Cafe TPT, 21 Wardour Street, Chinatown, London

Teepeetee is one of my favourite restaurants in Chinatown. We don’t go there as often as I’d like because the bf says that there is no ambience in there.

What he means is that no matter how many people are in there, it never seems noisy or busy enough, unlike the other Chinatown restaurants where you’d be pushed to find elbow space.

For me, as long as the food is good, I could be eating in the store room and wouldn’t be much fussed.

Until now, I’m still trying to figure out what TPT means.

Tai Pai Tong?

It gets squishy in this place very quickly. Service is efficient, as is expected in Chinatown.

While I’m in this topic, some people, usually newbies, have a meal in Chinatown and complain about the service. That is like complaining about the lettuce on your kebab.

Sit, order, eat, go is what you do in restaurants here. None of that chat and chilling out malarky. It’s not because they like being rude (perhaps some of them do) but customers equals profit.

Customers who eat fast equals more customers. More customers equals more profit.

Anyhow, back to this meal at TPT, where the waitresses were very nice.

Chicken with jellyfish (half) £10.50

The first time I tried this dish, I poured the contents of the bowl onto the chicken and jellyfish, assuming it was the sauce to go with it. Mistake.

That is a bowl of some salty stuff, very salty stuff (not quite sure what the stuff is but it’s salty).

The dish is served cold, and the chicken is boiled before being shredded and mixed with the jellyfish. I could taste alot of sesame oil, which is the main ingredient in the dish. Sesame oil on cold chicken just works so well. Without the jellyfish, this would have been a bland dish, but with the jellyfish, there is a whole new dimension to the textures and taste.

Because it’s not served hot, the flavours are given the chance to tap dance their way across your tastebuds. Tapping away, the crunchy jellyfish then bounces from end of your teeth to the other, with the tender and chewy chicken calming things down for the crew.

Fish with spring onion and ginger hotpot £10.50

There’s something about dishes in hot pots that makes my bf choose them everytime he’s at a Chinese restaurant. It could be hotpot fish, hotpot beef, hotpot furry gloves, whatever the hotpot, he’ll have one.

This was a good choice, however, as it was a drizzly and very windy day. In warmer countries, whenever it rains, people tend to want something hot. This doesn’t apply in England as it’s always cold, usually rainy and sometimes windy also. However, on that day, it felt like one of those ‘want something hot’ days, and so we ordered a hot pot.

The fish pieces were done just right, slightly al dante (if you can apply that to fish) with enough bite but yet flaking to show how fresh it is. Stirred in with the starchy gravy, and bok choi which had soaked up all the flavours, this was the perfect dish to have with rice.

Stuffed beancurd £8

The usual policy when dining out with friends is to have one person choose one dish, and have a another dish as the extra to be shared. Whatever cuisine we’re having, it’s common among our group of friends to try each other’s food, and usually we put the dishes in the middle of the table to be shared.

With Chinese cuisine, that is more easily done than when having, say, sausage and mash. Not impossible with sausage and mash, just slightly less appealing having to eat someone else’s shared mash.

This was the dish chosen by another friend, and I had no idea what it’d be like from the name on the menu. Stuffed beancurd made me assume that it’d be deep fried, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that it had gravy and veg and other little bits on the plate.

Deep fried tofu stuffed with a mixture of pork and prawn, cooked in gravy. This was another dish perfect for eating with rice.

Kailan with oyster sauce £6

This was not a dish from the menu, but kailan is not a tough request, so we just ordered it from the waiter after going over the menu a few times but not finding it there. It was as good as it looks, perhaps even better that it looks.

Strange, you might find. After all, how can a dish of vegetables blanched in hot water, and served with oyster sauce be any different, or any better than if it was served anywhere else?

The main difference is in the quality of the vegetable. If it’s tender yet resistant to the bite, especially at the stalky bits of the veg, you know you’re on to a winner. This was definitely a winner, each and every stalk of the veg. Each bite (I do like the stalks of kailan) was sweet, crunchy yet tender, and so tasty, I can taste it as I type.

Marinated cuttlefish £8

There must have been times when you’ve walked by a Chinese restaurant with chickens and ducks hanging by the window, wondering what on earth those other things were. If you’d seen an orange coloured thing, looking alot like squid, that’s the marinated squid.

I’m not sure what the marinated bit refers to, but I guess that means the squid has been pre-cooked and then stewed in a sauce to give it that colour. Served slightly warm and sliced up, it doesn’t taste particularly of anything, just slightly fishy. The main reason why I like this is the texture. Chewy, and chewy.

Tau foo fah (sweet beancurd dessert) £3.50

Whilst the people around me sat back in their chairs (quite an achievement in a place as small as this) and said how full they were, I eagerly ordered dessert.

Desserts in other restaurants are just an over-indulgence, but here, it’s something of a must because I haven’t found anywhere else in Chinatown serving this. There is a cafe down the main street which does it, but it’s a cafe which turns into a restaurant during dinner time and stops serving it after.

Served chilled here (although I prefer it hot), the waitress said she could ‘ting’ it for me.

Why waste time using words like ‘microwave’ when you can just say ‘ting’.

After I said no to the ting because I wasn’t sure how the ting would affect the texture, I put the spoon into the bowl and slurped. It was a nice slurp, with smooth beancurd and sweet syrup.

Red bean iced drink £3.50

I’ve not had this drink else where before, but for those in the know, this place apparently serves the best version of this drink in Chinatown. I had a sip, and it’s basically red bean at the bottom of the glass, with ice and condensed milk at the top. Before you drink it, you’re meant to stir it completely so that the drink is evenly mixed before you have it.

Would I come back to this restaurant? Every time anyone suggests this place, I say let’s go.

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That little town called Camden Town

Crowded streets, spiky hair, tattoos and nose piercings.

And that’s before you come out of the station.

It’s an interesting place, Camden. Especially when the road signs seem to have been Tip-Exed or painted with something, possible to erase the graffiti which was there to erase the sign which was there to erase the graffiti.

If you’re not a teenager, if you’re not even in your twenties, then perhaps you’d like to know where the cool kids are chilling out. That would be at this classy, puke-free, clean-looking place called the Electric Ballroom.

This is where young, not so trendy indie-kids come to hang out. The older but more trendy ones go to Soho where it’s also not puke-free, slightly more stylish but definitely more unfriendly on the pocket.

If you’re hungry in Camden, you’re pretty much spoilt for choice (what do you mean fast food isn’t real food). Some sunglasses with your chicken noodles? Sure thing.

Subliminal messaging. If you want to blend in here, best get a couple of these (tattoos, not yellow signboards).

Nothing says friendly like this leather, metal-studded I Hate People jacket.

‘Have a flyer’.

‘I’ll take the stack’.

On a sunny (albeit very very cold) day, Camden is perfect for pictures. Camden is not called Camden Locks for no reason. Underneath this bridge, there is a river.

Even in the middle of Camden Lock, amidst all the trendy, hippie, vintage-chic, there is Starbucks. All for the environment, not for the coffee.

Pimms for an almost summery day. This is one of those traditionally English drinks, usually ordered by every English person on days when there are sunshine (about twice a year). Made with Pimms No.1 (gin-based) and some fruits (oranges, apples) and cucumber, this is served chilled, with sunglasses.

If you fancy exotic food things while in Camden town, you’re gonna be happy. Lots and lots of stalls, possibly not the cheapest, but full of variety.

When we went by this stall and saw the colourful mountain of rice, I just had to snap a picture. After I snapped a couple of hundred or so pics, I naturally felt obliged to buy something from the stall so I asked my friend to do so.

The choices were aplenty, so we used the point and pick technique.

This was the curry my friend bought, and I had a taste. Usually, things which are cooked in pans to feed 100 people aren’t amazing, but this was really good.

Curry goat (apparently this is the way to say it, and not goat curry like you would have done) with rice. This was very flavoursome, the stirring in the huge pot must have infused the flavours even more, and made the meat all tender.

This goes to show that not all industrial-sized cooking has to end up like mine; slightly burnt and tasting of burnt bits. For the recipe, refer to this post.

Fudge, not liked by me.

Perhaps if they didn’t accept cards, I might not have taken this picture.

A vintage shop selling very colourful vintage clothings.

Donuts chilling out in the cold, who can resist that.

When we stopped for a coffee here, I just had to take this picture. The walls of the entire place were covered with surprisingly up to date posters.

This concludes the tour of Camden town, not sure if I’ll put a map to this place but you should find it quite easily on a map (unless you’re like me and don’t know how maps essentially work).

Lunch at Debenhams, Bristol

Cafes within shopping malls have always fascinated me. Could it be the queuing up that is exciting? Or the fact that I get to point and choose and have WHATEVER I fancy (within reasonable limits as to what is available on the hot counter).

Whatever the reason, there is nothing more satisfying that paying £4 for some soup and roll.

Except maybe, paying £1.50 for the same soup and roll.

Last week, when it was bright and sunny in England (you could almost have a conversation with someone and they'd know EXACTLY which day you were referring to because there are not that many sunny days in England) we decided to go shopping.

If you check out the other posts here which refer to sunny days, they're probably all in the same day, just, split out into different posts to give the impression that I do more than I actually do.

Anyway, we decided to have lunch at the cafe in Debenhams, Bristol. I wanted to take a picture of what the cafe looked like, but it was already closing by the time we arrived, so it was either picture or food.

We know which option it is, always.

I selected the soup and roll option, and because it said on the board that any side salad with a soup would only cost an additional 99p, I decided to splash out.

After splashing out, I had a look at the receipt. Instead of charging the 99p as stated on the board, the full price had been charged. Pushing all logic and mathematical reasonableness aside (about 50p difference), I sent the bf up to the counter to ask for the 50p back.

It's a matter of principal when it comes to these things.

When they had a check of the receipt, it seems they had double charged for another item so I guess it was a good thing we stuck to those principals.

Ranting makes you hungry, have a look at what we had.

Flan (apricot or peach?) looking very similar to crumble.

Strawberry tart, which was so nice. The fruit was sweet, on top of a custard layer, encased in a sweet shortcrust pastry.

Gammon, chips and baked beans – a plate of comfort food ahead of shopping. Perfect for trying on those jeans later.

How was this compared to other mall cafes? I’d say it was one of the better ones, as despite being after the lunch rush hour, the food was still tasty, and there were quite a few choices to choose from.

Would I come here again? Well, if I’m shopping here, why not, but it’s not one of those places you’d come to specifically for the food, tasty enough as it was.

Sunday lunch on a sunny day in Wiltshire

Last Sunday, with the sun shining on most places around the UK, moods were jovial and everyone felt that little bit shinier. However, with the sun and lovely weather, there is the usual British phenomenon accompanying it called the

‘Shirtless pasty-skin belly juggling event’

(coming to pretty much every town near you)

Anyhow, with the great weather, we decided that it was a good time to try out a chicken recipe from no other than the very precise, instruction-bearing Delia Smith herself. As I am in no way similar to Smithers, I have not included any measurements, instructions or methods below; only nice pictures of how I got from raw ingredients to finished product.

If you stumbled here wanting recipes, tough.

The raw ingredients

The ingredients for the sauce are tomato puree, wine, white wine vinegar, olive oil, onions and some herbs.

The herbs used were rosemary and bay leaves, or leaf in this case.

Smithers called for chopped ripe tomatoes, but our view was, raw tomatoes are better than no tomatoes, hence the pale pink, not very ripe tomatoes you see above. With the chicken browning in the pan, you add the tomatoes and all the items above into another pan, gently simmering until they become a sauce, and add the chicken to the sauce pan.

The cooked product

With alot of skill and effort, the raw ingredients transform to become this dish. With every superbly cooked dish, you need to have the extras, the other dishes, the bits that make the meal whole.

Bring on the lasagne. Fresh egg pasta layered with a vegetable mix, topped off with bechamel sauce and grated cheese, baked until bubbly.

Calling on the bacon roll, sometimes known as pigs in blankets. Little sausages wrapped in little bacon bits, grilled to perfection and eaten in one mouthful. Done to perfection by my bf’s mum, this was really tasty.

And a warm welcome to the roasted parsnips. Eaten by many but usually only one day in the year, these little guys make a perfect accompanying dish to pretty much anything. When roasted well, the crispy skin and sweet, creamy insides beat potatoes anytime.

As with most people, when you say you’re full, you don’t REALLY mean you’re full, do you. Sure you’re full, uh huh, you can’t eat another bite.

Until you see the cake for dessert.

Resistance? Bring it on. Cut yourself a slice and keep it, I’ll have the rest. Orange cake baked by my bf’s mum, another dish well received.

Chennai Dosa, 353 High Street North, Manor Park, E12 6PQ (East Ham tube station)

As you come out of East Ham station, there are 3 Chennai Dosa restaurants (similar sign boards, similar name, similar colours in fact) on the high street. Which one you go to depends on who recommended it to you.

The one we went to was the third one down from East Ham tube station, after the second vegetarian one with the long queues. As we went by the queues, I wondered if that meant we were going to the less popular one, but my friend then said that the queues were for the vegetarian restaurant, so I guess you can’t compare the two.

Less queues = faster service

For those of you who don’t know, there is a big difference in the type of food served in Northern and Southern Indian cuisine. I’m not exactly sure what the main differentiating factor is, but from what I’ve had, Northern Indian cuisine consists of chapatis, fried meats and vegetables, and curries, while Southern Indian food is mainly dosa (or thosai depending on where you come from) and idli, with the Southern version of the cuisine being based more on steamed and roasted items.

Being the non-choosy kinda people, we like all of it.

The ground floor of the restaurant looks pretty much like any other takeaway shop with bright lights, a few tables for diners, and a counter where orders are placed. We went to the first floor, which had some more tables but was set up to create a comfortable (although simple in decor) environment for their diners, which seemed to be mostly larger groups of people. Where the cool kids hang out.

The menu is here another one which I like, consisting of a piece of paper, printed on both sides with little boxes for you to write the quantities on. As the prices were very reasonable, the four of us decided to order more than what the usual equation would have required us to. This time, the formula we used was:

n + 3 (instead of n + 1), with n being the number of diners

Mini idli with sambhar £2.20

The first dish to arrive at the table, and spoons delved into the dish almost immediately. Oohs and aahs and oh this is nice.

Little idlis (steamed rice cakes, soft and slightly chewy with a sour after taste) swimming in sambar sauce which tasted similar to dhal (chickpea curry).

Chicken kotthu parotta £3.75

Parotta is different from paratha, as the latter is Northern Indian (this is what Wikipedia says anyway). Thing is, unless I’ve had parathas disguised as parottas, or vice-versa, I can’t really see the difference between the two types of rotis.

This dish consists of parotta (closest thing I can liken it to is flakey puff pastry, but chewy) cut into little pieces, and cooked with egg, chicken and a spicy sauce.

As I was eating this, I tried to see what was in the dish but couldn’t make out what was in it, although onions was one of the main ingredients, from what I could tell. Taste-wise, it was very flavourful and eggy, and each bite made me want more. Similar to fried noodles (?), definitely one on the repeat-order list.

Mango lassi £1.75 (sweet)

Creamy and thick with full flavours of mango bursting through with each sip, soothing the spiciness of the dish mentioned above.

This is probably as close as it gets to eating dessert while having your main meal. Some people turn up their noses at that, but I say, the more the merrier.

Kal Dosa with Special Chicken Masala £3.75

The chicken masala curry that came with this dish was one of the nicest I’ve had. Tender, flavoured with spices and with just enough heat coming through the dish, it managed to stand out as the super-star of the dinner, fighting for space with the other super-stars (there were quite a few).

The dosa (or thosai) was nicely chewy, going well with the sauce.

Super-star chicken deserves a closer look.

Parotta £0.80 a piece

This is so similar to the roti parathas I’ve had before, that I really wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference if I hadn’t known there was any. Chewy like dense puff pastry, flavoured with eggs and ghee, this made a fabulous side-bread to chew on, even without being dipped in any curry.

Mutton masala dosa £3.99

When it arrived, I took one look at it and assumed that it would be like the chicken masala one, with the curry on the side. My friend then had a little prod at the dosa and revealed …

A treasure trove of potato with onions, and lots of mutton, very flavourful mutton. Each mouthful had little applauds of spice, rich meaty flavour, and fluffy potatoes cooked to perfection.

Special of the day – Nethili fish fry £2.75

When we were shown to our tables, we saw bright posters on the wall with the specials of the day. The one that just had to be ordered was the Nethili fish fry as I had been wanting fish the whole day, so even though I had not a clue what Nethili was (or where), I just had to order it.

It’s pretty much little fish deep marinated in spices and deep fried. Although only little, they managed to retain moisture and flavour, and the cooking process made each one very crispy and sweet.

Mutton Dum Biriyani £3.95

With more mutton than rice, this was our kind of dish. The rice and mutton was tender, yet not over-cooked, and nicely coated with spices.

Fluffy rice, tender mutton, creamy yoghurty minty sauce and 3 other diners who were already full meant that I had it all to myself.

Would I return to this restaurant? Most definitely so. In fact, halfway during the meal, we wanted to order some dishes to take-away, that’s how good it was.

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