Favourites at Bar Shu

It was all good at Bar Shu, I doubt they had a bad dish there. Service wise it wasn’t bad either, staff were friendly and when we had a problem with one of the dishes (not because it was a bad dish, just a comical misunderstanding) they happily exchanged it for us. Drinks wise the Prosecco we ordered was conveniently out of stock and they tried to offer us the Champagne which was about a third more expensive. We weren’t having it, eating on a budget here, so we ordered the house white, a Sauvignon Blanc which turned out to be light and refreshing and went very well with the spiciness of the food.

Anyway here are my two favourite dishes, whenever I mention them my mouth starts to dribble and thoughts of eating them come back. Yum!

Mouthwatering Sichuan Chicken

Mouthwatering Sichuan Chicken it is! The chicken meat had such a smooth texture, I also like the skin with it’s slight rubberiness. This dish looks hot with the fiery red sauce, but it was actually very mild and even though it looks kind of oily, it wasn’t either. A throughly light and refreshing dish, it was a great starter.

Assorted Meats in Fiery Sauce

The Assorted Meats in Fiery Sauce has got to me my favourite dish here and it was a massive dish. A lover of offal, especially pig’s blood, ever since I was a child and seeing pig’s blood sold in Chinatown’s supermarkets, my dad buying and cooking it. I remember them being sold in plastic tubs (the ones you have as your washing up bowl) and then it disappeared for a while. So I am very happy that it is being served again, in this dish with ox tripe, pig’s intestines and luncheon meat. The strong flavours and textures work so well with the really hot sauce, and sometimes when you actually bite on a chilli you get that extra hit. Tasty!

Yes, do click on the links to compare the pictures of the dishes on the website to mine, they look amazingly different.

I just wish I had another friend who is into offal as much as me so that I can go and order more offal dishes.

Bar Shu and Me

Bar Shu are famous for dishes from the Sichuan provence of China. They had a fire and recently reopened.

I really enjoyed the meal when I visited and will talk about my favourite dishes that I had in the next post.

A couple of dishes we ordered were ones that I enjoy to cook too, the Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs, not like the ones you get in a Chinese takeway full of colouring and overpowering vinegar, but a more subtle and rich dish.

The ones from Bar Shu I thought were a little on the sweet side and were more dry and hard to get off the bone. I do prefer mine, because I get the meaty ribs and braise them till they nearly fall off the bone. Yes, this was my mum’s secret recipe which I stole from her. My mum tends to make hers slightly sweeter than me as I prefer a bit more of a vinegar kick (just a bit!) at the end.

Ok, so Bar Shu’s look a bit better, but only cos they put that bit of parsley on top.

Bar Shu Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs

bernie b Sweet and Sour Ribs

Next up is the classic Mapo Tofu, which Bar Shu have literally named as Pock Marked Old Woman’s Beancurd. I really enjoyed the Bar Shu version, much more authentic than mine. The hot Sichuan Peppers penetrating your mouth after you shovel some into your mouth with chopsticks. You first feel the silky tofu which give a nice warm feeling and then the chilli kicks in and excites you. Mmmmmm… just imagining it now.

My version is more mild as I have to consider when cooking for friends that don’t enjoy spicy foods (they are just wooses!). It becomes much more of a sloppy comfort food type dish, soft tofu cubes, minced meat and some added peas with only a tiny chilli kick at the end. My friend who doesn’t like hot food said she preferred mine, but I like the Bar Shu version and will be working on a version similar.

Bar Shu Pock Marked Old Woman's Beancurd

bernie b Mapo Tofu

Takoyaki! :/

I got these Takoyaki cookies for a friend from Osaka, Japan.

She let me try one the other day.

Hmmmmmmm…….

Strange.

You’d think the combination would be good, Takoyaki sauce works with everything right and Takoyaki crackers taste great.

Well, they taste like cookies with a weird Takoyaki sauce aftertaste and while you bite into them you can smell the seaweed.

Yeah, not a good combination.

Takoyaki Cookies from Osaka

Yalla Yalla

I’d be meaning to try Yalla Yalla for a while having seen many good reviews for it, but just didn’t get round to it.

As always, places that I think I can go to anytime because I always walk past them get passed by.

Well this time, I had forgotten to bring some packed lunch and being hungry and needing some food before Mandarin class in Soho, Yalla Yalla was the perfect excuse.

The counter is packed full of food and so I choose a Lamb Sharwarma Wrap as all the wraps looked tasty.

Tasty it was, lamb was really juicy with the salad that had a salty pickle to it really complementing.

It came with a Chilli sauce which was good too, and you also get olives for free if you eat in.

Yalla Yalla Lamb Sharwama Wrap

I had forgotten to go to the cashpoint before heading there and because there was a

minimum charge for cards (just an excuse to eat more really), I also ordered the Sawda Djej, sauteed Chicken Livers with Garlic and Pomergranate Molases.

All I can say is, it was goooood.

I like Chicken Livers, I like Pomergranate and it works.

Now I can’t wait to have an excuse to go to Yalla Yalla again.

Yalla Yalla Sawda Djej

This is tuff

It’s pretty confusing trying to start a blog when you don’t know how most of it works.

Thankfully, I do have some good friends who are giving me help and advice, Tandot you are great!

So here is a picture of something comforting, weird combination, but the salty/sweet combination works.

Sony Canteen Breakfast of Sausages with Brown Sauce and Mixed Berry Muffin