The Thorngrove Table

Bi Won Korean Restaurant

Every couple of months or so, myself and a friend, Sooyin, have dinner together. We usually end up turning going Japanese, but other Asian countries such as Malaysia and China get a look-in too. Last week Sooyin introduced me to a new cuisine - Korean, which oddly I'd never eaten before even though there were a couple of Korean restaurants in Auckland. Amusingly enough, the restaurant we visited is right next door to my old standard, Savoir Faire.

The restaurant, Bi Won (24 Coptic Street, London WC1A 1NT) is small and not particularly swish, but it was tidy, the staff (obviously students) were friendly and attentive, the chairs comfortable, and the toilets clean, so overall good marks for appearance, setting and service.

We started with entrées of Jellyfish in Mustard Sauce and Squid & Vegetables in Sweet Chilli Sauce. Both of these were fantastic. The jellyfish - which I'd never tried before - was nicely firm in a gelatinous way without being tough or slimy, and had a pleasant taste rather like good rice noodles. The mustard sauce had that razor edge to it that sharp mustards do, and was a taste explosion in my mouth. Together the textures and flavors of the two blended beautifully. The squid was just as delicious - melt in your mouth consistency, fresh and tasty flesh and nicely sweet and hot chilli sauce that enhanced rather than overpowered. I fear I probably ate more than my fair share!

For main we both had Beef Bibimbap; rice, sauce, vegetables and thin strips of raw beef (which was cooked by the food's heat) in one pot, accompanied by a dish of Spinach and a bowl of Miso Soup with cubes of tofu. I thought they were a little sparing with the vegetables and meat, however having said that, I couldn't manage to finish my portion after wading through the entrées. The dish was pleasant, filling and well-cooked, but nothing to write home about.

As another first, I was also introduced to Soju, Korean rice wine. This came in a 330ml bottle, and with an alcohol content of 19% I was glad to share. The taste, I thought, was rather like a cross between sake and vodka, was very refreshing and had a definite weight and slight oiliness to it. It was very enjoyable.

In fact, altogether, the entire evening was a great success. Sooyin and I had fun geeking out about the latest anime, manga, and fantasy/sci-fi books & TV programs, I scored the next two books of Naomi Novik's Temeraire series off her - yah! - and I got to find a new dinnerplace.

The total came to £55.00 including service charge (included on the bill) for two entrées, one sidedish, two mains incl. soup, one bottle of alcohol, one tea and two still waters. So, sparkling entrées, good hearty mains and reasonable pricing means this gets a thumbs up from me as a decent eatery.

ETA: Went back here with some other friends in December and had the Korean BBQ, which was very good, as well as having the entertainment value of DIY tabletop grilling. Another thumbs up.

Guacamole and Jade Princesses

Housemate dinner on Sunday was Pasta alla Cabonara, which, whilst tasty, doesn't really merit writing about. However we started off with some very yummy guacamole I whipped together:

Rough 'n Ready Guacamole
1 large Avocado, mashed
2 Tbsp Roasted Garlic Mayonnaise (I didn't have any cream)
3 Tbsp Fresh Coriander, minced (that's cilantro to you Americans)
1 tsp Garlic Chilli Sauce
1/2 Lime, juiced
2 small orange Capsicum Peppers, diced
Dash each of Salt and White Pepper (the latter purely for decorative reasons)

Mix all together!

Usually I use diced tomatos, but Mark is allergic to them (which can be a bit of a bummer when cooking Italian).

To go with the dip and tortilla chips, Mark had his usual gin & tonic - with added blue flashing icecube (bought, oddly enough, at Marks & Spencers). For Tanya and I the cocktail of the evening was a Jade Princess, a lovely drink I tried last month in The Garden of Ono Bar, a very swanky Japanese bar/restaurant in New York's meatpacking district. My first attempt was a bit too sweet, but the second was a lot closer to the remembered concoction:

Jade Princess
1 part Elderflower Cordial
2 parts Midori
3 parts Prosecco or Champagne, icecold

Stir together and serve.

Gifts and WFN update

Last week was my lucky week, culinary gift-wise!

Firstly, some lovely but unknown person sent me a St Valentine's Day present of two bottle of Gran Campo Viejo Cava, which according to online resources is a very nice little sparkly. I'm a firm believer in the idea that waking up in the morning is reason enough to open bubbly, so this weekend I'll be cracking one open and celebrating (and thank you Anonymous Giver, if you're reading this!).

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Secondly, I won a cookbook from one of fresh magazine's competitions - somewhat aptly entitled Fresh Indian: Over 80 Healthy Indian Recipes. It's by Sunil Vijayakar, author of various other cookbooks on Indian cuisine, wok food and deepfrying. The book offers a wide array of recipes declared to be light, fresh, healthy and void of the heavy spicing, heavy cream, heavy oil and heavy taste that 'English Indian' food is infamous for. A quick flick through seems to back this claim up, as well as showing some gorgeous food photography. An interesting addition is the nutritional information for each serving, as well as a "Healthy Tip" for each dish. All in all, a very nice freebie.

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And finally, here's links to a couple of articles I wrote for the Paper Palate on the Well Fed Network:

Review: Fresh magazine March 2006 issue

Recipe: Caesar Salad with Tabasco Onions  (yum!)

A toast

I walked into work today, over two hours late, to the confirmation that what people on the buses had been speculating about  was true - that London had been the target of terrorist bombs.

Work was a strange experience - half-empty but filled with the sounds of  the five-foot TV screens we have in each quad, which are usually silent. People, including myself, were shocked, angry, a little bit rattled and sadly, unsurprised.

Transport home was surprisingly easy - a bus instead of the tube to Paddington, and then the normal train home. On the way I stopped off at Sainsburys to pick up supplies as I've taken tomorrow off, rather than add to the transport chaos on Friday. Despite the fact you never need an excuse, I decided tonight was a good time to drink champagne cocktails and eat strawberries, so I bought a bottle of Freixenet Brut, a pot of fresh English strawberries and some chocolate fudge.

So, a toast:-

To the families of those who lost their lives - my sincere and heartfelt condolences. To those with injuries - my best wishes for your quick recovery and renewed health. To everyone else - to life and a spit in the eye of you know who.

Cheers.

What to do with the leftover coconut and eggwhite?

1. Just add alcohol

Four fifths fresh coconut juice (i.e. the clear stuff that comes out when you puncture a whole coconut) and one fifth Malibu. Divine.

2. Meringues!

Is there anything better to do with leftover eggwhites? No, I didn't think so either. As per the divine Ms Nigella Lawson, here's the world's easiest meringues:

Meringues
egg white
60 gm castor sugar for every egg white

1. Preheat the oven to 275ºF/140ºC/GM 1.

2. Beat the egg whites until the peaks hold.

3. A tablespoon or so at a time, beat in all the sugar. The mixture should be glossy.

4. Place a dessertspoon of mix onto a greased baking tray (or ungreased silicon! I have a new silicon tray and it's brilliant), making into 6cm rounds. You should get about 10 per eggwhite.

5. Bake for 60 - 70 minutes.

6. Turn oven off.

7. Leave meringues in cooling oven for a further 20 minutes.

8. Eat. This stage usually doesn't last long either.

Two South African Reds for WWBW#6

Jeanne is hosting Worldwide WineBlogging Wednesday #6: South African Reds over at her foodblog Cooksister and here's my contribution. My original tasting notes about these wines expired along with my laptop after its unfortunate encounter with an indiscreet glass of Australian Shiraz, so sadly these notes are much briefer and somewhat less amusing:

Crow's Fountain  Merlot/Pinotage/Shiraz 2003 [£6.50  Sainsburys, Paddington train station]

My fellow taster Mark and I both agreed this was quite heavy. Mark, who much prefers whites, declared that he would only be able to drink a glass of it, which he then proceeded to prove. I thought it was a hangover in the making, so drank the rest of it slowly over the weekend.
The Crow's Fountain had a pleasant taste with no oakiness or tannin, but with no real distinguishing flavor. For such a heavy wine it also had remarkably little body. We decided the best word to describe it was 'innocuous'. I wouldn't bother buying it again as there are much more memorable South African reds available for the same price or less.
This accompanied a dinner of pork & herb sausages, roast pepper salad and garlic & cheese mash. An unremarkable meal for an unremarkable wine.

Allee Bleue Shiraz 2002  [£10.50  the 'Oddbins' opposite 'Forbidden Planet' in Shaftesbury Ave]
In a word: delicious!
A beautiful burst of raspberry on the palate, plummy taste, lovely nose, mild tanin, good aftertaste and body. Absolutely yummy. I thought this was a delightful Shiraz, well worth the price and a rebuy.
And it went very nicely with Stilton-stuffed chicken breast, Jerusalem artichoke fritters and steamed baby greens.

Worldwide Wine Blogging Wednesday #6 - South African Reds

The Worldwide Wine Blogging Wednesday is being hosted by CookSister on Wednesday 16 February and, perhaps unsurprisingly, she's chosen the theme of South African Reds. Yum.

Based on Is My Blog Burning, for the WWBW you buy a bottle of wine that matches the theme of the month, drink it (preferably with friends) and then write a short report on what you thought of it, what you ate with it and would or wouldn't recommend accompany it, and a photo of the label if possible. And if you can find an 'official' tasting note for the wine, add that too.

I really like the idea of these monthly exercises, and this one is no exception. I've already downed one bottle of South African wine with Mark, but of course you'll have to wait until the 16th to read my write-up of it. Better yet, go out and try your own.

And if, like me, most of your wine knowledge is centered elsewhere (New Zealand and Australia for me, also unsurprisingly!) she has a great potted history and introduction to South African wines as well as some recommendations.