Hi, it’s me again, Mr Noodles from Eat Noodles Love Noodles. I’m doing a spot of blogsitting for my old mate, The Grubworm, whilst he and his missus trot the globe.
I’m more than a bit jealous, as I’d love to take some time off to go on an extended trip to soak in the food and culture of faraway lands. Wouldn’t we all? So why don’t we? Let’s do it, let’s take an imaginary tour of Asia, starting in… Continue reading
You know that feeling where you just can’t really be bothered? Don’t want to spend ages cooking, don’t want to go out, want something tasty to pick you up after a long and hard day? This is a dish for those desultory days. Those days full of meh.
It’s quick and pretty straight forward to make. It’s both soothing and peppy. It packs a flavourful punch and is also pretty damn healthy. What more do you need? You might even, after eating this, feel all refreshed and ready to cook up a storm. If you hadn’t already eaten that is… Continue reading
Drugs, medicine, alcohol, all those things that soothe and relax the body when you’re feeling aches and pains, they’re really complicated. It’s not as if you can rustle up a bottle of sauvignon from scratch at a moments notice. The same goes for a paracetamol, a pint of decent beer or valium.
Thank goodness for chicken soup. It’s at least as effective as a glass of wine if you’re feeling shitty. The savoury aroma of fresh broth bubbling on the hob is as effective a relaxant for me as hearing a cork being pulled from a wine bottle (is that tragic? probably). Continue reading
If Koya had ears, they would’ve been incandescent in the months since its low key opening back in April this year. Quiet the opening might have been, but within days cyberspace was awash with excited chatter as foodies across the capital and beyond sampled the deceptively simple noddle-centric menu.
Of course, the worry is, when you hear so many good things, can the place itself actually live up to the hype. And so it was with some excitement, tempered with more than a dash of trepidation, I found myself in a queue with a group that included Mr Noodles, Tom and Jen, Uyen and others, patiently waiting for table. Continue reading
There’s nothing better for a night when you’re feeling a bit crappy than a full on assault on the senses. This delivers that attack in spades. Chilli heat, silken aubergines and smoky tofu. All those strong flavours maintaining a fragile truce.
Blues are banished – along with any remaining subtle taste buds – in the pungent, silky-smooth smoky chilli miasma. Continue reading
Sometimes saturdays can be great. A day out perusing the enormous 6-floor Waterstone’s on Picadilly, followed by a happy stroll through the Japan centre. This yielded some salmon sashimi, udon noodles and a pack of interesting mushrooms (alongside all sorts of other exciting food).
Then, sitting at home watching the way the late afternoon light hits the slate roofs and brick below, and they just glow. Softly at first, but then with increasing strength until gently the light ebbs signalling the onset of dusk.
And right now, dusk means dinner time. Pulling together my goodies I set to work. Continue reading
You don’t get home till 7pm, it’s cold outside and you’re knackered. But you still want some good home cooked food. What to make when you feel like this can be a real dilemma. Over the years I’ve developed a number of dishes are a good solution to this particular problem. But in the winter the number dwindles drastically and the need for something hot comes to dominate. But this spicy little number is great whatever the time of year.
It’s superbly adaptable and is ridiculously quick to make. More assembling over a flame than actually cooking. I use my magic warming ingredient: Lee Kum Kee chilli bean paste – it gives a wonderfully pungent heat to any dish and has many uses. Here it suffuses the whole dish with its characterful heat, transforming a dish that is usually very simple and clean, into something almost meaty in character. Continue reading