GOOD KAI

Good Kai Cooks If you love Tacos (like me) and you're in the UK and was wondering how to make authentic soft corn tortillas and was having trouble sourcing ingredients in the UK, then look no further. I decided to write this post after trying to find information on what type of flour is used for soft Tacos, where to get it and how to make it. These are made with blue flour but you can make them just the same with white flour, see my Pork Tacos below (video) that were made with white tortillas. Taccos, Blue Tortialls, Good Kai Cooks Firstly the type of flour is important, often called Masa Harina - it's a special nixtamalised corn flour (this is a process that involves soaking and cooking maize in limewater or calcium hydroxide) so you can't use the ordinary yellow corn flour sold in the supermarket - it must be nixtamalised. None of the supermarkets in the UK currently sell nixtamalised flour however, you can get one Masa Harina called Maseca from The Mex Grocer o...

T2 Tea, Richmond, London So if you've not been living under a rock lately, you might be aware of the unicorn memes on social media that have inspired food from the Rainbow Bagel to The Unicorn Frappuccino, which has in turn inspired the Dragon Frappuccino which is sort of an Iced Matcha Latte, whose main ingredient is actually derived from Tea. You may then ask, what is Matcha? and why is this vivid green tea based supplement popping up everywhere? Well, stick around because the kind folks from T2 Tea gave me a masterclass in Matcha, Tea and the unlimited ways in which to enjoy it.  Experience Tea hands on, T2 Tea, Richmond London For me, the most inspired I ever get with Tea is to enjoy a lovely High Tea with scones, strawberry jam, clotted cornish cream and if available, a pot of Darjeeling 1st flush or Yorkshire Tea and that is as far as it goes for me. So when I went to T2 I'd classed myself as a traditional tea drinker, I was bought up on tea - before the inve...

The Ivy Cafe, Richmond, London For years I've always thought Richmond and Twickenham diners have been missing out on the full experience of brasserie dining. Something often enjoyed by those within London itself at places like The Savoy Grill, Bar Boulud, Joel Brasserie and many more. So when Caprice Holdings (the company behind The Ivy Restaurant groups) secured the old All Bar One site in Richmond, it was with much anticipation and excitement that Richmond finally has a brasserie where one can in enjoy very good simple food in a somewhat opulent environment. Scallop starter, The Ivy Restaurant Richmond, London Well at least it tries to be - the food at The Ivy Group is probably not quite up to say those of Joel Brasserie or Bar Boulud, but it does have all the pretentiousness one could saturate oneself in - if you are that way inclined. For the rest like myself, it can be somewhere special to have steak or lobster and chips with a glass of fizz in a lovely surrounding wi...

Porthcurno, Cornwall Cornwall. Britain's most southwestern county, rich in rugged landscape, beautiful hidden coves all lapped by stunning turquoise waters. The same hidden coves were once used by Pirates smuggling contraband (wine, spirits and tobacco) after high duties were imposed by the government. The South West Coastal Path, Cornwall We must be mad heading down on one of the busiest most notorious road trips in all of England but being kiwis (or just plain stupid) we'd never let a bit of distance deter us, we're used to 26hr plane flights to New Zealand after all! This is only our second trip (of many) down to this stunning part of England. The last time we stayed in Rock & biked the Camel Trail from Padstow-Bodmin-Padstow and had pretty bland food from Rick Steins main restaurant in Padstow. To be honest, if you go to Padstow or 'Padstein' as it is consequently known, (due Rick Stein's monopolisation of the towns food & drink venues) j...

Mere Restaurant Review, London  Monica Galetti, chef and co-owner of Mere with her husband David (who is also a respected sommelier), have opened their first restaurant in Fitzrovia, London. Mere Restaurant had no soft launch, and had only been trading five days when we visited this weekend. Trying to secure any weekend bookings now will prove impossible as tables are already taken for the next three months. It is no surprise considering the calibre of cooking involved. 30 Day Aged Sirloin, Mere Restaurant, London Being a fellow kiwi, I have followed Galetti's career since coming to the UK and Monica has quite a cult following after starring on BBC's Master Chef - The Professionals Series, as a judge alongside her mentor, Michel Roux Jnr. Galetti trained with Roux Jnr at the iconic two Michelin star restaurant, Le Gavroche in London. Pork 'Boil-Up', Mere Restaurant, London Finally Galetti has opened her very first restaurant with a wonderful menu sh...

Taco starters from Temper Restaurant, London I decided to check out Temper in Soho, London after hearing about a new restaurant that was featuring Tacos and Mezcal. If you're like me, anything mentioning Tacos and Tequila I'm down but Temper actually ended up being much more than that, meat is their specialty. This new, somewhat large restaurant is in the subterranean depths of Soho, a number of restaurants add significant square footage by going underground and one is MASH - another restaurant that takes meat seriously and incidentally host the biggest USA wine selection in the UK. I was surprised to see that despite the PR of Tacos and Mezcal, they had only three Mezcal options on the drinks menu, however they did have a good selection of wines. Range of cuts and ways of cooking meat, Temper, London I actually think if you're not a big Mezcal fan you will love the wine options and to be honest I think they are a better match for the main plates that are mostly...