A little Gin with your Tea Time?

I love my cheeky vouchers – Wowcher, Groupon, Living Social and KGB Deals – and tend to take advantage of them whenever I can.  Not only are they cheaper but the emails I get also tempt me to do things I hadn’t previously through about and it provides excellent fodder for good presents.

So this Saturday was my outing with one of my best friends to Gandteatime which is essentially a gin tasting with a few cakes and sandwiches to soak up the alcohl.    We met at Liverpool Street and stumbled off to Liberty Lounge which is a sweet slightly grungy little underground bar near Petticoat Lane.  They were a little late starting but it gave me time to chat to my friend before we delved into the history and science of gin.

We learnt about distilling, the botanicals and the history of gin while tasting various types of neat gin.  Sounds vile but it was nice to have the opportunity to taste the different flavourings without the overwhelming taste of tonic.   Indeed, I found myself saying things like ‘Ooo, you can taste the citrus’ or ‘yes, it does have a bit of cucumber doesn’t it?’.

With sandwiches, cakes and scones to soak up the booze, we also enjoyed a G&T as well as a martini with perhaps a little too much vermouth but that is just my opinion.    An hour and a half passed quickly before we wandered off to continue our conversation over – unsurprisingly – more gin based drinks.

Definitely recommend that you go and – if you don’t like gin – they also hold tequila, rum and whisky events which sound to paraphrase several east end boys “wicked”.

Lxx

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A nice amatriciana recipe (or why I feel smug and organised)

There is nothing worse than getting home exhausted after you have been to the gym to face the prospect of cooking.    You potter around in the fridge, hoping against hope that something looks nice, edible and simple while nibbling a bit of cheese and a slice of ham.  Finally, you settle on something that you don’t really want but is easy.

Having followed this routine on a regular basis, I thought I would get organised and on Sunday, I cooked pasta sauce for Monday night.  Not a revelation but for a busy single girl, a significant sign of a well-planned week.

So what did I cook?  I made amatriciana sauce which is essentially a tomato sauce with bacon, onions and – in my version – a little chilli.   It is the simplest thing ever.

First, take two punnets of baby tomatoes (250g each) and cut into halves before adding to a saucepan with a little bit of oil.  Start to cook on a medium heat before adding finely diced onions and then as the tomato slowly becomes sauce add finely chopped pancetta pieces.

Traditionally, you would fry the bacon and onion first but I find by adding it later, you get a slightly softer taste and smoother finish.  I then add a little white wine but then again, I add a little white wine into a lot of my dishes so nothing different there.

Add chopped chilli, garlic paste and salt/pepper to taste.  Then cook it down until it is about half the volume it once was.  If you were eating it then, you would pop it on top of pasta and cover it with a generous grating of cheese. 

I will be saving it for tomorrow night’s dinner which I intend to enjoy smug in the knowledge that I am an organised person.

Lxx

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Would you like Sushi with that Samba

While western food is lovely and who doesn’t like a good burger or roast dinner, my heart lies with what I call ethnic food - steaming hot noodles, fiery Thai curries or crisp golden borek straight from the oven.  And nothing generally upsets me more than when some white suited culinary school graduate decides that they can improve on these tastes and introduces the concept of fusion!

By all that is good in the world, why would I want chicken tikka lasagne or smoked salmon tacos or even kebab pizza?  So, I was sceptical when invited to eat at Sushi Samba – after all which Japan and Brazil are not too far geographically, they are rather different places.

So it was with trepidation that I climbed in the lift and was delivered to the 39^th floor of Heron Tower as heart-stopping break-neck speed.  Rather than stepping out into the restaurant, you go through a warren of passages before walking into the bar and then through to the dining room.

The restaurant which is trendy and decked out in chic Shoreditch with accents of Japan has a truly spectacular view – with outside terraces for when it actually gets warm enough.    The room is very light and while I visited for lunch, I would imagine at night it takes on a fairy tale quality.

Photo from weheart.co.uk

Having sat down, I started reviewing the menu and realised that they had cleverly simply introduced the best – and most complementary – dishes within each culture rather than trying to create a bizarre hybrid.   Annoyingly the waiter did try to explain the menu and while I might want help once I had chance to review it, to be faced with a barrage of information to start with was a little off putting.  However we soldiered on.

We probably over ordered but the food was utterly glorious – juicy padron peppers and chicharonn de calamari which used plantain to add sweetness to the crunchy fried goodness of the squid.  With Rock Shrimp Tempura (little sickly if you eat too much), a portion of Seabass and then assorted Samba Rolls.

Of all of them, the calamari was my favourite and the Rock Shrimp my least as it was not quite up to the exceptionally high standard of the rest of the dishes.  Would I go again?  Absolutely but it isn’t cheap so it is likely to be a treat rather than a regular occurrence.

Rock Shrimp Tempura - Photo from Adamismiles.com

Lovely food, fusion cooking which works by not being too try hard as well as a nice trendy atmosphere and a brilliant view – Sushi Samba I salute you.

Lx

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