Enso

Okay, so it’s been a while … a long while.  I apologize, but let’s not dwell on it because hey, I’ve been busy (read: unemployed but with a giant tv and Skyrim).

Danny and I, being back in our home territory of Regina, decided to try a new sushi place that opened not too long ago near my house in the east end.  Enso (3243 Quance Street) was opened at the end of September by Kenta Kitamura who has been a part of the Regina Japanese food scene for many years.  Trained by the chefs at Michi, he certainly has the skills to be behind the sushi bar, which is exactly where you will find him as he is both the sushi chef and owner of Enso.

My first impression of Enso was that it was extremely classy and a great choice for an evening out.  The restaurant itself is fairly small, but it gives a very intimate feel to the space and the high ceilings keep it open.  It has lovely soft white light fixtures and great contemporary art, and when we were there in the evening the light was low and they were playing some great jazz.  I’m sure I’ll be going back for lunch one day and I’ll be interested to see if the atmosphere is different during the day.  But what really won me over with the decor was this:

Mini soya sauce teapot!

Yes, that teeny little teapot is where they keep the soya sauce!  I put my pot of tea next to it for contrast, but seriously, that is the most adorable thing I have ever seen.

Alright so the space is gorgeous, how about the food?  They have their menu on their facebook page, so you can check out all of their offerings there, but we decided to go with the dinner for two ($49.95) with a couple of substitutions.  With all of my love for sushi, I still don’t really like much fish, or roe, or seafood at all really, but luckily they will allow you to make whatever substitutions you would like (just keep in mind that they will charge you the difference if the roll you want is more costly than what would regularly be included).  The meal as is consists of: miso soup, side salad, gyoza, gomaae, shrimp and vegetable tempura, chicken and beef kushiyaki, dynamite roll, california roll, salmon nigiri(2), tuna nigiri(2) and shrimp nigiri(2).  Instead of the shrimp nigiri we got avocado nigiri and in place of the two rolls we had a tuna avocado roll and a yam tempura roll.

The miso soup was very nice and the salad was a simple mix of iceberg lettuce, cucumber, and a bit of shredded carrot with a peppery sesame and rice wine vinegar dressing.

Side salad.

After the soup and salad we got our sushi which was nicely presented.

Sushi platter.

Due to the low lighting, my pictures of everything aren’t that great.  The yam tempura roll was fresh and the tempura itself was still a touch warm and cooked perfectly with still a bit of crunch to it.  The tuna avocado roll was the real winner in my books.  It had extremely thin slices of avocado, nice sized chunks of tuna, and a touch of wasabi cream sauce.  I really hate wasabi, but this was just right for me, even though Danny said he couldn’t even taste it.  The nigiri all had a perfect small ball of rice and the tuna was great — fresh, thin, melt in your mouth delicious.

After the sushi we got our other assorted dishes all together on one sharing plate.

Assorted sharing platter.

The tempura was nice and had two shrimps and assorted vegetables (the bean was my favourite).  The spinach gomaae was cooked well, but the sauce was too watery and not sweet enough for my tastes.  Danny liked it though, most likely because it was much less sweet and a good deal saltier than other gomaae we’ve had and what I make myself.

Gyoza.

The gyoza were fairly standard pork dumplings with a bit of green onion and ginger (I think they could use more of each), but they were crispy, chewy, and the dipping sauce they were served with was tasty.

Kushiyaki.

The chicken and beef kushiyaki were definitely the best part of the platter.  They were thinly sliced chicken and beef on skewers covered with sticky teriyaki sauce and cooked until moist and succulent.  Sweet and savory and like everything that comes on a stick, fun to eat.

We decided to get a bit of dessert as well and ordered the manju ($4.50).  Manju is red bean paste wrapped in a sort of sweet bread.  You get two to an order and they are about three bites or so each.  They were really delicious, dense with just enough sweetness from the bean paste and they go great with green tea.  Even though they were great, I think the price is a bit steep for the portion size.  For the more adventurous … or just those that like bananas more than me, they also offer tempura-ed bananas for dessert.

Manju.

Overall the meal was pretty fantastic, comparably priced, and the service was good (it could have been a bit more attentive though, especially for such a small restaurant).  It was an enjoyable evening with great atmosphere and a delicious meal — I will certainly be going back to Enso in the future.

Special Dublin Episode

As our stay in the U.K. is coming to an end, Danny and I have been travelling quite a bit recently.  Our first trip was to Dublin, Ireland.  On our first day we went to the Guinness Storehouse and did the self-guided tour which includes a pint in the Gravity Bar.  It really is true what they say, the Guinness is by far better in Ireland.

First pint in Ireland.

After the Guinness Storehouse we wandered around for a place to eat and found Arthur’s (which has no website as far as I can find).

Arthur's Pub

This is a lovely pub with a great atmosphere and tasty food.  Danny just had a burger, but I had a wonderful Irish Stew full of big chunks of tender beef.

Perfect Irish Stew.

We went out to Dalkey to take a look at the seaside and had lunch at The Queens Bar.  Danny had Galway Bay Mussels which he said were the smallest and tenderest he has ever had.

Mussels

I had the Irish beef burger which came with bacon and cheese on it.  It was very excellent and the beef was very flavourful (even through all that cheese!).

Huge burger.

We had a quick lunch one day at The Brazen Head which holds the Guinness World Record for being the oldest pub in Ireland.  The food wasn’t noteworthy, but it is certainly a neat place to visit.

World record.

The absolute best meal we had was on our very last night in Dublin.  We went to Gallagher’s Boxty House in the Temple Bar area of Dublin.  We went on a bit of a whim and it was so worth it.  I would probably recommend making a reservation as it was very busy and we pretty much only got in because we went for an early supper.  A boxty is kind of like a crepe but made out of potatoes.

Gallagher's Boxty House.

Danny and I both chose to do the three course special they have.  For starters I had the traditional spiced beef which was basically like really good corned beef.

Yum!

Danny had Atlantic seafood chowder.

Creamy soup.

For the mains we both had boxty pancakes.  I had the Gaelic Boxty which had Irish steak medallions and mushrooms in whisky cream and peppercorn sauce.  It was perfect.  The steak hardly needed a knife it was so tender and the sauce was rich and flavourful (although a bit too peppery for me, but my dad would have loved it).

I would eat this again in an instant.

Danny had the corned beef and cabbage boxty which he thought was just as good.  He said he had never had corned beef that delicious before.

Tasty corned beef.

And finally, if that wasn’t enough food to begin with, we had desserts on the way.  Danny got bread and butter pudding with custard which he thought was great but I thought was icky.  (I really hate bread pudding.)

Custardy pudding.

I got dark chocolate cake with ice cream.  It was only ruined by the fact they replaced the fudge sauce with raspberry sauce and I’m not a bit fan of fruit sauce on cake.

Mmm chocolate.

I highly recommend both Arthur’s and Gallagher’s Boxty House, they were both fantastic with great service and delicious food.  And be sure to drink as much Guinness as you can handle, because it just doesn’t taste the same outside of Ireland.

Yorkshire Puddings

As I am currently living in North Yorkshire, I couldn’t really get away with not learning how to make proper Yorkshire puds before I leave.  With the help of a family recipe and a purpose-built pudding tin, I have finally succeeded!

What you will need:

• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• pinch of salt and pepper
• cold water

To start preheat your oven to around 210 or 220 degrees celsius, and once the oven is heated pop your tins in to heat up also. Whisk together the flour, eggs, seasonings, and a couple of tablespoons of cold water.  Keep adding a splash of water until you have the consistency of pouring cream — thick but still smooth and runny.  Here is a video (of a double batch) for reference:

I have a Yorkshire pudding tin which is very similar to a muffin tin, only much shallower.  You can use a muffin tin, or even a roasting tin to make one giant yorkshire which you can simply portion off.  Whatever you are using it needs to be screaming hot before you add the batter into it.  My tins are non-stick so I don’t use any oil, but generally you will use oil or drippings to grease your tins which will also need to be heated.

Once your tins and fat are heated, carefully and quickly pour in the batter.  You only need to cover the base of each section as Yorkshire puddings are mostly air.

A filled Yorkshire tin.

Now get the tin back in the oven and close it as fast (and carefully!) as possible.  You want to keep all the heat in so don’t be tempted to check on these.  Cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until they look like this:

Shazam!

Big, fluffy, crispy and the perfect gravy receptacle. Enjoy these puds with your favourite roast dinner!

Perfect Yorkshires.

Pizza Crust

Pizza is certainly one of my favourite foods, and as I have spent long periods of time being a student I am capable of eating even the worst cardboard-based slices if they are free of charge.  But, I also like to make my own pizza from time to time and it really is quite simple, although it does take a bit of time (but not very much effort).

What you will need:

• 1 and 1/4 teaspoons yeast
• 1/4 teaspoon honey
• 3/4 cup warm water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 and 1/4 teaspoons olive oil (plus a bit extra for greasing the bowl)
• 1 and 3/4 cups plain flour

In a large bowl dissolve the yeast and honey in the warm water which should be slightly warmer than body temperature, so it will feel a bit warm, but not too hot.  Stir this gently until the honey dissolves (you may want to melt your honey in the microwave first if it is particularly hard).  Let this sit in a warm place for about ten minutes or until it is all bubbly on top and you can hear your little yeasties chowing down.

 

Happy yeasts.

 

Add the salt and oil and stir before adding 1 cup of the flour.  Stir this together until it all sort of lumps together.

 

Dough lump.

 

I know that the above picture looks rather floury and it is true that there could be a lot of flour in the bottom of the bowl that hasn’t stuck to your lump, but not to worry.  Using some of the remaining 3/4 cup of flour, flour a clean surface and dump out your dough and any of the flour still in the bowl.  Knead this, adding the rest of the 3/4 cup of flour as needed by sprinkling it over your flat surface and the dough (and your hands too).  Keep kneading and adding flour until you have a smooth dough that is tacky, but doesn’t come off on your hands.  This can take varied amounts of time, but probably not any more than ten minutes at the absolute most.

 

Perfect.

 

Clean out your bowl and grease it well with olive oil.  Put your dough ball in and roll it around a bit to coat it in oil.  Cover the bowl well with cling film and leave in a warm place for about an hour or until it has doubled in size.

 

Ready to rise.

 

Once it has risen, punch down the dough and let it rest for a just a couple of minutes before rolling or just smushing it out into the shape you want.  I put mine on a baking sheet with a bit of flour on it to prevent sticking.

 

Almost pizza.

 

Pre-heat your oven to 220 degrees C and let the dough rise like this for about ten minutes before topping it.  I went a bit traditional and used bocconcini, fresh tomatoes, basil, and a basic sauce I bodged together with some tomato puree, chopped garlic, olive oil, and a bit of oregano. I also spread some olive oil on the crust parts to encourage browning.

 

Ready to go in the oven.

 

Bake this for 15 to 20 minutes in your preheated oven until the cheese is melty and the crust it golden.

 

Oh yeah, just like that.

Enjoy your masterpiece … preferably with a beer and some friends to tell you how damn good it is.

 

Special Paris Edition

Danny and I spent a few days in Paris recently, and along with all of the touristy things, we got a chance to eat some really great food!  For our first evening we decided to go to the Eiffel tower and by the time we had navigated the metro and walked a little ways we were hungry.  Luckily there is a snack stand at the bottom of the tower, so we got Nutella covered waffles!

So much Nutella.

The next day we went to Versailles, and after touring around the palace and gardens we found Le Voltaire Brasserie nearby at 14 Rue Royale (just a few blocks down from the RER Versailles-Rive Gauche station).

A grey day in Versailles.

We weren’t hungry enough for lunch, so we got drinks and desserts instead.  I got a creme brulee which was one of the best things I have ever eaten.  The sugar was crisp and caramely and the custard was thick, rich, and oh so creamy.

Creme brulee.

Danny got a tarte tatin (caramelized apple tart) which was not too sweet and served with unsweetened whipped cream.

Tarte tatin.

As we spent our days out wandering Paris, each morning we stopped at the patisserie around the corner from our hotel to stuff my bag with pastries to snack on during the day.

Patisserie at night.

We got croissants, chocolate croissants, and brioche which were all fabulous, buttery and rich.

Brioche au sucre (brioche covered in sugar).

Pain au chocolat.

Another fun find was at a small grocery store by our hotel — four packs of wine!

Merlot anyone?

Cheers!

Okay so the bottles aren’t any larger than your standard glass of wine, but it was still pretty hilarious.

Danny and I decided that we would go out for one really nice meal while in Paris, so we went to Chez Michel (which was recommended by our guide-book and a two-minute walk from our hotel).

Chez Michel.

After a bit of confusion about opening times, we were seated at a small table in the basement/wine cellar which was really neat.

Wine cage.

Winding staircase.

Chez Michel offers a set three course menu for 32 euros a person (about 44 Canadian dollars or 28 pounds).  There are also specials boards where you can choose alternatives to the set menu for an extra cost.  Luckily Chez Michel offers english versions of both their specials boards and fixed price menus so we had an easier time deciding what we wanted.  The hardest part to navigate was the wine list!  Everywhere has such extensive lists that I find it entirely overwhelming, so I asked our server to recommend a moderately priced bottle of red for us.  I don’t think that Chez Michel has any house wines per say, so the bottles can get really pricey but the one we got was 21 euros, which wasn’t too outrageous.

Check out the awesome wine glass.

The bread and salt butter on the table were absolutely fantastic.  At first we weren’t even sure if it was butter or a really soft cheese, but then we noticed on the menu that the cheese plate was served with it and it was indeed butter.  The fact that it was served on a little slate just made it even better!

Yum!

For starters Danny had “fish soup emulsified with olive oil, parmesan cheese and croutons.  Surprisingly he got an entire jug-full of it!

Jug-o-soup.

Fish soup.

Although the soup was much too fishy for me, the texture was great, as were the chunks of parmesan cheese, and Danny really loved it.

I had “Saint Malo’s Craquelins stuffed with goats cheese and basil with mesclun salad”.  Sant Malo refers to the region in France in which craquelins (small, bowl-shaped crackers) are traditional and mesclun salad is essentially mixed baby greens.

A cheese filled craquelin peeking out.

There were about five of the delicious cheese pockets, with a very generous amount of goats cheese inside of each.  This was simple, well presented, and relied on the top quality goats cheese for its oomph.

For his main Danny had “kig ha farz”, a traditional meat stew of the Brittany region which had veal, bacon, smoked sausage, carrot and cabbage all in a delicious broth.

Steamy pot of stew.

The bacon in this was mind-blowingly good — as was everything else in the stew.

For my main I had the chefs special which was beef cheek with celeriac sautéed in white wine.  The beef was the most tender I have ever eaten and the celeriac was sweet, delicate and in a slightly salty broth.  It took me forever to finish my main because it was so good I wanted to savour every bite.

Beef cheek and celery root.

For dessert Danny got the “Brittany cheeses slate with cider jelly and salt butter” which was full of cheeses much too strong for either of us.

Scary cheese plate.

I got the “Marquise of black chocolate, coffee sauce and meringuettes” which was a lovely rich truffle cake with meringues.

Mmm chocolate.

Including the wine and a nice tip we spend 100 euros on this fantastic meal and I think it was worth every euro-penny.

I spent the first few days in Paris on a quest for crepes and was thwarted more than once, but finally in Montparnasse after we had gone through the catacombs we found a crepe stand that actually had crepes!

Hot crepes on a cold day.

Flipped.

We both got crepes with sugar and whipped cream, which were awesomely served like ice cream.

Oh yes!

Danny digging in.

Finally I got my crepe!

On our last night we went exploring in Montmartre and decided to eat at 16 Tholoze which is basically just downhill from Le Moulin de la Galette (one of the windmills of Montmartre).  Seriously check out the google street view of the hill it’s on (click the big picture on the left then move the camera a couple of clicks to the right)!

Again the wine list was intimidating, but they do have house wines available by the glass or half bottle.  They also have their specials boards in english if you need them. I had beef tartare with house-made chips which was a bit frightening as I’ve never had tartare before and it looked a bit scary.

Tartare and chips.

Okay so it looked a little bit like cat food, but it tasted amazing.  It was creamy, beefy, and perfectly seasoned and the chips were quite nice.

Danny had duck breast with a sort of terrine thing of zucchini and hazel nuts.

Pink duck.

The duck was very flavourful (especially the carmelized fat on the edges) and well cooked and the zucchini thing was definitely to Danny’s tastes (not mine though).  This meal was also fabulous even though it was less than half the price of our lovely dinner at Chez Michel.

I wish we had gotten the chance to eat out a bit more in Paris, but the language barrier and generally being busy doing touristy things kind of took up most of our time.  I would certainly go back to Paris for the food, but the rest of it wasn’t as spectacular as I had hoped.  Anyway both Danny and I had a great time and enjoyed some of the best food that Paris had to offer.

Here is to great Parisian food!