Sunday Roast

though roasts are not limited to being eaten only on Sundays, it's still generally considered tradition to have them on the weekends. instead of having them for tea (dinner) like you'd expect though, it's actually supposed to be at lunch. most pubs in London will offer roasts / carveries for anywhere between £5-10 on Sundays, which might actually be cheaper (and definitely less of a hassle) than if you cooked it yourself.

i had my first official Sunday roast at Hobgoblin, a pub right next to Goldsmiths. for £6, i had beef, mixed vegetables, a Yorkshire pudding, and some roast potatoes.

Thanksgiving: recession style

since i'm currently in the UK, i didn't expect to have an elaborate Thanksgiving. seeing that half of my flatmates didn't even understand the concept until i explained it, i figured there would be no way that everyone would be keen on celebrating it. still, at the last minute, E and i decided to whip up a mini meal, and we headed to get groceries at 8:30 pm...haha!

we used some stuff that we already had in our fridge, and then bought a few things to make the sides. in total, E and i only spent ~£8 on groceries! fantastico! (:

a few of the things we bought: stuffing mix for 39p, pie crust for 87p, sweet potato for 88p, créme fraîche for 71p, evaporated milk for 51p...

we also bought some carrots, some butter, and some other basics like potatoes & gravy.

did you know that they don't have pumpkin puree here?? i've moaned and complained about this for 2 days straight now, but .. it shocks me! instead of making pumpkin pie, i had to make sweet potato pie instead (RECIPE BELOW).

proper chippy

i had some more fish & chips the other night from a "propper chippy", which is a little shop that does fish & chips and other stuff and wraps them up in paper for ya. it's a lot greasier than what you'd get at pubs, and instead of paying for the location and sitting down to eat, this is something you'd bring home and then watch telly while eating.

it comes wrapped in paper, and you can see the oily goodness seeping through haha

for £5.50 i had the cod with chips, which isn't a bad deal at all.

they definitely give you a lot of food! the only thing about chippies (at least this one) is that they have the cod prepared ahead of time, and it's basically sitting there, baking under a heat lamp.. which isn't too appealing, but the fish still tasted quite good! i'd imagine if you went in earlier in the day you might feel a bit better, since they'd be sitting out for a shorter amount of time.

the fish was in a really good batter. yummmm.

it's not as crispy as it would be if you got it in a pub, especially since all the condensation would soften it anyway. i thought the chips were decent, but the batter made it all worth it.

this chippy boasts that Paul McCartney loves their stuff and has come in multiple times to get food; they even have an order named after him (:

Sirius Fish and Chips
397 New Cross Rd.
London, SE14 6LA

DIY popcorn

i always used to think that you needed a popcorn maker to make your own popcorn, but it turns out that it's as easy as popping kernels on the stove!

i've recently become quite addicted to making my own popcorn; partly because it's a lot cheaper (69p for a decent sized bag of popping kernels that lasts you for at least 5 pops vs. £3 for 3 packs of microwavable ones), and partly because it's a lot healthier. do you really want to know what they put inside those microwavable ones? neither do i.

all you have to do is get about 2 tbsp of butter (or vegetable oil spread, or whatev you please), a non-stick sauce pan with a lid, and some kernels. you NEED the butter - listen to me on this one. i don't like using it because it adds the extra oils and such, but if you don't, the popcorn will burn immediately and you'll have wasted batch after batch before you realise that it's a necessity.

heat the pan up for about 3 minutes on high, then add the butter. wait until it's bubbling, and then add about 3/4 of a cup of kernels. turn down the heat to medium-high, and then continuously shake the kernels around so that none of them start burning. once you notice that the butter has seeped in a bit, put the lid on and alternate shaking it and keeping it on the burner (15 seconds each). when it begins popping, just keep it on the stove and do what you'd normally do for microwavable popcorn - listen for the popping to slow.

voila - healthy popcorn that provides fiber and happiness!

i've gotten into the habit of adding ground pepper on top - i have no idea why haha. of course, you can add salt and sugar to your liking, but if you're going to try and stay healthy, use something like cinnamon instead.

more afternoon tea adventures

i had the opportunity to have official afternoon tea at a place called Sketch this past thursday, and it was quite lovely! prepare for lots and lots of delicious pictures ahead!!

it's a non-traditional tea place that is very popular; the wait time to make a reservation right now is about 1 month. the inside is decorated with sparkling things all over, and it's quite artsy!

authentic Italian - no, really.

how much more authentic can you get than having Italian in Italy? (: i was lucky enough to get to do that, and let me just say once and for all that the food there is amazing. i really do believe i could just live on pizza for the rest of my life. that's probably the one food that i'll never be able to give up. something as simple as baking some tomato sauce & cheese on dough..who knew it could be so heavenly?

quiche

the current trend regarding food in my life is that i've been craving items that i never usually enjoy. for example, i've bought more chocolate in the past month than i have in the past year! the same has applied to other foods, and one of my recent cravings has been quiche.

it all started with walking past the canteen near class, and having heard that it's quite cheap, i decided to pop in and take a look. i noticed that there were quiches offered with a salad, so i figured i'd give it a chance, since i hadn't eaten quiche in over 3 years.

they microwaved my red onion quiche for me, and i added a side of potato salad. the whole order was only £2.50, perfect for a starving uni student.

snails and ducks

i'd assume that those are two of the most popular French dishes..escargot et confit de canard. i managed to have them both in one evening on my last night in Paris.

my friend E and i had dinner at the Quartier Latin (Latin Quarter) in a little restaurant called La Petite Hostellerie. for €15, you could have a set meal with an entrée, main course, and a dessert. (i got confused when i was first in France because entrée in the US always meant "main course", but it's actually the starter).

Ladurée

you know how it feels when you take a bite of the most delicious dessert you've ever had? that's how i felt when i bit into my macaroon at Ladurée.

various Parisian delights

this entry is going to focus on food that i recently ate in Paris! everyone knows that basic French cooking is super important in the culinary world, and though i have to admit that fancy dishes with rémoulade and béchamel sauces are nice, the best thing about Paris are the pastries and desserts (: (:

let's start with the croissant. sadly, i only had one while i was there, but it was an amazing one that i picked up from a little pâtisserie down the street from where i was staying.

the insides were super buttery and soft, and the outside had a light, crispy crust. it was definitely très bon! many croissants that i've had in the states either had a hollow centre or tasted too bready. this one was good in that it made you full, but was still light and airy.

proper English tea time

what better way to have tea than to have it with Mr. Darcy?

okay, so i didn't exactly get to eat finger sandwiches with a fictional character, but i DID get to enjoy tea at the Jane Austen Centre.

there is a little tea room called the Regency Tea Rooms on the 2nd floor that has an array of tea, sandwiches, pastries, and other drinks to choose from. though it's quite tiny, it's very cute - the waitress dresses up like a maid, and there are white tea sets on each table. everything looks cozy yet pristine..definitely makes you want to keep your pinky up!

bao - the bun

the word "bao" refers to a bun, or a big dumpling, in chinese. there are numerous different types of baos, with the most popular ones being char siu bao (bbq pork bun), lian rong bao (lotus paste bun), bo luo bao (pineapple bun), xiao long bao (steamed buns)...the list goes on and on.

i actually went to eat dimsum with my friend E and conquered 2 types of bao; on the way back from Chinatown, i picked up 2 frozen types, and at the bakery i bought 2 more. you gotta love being Asian sometimes haha.

10 minute dinners

when you're cooking for yourself all the time, it's pretty easy to get into the habit of eating stuff that isn't that great for you, especially when you don't have time. i try to avoid eating ramen as much as i can, but there are days when i really, really crave it!

my parents sent me a pack of 5 Hwa Ramyun, which is my all-time favorite packaged noodles. it's spicy, and the noodles are nice and thick. mmm! i try to add a bit more stuff in it aside from the packaged spices and flavouring, such as 2 poached eggs, some bean sprouts, and sometimes other leafy veggies if i have some. and it's even more delicious when you eat it right out of the pot! :D

looks yummy, no? (:

if you cook it for exactly the right amount of time (a bit more than 4 minutes - the timing of putting the egg into the pot is the most important thing!), the noodles come out al dente and really good. you wouldn't even think that it was instant noodles.

another easy fix for dinner is to cook frozen foods; i had bought frozen dumplings from a store in Chinatown a few weeks back, and decided to give it a go. make sure you boil the water before dropping these in, and then have 2 small cups of cold water on hand. each time the water comes to a boil after you've put in the dumplings, add a cup of water and stir. when the dumpling skins have turned somewhat translucent, you know they're ready!

these were lamb & chive dumplings, and they were tiny!! but not too shabby..you can still see the steam coming off of them in this picture.

it reminded me more of wontons than anything else since they were so small. the filling was really really salty, which was kind of upsetting because they could've tasted really good.

some of the dumplings would puncture when you cook them, turning the water into more of a brothy soup. 2 in 1 for your money! haha (: