Tag Archives: Sichuan

Chilli Cool

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Sliced beef szechuan style
15 Leigh street, London, WC1H 9EW 020 7383 3135 www.chillicool.com

I’ve read about it, heard people raving about it, even attempted to cook it. But I had never, till now, really tasted authentic Szechuan food. The cuisine du jour about four years ago when, with opening of Bar Shu, a chilli-fevered enthuiasm for it swept London’s food critics.

And so, when the call came through from foodie central (well, from Meemalee, which is pretty much the same thing) I grabbed my gear and headed to Chilli Cool in Bloomsbury to get my socks – I hoped – well and truly blown off. Continue reading →

My Old Place

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Chef's special curried crab

88 Middlesex St, London E1 7EZ

Rule number one when you eat somewhere new and unfamiliar: Don’t be timid. I know this rule. I live by this rule. This rule defines much of my eating and travelling experience. So why (Why? WHY?!) was I timid when visiting My Old Place. Half the dishes we had were bold as brass, exciting and new to me. The other half weren’t anything out of the ordinary in terms of culinary mind expansion.

That’s not to say they were bad, quite the opposite. They were well cooked and refreshingly simple in many respects. But after watching dish after dish of deep red chilli laden food waft by, I was suffering from a bad case food envy. Continue reading →

Sichuan dry-fried chicken, green beans with ginger & garlic, rice & peas

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Sichuan dry fried chicken

For the new year I’m trying to move away from focusing all (foody) things Turkish. We live in area of London chock full of Anatolian grocers full of fresh herbs, cucumbers & peppers galore, and about a billion different types of feta, halloumi, yoghurt, tahini, olives etc. Consequently 2009 has had a definite Levantine flavour.

However, with an austere new year beckoning, it feels right to explore all the cuisines i’ve been neglecting, and bring more variety and excitement to the plate. Far eastern food has a purifying effect suitable to post-excess January, in particular the strong flavours of Thai, the simplicity of Japanese and the warmth of Sichuanese.

Accordingly last night’s dinner was Sichuanese dry fried chicken, sticky rice with peas and green beans with ginger and chilli. Continue reading →