Eat-Ying around the World: Kanada-Ya 金田家 Ramen in London!

If anyone asks me which restaurant have I been to the most during my days in London, I will answer in the blink of an eye that it is Kanada-Ya. I love ramen, LOVE it, I love it so much that at one point I was so close to being obsessive until my skirt button reminded me to snap out of it. I have never been to Japan, but if you tell me that there is better ramen out there (which I am sure there is), I will pack my bags and get there without hesitation.

Small yet cozy, the restaurant in St Giles has the space the size of two parking spaces. Entering the restaurant, as though I could knock over other customers' precious ramen , I had to make sure that my movements were as minimal as possible. Some might say that they'd prefer to have their meal at a leisurely pace with no starving customers staring through the glass hinting them to inhale their noodles so that they could get in, but not this one, not this Ramen (I can assure you).

A bowl of perfection

Imagine sitting on the wooden stool by the window, a steamy bowl of freshly made tonkotsu ramen served by a friendly staff. You take a sip of the broth, immediately acknowledging the reason behind their practice of cooking the broth with pork bones for at least 18 hours. You can't help but to take another sip, appreciating the intensely rich and savory goodness. You then move on to the noodles, freshly made on site and oh so bouncy, complimenting the broth perfectly. You gasp when the piece of pork belly almost falls apart between your chopsticks, and rolled your eyes the moment it melts in your mouth. Of course there is the marinated egg (which is a MUST as add-ons), its white slightly salty and the yolk so sweet and creamy, lying on top of the noodles like an orange coloured jewel. 

Convinced yet? If you have decided to visit the place, my advise is to go there as early as possible. They have two locations in London, but I have only been to the one in St Giles, and let me tell you, you will want to go even before feeling hungry because the amount of people who are willing to queue outside the store is c-ra-zy.

Details: 

Kanada-Ya

64 St Giles High StreetLondon WC2H 8LE
Monday to Saturday 12pm-3pm and 5pm-10pm

Sunday 12pm-8.30pm

For more information about Kanada-Ya, visit their official website or follow them on Twitter.

Ps: this is dangerously addictive, eat it at your own risk.

Love,

Ashley 

Eat-Ying around the World: Yolkin Macaron Ice Cream Sandwiches in London!

Imagine biting into a Macaron the size of you palm, crunchy on the outside and cloudy soft on the inside, so delicate that it melts in your mouth almost instantly. Then imagine yourself eating the best ice-cream you have ever had, so creamy and decadent, the exciting yet satisfying sensation as it contacts with the tip of your tongue. 

Now imagine eating those together. Yes, macaron ice-cream sandwich does exists.

Having spent a year living in London, I am very blessed to have had the opportunity to eat around one of the most astonishing city in the world. From ramen to lobster roll, the choices are endless, and I have made it my personal mission to try as many places as I could. Today, I am going to tell you about the one and only macaron ice cream sandwich in the UK - Yolkin.

Handful of heaven 

What makes Yolkin special is that they use organic eggs where the egg whites goes into the macaron and the yolk into the ice cream (Its a win-win situation, really), not to mention their ice creams are made without any preservatives or stabilizer. Since their flavour changes every week, we were lucky to snatch up a blueberry cheesecake and red bean flavoured sandwich on the day we visited. I absolutely love the blueberry cheesecake, the ice cream so creamy with a hint of saltiness from the cheesecake, and chunks of blueberries giving it the perfect amount of tartness. Ugh I want one right now.

So gorgeous and delicious

Yolkin does not have a fixed store and moves from location to location, currently they are trading as a pop up store inside Wham Bahn Mi (yellow building), on 40 Great Windmill St, London W1D 7LY. 

Friendly tip: they open only on Saturday and Sunday from 12.00pm to 4.00pm, and the sandwiches run out REALLY fast, so make sure to go as early as possible to snatch one.

To find out more about Yolkin, visit their official website.

To find out their flavours of the week , follow them on Instagram and Twitter.

Enjoy!

Love, 

Ashley

Rice Cooker Cake Recipes: Marble Butter Cake

Ever since I was a kid, butter cake has a special place in my heart. I am not sure why, but every time I see the tightly wrapped piece of cake in a cake store, my first instinct would be to buy it like there is no tomorrow. Now that I am older, there are times where I would still be craving for it but nonetheless be too lazy to go out just for a piece of cake, and my desire to bake it myself has unfortunately not been reciprocated because well, I do not own an oven.

That's when it hits me, a rice cooker. Of course! A rice cooker! As a proud Asian, I know that a rice cooker would not fail me, even in baking. So I have decided to bake a Marble Butter cake (20% for experiment purpose, and 80% purely from the determination to eat a cake). It was fairly easy to make and the result was surprisingly good. To say that I was excited would be an understatement.

The cake turned out super moist and buttery, with a hint of bittersweet chocolate from the cocoa powder. Friendly tips though, the texture of the cake does vary when it is in a different temperature. It would be slightly denser when warm but no doubt at its moistest state, and slightly dryer and lighter when you place it in the fridge for a few hours/overnight. Personally I prefer eating the cake chilled as it has more of that store-bought feel to it, but with such a versatile cake, it is up to you to decide how you like it best, really.  

So there you go, a cake made with a rice cooker. I am super happy with the result and I can't wait to make many more! Below is the recipe, do let me know what you think!

   

Rice Cooker Marble Butter Cake

Recipe by Ashley Ooi

Moist and buttery marble cake, made with a rice cooker!

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 50 minutes
Total time: 2 hours (including cooling time)
Ingredients

• 200g Self-raising flour
• 1 tsp Baking powder
• 150g Brown sugar
• 250g Butter (salted)
• 1 tsp Vanilla essence
• 3 Eggs
• 2 tbsp Cocoa powder
• 30ml Milk

Cooking Directions

1. Make sure the butter is in room temperature.
2. Beat butter and sugar with a electric mixer until it becomes soft and fluffy.
3. Add in one egg and beat with mixer, repeat for the second and third egg.
4. Mix until creamy.
5. Add in vanilla essence and mix again.
6. Sift flour and baking powder in a bowl, add into the butter mixture.
7. Fold the mixture carefully with a spatula.
8. Add milk and fold until no lumps present.
9. Take out 1/3 of the batter, fold in cocoa powder until well combined.
10. Slightly grease the rice cooker pot.
11. Put in one scoop of the pale batter in the middle of the pot, then a scoop of chocolate batter on top of it. Continue piling with the same pattern to achieve the swirl.
12. Choose the 'Cake' function on your rice cooker, and press 'cook'. Use a toothpick to check doneness. 
13. Once the cake is done, take out your pot and let the cake rest for 1 hour (minimum 30 minutes if you really can't wait any longer).
14. Once cooled, flip the cake out and Enjoy!

Eat-Ying around the world : The best stroopwafels in Amsterdam!

Imagine waking up in a cold winter morning, the weather was surprisingly pleasant, so you get ready, with a camera in hand and map in your pocket, you walk out your rented apartment and slowly snail through the stairs so steep that you could barely see the next step. Just when you open the main door, a strong and crisp wind rushes through your hair, reminding you to take a brush or wear a hat out the next day. It was cold, almost too cold to walk on the street, but heck, "you are in Amsterdam", you thought to yourself. And so you walked, stopping once in a awhile to capture the beauty of the city, houses so aligned with windows looking like an enormous chocolate bar the size of your bed, naked trees by the river that become the perfect match for the colorful water houses, pondering upon why you aren't living here for good. You walked leisurely, stumbling upon unique cafés and occasionally cursing yourself for not having a better look out whenever a cyclist broke the traffic law and have decided that it is okay to almost run you over (kidding. But not really). 

Across the street, you see a market. "Albert Cuyp" you silently read. Croaking a faint smile, you walk into the street, knowing exactly what you are going to find in this seemingly never ending market. From locals enquiring the freshness of vegetables, to the minimal tourist attempting to bargain their way through a cheaper 'I love Amsterdam t-shirt', the market has almost everything you could think of. Suddenly, a lovely cinnamon-y scent rush through your nostril, as if it is daring you to find where it is hidden. It lead you to a petite food truck, 'traditional family recipes' printed on one of its walls, you increase your pace, heart beating slightly faster. That's when you see it, a small but striking checked red and blue flag sticking out of the truck, words printed so bright that you could almost feel your heart skip a beat by reading it:

'Stroopwafels'. 

Okay, maybe that was too much of a dramatic introduction, but oh man, ooh man, stroopwafels, oh stroopwafels, why art thou so addictive? It almost feels like a sin to not share this to the world, because I am not talking about any random kind of stroopwafels. Forget about the ones you get in the supermarkets, the ones you get in the souvenirs store, or the ones you get in the airport (believe me I have tried them all). No no, I am talking about the Original Stroopwafels in the Albert Cuyp Market in Amsterdam.

Look at it, how glorious. 

Imagine getting it fresh from the rather dashing owner of the store. The stroopwafel is slightly warm to touch, but perfect for the biting cold weather. It is as big as the size of a baby's face, and you are secretly proud of yourself for ordering the chocolate covered version (because everything is better with chocolate). The owner helpfully remind you to eat from the non chocolate covered part towards the chocolate, "for the ultimate experience", he said with a croaked smile. You obeyed, finally biting into it. As if the buzzing street has gone silent and everything moves in slow motion, cinnamon scented steam warmly hugs your face, crumbly waffle that breaks with each bite, warm and gooey caramel oozes out, slightly staining the napkin and your fingers. Then comes the chocolate, its bittersweet taste fills your palate, not overly sweet nor bitter, you silently appreciate the fact that it doesn't annoyingly stick to your teeth like the ones you have tasted before. With a moan you roll your eyes because that is the moment you realise that you are never going to accept other stroopwafels anymore. 

Oh wow, I am back. 

I am not kidding when I say that it was the best stroopwafel I have had so far. My sister and I liked it so much that we went back the next day and bought 3 packs to bring back home for future cravings healing session. If you have the opportunity to visit Amsterdam, do stop by and get one (or many more, no one is judging) for yourself so that you can brag about it when you get back home. 

You can find the stall in the middle of the Albert Cuyp Market in Amsterdam, just in front of the famous Amsterdam restaurant Bazar, located at number 182. Every stall in the market has its own number, and you will need to find stall 134. When in doubt, trust your nose and follow the smell. 

For more details of the history or contact information of Original Stroopwafels, visit their Official website.

If you would like to see the stroopwafels in action, check out Eat your Kimchi's take on it, they've made a video!

And there it is, my first post about my favorite food in Amsterdam. If you have tried it before, feel free to leave a comment below sharing your story, and if you have not, I would love to know where was your best stroopwafels experience! 

Love, 

Ashley 

Let the Journey Begin!

Once upon a time, there was a little girl. She had short hair, glasses hanging on her rather chubby face, wearing jeans and t-shirt that could barely fit her, and just by looking at her, people would know that she was a fan of food. She would slurp on the freshly cooked noodles with no regards to the repercussion, indulge in the scrumptious pizza covered with gooey cheeses having zero care towards what people say behind her back, because she was simply in love. She was in love with the idea of how magical a few ingredients could turn into something so lovely, and how a simple plate of food could make her feel so warm and fuzzy. 

And yes, she was me. 

Growing up, it was a struggle to fit in, because I looked different, heck, I felt different. I was beyond self-conscious to the point that I would just shut down and hide myself in my imaginary black-hole, while auto piloted through conversations with people. And so I have stopped that little girl, I've stopped her from eating, and I've stopped her from loving.

And here we are, to the present me. Even though I look different now, deep down I know that little girl is with me, only this time, the adult me is holding her hand, promising her that we will continue on our foodie journey, in the appropriate manner. That is why I started this blog, to share with you our love for food, our foolproof recipes, newly discovered must-eat places, and maybe help you in getting through that dreadful late night cravings without feeling ultra guilty the next day. 

So take my hand, and let's go Go GO!