Holiday Food in Paphos, Cyprus

Now that the nights have drawn in, the weather has turned chilly and the only skin I am displaying is my face, my thoughts return to sunnier, carefree times. We spent our August holiday in Paphos, Cyprus. Three long months ago now. Sigh... The heat there meant we could do fewer activities and more laying around the pool. Just my kind of holiday. And not the kind I've done for a while, what with all the kids...

Of course, the highlight of any holiday, for me, is the food. From the fresh seafood...

Seafood

... to the basil growing outdoors...

Basil

...olives, growing by the pool...

Olives

... and of course, tzatziki with every meal!

Tzatziki

We stayed at the lovely Anemi Aparthotel on Posidonos Avenue, very close to Bar Street (which you may wish to avoid) and only a ten minute stroll to Paphos Harbour.

Our first port of call late on the evening of arrival was a Cafe Lounge Bar called Pingouino. Here my first Cypriot meal was Pork Souvlaki. Served with a Greek salad and, yes, a local Keo beer. Ah, we had arrived!

Pork Souvlaki

Due to the heat at that time of year (not complaining, just sayin'), we didn't venture far during the day, so we had many lunches by the pool at the Anemi, in the Turquoise Cafe.
Cyprus Dips was warm pitta served with the four traditional dips - hummous, tzatziki, taramalasalata, and tahini. I ate this most days! I also had halloumi and lountza (smoked pork loin) in pitta which was very filling, and the squeaky cheese entertained the kids!

Halloumi and Lountza

Cyprus Dips

By night we drank many a Strawberry Daquiri, you know, just so the kids could collect umbrellas and other cocktail paraphernalia.

A non-Greek meal in the gorgeous Gold Sakura Japanese Restaurant, just around the corner from where we stayed. It featured a table at the teppanyaki grill, our very own chef (from the Phillipines!) with his salt and pepper pot routine, followed by a knife skills dance, and he cooked our egg fried rice, sea bream, chicken, and duck tenderloin right there in front of us. Using lots of 'Japanese Coca-Cola', apparently. Which turned out to be Kikkoman Soy Sauce. A great experience, lots of fun. The kids loved the starters too, duck tempura (her new favourite food - she always asks for it now, everywhere we go...) and BBQ spare ribs. Mmm hmm.

BBQ Spare Ribs

Duck Tempura

Seasoning the teppan grill

Love egg fried rice

Prepping the egg fried rice

One (late) morning we sampled the crepes at Vienna cafe 'Crêpe Land', on Posideon Avenue.

Africana Waffle with chocolate ice cream

Oreo crepe: Kashima Bueno

Strawberry and chocolate crepe: Porto Katsiki

Other evening meals included souzoukakia (spicy meatballs) at the Almyra, where we dined on a deck right on the sea. Although it was expensive it could have been oh so romantic...

Souzoukakia at the Almyra

A very nice Italian restaurant, Porto Bello, served pollo bruschetta with sundried tomatoes, chicken and cheese and the Pizza Special - chilli, honey, chicken and raspberry, a strange combo which worked really well. We also received vegetable tempura on the house. Fantastic service too, made all the more special with the Limoncello chaser.

Pollo Bruschetta

Pizza Special

Vegetable Tempura

The Grill Garage was a family run restaurant serving sizzling and traditional Greek dishes, all very well presented and beautifully cooked. We intended to return here. If not for the food, then to read some more of the food-related quotes!

"When engaged in eating, the brain should be the servant of the stomach." Agatha Christie

Pitta with tzatzaki

Chicken Souvlaki

BBQ Ribs with onion rings

Chocolate Brownie with Ice Cream - just for the kids!

The Imperial Chinese Restaurant overlooked a few bars and restaurants, as we sat out on the terrace, but the inside was modern and beautifully decorated with tanks of tropical fish. Eating Chinese food in Cyprus or any Mediterranean country can be dubious, but this place was great. Another one we would have returned to.

Chicken Satay

Duck in Orange Sauce

Spicy Chicken Szechuan

On our last evening, we decided to go traditional at the Mandra Tavern. Rather disappointing to be honest, as it felt like they were just catering for tourists (which I expect they were). If I were to go back I would have what the couple on the next table were having, it must have been about 20 courses!

4 orektika

Kleftiko

Lamb Souvla

Our pre-flight meal was Moussaka at Tampania (TaMttavia), over looking the sea and enjoying one last Keo beer and the sunset.

Moussaka

All photos my own (Smartphone). All TripAdvisor Reviews in the links written by me.

Rabieng Thai, Islington - Restaurant Review

In search of something spicy on a Tuesday evening in Islington, we stumbled upon this little Thai restaurant, a few minutes walk from Highbury tube. The offer of a curry for £5 (Monday-Wednesday) lured us in, and although I'm not going to rave that it was the best Thai ever, it was quite adequate. 

A cosy little room, with tables for two or four, it was quite easy to chat and not do too much people-watching - although the Canadian couple at the next table (approximately four inches away) proved interesting and we got to show off our local London knowledge. The staff were attentive enough - it wasn't particularly busy, and we weren't rushed - so we were able to relax, despite having to pour our own wine. And one waiter must have singed his arm on the candle when serving our main course, but he didn't complain!

For starters we shared Hoi Nueng, steamed scallops in a light soy sauce topped with fried garlic; and Tempura Pak, deep fried vegetables in batter served with a sweet chilli sauce.

The scallops were tender, doused in just the right amount of soy sauce, and I do love that crispy fried garlic taste. The tempura was fine, though I've had lighter batters, and the portion size was adequate.

Hoi Nueng

Tempura Pak

For main course we had Kang Kiew Wan, Thai green curry with chicken, my absolute favourite Thai dish, with sticky rice; and Prawn Panang, with egg fried rice. 

Only four curries come under the £5 offer, luckily both of ours were included. The rice, of course, is extra. Both dishes we perfectly fine, well cooked with all the expected flavours. I found the green curry sauce slightly thicker than I would usually like it, but the Panang was rich and had a great depth of flavour which worked really well with the prawns. 

Kang Kiew Wan

Panang

I would probably return if I just wanted a quick, good value Thai meal near Highbury, although the choice of cuisine on Upper Street is so varied, almost limitless, it would be a shame not to try somewhere different. There were a few lone diners, I noticed, which shows it is pretty good value for money, and has that casual, relaxed feel. Less of the fine dining I fear, but none the worse for that.

Rabieng Thai

143 Upper St

N1 1QY

Meal for two with wine: £45-50

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes (again) - Cake Club Recipe

 I don't usually repeat myself on this blog, but I went to a cake club this week where the theme was Cakes or Cupcakes With a Fruit Element. So immediately I thought I'd make those lovely lemon meringue cupcakes again, this time in normal size.

We munched our way through banana, cinnamon and honeycomb cupcakes, lemon drizzle loaf, banana cake with banana cream frosting, raspberry and lemon muffins, banana and nutella cupcakes, pear and chocolate cake, soooo much cake...

All delicious. And a lovely bunch of girlies. Can't wait for next month!

I've collated the recipe from a few different places, so I've made it easier to follow below, even converting the measurements from American to Delia-style. (You're welcome.)

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

225 g butter

225 g golden caster sugar

2 large eggs

225 g flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

120 ml buttermilk

Juice 1 lemon

Zest of 2 lemons

For the lemon Ganache:

120 g white chocolate, chopped

120 ml double cream

Zest and juice of 2 lemons

For the meringue:

150 g golden caster sugar

4 egg whites

Method:

For the cupcakes:

Heat the oven to 180C (or 160C).

Line a muffin tin with cupcake cases (fruity ones of course!).

Beat the butter on a high speed for about a minute until creamy. Add in the sugar and lemon zest and beat for five minutes until fluffy. Then add in the eggs one at a time.

Sift in the flour, salt and baking powder, and mix on a lower speed. Then add in the buttermilk and lemon juice until the batter is smooth.

Fill your cases about three-quarters full (about 2 large spoonfuls).

Bake for about 18-20 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool.

For the Ganache:

Put the chopped chocolate in a heat proof bowl.

Bring the cream to a boil in a saucepan, and once it's boiling, pour it over the chocolate.

Add the lemon juice and zest, and stir from the inside out slowly, until all the chocolate has melted.

Once it has cooled, place a wide-tipped nozzle in an icing bag and spoon the Ganache inside. Dip the nozzle into the centre of the cupcake and squeeze a tsp or so of Ganache inside the cake. It doesn't matter if it spills out a little.

For the meringue:

Whisk together the egg whites and sugar. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and keep whisking until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat, and whisk on a high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form.

Spoon the meringue into an icing bag fitted with a large flower nozzle, and pipe on top of the Ganache-filled cupcakes.

Sprinkle with lemon zest or lemony sprinkles...

Monsoon Indian, N21 - Restaurant Review

Twice in a week I visited Monsoon. Before that it had been a few years. Shame on me. It's a great local Indian restaurant (if you live in North London, that is). Friday nights are relatively busy, but without booking a table we were seated straight away. Thursday nights, much quieter, but perfect for a cosy chat in your preferred booth.

The décor is contemporary, with the traditional touch of white linen tablecloths, and bow-tied waiters. Waiters who, on the whole, were friendly and attentive, and we weren't kept waiting at all, even on the busy evening. In fact, we were so busy chatting, we kept them waiting...

The menu is extensive, and includes practically everything you would expect from a typical Indian restaurant. And surprisingly good value. For four of us, we paid just over £90, including two bottles of wine. And they deliver... which is why we went there, as a little flyer came through the letterbox that morning, not just on it's own, but in a sealed envelope, with a stamp and everything. Good PR, guys!

For starters, it's always good to share, and we tried chana chat, a chickpea and chilli dish; the Monsoon tandoori mix, which does as it says on the tin; and of course, the onion bhajis, always my barometer for checking how good an Indian meal is. Very good! The mint sauce and the lime pickle were just to my taste.

Tandoori Mix and Chana Chat

For mains, we sampled all of the following: chicken tikka balti, saag chicken, vegetable biryani, prawn saag, chicken bhuna, chicken korma, chicken cylon (that's cylon, not ceylon - that's what it says), a tarka dal and the essential peshwari naan and pilau rice. I couldn't fault any dish and although we shared, the portion sizes were just right.

Chicken Ceylon, Prawn Saag, and Vegetable Biryani

Tikka Balti, Saag, Bhuna, and Korma - all chicken!

I'll certainly be returning to Monsoon. Not only is it, in my opinion, great value, but it's right on the doorstep of the N21 pubs, and well worth the five or so minute walk down from the Green. The only negative thing I would say is that the bathrooms were FREEZING!

Monsoon Indian

10 Station Road

N21 3RB

020 8360 6909 or order online for takeaway

Meal for two including drinks ~£35-40

Home-cooked Chinese Takeaway

So not really a take-away at all. I had some visiting friends for dinner, one of whom is a budding chef. I showed her how to make wontons, the way I learned at The School of Wok, and it turns out, she is waaay better than me at fashioning them into golden nugget shapes! Check out Jeremy Pang's video for the recipe. (Disclaimer: the ones that look like wet blankets were, in fact, still delicious.)

All the ingredients were from See Woo Supermarket on Lisle St, in London's Chinatown.

Not being in possession of a deep fryer, we baked these babies for about 12 minutes at 180 C, spritzing them with oil.

Wontons

For mains I made Sichuan Chicken, as I've done before, only this time I coated the chicken in ground Sichuan peppercorns and cornflour. Some crunchy bits, but the flavour was all there. Rich and sumptuous, the sauce is lightly spiced and slightly sweet, with a delicate savoury tang.

Served with a simple Egg Fried Rice (literally, boiled rice, fried with some soy sauce and frozen peas, with a beaten egg turned in).

Sichuan Chicken with Egg Fried Rice