Category: brummiegourmand

Whisky meets Wok – Tasting Evening at Chung Ying Central

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Regular readers would know I visited Chung Ying Central recently (and thoroughly enjoyed the experience too!). So when I was invited to return for a Whisky and Chinese food pairing along with Joe Ellis from Maxxium, how could I say no?

To start off, a quick Tsing Tao and the requisite Prawn Crackers – perhaps the ultimate Chinese food accompaniment? Our selection of whisky went across a fair selection of the brand:

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A varied selection as you can see, this was being partnered up with a range of Chinese cuisine (and a dish closer to home):

  • Duck in Plum Sauce
  • King Prawns in Black Bean Sauce
  • Crispy Belly Pork
  • Sweet and Sour Chicken
  • Salted Caramel Brownie

For each course, Joe introduced the particular whisky we would be sipping, what flavours and scent to expect and why he’s paired it with the specific dish.

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To begin, we had Duck in Plum Sauce and The Macallan Gold. The Macallan Gold is a single malt. They replaced the previous age statement varieties with colours five years ago. It’s produced from 9-15 y.o. first fill and refill sherry casks, it’s quite a bodied whisky with a citrusy note, which matched the duck well, as you could expect.

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The duck was delicious though plum sauce is not my natural choice. I usually go for Hoi-Sin sauce with duck but the plum was balanced out by the citrus and vanilla in the whisky, giving it a fruity pairing.

Next was The Naked Grouse with Sweet And Sour Chicken. The Naked Grouse is a recent joiner to the Famous Grouse stable.  It was one of the last creations of the company’s long-serving Master Blender, John Ramsay, who retired after forty years shortly before the whisky was released. As it’s a blended whisky, it takes on elements of other parts of the Maxxium brand in The Macallan and Highland Park. It’s got quite a mix of flavours in there, mainly dried fruits with a hint of spice.

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The sweet and sour chicken was artfully presented with a carved radish. Sweet and Sour chicken is one of those dishes that will never go out of fashion in the UK, as is General Tso’s chicken in the US. This was a solid example, with the fruity tang people expect, and the chicken had a nice light tempura style batter.

Then it was onto one of my all time favourite dishes, Crispy Belly Pork, paired with a Highland Park 12 Yr Old. Back to single malt territory, this is a lightly peated whisky. I LOVE peated whisky (can you guess which one will be my fave of the night?). This is classed as the gold standard all rounder, bringing the peats of Ilsay, the heather of the Highlands and the fruitiness of Speyside, with a sherry cask finish into one glass.  This would be the bottle I’d have in the cupboard to  cover all guests, if I only kept the one bottle!

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There is not much to say with Crispy Belly Pork; it’s one of those ultimate indulgent foods for me, and one which is tricky to replicate at home. This version had the skin just slightly ballooning giving that light crunch, keeping away the toughness that is the downfall of many versions of the dish.

Our penultimate dish was King Prawns in Black Bean sauce paired with Laphroaig 10 Yr Old. This is the original Laphroaig, with malted barley which is dried over a peat fire. The smoke from this peat, found only on Islay, gives it an almost medicinal flavour and the peaty vapours make this one of my favourite winter drinks which warms from the feet up.

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These king prawns were beasts. For some reason, I’ve noticed king prawns seem to be shrinking recently (or is it just my imagination?). These kept their shape and remained plump swimming between the onions and peppers, the sweet ingredients countering the deeply savoury black bean sauce.

Our final pairing was a Salted Caramel Brownie with a Jim Beam Double Oak. Bourbon is an American whisky, distilled from corn rather than the malt or wheat as is tradition in Scotland. This Double Oaked variety is first aged in charred American white oak barrels, then we pour it into another freshly charred barrel to mature for a second time. It was actually too oaky for me as I’m more of a peat fan (as you’re probably aware by now!) but I can see why it’s sharpness was paired to cut through the sweetness of the brownie.

 

Covering the brownie side, these were supplied to Chung Ying Central from Mrs Mills Makes Cakes. As mentioned previously, the Salted Caramel Brownie is a deliciously slice of unctuous goodness, which I heartily recommend.

This was an interesting evening as I’d never considered pairing Chinese Food with Whisky but this worked really well, and it was nice to see Scottish and American rather than Japanese whiskies being used.

Disclaimer: For this visit, I was a guest of Chung Ying Central & East Village PR, this provides no bias to the post. This blog is my own personal opinion and strives to provide an independent view, promoting, enjoying and reviewing the range of exciting food and venues in and around Birmingham.

When: 26/01/2017

Where: Chung Ying Central, 126 Colmore Row, Birmingham, B3 3AP

Who: Chung Ying Group

Ju Ju’s Round 2 – Adventures in Brunching

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Well, we said we wouldn’t be long.

If you read my previous post, you might know Ju Ju’s Cafe recently extended and added more dining space to the rear. To match the theme and their punky take on Modern British in the back, they’ve also had a makeover to the front area too, so an excuse to revisit again!

Naturally, Wifey  and I want to have a mooch at the new set up whilst partaking in one of Ju Ju’s famous breakfasts / brunches.

We chose to sit at Table Number 1, a pair of cosy wing-back chairs at the end of the new bar, with an appropriate size height table, and ordered drinks whilst we went through their extensive menu.

I had a Latte and Apple Juice, whilst Wifey went for Flat White and a freshly squeezed Orange Juice.

My latte was very pretty, with some magical trickery it seemed the coffee floated between layers of steamed and frothed milk, the apple juice came nicely chilled with ice.

Wifey’s Flat White was reported as nice and smooth. The Orange Juice was freshly squeezed, garnishes with a slice and ice and “refreshingly sweet” without the acidity of most oranges.

For breakfast, we were a little disappointed the platter for two (an old favourite of Wifey and I’s) had disappeared from the menu. Happily though, there’s enough variety to keep us both happy.

I went for the Full English (BIG), two bacon, two sausage, two fried eggs, tomato, beans, mushrooms, hash browns & two thick sliced toast.

 

There’s not much you can really say about a great fry up. It’s just a thing of beauty, the bacon was cooked well, sausages nice and meaty, egg yolks the requisite level of runny. The only thing the great breakfast expert, Birmingham Breakfast Club would probably argue with would be the lack of bean separation.

Wifey opted for an alternate Ju Ju’s classic, the Hash, crushed hash browns mixed with a medley of sausage, bacon, lightly sautéed onions and topped with fried eggs and tomato.

 

Wifey hadn’t tried it before and wanted to steer away from her usual choice of Eggs Benedict. She wasn’t disappointed by it either.  Served in a skillet pan, it was absolutely delicious, not overly salty or greasy – a perfect comforting brunch dish.  The egg yolks added a nice richness to the dish, which was just right.  There was also the option of toast and Hollandaise sauce with it, which Wifey didn’t have.

It was nice to have a cosy relaxed place for breakfast, away from the overly busy hotspots elsewhere in the city. Julia and the team are welcoming hosts and nothing ever seems too much trouble. You can see why in the summer it’s sometimes difficult to get a table, such is the draw!

 

When: 22/01/2017

Where: Ju Ju’s Cafe, Canal Square, 100 Browning Street, Birmingham, B16 8EH

Who:  Ju Ju’s Cafe

#BloggersBites at Chung Ying Central

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As it’s Chinese New Year tomorrow, it’s only fitting that I write about a visit to the CBD’s Chung Ying Central, fast becoming a darling of Colmore Row.

Since opening in early 2014, it’s been a fixture of the Colmore Food Festival and won numerous awards including ‘Brummies Choice’ Best Restaurant in 2016’s Birmingham Mail Poll.

The restaurant has no shortage of pedigree either as part of the Chung Ying Group, which has been established for over 35 years.  It started with Chung Ying itself, then branched out to Chung Ying Garden a few minutes walk away and now, Chung Ying Central.

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Central offers a differing selection to the main two restaurants, focusing on a more business-like crowd.  The main menu focuses on one of the widest dim sum menus ever seen, with over 100 options paired with a selection of delicious cocktails (such as the Shanghai Rose above).

Tonight’s evening was about introducing myself and some fellow bloggers to some of the wide range of cuisine on offer, ranging from Cantonese to Thai to Szechuan and Japanese. Central understands that people’s tastes are steering away from the traditional sweet and sour chicken.  Consumers are a little more savvier nowadays and wanting to experience a wider range of tastes in their cuisine, alongside a selection of teas (Iron Buddha, Oolong (Bao Li to the wife and in-laws), Jasmine and Pu-Erh) or Asian Beers (Sapporo, Tsing Tao and Chang).

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Post snacking on some moreish Prawn Crackers paired with a sweet and spicy chilli dip, it was time to get down to business with our selection of food for the evening which I decided to go with Oolong to pair up.

To start off:  Szechuan “Dan Dan” Noodle. Originating (as you guessed) from the Szechuan area of China, know for their liberal use of spice and pepper. The noodles are usually served in broth, accompanied with pickled vegetables and minced meat, usually pork.

According to Wikipedia, the name refers to a type of carrying pole (dan dan) that was used by walking street vendors who sold the dish to passers-by. The pole was carried over the shoulder with two baskets containing noodles and sauce attached at either end. As the noodles were affordable due to their low cost, the local people gradually came to call them dandan noodles, referencing the street vendors. Literally, the name translates as “noodles carried on a pole” but may be better translated as “peddler’s noodles”.

These wheat noodles (also available with egg noodles for those wishing to avoid the gluten) weren’t as spicy as expected but still rich in flavour, and a healthy portion of minced pork gave a good umami texture to balance them out.

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Next up was Honey and Garlic Chicken Karaage.  Steering away from the ubiquitous Korean fried chicken technique, this Japanese style is done in a tempura style batter and then deep fried in oil to get the crisp just right. Chung Ying uses chicken thigh rather than breast meat as they believe (and I agree) the flavour is much richer.

This was my favourite dish of the night; the smoked garlic and honey were in harmony and the chicken had just the right amount of crisp for my personal taste. I’d have been happy with just a bowl of this for the night and a quiet corner to tuck myself away in.

To follow was the Pei Par Tofu, named after a pear-shaped Chinese string instrument. Though you may think this dish would be vegetarian due to the tofu, you’d be mistaken. These were deep fried with prawn and pork mince inside, served with spring onion and mushrooms. Delicious and moreish.

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The next one along was Pan Fried Pork and Vegetable Steamed Bao. The char siu bao are my biggest weakness in life.  Those sticky sweet fluffy white balls of heaven are my all time fave dish and I have to restrain myself when we have them at our fairly regular dim-sum trips. This version was a little different: sweet dough served open with a savoury pork and vegetable filling. Some may find sweet and salty an odd combination but I always like a mix up with my tastes.

If you have been wondering what my header image was, this was perhaps the most left field of the nights dishes: Stuffed Pork Intestines in Salt and Chilli. Now this might sound like a nightmare to some but that’s what most sausages (well good ones) were made from for centuries.  I mean, black pudding and faggots are a Midlands staples so we can’t say much on that front! These were stunning, not dissimilar to pork belly in texture and taste, with a slightly more offal-like note to them.  These were nice and had a spicy topping of finely chopped chilli.

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The final savoury dish of the night was X.O. Lap Cheong Fried Rice. Colloquially known as ‘Chinese Sausage’, this covers a wide range of cured meats. This version was a dried hard sausage with a rich taste, which was laced throughout the fried rice with the usual peas. I do love Chinese Sausage so these was perfect for my taste.

We also had some desserts to round off; some traditional, some not so traditional. Originally Chung Ying Central didn’t serve desserts on opening but the clamour about the lack of pudding put change to that tactic pretty sharpish.

Covering the brownie side, these were supplied to Chung Ying Central from Mrs Mills Makes Cakes. Having met them at a food event, James and Will were impressed enough to have them start regularly supplying the restuarant. Good call I think! The Salted Caramel Brownie was my fave of the two but the Triple Chocolate Brownie was no slouch either.

On the more traditional side of the desserts was the Steamed Caramel Bun and Pan Fried Water Chestnut Paste. Again, I’m no stranger to a good custard bun, made with sugar and rich egg yolk to give that golden colour with a hint of caramel flavour. The chestnut paste was a new one on me. From the outside, its colour and shape reminded me of raw honeycomb; lmost jelly like in texture with big crunchy pieces of water chestnut (which I’d associate with a sir fry) buried inside. For a dessert, it was mild on the sweetness and quite pleasant as a palate cleanser.

This was perfect as we had one last little treat to try. I’ve previously had Canadian ice wine but Will introduced us to Changyu Golden Diamond Vidal Ice Wine. This fruity dessert wine had aromas of pear, lychee and honey. The process of icing allows a cleaner taste than usual.

And with that it was “joy geen” to Chung Ying Central until the next week but more on that soon…

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Disclaimer: For this visit, I was a guest of Chung Ying Central & East Village PR, this provides no bias to the post. This blog is my own personal opinion and strives to provide an independent view, promoting, enjoying and reviewing the range of exciting food and venues in and around Birmingham.

When: 18/01/2017

Where: Chung Ying Central, 126 Colmore Row, Birmingham, B3 3AP

Who: Chung Ying Group