Antigua & Barbuda - home cooking

Steve cooked: Pork chops with banana and bacon

Unsurprisingly, despite our best efforts, we could not find a restaurant in London that served genuine Antiguan and Barbudan fare. So it was time once again to turn to the internet for a recipe that was both authentic, and appetising. Unfortunately, it was a little difficult to find a meal that we would both be happy to eat. For instance, it would appear one of the delicacies of this group of Caribbean islands are sliced pig snouts. I am fairly adventurous when it comes to food, especially international cuisine, but I most definitely draw the line above noses of animals.

Then I came across a fair simple recipe for Antiguan pork chops with banana and bacon. I was struck by the simplicity of the meal, and the unusual combination of the aforementioned animal and fruit. So this was to be the one.

Ingredients for this are pork chops (one per person), 1/2 tbsp cumin, salt and pepper to taste, juice of half a lemon, 1 tbsp of butter, 1 large banana, 3 strips of bacon and beer (I used a bottle of Wadworth 6X). You will need skewers for this.

Soften the butter in a dish a combine with the salt, pepper and cumin. Coat the pork chops in this mixture and set aside. Gently fry the bacon briefly, until some of the fat has rendered, the remove and drain. Peel the bananas and cut into inch thick slices. Sprinkle the sliced bananas with lemon juice.

Cut the bacon strips into length just enough to wrap around the banana slices. Then, begin to place the bananas on the skewers, threading through where the bacon slice overlaps. (This was the tricky part. I was awful at it.)

Place the pork chops under a hot grill for 15 minutes, turning once. Then turn the grill down to medium, adding the skewers and grill for another 10 minutes, turning everything a few times during cooking. Baste the meat with the beer during this part of the process too.

The meal is served with rice, although the results in a very dry plate. Still, the pork tasted great with the cumin and beer coating. The bacon and banana experience was interesting. It isn't unpleasant by any means. Texture-wise, it goes together surprisingly well. But it is probably something I wouldn't try again. But no doubt much better than pig snouts.

Angola - Ana'-N'Gola

Restaurant: Ana'-N'Gola

Location: 123 Upton Lane, Upton Park, E7 9LW

Date of visit: 24 April 2010

Time of visit: 8.30pm

Steve and Elle ate: Chicken Muamba (and lots of other complimentary bits and pieces as detailed below!)

For the next meal, Elle and I hit the road again and headed for East London, and what appears to be the only dedicated Angolan restaurant in London. The trip followed a phone conversation with a gentleman who introduced himself to me as "Villa", the owner of the restaurant. After digging online for details of the restaurant, I came across his number and the suggestion to call ahead. We had a short chat on the phone, where he confirmed that the restaurant would most definitely be open on Saturday night, and that we were welcome.

We arrived in the area just before 8.30pm, but were a little late in actually walking into the restaurant due to the parking situation. There just wasn't anywhere to park close to the restaurant. One of the reasons for this appeared to be a nearby South Asian-style wedding, which appeared to have hundreds of guests!

When we did finally reach the restaurant, we were greeted with a small local cafe style environment, with every table full of people eating, chatting and watching live Portuguese football on the big screen. As no one approached us as we stood at the door (the staff seemed fairly rushed off their feet) we searched for a spare table. These were few and far between, although there was one table occupied by a woman who seemed to be "doing the books". She politely moved to allow us to sit down. Just at that, a man knowingly greeted us and gave some kind of universal nod which we knew meant he would be with us as soon as possible. I assumed straight away this was the guy who I had spoken to on the phone.

A few minutes passed, and right enough that same man - who introduced himself as Villa - handed us a couple of menus, and sat beside us to talk. After a welcome to the restaurant and a brief scene setting talk, he talked us through the menu and enquired as to what we liked to eat. After a few minutes, we had settled on a main course of chicken muamba, despite Elle being slightly fussy about chicken on the bone.

While waiting for the meal, we took in some of the atmosphere and, naturally, I took in some of the Portuguese football. A guy on the neighbouring table struck up conversation with us and enquired as to why we were there. In the end, he was extremely friendly and didn't hold back in telling us about his past (he was born in Luanda, to Portuguese parents, and was practically forced out of the country due to war when he was in his early teens).

During this exchange, Villa reappeared with a couple of dishes that did not look like chicken muamba. It was a selection of what looked like crispy pancakes, and it appeared these were "on the house". One of the pancakes was a kind of fish croquette, and the other contained prawns and cheese. We had barely finished these when another couple of plates arrived, containing very generous slices of cold, fresh white fish. We're not big seafood lovers, but these were gorgeous, coated with a good helping of cracked salt and served with a side salad. As we ate these, Villa rejoined us and started to tell us about his restaurant and background.

So by this point we had a good few converations, a couple of starters that we never asked for, and couldn't help wonder what was next! Who would've thought it was the main course? We were presented with a bowl and plate each - the bowl containing a generous portion of chicken muamba, and a plate with a large, gelatinous lump of cassava-based mash/mush, providing the carbohydrate element of the meal. The latter had very little taste, but when eaten with the flavoursome (but completely spiceless) casserole-like muamba was a good accompaniment. The chicken pieces were pretty small, and riddled with tiny bones which made eating a little bit cumbersome. Still, the meal was very enjoyable, if not far too large a task for us, especially after the two starters.

As we were finishing our drinks, Villa reappeared and enthusiastically handed us a couple of small dessert bowls and proclaimed that his wife really wanted us to try this. It was a fairly basic, but very tasty creamed rice-like dessert which, despite pushing our appetites to their very limits, went down very well indeed.

We had barely finished this when two rather large glasses of green liquid appeared on the table. It was a "special" cocktail, according to Villa. After one sip, I could tell it was very special. And even stronger than it was special. But hugely refreshing. I questioned him on the contents, and was told it was a sugar cane rum-based cocktail with fresh lime juice. Elle, although having enjoyed one sip, couldn't enjoy any more as she was the designated driver. So I was forced to have both.

At this point, we started to look back on the evening we just had - we each ordered a main course, and a beer. We got two starters, a main, a desert, a strong cocktail. And a beer. Was our man Villa about to fleece us and charge us for all we were given. Surely this was all too good to be true?

Nope. It was entirely true. Our bill came to less than £20. We were charged for two mains and two beers. Not only did we receive all that food and drink for free, but were at the receiving end of the best service either of us have ever had, and could ever wish for, in a restaurant.

This one is going to take some beating.

Andorra - home cooking

Steve cooked: Trinxat with Catalan spinach salad

When we set out on this mission of visiting restaurants around London for every country in the world, we were well aware of the fact that we are in one of the best cities in the world to do such a thing. Surely there must be some kind of culinary representation for every single country in the world?

But then, when you dig a little deeper, you come to realise how small some of the world's countries are. Sao Tome & Prinicpe. San Marino. Lesoto. Andorra.

We did some digging around to see if we could find any restaurant that would serve Andorran food. Ridiculously I considered Mediterranean restaurants before releasing how how landlocked this tiny nation was, on the Spanish-French border. Eventually we realised it was time for Plan B. Time to get into the kitchen

Well actually, that's not strictly true. It was time to consult our good friend Google to discover just what Andorrans eat. And not being big fans of seafood, this was no mean feat. But time and time again, one dish cropped up and became an obvious option. Trinxat. A national dish consisting of potatoes, cabbage and bacon.

The method didn't look too complicated, and in all honesty the result didn't look like it would be all that interesting, so we also opted for the side dish of Catalan spinach salad to go with it.

It was my (Steve's) duty to don the apron and get to work on the meals, which I duly did on chilly Saturday evening in March.

The ingredients for the trinxat were as follows (to serve 4, or the two of us): 1 green cabbage, 1 lb of ptoatoes, 3 strips of thick bacon, 4 cloves of garlic, 2 tbsp of fresh chopped parsley, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.

Peel and quarter the potatoes, and core and quarter the cabbage. Crush the garlic. Add them to a large pot of salted water and boil them until soft. Drain the pot and return to a low heat to allow the vegetables to stream dry a little. Roughly mash the cabbage and potatoes with the crushed garlic.

Dice the bacon into small cubes and fry it until fairly crispy. Turn up the heat and add the potato, cabbage and garlic mix on top of the bacon. Press into the pan to make a flat cake. Cook a little more under the bottom is browned. If you have a blow torch (seriously)... fire the top of it to brown that too.

Turn over onto a plate, bacon side up, and serve.

Now, when I cook, I start to sweat and swear a little when I have more than two things on the go on the hobs at the same time. This was one of those times, as I had to make the Catalan spinach salad at the same time.

For that, you need a good bit of spinach, olive oil, one garlic clove, a handful of raisins and a handful of pine nuts. Larger hands mean larger portions.

Wash, chop and blanch the spinach (I had to Google that). Heat up the oil and fry the garlic (sliced) until golden, then at the raisins and nuts until the raisins are plump. Place the spinach in a large bowl and top with the raisin/garlic/nut mixture and stir it a little until the spinach wilts a little.

And there you have it. It was actually much more interesting to taste than I originally thought. The trinxat was a really satisifying, tasty meal and the spinach salad was a great accompaniment. Much better than seafood anyway.

Algeria - Casbah-Palmeraie, NW3

Restaurant: Casbah-Palmeraie

Location: 42 Hampstead High Street, Hampstead, NW3 1QE

Date of visit: 27 February 2010

Time of visit: 8:30pm

Steve and Elle ate: Cous cous merguez (Steve) and assorted brochettes (chicken, merguez and lamb - Elle)

After such a long gap between the first and second restaurant visits (the Afghan restaurant was visited in October and the Albanian earlier in the month), we found ourselves tackling our third country within a few weeks. Given our experience of having to return to the Albanian restaurant two weeks in a row after not calling ahead, we exercised the new rule of absolutely calling ahead before committing to traveling to a restaurant! We have been lucky so far in that all three restaurants to date have been fairly local to us. Casbah-Palmeraie, our next restaurant on the list, is just off Hampstead tube station on the Northern line, on which we live.

Immediately outside the restaurant we were greeted with authenticity, with the centre-piece being a large wooden door with a handwritten Arabic sign on it (which probably just said "Push To Open", but it worked for me), large, long windows (showing a bustling, cosy scene indoors) illuminated by small LED lights.

As I pushed the door open (which felt like it was about to fall from its hinges) we were enveloped by sound, smell and atmosphere of something that definitely wasn't London. We were transformed into a bustling but comfortable and inviting North African assembly of diners. We were welcomed by a waiter and shown to a nearby table which, alongside the comfortable traditional seating, was very close to the floor. I wasn't too sure I'd be able to stay in that position for too long (there was an option of more conventional, higher seating) but as the evening wore on it wasn't an issue.

The authentic atmosphere was made even more so with the contrast in temperature between the warm and cosy interior and the icy February night outside. The wafting of incense also helped.

We were presented with hardbound (wood-bound?) menus with a detailed list of all the available options, including details of which ingredients made up each item, and from where in the Maghreb region the dishes came. The Casbah-Palmeraie is not exclusively an Algerian restaurant, but deals with dishes from all five of the Maghreb countries, so Elle and I made an effort to choose dishes that originated in Algeria.

We chose not to have a starter or side dish, although we were presented with some warm bread shortly after arrival. I opted for the Algerian dish of cous cous merguez, and Elle picked the assorted brochettes which was made up of merguez, alongside pieces of grilled chicken and lamb.

The food was presented very well, and came hot and in good portions. The merquez (basically spicy lamb sausage) had a great spice to it, but not too much of a kick. The cous cous was lush and plentiful, and garnished with traditional ingredients. The chicken and lamb were cooked to perfection, and certainly not too fatty.

Bu the time the food came, the lower seating arrangement was actually really quite comfortable, and it was difficult to imagine how we could be more relaxed. And with the attentive and rapid service, there really wasn't much to be said against the overall experience at this restaurant.

As tempting as it would be to come back to the same place when we get to Morocco, Tunisia etc, we highly recommend this gem situation in one of London's finer areas.

Albania - Alba Restaurant, NW6

Restaurant: Alba

Location: 5 Malvern Road, Maida Vale, NW6

Date of visit: 6 February 2010

Time of visit: 9pm

Steve and Elle ate: A selection of meat including chicken, mini kebabs, steaklets and spicy sausages, served with a variety of vegetables including cabbage, tomato, mushrooms and onions topped with a light cream cheese dressing. All served with warm bread.

We continued our A to Z of London restaurants with a visit to Alba (formerly Lisi) in Maida Vale. This being our second attempt at eating there (we failed to book the previous week and were unable to get a table due to a private party) we knew exactly how to get there and where to park. The restaurant has the great advantage of having on-street parking right outside that is free after 7pm.

As we walked into the restaurant we noticed how quiet it was and we ended up with the whole of the downstairs area to ourselves. The dining area was clean and tidy and, although it has more of a 'cafe' feel to it than a restaurant, some authentic music gave it an Albanian feel. Although due to the lack of people in the restaurant, there was a lack ot atmosphere overall.

Shortly after we were seated, a pleasent gentleman came up with a notepad and nodded at us to take our order. This took us by surprised as we had not seen a menu and were not too knowledgable on what to order in an Albanian restuarant. I asked for a menu and he promptly produced one. However he only showed us a small specialities section on the back of the menu and explained what the items were. It consisted of about five or six different meat dishes and he recommended we go for the one particular dish, designed for two people, which included a selection of all the meats from the other dishes. Our confusion at not getting a full menu soon diminished as our meat-loving eyes lit up at the prospect of a huge plate of all our favourite meats. Although vegetarians beware - we are really not sure what, if any, meals would have been available for non-meat eaters.

Whilst we waited for the meal Steve drank a Budwieser and Elle a can of Diet Coke. Both were fine and not too badly priced for a restaurant although we did notice that both had "Part of a multipack - Not to be sold seperately" disclaimer written on them!
The food came after a reasonable wait of around twenty minutes and did not dissapoint. The portion was huge and posed an interesting challenge. The selection of meat and vegetables was fantastic, all cooked perfectly and the bread was a perfect accompainment to the meal. The 'steak pieces' did appear to be 'reformed' rather than cuts but we had no problems with this and still wondered how they could afford to pile up so much meat for us (the meal was approximately £17 without drinks).

Eating so much meat is thirsty work and more Diet Coke and Bud was drafted in. However we noticed that after the food was served we were left well alone and I had to go upstairs to fetch more drinks myself. The staff were very pleasent which made the trek upstairs worth it. After the meat-eating challenge of our lives (some of which was left due to us reaching capacity!) we went upstairs to pay. We had found out earlier that cards were not accepted, or at least cash was preferred (the actual situation wasn't made particularly clear) so we paid with cash.
The total for the meal and drinks was appoximately £25. We were pleased to see no service charge was added however we tipped 10-15% anyway (very much worth it due to the amount of meat on-hand). Very much fed, watered and satisfied, we headed back to the car.

Overall, it was a postive experience and the food made up for any confusion with the menus and slight lack of service. I do feel they are probably much more geared at large parties than small orders but we would recommend a visit for the meat eaters out there. Although veggies should probably call and check their requirements can be catered for in advance .

Good: Fantastic food, great value for money, good location in Maida Vale with free on-street parking (off peak times) and service charge left to our discretion

Bad: Full menu not offered, lacking a little on the service side, credit & debit cards not accepted (or at least particularly welcomed)

Cost of meal: Approx £17 (excluding drinks)

Afghanistan - Mesa Restaurant, HA3

Restaurant: Masa
Location: 24-26 Headstone Drive, Harrow & Wealdstone, HA3 5QH
Date of visit: 10 October 2009
Time of visit: 8.30pm
Steve and Elle ate: Couples Special - 1 skewer of chicken wings, 2 skewers of lamb kobeda, 1 chicken karahi, 1 challow rice, plain naan, salad

We kicked off the A to Z of London international restaurants with Masa, a small Afghan restaurant not too far from the High Street in Harrow & Wealdstone. As we walked in, it became immediately clear that it was popular - the place was rammed, and lively. In fact, Steve's first thought was "they don't have any tables", despite us booking a table for two through Top Table. With no one at the door to greet us, we ventured a little further into the restaurant, and managed to catch the attention of a waitress behind the counter who was also dealing with other customers. Steve mouthed, and gestured, across the restaurant that we had booked a table for two. She acknowledged that, and pointed to a table in the far corner.

We took a seat, and wait for menus. Masa has no alcoholic drinks licence, so we plonked a bottle of our own-bought wine on the table. We took a few moments to look around the room, and it was clear that the waitress (yes, singular...at least for the first 10 minutes or so) was really struggling under the pressure of the customer requests (we reckon there was around 35 people in the restaurant - so she was being spread extremely thin).

Fifteen minutes had passed, and we were still waiting for a menu, and getting a little bored of looking at an unopened bottle of Pinot Grigo (there's a lot to be said for screw-capped bottles). Elle approached the counter and asked if we could have some menus, which finally came a couple of minutes later. At this point, we also asked if we could have a bottle opener.

The menu was well laid out and informative, if not a little battered. The food is very decently priced, with the majority of the mains between £6 and £8. Having waited the time we had to be seen to, we couldn't help notice the note on the menu that a 12% service charge would automatically be added to the bill.

Another fifteen minutes passed and no one had taken our order. When I spotted another table being seen to, after arriving only ten minutes before, it was time to approach the counter again. The waitress apologised and finally came to take our order. We took the opportunity, again, to ask for a bottle opener (I think Steve may have been shaking by this point - we should've at least put the wine out of sight in the mean time). A few minutes later, in a rush, the waitress dropped a corkscrew onto our table, leaving us to open it ourselves.

The food arrived half an hour later (which didn't seem anywhere near as long now that the wine was open). All of the food arrived at once. Well, at least we thought it did. Halfway through eating, Steve realised that the naan bread hadn't arrived. Again, we caught the attention of a waiter (which was a little easier now that the restaurant had emptied a little), and he apologised and promptly brought the bread to the table.

So, to the food. The chicken wings and lamb kobeda came out on a large plate with the salad, with another large plate of rice, and a bowl of chicken karahi. The karahi portion was a little on the small side, but the portion of rice, along the with chicken and lamb was quite the opposite. The chicken wings, cooked skewered on an open grill, were plump with great slightly spicy seasoning. The lamb kobeda was similarly impressive, similar to a lamb kofte kebab in style and taste. The chicken karahi was very good, with large succulent chunks of chicken breast in a light brown sauce. The sauce was fairly spicy but seemed to lack much in the way of vegetables. This wasn't to the detriment of the meal overall though. The rice was very well cooked, not too dry, with yellow grains added for presentation.

The food certainly made up for the slightly drawn out events preceeding it. Nonetheless, we were never asked if we wanted anything to drink, including water, during the meal and were not offered a desert menu afterwards, despite seeing menus on other tables and the restaurant being somewhat quieter.

And, as was the way, we had to approach the counter ourselves to pay the bill. Although we spotted it early on, the fact that the card machine wasn't working might have been an inconvenience to others at this stage. And, indeed, a service charge was automatically added to the bill, although it worked out as 10% rather than 12%.

Overall, it wasn't an unpleasant experience by any means, but the delays were frustrating to an extent. But it was clear to see the reasons behind it, and we could sympathise with the waiting staff as they rushed around assisting the customers without even a pause for breath from the time we entered the restaurant to the time we left. And the food was of a high quality. Add a couple more waiting staff to the roster, and there would have been very few negative points to the visit.

Next month, we try out Albanian cuisine.

Good: High quality food, good value for money, lively authentic atmosphere
Bad: Understaffed leading to slow service, non-discretional service charge

Cost of meal: £22 (excluding wine)