TheHungryPair

The interior is warm and welcoming, filled with vibrant colours and patterns. The menu was extensive selection of burritos, tacos, enchiladas, fajitas and more with a large choice for both meat eaters and vegetarians. We decided to order a antojitos (a word which means “little cravings”!) starter  which was street food style tapas. The staff recommended about 2-3 dishes per person, but we were still quite full from breakfast so shared 3 between us.

Firstly we decided to go for a portion of sopes – a traditional savoury corn cake topped with chilli con carne. The corn cake was wonderfully crisp; a lovely contrast to the delicious chilli, lettuce and salsa.

For our second dish we chose the espinaca enchiladas – tortillas filled with spinach, potato and peppers in a mild chilli and cream sauce, topped with melted cheese. Any combination of spinach and cheese always works so well, having the additional crunch from the peppers brings a wonderful texture to the dish.

Our final dish was the calabaza tacos – courgettes and sweetcorn cooked in a chipotle chilli and garlic sauce with goats cheese. Personally I would have never thought of these as a combination but it works so well. The texture of the courgettes, sweetcorn and goats cheese work amazingly, and the flavours were just spot on!

Our whole meal came in at under £16.50, which we thought was incredibly cheap for the quality of the meal. All of the dishes at Pancho Villa’s, excluding the  burritos, are also gluten free, which is always a bonus. Overall our meal at Pancho Villa’s was wonderful, a great atmosphere, friendly staff and delicious food!

The staff were very welcoming and you were able to watch the chef cook your meal right in front of you!

I have to be honest – I was convinced that the pancakes were going to be poffertjes, which are traditional mini Dutch pancakes like these ones we tried at Abergavenny Food Festival.

With this in mind, I was very confused reading the menu and seeing the variety of toppings you could choose. After much deliberation he went for a ‘Full Dutch’, and I chose the ‘Rocket to the Moon’ from the specials menu.

The panckes came pretty quickly after ordering, and I’m pretty sure the waitress heard me go “Oh, now it makes sense!” when she set the plates down on the table. His pancake was a meat lover’s paradise came with nearly every topping imaginable – bacon, ham, chicken, salami, mushrooms, sweetcorn, sweet peppers, onions, tomatoes and Edam cheese. He’s always pleased if he can get a breakfast in a new medium so thought it was delicious, especially since he’s a fan of savoury pancakes.

My ‘Rocket to the Moon’ was a more summery affair and came topped with goats cheese, pear, walnuts, rocket and a drizzle of garlic oil. The flavours were all light and delicate, perfect for a sunny weekend brunch. The goats cheese was lovely and tart, working well with the sweet slices of pear.

To be honest, I’m glad that the pancakes weren’t actually poffertjes, as I loved my dish the way it was! Double Dutch has an extensive vegan menu, featuring both sweet and savoury pancakes. They also cater to coeliacs by offering gluten free pancakes on request.

Mowgli Street Food has two locations – one in Liverpool and a second in Manchester – serving a selection of healthy and flavourful Indian dishes. The whole menu didn’t serve stereotypical Indian dishes that you’d expect from a restaurant – instead the dishes are simple, wholesome, not too hot and predominately vegetarian. 

Most of the dishes on the menu are tiffin sized – similar to a Spanish tapas. Our waitress recommended maybe 2-3 options each for lunch.

Our first (and only meat) dish to arrive was the Angry Bird – succulent chicken thighs marinated & roasted in tandoor spices, yoghurt, ginger & garlic served with popped mustard Mowgli Slaw. Luckily for us there were two chicken thighs which made sharing much easier! They were very delicately spiced – not too overpowering and spicy but still full of flavour nonetheless. These very delicate spices contrasted beautifully against the sweet and crunchy coleslaw

    Next was the Picnic Potato Curry – potatoes tossed in fenugreek, tomato & Bengali Five Spice. This dish was wonderfully aromatic and wholesome – it just made our insides feel all lovely and warm!

Our favourite dish had to be the Mowgli Paneer – tender cubes of soft paneer cheese simmered with velvet, sweet, spiced tomatoes, garden peas & fresh spinach. Being fans of paneer we knew we’d automatically love the dish which was delicious and moreish. Along with our main dishes we ordered a side of rooti which worked perfectly to scoop up all of the delicious sauces!

Mowgli Street Food was a wonderful location which served truly homely and flavourful dishes and we’ll have to drop in if we’re ever in Manchester or Liverpool again!

We stopped off at The Bagelry for brunch, before heading off to explore the city. we had read the menu whilst on the train, so I settled down at a table whilst he headed to the counter to order. I opted for a plain bagel with maple and pecan cream cheese, whilst he chose the more savoury ‘sunnyside’ on a roasted garlic bagel. The Bagelry has a huge selection of bagels, including plain, sesame, poppy and jalapeño, as well as a large selection of cream cheese flavours, including garlic and chive, cashew and maple and pecan.

The Sunnyside Bagel came with a side of homemade beans, and each half of the garlic bagel had an egg fried sunny-side-up in the hole. The bagel was beautifully fresh and the garlic flavour really came through. The homemade beans were lovely and came with large chunks of onions which gave the beans a lovely texture.

I opted for a plain bagel (he panicked) with maple and pecan cream cheese. The cream cheese was an absolute revelation – the sweet maple worked amazingly with the cream cheese and pecans on top of the bagel. It was absolutely amazing.

Despite being full to bursting, we couldn’t resist the call of another item on the menu. We decided to get another of the roasted garlic bagels to go, but this time topped with their vegan cashew and spring onion ‘cheese’.

After spending the day exploring, we decided that we just couldn’t leave the city without getting one (and by one, we mean four) more bagel to take with us for the train. (We also couldn’t resist the call of a pot of the maple and pecan cream cheese). We got back about an hour before The Bagelry closed for the day, and as you can imagine, their bagel stock was somewhat depleted (a testament to The Bagelry’s popularity, I’m sure!) but we managed to get a few plain bagels and a jalapeno bagel.

Everything at The Bagelry was very reasonably priced and tasted delicious. This is definitely somewhere we’ll come back to next time we’re in the area!

It was great to see Spotlight had received a fresh lick of paint with a beautiful Mediterranean motif running through the decor. On the stage there were artists painting away throughout the evening, as well as DeadPixels with their always popular retro gaming set up.

Our first stop was Open Sesame. Having tried them before at Kings HEATh, we were tempted by their DDC only special – a slow roasted lamb tagine, served with hummus, creamy yoghurt and salad, finished with a harissa drizzle. Having seen the tagine bubbling away as we walked past their stall, we just couldn’t resist. The lamb was beautifully soft, which served in the beautiful tomato-y tagine was delicious. The veg, lamb and couscous combo was amazing in itself, but the side of hummus mustn’t be forgotten as it was just perfect still with a few whole chickpeas mixed through.

Our next pick was La Grande Viande, where we chose their “Le Provencal” burger. It was a 7 hour slow roast lamb shoulder burger cooked with garlic and herbs, served with a smoked bacon ratatouille and goats cheese. Admittedly after ordering I realised that meant that two dishes back to back were lamb, but once we bit into it we were incredibly pleased with our decision. The lamb fell apart immediately as we bit into the burger, and the contrast between the slightly sweet bacon ratatouille and the rich goats cheese was amazing. The bacon ratatouille is certainly something we’ll have to try make at home!

We stopped by Buddha Belly’s stall and chose one of the delicious marinated chicken dishes. It was as amazing as ever and we still whole heartedly recommend it, although admittedly at this point in the night I completely forgot to take photos.

Our last stop was Victoria Creperie, where we couldn’t resist the temptation of their wonderful Sicilian lemon cheesecake! The cheesecake was absolutely lovely, just as always; the hidden lemon rind throughout the cake was both cute and refreshing. Having tried all of their cheesecakes and still not decided which is our favourite, we’ll just have to keep coming back for more! It was also great to finally see their new van which looked amazing, Greek Mama looked very proud of it too!

It was great to get back to Digbeth Dining Club, and we just can’t wait to see what’s in store for 2016!

This cake is traditionally made in advance of christmas and allowed to ‘mature’ so don’t worry if you can’t eat it in one go, it’ll taste even better after a day or two!

Ingredients: 5 eggs 380g plain flour 1 tablespoon of baking soda 2 tablespoons of ground almonds 180g caster sugar 170ml of sour cream 250g honey 3g of cinnamon (optional) 5 tablespoons vegetable oil If gluten-free- 1/3 teaspoon of xanthan gum Topping ideas: Royal icing Plum jam (traditional option) and crushed walnuts

Makes – 22cm cake

Preparation time – 10 minutes    Baking time – 50 minutes

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170ºc/160ºc fan/325ºf/gas mark 3.

2. Whisk the eggs and the sugar on a high speed until light and fluffy.

2. Add the honey and mix until combined.

3. Add the sour cream, sieved flour, baking soda, vegetable oil, ground almonds, cinnamon (optional) and xanthan gum (if gluten-free). Mix on a low speed until well combined.

4. Pour into a lined baking tin. Bake for 50 minutes.

5. Take out the oven and leave to cool. Top with either royal icing or plum jam and crushed walnuts.

Ingredients: 240g chocolate 240g cream cheese (Philadelphia works well) ~100g caster sugar (will still work without, but we prefer it with) 6 eggs, separated 1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Makes – ~24cm cake tin, serves 6-8

Preparation time – ~10 minutes

Baking time – ~45 minutes

Resting time – 2 hours minimum

Utensils – cake tin, baking tray/roasting pan

Method: 1. Grease the sides of your cake tin, and line the bottom of the tin with two sheets of parchment paper or tin foil. 2. Preheat the oven to 170ºc/325ºF 3. Place your cream cheese and chocolate of choice (white, milk and dark will work) into a heatproof bowl.

4. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water, mixing the cream cheese and chocolate while it melts. Once melted remove from the heat.

5. Once cooled, but still runny, add in the egg yolks and mix thoroughly.

6. In another bowl beat the egg whites, lemon juice and sugar, until semi-stiff peaks form.

7. Fold the meringue mixture into the chocolate mixture a third at a time, taking care not to over-mix and take all the air out.

8. Pour your mixture into your cake tin. Place the cake tin on top of your baking tray/roasting pan and fill it with about 1cm of hot water.

9. Place into the oven and cook for 15 minutes. Then turn down the oven to 160ºc/300ºF and bake for a further 15 minutes. Turn the oven off and with the oven door closed, leave to rest for a further fifteen minutes.

10. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely, and then leave the cake in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or overnight. Don’t worry if the cake sinks slightly; if made correctly your cake will be around 5cm deep.

11. To serve dust with icing sugar.

Chi Kitchen is a new restaurant on the third floor of Debenhams in Birmingham (a new chain exclusive to Debenhams), serving a whole selection of pan-asian cuisine, inspired by many Chinese, Thai, Malaysian and Japanese dishes. It also offers both a breakfast and all day-menu, so there’s plenty to choose from.

After us and a friend had wandered around Grand Central for a while deliberating as to what we should eat, we suddenly remembered this place and headed there. Compared with the crowds and the queues in Grand Central, the relative quietness at Chi Kitchen was a welcome sight. After being very quickly shown to our table, passing the beautiful bar/kitchen area, we decided it’d be best if we chose a main each and split a starter.

For start we decided to split a small plate of salt and pepper baby squid; deep fried squid, dusted in salt and pepper, chilies and peanuts served with a sweet chilli dip. Our first impression of the dish was the huge portion size; being someone who loves squid and used to served small portions of squid I was quite happy to see such a large amount! The batter on the outside was lovely and crunchy, reminding me more of calamari than other asian squid dishes, but it was still delicious. What was interesting was that the dish was topped with deep fried peanuts, which provided a crunchy contrast to the beautiful squid. 

For main course, she chose a Thai green chicken curry. The waitress repeatedly clarified that the green curry was going to be really quite spicy. Even thought the waitress was right to warn us as it had a definite kick, the heat didn’t build so it stayed at what she considered a nice spice level without becoming unpleasant. There were very large pieces of chicken in the curry which, as we’ve said before, is always a good thing in our books, as well as chunks of aubergine cooked in the spicy sauce.

Our friend decided to order the Nyonya chicken curry. This malaysian curry came with chicken pieces, new potatoes and snake beans. The first few bites of this curry made it seem quite mild, but unlike the thai green curry, the heat in this dish built up quite significantly – still lovely, but a bit of a shock.

Neither curry came with rice, so they decided to order and share a portion of steamed jasmine rice, in order to mop up some of the lovely curry sauces.

For my main I chose ho-fun noodles, (after we’d first tried them and loved them at Cafe Soya in Chinatown, we’ve been desperate for more every since) which came fried with chicken, egg and bean sprouts, all mixed in soy sauce. The Ho-fun noodles were thinner than the ones we had tried before, but were nonetheless delicious. This dish also had possibly the most generous amount of chicken out of all three dishes we ordered.

As noodle dishes were cooked at a different station to the curry dishes, there was a significant amount of time between the arrival of the curries and of my noodles. They tried to wait for my dish to arrive, but faced with the dilemma of waiting politely for a friend and facing a cold curry or eating immediately, I urged them to start on their mains.

The interior of Chi Kitchen was lovely, and as it is tucked away inside Debenhams, you get to avoid some of the seemingly endless queues which feature at every popular restaurant in the Bullring and in Grand Central. It’s also great to see Debenhams branching out on the range of food offered in its stores and its interesting to see how this chain plans to try and bring affordable pan-asian cuisine to the masses.

After passing this vegetarian cafe last time we were in Cardiff, situated in the Morgan Arcade, and seeing that they offered chilli by the pint and salad bowls larger than our faces we knew we’d have to try out Crumbs Kitchen as soon as possible!

The main star of Crumbs’ menu are the salad bowls (small bowls visible on the table in the above photo), available as a small (a choice of 3 salads) or…

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If you’re after something slightly different, you can add in a few teaspoons of  coffee for an added flavour! This recipe can be made in a normal cake tin, cupcake cases or in a loaf tin as we’ve done here. This recipe will make a dozen muffins or if baking…

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Having heard about meat-free Mondays at the Mockingbird Theatre in Custard Factory, and having had a particularly wet Monday we couldn’t resist the prospect!

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Mini-lemon meringue pie recipe

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Ingredients:200g self-rais…

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The gate to Chinatown!

The number of bakeries we walked past made resisting the urge to buy a ridiculous amount of cake really difficult!…