Thai Aroy Dee, Leeds (revisited)

On Saturday I paid another visit to Thai Aroy Dee, this time with a couple of willing guinea pigs in tow (my parents) to give the Thai menu a good workout.

I'm happy to report that it's good, very good. We shared five different dishes, none of which disappointed. I'll be back again soon as there are whole host of pork and beef dishes that also merit further investigation (the folks don't eat red meat).

Here's what we ate. Some of the servings may look a little small or scruffily presented. That's because we'd already started eating them by the time the photos were taken, not because any of it was small or scruffily presented.

Shredded papaya salad (som tam) with grilled chicken was excellent. The salad crisp and fresh, yet searingly spicy and pungent with dried shrimp. The chicken was also spot on, tender with charred, smoky skin.

Chilli and basil stir-fry (pad ka prao) with seafood was probably the hottest thing on the table, though it was difficult to tell after the first few minutes. We were asked twice how spicy we wanted this, but I'm sure they still toned it down a little. No matter, as it was fantastic. Sweet, hot and fragrant with aniseed notes from the basil and the squid wasn't too chewy either.  Note to Sukhothai, stir-fries with basil and chilli in the title should use plenty of both. This is how it's done.

Minced chicken salad (laab gai) was served warm. Other versions I've had were cold, but warm or at the very least room temperature seems like a better idea. That little bit of heat really helps the flavours sing. I'm not sure exactly what the ingredients are, but I think it's fairly simple. Chicken, shallots, fish sauce, lime juice, a little chilli and absolutely loads of mint is pretty much it. The resulting salad is just amazingly vibrant and bright tasting. I really can't think of a better pick me up on a dark December night.

Herbal shrimp salad brought fat juicy prawns dressed primarily in lemongrass, chilli and coriander. Very simple but delicious nonetheless.

And finally, something a little more mellow to cool the spice. Thai style Hainanese chicken rice. This is a dish of poached chicken served with rice, chicken stock, sliced cucumber and various condiments. I've had the Chinese version before but never the Thai. Assuming it would be more or less the same I ordered it to provide contrast with all the spicy salads. Everything was as expected; soft, mild poached chicken and rice and an absolute belter of a chicken stock (not pictured) served scattered with spring onions and chillies (there's the Thai influence) in a little bowl on the side. There were two condiments, one a chilli sauce and one peanut.

A lovely meal, this is far and away the best Thai food I've eaten in Leeds. My only slight criticism is that I'm sure they still toned the spice down a little. It was hot, the endorphins were certainly flowing (I had a proper spice 'high') but not quite at the level I know the Thais tend to eat themselves. Other than that it was wonderful and I'm planning to return regularly.

The staff were also lovely. They seemed astounded at our request for the Thai menu but were more than happy to offer assistance. They may as well get used to it as I've e-mailed the translation to four people already. The prices are reasonable, we paid £45 in total for all of the food described, extra rice, jasmine tea all round and service.


9/10

Thai Aroy Dee
112 Vicar Lane
Leeds
LS2 7NL

http://www.thaiaroydeeleeds.com/

Mannaza, Newcastle

I spotted this little Korean café on a previous visit to Newcastle and made a mental note to return at some point. You can find it tucked away in a little courtyard just opposite the famous Blackfriars restaurant. Although it's a small canteen style place they are licensed and the menu is lengthy, extending to Korean barbecue as well as rice and noodle dishes.

Banchan (vegetable side dishes) were provided free of charge, as is the norm in many Korean places. There was kimchi (fermented cabbage with chilli), kongnamul (beansprouts with sesame oil) and Korean style potato salad, all of which made for enjoyable snacking with a beer before the rest of the food arrived. Extra kimchi (I bloody love the stuff) was happily provided.

Goonmandoo were the Korean version of Japanese gyoza or Chinese guotie. Lightly fried dumplings served with a soy dip, these had a filling that I think was chicken rather than the more usual pork. Whatever it was they were delicious, the skins nicely crisped on the fried side and the filling deeply savoury.

Next up was Yukkejang, spicy brisket soup. The red colour derives from the copious quantity of chilli bean paste in the broth; - it was satisfyingly spicy on a cold winter night but lacked a little depth. There wasn't much flavour to it other than salt and chilli. Hidden in the depths were beansprouts, thin glass noodles and slices of slightly chewy but tasty beef. A bowl of rice on the side soaked up the juices.

Service was quick and friendly and it's cheap too. I paid £14 including a beer and service. Worth a visit.

7/10

Mannaza Restaurant
Monk Street
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
NE1 5XD

BarMC and Grill, Abode Hotel, Glasgow

At last a half decent hotel restaurant meal. I had high hopes for this one. I've never eaten in any of the restaurants that Michael Caines puts his name to, but had a general impression that he was a famous Chef who hadn't completely cashed in at the altar of celebrity. No embarassing endorsements, only intermittently on the telly, a two-michelin starred gaff that he might actually cook in himself and a small chain of hotel restaurants that seem to garner generally positive reviews for the food.

The Glasgow outpost is one of the more casually branded, bar and grill rather than restaurant, which is a fair description of the place in practice. It looked like they were definitely aiming for the weekend drinking market;- plenty of standing room, dimly lit with neon edges, dance tunes on in the background and drinks offers displayed prominently. All fine on a quiet Wednesday night but probably not much fun for a weekend meal.

The menu differed from the one on the website, suggesting it does get changed frequently, and was also short. I've never had potted shrimps before, so was pleased to see them on the menu. I've heard the dish described enough times to know this was a classic rendition. Tiny sweet brown shrimps, spiced with a little mace and set in clarified butter;- scooped onto delicate toast they were really good. A little more lemon juice would have been good though to give the flavours a lift.

Cod with chorizo and chickpeas in a tomato and mussel broth was pleasant, but not as described. The fish was nicely cooked and worked well with the broth which seemed to be flavoured only with the chorizo and tomatoes. There were definitely no chickpeas and I couldn't detect any mussel flavour in the broth. If mussels were involved I'd imagine they would have served a few in the dish too, there'd be no point releasing their juices to flavour the sauce then throwing the meat away. In place of mussels and chickpeas were vegetables, harmless enough but not adding anything to the dish particularly in the case of some mushy bits of broccoli.

The first two courses were moderately sized so I had room for dessert. The million dollar question where any chocolate fondant is concerned (as played out on Masterchef about twice a week for the last several years) is can they time it right so the insides are molten and lovely? In this case, yes. The fondant was very good but I wasn't a huge fan of the accompanying pain d'épices (spice bread) ice-cream which was too strong on the cinnamon for my taste. I'd have preferred something a little cleaner tasting to offset the richness of the chocolate (vanilla suits me fine). It was a good ice-cream though, and a subtle seasonal touch on the menu.

Overall I enjoyed this meal, it wasn't brilliant but each course had good points and it was far better than is often the case in mid-range hotel restaurants. Service was friendly and efficient, and prices are reasonable by hotel standards. Three courses with a large glass of wine will set you back around £30-£35 including service.

7/10

Abode Glasgow
129 Bath Street
Glasgow
G2 2SZ

http://www.michaelcaines.com/barmc-and-grill/glasgow

Out of the Woods, Holbeck, Leeds

I've been to Out of the Woods a good few times now, but rather unfairly I've never got round to blogging about them before (unlike some of the other Holbeck lunch spots). They describe themselves as a juice bar, but they also do reliably good sandwiches and soups. I've never actually tried any of the juices but the list is extensive, interesting and I'm sure well worth checking out.

The other day I went for the soup and any sandwich special (£5.50). Winter vegetable, lentil and ham soup was fantastic. It was a lovely sweet, vegetable broth. The kind that really reminds you of the depth of flavour achievable without recourse to meat. All you need is a simple base of onions and celery then add in whatever else is available, in this case tomatoes, lentils and cabbage. Alright it did have a few chunks of ham in it too, but they really just added a bit of salty texture, the veggies were definitely the star.

In contrast the sandwich was a bit boring. Tuna, lemon mayo and salad on granary bread. It was a little bit bland and underfilled. I have had a couple of underwhelming sandwiches here, but also a couple of great ones. I think the more unusual varieties are probably the way to go.

Another good place for lunch in this part of town.

7/10

113 Water Lane
Leeds
LS11 5WD

http://www.outofthewoods.me.uk/

Shepherd's Pie

This is a fantastic Shepherd's pie. It takes a bit of time and effort but the results are worth it. Instead of mince it uses roughly shredded meat from a lamb shoulder cooked on the bone. The shoulder is marinated in garlic, rosemary and thyme then cooked in a casserole on top of a sauce of onions, wine and tomatoes. It's a win-win situation, the juices from the meat flavour the sauce and the sauce keeps the meat moist and tender. The meat is then pulled from the bones and added to the sauce and the whole lot is crowned with mash.

Think rich, succulent herby shreds of meat topped with fluffy, buttery potatoes and doused in smooth, savoury gravy. Wonderful.

This recipe should serve four, or three comfortably, or two proper fatties. It takes over three hours to cook but you won't be actually doing anything for much more than forty minutes of that.

What you'll need:

750g lamb shoulder
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 large glass red wine (about 200ml)
1 large glass water (about 200ml)
1 stock cube
1tbsp plain flour
loads of butter
fresh rosemary and thyme
freshly ground salt and pepper
Worcestershire sauce
olive oil
a big handful of mushrooms

What to do:

1. First prepare the marinade for the meat. Roughly chop about 1tbsp of fresh rosemary and about half a tbsp of fresh thyme. Peel and roughly chop 3 cloves of garlic.

2. Place the garlic and herbs in a mortar with about 1 tbsp of butter, a splash of olive oil and a generous grind of salt and pepper. Give it a good pounding with the pestle to mix everything together and release the oils from the herbs and garlic.

3. Stab the meat a few times with a knife to allow the marinade to get inside, then smear it all over the meat. Ideally you'd do this the day before, in practice I did it immediately prior to cooking it.

4. Chop the onion and then put it in a heavy bottomed casserole (the type with a lid that you can put on the hob) on a moderate heat with a generous splash of olive oil. Let the onion sweat without colouring for around 10 minutes. Open the wine and set the oven to 175 degrees C.

5. When the onions are soft throw in a level tbsp of flour, stir and fry for a minute or so.

6. Slowly pour in a large glass of red wine and bring to the boil, stirring constantly as it bubbles and thickens.

7. Pour in a glass-worth of boiling water and keep stirring. Crumble in the stock cube, empty in the tin of tomatoes, stir and simmer for a couple of minutes. It should have the consistency of a thin gravy.

8. Put the meat on top of the onion sauce mixture, put the lid on the pot and place it in the oven. Leave it alone for an hour.

9. After an hour has passed chop a big handful of mushrooms then remove the pot from the oven. Taste the sauce and add a splash of Worcestershire sauce and more salt and pepper if it needs it. Throw in the mushrooms then return to the oven for another hour.

10. Halfway through the second hour peel and chop the potatoes, then put them on to boil in a large pan. When they are done drain them, then mash with a splash of milk and loads of butter.

11. After the second hour has passed remove the pot from the oven, take out the meat and set it to one side to rest for a few minutes. Adjust the seasoning in the sauce, then strain off about half of the remaining liquid from the pot to use as gravy, leaving behind all of the solids and enough liquid to make a thick sauce.

12. Shred the meat from the bones using a knife and fork, then shred it a little bit more using two forks. Place the meat in the bottom of your pie dish.

13. Pour over the remaining sauce mixture, then cover with the mashed potatoes. Scuff up the mash with a fork so that you'll get a nice crispy finish. You could add cheese but I don't think it needs it, the lamb is rich and fatty enough and if you've made the mash properly it's full of butter anyway.

14. Put the pie in the oven and bake at the same temperature (175 degrees C) for around 40-45 minutes.

15. Serve immediately with peas or greens, the rest of the gravy and the rest of the wine.

Opposite Café, Leeds

Lazy blog post alert. It's been a rubbish weekend food and drink-wise so I've really got nothing to shout about. Yesterday afternoon hunger impaired my powers of reason and I accidentally went to KFC. I then spent the evening out in Wakefield in a procession of bars geared towards lager and Jägermeister, and I didn't even have a kebab on the way home. This morning I managed to burn sausages by completely forgetting that they were cooking. A poor effort all round.

The only decent thing I've consumed in the last 36 hours was coffee and cake at Opposite in the Victoria Quarter. The cappuccino was well made and a banana, walnut and raisin cake was moist and packed with nuts.

Worth a pit-stop if you're in the area. Less than four pounds for coffee and cake.

8/10

Victoria Quarter
Queen Victoria Street
Leeds
LS1 6AZ

Also opposite Leeds University

http://www.oppositecafe.co.uk/

Byron Hamburgers, Charing Cross, London

Sunday night was burger night. Yes that was the night before I ate the meatiest breakfast ever at Hawksmoor. No I don't usually eat that much meat. I'd heard generally positive reports about Byron so was looking forward to giving their burgers a try.

The menu keeps things simple; a couple of appetisers, six burgers or create your own, assorted deep-fried sides, and salads. To drink your best bet is to choose from a good selection of craft beers, most of which are American but local breweries Camden and the Kernel are also represented.

We ordered some tortilla chips with salsa and guacamole to begin with. The chips were good quality but the dips were bland and boring.

A classic cheeseburger for me, cooked medium as requested. It was fine, if a little boring. It was cooked properly, the cheese was right, the bun well textured but something was missing. There just wasn't much flavour or juiciness in the patty.

The sides were far better. Excellent courgette fries, onion rings and chips. All three were greaseless, crisp and very moreish, particularly the courgettes. We also ordered fries to compare and contrast with the chips, but they only turned up on the bill and not at the table. They were removed from the bill without question, and we didn't really need them anyway. Three bowls of deep-fried stuff between three people is probably enough.

The bill came to about £16 each for the food, a good beer apiece and service, which was fine apart from the forgotten fries. I'd go to Byron again, (it's certainly a notch up from some of its competitors) but not in any hurry. There are other places waiting in the burger queue.

7/10

24-28 Charing Cross Road
London
WC2H 0DT

There are loads of other branches in London, but none outside the capital as yet.

http://www.byronhamburgers.com/