Chorizo Carbonara

Last week I had an intense carb craving. I wanted something cheesy and starchy. I remembered there was a pack of chorizo slices leftover from my parents’ dinner party. I did a quick search of “chorizo pasta” and this easy recipe popped up. The main ingredients were chorizo, egg, cream and pasta, which I had. I substituted the whole chorizo with pre-packaged dried slices and the spaghetti with mini shells. It came out like a fancy mac and cheese. Ticked all the boxes of my carb craving!

Mix the egg and cream together in a small bowl.

Add about a teaspoon of freshly cracked black pepper.

Slice the dried chorizo and render the fat in a small pan.

Add the chorizo and oil to the cooked pasta.

Add the egg cream mixture. Make sure the heat is off or you will end up with scrambled eggs!

Mix well. The chorizo should start to color the pasta.

Serve immediately with more black pepper and shaved Parmesan.

Recipe – adapted from here

For 2

Ingredients

16 pre-packaged slices of dried chorizo

150g pasta

2 eggs

¼ cup cream

Freshly cracked black pepper

Shaved Parmesan, optional

Method

1.  Cook the pasta according to package instructions.
2. Meanwhile, cut the chorizo into thin strips.
3. Combine the eggs, cream, and black pepper in a small bowl.
4. Heat a small pan on medium and sauté the chorizo until the fat has melted. Turn off the heat.
5. Drain the pasta, and return the pasta back to its pot with the heat off.
6. Pour in the chorizo and melted fat into the pasta pan.
7. Add the egg cream mixture and mix well. The residual heat from the chorizo and the pasta will cook and thicken the egg cream. Add salt to taste. 
8. Serve immediately with cracked black pepper and a generous shaving of Parmesan.

London - Barrafina

This was my second time at Barrafina. The last time I visited their Frith street location I had to wait for almost an hour, but it was totally worth it. They opened a second location in Covent Garden so maybe the wait time will be better now for dinner! This time we went around 215pm for lunch on a weekday and we didn't have to wait at all. The restaurant was basically one long bar and everyone sat on bar stools. There were also two tables outside for larger parties. We were seated at the counter. It was a bit difficult to talk amongst four people but that was expected. Our server was very helpful and didn't try to hurry us even though it was almost time for last order. 

Ham Croquetas: Had this last time while I was waiting in line. One of the best croquets I've ever had! The coating was crispy and thin (but not greasy at all) and the inside was velvety smooth with the perfect ratio of potato filling to ham.

Gazpacho (Specials): Yes another gazpacho! This was better than the one from Ron Gastrobar. It was light and refreshing, with dominant notes of tomato and cucumber. I liked the creamy cold texture.

Tuna Tartar: The tuna was marinated in Asian flavours like soy sauce and sesame oil. However they were a bit too heavy-handed with the soy. The avocado helped tone down some of that saltiness.

Gambas al Ajíllo: Delicious rendition of this well-known dish. The prawns were fried to a perfect garlicky crisp and I could eat the shells of the body. The garlic didn't leave an overpowering aftertaste in my mouth.

Langoustines with Saffron Alioli (Specials): This was our favourite dish. The langoustines were so plump and sweet and just cooked through. The langoustine heads were full of delicious juices. The alioli had a nice heat to it but the langoustines were delicious enough on their own and didn't need the alioli.

Baby Gem Salad with Anchovies and Smoked Pancetta: The lettuce was dressed with a tangy shallot vinaigrette and topped with crispy pancetta and anchovies. This tasted exactly how it looked. Great way to get your daily dose of veggies!

Stuffed Squid with Girolle Mushrooms (Specials): The squid was tender and had a nice char to it. The stuffing however was unmemorable. I remember I had dip the squid in the aioli from the langoustine to add flavour.

Grilled Quail with Alioli: The skin was crispy and the meat was tender and juicy. The quail could've used a tiny bit more seasoning. I slathered the quail with the saffron aioli from the langoustine (again) because it was more fragrant than the aioli that came with the quail.

Verdict: Great food and great ambiance. You can try a lot of dishes with the tapas sized portions! I would probably stick to the a la carte menu, unless something on the specials really catches your eye. Come early to avoid long waits, and best to come with 2-3 people max. I've heard great things about their tortillas, so I'll be sure to try them next time.

Hong Kong - The Penthouse by Harlan Goldstein

It has been a very eventful week for an unemployed person like me. I attended a friend's beautiful wedding, went hiking, and made a few dishes for my blog. Before I tell you about this amazing dinner I had, I want to let you know that I've moved some food-related posts from my old blog to this one. Here are the links!

Reviews:

Vancouver: Burgoo, Rodney's Oyster House

Los Angeles: Apple Pan, Umami Burger

Recipe: Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries with Crushed Macarons

They are restaurant reviews and recipes from when I was living in Vancouver. Enjoy!

Now back to the dinner I had over the weekend. Friday night was date night, so naturally, I got to pick where we would be having dinner. Midtown Plaza II opened recently across Times Square in Hong Kong, housing many new restaurants and office spaces. Harlan Goldstein's two new restaurants Sushi To and Penthouse by HG were situated on the top 2 floors of the building. Jamie's Italian will be opening soon in the same building. I've heard great things about Penthouse, so I called to make a reservation 4 days ahead and was told that only the 9:30pm slot was available. We arrived at 8:45pm hoping to grab drinks at the bar and were pleasantly surprised to find out that our table was ready. The first thing I noticed was the gorgeous view of Victoria Harbour and the high-rise buildings with neon-lights across the water. Nothing beats the Hong Kong skyline at night. The restaurant was mainly bathed in dark colors but had spots of light directly over the area of the place mats on your table. It was as if they designed it on purpose so we could take well-lit photos of our food! Everything was delicious. The one thing I didn't like was how the servers seemed to be were rushing us. They whisked away my dish right after I had put the last bite into my mouth. I wasn't even done chewing. After we were done with our main courses, our server took away our dishes and immediately put the dessert menu on the table without saying a word. Other than that, I had an enjoyable time at Penthouse.

Bread and pesto: I have mentioned how much I liked the pesto at Harlan's other restaurant Gold before, and this was no different. Fresh and tangy. Scooped up all of it with the warm crusty bread.

Grilled Italian Baby Squid with Chorizo, Haricot Beans & Saffron Aioli: The buttery grilled squid was cooked to perfection. The red sauce reminded me of a Mediterranean stew with the beans and chorizo. It was sweet, a bit tangy, and slightly spicy. The delicious aioli brightened up the hearty dish. Wish they gave us more aioli!

Spanish Red Prawn Spaghetti In My Secret Sauce: This was my favorite dish of the night. The fragrant umami sauce came from using a copious amount of toasted Sakura shrimp, which was a nice refreshing take on the red prawn pasta that is common nowadays on the menu of Hong Kong restaurants. The two huge prawns on top of the homemade al dente spaghetti were cooked just right and the juices from the heads blended perfectly into the sauce. The sauce was slightly spicy and the flavour lingered. It went really well with our wine. I liked how the ratio of sauce and patio was very balanced. The sauce coated every strand of pasta and it was almost like a lo mein (Chinese noodles stirred with a sauce).

Spanish Duroc Pork Ribs Bomba Rice with Chorizo and Piquillo Peppers: This was delicious. Each grain of Bomba rice had absorbed all the beautiful flavors of the broth (I think there was saffron and pimenton in it). The pork ribs had a nice caramelised crust and the meat was falling off the bone. However there was a thick layer of fat under the crust which was just a mouthful of oil. Loved how the fragrant chorizo and piquillo peppers seasoned the dish with their strong distinct taste. I also liked the crunch from the green beans and the crispy rice on the bottom of the dish.

Tater Tots with Blue Cheese Dip: I love tater tots. Ate them all the time growing up. These tots were perfectly fried and not greasy at all. The blue cheese was mild but didn't taste like the gloopy kind from a bottle. There were at least 25 tots per portion and sadly we couldn't eat them all. If you are going with a group, please order these! You will not be disappointed. I also dipped them in the aioli that came with the bomba rice. Delicious.

Verdict: Very pleased with the food. Looking forward to my next visit to try their mac & cheese and steak!

The Penthouse by Harlan Goldstein
Address: 30/F, Midtown, 1 Tang Lung Street, Causeway Bay
Phone: 2970 0828
Website: www.penthouse-dining.com

Boston - Toro

For our second day in Boston, we wanted to check out Toro. Aside from Neptune, V told me amazing things about Toro, but also warned me about the crazy wait during dinner service. We went around 12pm for the lunch service instead and didn't have to wait at all. We were one of the first customers to arrive! It was really hot that day, but for some odd reason, we decided to sit outdoors because there was a nice breeze. After maybe 10 minutes, it got blindingly sunny, and the breeze had left us. I wanted to switch tables to one that was under the canopy, but the outdoor seating was already full by then. I kept hoping the sun would gradually hide behind a building but it never did, and my shoulders were tanned by the end of lunch. The boyfriend could not escape the horrible fate of obtaining a farmer's tan either. However, the amazing food made up for it and the photos came out great under natural sunlight! 

Our server came over quickly with menus. I literally wanted everything on the menu. I had a hard time deciding on which dishes I wanted to try, because we only had two mouths. We needed to be strategic. I wanted the corn, and he wanted the paella. The server was helpful and recommended that we order 4-6 dishes between us, but since we wanted the paella, he said 4 would be enough. We then decided on the bone marrow/oxtail and tuna from the cold tapas section. And good thing we only ordered 4 dishes. Our server kept refilling our bread and we found ourselves mopping up the delicious sauces of every dish! I left Toro a very happy customer with a full belly.

 He ordered a Spanish beer and I ordered a Gypsy - gin, elderflower, yellow chartreuse, lime: This was light and sweet, at first. I could taste a hint of the elderflower, but mostly a citrus note. Then after a few sips I was feeling the gin. Not such a light drink anymore, but overall enjoyable.

 Atun Crude - Yellowfin tuna with soy, spicy cucumbers, citrus and avocado: It may not look like it, but this dish was bursting with flavours: sour, sweet, spicy and savoury all at the same time. It had just the right amount of tanginess from the garlic/citrus sauce and kick from the kimchi cucumbers, balanced by the rich avocado cream.

Maíz Asado con Alioli y Queso Cotija - Grilled corn with alioli, lime, espelette pepper and aged cheese: Oh dear. It pains me just to look at this photo. The corn was heavenly. I engulfed it within seconds. The corn was sweet and juicy with a lightly-charred smokiness, slathered in a delicious homemade creamy alioli (Spanish garlic mayonnaise). The spicy pepper and lime added a kick while the cheese sprinkled on top added saltiness. Loved every bit of it!

Asado de Huesos - Roasted bone marrow with radish citrus salad and oxtail marmalade: I was shocked when this dish came. The marrow was as long as my knife (there were two!) and the oxtail sandwiches were stacked high. ALL this gluttony for $12! That's less than $100 HKD. Unbelievable. Aside from the huge portions, I was also blown away by how delicious this dish was. The bone marrow was cooked and seasoned perfectly. It just dissolved on my tongue, leaving behind a rich and buttery taste. The radish and mandarin/clementine mixture was a crucial component to this dish, because it cut through the fattiness of both the marrow and oxtail. Without the addition of the citrus flavours, the dish would've been way too rich and greasy to finish.

Sangria: Not on the menu, but the server told us that they had white or red sangria. It tasted alright, a bit too OJ-ish to me though. It would've been better with a touch of nutmeg or cinnamon.

Here's a closeup of the oxtail marmalade. It was a delicious work of art: oxtail meat removed from the bone cooked into a delicious "marmalade" with carrots, shallots, sugar and red wine, piled high on toasted ciabatta. The marmalade melted in my mouth and I could taste all the savoury and sweet components. The sandwich was a perfect ratio of meat to bread, so every bite had beefy goodness and a satisfying crunch from the ciabatta. We both agreed that this was one of the best things we have ever eaten.

Paella Valenciana - Mussels, clams, shrimp, Spanish pork sausage, chicken, and Calasparra rice: It is very easy to mess up a paella, because you want to strike a perfect balance between having the rice al-dente, the sauce reduced and the seafood just done, not rubbery and overcoooked.  This paella was a winner. The shrimps were succulent and fresh, the clams were briny and plump and the mussels were sweet. The sauce was well seasoned, and the bottom had crisped up to form a crunchy layer of rice. We ordered the half-portion for this dish, and as you can see in the picture below, it's quite a huge portion for 2 people. I recommend sharing this between 3-4 people. 

And this is me battling an intense food coma and burnt shoulders. zZzZzzz

Verdict: LOVED this place! If I'm ever in Boston again, Toro will be my first stop.