When Pete and I moved from London to a small village close to Abergavenny at the start of 2019, one of the cuisines we really missed was Turkish. In our old home in North Finchley, London we had easy access to several excellent Turkish restaurants which we visited often! After moving, although we enjoyed the Turkish food we were able to find locally, neither the breadth of their menu (though they offer a more extensive menu now than back in 2019) nor the size of their portions matched our London favourites, even though what we ate was good and tasty. When Anatolian Turkish Restaurant set up s ..read more

Parallel is the sibling restaurant to Pasture Cardiff, a high quality steak restaurant that opened in Cardiff 3 years ago, two years after owner Sam Elliott launched Pasture Bristol. Elliott introduced Parallel in March last year and the small plates restaurant opened to almost immediate praise from critics and customers alike. At a time when hospitality is facing many challenges, Elliott’s star is rising fast with Radius (another Bristol restaurant), and Nightshade (a speakeasy-inspired basement bar in Cardiff) also under his belt. Next to open will be all-day restaurant Prime (in Bristol), w ..read more

A simple noodle dish garnished with egg, cucumbers, and carrots with a sesame sauce, Liang Mian is a popular dish sold from casual eateries, street food stalls and convenience stores across Taiwan. This recipe is from Made in Taiwan by Clariss Wei, published by Simon and Schuster. Read our detailed book review of Made In Taiwan. Print Cold Sesame Noodles | 涼麵, Liang Mian There’s a cold noodle vendor called Liu Mama’s 劉媽媽麵館 in Taipei that’s open exclusively from 9:30 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. By virtue of their hours, they serve a distinct class of night owls who crave sesame-drenched noodles w ..read more

Crispy, soft and flaky scallion (spring onion) pancakes are a popular street food in Taiwan. Made from a wet, unleavened dough rather than a batter, they are often eaten for breakfast, but can be enjoyed at any time of the day, with or without an egg. Fried fresh for each customer, vendors usually roll them up and pop them into a paper bag with the top sticking out, ready to eat. This recipe is from Made in Taiwan by Clariss Wei, published by Simon and Schuster. Read our detailed book review of Made In Taiwan. Clarissa provides the following Photography note to describe the image: “The scene ..read more

“Taiwanese food, that’s basically the same as Chinese, isn’t it?” That’s the refrain I heard from quite a few people when we planned our two holidays to Taiwan. The answer is “yes and no“, but that “no” is no small thing at all. Yes, a large swathe of Taiwanese cuisine has similarity to Chinese dishes (though there are many divergences that have evolved over time), but there are several other major influences, not least of which is the food of indigenous peoples who inhabited Taiwan for at least five millennia. (A brief history!) There are signs of human habitation on Taiwan that go back tens ..read more

A joint of beef cooked slowly in a braising liquid of beef stock, red wine and Pedro Ximinez sherry with whole shallots, sliced onions and carrots makes a perfect winter warmer and also fits the bill whenever you’re seeking comfort. This recipe can be served two ways: cook the beef joint until it’s tender but retains its shape so you can serve it in slices alongside a gravy made from the cooking liquid, or leave it in the slow cooker a while longer until you can shred the meat easily and mix it into the liquid for a homely stew. We recommend a good quality joint of beef, such as the 28 days d ..read more

This refreshing lime soda with strawberries is a perfect summer drink featuring fresh strawberries, lime juice, brown sugar or maple syrup, and an unexpected pinch of black pepper. It’s from food writer and photographer Uyen Luu’s latest book, Vietnamese: Simple Vietnamese Food to Cook at Home In the recipe’s introduction Luu remembers her first taste of this soda during a childhood birthday in Saigon. Read our full review of Vietnamese Vegetarian by Uyen Luu. Print Lime Soda with Strawberries (soda dâu) Sài Gòn, 1980, I was a little girl and it was my birthday. The monsoon rains hit hard o ..read more

This quick and simple cold noodle recipe is immensely satisfying and perfect for a quick lunch or dinner when you’re short on time but craving great flavours. It’s also a handy way to use up ingredients from your fridge or store cupboard. Read our full review of Vietnamese Vegetarian by Uyen Luu. Print Quick and Lazy Drenched Cold Noodles (mì trộn) This is a delicious and easy way to prepare a super-fast lunch on busy days and great to use up things you have sitting around in the refrigerator and store cupboard. Make sure your garlic and shallot oil is nice and hot. I like to use a cold-pre ..read more

This beautiful black bean aubergine recipe from Uyen Luu’s Vietnamese Vegetarian cookery book delivers maximum flavour for very little effort, taking only 10 minutes to prep and 20 minutes to cook. If you like, you can also make the sauce ahead of time and reheat when ready to serve Read our full review of Vietnamese Vegetarian by Uyen Luu. Print Black Bean Aubergines (cà tím xào sốt tương đen) The enticing, seared golden criss-cross on these aubergine (eggplant) slices is definitely a crowd-pleaser. Don’t tell anyone how easy this is to prepare. Note that shop-bought black bean sauces will ..read more

Vietnamese Vegetarian by Uyen Luu follows on from her two previous books Vietnamese: Simple Vietnamese Food to Cook at Home and My Vietnamese Kitchen. I looked through both of these very beautiful books when they first came out but as a vegetarian, I found that even those recipes that looked as though they might be vegetarian often contained fish sauce and other non-vegetarian ingredients. Indeed the author has said herself that “fish sauce is the staple of Vietnamese cooking”, so I was very excited to see that Luu had written a vegetarian book because I wanted to see whether it was possible t ..read more