Pho, London - Restaurant Review

Pho first opened in London’s Clerkenwell in 2005. It is the brainchild of British couple Stephen and Juliette Wall, who first set upon the idea while backpacking in Vietnam. Although it’s been around for a few years now, Pho feels like a newcomer and there's still an exciting buzz about its relatively novel (in the UK at least) menu of Vietnamese street food. Indeed, it sort of reminds me of Wagamama circa 1994, and I suspect the ambition here is to do for Vietnamese food what Alan Yau did for Japanese ramen at the wildly successful, if imperfect, Wagamama – which is no bad thing at all in my opinion.

Pollen Street Social, London – Restaurant Review

The irony of going to a restaurant called Pollen Street Social alone is not lost on me. But needs must and the chance to eat at Jason Atherton's first solo project – one of the most anticipated openings of the year – was not to be missed. So it was that on an atypically glorious April afternoon in London I found myself at Pollen Street Social, nestled in a narrow side street just off bustling Regent Street.

Lunch at Grefsenkollen, Oslo – Restaurant Review

Perched high up in the hills overlooking Oslo is Grefsenkollen restaurant. At around 370m above sea level the views from here over the city and out to the Oslo Fjord are simply majestic. If you're visiting the city for the first time then a trip here is a must.

Ylajali, Oslo – Restaurant Review

"And she herself will be sitting in a sparkling hall where all is of amethyst, on a throne of yellow roses, and she will hold out her hand to me when I enter, greet me and bid me welcome as I approach and kneel down."

Knut Hamsun is one of Norway's most prolific, influential and controversial authors. The above quote is taken from Hamsun's seminal debut novel of 1890 titled Sult (Hunger). In it the protagonist, a struggling young writer, charts his painful descent into near madness as he struggles for food and shelter.

One day, the delirious writer has a dream-like encounter with a beautiful young woman he calls Ylajali, who would go on to haunt his thoughts as wanders the streets of Christiania (old Oslo). Ylajali – a ghost-like object of abstract beauty that cannot be found...

The Kavey Eats Food & Soft Drinks Challenge

A few weeks ago fellow food blogger Kavey, who writes the rather excellent blog Kavey Eats, set an interesting challenge. Much has been written about the matching of food and wine, but it seems there's a dearth of information on how to best match food with non-alcoholic drinks. Kavey's challenge, therefore, was to come up with some interesting food and soft drink pairings.

Beyond the typical non-alcoholic trinity of coke/water/juice, it’s unusual to find much more on offer in a restaurant. There are of course a few notable exceptions, and some restaurants (mostly high-end) have concocted soft drinks to win over the hearts of the most committed oenophiles.

Shakshuka – Recipe

Shakshuka has its origins in the Maghreb – the Arab West. Today it is a popular and delicious breakfast or supper staple across North Africa and the Middle East. The name roughly translates as “mixed up,” and at its core is a dish consisting of tomatoes, onions and eggs. Interestingly, and I'm not sure of the reasons, shakshuka was a dish traditionally prepared by the men of the household.

There are myriad of shakshuka variations. Some add peppers, others feta cheese. Sometimes the eggs are cooked in the tomato sauce; sometimes they are scrambled, poached or fried separately. There are even some recipes that add meat to the dish (I've heard that in Libya it is not uncommon to have shakshuka with gideed, a type of dried salted lamb). There aren’t really any ‘proper’ versions, so feel free to experiment. This recipe is the one I remember from my childhood and therefore, by definition, it is the best. Of course, I may be a touch biased!

These days I love making shakshuka as part of a lazy weekend brunch. There’s something so comforting about the sweet smell of onions and garlic cooking gently on the stove. If you like, though, you can make the sauce in advance and then reheat and drop in the eggs when you are ready to eat. I like to cook the eggs so they are still soft, allowing the oozing yolk to mingle satisfyingly with the tomato and onion sauce. In my opinion shakshuka should always be served with a stack of warm pita breads and lots of hot, sweet tea.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 4 eggs
• 2 medium onions, roughly chopped
• 5 fresh plum tomatoes (about 600g worth), chopped (you can of course used tinned tomatoes, but I think fresh ones work better for this dish. I don't bother to peel the tomatoes – life's too short for that).
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 75ml water
• A handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper to season

Method

1. Pour a couple of tablespoons of olive oil into a frying pan. Add the onions and cook over a gentle heat for 7-10 mins until they are soft and golden (you don't want them to brown).
2. Add the garlic to the onions and continue cook for a further 5 mins until the onions are just starting to caramelise.
3. Sprinkle over the turmeric and cumin and cook for another minute or so to temper the spices. 
4. Add the chopped tomatoes, turn up the heat a bit, and simmer for 5-10 mins.
5. Add the water to loosen mixture a touch (you may need more or less depending on the moisture of the tomatoes, but you're aiming for a consistency like pasta sauce). Season to taste with salt and pepper.
6. Make four little wells in the mixture and break an egg into each one.
7. Cover the pan and cook for 5 mins, or until the eggs are done to your liking.
8. Sprinkle with flat leaf parsley and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Serve with lots of warm pita bread and sweet Assam tea.

Beef Rydberg – Recipe

For dinner recently I decided to take a little excursion to Sweden. Not literally of course, but culinarily. As much as I love cooking, sometimes you need to make something that provides maximum impact with minimal effort, and this is one such dish. Biff Rydberg is a Swedish classic and its name is said to originate from the now defunct, but once opulent, Hotel Rydberg in Stockholm, where it was probably first served.

In this dish, beef, potatoes and onions are cooked simply to remarkable effect. The original dish was also thought to include kidney from lamb, veal or pig, but this seems to have been dropped over the years. I like to add a dash of Worcestershire sauce to the beef to add a pleasing umami kick, while some people prefer to add a dollop of mustard- or horseradish-cream.

The only question left though is where to place that raw egg yolk you see in the picture above. Personally, I love squishing the yolk all over the potatoes, coating them in an unctuously smooth 'sauce.' Alternatively you can also mix everything together into a great big unholy mess. If raw egg yolk is not your thing then you can of course do as my wife, Mrs. Nibbler, does and place a fried egg on top instead. I promise I won't call you a wimp if you do. Honestly (ahem).

If you ever find yourself in Stockholm and have a craving for the real deal, then you'd be hard pressed to find a better example of Beef Rydberg than at Prinsen restaurant, which has been a Stockholm institution for over 100 years.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 600g beef fillet, cut into ¾ inch cubes
• 800g potatoes, peeled and cut into ¾ inch cubes
• 2 onions, roughly chopped
• 4 egg yolks served in the shell (you can trim the edges of the shell with scissors to make it neater)
• 50g butter (and some oil) for frying
• A handful of chopped parsley
• Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and pepper to season

Method

1. Parboil the potatoes for 5 mins
2. Melt 25g of butter in a frying pan and fry the potatoes over a low/medium heat for 15-20 mins. Season with salt. Don't move the potatoes around too much, you want a nice crisp crust to form. You may want to add a touch of oil too to stop the butter burning.
3. While the potatoes are cooking, gently fry the onions with the remaining butter in another pan over a low/medium heat for 15 mins and season with a touch of salt. The onions should be soft and golden and just starting to caramelise.
4. After the onions have been cooking for 7 mins, drizzle the beef with a touch of oil, season with salt and pepper and sear in (yet another) hot pan for 3-4 mins until cooked medium-rare. Let the beef rest for 5 mins on a warm plate.
5. To serve, place separate mounds of beef, onions and potatoes on a warmed plate. Sprinkle with chopped parsley (don't leave this out, it adds a crisp freshness to the dish), and place an egg yolk in the middle. I also like to add a few splashes of Worcestershire sauce over the beef. Serve with an ice cold beer or a glass of Pinot Noir.

Ottolenghi Apple & Olive Oil Cake with Maple Icing – Recipe

One of the many things I miss about living in London is wandering up to Islington's Upper Street for a lazy weekend lunch at Ottolenghi. I went there for the friendly communal atmosphere and the beautifully vibrant and fresh food that would be laid out in abundant piles. To this day I've yet to have a broccoli dish as exciting as their chargrilled version with garlic and chilli. Oh, and the cakes. Definitely the cakes.

Naturally, as a fan of Ottolenghi's food, I went out and bought the cookbook when it came out a few years ago. Unfortunately it became one of those that sat untouched on my bookshelf, for I was never quite able (unsurprisingly) to replicate the magic in my own kitchen. It remained untouched until, that is, the other day when I was struck by an insatiable urge for cake. I dug out the book, and found this interesting recipe for apple cake that uses olive oil. I'll admit to being a tad sceptical, but the olive oil really works. I used regular olive oil, but I subsequently found out that you're meant to use extra virgin olive oil, which I imagine gives it even more depth of flavour. Next time, I suppose. I'd also be tempted to substitute the water the sultanas are soaked in for some sort of booze such as dark rum or sherry.

Anyway, it's a fairly straightforward recipe and the end result is decadently moreish. The cake benefits from a day or two in the fridge to allow the flavours to mature (just make sure you wrap it well in clingfilm and take it out of the fridge a couple of hours before icing and serving).

Ottolenghi Apple and Olive Oil Cake with Maple Icing
(taken from Ottolenghi: The Cookbook)

Ingredients (serves 6-8)
80g sultanas
4 tbsp water
280g plain flour
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
½ a teaspoon baking powder
1¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
120ml extra virgin olive oil
160g caster sugar
½ vanilla pod
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 Bramley/Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1cm dice (should be approx 360g)
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 egg whites

For the Maple icing:
100g unsalted butter, at room temperature
100g light muscovado sugar
85ml maple syrup
220g cream cheese, at room temperature

Method

1. Grease a 20-24cm springform non-stick cake tin. Place the sultanas and water (or booze) in a saucepan and simmer over a low heat until all of the water has been absorbed. Leave to cool.
2. Preheat the oven to 170ºC. Sift together the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and set aside.
3. Put the oil and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use an electric whisk). Slit the vanilla pod lengthwise and scrape the seeds out into the bowl. Beat the oil, sugar and vanilla together, then gradually add the eggs. Mix until smooth and thick. Add the diced apples, sultanas and lemon zest, then lightly fold in the dry ingredients.
4. Whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl until they form soft peaks. Carefully fold them into the batter in 2 batches, trying to lose as little air as possible.
5. Pour the batter into the cake tin, level it with a palette knife. Bake for 1½ hours, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let it cool in the tin.
6. Once cold, remove the cake from the tin and cut the cake horizontally in half using a serrated knife.
7. To make the icing, beat together the butter, muscovado sugar and maple syrup in an electric mixer until light and airy. Add the cream cheese and continue to beat until the icing is totally smooth.
8. Using a palette knife spread a 1cm-thick layer of icing over the bottom half of the cake. Carefully place the top half on it. Spread the rest of the icing on top.

Fiskeriet, Oslo - Restaurant Review

Erling Moe was once an Oslo institution. This venerable fishmonger was located at the foot of Norway's first 'skyscraper' – the imposing Folketeater building – and it sold some of Norway's finest seafood for over 70 years. Sadly, like many of the small speciality food stores in Oslo, the inevitable march of modernisation forced the shop to close in 2009. For a city that once boasted over 75 fishmongers it was the end of an era, and only a tiny handful of independent fish shops survive today.

Rather fortuitously, though, out of these ashes rose a new style of fish shop. The building's current owners tasked the then 26-year-old fishmonger, Eivind Hermansen, with opening up a new generation of fish shop on the same premises. In the summer of 2010 Fiskeriet opened to much fanfare. Fishing forms an integral part of Norway's identity and history, and is one of the country's biggest exports (it sure tastes a lot better than crude oil). And such is fishing's importance that none other than the Fisheries Minister herself cut the ribbon to officially open Fiskeriet.

On entering the shop you're immediately confronted with a dazzling array of Norway's finest seafood. Huge slabs of cod, sparkling mackerel, halibut steaks, king crab, and more lay glistening on crushed ice. But I wasn't here just for raw fish; I wanted someone to cook it for me too. One end of the shop has been expanded to include a 'matbaren' – a small bar-style seating area – from which you can select from half a dozen or so lunchtime dishes such as fish stew, steamed mussels, and Norwegian fish cakes. The place is licensed too, so you can wash it all down with a glass of cool, buttery white Burgundy.

I had initially ordered a comforting bowl of fish stew, but on seeing two huge plates of fish & chips come out of the kitchen I suffered a major case of food envy and changed my order. And I'm mightily glad I did. Served on a faux-newspaper page printed with titbits of information on Erling Moe and Fiskeriet was a dish of fish & chips that would fit right in with Britain's finest. At NKr. 119 (€15 / $21) it's not bad value either.

Impeccably fresh haddock was encased in a light and crisp batter. Chunks of pearl white flesh flaking satisfyingly under knife and fork. Alongside this were some decent tartare sauce and a pickled onion. Proper Sarson's malt vinegar added that authentic acidity and brought a broad smile to my face. The only let down was the chips, which seemed to be of the generic and bland pre-frozen type that you find in every motorway café in Norway. I was hoping for something a bit more interesting, but then I suppose this place is predominantly a fishmonger. Anyway, the chips were much improved by a liberal dollop of rather excellent Stokes tomato ketchup.

Fiskeriet is a great place for a quickish lunch in Oslo. The lunch bar gives you the perfect vantage point from which to observe the fishmongers at work. I happily watched as they cleaned, filleted and skinned fish, and chatted pleasantly with customers, all the while enjoying some decent seafood and wine. Yes there may now be fewer fishmongers in Oslo, but what the city has lost in terms of quantity it certainly seems to be making up for it in quality.


Food:         7 / 10
Service:      8 / 10
Ambiance:  7 / 10

Fiskeriet Youngstorget
Youngstorget 2b
0181 Oslo
Norway
Tel: +47 22 42 45 40

There is another branch of Fiskeriet located at Willy Greinersvei 22 in Sandvika, but this is just a pure fishmonger and does not have a restaurant.

Japan – How to Help

This post is a little off-topic, but sometimes stuff happens that makes you stop and put things in perspective. The tragic events in Japan are one of those such things, and the recent news and pictures following the aftermath of the devastating earthquake have been heartbreaking to say the least. It makes scribbling on a food blog such as this seem somewhat frivolous.

The photo at the top is of a piece called "Upside Down Hinomaru" by Japanese artist Teruya Yuken. He describes the work as such:

I used to have the Japanese flag in my studio and one day I decided to move the flag. And as I began to move the flag upside down, I was feeling a gravitational pull moving along with me. I hung on to this power until I had completed a 180° turn. It was at this time that the power left me and I was looking back at the flag. To all it would appear as right side up but it was only to me that it looked upside down. It was then I felt a true personal relationship with the Japanese flag for the first time. I want to share my experience with the flag and also would like everyone to see what happens when something standardized gets turned upside down.

Japan is a truly remarkable and wonderful place and it will always hold a very special place in my heart. The country has (literally in some cases) been turned upside down. My thoughts go out to everyone affected and I hope it’s not too long until Japan is able to 'right itself' and be back on its feet again.

I wanted to leave you with a few photos from happier times that I took last year from the wonderful city of Tokyo, and include some possible ways of donating to the relief effort.

Save the Children – Japan Emergency Appeal

Norwegian Red Cross

American Red Cross


Wooden Ema (wishes) hanging at Meiji Jingu, a Shinto shrine



Temizuya for ceremonial purification at Meiji Jingu



View of Tokyo Tower from the top of Roppongi Hills

Shibuya crossing at dusk