A taste of the 193 course menu

Dear readers,

A couple of months ago, a friend sent me a link about an event taking place in London - a world record attempt on the longest tasting menu. The menu included 193 dishes from all over the world and was hosted by a food company called Unearthed. This sounded incredible and when I saw that they sold tickets for a 1 hour sitting of the event, I was determined to become a part of it!

 

                                     Table setting

The first set of tickets had sold out almost immediately. I was told that more would be released on a particular date. So I sat poised over the computer and fortunately managed to get 2 tickets!

 

The one hour sitting included 7 taster courses. Firstly we were given Kansiye - a traditional hearty beef stew with peanut butter from Guinea.

                            Kansiye from Guinea

The next stop was Thailand with the classic Pad Thai, served with a lemon wedge and some ground peanuts.

                         Pad Thai from Thailand
 

Two courses were served in the form of drinks; Rose Water Cordial from Turkmenistan and Otai - a watermelon, pineapple and coconut drink from Tonga. The Rose Water Cordial was aromatic and refreshing. The Otai really surprised us. We had never tried coconut and watermelon together before but the combination is delicious! This was a favourite of ours and we hope to recreate it sometime, with a drop of rum maybe...

 Rose Water Cordial from Turkmenistan

The next food course was Koshari from Egypt - an eccentric dish of macaroni pasta served with an exotic sauce of rice and lentils. To be honest, we thought that this one was pretty bland and didn't enjoy it so much.

                             Koshari from Egypt

The clock was ticking and we had 20 minutes left. We were given the last two dishes, both of which were desserts; Tama from Palau - a deep fried vanilla ball, and Frozen Durian from Malaysia. The vanilla ball seemed quite similar to a doughnut. Durian is known to be an acquired taste. To me, it tasted like slimy, garlic-spiked fruit. I don't think that I'll be in a hurry to eat durian again! But it was certainly an experience to try it!

                      Otai from Tonga

Our hour was then up and we had to leave for the next sitting of guests. During the meal, there were also some Uneartherd food products out for tasting including Bratwurst, Spanish omellete, chilli and lime prawn skewers, Proscuitto Crudo and Pear and Almond tart, to take us to a few more countries while we were in there!

 Tama from Palau and Frozen Durian from Malaysia

Overall, it was a very interesting evening, having sampled a variety of dishes from around the world. Some were more unusual than others. It would have been a dream to be part of the production of such an exciting event, and, of course, I would have loved to have tasted all of the 193 dishes.

 

Kaffir Lime and Coconut Macarons

Dear readers,

After over two years of blogging, I thought that it was about time for me to try making macarons. I've heard that they are challenging, and that they were; I baked five batches at various baking conditions. The main problem that I experienced was the cracking of the shells. I have read pages and pages about the making of macarons and I think that I have finally (not) cracked it!


Kaffir lime leaf is one of my most favourite flavours in the world. It is so fragrant, aromatic and invigorating. I believe that kaffir lime leaves are the one ingredient that captures the essence of Thailand - a Thai curry is nothing without them! I searched the internet for kaffir lime leaf flavoured macarons and, to my surprise, I couldn't find one recipe. I decided that this situation needs to be changed.
Kaffir Lime and Coconut Macarons
8 kaffir lime leaves finely chopped
 45g egg white (aged for 2 days at room temperature)
70g + 100g icing sugar
50g ground almonds
22g caster sugar
Green food colouring (powder or gel - the amount will vary depending on the type used)
30g coconut cream

This recipe will make 16 macarons (32 shells).

Sieve the almonds and 70g icing sugar. Whisk the egg whites until they become stiff, then add the caster sugar and food colouring and whisk until stiff again. Fold in the kaffir lime leaves and sieved icing sugar and ground almonds. Stir a few times until the batter has a runny consistency. Pour the mixture into a piping bag and pipe circles of the mixture onto silicone baking sheets. Leave to rest for 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 170°C. Place the macarons in the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 140°C. Place a wooden spoon in the door of the oven to hold it ajar for the duration of the cooking. Bake for 15 minutes, then set aside to cool before removing from the baking sheet.

Sieve 100g icing sugar and mix with the coconut cream. Pour into a piping bag and pipe onto the bottom of the shells to glue them together.

Notes:
In most meringue recipes, minimal folding is required in order to keep as much air in the mixture as possible. I learned (many cracked macarons later) that macaron batter requires a lot of the air to be stirred out before it is piped. This is tricky, since not stirring enough will ruin the macarons and so will stirring too much! About 10 stirs will leave the batter runny enough so that once it has been piped, it spreads out and flattens a little to yield flat surfaces.

Baking times and temperatures may vary - it depends on your oven and also the weather! This is the recipe that (finally) worked for me.

In winter, rest the macarons near a radiator.

To those who sampled these without knowing the flavour, limey and herby flavours were described. I agree that kaffir lime leaves have lime and herb-like flavours. I think that it was difficult to identify the kaffir lime leaf flavour alone as people are generally used to eating them in savoury dishes with lots of other flavours. Some friends actually said that these macarons remind them of Thai curry! The aromatic kaffir lime leaves and the smooth and creamy coconut do make a fine pairing and are very much associated with Thai cuisine. I think that they make quite a fine pairing in macarons, too!

I am glad that I have now accomplished the "macaron challenge". I think that I will put them to one side for now, but hope to try out a different flavour combination in the future! Has anyone else found these as tricky as I have?

Mango Tree - Belgravia, London

The Mango Tree restaurant is situated in the heart of Belgravia, a short walk from Victoria Station, London. It is quite easily my favourite Thai restaurant, with Sukhothai being a close second.

My friend and I had arrived a little early for our reservation, so we decided to begin our Mango Tree experience with a refreshing fruity cocktail. With our cocktail menus, we were given a generous bowl of spicy peanuts which the waiter frequently topped up as we schlurped slowly between conversing the latest gossip. The menu was so extensive and interesting that the waiter came over to us a good few times before we could eventually decide on our choice of cocktail.

I went for my favourite cocktail - the Singapore Sling.

Sadly, my Singapore Sling tasted purely of watery orangeade, sorry Mango Tree. I should have known not to order a Singapore Sling from anywhere else but the Raffles hotel in Singapore, southeast Asia. I regret that my friend and I both cannot remember the name of her cocktail, however, it was beautiful!

As we gazed over the menus, we were given a bowl of fish crackers. Unfortunately, unlike Sukhothai, they did not accompany the crackers with any sauce to dip.

We decided to share all of our dishes. For our starters, we had Yum Talay (mixed seafood salad with spicy lime and tamarind sauce) and a Tom Ka Goong (spicy prawn soup with coconut milk).

The Yum Talay was composed of mussels, chunks of white fish, squid, scallops, prawns, sliced cherry tomatoes and spring onions. It had delicious salty seafood flavours that contrasted well with the refreshing acidity of the lime and heat of the chilli.

The prawn soup was cleansing and also refreshing. Lots of flavours in this soup took me back to Thailand.

For our mains, we decided to go for two dishes from the grill section. Firstly, we had the Pla Pow Lui Meung (char-grilled swordfish steak with a garlic chilli crust, on a bed of wok fried green and cream sauce).

The sauce had a balance of creamy, sweet and savoury attributes. The meat was also creamy and very soft. The combined components of the dish gave an incredible explosion of unusual, yet stunning flavours. There was a distinct warmth of chilli and the crunch of the pak choi contrasted well with the soft texture of the fish.

The second main we shared was the Gai Yang (roasted corn fed poussin marinated in coconut milk, lemongrass, galangal, turmeric and kaffir lime leaf).

The sauce that accompanied the poussin had similar flavours to the Yum Talay. The poussin was juicy and tender and had great flavours but was not as exciting as the swordfish. My personal preferences lie in wetter dishes, but that is just me, not everyone.

After we stuffed every last speck of food into our drooling mouths we were given some warm wet towels to clean our hands (and mouth!) with.

Onto desserts...
As always, it was inevitable that I couldn't make a decision on one single dessert. There was a sharer platter, so of course, no question.

Going clockwise starting from the cheesecake of the left...

The Cake Ma-now (lime and lychee flavoured cheesecake with lychee jelly) had invigorating flavours, yet the texture was revolting. No one should ever make a cheesecake with gelatine. They should always be made with eggs and baked to give a softer texture. The base was quite plain, which is fair enough as the flavours in the cheese were so bright, but it was also too soft. A crunch was definitely needed, and even more so with the gelatine body. The lychee jelly didn't go down too smoothly either. It tasted quite watery, but perhaps it just may not be for me.

The pistachio ice cream was rich and smooth. Each spoonful filled your nose with fragrant pistachio notes. This was probably my favourite dessert of the five.

The Guay Ob Ma prow Sod (layered caramelised banana and coconut pudding with caramel sauce) tasted almost of pure cooked banana, with a slightly cakey texture. The layers of banana were still firm, so your teeth were able to sink into the pudding. I didn't taste much coconut, though.

The Cake Ta-krai (chocolate brownie) was a little too dry on the outside, but the centre was slightly moist, being more acceptable. The sauce on top helped as it was quite rich.

The Kow Niew Mamuang (honey mango served with coconut milk and sticky rice) was sweet, creamy and delicious.

Pretty loos.

Finally, a complementary chocolate to complete yet another exquisite meal at Mango Tree. I hope to see again you soon!

Sukhothai - Headingley, Leeds

Sukhothai is a warm and friendly yet, classy Thai restaurant in Leeds. The authentic food and service has been to an exceptional standard of quality every time I have dined here.

We were warmly greeted with a bow and a "Sawatdee Kaaaa", seated and asked if we would like any prawn crackers. I find that serving a sauce with the prawn crackers dictates the altruism of a restaurant... fortunately for Sukhothai they served their prawn crackers with a pot of sweet chilli sauce. Well done! However, it was very small pot and I do like my sauce and didn't have any to go with my last 10 crackers! (Bigger pot next time please!)

My friend Hana and I ordered the Special Mixed Starter for two (no. 131) which included a selection of Satay Chicken (one of my favourite starters - marindaded chicken on skewers served with a peanut satay sauce), Pandan Chicken (marinaded chicken wrapped in Pandan leaves), filled Tung Thong (deep fried vegetable filled dumplings) and Chicken on Toast (marinaded minced chicken sprinkled with sesame seeds served on toast and deep fried - very similar to prawn toast that you may have had at your local Chinese). The starters were all served on a large plate with a beautiful salad garnish as well as a hand-carved vegetable rose and various dips including the satay, sweet chilli and soy sauces.

The Chicken Satay was delicately marinaded and the texture of the chicken was perfect - juicy and soft. The Pandan Chicken was again soft and lightly seasoned. The Tung Thong was probably my my least favourite part of the starter dish. The dumplings were a little bland and the vegetables were English rather than Thai (mainly peas and sweetcorn) however the vegetables were cooked well and the pastry was crispy. Finally, the Chicken on Toast was delicious. The flavours, again, were well balanced and the toast was crispy. If anything, the toast was a little too oily but this did contribute to its favourable richness.

For mains, I recommended that Hana choose the Weeping Tiger, sometimes known as Tiger Cry, as she is not a fan of spicy food. I would also recommend a Masaman curry to someone who wasn't keen on really hot food because it is quite mild and I would consider it Thailand's version of a korma - mild, creamy and nutty. The Weeping Tiger is a sirloin steak cooked to your liking. It is served on a hot sizzling platter with a special Thai sauce that they pour over the steak at the table in front of you, creating a huge bubbly steamy sensation of flavours and aromas.

Hana's Weeping Tiger was very moist and flavoursome. She ordered it medium-rare and it had an incredibly soft texture. The sauce had a delicate flavour that allowed the flavours of the meat to be released. The sauce was so delicious we mopped it all up with hand-rolled balls of Thai sticky rice.

I ordered my favourite dish from Sukhothai. This was the Gung Yang Rad Prik Gang (grilled shell-on large king prawns wok fried with red curry, coconut milk, lime leaves and fresh chilli).

To my disappointment, this dish did not live up to its original incredulousness. As you may have read from my "Southeast Asian Favourites" post, I have a deep obsession with large prawns cooked in their shells. This is one dish that specifically brings me to Sukhothai over any other Thai restaurant because I have never seen prawns the size of these on my plate in England before coming here! From previous experiences in Sukhothai, this dish has been served with absolutely mind blowing flavours. One unique ingredient that I discovered at Sukhothai was fresh green peppercorns. They were served on their stalks (photo shown below) in the curry sauce of this dish. The stalks look almost like mini versions of the brussel sprouts that are sold on their stalks in supermarkets around Christmas time.

The prawns, unfortunately, seemed to be a little undercooked to my liking. I prefer my prawns to be super-charred so that the shell is edible (some people believe it is a little strange to consume the shell and head of a prawn but honestly, they contain so much more flavour than just the meat alone). The shell was still quite chewy and the prawns didn't feel soft enough - with the exception of one of the prawns that had a considerable difference in taste and flavour (very odd). I wasn't sure that the prawns went down too smoothly but this may have been due to my fragile state in consuming excess alcohol the previous night... The prawn shells also looked a little grey which also indicated that they might have been undercooked. I wasn't too bothered about consuming the shells due to my hangover anyway, so didn't bother to complain. I did, however, enquire about the lack of peppercorns.

It turns out that the volcanic ash disaster had finally affected me. No holiday of mine was cancelled, yet I did not receive fresh green peppercorns in my Gung Yang Rad Prik Gang because they could not be imported from Thailand! It may seem ridiculous how much of a big deal I am making of this, but seriously, the psychedelic peppery-ness and aromatic herb-like flavours from the fresh green peppercorns are simply like nothing else I have ever experienced. Kaffir lime leaves, however, were in the dish and, I believe, they provide such an intense flavour that these leaves alone could potentially summarise the flavour of Thailand as one ingredient.

Overall, I generally enjoy every aspect of Sukhothai and it will remain in my heart for a very long time. I will continue to treat myself to an exquisite meal there when I have the funds to do so.

Khob Koon Kaa! (Thank you!)

Thai lime, chilli and coconut white chocolate slab

Thai has always been my favourite cuisine, and chocolate has always been my favourite food. My big brother Owen encouraged me to design my own Thai chocolate. I believe the three most significant unitaste (meaning could be combined in a sweet or savoury dish) Thai flavours are lime, chilli and coconut. White chocolate has always been the best out of the three for fruity chocolates therefore it will have the greatest affinity for my chosen combination.

Lime, chilli and coconut are used in all sorts of Thai cooking. Kaffir lime leaves are the true taste of Thailand, and if I were to make truffles I would have infused cream with lemongrass and kaffir lime, but for the chocolate slab I needed to add solid ingredients.

These are literally the only ingredients used for my chocolate slab; lime, dried chilli, dried coconut and creamy white chocolate.

I decided to add only the zest of the lime as I thought the juice may affect the composition of the chocolate and prevent it from setting. Lime zest carries a great deal of flavour and lime oil (very expensive and difficult to get hold of) so thought this would be enough to flavour the chocolate.


I decided not to add chilli into the chocolate as the dried chilli I had was prettttyyyy pungent - this one small chilli flake was enough to make my nose run!


I simply mixed the zest of one lime with 200g of creamy milk chocolate and poured it into a rectangular container. I then studded the zesty chocolate with flakes of dried coconut and chilli before letting it cool.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed this chocolate. I was concerned that the zest of one lime wouldn't be enough but there is a very noticeable lime flavour present. I was worried that the chilli would be too strong and overpower of the other more subtle flavours, but the creaminess of the chocolate seems to smoothen it out. If anything, a little more chilli could have been added but that would be to my personal taste and I generally like my food very hot! The coconut adds a contrast in texture by providing a little crunchiness against the velvety white chocolate. I enjoy the texture of coconut in many baked goods and I know that Fox's add desiccated coconut to some of their biscuits purely for added richness and texture. A chunk of this slab truly melts in the mouth like butter on toast, painting your mouth with a layer of refreshing creamy lime and a tickle of chilli.

Bliss!