laocook

People looked at me strangely when I recommended adding salt to a sliced Pineapple. However, after trying it they soon realised that the end result was not “Salty” at all. It was “Sweeter”. Pineapple with Sea Salt (Maldon of course) is now one of our best desserts, and easiest to make. ;)

Pumpkins are not only for Halloween. Apart from using them to make Purees, Soups or Custards, we also use them to make a silky flan.

One of our mini-desserts, Pumpkin Flan with Soya Milk Panna Cotta, Chocolate Cream and Fruits.

On the 11th November, it was the birthday of Khamsene, our Sous Chef. We surprised him after work with a few bottles of Cava and a small cake.

I decided to get him a present, an Ice Cream Maker!

That should mean some lovely exotic Ice Creams at the Asia House next summer. Durian Ice Cream anyone?

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I wont be blogging for the next three weeks or so, I am off to Thailand and Laos, via a few nights in Madrid.

Luckily I will be in Vientiane for the Boun That Luang, something that I have always wanted to experience. Lets hope that my family have stocked up on BeerLao and loads of yummy foods! :)

Needless to say, I will update the site when I get back during the first half of December (normally 5 or 6 kilos heavier too!)

You can tell that Summer is over. The other day I saw some street vendors selling roasted Chestnuts in the town centre.

At first I thought that they were selling Sea Urchins, but on closer inspection I realised what they were. I should have known that they couldn’t have been selling Sea Urchins, as they are normally harvested in February. :(

Last week a close friend of ours invited Rosalia and I for lunch at their home, as well as inviting the Chef Rosa and Pastry Chef Diego from a well known local restaurant La Marina. The other guests included the owners Gonzalo & Luisa (who also own a trendy bar) and their buddies Antonio and Inma. These friends adore food, and have even spent 1600€ to stay one night at the hotel to have dinner at the restaurant, or fly to Barcelona for dinner! :) Real “Foodies”. My kind of people! ;)

These Crabs are the size of your palm, and tough to get in to but well worth the effort!…

Even though the theme was Seafood, no lunch is complete without some Foie Gras. ;)

Rosa boils up some Percebes (Gooseneck Barnacles).

When it came to the Lobster, we were divided on how it should be prepared. Some of us wanted it boiled, whilst some wanted it split in half and grilled (which I think toughens the flesh, so you can imagine I too wanted the former opinion).

After much debate and Cava (we don’t do Champagne in Spain), they decided to let me decide. I wanted a compromise (but not grill it). I decided to roast the Lobster whole, that way the flesh wouldn’t be exposed to the heat and still retain its juiciness. (Rosa and I had never roasted a Whole Lobster before, so it was kind of interesting for both of us).

Of course I had to kill it before hand, so I stuck a very thin knife through its head without damaging the shell, then popped it on the tray with some Garlic and Olive Oil.

It was kind of weird to see the Lobster moving about in the hot oven, but I knew that it was just its nerves that can keep twitching (trying to crawl away?)(no, really, it was dead).

The end result was great (though it was harder to crack and portion), but on the whole it tasted lovely.

We also had a whole crate of Oysters, but I couldn’t get any photos because as soon as they were opened, they were eaten… :)

It was a long lunch, and after a short break (and bar hopping) we started on the dinner, which included King Prawns and Langoustines with Pasta with unlimited glasses of Cava. ;)

***

The next day it was back to work.

I was in a funny mood (perhaps still hungover ) and decided to make some Popcorn to accompany the pre-dinner drinks.

It was also the first night that we were going to serve our new dish.

Shiitake and Bamboo Soup with Pheasant.

This semi-thick soup has a wonderful earthy taste.

Just before serving, sauteed Pheasant innards (liver, heart, kidney and gizzards) are added. Some mouthfuls are smooth and creamy (kidney and liver), some delicately chewy (heart and gizzards). A really wholesome winter soup.

To finish the dinner, Akiyama prepared one of his sensational mixed desserts.

Assiette of Chocolate. Yummy. :)

Some fresh Scallops arrived recently and opened the door for one of our new dishes for our Aharn Menu.

When cooked correctly, the meat of the Scallop is soft, almost melting in the mouth, overcooking the Scallop is a sin, where you are left with some rubbery texture (much like stale chewing gum!).

The best way to cook the meat is to season it then place it in a pan over a high heat, add a knob of butter and fry until it just shrivels then remove it before the butter burns. That way you are left with a juicy plump Scallop.

One of our Teppanyaki cooks, Kit, prepared some lovely Lobster Stock, which we mixed with some Tamarind paste and turned in to a Bisque. It seemed that the creaminess of the soup would lend a “body” to our dish, we then added some peeled grapes to ounter the tartness of the Tamarind.

The end result had a lovely sour-like Sea-full flavour. You had to cut the Scallop, scoop the piece up in a spoon with some of the Tamarind Lobster Bisque and a piece of Grape and savour the medley of flavours.

We thought that the whole dish should be eaten in four scoops, hence the four segments of Grapes.

We also tried different versions, adding Chilli Oil or Basil Oil too, however, the original version proved the “number one” amongst our diners. And as they say “The customer is always right”, unless of course if he or she disagrees with the Chef.