Chinese Roasties from Fresh

The other week Jamie and Boz had heartily recommended Fresh on St Michael's Hill especially for their Cantonese style roast meats. My curiosity was piqued and so last week Rich and I browsed the menu for possible order choices. Jamie had recommended the honey roast pork so that was immediately on our list, along with sweet and sour Cantonese style chicken, roast duck, beef and fresh ginger fried rice. I will point out now that this place is very popular so have some back up dishes in mind when you order because we originally wanted to try the crispy chili beef but this was either sold out or not being cooked on this particular day. After placing our order over the phone we waited ten or so minutes before heading off on the short walk to St Michael's Hill for collection, as no delivery option is available and we lived pretty close.

A tiny door way housing two little bench areas where you can eat in greeted us when we entered, this was pretty busy, full of students stocking up on tastes of home, plus they know a good deal when they see one. You can order the daily special and rice combo from £4 and the portions here are pretty generous you'd be crazy not to take them up on it, mind you it's not exactly expensive on the whole, no dish goes about £5.80.   Also Fresh is cash only but there is a cash point by the Co-Op on St Michael's Hill if you forget. Anyway we headed home with our delicious bag of food and salivated all the way there.

beef and ginger fried rice

honey roast pork slices on egg fried rice

My oh my, sweet heaven. This place knows good Chinese food, everything was superbly cooked and tasted amazing. The beef and ginger fried rice had huge chunks of tasty beef in it and the sweet and sour was easily the best I've ever had, you could detect fresh little hints of zingy orange flavour in it and it really emphasised the home made quality of this dish.  The honey roasted pork was probably my favourite although with the sweet and sour it was a tough battle between the two. The pork was juicy with an incredible flavour I should have just ordered double amounts.

So should you try Fresh? Absolutely, prices are great, food is even better, a great little discovery that I am rather excited about trying again. Probably my new favourite Chinese takeaway, even though you can quickly refuel inside if you are in a need of a fix,  in Bristol, although if you need more choice, head to Aroma, my other top pick.  To check out what Fresh has to offer check out their website. 

A Visit to Wok Cafe

Wednesday last week Jamie and I met up for a well overdue catch up dinner at Wok Cafe, which used to be Shanghai Nights. This building has been split up in to a variety of mini businesses including, a shop, karaoke, bubble tea as well as a little cafe. The cafe is a lot smaller than the old Shanghai Nights and a bit less fancy but the menu is pretty big so there is a lot to choose from.  What is rather good is that you can get a main and rice from £6 none of the dishes are over £10 so it is all in all a good budget option if you are not feeling like cooking but also not feeling like spending. 

Jamie and I ordered a pot of jasmine tea and I left the rest of the ordering up to Jamie, there were a lot of dishes I was familiar with on the menu and some that were new to me but as Jamie had been here before and she was the expert I let her guide the way. We decided to share the mixed meat crispy noodles, hotpot with Chinese sausage and preserved meat with rice, yam croquettes and some siu mai.

mixed meat with crispy noodles

siu mai

Yam croquettes

hotpot

The short of it, the food impressed me. The cafe only seats about 30 people but the food you get is really rather good, hot, fresh and tasty.  I particularly liked the crispy noodles as they are not something I have very often and the varying textures in the dish are enjoyable and a little different. Yam croquettes I also love but I know they won't be to everyone's taste as the texture is quite odd but the reward of roast pork inside with a tangy sauce is a delight. 

The whole meal cost us about £13 each which for all those dishes and including drinks is an absolute bargain. I am looking forward to exploring more of the menu and trying some new dishes, there are a lot of dishes that you will be familiar with and plenty that will be new to you, so be adventurous and give some of them a try.  To have a sneaky peek at the menu check out their website.

Dim Sum at Shanghai Nights

Way over due a dim sum visit, I am an addict you know, a recent Sunday, Jamie, Elisa, Mar, Gema and I went to Shanghai Nights for their dim sum menu. I was extremely hungry so we let Jamie, as the expert, lead the way in ordering. We had been in the restaurant for about 15 minutes and no one had come to take our  drinks order, so Jamie went up to the desk to enquire and was told we had to order them and the food from the bar. This was fine if we had been told the procedure before hand, it pretty strange that we had to guess what the deal was. 4 of us shared a pot of Iron Buddha tea whilst we waited for our dim sum to arrive.

Pork and Chive Dumplings

Salt and Pepper Squid

We had to ask for plates and chopsticks, for 5, we were delivered plates and five individual chopsticks, which was rather amusing and odd, so we had to ask for 3 more separately. The food however was great. We all agreed most of the dim sum we ordered was some of the best we'd had in Bristol so far. The flavours were fresh and the dim sum, extremely well stocked with filling. I particularly enjoyed my favourite Siu Mai and the Xiao Long Bao, which were very well made as the soup filling did not leak out at all so when you took a bite the lovely fragrant stock poured out. There is a great short film about their dim sum and an interview with the dim sum chef from Shanghai Nights on vimeo here.

As well as a variety of dumplings we also order some salt and pepper squid, cuttlefish cakes and shredded pork with crispy noodles to pad out the meal. All were wonderful, I have never had cuttlefish before and it went wonderfully with the chilli dip, nice and crispy with a subtle fish flavour. The noodles were greatly admired for the variety of textures in the dish, crispy noodles with soft vegetables and fragrant pork made a great combination. 

Cuttlefish Cakes

Siu Mai

Shredded Pork with Crispy Noodles

Delicious shrimp filled Har Gow (perfectly peachy coloured morcels)

There are a few tweaks they need to make with regards to service, but the dim sum at Shanghai Nights, bar about 2 dishes, is even better than Dynasty so if you are a dim sum fan, I recommend giving them a visit. We paid about £13 each including a drink which is pretty good value for what you get. Dim sum is always best when you go with more than two people as you get to sample more dishes I am looking forward to returning and sampling their buffet menu. For menus, karaoke and bubble tea flavours check out their website.

Chinese Feasting at The Mayflower

I have lived in Bristol nearly five years and never been to the Mayflower. I have heard so much about it since knowing of it's existence that I was well over due a visit. Sarah had set up our monthly foodies meet up dinner for the Mayflower, it seemed to take ages for Friday to come round but finally it did. The Mayflower is hidden under the Beefeater and next to the Bearpit if you take the subway, a little secret restaurant hidden from passing trade view. I invited Jamie to join our party and promised her she could order for Rich and I as she was the expert, plus I wanted to try some new and authentic dishes. Jamie had already praised the Mayflower as the place to go in Bristol to get authentic Cantonese dishes so I knew I was in for a treat.

Sizzling Beef (ordered by one of our party)

As in some of the bigger Chinese restaurants there are both English and Chinese menus, the Mayflower excels in it's Chinese menu, here you can get many Southern Chinese delights including a good variety of hot pot dishes. We were all pretty hungry by this point so a hush descended over the table whilst we studied the four page menu. Jamie helped with some of the menu details and after about 20 minutes everyone had come to a decision so I sat back and sipped my Chinese tea whilst I waited.

Three Roasties

Jamie had ordered; three roasties, salt and pepper squid, tung choy in Malaysian sauce and an oyster and pork belly hot pot. I'd had three roasties before at Dynasty and the squid was my one stipulation to the meal because I adore it. Three roasties comprises of honey roast pork, pork belly and roasted duck served with rice and this was the best I have tasted, really well flavoured meats and crispy skin on the duck. The only warning I have is this is served at room temperature so don't be surprised when it does not turn up hot.

Tung choy is a semi-aquatic tropical plant, known as water spinach in English. Definitely one of Jamie's favourites from home where she knows it as morning glory. So obviously there were a number of titters round the table when it rocked up announced as such. The Malaysian style sauce it was served in was made from fermented tofu paste and was totally delicious. I wanted to try something new and this was definitely new. 

Tung Choy

Salt and Pepper Squid with Chilli Salt

The Mayflower serves the best salt and pepper squid I've had. It was crispy and not in any way rubbery, it has recently become one of my favourite dishes to order and this was the pinnacle of my recent foray into this dish. Finally the hot pot, this was also something completely new and the variety of different ones you can get at The Mayflower is great, anything from fish belly and tofu to stewed beef brisket. I was slightly dubious of the oysters after my first introduction into the world of oysters two years or so ago I was pretty sick the next day. Since then never has a oyster passed my lips. However these were cooked with a light batter so I was willing to give them a go. I was glad I did because they tasted very different hot. The sauce in the hot pot was light, giving the tender pork belly and oysters a chance to shine I would love to try some different hot pots in the future the brisket one on the menu here sounds particularly delicious.

Oyster and Pork Belly Hot Pot 

The Mayflower may not be fancy inside but the food it serves is first rate. There were sounds of happy munching at our table for many minutes it was definitely some of the best Chinese food I have experienced probably ever. I look forward to returning, especially with Jamie, who is my secret weapon. Rather randomly The Mayflower is open until 3am most evenings so if you have a late night hankering, this is not a problem. To check out some of the many other dishes served at The Mayflower check out their website. 

Jamie's Chinese Feast Part 2

Part two of Jamie's Chinese feast plus dessert, it will make you very hungry indeed.

Char- Siu Pork,叉燒

Char Siu Pork

Char Siu meaning barbeque meat is another popular dish among the Chinese community. This dish originates from Hong Kong but you can practically find them in most Chinese restaurants. In Bristol, there is a top notch Cantonese restaurant called Mayflower that serves very good Saam Siu meaning three roasts in Cantonese. This dish includes: Char Siu, Siu Yuk (roast pork belly) and Roast duck. This is my all-time favourite dish.

Ingredients:

• 500g of Pork Belly/ Pork Loin (Cut them in long strips,1 inch thick)
• 1/4 bottle of Char Siu sauce (Make:Lee Kum Kee)
• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of rice wine
• 1/2 teaspoon of five spice powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil
• Few drops of red colouring

1. Marinate the pork with all the ingredients overnight or 3-4 before cooking for best results.
2. If you are using belly pork, make sure to score the skin so the crackling comes out nice and crunchy.
3. Pre-heat the oven at 190C.
4. Bake it in oven 190C for 15mins until half-nearly cooked.
5. Then put the grill on for 10mins-15mins so the meat gets slightly charred and crispy.
6. Brush some extra Char Siu sauce on while the meat is on grill.
7. Turn grill off when the meats are slightly charred and crispy on the top. Serve.

Char Siu 

Char Siu Pork Belly

You can get the Char Siu sauce (Lee Kum Kee) from a local Chinese supermarket. This is what you are looking out for. Lee Kum Kee has a selection of great sauces, so if you are a big fan of Chinese food, make sure you try the black bean sauce and spicy bean sauce which is perfect for a stir fry beef/chicken or even tofu if you like them!

Fried Salt and Pepper Squid

Salt and Pepper Squid

Here is another 'must-order' dish whenever I go to a Chinese restaurant or ANY restaurant that serves fried calamari. It is very similar to fried calamari apart from the extra ingredients we use in this recipe. The peppers, spring onion, garlic and chillies definitely bring an extra crunch and flavour to this dish!
Squid itself has not much flavour apart from its fishy smell and chewy texture, so it usually needs a sauce or marinates to bring out the flavour. In this case, marinate the squid for few hours before cooking.

Ingredients:

• 500g of squid (cut them 1inch x 1 inch then cross/score them on one side)
• 1/2 a red pepper (chopped in little cubes)
• A few stalk of spring onion (chopped an inch long)
• 3 gloves of garlic (finely chopped)
• 2 chillis (chopped)
• 1/2 cup of corn flour
• 1 tablespoon of Thai fish Sauce
• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of white pepper

1. Marinate the squid with Thai fish Sauce, soy Sauce, salt and pepper for few fours for best results.
2. Put 1 tablespoon of oil in a frying pan, fry garlic for a minute then add red pepper and fry it for 5 minutes. Finally, add spring onion and chilli and fry it for another 2 minutes.
3. Add a pinch of salt for flavouring. Dish the vegetables mixture and leave it aside.
4. Place corn flour on another plate and dap the sliced squid with corn flour until it is evenly coated.
5. In another pan, put enough oil for deep frying. 4-5cm oil should be enough to cover the squid. Heat the oil on high heat.
6. Deep fry the squid on until golden brown. Lower the heat if the oil is getting too hot.
7. When all the squid are fried, the final step is to mix the squid with the vegetables mixture. Put them in a pan and stir fry them very quickly on high heat.
8. Serve.  A dipping sauce like Thai Sweet Chilli sauce will go perfectly with the squid.

Salt and Pepper Squid

If you are not a squid person, the same recipe can be used for prawns and chicken! 

The Thai sweet chilli sauce is very mild and if you are up for something slightly more spicier than there is a chilli sauce I would like to recommend here. 

I grew up eating this sauce in Malaysia and it is a perfect dipping for EVERYTHING! You can get them in every Chinese supermarket or even in Tesco and Asda. Enjoy!

Elisa and I were stuffed after such a delicious meal thanks to Jamie's skills, but we still had room for pudding, banana splits. I have not had such a satisfying dessert in a long while, definitely indulge in one when you are feeling in an ice cream mood.

Jamie's Chinese Feast Part 1

Last week it was our turn to go to Jamie's for dinner. I had previously cooked my giant meat fest Jambalaya and Elisa had made a fabulous fish pie. We wandered down to Old Market to find Jamie's flat with dessert in hand, unknowingly some of the nicest Chinese food I've had in a long while, awaited us. Here are the delicious  crackers she made that awaited us.

Prawn Crackers with Sweet Chilli Dip

Jamie made us, coconut rice, three cups chicken, salt and pepper squid and char siu pork. Jamie has written up the four recipes in a blog post and I will be posting them in two blogs complete with photos. So without further ado here is Jamie.

Coconut rice (Nasi Lemak)

I have made this rice once for Abby to try and she totally loved it, so I decided to make it again to make her happy, HA! I would usually go for jasmine rice as it has a very subtle, fragrant taste and compliments different flavoured dishes better; we don't want to over complicate the taste buds too much.  So, I decided to make the coconut rice quite light, so it did not overpower the flavour of other dishes. 

This rice originates from Malaysia and it is called Nasi Lemak which means fatty rice in Malay. Why fatty? Coconut does produce quite a lot of fat while cooking, but fatty in this context simply means rich and creamy.Traditionally, this dish come as a platter of food wrapped in banana leaves, served with fried anchovies, roasted peanuts, hard-boiled egg, and hot spicy sauce (sambal). And believe it or not, we usually have it for breakfast. Chilli for breakfast definitely wakes you right up! It is a must-try if you ever go to Malaysia/Singapore. This recipe serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 2 normal sized mugs/cups of Thai jasmine rice (you can also use Basmati)
• 1 300ml can of coconut milk (I use Chaokoh coconut milk from Thailand)
• 1 1/2 cups of water
• 1/2 tsp saffron (optional)
• 3 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
• 5 2inch slices of peeled ginger(pound before it goes into the rice)
• 1 tsp salt
• Pandan leaves (if you can find them in a local Chinese supermarket

1. Place rice in a non-stick pot and rinse with tap water until the water is clear, then drain the water
2. Mix in the coconut milk, chopped garlic, Pandan leaves and saffron
3. Pour the water and salt into the mixture and stir well
4. Place lid on the pot and cook it on medium for 8 mins, then put it on a very low heat and cook it for another 12-15mins
5. Stir the rice and remove ginger before serving

I use a rice cooker myself so it usually takes 30mins to steam the rice. Cooking using gas/fire is usually quicker 20-25mins. So please check your rice within the first 20mins. If it is soft and fluffy, turn gas off. Most of the ingredients used can be found in your local Chinese supermarket.

Three-cups-chicken (三杯鸡)

Three Cups Chicken

Three cups chicken is a classic Taiwanese dish, it is very similar to the Chicken in Ginger & Spring Onion you can get from the local Chinese takeaway in the UK. But instead of spring onion, Thai basil leaves are traditionally used. It brings an aromatic and flavoursome taste to the dish. This dish is very popular among the Chinese community as it is easy to cook and the ingredients are very common to many other Chinese dishes, so you can usually find these ingredients in a Chinese household. This dish goes perfectly with a bowl of warm, fragrance jasmine rice, just the perfect way to blend in the meat sauces. The 3-cups in this dish mean a 'Chinese tea cup' of Soy Sauce- Rice Wine- Sesame oil. The cup measurement in this recipe has been improvised; the cup measurement is a normal tea/coffee mug.

Ingredients:

• 600g of chicken breast/thighs (diced)
• 4 slices of peeled ginger
• 2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
• 1.5/4 a cup of Shaoxing wine or Chinese rice wine
• 1/4 cup of light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of dark soy sauce
• 1/4 cup of sesame oil 
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• A small bunch of Thai basil leaves
• 1/2 tablespoon of corn flour (optional, if you like a thicker sauce)

1. Heat the pan on medium heat and put in the sesame oil. When the pan is hot, put in the garlic and ginger and fry it until they are slightly brown.
2. Now add the sugar to the pan, leave the sugar to brown for a minute then add your diced chicken. The sugar is used to caramalise the meat.
3. Fry the chicken on a high heat for a few minutes, lower the heat then add light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and wine. Stir well.
4. Now put the heat very low, put a lid on the pan and let it slow cook for 10 minutes. If the meat gets too dry, add some water.
5. If  you prefer a thick sauce, use corn flour mix at this point. Put the corn flour in a cup and mix it well with 4 tablespoons of water. Pour into the pan with the chicken and increase the heat, stirring evenly for a minute.
6. Finally put in the Thai basil leaves and let it cook with the chicken for 1 minute before dishing it up.

My plate of coconut rice, salt and pepper squid and chicken

This was truly delicious I am definitely going to make the chicken myself soon as it was too good. Tomorrow I shall post the second half of Jamie's feast  where she will divulge her recipe for salt and pepper squid and char siu pork. For any of your Asian cooking needs check out large supermarket Wai Yee Hong in Eastville or if you are more central based fairly newly open Wah Yan Hong on Denmark Street or Kin Yip Hon down by Dynasty.