My final food discoveries of 2012. If you want to read the places I’ve rated this year, click here for #1 & #2 , here for #3 & #4, here for #5 & #6 and here for #7 & #8. Watch out for tomorrow’s post on my Ultimate Food Discovery of 2012!
Discovery #9: Ping Pong Dim Sum
Dim Sum Genius
What I’m aiming for mine to look like
Here we go!
My attempt at Dim Sum
I love any kind of snack-like, bits of food, stuff you can make a whole meal with. Having a Dad from Gibraltar (British Colony on Southern tip of Spain) means that I absolutely love any kind of tapas style food. As for Chinese, I think it stems from when I went to a friend’s house in primary school. She was Chinese and her mum made won tons, noodles, rice, prawn toast and loads more all from scratch – no Chinese takeaway here. I instantly fell in love, and will do this myself one day. It’s no surprise then that when I was finally introduced to Dim Sum at Ping Pong* this year, I couldn’t get enough. I attended a Dim Sum Masterclass where I learnt how to shape and make little Dim Sum parcels of goodness, and I learnt how to eat them too! Turns out I’m fabulous at that! The chef showing us how to make the Dim Sum had some serious skills, turns out he had been making the extremely thin translucent pastry that hold the tasty fillings for over twenty years. He was really fast and they were so pretty and perfectly shaped. After trying my hand at them myself I don’t think I did too badly. As for food, my absolute favourite thing to eat is the Char Sui Buns – fluffy white buns reminiscent in taste of brioche bread but lighter in texture and filled with pulled honeyed barbeque pork. Try any of the spring rolls, especially the duck and make sure that you have the Har Gau dumplings, otherwise you’ll regret it.
*Attended press event
Discovery #10: Green & Black’s Supper Club
Please be seated…
G&B Supper Club
YUM!
Chocolate Caramel Tart – *I die*
Green and Blacks New Flavours
I’m ashamed to admit this but before I went to this Green and Black’s Supper Club*, I hadn’t tried their chocolate before. G&B’s launched the world’s first organic chocolate bar over 21 years ago, and in 1994 their Maya Gold chocolate earned the brand the UK’s first Fairtrade mark for a chocolate product and was the first product in the UK to receive ANY Fairtrade mark! Every day’s a school day! The supper club was being held to introduce two new flavoured bars that had been 4 years in development. These were Sea Salt with Milk Chocolate and Spiced Chilli with Dark Chocolate (available now, RRP £2.09, all good supermarkets). The menu at the supper club was inspired by these two new flavours, I was kinda hoping there would be chocolate in every course but unfortunately not. William Leigh, G&B’s Taste Specialist (best job ever!) guided us through the inspiration for each course. Starters of Smoked Haddock Carpaccio with chilli, crème fraiche, caviar and lemon or Sumac Roast Cauliflower and Summer Courgettes with Goat’s Cheese, Sourdough Croutons, Chilli and Lemon were really lovely. The main course was seven hour Salt Roasted Lamb that melted off the bone and Merguez Sausages or Seared Halloumi (for the vegetarians) with a DIY selection of salads, pickles, hummus and flatbreads. I’m a dessert girl through and through, I look at the dessert menu before I look at the main course and boy did William pull out all the stops for this! Chocolate Caramel Tart with a peanut crumb crust and peanut gelato ice cream – I’m going to attempt to replicate this amazing tart soon because I still cannot stop thinking about it.
*Attended press event courtesy of Really Ree
What do you think of my attempt at Dim Sum? And would you like to see a replica recipe of the Chocolate Caramel Tart?
Levanah
xoxo
