Monday 26 August 2013

RED HOT WORLD BUFFET



Red Hot Buffet, started by husband and wife team Parmjit and Helen Dhaliwal has branches in some major cities, though not yet in London. Went to the Milton Keynes branch well positioned with plentiful parking just in front of the restaurant, which is free after 6.30 pm. This is located on the first floor and has got extensive seating for over 320 customers.

There were separate sections for Indian, Chinese, Thai and Mexican with live stations in each section with chefs that cooked dishes anyway you wanted.







We had starters consisted of Indian bajias, chicken tikka and shish kebab which were all delicious and had various sauces and freshly made naan.



Loved the lamb rogan gosht and chicken tikka masala. Both were tender and well cooked and the curry with these very nice and spicy, especially the Bombay potatoes. Second round was the pilaf rice with the chicken Thai curry and the hot Szechuan chicken tempered with a bit of beef in black bean sauce.

Dessert consisted of a large selection of cakes gateaux and fresh fruit salad. Loved the crème brulee. Found the Tiramisu a bit too creamy. The children loved the chocolate fountain.
Overall, a very enjoyable experience and good variety of tasty food. The only down side was the red upholstered chairs and the red lighting which gave the whole restaurant a very oppressive feel---but I suppose that is to do with the “red “ of the Red Hot Buffet image.

 
 Website: http://www.redhot-worldbuffet.com

Twitter: @RedHotWldBuffet
  

Wednesday 21 August 2013

Tucking into Reef, Beef and Bubbles at The Parlour

Enjoying another great meal at The Parlour, Canary Wharf - check out their Reef, Beef and Bubbles deal till end of August, 2013!






http://www.theparlourbar.co.uk

Wednesday 14 August 2013

A wonderful produce package from Foodelity!

We received a wonderful produce box on Friday from Simon Granshaw, Managing Director at Foodelity, and had been looking forward to sampling their produce as they supply Michelin starred restaurants and chefs.
Wonderful array of raw and ready to eat items in the Blog 9 Produce box from Foodelity, including Ox Cheek and Quince Jelly
Wonderful array of raw and ready to eat items in the Blog 9 Produce box from Foodelity, including Ox Cheek and Quince Jelly

All the items required for the chef designed recipes came with step-by-step instructions on recipe cards, and were all pre-measured to make meal preparation quick and easy.

They have great suppliers who provide them with the finest meat, fish, fruit & vegetables, cheese and wine to pass onto their customers. Our produce box included:
Ox Cheek, as with all their meats, is from Aubrey Allen, Lemington Spa, Warwickshire;
Cheeses (Green and Pleasant Land cheese selection: Ragstone, Burwash Rose, Westcombe Cheddar and Colston Bassett), Quince Jelly and the Charcoal biscuits (made by Miller’s Damsels, Ashbourne, Derbyshire) were from The Fine Cheese Company, Bath; and Whiting, as with all their fish, was from Fowey Fish.

We kicked off with making the fishcakes, which we served with a Caipirinha; as we felt the lime notes and the sweetness of the cachaca complemented the flavours in the fishcakes.
Starter: Pan Fried Fishcakes with Homemade Tartar Sauce and Watercress
Starter: Pan Fried Fishcakes with Homemade Tartar Sauce and Watercress

We felt that the fishcakes were lovely, but could have done with a more intense fishy flavour though; such as using smoked cod or haddock.

Next we made our main of Ox Cheek Ragu:
Main: Slow-Cooked Ox Cheek Ragu (served with Pappardelle)
Main: Slow-Cooked Ox Cheek Ragu (served with Pappardelle)

The Ox cheek had a large layer of fat, which I cut off as I thought it would make the final dish too fatty. The final ragu was still tasty without the addition of fat. The Ox cheek was a tented piece of beef with a lovely, intense beef flavour.

Then we finished with making a pear and ginger tarte tatin:

The tarte tatin was enjoyable, but there was too much liquid in the recipe which made the underside of the pastry a bit soggy; the ginger flavour was not strong enough; and it could have done with a drizzle of dark chocolate/ red wine chocolate sauce as it was missing a bitter chocolate element to the dish to balance the sweetness of the pears and tartness of the creme fraiche.

We then settled down to the selection of cheeses served with the charcoal biscuits and quince jelly. A low-down on the cheeses included in the Green and Pleasant Land cheese selection:
Ragstone is an interesting smooth, creamy goat’s cheese with citrusy notes.
Burwash Rose is a fab cow’s milk cheese with a hint of rosewater flavour.
Westcombe Cheddar is a nice mature cheddar from Somerset.
Colston Bassett is a wonderful, creamy blue veined cheese from Nottinghamshire – our favourite and very moreish!

Finally, we rounded of our meal with the Liquid Salted Caramels; which went well with a cup of dark, after dinner coffee.
Thank you gift from Foodelity for ordering produce box: No1 Liquid Salted Caramels from Artisan du Chocolat
Thank you gift from Foodelity for ordering produce box: No1 Liquid Salted Caramels from Artisan du Chocolat.

Wines are carefully matched to the courses by an in-house sommelier, and these matched bottles of wine can be purchased alongside ordering your produce box.

Foodelity caters for non-vegetarians, pescatarians, vegetarians, and vegans needs.

Good quality produce and the box cost £25 – with the satisfaction of making a Michelin standard meal and dining in the comfort of your own home.

Thanks Simon for the produce box. Loved the little surprise additions of the charcoal biscuits and quince jelly – and the No1 Liquid Salted Caramels from L’Artisan du Chocolat, Ashford, Kent were a nice thank you touch. We had great fun cooking over the weekend!

Twitter: @Foodelity

http://www.foodelity.co.uk
http://www.aubreyallen.co.uk
http://www.foweyfish.com
http://www.finecheese.co.uk
http://artisanduchocolat.com