Nahar

Before
(I had to control myself from devouring this immediately without documenting it)

After
(note the Teh Tarik lurking in the top right corner)
Dessert
(Assorted kuehs)

A friend brought me to this place last week near Paddington station, apparently an institution among Malaysian students here in London (he was formerly one). After experiencing it for myself first hand, I fully understand why. It's tucked away in the lower ground floor of a non-descript building that almost feels like a secret club given how little indication from the outside there is of this wonderful establishment. They actually do have a menu on street level, but given that you have to look down to see the door (and that it's a white piece of paper on a white background), most people probably just walk past without even noticing it's there save for the amazing aromas that seem to mysteriously appear.

Stepping inside was like defying the space time continuum. I honestly felt like I was transported back home into a nice homely Malay style canteen inclusive of metal serving counter with trays of assorted dishes for you to choose with your rice. It's extremely reasonably priced given how much you usually have to pay for a quality meal here in London. They have a pretty extensive menu (you name it, they probably have it) but my hunger dictated that I would have to go for the Nasi Campur option if I didn't want to faint before the food arrived.

I was amazed that they had those nice tacky "fake banana leaf" plates on which to serve the food. It just added to the experience. I chose 3 meats (fried chicken, lamb curry, sotong) and a veg along with a teh tarik. The teh wasn't quite as frothy as I had hoped but the rest of the meal was so amazing I won't hold that against them. I polished all of that off in record time. Really good stuff.

For dessert, we ordered some kuehs. Haven't had these in such a long time that I can't quite remember what the names are. All I know is that the coconut filling in the green one was delicious. Usually dessert tends to finish off the meal. This dessert made me hungry for even more! Needless to say, I'll be back again. This place is a keeper.

More Market Food

Behold... the double chorizo sandwich from Brindisa in Borough Market! *gasps of delight*

This mouthwatering sandwich is stuffed with 2 sliced and flame-grilled chorizos, rocket, grilled sweet red peppers and served in an olive oil drizzled toasted bun. The combination of flavours is something that has to be tried to be believed.

It's a combination of the saltiness and spicyness of the chorizo with the bitterness of the rocket with the sweet juicyness of the red peppers and the bread that holds it altogether with its understated blandness (given the taste sensation overload of the other ingredients!)

You have been warned... it can get pretty messy as the oil from the chorizo (oh so good) does tend to try to escape from the sides as you bite into it. Best to have a lot of napkins and remember not to wear a light coloured shirt. =P

Not sure if they serve this on weekdays but definitely go on Saturday when you can really sample the rest of Borough Market as well.

Speaking of which...

These guys make arguably the best Brownies in London (and it shows given the multitude of stands they have at various weekend markets across London). Just looking at that huge construction of Brownie makes my mouth water. They call it the "Ultra Chocolate Brownie" and advertise it by saying it's only £1.50 for an indulgence (recently I think they've raised the price to £2... boo) Many a people have succumbed to its rich chocolatey charms.

However, my personal highlight is the Banana Almond cake to the right of Mount Brownie. You can really taste the banana in the cake and it is oh so moist. Personally, I quite like having one of the edges so that you can get a bit of the crust which adds another dimension of flavour and texture. Why is this my highlight instead of the Brownie? Hear me out...

With the Brownie, because it's so rich, you feel slightly "jelat" (translated to the point of decreasing marginal utility... gotta love Econ) if you've eaten the whole thing all at once. Trust me, it's really really hard not to eat it all at once when you've started. It's a fantastic Brownie but in my opinion it's one for sharing. However, the Banana Cake can be eaten by yourself all on it's own in one sitting without any ill effects and with you still buzzing for more. It just doesn't have that richness which makes it too heavy and you might just be able to convince yourself that it's healthy since it's made from banana and banana is a fruit. (1 of your 5 daliy servings perhaps?)

A Recollection of Turkey Part 2

The tummies decided to splurge the cash on this one. It's situated pretty much right in the middle of Cappadocia. You can't miss it. Looked like quite a fancy place and we weren't quite sure what to expect. We didn't quite know what Anatolian cuisine was. Always good to know that it's been recommended by the Lonely Planet and rated in the Top 5 in Turkey. They do need someone to check their spelling though. =P

Always a good sign when the bread is good. Warm and light. Loved the wonderful presentation of the oil, spices and butter. Not quite sure what's in the spice mix but it was wonderfully tasty and definitely whet the appetite further.

Our meze starter was a delightful plate full of different colours and flavours. Can't quite remember what everything was but I know there was yoghurt somewhere, walnuts, dill, tomatoes, aubergines, chicken. Excellent complement to the warm bread. The small portions meant that we were able to try a little bit of everything without spoiling our appetite for what was yet to come.

Both these dishes were lamb cooked to perfection. Tender, juicy and ever so slightly pink on the inside. Once again, the rice was immaculate. No wonder some people can just eat the rice and nothing else (but why would you? there's so much other good dishes to accompany the rice!)

The perfect meal to bid farewell to Cappadocia as we left for Istanbul that night where the tummies went hunting for even more good food.

A Recollection of Turkey Part 1

The tummies took a trip to Turkey and Italy over the summer and naturally continued their food adventures there. Unfortunately, we weren't able to log all the wonderful meals along the way in real time due to patchy internet connections and wanting to be outside soaking in the sights and sounds while we were there instead of being holed up in a room typing on a computer.

Needless to say, inertia set in after we returned and we never quite got down to it. Still, I know the tummies definitely look back with fond memories on what has got to be 2 of the outstanding cuisines in world culture. Here are some of the highlights:

Apple tea would soon become one of the simple pleasures that we would enjoy on a regular basis. Something to just sit back and relax with and for a much needed pick me up.

Can't quite remember what these were called but the first dish (with the rice) tasted a bit like a bolognese sauce while the second dish was a stew. Something has to be said about Turkish rice. It is absolutely delicious! What is the secret? Potentially butter and salt... (Mr Tummy faints)

No visit to Turkey would be complete without having a kebab. This is afterall, the country that gave us this wonderful meaty wrap which unfortunately has been copied poorly in various parts of the world. (Mr Tummy has suffered through a few of them and lived to tell the tale)
When done properly, it can only be described as deeply satisfying. =)

Since we were going to Italy next, it made sense that we try the local "pizza" to see how it matched up. Much more meaty here and with a lot less cheese and tomato but still a great meal. The dough is very thin but has a nice bite to it. Very dangerous because you can end up eating a lot of this without realising it! (Guilty!)

I thought this was really odd. What is the granny doing on the front of the Lays packet? Is it targetted at grannies (or grandpas)? Is it granny flavoured? (hope not!) Is she a famous granny in Turkish cooking? Is it "just like granny made it"? Did they run out of budget for the supermodel? The mystery continues...

The tummies returned to the scene of the first dinner to partake of their house specialty (which you had to order hours in advance because they put the meat in a earthernware pot and let it cook among the coals). I kid you not but they call it the "Cappadocian Crack Pot Specialty" (something clearly lost in translation). Anyway, it tasted very similar to the previous night's dinner (the one that tasted like bolognese) despite the theatrics of our host cracking the pot in front of our eyes with a hammer and scooping out the hot fillings. Slightly disappointing

The next day however, the tummies had a real treat when they went to the nicest restaurant in town... MMMmmm (Part 2 to follow)