Mien Tay, Battersea - restaurant review

A lot of good stuff has been written about Mien Tay (restaurants on Lavender Hill, Battersea, and Kingsland Road, Shoreditch). The resulting popularity means it can be quite difficult to get a table, even on a weekday.  We finally got round to making a booking in advance (thanks Sara!) and arrived with quite a sense of anticipation...

The restaurant decor could be politely described as kitsch, or less kindly as garish (and the less said about the outfits the waiting staff are forced to endure the better!). Nonetheless, this adds to the atmosphere of the place, which was predictably heaving even on a Wednesday night.

To get the bad bits out of the way upfront, I have to tell you the service was awful.  It was hard to get anyone's attention, our waiter was grumpy as hell, glasses of water never materialised and we waited half an hour for one of the starters to arrive.  Maybe they were having a bad day

Now, let's move on. 

The bring your own booze policy took the edge off and happily they don't charge corkage.  That said, I would've happily paid a couple of quid for a cooler or ice bucket.

The menu is extensive, somewhat overwhelmingly so.  For someone as indecisive as I am, it was a challenge.  We ordered a starter and a main course each.  The portions are pretty big though, so for the less greedy, sharing would most definitely be an option.

Mien Tay spring rolls were crisp and crunchy, served with a nice little side of pickled vegetables and a delicious sweet and spicy dip. 

The crispy pancake with chicken and beansprouts was particularly impressive - Findus this was not!  A huge portion with tender chicken and thin, light pancakes.

Summer rolls with shrimp were fresh and light, served with a gloopy satay sauce (check out my summer rolls recipe if you fancy trying them at home)

  

Salt and pepper squid was well cooked and not at all greasy.  It could've done with a little more seasoning though.

Two of us went for the whole crispy fried sea bream with mango and fish sauce.  This is one of the house specialties and probably the best dish we had.  The skin was perfectly crispy and the mango and fish sauce worked in perfect harmony.

Sea bream with lemon grass and chilli was good but was overshadowed by the mango dish.  

We also had the chargrilled chicken with honey and spices.  This needed a little more spice but was a generous portion for just £5.80.  Unfortunately my iPhone picture really didn't do it justice, so I haven't included it.

The bill was extremely reasonable, largely due to the lack of booze on it!  Starters range from £3.50 to £8.00 and mains from £5.80 to £12.50, with most at the lower end of the price bracket.

I think the food was good enough to chance the bad service a second time, I'll let you know when I do.

Apricots with goats cheese and rosemary - easy canape recipe

I made up this recipe to make the most of some sweet, juicy end-of-season apricots.  They work in perfect harmony with tangy goats cheese.  Add a sprinkle of fresh rosemary and you're in business. 

These could also work well served with mixed leaves as a light lunch.

Ingredients:
150g soft goats cheese
10 apricots
3 stalks of fresh rosemary, leaves finely chopped

Method:
In a bowl, mix the rosemary with the goats cheese.

Half and de-stone the apricots.

Top each apricot half with a teaspoon of the cheese mixture.

As you like it - easy okonomiyaki recipe

Okonomiyaki is quintessential Japanese street food.  Fitting then that the first time I tried it was from a street stall off Brick Lane earlier this year.

I was over the moon to find out that Reiko included okonomiyaki on her home cookery course and even more delighted to find out how simple it was to make.

The beauty is, the quantities don't need to be too precise and you can use whatever toppings you fancy.  In fact, the name okonomiyaki means 'what you like'.  I've made versions using squid, prawns and mushrooms.  Meat eaters might want to add ham or bacon. You can read more about regional variations in the Wikipedia entry
What really makes this dish is the okonomiyaki sauce and the bonito flakes, which are both very distinctive flavours.  If you can't find an Asian supermarket near you, you can buy them online.


Ingredients (Makes 2 pancakes):
125g self-raising flour
1 teaspoon dashi powder (you can leave this out if you don't have any)
150ml water
2 eggs
4 leaves from a pointed cabbage (also known as sweetheart cabbage), chopped

To top:
Okonomiyaki sauce
Japanese mayonnaise
Bonito flakes
2 spring onions, finely chopped
Your choice of squid, prawns, mushrooms, ham

Method:
Mix the flour with the dashi powder in a large bowl.  Add the eggs and water and mix to a smooth batter.

Add the cabbage and mix.

Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat.  Spoon in half the mixture into the pan and gently flatten to about 1cm thickness.  Repeat with the remaining mixture (If your frying pan is big enough, cook both in the same pan).

Lay the squid/prawns/bacon on top of the pancakes.

Cook for about 10 minutes on a medium-low heat, until lightly browned on the underside.

Flip over and cook for a further 5-10 minutes.

Transfer the pancakes to plates.  Spread with okonomiyaki sauce, sprinkle with the spring onion, drizzle with Japanese mayonnaise and top with bonito flakes. 

Okonomiyaki - how I like it!

Okonomiyaki

The Greenhouse effect - restaurant review

Always on the lookout for a culinary bargain, last week Little B* and I took advantage of the lunchtime special offer at The Greenhouse - and three courses and coffee for £25 at a Michelin starred restaurant is pretty special.

The restaurant is situated in a maze of Mayfair streets.  As you leave the pavement, you enter a lush, tropical garden with a wooden walkway.  It's a fabulous entrance that fills you with a sense of anticipation.  Once inside the restaurant, the botanical theme continues, with pale green leather chairs and leaf motifs on the glass and walls.  But the effects are subtle, this is a chic, elegant room, hardly the Rainforest Cafe!

From the minute we walked in the door, service was ultra efficient but friendly and, I'm pleased to report, we got looked after every bit as well as other tables who were dining a la carte.  Not always the case when you're eating from the set menu (as we sadly found out at Arbutus).  We also enjoyed all the fancies and fripperies that I love so much about fine dining.

An amuse bouche of smooth, creamy avocado mousse, topped with bright jewels of salmon roe, was served with salty squid ink crackers and a cool little parcel of cucumber filled with cream cheese and mint.  A great way to start, which had us eagerly awaiting the rest of the meal.  The bread certainly didn't disappoint: butter bread, baguette or cereal.  I tried the butter bread, which was similar to a brioche, followed by a nutty cereal bread.  The bread was served with a choice of salted or unsalted butter (always salted for me!)

Vegetable “tart fine”

Parmesan cream and herb jus

I had the vegetable summer tart to start; a lovely selection of fresh seasonal veg atop a melt-in-the mouth super-short parmesan pie crust.  Delicious.

Pachino melon and watermelon

mozzarella and basil

Little B's starter was unusual and very refreshing.  The quality of the ingredients really shone through in this dish.

Steamed sea bream

ratatouille and bouillabaisse sauce

I'm a big sea bream fan and this was perfectly cooked.  Serving the fish with the skin separated was a nice touch.

We both went for the warm chocolate ravioli with coconut ice cream for pud and both agreed it was a real highlight.  The chocolate pasta was surprisingly light with a little burst of rich, hot chocolate sauce in the middle.  The creamy coconut ice cream was a lovely accompaniment.

The BEST petits fours

Nonetheless, it was the petits fours that were the real show stopper.  Exquisite.  I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that we hoovered ours up!

The wine list also deserves a mention.  Whilst we weren't able to indulge on this occasion, we enjoyed a good read of the weighty, leather-bound tome - apparently the largest wine selection in London.

The Greenhouse is home to some exceptional food, with service to match.  I most definitely recommend.

*A lot of other food bloggers use pseudonyms for their dining companions and my fine-dining chum quite fancied one too... She is small.  Her name begins with 'b'.  Geddit?!