Homecooked Bakuteh @ 30Apr2017 (Day 1 – Wales 3pax 9-Day Tour 30Apr-8May2017)

Posted on May 19, 2017 by chefquak

bakuteh breakfast

leaving for llandudno & conwy in wales this morning on 30.4.2017. ^^

last evening after (a) burger & lobster, and (b) walk through chinatown & covent garden, we decided that i should cook bakuteh breakfast, so we had something substantial in our stomach before setting out on a 5hr drive to conwy.

that was a really good decision! even though we had chocolates & energy bars, we only made a stop-over break for macdonalds before we arrived at our airbnb in conwy at 5pm.

bakuteh spices

my son had the ilc bakuteh spices in his apartment. this is something that can get easily in singapore so no problem to replenish. anyway only used 1 packet.

so we bought some spare ribs at waitrose the evening before, about 800g.

freeze dry instant coffee with nespresso foam

i needed my morning coffee.

we did not have enough nespresso to go around for so many days, and nespresso capsules is more inconvenient to buy & replace. so i made freeze dry instant coffee & added the foam milk from the nespresso machine.

not quite nespresso, but we made do la…

bakuteh breakfast

bakuteh about the easiest dish to make. actually pasta too.

for bakuteh, there is no frying…best!

just cut the ribs, wash with salt, scald with boiling water, then put in a dutch oven (deep pot) with the ilc bakuteh spice packet & 1 bulb of garlic cloves & boiled for 50mins to 1 hr.

and voila!

bakuteh

soup was very sweet & tasty.

bakuteh

spare ribs not the best ribs..less meaty..less fatty..less flavourful c/w fatty prime ribs..

bakuteh

still it was pretty tasty dish, the hot mildly peppery soup warmed the stomach. and it was perfect with rice, so that was good staple for the day.

chinese tea 功夫茶

and i made some chinese tea 功夫茶. perfect with bakuteh.

chinese tea 功夫茶

my 2 friends liked the tea though not particularly aficionados for chinese tea 功夫茶, so i did not make any more chinese tea 功夫茶 for the trip.

chinese tea 功夫茶 travel kit

this thanks to the chinese tea 功夫茶 travel kit my sis bought for me which i used a lot in hong kong with my OPS friends who loved the chinese tea 功夫茶.

chinese tea 功夫茶 travel kit

very nicely packed & so convenient!

c.h.e.f andy

Walking through Chinatown and Covent Garden on 29Apr2017 (3pax RI Mates Trip London & Wales 27Apr-11May2017)

Posted on May 19, 2017 by chefquak

walking through chinatown and covent garden

we were meeting our london friend at burger & lobster dean street for 4pax dinner at 5.30pm on 29.4.2017. ^^

so we took the tube from king’s cross st pancras to leicester square, and walked through chinatown.

walking through chinatown

the mood & ambience of chinatowns everywhere…

walking through chinatown

chinatown in london is pretty ok.

food is pretty good by comparison, and you can get most provisions also if you need to shop.

walking through chinatown

& whole gamut of other shops…

four seasons roast duck @ chinatown

we passed by four seasons roast duck.

this one of the 2 choices i would come for roast duck in london. last time i came here was with my son almost 3 years ago on 25.8.2014.

(subsequently another london friend arranged to have roast duck dinner at goldmine in bayswater, so we did not go to four seasons).

four seasons started an outlet at capitol piazza 2 years ago. i did not visit. heard that it’s S$75 for a whole duck now, and most feedback i had not great. it’s something to pay £20 for a very good 1/2 roast duck in london, and something else to pay S$75 for a whole duck when so many equally good or better roast duck are available at <2/3 the price.

little four seasons roast duck @ chinatown

didn’t notice there was a little four seasons the last time.

did not check out…maybe it sells dimsum & other small eats.

so we soon found burger & lobster at dean street where we had very good £23 lobsters with our friend.

after dinner we wanted to go to monmouth for a cuppa. it was 7pm. when we googled, we realized that monmouth was closed already.

long queue at dishoom covent garden

on the way we passed by dishoom covent garden, next door to jamie’s italian.

the queue was similar to dishoom king’s cross, hard to tell, maybe less than the one & half hours at king’s cross.

in the end, we never ate at dishoom this time. my friends & i were not fan enough for indian food (or most food) to want to queue one half hours during our travels.

busker at agatha christie memorial

we passed by a quite talented busker singer who parked himself at agatha christie memorial at the junction of cranbourn street & st martin lane.

my friend said first time he gave gratuity to street performers. i gave some myself & i noticed there were several £5 notes, so perhaps the busker could collect £50 or even £100. but he was good la!

covent garden

covent garden a nice ambience.

most of us have been here before. the stalls were closed at this time so only food & drinking places.

a good first day in london for my 2 friends. we got back to king’s cross, bought some stuff from waitrose. the next day we set off for 9day trip to wales – to llandudno/conwy, snowdownia, angelsey, pembrokeshire, cardiff.

and before setting off on the 5hr drive to llandudno/conwy, a stomach warming homecooked bakuteh PLUS nice round of chinese tea 功夫茶

c.h.e.f andy

£23 Whole Lobster @ Burger & Lobster Dean Street on 29Apr2017 (3pax RI Mates Trip London & Wales 27Apr-11May2017)

Posted on May 19, 2017 by chefquak

lobster (half steamed half grilled) £23

some london eats on our itinerary included roast duck (goldmine or four seasons) and burger & lobster.

an old RI schoolmate of ours was doing his sabbatical & staying in london with his family, and we arranged to meet for a meal together. happened that he had not tried burger & lobster so we decided to meet here at 5.30pm on 29.4.2017, as there is often a long queue later.

the last time i came here was a year ago with my wife & son on 25.3.2016.

burger & lobster dean street

we were all on time at 5.30pm.

our friend who stayed to watch the 3hr romeo & juliet play at shakespeares globe was the earliest to arrive.

burger & lobster dean street

so we got to sit down almost immediately.

lobster (half steamed half grilled) £23

the menu has changed substantially.

the concept at the start, i was told, was simply bulk buying. just 3 items on the menu – loster roll (nice brioche no need to use hands), whole lobster, and burger. so no need big menu, no need much cooking, just sell lots of live lobsters at an affordable £20.

now it’s £23. price wise it was quite ok, with inflation, £ at lower forex whatnots. the menu now included other options & combinations.

but primarily, it is still lobsters! except i noticed our £23 only got us a one pounder – 454g lobster. the lobster didn’t seem much smaller. the one & a quarter pounder (which i asumed was the standard previously) is now £32!

hasn’t really fathom this, but anyhow it was a great experience. we all very much enjoyed our £23 lobster. & all of us agreed that the steamed lobster was sweeter, more moist & overall better. same observation as my last time.

my friends wanted to celebrate, so we took a £30 white wine.

and indeed we do have much to celebrate for – our good health, lasting friendship, wonderful time together! ^^

c.h.e.f andy

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Burger & Lobster

Address –

36-38 DEAN STREETSOHOLONDONW1D 4PS

Opening Hours –

MON-WED: 12PM-10:30PM
THURS-SAT: 12PM-11PM
SUN: 12PM- 10PM

Reservations –

RESERVATIONS TAKEN FOR PARTIES OF 6-10 PEOPLE

Bubble Gum Art @ Millenium Bridge on 29Apr2017 (3pax RI Mates Trip London & Wales 27Apr-11May2017)

Posted on May 19, 2017 by chefquak