Street Food of Thailand

On one of our first trips to South East Asia we spent a few days in Thailand which was the start of a now longstanding love of Thai foods and flavours. The sweet, salty, sour, spicy and hot combinations create many ways to transform simple ingredients.

For a straightforward introduction to this cuisine try the book published by Headline called 'Ken Hom Cooks Thai'. I recently cooked Braised Pork Belly in Fish Sauce a spicy combination of pork, shallots, garlic, ginger, soy, chilli and tomatoes. Served with Cauliflower Thai - style, Green Beans and Thai rice. This was a simple and very popular dish.

Braised Pork in Fish Sauce

Also tasty and effortless was a starter of spicy minced chicken flavoured with lemongrass, soy, sherry (an excellent substitute for rice wine) chilli jam and lime juice. Served on a bed of shredded lettuce with soy and sweet chilli sauces.

Spicy Chicken

Soy and Chilli Sauces

By far the largest cookery book I own is Thai Street Food by David Thompson. In addition to a range of authentic recipes this gives you stunning illustrations of Thai food and life.

 For more on the Thai food expert and writer David Thompson and for a good recipe for chilli jam take a look at annsfooddiary.blogspot.com 17 July 2012 'Chilli Jam or nahm prik pao'

Reads Faversham

Lunch at Reads with its elegant unpretentious setting and exceptional food was the perfect finale for exceptional work colleagues marking the end of an era.

www.reads.co.uk/

We had booked the private dining room in this beautiful georgian manor house which was fortunate as the main restaurant was busy and buzzing with people enjoying this very good value lunch.

Three courses with coffee for £25 is clearly more a leisurely couple of hours than a swift lunchtime snack.  Our orders from a short but varied locally sourced menu had been placed some weeks earlier leading to memory loss by us but luckily not by the efficient and friendly staff.  Although as you will see every dish was so perfectly presented that we would have happily taken potluck.

Starters included my choice of chicken terrine with home made piccalilli, prosciutto with grilled pineapple and a smooth creamy soup.

chicken terrine

prosciutto & parmesan

For main course the fish and the lamb served with a simple broccoli and hollandaise sauce were just as flawlessly presented and enjoyable. Below is poached fillet of cod with caramelised cauliflower puree and a pomegranate, caper and golden raisin dressing.

fillet of cod

and the desserts speak for themselves

chocolate and more chocolate

souffle voted "top pud"

We finished with coffee served with a selection of petit fours and plenty more good conversation

We are a group of food lovers and much of the chatter was exchanging recommendations on the abundance of high quality eating places we have in Kent. Reads is certainly up there with the best.

Breakfast USA Style

A good breakfast or brunch is always a treat and it is hard to beat breakfast USA style. Over Easy Cafe Sanibel Island on the west coast of Florida is one the stands out from the rest. Just take a look at the pictures and menu on the web site and you will see what I mean.

www.overeasycafesanibel.com

With seating inside or out you are guaranteed a warm and friendly welcome at this place which is open from 7am until 3 in the afternoon. The inside is bright and quirky with a morning theme and chunky branded pottery adds to the charm.

Mug with a breakfast theme

Cafe Interior

Over hot coffee and freshly squeezed juice we mulled over the extensive menu only to return to the favourites of eggs benedict, ham and eggs, omelette or the best of all corned beef hash.

Eggs Benedict (not too sure about the olives) 

Corned Beef Hash

Trying new restaurants is part of the holiday fun but in this case we just returned to Over Easy Cafe time after time.

Burns Night

After a quiet January on the restaurant and entertaining front Burns Night arrives at just the right time when I can get enthusiastic about the art of planning and cooking a meal for friends. Given that our crowd is a good representation of the UK's four nations the Scottish theme was very fitting.

There seem to be a great selection of recipes giving ideas for Burns Night  and seafood, haggis and raspberries (from last years bountiful crop) were the ingredients I used to develop my plan.

To start I went for an easy fish selection of shrimps, prawns, and salmon served with lemon mayonnaise, rocket and crusty brown bread.

Main course was pork fillet stuffed with haggis and wrapped in bacon served with a sauce flavoured with a little drambuie and cream. Rosti potato cake, mashed swede and red cabbage with onion and apple went perfectly and the extra haggis all disappeared too.

We finished with a stunningly simple dessert of Raspberry Cranachan. Whipped cream with toasted oatmeal flavoured with honey and whiskey was layered between raspberries sweetened with caster sugar.

Luckily for me there is a portion left

Den Huzaar Bruges

Some years ago and by lucky chance we discovered the restaurant Den Huzaar. It was a day when all restaurants in the busy Bruges Market were full and we had the wit to venture off to the left of the main square.  Since then we have returned many times, as have friends all arriving home to enthuse about the welcome, the authentic flemish interior and most of all the food.

Lobster bisque, french onion soup, perfectly cooked sole, duck confit and the fabled pork with cherries all appear on the varied and seasonal menu of chef Willy Bostyn. The quality and presentation of every dish is exquisite and the value amazingly good.

Seven of us last visited on a wet night in late November Den Huzaar was busy, warm and inviting with our requested sociable round table waiting. It was only when we got to the dessert that I realised that I had been so busy eating and chatting that photos for the blog had been forgotten.

This however was the perfect excuse to choose the very indulgent "Special Coffee" and here it is

It gives you a good indication of the style and quality of this great bistro www.denhuzaar.be/

The perfect medieval town of Bruges makes for an excellent weekend break as driving from Calais takes just one hour. Horsedrawn carriage rides, canal trips, shopping, bars, cafes and restaurants offer year round entertainment.

In the run up to Christmas lights skating and the slightly overrated christmas market all feature. The huts selling hot coffee and chocolate laced with liqueurs and steaming gluhwein are very popular. Then of course there are the delicious chocolates with an ever increasing range of designs to suit all tastes.

The Crown Inn Munslow

This award winning restaurant is located in the small village of Munslow in south Shropshire.  It was formerly the Hundred House and in the 17th century the local court room. You enter the restaurant up steep stone steps and once inside it is warm and enticing.

Arriving just in time for our 7.30pm dinner reservation it was pleasing to be invited to take our pre dinner drinks to the comfy leather sofas to mull at our leisure over the varied menu. Local Shropshire and Welsh produce with a modern and interesting twist are the theme.

www.crowncountryinn.co.uk/

The starters are priced at a very reasonable £6.95 and our choices included an unusual beetroot and marscapone risotto with feta cheese and a substantial crostini topped with home made black pudding, tomato and local bacon. I opted for the proscuitto ham with warm roasted vegetables, pickles and olives. Look at the presentation which gives you a good impression of the quality at The Crown Inn.

Main courses at £11.95 are equally good, perfectly cooked venison, cod wrapped in panchetta and filo pastry and slow cooked lamb resulted in three clean plates.

There are a decent range of dessert choices the orange and star anise panna cotta with warm roast plums was declared a particular triumph. The ample choice of cheese were entirely local including a soft and creamy brie from Wales. These were served with home made oat biscuits.

The early December weekend with friends is a regular event and food always features prominently The Crown Inn certainly achieved the standards of a high quality restaurant and the relaxing comfortable service is an added bonus.

The Minnis Bay Bar and Restaurant

Thanks to friends who enjoy their food earlier in the year I was introduced to this gem of a restaurant located overlooking Minnis Bay near Birchington Kent.  Do not be put off by the understated exterior inside there is a warm welcome, great views and exceptionally good food.

Visiting on a bright November lunchtime the restaurant had a steady stream of customers. On my earlier visit on a February Saturday the atmosphere was buzzing and every table was full.

Three of our party of four opted for the scallops with, bacon black pudding and pea puree which was delicious

Pork belly with vegetables was also a big hit

Our main courses included local venison prepared two ways, soft and perfectly cooked halibut and the two dishes pictured below of pork and chicken

All enjoyed with perfect friendly services and a wintery sea view

The Minnis caters for all tastes and welcomes all ages, the prices are very good and the quality of the food just right.

theminnis.com