Authentic (?) Fish and Chips - Review
The first thing I did when I got to London was look for a good place to eat. It would be a shame if I didn't try fish and chips since that's what UK is known for. I could go to the local bar and order that, but I thought going to a small restaurant might offer good food at an affordable price. I was amazed by the number of items in the menu. There were different types of fish offered, some of them I haven't even heard of. I guess those are not freshly available here in Canada. I asked the chef what he recommends and he told me to go for the cod and chips. Who am I to argue with the chef right?
The dish consisted of a very long piece of fish, perfectly fried so that every bite had a crunch. It was served with some bland tasting fries, but that was easily fixed with a sprinkling of salt and some ketchup. The fish and chips restaurants that I've been to here usually offer three different types of dip for the fish: ketchup, vinegar, and tartar sauce. It seems that tartar sauce is not popular in UK as I didn't see any. The fish was good, very flaky, and evenly cooked. Unfortunately, just like the fries, there was absolutely no taste to the batter or the fish. The cod that I got still had its skin when deep fried. I thought this was a bit different from what I expected. The skin was a little chewy, which gave it more texture so it's a good thing in my book.
It's too bad the fish and chips didn't have its own flavour, otherwise it would make a perfect meal. I was also told that Indian food is fast becoming the national food of Britain. Perhaps when I visit UK again and have an inkling for some national food, I will hit one of the local Indian establishments.
Open Chicken Pot Pie - Review
For dinner today, I got a chicken pot pie that is open. Open? Normal chicken pot pie has a pastry on top (and sometimes at the bottom). This one just had it on the side and the top is "open". The chicken was good, although without the sauce, it was a bit flavourless. The pastry nicely complemented the chicken as it added texture (always good to have). The sauce was creamy and delicious, just had the right spices into it.
My dish came with a serving of onion rings and some garden peas. The peas was tasteless so I had to add some salt. Onion rings were yummy, what deep friend food isn't?
I can't say that this dish is especially good so I probably won't order it again. But it's a good experience and it's a nice change from all the deep friend food that I've been eating recently.
Carefree Chef in Birmingham
I'm in Birmingham, England for the next few days so I'll get a change to try out some dishes that I don't normally get when I'm in Vancouver. For dinner yesterday, I went to a restaurant/bar beside the hotel. It was the only restaurant around so didn't really have much of a choice. It was weird going in since I didn't know what the custom is. Do I just sit myself or should I wait to be seated. It turns out that you can just sit anywhere you like. The menus were on the table so I spent some time figuring out what I want to get. I decided to get the soup of the day (Potato and Leek soup) and a Breaded Pork Shnitzel. I was waiting for the waitress to come to my table to get my order, but she never did. So I was wondering if I should be ordering somewhere. I then saw a sign near the bar that says "Ordering Post". I'm thinking I can't be ordering there, how would they know where I sit. But eventually I saw this guy go there so I followed him. The way the bar works is they will ask where you sit, then give you a big wooden spoon that has been painted with a color. The color tells the waitress which section of the restaurant you are sitting. There's a number on the spoon to identify you. So it finally all made sense to me. I didn't know what the custom is when it comes to tipping. Initially I thought that tips are part of the bill already so there's no need to put anything extra. But when I got the receipt, there was a line for tips. Since I wasn't sure what to do, I just ignored it. Besides, I thought giving tips usually happens after you finish your meal, not when you are ordering it.
The soup arrived pretty quickly. I was surprised by the large piece of bread that it came in. I think the bread was half the size of a regular loaf. The crust was a bit tough, but it was soft inside. The soup was ok, I wouldn't say it's exceptional. Perhaps my palette is not accustomed to that type of texture. I don't see myself wanting to make that at home.
I was very anxious about the pork shnitzel because I don't really know what it is. It turns out that it was the same as breaded pork chop. The dish came with fried egg on top. I wasn't sure how good the combination is, but I liked it so this is something that I will definitely try to make when I get home. Unfortunately I could only finish 3/4 of the dish because I was too full.
I know this entry is a bit unusual since it didn't really mention anything about how to cook a dish. So to compensate for that, here's a link to a pork shnitzel recipe. Enjoy.
http://www.lattaplantation.org/sugarpop/html/shnitzel.html
