Philippines

December 1, 2014

Restaurant: Josephine’s on Charlotte Street, W1T 2LP

The Philippines are a group of 7,107 islands, which only about 2,000 of are inhabited, off east Asia. The capital city is Manila.

In the Philippines, the food they eat is largely influenced by some of the nearby countries like Malaysia and China, but they also follow some more western styles like Spanish and American cuisine. For as long as we know, the Philippines have always been very keen on fresh meat and fish. However, some of the side dishes like rice, were only introduced when the Chinese came to settle in the Philippines in 3200 BC. They brought a lot of the Chinese cooking styles to the Philippines, hence some elements of their cuisine being similar.

We found a traditional Philippine restaurant called Josephine's where there were a lot, and I mean a lot of dishes on the menu to choose from! So the waiter was very helpful and gave us a selection of what he thought the most authentic dishes from the Philippines were.

Our Orders:

Starter: Oriental Hor D’oeuvres - A platter of prawn rebosado, chicken sate, vegetable spring roll and calamares prito barbecue ribs. x1

Mains: Lechon Kawali - Filipino style crispy pork belly served with zesty sauce on the side. x1

Adobong Manok - A chunk of chicken in an exotic South sea sauce, a traditional Filipino favourite. x1

Guinataan Isda - A fillet of St. Peter fish in coconut sauce with lemongrass.

Dessert: Halo-Halo - Shaved ice and milk with boiled sweet beans, jelly and candied fruits mixed in. Topped with cream and sweet potato ice cream, this is said to be the Philippine version of an ice cream sundae.

Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆

The food was very nice; the best dish being the crispy pork belly. The restaurant was a little bit scruffy but the waiter was kind and helped pick all the most traditional Philippine dishes on the menu, he even gave us brochures on the Philippines while we were waiting for the food to arrive!

Best dishes: Oriental Hor D’oeuvres, Lechon Kawali

Could have been better: Halo-Halo - I can't say that this was a bad dish, especially not the sweet potato ice cream, but the beens mixed in milk isn't for everyone.

The service and all our waiter's help really added to the experience, so if you want to go Filipino, try Josephine's!

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Mongolia

November 29, 2014

Restaurant: Prince of Wales Pub

Mongolia is a country in east-central Asia, bordered by China and Russia. Its capital city is Ulan Bator or Ulaanbaatar.

Mongolian cuisine mainly consists of dairy, meat (mainly beef) and animal fats, because of the extreme temperatures in Mongolia: ranging from -40℃ in winter to over 40℃ in summer. The temperatures also mean that there is a very limited amount of fruit, veg and spices as they can't be grown easily. Mongolian dishes are largely influenced by China and Russia, examples being the hearty meals like beef dumplings and stir-fry to keep them warm during the sub-zero temperatures in winter.

There are lots of so called 'Mongolian barbecues' in London which are really not Mongolian at all but with luck, we found a pub in paddington which sells authentic Mongolian food, prepared by a Mongolian chef. This pub is where lots of Mongolians living in London go to meet for a meal from their culture so it was the perfect place to go for our Mongolian lunch.

Food:

Mains: Buuz - Beef dumplings with carrots on the side.

Tsuivan - Stir fried noodles with beef and vegetables.

Banshtai Tsai - Mongolian milk tea with mini beef dumplings.

Khuushuur - Deep fried pastry with beef inside. A bit like a Mongolian-style filled pancake.

Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆

The food was very good but came in massive portions (one Tsuivan will serve a family of four) and the Mongolian landlord was very welcoming and helpful. However the atmosphere could have been better: next to where we were sitting was a seriously drunk man playing Pool, who was constantly shouting whenever he hit a ball into a pocket, and a lady cheering at the bar, who could barely stand upright.

Best dish: Khuushuur

Could have been better: Banshtai Tsai - the milk tea just lacked flavour.

All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed this experience and I would recommend that you to try it!

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Jordan

November 27, 2014

Restaurant: Arabica Bar and Kitchen on 3 Rochester House, Borough market, SE1 9AF.

Jordan is in western Asia and is bordered by Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Israel and Palestine. Its capital city is Amman.

Jordanian cuisine is known for the large amount of herbs and spices used; ranging from extremely spicy to very mild. In Jordan they treat every meal like a celebration, often inviting others around and preparing a mezze (a large assortment of small dishes that fill the table). There is nearly always hummus and flatbread in any mezze due to the large amount of olives grown in Jordan which are turned into olive oil. The most traditional dish of Jordan is mansaf (a large dish of lamb cooked in dried yoghurt and served with either rice or bulgar), but unfortunately they didn't have it on the menu. If you know a restaurant that serves it please leave a comment!

We did our very best to find a Jordanian restaurant and in the end we found Arabica. Arabica is a new restaurant which only opened on July 1st 2014 but is not totally Jordanian, it's Lebanese. There are, however, a few Jordanian dishes on offer, an example being Sayadieh Royale which tastes fantastic.

Our orders:

Starters: Hummus - Made with chickpeas, tahini, garlic, lemon and olive oil. Served with flatbread.

Armenian-Style Lahmacun - Flatbread with spiced lamb, tomato, onion, peppers and pine kernels which looked like a pizza.

Mains: Chicken and Pistachio Taouk - Charcoaled chicken on skewers marinated in cardamom, honey and green chilli.

Lamb Meshwi - Charcoaled lamb on skewers with walnut harissa and onion and sumac salad.

Sayadieh Royale - Pan fried pollack with rice, tahini salsa and toasted pine kernels. This is a traditional Jordanian dish.

Tabouleh - A salad with parsley, cucumber, tomato, spring onion, mint, cracked west, olive oil and lemon.

Desserts: Mouhalabieh - Milk pudding with mastic, fruits and toasted hazelnuts.

Knafeh - Warm Levantine cheese pastry with orange blossom honey and crushed pistachios.

Original Beans Chocolate Pot - With candied Anatolian clementine, olive oil and chilli salt.

Baklawa - Crisp, buttery layers of filo pastry with nuts and honey syrup.

Ice cream - Dark chocolate.

Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

The food and restaurant were absolutely amazing, we would go back there any time. There was attention for detail in every dish and lots of delicious spices added. The only problem that we had was that they had run out of two or three dishes on the menu; we did come a bit later than most would though.

Best Dishes: Armenian-Style Lahmacun, Sayadieh Royale, Lamb Meshwi.

Could have been better: Mouhalabieh - Personally I didn't like it very much as I found it a bit watery, but that may just be me.

I would definitely recommend this restaurant for anyone willing to go Lebanese, Middle Eastern or be adventurous and go Jordanian.

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