Peking Duck Quest - Min Jiang

I seem to be going on lots of quests recently. I guess I get bored unless there is something driving me forward. As a child, I was always enamoured by the legend of King Arthur and his knights of the round table, always honourable and totally committed to the cause. Well, that's what I am, a knight of the dinner table and totally committed to the cause, eating my way round London so you don't have to.

My current search for the best roast pork and duck rice in Chinatown is going well. Five destinations down and we have some good entries whereas others have fared less favourably. After a recent discussion with Carla from Can be bribed with food, the focus veered away from pork (sacrilege!) and focused on duck. Where can we get the best Peking duck in London? Aromatic duck is a firm favourite of mine and I always gravitate towards Mandarin Kitchen for my fix, but Peking duck has never really been on my radar. I was lucky enough to sample the Peking duck at China Club in Hong Kong and that exemplary version has become my benchmark.

So, I was tasked with finding "the best" and after a few tweet related calls for help, I settled on a reservation at Min Jiang. As restaurants go, Min Jiang has everything going for it. The interior is stunning, heavily influenced by wood, ceramics and the colour red (lucky in Chinese folklore) with some of the friendliest staff I have had the pleasure to be served by. Located on the 10th floor of the Royal Garden Hotel, it has a quite amazing view to boot, it's vista taking in most of London, including the London Eye and the BT Tower. On the edge of Kensington Palace gardens, I already want to come back for lunch, just so I can see the view during daylight hours. So far, so very good. Onto the main event.



Peking (or Beijing) duck is a specially prepared roast duck (wiki is your friend, check here for more details) which is traditionally prepared in three stages. Firstly, slices of skin from the neck of the duck are carved and served with some sugar. An odd combination, but I was informed that the sugar is meant to balance out the taste of the fat. I know, an even odder explanation. Either way, eating cooked skin is rarely going to be an unpleasant experience and although this was lacking flavour, it was definitely a pleasurable experience.



The second duck "course" are thin slices of the duck breast served with pancakes and an assortment of fillings. Firstly, we were presented the pancakes in a "traditional" style, with thinly sliced spring onions, some cucumbers and some hoisin, fillings that I am used to with aromatic duck. Slightly boring, and unfortunately exposed the fairly one dimensional flavour of the duck. We were then served the pancakes Min Jiang style, filled with garlic paste, radish and tientsin cabbage. Whilst the previous pancakes seemed devoid of flavour, this variation really brought out the flavours of the duck and the more "traditional fillings" were relatively ignored for the rest of the meal.



The third and final part to this long drawn out affair involves using up the rest of the duck in a dish of your choice. We opted for some fried noodles and although most of the rest of the duck seems to have waddled elsewhere, the noodles were still delicious and peppery. A fine end to an enjoyable meal.

Alongside the duck, we ordered a few other miscellaneous items. Some tasty and well made Xiao Long bau (if a little on the small side), a rather large vat of Ma Po Tofu and some excellent deep fried squid (light and grease free).

I was really impressed with Min Jiang. The surroundings and service were spot on, and the food was good without necessarily sparking off fireworks. Mind you, with the view, fireworks were not required. I know there is a popular adage that any restaurant with a view is often making up for inadequacies in the kitchen, but with a certain Pierre Koffman embarking on a project up the BT tower and Galvin at Windows (located on the 28th floor of the Hilton) having just earned its first Michelin star, I think it is places like this that are making this adage redundant. Great view, great food, I can't wait to come back and visit during the day when I can peer out the window in daylight.

Min Jiang - 10th Floor Royal Garden Hotel, 2-24 Kensington High Street, London W8 4PT

Tehbus on Tour - Kuala Lumpur (Part 1)

Ever since I received my "Carte Blanche" to travel again way back in July 2009, I have made damn sure that I have gone to as many places as possible. I have eaten in cities as local as Dublin and Edinburgh, and even managed to fit in a trip to those further afield such as New York, Seattle and Las Vegas.

2010 is a year where I will be embarking on a different adventure altogether. With South Africa looming in June, January finds me in KL. It's been seven years since I returned to Kuala Lumpur, the birthplace of my parents and home to the majority of my family. One of my cousins is getting married, so off I jumped on a plane and lo and behold, the heat and smog of Kuala Lumpur.

KL comprises of 3 main ethnic groups (the ethnic Malays, the Chinese and the Indians) and there are influences of each of these ethnicity's within the food. I came for my cousin, but I wasn't going to turn down the opportunity to stuff my face with the food of the fatherland. Here is a (food) diary of my 9 or so days in Kuala Lumpur.


KL International Airport - One of the best airports in the world. And so bloody far away from the city center. It's at least an hour in the car.


Kickapoo Joy Juice - As the luridly coloured can suggests, this drink contains nothing other than e-numbers and colourings, every child's dream.


Char Kway Teow - A rice noodle dish with pretty much whatever you want in it. Traditionally it has cockles, prawns, Chinese sausage and little porky bits. Delicious. Ordered with "double egg", it cost a princely sum of $6RM (about £1.10). Bought in Brickfields.


Kon Lo Mee - Traditionally eaten as wonton noodle soup, you can have it "dry" with the soup and dumplings on the side. I like mine with char siu (BBQ pork) which you can see isn't dyed red like the char siu you find in London. Much more appealing, isn't it? (Bought in a restaurant off Pudu Road)



Petaling Street Wet Market - More famous for the market during the day which peddles fruits and all sorts of fake goods, it is also home to a wet market early in the morning, which replaces our traditional butchers here in London. With tables littered with pig, chicken and fish carcasses, it appears to be the place to come for your fresh meat. In fact, the chicken is so fresh that it is often alive a mere few minutes before you actually buy it. Food hygiene would have a field day in this place.


Congee - A savoury rice based porridge, this was the most perfect example of congee I have ever tasted. Flavoured with pork strips, century egg and crispy onions, the silken porridge was warming and smooth.(Bought in Golden Imperial restaurant, Bangsar)



Durian - A fruit native to Malaysia, it is immediately noticeable by its thorny exterior, as well as the smell from the fruit, often likened to rotting cabbage. Personally, I don't see what the fuss is about as I enjoy the smell almost as much as I enjoy the sweet, sticky flesh. In modern times, we have seen various types cross-bred forming a whole variety of durian, each with their own taste and characteristics. I like the D9 (whatever that is)

That's all for now but there is more to showcase of this amazing city. Part 2 will follow shortly, but if you fancy a sneak preview at the rest of my pictures, you can find them here.

Wong Kei - Home of the "Crispy"

Wong Kei is a restaurant close to my heart. Not because it is full of sweary and rude Chinese people (I am a little sweary but not in the least bit rude), but for two reasons. University and my betting shop.

Back in university days, we always thought it wise to try and fill ourselves up with carbs and protein before filling ourselves up with beer and spirits. Looking for a good cheap place to fulfill all of the requirements above, we would normally settle for a "crispy". A "crispy", to the uninitiated, would be a plate of crispy pork (siu youk) and rice covered in a thick gravy from Wong Kei's (or if we are reverting back to Uni speak, Wonkees). We tried others, but Wonkees was by far and away the best and we would always inevitably gravitate towards this restaurant above all others in Chinatown.

After university, I carried on my job as a bookie and was stationed in the Ladbrokes right next door to Wong Kei's. It must have been fate. Now all the sweary waiters were at my beck and call as I was master of their betting slips (I know its a stereotype, but Chinese like to bet, especially those in Chinatown). They started showing me a little more respect and all though they still swore at me in Cantonese and called me fat boy, I would often find myself the recipient of an extra large "crispy" or a few extra wonton in my soup if they had won big at the races.



History aside, I haven't been here in a while and when a few of my old uni mates suggested meeting up, all one of my friends had to do was utter the "c" word and we headed straight for Wardour Street. That's really where the nostalgia ends. The main draw for me was always the luscious gravy they poured over the meat to loosen and lubricate the dish, where most restaurants scatter a watery dribble over their roast meats. However, on this visit, It was overly sweet and over powered the still high quality roast meat underneath. Don't get me wrong, still good but the thing that made it great just so happened to leave a disappointing taste in my mouth.

Full and semi satisfied we happily stuck to the norm and topped up the carbs and protein with a healthy dose of beer and spirits. Let the good times roll.

Wong Kei - 41 Wardour Street, Soho, W1D 6PX

Where's my Pork and Duck? - Tai Ka Lok

As some of you who follow this blog know, I really like roast duck and crispy pork with rice. A simple dish of cooked meats, sometimes a few leaves of greenery, a little bit of gravy all heaped on mounds of warm, gently steamed rice. If I were ever to find myself on death row (unless my life takes a very big detour, this isn't going to happen) this would rate highly amongst my last requests.

Walking towards my latest target, it dawned on me that there are a lot of places selling this dish in Chinatown. In fact, almost every restaurant I walked past sold this dish in one way or another, so I thought I better set some loose ground rules. Well, one really, that the wares must be on full display in the window. It would still mean a lot of places to try, but I don't really mind. I am well up for the gluttony...I mean challenge.

Anyway, today's target was Tai Ka Lok. Helen from World Foodie Guide had recently visited with parents and had indicated that it may well be worth a shot, so what the hell, time to tick another one off the rather long list. Located next to the Kowloon bakery, it's pretty much like 90% of the restaurants that you find in Chinatown, slightly grimy, a little rundown with well worn menus containing tippexed prices. As a (crap) Chinaman, I often get addressed in Chinese which results in blank stares from my direction. I think most Chinese waiters cannot fathom that I know no Chinese and continue to talk at me, in the vain hope that some genetic switch will trigger and I will suddenly be able to converse freely with them. No different here, although they cottoned onto this fact pretty quickly with my consistent grunts of "Hurr?"



Anyway, the food. This was actually pretty damn good. The duck had a nice crisp skin to it with a thin layer of fat, not quite the flabby example presented to me at Hungs. Flavour wise, bang on the money although it was let down with a poor gravy, no greenery and too many bony pieces. Pork had a great crunch and was everything I would hope for. They even brought me a bowl of broth with stewed bones and some veg in it, nicely lubricating the dish.

I definitely will take another look at Tai Ka Lok. The duck and pork rice was excellent, although whether it's the winner, well, that remains to be seen. It's certainly up there.

Tai Ka Lok - 18 Gerrard Street, London W1D 6JH

Visiting the Burbs, Sunday Lunch at Le Cassoulet, Croydon

I have a tonne of posts that I have been meaning to write up. You know how it goes, good intentions, but then something gets in the way (in my case, probably something food related). Some of these I can let go. They probably weren't that interesting and would probably have consisted of me going "Well, it tasted OK. It looked alright, service was fair to middling, ambiance was mediocre etcetera...." Rinse and repeat.

Well some places definitely do deserve a write up and I am going to do my damnedest to get through some of my backlog. Le Cassoulet is a perfect example of my laziness. All the way back in September (yep, that's right, September), I escaped the confines of central London and boarded a train bound for South Croydon.



Part of the Malcolm John chain of restaurants, I have already written up a very disappointing meal at nearby Fish and Grill here, but thankfully Le Cassoulet was infinitely better. Serving very traditional French cuisine, I was stunned by the sheer amount of choice on the set menu. Seven different starters, no less than eight mains and a respectable six choices for dessert, three courses for a very affordable £19.50.




Most dishes went down very well. I remember my extremely decadent main of rabbit pie fondly, with an even more luxurious mash accompanying it. I swear it was 50% potato and the rest was made up of cream and butter. James Martin would have been proud. However, the highlight had to be the Chateaubriand. Shared between two with a £6 a head additional supplement, my dining companions were presented with a platter of tender pink meat, bone marrow and Bearnaise. Offered a taste, I couldn't resist and the moment I started chewing on that perfectly prepared meat, I knew I would be enduring food envy throughout the rest of my meal. My rabbit and mushroom pie may have been good, but this was amazing, and I don't say that lightly. No pics from me, but please check out Kang from Londoneater's post here, says it all really.

I don't take to travelling outside Zone 2 too happily, after all I'm just a city boy, but I would gladly do it again to go to Le Cassoulet. Outstanding value, I wouldn't go as far as calling it a "destination" restaurant, but the residents of South Croydon are very lucky.

Le Cassoulet (website) - 18 Selsdon Road, South Croydon CR2 6PA