Vietnamese Clams in lemongrass and Ginger Broth – Con Nghêu Hấp

Ok I confess this post is a little bit of a throwback! Just over a year ago I visited Vietnam with my husband and a friend of ours.

 

 

 

 

Vietnam was truly a land of wonder, history and beauty; it was a great experience and a wonderful trip! (And it deserves it own Blog post or maybe a few…) When I think back one of the best or most memorable parts are the little plastic tables and chairs…

All through Asia small street vendors that sell a variety and some of the best food on offer, do so with stalls and an array of plastic chairs and tables, in alleys, on sidewalks pretty much anywhere they can sell food. The plastic chairs and tables in Vietnam felt way smaller than anywhere else, like tiny kindergarten sized. The size of the tables and chairs proved to be pretty endearing and also I now associate some of the best food moments I had with the little chairs and tables.

This recipe came about after we stumbled into some tiny plastic tables and chairs on a busy Hanoi street on chilly Christmas eve. There was a cute Vietnamese family that ran the place. Large steaming bowls of clams kept coming to the little tables accompanied with mounds of fresh Vietnamese herbs and sauces.

Ingredients

So I came home and had to atleast give it a try, try to reclaim the glory of clams on a sidewalk in the cold. My attempt at Clams was a success , but it lacked some magic though probably since we didn’t eat on tiny plastic chairs on a sidewalk.

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Recipe: Vietnamese Clams in lemongrass and Ginger Broth – Con Nghêu Hấp  

Ingredients:

2 kg small clams
2-3 stalks lemongrass, sliced thinly
5 slices ginger
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thinly
2 red chilli ,
1/4 cup  fish sauce
1 tbsp sugar

Method:

Soak Clams in water for about an hour. Put 1 lt of water into a large pot and bring to the boil. Steam clams for about 5 or 10 minutes until clams are fully open. Discard any clams that do not open.

Remove all clams and set aside. Add all the remaining ingredients to the water and let the broth reduce for a further 15 or 20 minutes.

Place all clams back into the broth and let cook for a further minute.

Serve hot with a generous helping of Vietnamese/Asian herbs such as Thai Basil and mint also known as a “Rau sống” and Vietnamese spicy fish sauce.

Vietnamese Clams in Ginger and lemongrass broth with spicy fish sauce

Vietnamese Spicy Fish Sauce Recipe – Nuoc Cham

Ingredients:

• 2 spicy red chillies sliced
• 2 tspns Minced Garlic
• 1/4 cup fish sauce
• 1 Tblspn sugar
• 1 Tblspn lemon juice
• 1 cup water

Method:

Combine all ingredients into a bowl, refrigerate until ready to serve.

A Taste of Turkey

The Turkish Kebab House is a small out of the way, not fancy place that serves up a wonderful array of turkish foods, mainly in the form of grilled meats.

Store Front – Turkish Kebab House

It’s one of those places that isn’t well known and is not in a popular location but the food, quality and experience is well worth the effort of a visit. Another bonus is the prices are really decent for what you get. They have a take away order menu and a sit down restaurant. They also offer a fully fledged turkish butchery and mini grocer with various items such as cheese’s, labneh and spiced kebabs.

Turkish Kebab House Menu

The food itself is actually really healthy which is one of the reasons I feel I will be investing time at this place.

The grilled meats are well spiced and flavourful and you’re served with freshly baked turkish roti/breads and a colorful variety of salads and vegetables. For me personally my favourite would be the yoghurt and cucumber side dressing and the tomato salsa that also comes with every meal. The grills come in the form of chicken, beef kebab, donner kebab and even lamb chops. Needless to say that serving sizes are more than adequate for a hearty meal.

Mixed Grill and Salad

Beyti Kebab Turkish Kebab House

On my last visit we tried a pide which is basically a cheesy pizza, turkish style. They come with a variety of toppings including chicken, mince, cheese and spinach to name a few and I have to say it was absolutely delicious! They use a thicker, creamier cheese (which they sell in the adjoining grocer/butcher) which makes it a perfect combination of rich and tasty.

Pide

The Turkish Kebab house is for me a wonderful little hidden gem, it’s not in the best neighbourhood and they don’t serve alcohol but it is totally worth the trip!! Its a great new experience and highly recommended!

The Turkish Kebab House:

Address: 79 Church street, Mayfair

Tel: (011) 025 1123

Level 4 @ 54 on Bath

My Husband and I just celebrated our 8th Wedding Anniversary!

To celebrate the event we booked for dinner at the level 4 restaurant at the Tsogo sun’s 54 on bath hotel in Rosebank. I was super excited as I hadn’t been yet and I’d heard great things about it.

The Outdoor Terrace seating area

The restaurant is stylish and contemporary, it’s located on the terrace level, and has seating both indoors and outdoors on the terrace. We chose to be seated outside with the hope that the warm weather would hold out and we’d avoid a summer thunder shower.

Before I proceed I must admit that I played a rookie move and was armed with nothing but my Iphone camera, and the combination of romantic outdoor lighting, whilst wonderful for us did nothing for my photo’s. I ode to do better next time.

Complimentary Champagne to celebrate 8!

We decided to go all out and get a full 3 course dinner. Since we were celebrating the restaurant kindly provided a complimentary glass of champagne, which was a wonderful touch.

Coal fired peri-peri prawn , avocado, coriander and lime dressing

Starter – Calamari variations (Ceviche, grilled and fried) with corn salad and kimchi

For starters my husband went with the Coal fired Peri-Peri prawns, avocado, coriander and lime dressing and I went with the Calamari variations (Ceviche, grilled and fried) with the corn salad and kimchi. The Calamari was tasty and the kimchi added a wonderful dynamic. The prawns were absolutely delicious the flavour combination of the peri-peri prawns with the avocado were on point.

Sustainable farmed sea-bass, artichokes, smoked olive salsa and dill cream

For mains we ordered the Sea bass with artichokes, smoked olive salsa with dill cream and the Afrikaner cattle rib-eye, with baby vegetables (as per Andre, our server’s suggestion) . The fish was perfectly prepared and the olive salsa really  made the dish. I ordered the rib-eye medium rare and it was prepared to perfection. It was served with a bechamel sauce, and although it was a simple dish it was rich and wholesome.

Afrikaner cattle Rib – eye with baby vegetables and bechamel sauce

Pistachio Molten Cake dessert

Cheesecake dessert

Finally for dessert…(yes we went all out)… between us we ordered the Pistachio Molten cake which is Grand Cru 64% Manjari chocolate & pistachio molten cake with fig, rose pearls &
pistachio ice cream  and the cheesecake. The cheesecake was a vanilla cheesecake with stone fruit carpaccio, plum sorbet & grapefruit meringue. The cheesecake was a deconstructed cheesecake with a plum sorbet and peach slices, so it wasn’t a heavy or overly rich dish but was appropriately sweet. My husband devoured the Pistachio molten cake, I just about barely got a picture so I infer that he enjoyed it a whole lot.

Overall, I would say level 4 does a wonderful job of providing good food, great friendly service and comfortable surroundings. I would definately make my way back for brunch or even afternoon drinks with friends (a la the Veuve Cliquot champagne bar). The terrace itself is relaxed and the little garden fit for a game of croquet would be an interesting afternoon activity.

View from terrace

The stand out meal for the evening was the Coal fired peri- peri prawns and Andre who was stellar.