Taste of London 2011

Photo credit: Taste of London

Taste of London is currently on here in London town, giving foodies an opportunity to come out and experience haute cuisine at its best. The festival, which started on Thursday, is being held in the ever beautiful Regent's Park, which was fabulous, except for one small problem.

The weather. I had been hoping all week that the rains would cease and not derail my foodie hopes and excitement. But alas, the rains still came. However, despite the rain and the extremely muddy conditions, we had a blast.

I was fortunate enough to snag freebies for this event, and my fellow foodie, Nic and I were off - boots on feet, brollies in hand. One was definitely spoilt for choice, with a wide array of Michelin-starred restaurants on site preparing and serving fantastic samples of their award winning menus. Student life of course, does not afford me these luxuries so this was a real treat! With festival currency (crowns) in hand, I was off - hungry and excited.

Clear winners included the Churrasco de Lomo and corn temoles from Gaucho, the erotic decadence of Malaysia Kitchen's Chicken Curry, as well as the fried dim sum platter from Yauatacha. I also tried the Chicken Tikka pie from Benares, after reading great tweet reviews, but sadly my crust was a bit burnt.

Chicken Curry from Malaysia Kitchen at Taste of London 2011

Chicken Tikka Pie with Berry Compote from Benares at Taste of London 2011

I cannot even remember some of the other things I had and from where, though truffle risotto comes to mind, not to mention the wide assortment of wines, cocktails and desserts - including gelato, sinful tarts and cakes and an assortment of cheeses.

Yummy desserts at Taste of London 2011

Nic's Espresso Martini and my Mai Tai at Taste of London 2011

I tried to get into the masterclasses to actually get my apron on and work in the kitchen alongside master chefs but this proved to be the expectation of hundreds of other people as well, so I could only look on as some of the patrons joined the cooking classes, learning from the best. I did, however, manage to pick up a tip or two from the sidelines.

I also had to support the island crew, and kudos to the Barbados booth for the amazing seared tuna and great hospitality. Barbados went full hundred with their presentation, as they should have. And this leads me to...

Of course, this blog entry would be incomplete if I did not mention the Trinidad and Tobago booth. I was expecting the premium chocolate from the Tobago Cocoa Estate but instead got Angostura, with their rum punch and assortment of rums, and... cassava pone. That was it. While the team explained that this was the first year and they were "testing the waters", I still felt a bit let down by the offerings. In terms of culinary wonders, we have soooo much to offer, with some amazing culinary talent, and the best we could do was a bite-sized piece of pone? I think if one cannot do something well, one should not do it at all.

The rain, mud and the thick throng of people trying to get to and from the booths were the only issues I had today. There were so many people, even with the threat and eventually, the heavy showers of rain. As a result, I could not fully enjoy a lot of the taste experiences as the crowds were a turn off and a real physical obstacle to getting close to a lot of the food. Oversubscribed?

The weather, in general, held up better than I expected, especially after the forecast mentioned hail. I kid you not - summer HAIL. We did have some brief moments of heavy showers and blustery winds which made the uncovered areas a virtual mudpit, but still, everyone was enjoying the day. And as my girlfriend said, if Londoners still cannot come to terms that their summer lasts a week and still insist on going out to areas prone to muddiness in flip flops and heels, then they deserve all the mud caked on their toes and feet at the end. I mean, wow - I saw one lady in a maxi dress that was way past floor length and the hem was a brown muddy nightmare. Really?

My own shoes - well, I will be cleaning them out in the backyard, that's for sure.

Ugh. Muddy boots are not cute.

But my first Taste of London was splendid. I had an amazing time, got to taste some truly fantastic food (and drinks...lots of drinks!!) and got to meet some great people, have some laughs and shake off the funk that had been following me all week. Good times, friends. Good times! Thank you, British Airways for an amazing time!

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Foodie Pics: Curry Tabanca

I always say, I could eat curry every week - maybe not everyday but definitely once a week and it had been a while since I had a good curry. And my mantra is, if you want something good, best you do it yourself and so I did. I had promised a friend to come over and cook Trini curry for him this weekend and we did that, while watching my dismal cricket team play India. It was lovely. And so after introducing a Brit to Trinidadian curry on Sunday, and ultimately teasing my own tastebuds for the spicy goodness of a curried chicken, yesterday, I went to Tesco and got chicken, chick peas, potatoes and chapatis.

First, I seasoned the chicken last evening so it could marinate overnight. Lots of onions, garlic, green herbs, , peppers, geera (cumin) and curry powder. Chief curry powder, and Chief ground geera - not the crap they have here. It looks beautiful doesn't it?

I love cutting drumsticks in half for curry. To me boneless chicken for curry is sacrilege

Then this morning I cut up my potatoes into small cubes. I also chopped some onions, garlic, peppers and threw them in some very very hot oil, with some whole geera, (I just love geera) before adding curried powder mixed with water for the chunkay. Then, in went my chick peas and then later my cubed potatoes. Bubble bubble...

The channa, better known as chickpeas, bubbling in the curry

With my oil extremely hot in my dutch pot, I added the seasoned chicken and allowed that to cook in a covered pot for about an hour. I nyammed on a toasted sesame bagel with a scrambled egg white and some hot chocolate while this was going on. Did I mention I started cooking at 8am?

Putting the chicken on to do its magic

I finished cooking before 10am which was great and cleared the kitchen and packed everything away until 2pm lunch hour. I did make dhalpuri from scratch on Sunday but there was no way I was doing that today so I picked up some chapatis and heated them in the microwave for about 20 seconds. I also, last night, brewed some green tea and added the juice of 3 limes and some sugar for a thirst quenching iced green tea. Lunch was then served.

Tuesday lunch - curried chicken, curried channa (chickpeas), chapatis, iced green tea with citrus

Close up of the meal, with the chicken so tender, the flesh was falling off the bone. It was bliss. Jealous much? Back to work.

Curry a la Trininista!

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Celebrating my Inner Indian

To say I love Indian food would be an understatement. I love ah curry. So when my girlfriend gave me an opportunity to get out of the house on Sunday after I had finished my assignment, I jumped at the chance to make a suggestion. The main reason was I was too tired to go into Central London, but it sure did not hurt that the closest decent eating establishment was an Indian restaurant.

I had been taken here before on a date and though the date itself was a bust (a trend here, let me assure you), the food was superb and it's nice having a place I could get to with just a bus ride...and not a gazillion train changes.

The service at Babur's is really great. They always make you feel right at home. I was not aware of the Sunday buffet but it was as good as the a la carte and I tried everything - literally. lol. The best was the coconut curry lamb. Having had lamb on Friday evening, I did not want to go overboard with this fatty meat again today but it was delectable. Add the company of Trini girlfriends,  and the knowledge that the assignment was well and truly finished, and it was a perfect Sunday.

Justa few steps away from the
Clapham North station

Fast forward to Tuesday and despite the great curry extravaganza on Sunday, nothing really ever beats a Trini curry. I had been lusting for a roti for days and the buffet on Sunday did not appease my craving. So I got up this morning, got ready and jumped on the train to Clapham North...to Roti Joupa. Two train rides, one half hour wait for the train back and a walk in the rain, just for a roti? Hell yes!

Roti Joupa. I have been here when on vacation. This is not fine dining. Don't expect to go here and meet a maitre d' at the door, in a butler-esque uniform. Don't even expect tables. There is a counter and some stools for those who cannot wait to get home to dive into their meal, but that's the extent of it. It's a typical rotu shop setting.

Admittedly, in my opinion, and as a curry connoisseur, it is not THE BEST curry I have ever had, but in a city where bangers and mash and fish and chips are king, I will take anything. I was on the brink of a Trini curry meltdown so I ordered everything. Paratha, curried channa (chickpeas), curried aloo (potato), curried goat (goat...lol), with some kuchela on the side (will have to wiki an explanation for kuchela, but it's like pickled, peppered mango...it's great!). While waiting, I also ordered some pholourie which hit the spot like a brick. I almost fell off the stool, it was so good. I just find they very light-handed with the meat though. Not impressed. But...

I am a happy Trini. Satiated. Curried out? Maybe not. But until I make the time to make my own version of the above, this was as good as it got and on a rainy day in London (what else is new?), this was pretty damn good.

I found this video while googling kuchela...hilarious. My Trini people.

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