Having had problems every time I attempted cookies in the past I had almost given up hope of achieving that chewy quality that makes cookies so desirable. Now I have joined the smug group of people who do get a better than shop bought taste in their baking!The best part is that you can substitute the dark chocolate in this recipe for nearly anything, i've tried white chocolate and stem ginger, raisins and mixed spices and yesterday, Toblerone.

My Canadian friend adores Toblerone and cookies, so these were a perfect gift for her on a freezing Sunday evening, I got full marks *smug face* Luckily I am also very generous so here is the recipe I used it is very simple and you can have fresh cookies in 30mins.

You will need:

125g butter

150 plain flour

100g chocolate

½ tsp baking powder

1 egg

100g granulated sugar-it's the two types of sugar that give them the chewy texture

75g soft brown sugar

2 tsp of vanilla extract 

Pinch of salt

Chop the chocolate or ingredients of choice and pre heat the oven to 190 degrees with fan. Weigh out the sugar into a mixing bowl and melt the butter in a saucepan then add the melting butter to the sugar mix then give it a good beating, I like to listen to punk band, The Buzzcocks at this point for extra motivation. Crack the egg into the bowl and add the vanilla extract, salt and baking powder. Weigh the flour and then add gradually to the bowl  mixing each time as you go the mixture will go very stiff, just like the rolls of cookie dough you see teenage American's eating on tv. Add the chocolate/rasins/anything here and mix once more. Get some baking parchment on a baking tray and use teaspoons to separate out your mix into small blobs, do not press down, the oven will do the magic for you.

 

Finally pop them in the oven for 8-10 mins  no more or else you won't get chewy perfection you will start to see cracks forming along the cookies and the edges will go slightly brown. Let them cool, and cram them into your mouth as soon as you are unable to resist their charms. Enjoy!

 Tonight I am attempting Char Sui pork ribs, wish me luck, there will be a post if I successful.

Go Nuts for Doughnuts

Last year I finally found my dream doughnut, at the Bristol Farmer's Market, just outside the entrance to St Nick's, at an unassuming little stall called Pippin Doughnuts. Handmade doughnuts fresh every morning in Swindon, brought to Bristol now every Friday at the mini food market to brighten the dullest meeting at work. Jim and Carol have been making these delicious treats since 2008 and bring between 8 to 10 different flavours to chose from, including seasonal specials such as mulled plum and blackberry, apple and custard for winter plus gooseberry jam, in the summer.

My favourite will always be the cinnamon and brown sugar mainly because I am a cinnamon addict but the butterscotch glazed ring doughnut topped with chopped hazelnuts is a dream as is the vanilla custard, with it's real actual custard flecked with vanilla. All fillings are super generous and actually don't taste greasy or synthetic like a lot of doughnuts out there, I have tried quite a few of the flavours over the year, any one you pick will not be disappointing.

I urge you all to strongly make a visit to Pippin Doughnuts you will not find a better, fresher or more flavoursome doughnut to complete the munchy time between breakfast and lunch. Sweet treats ahoy, mark Friday in your calendar as Pippin Day from now on.

To check where else Pippin bring their sugary treasures visit their website 

Gratuitous Hunger Inducing Post

As a stand in to keep my fingers busy before the next full post please enjoy this photo of porcini and oyster mushroom risotto, with truffle oil drizzle. This was sent to me via text by a friend of their dinner last night... *drool* I might almost lick the screen it looks so good...for the sake of my work colleagues and my sanity, I won't. Please report or retweet if you are enjoying this blog so far, I like to see high reader stats, yes I am that sad.

Here Fishy Fishy....

My friend Joe, who lives up in Ashley Down, is very keen on Barbecue, to say the least. He and his friend are entering the Grillstock festival down at the Harbourside this Summer. He decided to take a break from cooking 8 hour brisket to try out a more healthy option. So without further ado, here are the results...

Last week I received a new Pro Q Hot Smoker /BBQ from our very kind sponsors HotSmoked.co.uk.  My two friends and I have been cooking a lot of meat in our smokers recently as we are getting ready for our first BBQ competition in the summer.  But there’s only so much meat you can cook without wanting to try something a bit different.

So to christen the new smoker I bought some incredibly fresh mackerel, of which I gutted and filleted myself, and some sardines from The Fish Shop on Gloucester Road.

I stuffed the Sardines with fresh bay leaf, garlic, parsley, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.  The mackerel fillets were left to marinate in lemon, lime, parsley, a pinch of sweet smoked paprika and olive oil for 15 minutes.

I then built up a large, probably too large, fire of lump-wood charcoal and a few logs of seasoned apple wood.   The fire was incredibly hot so the fish only took about 3 minutes cook, the end result was really quite something.  The fish had a crispy smoky skin with a moist flaky flesh.  I served it with new potatoes and a burnt butter sauce. Meat can take a back seat now, maybe just for the next 2 weeks.

 Joe is in the process of setting up a website and blog for their Barbecue team, Social Smokers, will make sure to link up to them once it is ready so we can all follow their process and wish them luck!

B S Ate!

Welcome to our food & drink blog! My boyfriend Rich and I will be posting all the escapades and adventures we have with food and drink in arguably the best city in the UK, Bristol. I am a keen cook and enjoy going out to sample various cuisines, I will try nearly anything so am looking forward to posting photos and reviews of all the tasty successes and joys!

Wish us luck on our first adventure! Recommendations welcome!

X