China Chef

Recently I have been a rubbish girlfriend and have failed organising our regular date nights, I'm blaming the stress of revision and the return to my real job as an air hostess (hence my lack of posting blogs and socialising within the Twittersphere). Last night myself and the lesser half decided to rectify this problem. We attempted to book into, what I feel is one of the best restaurants in town, the North Hill Noodle Bar - but unfortunately they were fully booked and couldn't squeeze us in. As I was in the mood for Chinese and as all men are aware, what a woman wants, a woman gets; we booked ourselves in at the China Chef on Crouch Street, Colchester.

We arrived at 8.30pm and the China Chef was full of atmosphere with couples, families or parties filling every table. The restaurant itself has a great layout with the ability to watch the kitchen staff work their culinary magic. I love this within a restaurant as I can not help but constantly people watch, people fascinate me! We were seated near the door and next to the window at the front of the restaurant. Funnily enough I wasn't affected by the draft from the door but the freezing cold air conditioning, which has resulted in me waking up with the sniffles.

As my regular readers will know that my restaurant reviews come down to 3 key points:

1. How much is it going to set me back?

2. Is the alcohol affordable?

3. What's on the menu?

 

1. How much is it going to set me back?

This is a difficult question to answer, it is very dependant on whether you select a rice and main dish to yourself, share a few  dishes between you or select one of their set menus. We decided on a set menu and selected the Banquet Dinner priced at £24.00 per person (minimum of two persons). Totalled up with the alcohol we spent just over £58.00.

 

 2. Is the alcohol affordable?

If you was to divide our total bill you can see that just over £10.00 was spent on drinks. Of which I had a small glass of Sauvignon Blanc and a sparkling water, and my lesser half had a Tsingtao. In my opinion the cost of the alcohol is reasonable if you compare it to other restaurants.

 

3. What's on the menu?

As I've already stated we decided on the Banquet Dinner, which China Chef define as a "Leave it to the Chef – Three Course Dinner" consisting of Gourmet Mixed Starters, Crispy Aromatic Duck with Pancakes and a Main Course.

 

Our Gourmet Mixed Starter included Fried Crispy ‘Seaweed’ with Grated Scallops, Chicken Satay on Skewers, Japanese Deep-fried Tempura King Prawns, Crispy Spring Rolls and what I believe were their Capital Spare Ribs. All deliciously tasty, which no complaints from myself and my lesser half, we enjoyed the starters that much that we demolished the dosh within minutes.

 

This was followed by the sensational Crispy Aromatic Duck with Pancakes. This is my favourite part of any Chinese and in my own personal opinion you can't have a Chinese, whether it be within a restaurant or a takeaway, with out it. This particular dish arrived at our table as a leg of duck and was skilfully shredded in front of our eyes by our speedy waitress, this certainly was a talent that amazed us both! Once again, we picked our way through this dish at some speed!

 

Lastly we had our selection of main courses. If I am honest I was a little disappointed with the service here. We had a rice dish, a vegetable dish, a prawn dish, a beef dish and a chicken dish. None of the dishes were audibly explained, which I wasn't impressed with especially as we were unaware of what dishes we had ordered. The only one I would dare to give the correct name for is the egg fried rice!! Do not get me wrong, I tried every dish and enjoyed them all, but with so many flavours it was hard to decipher what dish you was actually eating.

 

The China Chef definitely believe in the saying that you eat with your eyes, every course was presented beautifully with edible roses and edible baskets. The portion sizes are also great, leaving us both full and struggling to move - we didn't even finish all the main dishes (that would shock both our friends and families!).

 

The menu at the China Chef has many dishes from Seafood to Curry Dishes, Specials to Hot Pan Dishes - it's safe to say you will not be disappointed. Best of all, if you don't fancy getting changed from your slob gear or your onesie, they also offer a takeaway service. The full menu can be found on their website http://www.china-chef.co.uk/

 

Have you dined at the China Chef? If so why not share your experience in the comment section below.

Le Talbooth Restaurant

Last Thursday I was thoroughly spoilt on my last day of 9 to 5 employment to a delicious lunch at Le Talbooth in Dedham, Essex. The stunning award-winning restaurant has a beautiful riverside location and stunning grounds that are guaranteed to impress even the grumpiest restaurant goer!

Firstly, let me apologise, due to copious amounts of champagne, white wine and mojitos I failed on the delivery photographs for you lovely readers, once again please accept my sincerest apologies. However, I can tell you all about my delicious meal. 

Upon arrival at Le Talbooth we were shown to the bar where we enjoyed a round of drinks, nuts and olives whilst ordering our choice of lunch. May I add the bar staff make a mean mojito.

My choices were:
- For starter tempura soft shell crab with crab mayonnaise, confit onion, pickled ginger and sardine dressing
- For main I enjoyed a delicious lamb dish accompanied with exquisite potatoes 
- And finally for desert I divulged in a jazzed up version of the the childhood classic, jelly and ice-cream with walnut crumble, conference pear jelly, vanilla and damson Arctic roll

In my own humble opinion, my choices were far superior amongst our group. Other choose croquettes of Talbooth smoked salmon, leek and potato velouté and pressing of ham hock for starters; and all selected the cod for mains. All stated they were delicious, but as always I picked the best!

The service was second to none, with the staff being extremely attentive.

As this was a leaving treat I was extremely lucky to not spend a penny. However, as you can see on their website it is a little pricey, but in my opinion worth every single penny. However, if you head to Le Talbooth for lunch Monday to Friday they offer a reasonably priced, special luncheon where you can spend as little as £24.50 for two courses or £30.50 for three.

Hands down Le Talbooth was one of, if not the best meals I have eaten this year. I would highly recommend Le Talbooth.

Check out there website for menus, special offers and private dining information http://www.milsomhotels.com/letalbooth/restaurant/

If you head to Le Talbooth why not share your experience with my fellow readers in the comment section below.

Guest Post by Alexander Ward

My first ever Guest Post on my foodie blog goes to a new twitter friend, Alexander Ward. He and his better half appear to enjoy dining out as much as me. They had a recent trip to Nandos in Colchester which he blogged about and has given me his permission to share his witty tale.

“Prompted by an unapparent mood of despair and desperation, myself and my good lady decided to have some food at the Nandos in Colchester. Little did I know at the time when I gleefully accepted the proposal of attending that it would be my last.

I say my last in the sense I’m not looking to return until either my budget dictates it, or I forget about my rather poor experience and gleefully accept a proposal to attend. Something is flashing in my mind, something about a pattern. Pushing that aside, I’ll continue.

What I should state from the outset is that I actually quite like Nandos, although it goes against my immediate annoyance at a non-table-service element, I actually think it’s quite good. The food is, well, consistent, the staff are usually friendly and typically it’s a vibrant atmosphere. Plus, there’s the 25% discount I get from my job (which shall remain nameless).

Not this time, nope

Perhaps it was the choice to come during half-term, perhaps it was the choice to come to Nandos full-stop after eating at so many good places recently, but I quickly regretted our decision. Upon entering the restaurant we were seated towards the back, it was a romantic little spot beside a big wall blocking your view. What’s that? What could make a big wall blocking your view better? I’m glad you asked. A vibrating, whirring big wall, no doubt containing some machinery.

The venture was improved by the small table we were placed on. Can we get this whole two-person table sorted and put to bed please? Those tables are not big enough, Borrowers would struggle to eat here.

Oh, he’s going to be in that mood

No doubt my very lovely girlfriend was also regretting things at this point. She always has a sixth sense for detecting my annoyance at a restaurant. It could be the grumpy face. Or the huffing and the mentioning of the whirring. And the vibrating. Having sat down and considered smashing my face against the floor to improve my experience, I ventured off to order.

Now for those of you not blessed with the experience, the Nandos Queue is a terribly interesting affair. In Colchester it’s typically a long queue stretching across the entrance (NB: Fire Exit) and into the eating area. Having someone’s arse at eye level beside you whilst you’re trying to eat half a chicken is a true gift. A. GIFT.

Worth a note is that these queues are also full of, well, idiots. I had the pleasure of watching five fully grown males (who I believe live in a gym, or at least have to undergo a series of physical challenges before leaving the house) mocking a chap’s coat. His black coat. Because it was black. There was much laughter and then wonder and awe as they discovered fire.

Having ordered food and returned to my good lady (who at this point, in her usual way, cheered me up with some silly faces and talking about how good cocktails are), we waited a good while and received our chickeny goods. The food was, well, as expected. It’s always consistent at Nandos, never incredible, never terrible. In a way that’s commendable, but in others it’s the restaurant version of magnolia.

Upon finishing our food with whirring vibration, we sat back and quickly realised it was time to have some cocktails.

The thing with Nandos is, and I don’t know why, but I always become hungry 30 minutes later. Maybe it’s the amount of protein, or because I feel like a forager. Or a wild animal. Scraping chicken off bone. Laughing at men in black coats.

So, to conclude

I would give this experience a resounding 1.5 chicken bone out of 5. Yes I could’ve asked for a new table, but with the busy restaurant and a deep yearning for food, I had to prioritise”

Let me know what you think about Alexander’s blog, and if you want to stalk him on social media you can check out his blog: http://fluffnotincluded.wordpress.com/

Or follow him on twitter: @tigertoosh

Mama Kekes Cooking Sauce Review

I was contacted recently, via Twitter, by a lovely lady named Yolande also known as Mama Kekes from Kekes Foods.

Kekes Foods make cooking sauces based on their own family recipes. Their cooking sauces are 100% natural with no preservatives or artificial colourings. Yolande informed me she was inspired to come up with her range of cooking sauces by selling her mother's recipes for 6 months in Brick Lane Market, London. She received great feedback and decided to sell her cooking sauces to local deli's. Yolande is hoping to supply supermarkets such as Waitrose, Sainsbury's and Whole Foods Market. With a distributor, brand expert and a manufacturer in place, Kekes Foods is ready to hit the big time!

Mama Kekes cooking sauces come in three flavours:
Mango and Root Ginger
Tomato and Scotch Bonnet
Coconut and Lemongrass

I selected the Tomato and Scotch Bonnet cooking sauce to review. Yolande informed me that this particular sauce is suitable for vegetarians, vegans and is gluten free!

The Tomato and Scotch Bonnet cooking sauce recommends using beef as an accompaniment. After Yolande's suggestion I decided to cook mine in a pasta bake, full of fresh and simple ingredients. These ingredients were:

Lean beef mince

Fuseli pasta

Red onion

Red pepper

Mushrooms

Mozzarella

The flavour was wholesome and consistent throughout. There was an underlying pleasant heat from the scotch bonnet chillies. However, I will be honest the sauce was neither as spicy or tomatoey as I had imagined. I guess that isn't necessarily a bad point though, it would make it suitable for the whole family.

The Tomato and Scotch Bonnet cooking sauce is rich in colour and taste and I would recommend anyone to try it. You can contact Yolande through the Kekes Foods Twitter account, @MamaKekes or via their website http://www.kekesfoods.com/

Watch out for the Kekes Foods products in a supermarket near you!

Let me know if this is a brand you have tried and share you opinions and photographs on your dish.

Mango and Raspberry Muffins

This versatile yummy muffin can be served as a desert or eaten for breakfast. It's deliciously fruity and is topped with a crunchy crumble topping. This is another recipe that is sure to wow your friends and family.

Ingredients for the Crumble
75g Plain flour
65g Unsalted butter
50g Caster sugar

Ingredients for the Muffin
380g      Mango yogurt
370g      Caster sugar
360g      Plain flour
250g      Fresh raspberries
  70g      Unsalted butter
1 1/2tsp Baking powder
   1/2tsp Bicarbonate of soda
   1/2tsp Vanilla extract
      2      Eggs

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees and line a muffin tray with 12 muffin cases.

2. Crumble: Add all the ingredients into a bowl and rub the mixture until it resembles breadcrumbs. Then set the mixture aside.

3. Place the flour, sugar, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl and mix together

4. Add the yogurt, eggs and vanilla extract to the mixture and mix until smooth

5. Melt the butter and add to the mixture ensuring the batter is smooth and even.

6. Gently fold in the raspberries.

7. Spoon the mixture into the cases before sprinkling the crumble mixture on top.

8. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the muffins are golden brown and bounce back when pressed. 

The only downside (if you can call it that!) to this recipe is the raspberries sink to the bottom so you panic a little that its under baked, fear not its just the gooey raspberries.

Does this recipe tickle your fancy? Why not try baking this at home and send me your pictures.

Oaty Raspberry Traybake

This super easy bake is jam packed with healthy ingredients, that will satisfy your sweet tooth in a low calorie and guilt free way. This Oaty Raspberry Traybake takes around 12 minutes in the oven and is so quick to whip up you'll be making it over and over again.

Ingredients
200g  Rolled oats
150g  Punnet of fresh raspberries
  75g  Clear honey
  50g  Butter (plus a little extra for greasing)
  50g  Ground almonds
1/2tsp Almond extract

Method
1. Pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees and grease a 20cm x 20cm baking tray.

2. Roughly mash the raspberries in a bowl and set aside

3. In a saucepan melt the butter and honey. Once melted, take the mixture off the heat and stir in the oats, ground almonds and almond extract.

4. Press half the oat mixture in an even layer on the bottom of the baking tray.

5. Spread the mashed raspberries on top.

6. Press the remaining oats on top and evenly smooth over.

7. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden.

8. Remove from the oven and leave to cool before slicing into 16 slices.

Is this a recipe you fancy trying? If so, why not send me pictures to share with my twitter follows and blog readers.