Uncle Ted's Recipes #14: Hearty but light chicken breasts

 Usually this is a type of cooking I reserve for fish and seafood (mainly salmon, prawns or cod) but I tried it tonight with chicken and it works pretty well for that too. This is a hearty dish good enough for any night of the week that can be served with a wide variety of additions and side dishes/foods but first things first, let's get to the point of cooking the chicken first.

Utensils/tools:

1 small meat-cutting knife

1 medium baking tray & 1 oven

greaseproof paper or high-quality tin foil

Plate (you can choose to eat straight from the oven with your hands but I would not recommend it)

Ingredients:

2 medium skinless chicken breast pieces

20-30ml soya sauce

4 garlic cloves

2 teaspoons pickled ginger

1/4 chilli flakes (optional)

2 bay leaves (optional)

Cooking steps/method of preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 220C double-sided setting.
2. Lay some greaseproof paper or tin foil over the baking tray and place the chicken breasts onto said prepared tray. Use the knife to slice the chicken breasts down lengthways once halfway through and then four times sideways across the original cut a quarter through the chicken meat.
3. Pour the soya sauce all into the cuts made into the chicken but do not worry if it spills over the sides of the chicken pieces and into the parcel of paper/foil you've made on the baking tray.
4. Peel the garlic cloves then use a garlic crusher to crush the garlic over the chicken and then extract all the bits of the crushed garlic and spread over the breast pieces along with the pickled ginger. Alternatively, if you do not have a garlic crusher, get the cloves on a cutting board, crush them with the flat of the blade of a knife (with your hand on the opposite side to stabilize it) and then roughly dice the crushed garlic up.
5. Wrap up the parcel by folding it over the top and twisting either end shut and twisting them upwards.
6. Place the tray into the oven and cook for 25 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and place onto a plate that has been pre-heated for 3-4 minutes and serve

Uncle Ted's Serving recommendations

• Mash potato, ratatouille and roasted kale (this is my favourite way of serving this kind of chicken as it's probably the easiest to do considering roasted kale is easy to make and most supermarkets sell ready-to-microwave mash and tinned ratatouille).
• Brown rice cooked in vegetable stock, chilli flakes and red kidney beans with a side of wilted spinach and kale.
• Served on top of a udon noodle, vegetable broth and pak choi Chinese-style broth soup.
• Slice the chicken up and then serve it on top of a salad of avocado, petite pois, mint, bulgur wheat, cucumber, bean shoots and chives.
• Serve as part of a South-East-Asian mixed grill including kung-pow pork loin, Vietnamese pork belly bibimbap, chicken teriyaki and tempura beef.

Uncle Ted's Recipes #11: Porky Power Pasta

Ok so before we get into things I'd like to apologise for not having uploaded anything on this blog in quite some time but I'm trying to get back into the swing of things and produce more content on all of my online platforms. Hopefully this is the start of something great but only time will tell but anyway...on with the recipe!

Today we're going to be taking a look at a recipe that I cooked up (pardon the pun) last week while trying to think of what to do with some leftover breakfast meats that I had left over from some fry up breakfasts that I'd made earlier in the week. I had some sausages and bacon leftover that I couldn't really think of any other days last week where I'd want to have them for breakfast so I decided to incorporate them into a nutritious dinner where their saltiness and meaty textures would be nicely complimented. So here we go with the recipe proper and let me know if you guys have any suggestions to change or add to the recipe in the comments below!

Utensils:
1 large iron or cast iron pot or saucepan
1 medium meat slicing or fillet knife
1 medium vegetable knife
1 large chopping board
1 draining sieve or colander
1 fork
1 teaspoon
1 or 2 baking tray(s)
a roll of tin foil (possibly optional)

Ingredients:
1 diced large brown onion
200-300g spinach already washed and drained
100-200g petite pois peas
2 diced medium vine ripe tomatoes
3-6 rashers smoky back bacon
4-6 pork sausages (either standard pork or possibly pork and sage or Cumberland)
700-750g wholegrain fusilli pasta
200-300g Dijon mustard
vegetable oil
salt
ground smoked paprika
dried basil

Cooking method/Cooking steps:

Step 1 - Starting heating the oven on the grill setting to 250C while filling the pan/pot halfway with water and a couple of medium splashes of oil and start heating to the midway point on the dial.

Step 2 - Cover a baking tray with tin foil and then pierce the sausages 2 or 3 times on each side before placing in the tray and baking for 15-16 minutes while turning over halfway through.

Step 3 - Bring the water to a boil and throw in all of the pasta with a few pinches of salt and basil while giving a stir with the fork. Boil the pasta for 10 minutes and stir every 2 minutes very briefly while it is cooking again with the fork.

Step 4 - About 5-6 minutes before the sausages are finished cooking, cover another baking tray with foil and place the bacon in it to bake in the oven, remove the bacon from the oven at roughly the same time as the sausages. Once the meats are cooked, take them onto a chopping board and dice up with the meat knife and place into a bowl on the side for the time being.

Step 5 - When the pasta is cooked, drain it in the colander in the sink but do not lower the heat on the pan. Instead, place the pan back onto the heat and throw in a few splashes of oil along with the onion, a few pinches of salt and stir frequently while it cooks for 5 minutes. After this point, add in a few teaspoons of smoked paprika and stir to mix before adding in the tomatoes and mixing while cooking for another 5 minutes.

Step 6 - throw all of the spinach into the pan and stir until it is all wilted before adding in another pinch of basil and the diced up meat. Stir to mix before throwing in the pasta and mixing that in as well while also turning the heat down to the lowest possible setting.

Step 7 - throw in all of the mustard into the pan and mix in and then leave to heat up for about 3-4 minutes before adding in and mixing in the peas then leave to heat gently for another 4 or so minutes.

Step 8 - Serve on a gently-warmed plate either as it is or with a very light garnishing on top of parmesan and fresh basil leaves. Recommend washing this dish down with either a glass of sparkling water or a fizzy Eurocentric beer like Stella Artois or San Miguel Fresca.

Uncle Ted's Recipes #9: Protein-packed vegan curry

Ok I know vegan recipes or even vegetarian ones aren't the most common sight on this blog but this is one cheap and reasonably healthy.  Its good for either keeping in the fridge for yourself for a few days or for a dinner party.

INGREDIENTS (serves 4-6)

6-10 Tablespoons rapeseed oil

4 small, 3 medium or 2 large brown onions

250g fresh leave spinach washed and rinsed

600-800g chickpeas soaked and drained

300-450g green lentils soaked and drained

650g baby potatoes

4-6 teaspoons of chilli flakes

2-4 teaspoons of chilli powder

1-3 teaspoons of cumin seeds

1-3 teaspoons of ground cumin

4 teaspoons of graham masala

5 teaspoons of ground smoked paprika

Thyme or sage leaves

3-5 cloves of garlic

2-4 cups boiled water

Salt

EQUIPMENT/UTENSILS

1 large cutting knife

1 herb knife

1 cutting board

1 or 2 colanders or sieves

1 large or very large cooking pot or stove

1 heat or melting proof mixing spoon

Teaspoons for measuring spices

Ladle for dishing up curry

METHOD/PREPARATION (Time to prepare approximately 15-30 minutes)

 

Step 1: Dice up the potatoes and place them into a strainer and rinse in cold water for a couple of minutes over the sink then let them drain while you do the other initial preparations.

Step 2: Dice up the onions while pouring the oil into the pot and turning the hob onto a low-mid heat.  After a few minutes, hover your hand over the pan and if there is a mild heat coming off of it, then place the herbs except for the salt and thyme or sage into the pan and stir until the spices are mixed together in one mush.

Step 3: Place the potatoes and onions into the pan with a small extra bit of oil and stir until mixed in well with the spices.  Afterwards, begin crushing and dicing up the garlic and then place into the pan and stir again.

Step 4: After rinsing and draining the spinach, place into the pan and let the spinach wilt. then drain and rinse the lentils, chickpeas and thyme or sage then place into the pan then stir moderately.

Step 5: Add in the boiling water and a couple of pinches of salt and then stir.  Also, make sure that the spinach is mostly submerged so that it can wilt some more and get mixed in with the rest of the ingredients.  Afterwards, do a brief taste test to see if the balance of spices and herbs is to your liking and add more of one of the spices if you would like to.  Afterwards, place the lid onto the pot and turn down to a low heat and let simmer for about 15 minutes while you do the washing up.

Step 6: Serve the curry on a bed of either pilau or basmati rice with a coriander naan and served alongside either an icy cold beer such as Cobra or a yoghurt drink and a glass of tap water.

Hope you find plenty of use out of this recipe if you decide to make it like this or use my recipe as a base template to adapt your own curry recipe from.  Please feel free to make suggestions in the comment section below and let me know how you all get on with this nice, cheap and healthy curry recipe!

Uncle Ted's recipes #8: Post-workout pasta (includes prawns)

Again I know I really haven't been uploading a lot recently on this blog but whenever has punctuality been an aspect of my character on any form of social media?  Really the main reason for this being the case is that I haven't been making any new recipes or seen any new films recently but with this inspired dinner I thought up of recently I figured that now was as good a time as any.

I thought up of this healthy and tasty pasta dish recently a few days before I went to the gym as I needed a good dish that would be a great balance of all the essentials one may need after having a good work out and I think I've thought up a right winner as even if you don't work out its a deliciously healthy dish that ticks all boxes (that is if you do not eat fish).

INGREDIENTS (Serves 3-4 big portions):

300-350g king prawns (pre-marinated tofu if you do not eat fish)

175-250g ricotta

2 bunched handfuls fresh spinach leaves

1 large white onion

2 cloves of garlic

350-400g spaghetti (uncooked weight)

4-6 tablespoons white wine

olive oil

salt and pepper

dried basil

UTENSILS:

1 medium saucepan

1 large frying pan

1 vegetable knife

1 wooden spoon

1 fork

1 cutting board

1 colander

METHOD/PROCESS:

1 - Place some cold water into the saucepan to about just over halfway then add in some couple splashes of olive oil and turn onto boil.  Dice up the onion and place in an extremely low heat frying pan with a few splashes of oil in it and add a dash of salt before stirring.

2 - When the water is boiling, put the spaghetti in, make sure it is submerged for the most part then cook for 9 mins while stirring with the fork every 2 or 3 mins while it cooks so as to not let it become all clumped and starchy.

3 - When the onion starts  to soften after 5 mins of frying add in the crushed garlic and simmer for another 5 mins before adding in the white wine and simmer for another 5.

4 - When the spaghetti is cooked, drain it in the colander over a drain or sink then place the colander over the saucepan after the pasta is dried to get as much water drained away.

5 - After the white wine has had a few mins to simmer then add in the prawns and spinach and stir around for about 4-5 mins until the spinach has wilted before lumping the drained spaghetti on top.

6 - using a teaspoon, spoon the ricotta in several bits onto the spaghetti then stir around until most or almost all of the ricotta is nicely mixed in and all of the ingredients have been mixed around in a balanced way.

7 - Serve onto plates alongside toasted pitta with garlic oil and carrot salad with a glass of white wine (I'd recommend something like La Vielle Ferme) or if you don't drink alcohol then something like lemon or blood orange tea.

Hopefully you'll all enjoy this one as I kind of just thought up of it off the top of my head but it really is a winner if you need a perfectly balanced meal and don't have a huge amount of funds or time so give it a shot as you really can't go wrong with it!

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Uncle Ted's recipes #7: Champion chilli con carne

Sorry I haven't been uploading onto this blog recently lads and ladies but unfortunately your uncle Ted has been a bit weighed down by work and hasn't really seen any movies recently.  Hopefully something about pop culture to stimulate the brain will pop up soon but until then we have this healthy and simple recipe I have to impart on you guys for some marvellous chilli con carne.

Make this if you've got a dinner party coming up or if you're a bit low on the monies and have to make something in bulk to last you for the week but either way we're on to some fine dining here and for a low budget to boot.  Don't say I never care about you lot.

Ingredients (serves 4 or makes 4 individual meals):

1x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes

1x 440 tin or carton of tomato passata

400-500g of minced beef or quorn vegetarian mince

400g tin of red kidney beans

2 x large red peppers

4-5x green and/or red chillies

1 x large yellow or orange pepper

1 x large or 2 x medium of brown onions

2-4x cloves of garlic

1-2x sticks of cinnamon (optional)

olive oil

1 tablespoon chilli or curry powder

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

2x bay leaves

1x handful of parsley

1x bunch of thyme

a couple pinches of salt

Utensils/tools:

1x large saucepan/pot with lid

1x heatproof ladle

1x vegetable cutting board

1x vegetable cutting knife

1x garlic crusher

1x small knife sharp enough for chopping the herbs

1x tablespoon for measuring out the spices

1x wooden spoon for stirring

1x teaspoon for deseeding the chillies

Method:

Step 1: place the saucepan/pot onto the hob and splash in some oil.  skin and dice up the onion and crush up the garlic while heating the pot on the lowest possible heat then chuck in the onions and turn up the heat slightly and simmer with a pinch of salt for 5 mins before adding in the garlic and stirring.

Step 2: chuck in the mince meat or quorn mince depending on your dietary disposition and break the mince up while putting up the heat slightly and stir around with a tiny bit more oil until most if not all, of the mince is browned. 

Step 3: Deseed, wash with cold water then slice up the chillies and peppers and chuck into the pot.  Drain the kidney beans in a colander or sieve then add into the pot along with the cinnamon sticks while occasionally stirring for about 10 mins.

Step 4: Chuck in the passata and chopped tinned tomatoes into the pot and stir then add in the paprika and chilli powder along with another pinch of salt and stir again.  Place the lid back on then turn down to a low heat to simmer while preparing the herbs.

Step 5: Wash the bay leaves and place into the pot as they are.  Wash then dash up the parsley and wring the thyme off its stalks then place both herbs into the chilli con carne and simmer for another 10 mins.

Step 6: Serve the chilli con carne with the ladle onto a bed of either cous cous or brown rice with a side addition of a small dollop of yoghurt (optional of course) and grated cheddar (again, entirely optional) and with a glass of water and a cup of black tea with a slice of lemon.

Like I said above, this is great at dinner parties when you have not too many resources or big ideas of what to make for the main meal.  If you are serving it for the main meal then perhaps serve after a starter of soup or salad and before a light pudding of something like ice cream or light fruit pudding or fruit salad with yoghurt.  Another bit of advice I would give is to perhaps make this the day before you're planning to eat it so that the flavour has a small amount of time to simmer down and mature at which point it will taste marvellous especially with a dollop of yoghurt and brown rice or cous cous.

Again, I apologise for the lacklustre uploading recently but that is the lot of life on this part of the internet I am afraid.  Alas I must leave you all again but hopefully this cheap and healthy and hearty recipe will help all you lot out for a romantic meal, bustling dinner party or busy week and until next time, have fun with whatever you're doing, don't do anything I wouldn't do and until next time I raise my cup to your good health!

Restaurant review #4: A Terre Terre in Brighton

Well hot damn now hasn't this sort of shindig been a while coming eh?  I'll admit that as with the news reviews, I haven't done a proper restaurant review in a long old time but when I go to a restaurant like A Terre Terre just round the corner from Old Steine in South Brighton I have to say something.  If a restaurant that I've been to is so good or so bad that I keep thinking about it, I will probably review it at some point and fortunately I can say with absolute certainty that A Terre Terre falls into the former category.

I'm not a vegetarian but I can easily say that, hand on heart, this is one of the best vegetarian places to eat that I've ever been to on the south coast of England, not just within Brighton itself.  What makes this all the more exceptional for me is that Brighton is choc-full of quality of vegetarian restaurants like Food For Friends (Address: 17 - 18 Prince Albert Street, Brighton BN1 1HF) or any number of independent vegetarian and vegan cafes that you'll find on a nice walk around the city.  Therefore, when I say this about Brighton's vegetarian food scene, you'd better believe me when I say that despite the top-quality competition from similar venues, A Terre Terre, is still one of my favourite places to eat in Brighton.

Now yes. the fact that this is a vegetarian restaurant is limiting for those who may not like such food or who like meat quite a great deal.  Now don't get me wrong, I eat allot of chicken and beef in particular myself and enjoy allot of fish and seafood but sometimes it is good to give the digestion system a good ol' relax and eat some more easily-digestible food.  Just all the more of a bonus that its made superbly and in a venue with great service and atmosphere.

So onto the most important aspect, the food and its value.  Unfortunately this isn't the cheapest place to eat in the city which is the main reason as to why I prefer to keep going to it for special family occasions like a birthday or something like that.  In turn this will prompt you to look for more everyday places to eat with slightly cheaper menus while enjoying A Terre Terre when you go there for an occasional treat.  This doesn't however, devalue from the food which is truly fantastic in quality and presentation not to mention hygiene.  Both times I've been here I have never had a dirty bit of crockery, cutlery or glass and I doubt I ever shall, not to mention how fresh the salad is so I can guarantee that this place is cleaner than a princesses' arse.  As for the food, its a wide variety of post-modern mixes of multiple cuisines with my favourite main 'Rosti Revisited' having a blend of chic-modern-quasi French and English mix as a well-cooked potato and onion rosti topped with parmesan and a poached egg and a truly sublime warm coolie.

The starters are reasonably sized as to give you a little-warm up but if you're against overspending like mad then I'd recommend the vegetarian tapas as it'll give you a good taste of what's on offer on the starters menu while filling you up but just not too much.  This is of course to imply that the starters like the mains are superb.  My favourite is probably the somewhat unassuming daily soup served up with a different, freshly-baked bread for each day of the week and made with sublime seasoning and vegetables.  To drink with the tapas and 'Rosti Revisited' I'd recommend a glass of white wine or prosecco and a Belgian blonde ale respectively.

The puddings in turn aren't perhaps as varied as the main dishes although the restaurant does serve brunch and while I've never been for brunch at A Terre Terre, its quite clear that yet again, they put a lot of variety and thought into their brunch cake menu.  The puddings for lunch and dinner though are still superb with my absolute favourite being the Churrrisimo; a few Mexican-style cinnamon donut sticks with a trio of dips including salted caramel, dark chocolate and vodka-soaked cherries.  I would make a simile of sorts for how much I enjoy this pudding but it'd probably just involve me spazzing out on the floor covered in cinnamon dust for three hours.

The service doesn't emit as horrifyingly a psychotic response from myself but it is still very good.  The staff at this place are very hard-worked as the place is usually reasonably busy albeit not totally packed (so you should be able to have a nice and relaxed meal here.  They're to-the-point and don't fluff around too much except when they have to such as when explaining what all the components in a tapas are.  The service is also quick and I never feel like I have to wait too long for anything really whether it be an order-correction or a drink.

The atmosphere too is also very functional but nice and relaxing.  The decor in A Terre Terre doesn't dolly itself up too much and allot of the furniture is nice and reasonably plain allowing the eyes to relax and concentrate on the conversation and food.  The music can get a bit annoying with it sometimes blaring out some bizarre folk tunes but ask the staff to either change the tune or turn it down.  And the booth seats, man oh man are they so comfortable that they'll make your arse melt like a marshmallow on a flamethrower!

So I guess anything else at this point would be repetition of sorts and I do kind of tend to do that ALOT with food (seriously, just ask any of my mates and they'll tell you the same).  So I'll conclude by saying that A Terre Terre isn't perhaps the most affordable place on the market in terms of vegetarian restaurants in Brighton but if its for a family get-together or any other special occasion, then I would give it a definite recommendation.

And so until next time, enjoy whatever you're eating, have fun, stay safe and don't do anything I wouldn't do.

Food: 9/10
Drink; 8/10
Atmosphere 7/10
Service: 8.5/10
Price: 6.75/10

OVERALL RATING: kind of like a movie night with that one guy who commentates over everything before the movie not by talking quietly like you or I would but shouting so everyone in the room can hear him.  A bit fucking irritating but eventually he either shuts up or you stop noticing him and besides, you still have some tasty food and drink to enjoy.

Uncle Ted's recipes #2: Spectacular spaghetti bolognese

This is probably one of if not the most simple and straightforward recipe I'll ever upload onto this blog but I think that most recipes of spaghetti bolognese do tend to have their own special method or way of seasoning so who knows?  This could either be like every other spagbol you've ever had or the best one of all time, either way, I'd definitely say give this one a shot.

Ingredients (serves 2-3):

1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

1 large brown or white onion

2 tablespoons tomato puree

100g black pitted olives (optional)

6-7g thyme

3 cloves of garlic

sunflower or vegetable oil

spaghetti

350-500 g minced beef (quorn mince if you're making it vegetarian)

15-20cl Cotes Du Rhone red wine

salt

pepper

Fresh basil leaves

Parmesan cheese (optional)

Utensils:

1 x medium chopping board

1 x vegetable cutting knife

1 x sieve

1 x large saucepan with a lid

1 x large frying pan

1 x garlic crusher

1 x tablespoon

1 x wooden spoon

1 x fork

Method:

Step 1 - put about 3 or 4 tablespoons of oil into the frying pan and turn to a mid-low heat and prepare the onions and garlic.  To cut up the onion, peel it but keep the root end intact then cut the onion in half and cut each half lengthways up to the root then slice sideways.  Keeping the root like this intact will mean that you have a better grip on the onion when cutting it and make the whole process alot faster and more efficient.  Put the onions into the oil pan with a pinch of salt and then peel the garlic before crushing it and putting it into the onions and simmer for 10 mins until the onions are softened.

Step 2 - Fill the saucepan halfway with cold water and a couple of tablespoons of oil and turn on to boil before adding the wine into the onions and garlic and leaving to simmer for another 10 mins.

Step 3 - Add the mince into the onions and beak up and stir around until browned before adding in the tinned tomatoes, puree, thyme, olives and a pinch of pepper and stir before turning down to a low heat.  If the bolognese starts to get dry then add in a small bit of cold water and stir again.

Step 4 - Get a bunch of spaghetti that fits tightly into a closely clenched hand, one for each person and break the spaghetti in half into the water and boil for 9 mins stirring with the fork so as to avoid the spaghetti clumping together.  This will be helped by the addition of the oil into the water and will give the spaghetti a nice and smooth texture when it is served up.

Step 5 - drain the spaghetti with the sieve or colander when it is cooked and then serve onto the plates before dishing the bolognese on top and garnishing with some optional parmesan and a few leaves of basil on top.  Serve with Cotes Du Rhone or mild ginger ale to drink and with a side salad of rocket and spinach.

This is one of my most prized recipes so use it wisely children!  It might not be the most elegant or complicated but its certainly a nice one and good to make for dinner parties, a reasonably quick and nutritious dinner after a hard days work or as a romantic meal for you and your partner so definitely give this one a shot whether you make it with vege mince or proper beef.  Have fun, take care and I'll see you lot next time!

Restaurant review #3: Efes turkish restaurant in Great Titchfield Street in London

Ah food reviews, haven't done one of these in a while.  Kind of odd really seeing as how I like to eat out and I am notably obsessed with food but there have been so many films coming out since the last review I did of a restaurant or a cafe and then there was the big period when I did nothing on the blog that I guess I shouldn't feel surprised really that I' finally doing a restaurant review again.  Like I said though, if there is one thing that holds a warmer enclave in my heart in terms of critiquing things more than films, it has to be food.  every day I think what needs to be bought, how to cook it, how to season it and what it should be served with.  Naturally, seeing as how a restaurant is providing you with a service, they will most likely take care of that for you (that is if you aren't eating at a chain like Zizzis' or Nando's or are eating from a fast-food chain like Wasabi, McDonalds or Pizza Express).

Today I'll be reviewing a restaurant chain known here in the UK for its expertise on good, tasty and simple Turkish food and its close association to the brewery company which makes the beer that shares the same name as this chain of restaurants, Efes.  I'll admit actually, I'd never heard of the restaurant or even the chain itself before I went there recently for a friend's 23rd birthday party with a group that included me, the birthday girl and 14 other people.  First off, you might think that the large number of our group would create problems for the restaurant staff to serve us in terms of speed and punctuation in terms of them serving our food on time, and HOLY SHIT, I could not be more right.  Not only was the food slow but it was made all the more slow by the fact that while there were allot of us, the restaurant had this odd system of serving whereby they said that they would serve everyone in the party altogether.  Now I know this type of service is practised in many restaurants, BUT IT DOES NOT WORK WITH LARGE GROUPS.  I mean COME THE FUCK ON PEOPLE!  Is it really the standards of some of the restaurants of one of the trading centres of the world that its restaurants serve the main course at least an hour and a half after ordering, AND COLD NO LESS?!?!?  I mean this wasn't too bad of a problem because I was just pleased to see the food after waiting so long and it was tasty as hell, but when a few people in our party who arrived late finally got the the restaurant, the waiter told us that we had to wait longer so that they could be served alongside us as well.

Needless to say, this made us pretty pissed and angry, not to mention hungry as a horse, figuratively of course.  On top of this, the waiter had the nerve to contradict us on several things, and not politely either!  Firstly, after the first hour or so of waiting for the main course to arrive I asked the waiter who was serving us how long the main courses would be, upon asking he told me bluntly and with no tact that the order had only been taken in about twenty minutes ago and that the main course would be there soon.  Needless to say, I was positive as I looked at my clock on my phone that it had been way more than around 20 minutes and due to the fact that we waited another 30 minutes or so for our food did not help my blood pressure any good at all either.  Secondly, when the main course AT LAST came to our table, not only was it merely warm and not hot or at least between the two, but I'm pretty sure that some of the meals that were served particularly to people sitting next to me were different to those that they had originally ordered.  This was made starkly clear to me as the guests sitting near me stated that they didn't care so much whether their order was wrong but were simply glad to finally eat.  This too proves as another example of the restaurant's slow service.

What had to be one of the strangest criticisms I have to make of this particular branch of Efes however, was the fact that the etiquette of the waiter towards the birthday girl and another birthday girl when the restaurant put on music for them to dance to was really odd and embarrassing.  As I looked at the birthday girl on my table and the other girl in the other birthday party, I saw that neither really looked like they felt inclined to or comfortable to dance to loud music in front of a filled-out restaurant mostly filled with people they don't know.  This was made all the more uncomfortable by the fact that the waiter kept asking the two girls to dance which struck me as pretty odd behaviour from a waiter and, with all due respect to the Efes chain, not to mention, quite rude.

Now before you go away from the possibility of visiting one of the branches of this chain of restaurants I have to mention that the food was probably in part late thanks to the large size of our party,  therefore it probably wasn't all the restaurant's fault.  Admittedly the serving system was odd but I can see the reasoning behind it and besides, serving a table of 12-14 then 16 people by yourself is not easy task.  So I really do have to give credit to the waiter who served my table for at least trying to get all of our food to us with efficiency and alacrity and making sure we were happy (although the dancing thing was weird as shit and kind of out of place and order unless the Girl's in question had agreed prior that they wanted to dance).

On top of this, as I mentioned earlier, the food was dee-freaking-licious.  While I was hungry as an alleyway dog  by the time the main arrived and that the starter was relatively small (although that may have been my fault considering I ordered a dish that was described as very simple), the food was well-seasoned and even more well-cooked.  For starters I had garlic-butter-sautéed mushrooms in this broth-like sauce that was neither to mellow or extravagant in its use of seasoning (particularly the butter and garlic), and really infused the mushrooms with a little extra buttery flavour that went along nicely with how well-cooked the mushrooms themselves were.  Secondly, for main course I ordered the grill combo of grilled kofte, lamb and chicken which came with a side of rice and simple salad of lettuce, tomato and cucumber.  What was pleasing about the main course aside from its refreshing simplicity was the fact that it was all well cooked (naturally excluding the salad) as the meat was all perfectly tender and enabled me to really enjoy the harmonious contrasts between the texture and flavour of the meats and the rice as well as the surprisingly pleasing freshness of the simple salad.

Lastly, because it was a birthday party, the restaurant baked us an indulgently satisfying and guilty-pleasure style of chocolate cake that was light and pleasantly fluffy while also having layers of thankfully not too overpoweringly-sweet chocolate cream between the layers of cake topped off with chocolate sprinkles and a sparkler candle.  All this food might have been simple as simple gets but its simplicity combined with the refreshing crash of the Efes beer on my taste buds made for a very tasty meal indeed

Furthermore to heap on more dollops of praise, while we did wait a long time for our food, the staff were quick in serving drinks and they kept our table well served with complementary olives and pita-bread served with tzatziki and devilishly hot chilli sauce.  This managed, to an extent, to keep us tided over until our courses began to arrive which was good as it allowed me to have a more satisfying conversation with the other guests around me without having to concentrate on my grumbling gut too much.  On top of this, it also allowed me to more greatly appreciate the decoration and layout of the restaurant which struck me as representing a good and balanced mash-up of Turkish traditional domestic architecture and decoration with a cross with modern British pubs and bars that made me feel immersed in the culture of the place but not at all uncomfortable or alienated.  Well maybe except for the odd acts of our otherwise hard-working and commendable waiter.

In conclusion, the Efes branch in Great Titchfield Street near both the London Heart Hospital and the Oxford Circus train station is warranting of a mixed bag of both notable compliments as well as criticisms.  While there are many criticisms to be made of this branch,  I did enjoy the food, enjoyed the majority of the atmosphere and decoration while I was there, appreciated the alacrity with which the staff kept us going with drinks and pita-bread and dips and the simplicity of the food itself which was refreshing in a city where some (not all mind you however) have levels of either garish or disappointing seasoning and sauces that take away from the simplicity of food that sometimes must be acknowledged as shown by how well-cooked the food was from here.  That and also the place does takeaways so I guess that's a double plus for anyone living near one of Efes' branches.  Regardless of these compliments however, the criticisms that I made of this place have to be considered.  The service was filled with slow speed and a notable sense of indifference from the staff and when the food arrived it tended to mostly only be warm or room-temperature which I felt was not really acceptable for a chain restaurant or really any restaurant for that matter.  Call me unfair if you so wish and I know that some restaurants are swept off their feet from being so busy, but the slowness of the service at this restaurant and their inefficient serving system was just pure awfulness.

Decoration: 7.5/10
Atmosphere: 7/10
Service: 2/10
Price 4/10
Quality of food and drink: 8.5/10

Overall: 29/50

Restaurant review #2: The Mogul

When someone mentions an Indian takeaway in the UK, I tend to imagine greasily mouth-watering side dishes, rich sauces and aromatically pleasing rice.  As is the case however with proportion of other similarly popular takeaways in the UK such as Pizza, Fish 'n' Chips and Chinese takeaways, some Indian takeaways can sometimes fall under the category of many such takeaways simply serving overly-greasy, rich and aromatic food that has no passion or aesthetic quality to it.  And that good sirs and madams is where the glorious Mogul Indian restaurant and Mogul takeaway (both of them in different parts of Greenwich, London) come in.  Not only is there a definite sense of character and enthusiasm put into the food that comes out of the Mogul near the Cutty Sark museum and its takeaway outlet, but the food from the cooks at the Mogul balances culinary aesthetic with a good balance of aromatic smells, nicely balanced flavours and food that employs mouth-wateringly traditional Indian cooking but doesn't overflow with grease as many takeaways do.

Now before I get into the always-anticipated description of the food, I feel it necessary to describe the pleasingly warm atmosphere to be found within the walls of the Mogul restaurant.  Located at 10 Greenwich Church St, a stone's throw away from Greenwich market and a 4-5 minute walk away from the Cutty Sark museum. The outside of the Mogul restaurant is modestly welcoming but not garish while also being simply painted and advertised but at the same time also having an air of inviting warmth.  And that is just the atmosphere to be found once you walk in the door, warmth and a definite inviting air about the place.  Like the outside, the inside has simple painting and decoration but is aesthetically pleasing in that regard while the furniture within the resturant is comfortable and (thank freaking goodness) doesn't wobble as the furniture of so many restaurants before it.  On top of that, the staff in the Mogul are also helpful and informative about the differences and characteistics of and between each dish while at the same time not being overly-pushy but also managing to be freindly enough so that you feel welcomed both as a customer and visitor.   As for the takeaway outlet at 192 Trafalgar Rd, the atmosphere feels a little rushed but the same helpful attitude from the staff is present there.

Now enough about the arty side of the restaurant and its takeaway and onwards to the truly important aspect of this review; the mouth-wateringly, nose-tingly, eye-achingly, stomach-grumblingly delicious food.  The meals that are available at the Mogul are the usual kind of meals you'd expect from an Indian restaurant.   There are some popular favourites such as chicken tikka masala, Bombay potatoes and onion bahjis.  But the main thing (or at least in my slightly mad opinion) that characterises the food at the Mogul is that it is generally mild and instead of going all out on fire and brimstone dishes of crazy levels of spiciness, tends to serve meals that concentrate on massaging and tingling rather than sweating and tempering the taste buds.

Naturally there are some spicy dishes but it seems that the main aim of the food at the mogul is to give the usual diner there a delightful rather than challenging Indian cuisine experience.  Now don't get me wrong, I love spicy food as I have tons of Tabasco  mustard, wasabi, peri-peri sauce and the like on my food at home and also tend to sometimes get particular spicy dishes out at a restaurant when I'm feeling brave.  Sometimes however, as we all might, I occasionally feel the urge to simply chew on something from the sun-swept lands of India that is flavoursome more so than it is spicy.  

Naturally my usual meal from the Mogul reflects this wholeheartedly. For the basis of my meal it of course has to be a rice, and in my case I usually prefer the Mogul's saffron rice as despite the fact that the Mogul's possibly more popular pilau rice has more of an interesting palate and smell.  I personally like the saffron rice more due to its interesting colours and mellow, perpetually nutty flavour. 

As for vegetable dishes I usually like to go for the sag paneer; a course of cooked spinach with rectangular chunks of oh-so glorious, whey-based haloumi cheese (I honestly don't know how to spell that one).  In particular, the sag paneer has a nice flavour to it as the mild flavour of the spinach is modest and vibrant while at the same time allowing for the chunks of cheese to stand out as beacons of truly expressive flavour within this mighty dish.  

Subsequently, I usually also like to go for something extra such as Bombay potatoes which in particular at the Mogul, are not cooked in the usually dry and independently-flavoursome manner as in many other Indian restaurants but are instead cooked with a sauce meaning that there is more room to interpret the flavour and cooking of the potatoes themselves.  

As for the main dish I usually go for something a little gamy and mild, specifically at the Mogul I usually go for the murgh dhansak which combines grilled chicken with lentils in a sweet and sour sauce that is pleasant for those with a penchant for more mild flavours while at other occasions, I may also go for the rogan josh which combines tenderly-cooked chunks of lamb with a rich tomato/garlic/onion hybrid of a sauce for those who have more of a palate for more extravagant culinary experiences.  To top it all off I usually get a garlic naan which clearly has a flavour of garlic about it which is thankfully not too strong and wash that all down with a refreshing cobra beer and glass of water.

In comparison to the restaurant I personally prefer the food that is to be found there over the mogul takeaway, but as is the case with most people, I find it more relaxing sometimes just to sit back, relax and call up a delivery with free popadoms while lazing on my rear end on the sofa while watching ITV's Britain's got Talent on a Saturday night and swigging a couple of ice cold brews.  And that isn't to say that the cooking at the Mogul takeaway outlet is inferior to a great degree, oh no, it just means that there are some slight differences in flavour, I think, between there and the restaurant which aren't even all that noticeable for the most part.  What in turn makes the food from both the restaurant and the takeaway outlet truly appealing however isn't just the well-balanced flavours and aromatherapy-esque smells but also the reasonable prices with largely range from roughly £5 on some of the more simple dishes like panch ratten karai to £12 on a few extravagant ones like tandoori king prawns.

In conclusion, this restaurant has stood the test of time and developed its culinary might for nearly 40 years and it most certainly shows.  Not only is the food good, but the customer service is informative and helpful yet not pushy and the character of the Mogul is shown through that.  The one and only criticism that I have of this beacon of Anglo-Indian cooking is that some dishes like the sag paneer and onion bahjis may lack a little bit of character that could truly make them amazing via not having enough spice.  Regardless however, the food is still good and the prices are reasonable for the most part. So if you're in south-east London, I recommend you venture to the Mogul.

Venture out and feast as royalty!

Food: 9/10
Customer service: 8/10
Atmosphere: 8.5/10
Price: 8.25/10

Overall: 33.75/10

Food Review 1-the Co-Operative

What’s the best thing about the independent chain of supermarket known as the Co-Operative?  I’ll tell you what, it’s the fact that you can get small things for on-the go quite cheaply.  Yeah sure you can get that from many supermarket chains, but the real bonus about the Co-Op is that its got so many fair-trade products that help poor and far away communities that you can’t help but feel good about shopping there.  On top of that the Co-Op is a huge collection of independent businesses all under the same name so you get a real feeling that although you’re buying from a big chain you are actually helping the little man out a bit.

What makes this all the sweeter is as well as being an ethically correct establishment, the Co-Op is also wonderfully cheap.  With deals such as 4 brown bread rolls for £1 or 9 two-finger kit kats for £1 and a  sandwich with crisps and a drink for only £3, you can’t help but feel that you are getting your money’s worth.  This is emphasized further by the quality of the Co-Op’s home brand products, such as its sandwiches or pain au chocolate being second-to-none for supermarket home brand food & drink.

Another thing I also like very much about the Co-Op is the variety of products (both branded and homebrand) that are available to purchase.  There are many kinds of big name brands to sample such as walkers or Mcoys and Hovis or Burgen, however if you want to sacrifice quality for lower prices then buy the homebrand products by all means.  Except there's one thing about that and that is (like i said earlier) the homebrand products from the Co-Op from the humblest pint of milk to the most extravagant chocolate cake are actually pretty danm good.  

So you could buy the branded products except the homebrand products are just as good and are also cheaper, the only exceptions for this are the sweets, fizzy drinks and crisps.  The homebrand products for these foods/drinks at the Co-Op are not as good as some branded products so you may as well fork out a teensy little bit more when you want to treat yourself at the Co-Op.  

All in all, the Co-Op is probably the best all-round supermarket chain in the UK; it's cheap, there are many fair trade products to choose from, there is much variety in all the products and the homebrand cakes are freakin' tasty as hell.  So take it from me people, the Co-Op (in my opinion) is the best.