Far East Food Double – Yakinori & Chi Kitchen

Since the opening of Grand Central last year, there’s been a few new eateries gracing Birmingham.

From Tapas Revolution, Giraffe, Pho, Square Pie Company and Frizzenti, there’s plenty to enjoy. My most favourite place so far (we’ve been there three times in the past 6 weeks) is Yakinori. Created by those behind the sadly disappeared Woktastic, Yakinori has opened up branches in Selly Oak and Grand Central. It has certainly filled the hole Woktastic left.

The restaurant could be described as ‘bijou’; with a reasonable amount of stool seating and takeaway available, it feels more suited to a quick bite or commuter eating rather than a languid stay.

The focus is mainly on Japanese cuisine with a little twist and the menu (available here) is full of classics such as Katsu Curry, Donburi, Ramen and Teppanyaki. Wifey and I always pick some Gyoza to start, this time we swapped from Chicken to Duck with plum sauce:

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The Gyoza were fluffy and light, well stuffed and hot with a beautiful sauce and I had to fend off Wifey’s chopsticks just long enough for this picture before she started picking them off.

For mains, I had perhaps the star of their menu, Chicken Katsu curry, whilst Wifey went for the Chicken and Tiger Prawn Don. Wifey was that hungry she didn’t even wait for her rice and tucked into her miso as soon as it touched the table.

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Her Don was big enough for two! With steamed rice, stir-fried with egg, onion, mushrooms, sweetcorn, peppers, green peas, garlic, golden tofu and spring onion on top of the chicken and tiger prawns, it was certainly packed with flavour. Luckily they do provide takeaway boxes if you need to take some home!

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My Katsu curry, on the other hand, didn’t stand a chance for takeaway. I absolutely adore this dish and Yakinori have turned it into a bit of art. Chicken coated in golden crispy panko breadcrumb, accompanied by Japanese curry, broccoli and sticky rice.

The panko coating was cooked just right, sealing moist chicken inside the crispy crumbs. The curry sauce is mild but with a slow burn after a few mouthfuls. The sticky rice was just right, the only thing was I could have done with was a little more broccoli, otherwise it was pretty much perfect.

If you’re in Grand Central or travelling through New Street Station and fancy a bite, I highly recommend this place. Also, the Selly Oak branch is a smash hit with students at the nearby university as the prices are not bank breaking and the food is good quality.

 

Just the other side of the Bullring Link, Debenhams had a bit of a foodie revamp too…

Perhaps in response to all those new eatries a few minutes walk away, Debenhams have caught the far Eastern bug and opened Chi Kitchen, “a contemporary Pan-Asian restaurant created as an exclusive departmental brand for Debenhams”. Currently only the Bullring and London Oxford Street stores have these in place but I’d expect these to pop up at other locations soon.

MasterChef winner Ping Coombes has had an influence on the menu (available here) as consultant chef. So after my little radio show (ON BRUM RADIO, COUGH COUGH) had its first airing, Wifey thought she’d treat me with a little taste.

Rather than picking a main, we choose three small plates to share between us.

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The duck spring rolls (with hoisin dip) were served well and cooked great too. The duck inside was tender with a fresh flavour and quite a suprise when eating in a department store.

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The salt and pepper baby squid served with sweet chilli was a competent dish, however, it was underseasoned for me considering it had been billed as salt and pepper squid. Also a little more batter wouldn’t have gone amiss. The sweet chilli sauce was powerful and a bit too much for Wifey.

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The Chi Kitchen special fried rice was a mix of chicken, duck and prawn stir fried with peas and jasmine rice. It had a good amount of meat with well cooked rice. It was fine didn’t ‘wow’ us and missed something, probably oyster sauce, to bring the flavours out more. The included crackers were a nice touch.

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The star of the selection was the Popcorn shrimp, a combo of deep fried tempura shrimp served with wasabi mayonnaise pomegranate and mixed leaves. This was our favourite: a rich luxurious wasabi mayonnaise was perfect for Wifey, it definitely had a wasabi flavour and complemented the prawns great. The chilled pomegranate added a really nice sweet balance. I could have done with a touch more spice but I was happy with what we had.

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To finish we had a pot of flowering tea as they did not offer Oolong (!). The jasmine flavoured tea was a nice refreshing way to finish anyhow and was beautifully presented.

We’ll probably revisit for a proper meal next time but with Chinatown across the road, there’s probably more competition than the Oxford Road store will face.

Also, you can find BOTH of them on Deliveroo too!

 

When: 12/02/2016 (Yakinori), 20/02/2016 (Chi Kitchen)

Where: Grand Central, Bullring

Who:  Yakinori, Chi Kitchen

INTELLECTUAL & GASTRONOMICAL PURSUITS PART 2 – CIRENCESTER

Following from Wifey and I’s previous adventures in Oxford, we journeyed further to the west with a visit to Cirencester. Cirencester is a market town nestled in the southern part of the Cotswolds and was the second largest Roman city in Britain…

After a quick stop and shop in Cirencester, we headed to our hotel about 9 miles east in the little village of Coln St Aldwyns. Our bed for a few nights was the 16th Century New Inn.

Ran by the company behind Cripps Venues, it’s their first venture into the Inn trade. After being warmly greeted by the team and their lovely dog, we were shown to Room 15 (Ampney Crucis) in the dovecote:

 

Set away from the main pub, it has its own private courtyard which I can imagine is lovely to sit out and enjoy a coffee in the morning or a beer in the evening during the summer months.

The room itself was very spacious and came equipped with the mod cons of a TV, Ipod dock/DAB radio, Nespresso coffee machine, kettle with Teapig tea bags. Phone signal is no great (we’re in the middle of the countryside, of course!) but there is free Wi-Fi to make up for it. The room was tastefully decorated with a red theme, simple and elegant with some beautiful rustic pieces. The heavy curtains certainly blocked out the cold during the nights! The bathroom area was split in two with his and her sinks leading off the bedroom, and the bath/shower and toilet in the adjoining room. Complimentary toiletries and fresh white towels were provided, which is always a nice touch. Not sure why there was a mirror right next to toilet, though. Maybe there used to be a sink where the toilet is now?

Coincidentally, our arrival coincided with guest streetfood pizza providers Baz and Fred, who are taking over every Wednesday, cooking pizzas using Chadwick ovens rather than than a traditional brick oven. These novel little cookers reach 500 degrees celsius in about 10 minutes and once up to heat can cook a pizza in a touch over 3 minutes.

I chose a chorizo, oregano & basil pizza whilst Wifey went for a prosciutto, garlic & parsley, portobello mushroom and rocket, accompanied by a side salad or rocket, avocado, cherry tomato, parmesan shavings and house dressing.

The pizza base we delightfully light and crispy with finely grated mozzarella and parmesan with what i suspected to be a plum tomato base. My chorizo pizza was nice and spicy with the underlying smokiness of paprika coming through. Wifey’s proscuitto pizza had plenty of meat, but a touch too much rocket for me, the portobello mushrooms were plump and juicy.

The next day it was back in for breakfast I opted for a full english whilst Wifey plumped for Eggs Beni…

 

Alongside a good selection of cereals, pastries and fruits, our breakfasts were cooked perfectly and made with highest quality ingredients. Perfect for a day of long walks and exploring.

Post breakfast we returned to Cirencester and went for a walk in Cirencester Park. Based in the estate of Earl Bathurst it’s know for the world’s largest yew tree hedge and has some great walks. Thought it was a January morning and mid week the park was surprisingly busy (not that you can see from the pictures).

 

Post burning off breakfast with our walk, it was back into town to recharge with waffles and icecream at He Says, She Waffles.

We shared a S’more Waffle which was a waffle topped with melted white chocolate and toasted marshmallows. It was very nice, with a fresh made waffle  soft marshmallow and not over sweet with delicious vanilla ice cream. If you’re in Cirencester and need a pick me up I recommend it!

Our afternoon was spent in the Corinium Museum. We in not expecting much for a small market town but we were surprised how informative, interactive and entertaining the museum was.

We spent at least two hours looking at the mosaics and artifacts, and even had a go at making a mosaic ourselves!

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Post museum we popped into another Cirencester must visit, Bib Gourmand Made by Bob. Wifey, as always, had done her research and made sure we visited this little gem in the town centre.

We only had time for a slice of cake and cup of tea, however next time we’re in the area we’d definitely be back for a larger repast. Wifey had a choccy cake and I chose a white chocolate and pistachio cake. Both were delicious and both were gone in a matter of moments!

We did a little more shopping in the town centre and then back to The New Inn for our evening meal

For starters I had a sumptuous chicken liver parfait whilst Wifey had a very rich and creamy tomato soup. To accompany this Wifey had her traditional rose, but I had something a little unique. Billed as a “sipping beer” it was a little different than my usual IPA and went down great with the food! I was also glad to note they made special care to mention their meat came via Aubrey Allen. You can read previously my thoughts on Aubrey Allen produce here.

For mains Wifey had Fish and Chips and I went for their pie of the day which was a delightful game pie with mash and veg. Both were well cooked and beautiful with the battered fish wifey’s highlight and mine being the heavenly mustard sauce and pastry!

After dinner we whiled away a few hours in the extremely comfy pub part of the premises of a pair of sofa’s next to a roaring stove fireplace and played a few of the provided board games before bed (I won!).

 

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The morning after, it was a sad farewell in the rain and back to reality, we’d love to go again soon.

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We had such a great time, better than expected.

If you think getaways should be limited to the summer only, I’d suggest trying a winter break as you’ll find a lot more to do than you might think!

When: 20/01/2016 – 22/01/2016

Where: Cirencester / Coln St Aldwyns

Who:  New InnBaz and FredHe Says, She WafflesCorinium Museum and Made by Bob

Intellectual & Gastronomical Pursuits Part 1 – A Trip to Oxford

A few weeks past, Wifey and I were in the doldrums of post Xmas haze. The celebrations of the festive period were far behind and Chinese New Year looks far away. Therefore, we were glad we had booked a ‘staycation’ covering Oxford and Cirencester. Always a good chance to try a few more restaurants too.

After a driving down on a sunny Sunday afternoon, Wifey and I were ravenous. Dropping the bags at the hotel, we made a beeline for the city centre and ended up at Thaikun as Wifey was in the mood for noodles. This Thai chain has branches in Aberdeen, Glasgow, Manchester, Nottingham, Cambridge and of course, Oxford.

Inside was spacious and as can expected, very Thai with canoes, rickshaws and Thai signage bedecking the interior.

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Whilst trying to work through the extensive menu, I ordered a draft Singha (only available in their Oxford branch) whilst Wifey had a very coconutty Thaisky cocktail from their special cocktail list.

We found we couldn’t choose any particular dish so opted for their starter and main platters and a side of sweet chilli crackers.

Our starter platter, “Sukumvit 38” consisted of:

  • Honey Pork – crispy and chewy with a velvety texture, very moreish!
  • Chicken Spring Rolls – nice and mild with a good amount of meat
  • Fish Cakes – flavourful, with an underlying chilli aroma and taste
  • Salt and Pepper Squid – nice light batter but a touch greasy and underseasoned for me

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Whereas, our main platter “Pinto Siam” contained:

  • Stir Fried Pork Belly in Red Curry Sauce – this was nice and crispy, and a little bit spicier than I’m used to with Chinese pork belly.
  • Chicken Massaman curry – easily my favourite dish, nice and sweet with plenty of star anise flavour coming through the creamy overtones.
  • Beef in Oyster sauce – nice veggies but the beef had a little too much of the chargrill for me.
  • Coconut Rice – we’d swapped this out from the Egg Fried Rice that usually accompanies a platter. It was sticky with a mild coconut aroma and flavour coming through.

Post meal, we caught the bus back to the hotel to sleep it off.

The next day started with a general shopping trip and wandering around the city centre to get our bearings sorted.

After picking up a few bags, we stumbled upon Beerd, a spin-off from Bath Ales and billed as Oxford’s first “craft beer and pizza bar”. Based in Oxford’s last surviving Victorian pub, the tiled interior was very pretty and curiously all draft beers were served by the schooner.

I picked a “Cubic”, a triple hopped pale ale. As expected, it was a very citrusy and hoppy beer and didn’t last long! Wifey had a “very nice rose”.

They had a lunchtime offer of a £5 pizza which we added an additional two toppings for £1 (prosciutto and pepper). To accompany, a side of sweet potato fries and homemade garlic mayo. The pizza was thin, crispy and not doughy, though it could have done with a tad more sauce. The proscuitto was flavourful and earthy and was complemented by the sweet pepper. The fries were longer cut than usual but nice, hot and crispy. The garlic mayo was fresh and with a not overpowering garlic flavour.

Post pizza, we headed to the cinema, our cultural day starting tomorrow.

Day 3 began with a large breakfast at Cafe Loco, a little walk from the main part of the city centre by the Alice in Wonderland shop.

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Wifey picked an Eggs Benedict Royale and I had a Full English.

 

The breakfast was an uneven experience. Wifey’s eggs came with a hard yolk rather than soft boiled. The smoked salmon was nice, as was the muffin. However it was swimming in hollandaise which was way too salty to me, but fine for Wifey.

Mine came on a cold plate, never a great starter for me. The toast was pre-buttered, a trend which I’m happy to do without. My beans were congealed, the tomato had seen the grill for approximately a femtosecond. The bacon and eggs were just there, not bad or good, just “meh”. At least the sausages (though small) were flavourful and the highlight was the fried mushrooms. Very nice and Wifey liked these very much, having swiped most of them!

 

Appetites mostly sated, we stopped at the day’s first museum. The Ashmolean is the world’s first university museum and is made from the collections of University Art Collection and the original Ashmolean Museum. It has a very wide range of collections covering from Ancient Cyprus to Modern Chinese Paintings. Entry is free (suggested donation boxes abound if you wish to give a small sum).  Wifey and I highly recommend it if you’re in Oxford with a few hours spare. We’ll be back in April for the Andy Warhol exhibit.

 

Next stop was off to the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and Pitt Rivers museums.

The Natural History Museum holds the University’s internationally significant collections of geological and zoological specimens. The first exhibit we came across was the live beehive which was fascinating, I even managed to find the queen (pink dot on the back).

Next to what all young and old paleontologists love, the dino’s!

 

Nestled into the rear of the Oxford University Museum Natural History is the Pitt Rivers museum, one of my favourite museums in the world. The museum contains archaeological and ethnographic objects from all parts of the world and all time periods, arranged according to type of object rather than place of origin or date. They are displayed to show how the same problems have been solved at different times by different peoples. Unfortunately, the low light meant no pictures but I suggest you go and see what you can find. You can even get a torch.

Museums done, time for more food. After returning to the hotel, Wifey and I took a detour out of the city centre and visited The Fishes in the little village of North Hinksey.

A member of the Peach Pubs group (see previous posts here and here), it’s a beautiful gastropub which even Raymond Blanc is a fan of!

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We started with Bread and Olives. The mini ciabatta style bread was warm, fresh and doughy with a very punchy garlic butter. The plump olives were nice and salty with a good tang.

For starters, we shared a Scotch Egg with Chorizo stew and Truffle Mayo. The breadcrumbs were just right and combined with nice meaty sausage meat. The egg inside was a soft texture and soft with a golden yolk (perhaps a touch runnier would have been nicer).  The chorizo stew tasted more of tomato than anything else yet was a very pleasant accompaniment. The truffle mayo was very creamy but needed more truffle to come through.

For mains, I chose the lamb with butternut squash whilst Wifey picked the sea bream and shallots. We shared a side of honeyed carrots and parsnips.

My lamb was delightfully tender, it fell apart with a touch of the fork. It was beautifully seasoned and the mint just was powerful and gave a piquant counter to the sweet butternut squash.

Wifey’s sea bream was light and flaky with crispy skin. the slight saltiness of the fish combined well with the lightly pickled shallots.

Our honeyed parsnips and carrots had a good mix, with earthy and al dente parsnips and sweet soft carrots.

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To finish, Wifey had Mango Sorbet and a coffee and I had just enough room for a slice of St Clements Cheesecake. The curd was utterly delicious and I mopped it around the plate with the tuile. The cheesecake itself was at the same time heavy with a light flavour and a good crumbly base. The sorbet was a refreshing end to a full meal.

With that, it was ta-ta to Oxford and off to our next destination, Cirencester…

 

When: 17/01/2016 – 20/01/2016

Where: Oxford

Who:  The FishesThaikunBeerdCafe LocoThe AshmoleanOxford University Museum of Natural History and Pitt Rivers museum