The Debate: When Bad is Good

Good food and bad food are such absolute terms. Nevertheless, there are those who might deem sourdough bread, mature Cheddar and pata negra to be good whilst condemning sliced white bread, American cheese slices and processed luncheon meat (Spam) as being bad. That would be a mistake, as without the so-called bad stuff, some of our favourites wouldn't be half as tasty. Not convinced? Well, let's look at some classics that are enhanced by being a little bit bad.

Bacon Sandwich
Foccacia is my favourite bread, but I'd never dream of using it in a bacon sandwich. And nor should other posh breads like sourdough and ciabatta ever be used. Brown bread? You will be if you try using it in a bacon sarnie that I'm going to eat! That's because bacon sandwiches should be made with soft white bread that's pre-sliced and comes out of a plastic bag. At a push, soft white rolls, such as baps or barm cakes, are allowed too.

Cheeseburger
Amongst burger die-hards, only one cheese belongs in a cheeseburger: American cheese. That's right, those processed cheese slices (like Kraft Singles) that many people don't actually regard as being cheese. So whilst many cheeseburgers may use mature Cheddar, Stilton or Brie, the burger fundamentalist will ignore these real cheeses in favour of their beloved American cheese slice.

Chinese Hot Pot
There are few finer foodie sights than watching a Chinese hot pot in full flow. As a big cauldron of broth bubbles away, all kinds of goodies are thrown in. My favourites include crab legs, prawns, fishballs, thinly cut beef, enoki mushrooms, pak choi and, of course, noodles. However, many hot pot aficionados will eschew these treats, and make a beeline straight for Spam. I'm not kidding; many Chinese prefer Spam (or the Chinese branded Ma Ling Luncheon Meat) above all else in their hot pot.

In terms of these 'bad is good' examples, there is only one that I believe 100% in: the use of soft white bread in a bacon sarnie. When it comes to cheeseburgers, I happen to prefer American cheese but that's only because I'm partially lactose intolerant, and I have trouble with some real cheese. Otherwise, I couldn't give a toss what cheese is used. On the matter of Spam, I'm afraid I'm a bad Chinese in that I'm utterly indifferent to its charms.

Anyway, what do you guys think? Is my stance on bacon sandwiches, complete bollocks? What about the burger fundamentalists and their insistence on American cheese? And then there's the question of Spam – although, personally, I'd sit that one out. The Spam lobby are a vociferous, and at times scary, bunch. I'm more frightened of them than I am of the burger mob! Oh, and whilst we're at it, I'd also love to hear of any further examples of when bad stuff makes good food taste better.

Tokyo Part 4 - Dinner Delights

Business dinners can sometimes be awkward stilted affairs but there was no danger of that with my new tomodachi, N and S. After a long day at the office, we went to one of their favourites, Charari Charari for dinner. We were still in Kudankita but unlike some of the places we went to for lunch, this was a proper restaurant.

Skewers of chicken liver and chicken 'meatballs'

I left the ordering to my hosts, and the food soon started coming. To kick off with, there was some salad followed by loads of yakitori skewers. My favourite was the chicken 'meatball' or tsukune.

Assorted skewers

As well as orthodox chicken bits like wing and thigh, we also sampled chicken liver, skin, and heart. I must admit I wasn't a fan of the latter.

Sashimi platter

After the skewers, came a rather excellent sashimi platter. And yes I know I used flash photography, which is a bit naughty, but no one seemed to mind. Honest.

Kara-age - Japanese fried chicken 

As good as the skewers and sashimi were, the star of the evening was the kara-age or Japanese fried chicken. Marinated in a very Asian mix of soy, ginger and garlic, then coated in flour and fried to perfection, Colonel Sanders ain't got nothing on this. With a squeeze of lime and a dip in the accompanying mayo, this was one of the highlights of the trip.

Rice balls

And if that wasn't enough, we finished off with yaki onigiri (crispy rice balls) and the ubiquitous miso soup. I think it's the law to have miso soup with every meal! A great end to a great meal, with my only regret being not having enough space for dessert.

On another night, we went out in Ginza and ended up in a restaurant specialising in the cuisine of the Akita prefecture in the north of Japan. I would like to claim that we went there especially to sample some regional Japanese cuisine, but the more prosaic truth was that it was close to where we were drinking.

I want that tableware!

The menu had pictures and whilst I offered a few suggestions, I left the ordering to N and S. The food again was excellent, my favourite being the beef fillet that was seared on the outside then sliced and served at room temperature. Other highlights included the two types of grilled chicken, Japanese omelette, chicken meatball, and an Akita speciality of fried noodles in plum sauce topped with a fried egg.

The company I work for has two offices in Tokyo, and whilst I was in Kudankita with N and S, my colleague was based in the other office. The guys from this other office were also a convivial bunch, and we joined them on a couple of nights out.

Shabu-shabu

Not wishing to be outdone by N and S, they took us out to the wilds of Roppongi to a shabu-shabu restaurant. I love hot-pot in all its guises, and whilst I prefer the Chinese version, this was pretty damn good. I was particularly impressed by the quality of the meat as exemplified by the marbled beef slices. Less enjoyable was the soy milk that was one of the four 'soups' bubbling away; I much preferred the traditional konbu based broth.

To round off the week, we continued the DIY vibe with a visit to a Korean BBQ joint. We were seated at a table with a proper open grill rather than one of those wussy hotplates that they use in places like Koba. Yet again I was impressed by the high quality of the produce and my final meal in Tokyo was another winner.

This is the last of my series on Tokyo, and whilst I had a great introduction to Japanese food during my visit, that's all it was. I would love to return to Japan and properly immerse myself in the food culture. For starters, there are so many more noodle dishes to try, then there's the fine dining extravaganza that is kaiseki, as well as simpler grub like okonomiyaki. Being a bit of a food geek, I also want to try the Japanese take on western food, as well as their version of Chinese food.

But just because I'm back home doesn't mean I can't tuck into more Japanese food. I'm a fan of Roka, like the noodles at Koya and Ramen Seto, have tried Sushi of Shiori, and Yashin Sushi is on my 'list'. Are there any other places that I should be aware of? I'd love to hear your top tips for Japanese food in London.

Hot Pot @ Royal Palace (Chinese), London

Continuing my 'out of Zone 1' mini-tour, today's post finds me in Rotherhithe. This isn't a part of town where you expect there to be a ball-breakingly authentic Chinese restaurant so it's a pleasant surprise to find Royal Palace plying its trade here. From the outside, it looks pretty bog standard but its clientele are by and large, mainland Chinese who come here for a taste of home. 

Sadly the Northern Chinese specialities and other authentic dishes from across China are hidden away on a Chinese language menu. However, we were here for huo guo or hot pot and whilst the tick-sheet is in Chinese only, they do kindly provide an English translation on a separate sheet of A4.

I can't take credit for unearthing this gem as it's Kake's local and it was her suggestion that we try the hot pot here. We were a party of eight including the Randomness types and Bellaphon so this meant there was going to be loads of food.

I'm not going to do a blow by blow account as the photos below tell the story of a most excellent feast. Besides, it isn't easy to keep track when you order 44 dishes. Suffice to say, there was a mix of meat, fish, seafood, meatballs, fishballs, mushrooms, bean curd, vegetables, and of course noodles. For Spam-spotters, (yes I mean you, Wild Boar), we ordered some to placate Bellaphon.

As well as hot pot, this is one of the few places I know of that sell corn with salted egg yolk. This dish was a tad disappointing as it lacked the crispy moreish coating found in the version at Acton's Sichuan Restaurant.

The hot pot costs £20/head (min 2 persons) and like Little Lamb, this deal allows each diner to select 5 items. We struggled to finish the food and whilst it's good value, you can rack up a fair sized drinks bill as hot pot is eaten at a leisurely pace.

I'm not quite sure why but the waitress said we could pick an extra four dishes for free (like we needed more!) and as we paid cash, we also received a 10% discount on the food (but not the drinks). Service was good and my only grumble was that it was sometimes difficult to cook with a single hot pot for a party of eight. That said having two separate hot pots may have resulted in a less convivial atmosphere.

Verdict: I heartily recommend Royal Palace for hot pot. I'd also like to return to check out some of their regional Chinese specialities.

Other Stuff: With the London Overground opening up, there's no excuse not to come here. Surrey Quays station is very close by and Canada Water, which is also on the Jubilee Line isn't too far away either.

Little Lamb Hot Pot

I'm getting a little bored with writing so I'm going to keep it brief and rely on pictures to describe dinner at Little Lamb on Shaftesbury Avenue.

Little Lamb is a specialist hot pot restaurant but if you're looking for the Lancashire variety then you'll be disappointed. By hot pot, I mean what the Cantonese call ‘daa bin lou’, Mandarin speakers call ‘huo guo’, and what the Japanese know as ‘shabu-shabu’. It's also commonly known as 'steamboat'.

The hot pot here is the common or garden Chinese variety. This is despite Little Lamb's misleading claim that it's a Mongolian & Chinese restaurant. No matter what you call it and what style you go for, hot pot makes for a fun and filling meal. 

Ordering is simple here as you use a tick sheet akin to those found in dim sum restaurants. You can go a la carte but I recommend going for the £20/head set meal (min. 2 persons), where you choose a soup base and five dishes per person. Between the two of us, we saved around a tenner ordering this way.

For the soup base, we went 'yin-yang' with a nourishing herbal tonic and a special spicy soup, into which the assorted meat, seafood, vegetables, mushrooms and noodles are cooked. The faint hearted should beware of the Sichuan-style spicy soup.

The above photos show off the beef, crab, prawns and Fuzhou-style fishballs. Apologies for the lack of photos of the other dishes but my attention drifted towards cooking and eating. In fact, the food was so good that I nearly forgot to take a photo of the noodles. Mind you, there wasn't much of the fensi or mung bean vermicelli left by the time I remembered.

I'd forgotten how much fun, hot pot is and if you don't mind cooking your own dinner then I strongly recommend Little Lamb. I'm also glad that my dining companion, Bellaphon enjoyed it. You should read his write-up, especially if you want to know what else we ate and what it looked like.