Tag: Birmingham

Preview: Rosies Birmingham

aroundbrum, brummiegourmand, multi, nonfood

If you’ve been down the clubbing centre of Birmingham recently, you may have noticed 6 on Broad Street has disappeared and has instead been replaced by Rosies, Broad Streets newest Super Club. Wifey and I were invited to pop down and have a preview prior to opening tomorrow (with their launch party hosted by DJs Scott Mills  & Chris Stark off of that Radio 1).

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Owners Stonegate Pub Company have sunk £1 million into the refit to split the venue into five themed rooms over two floors.

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Downstairs is the Montana bar with a large cocktail menu of Martinis and Mojitos with exposed lighting and bare woods giving it a rustic, relaxed feel, and streetfood style stuffed crust pizza on sale throughout the afternoon and into the evening.

Perhaps the biggest room upstairs is DAO (A Chinese proverb for  the way). It takes it’s inspiration from a combination of Las Vegas and Pan Asian influence with an Asian inspired cocktail menu and LED “chopstick lighting”.

 

For those who like their clubbing a little more nostalgic there’s Retro with neon paint a light up dance-floor and a cheese filled party playlist.

 

Playing R&B will be The Vault which we sneaked into as it’s getting ready for its big showing tomorrow night and there’ll be hidden ‘VIP Bourbon booth’s overlooking the DJ and dancefloor.

 

And the final room is the Laundrette, a speakeasy bar with the illusion of being a laundry with a touch of quirky character and even a roof terrace to look out over the city skyline.

 

With one of the biggest investments in Stonegate Pub Co’s history they’re hoping to show their dedication to Birmingham’s clubbing scene and look out for more happenings over the weekend.

 

Disclaimer: For this preview evening, I was a guest of Stonegate Pub Co. & Lucre PR, wifey and I enjoyed a couple of complimentary cocktails and got a goody bag to take home. 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: 17/08/2017

Where: Rosies Birmingham, 259-262 Broad St, Birmingham, B1 2HF

Who: Rosies Birmingham, Stonegate Pub Company

Siamais-ing

aroundbrum, Brum Bloggers, brummiegourmand, restaurants

Now, Chinese food is a bit of a problem for me. As Wifey’s parents owned their own restaurant for many years, I’m a little bit spoilt when I go over for dinner.

However, Thai food, that’s a treat that I don’t often get to do, which is rubbish as there’s plenty of restaurants in Birmingham offering amazing Thai food.

The newest restaurant on the block is Siamais at Oozells Square Brindleyplace.

The new owner is Nishil Nathwani, creator of the Aluna cocktail bar at The Mailbox.  His parents previously ran Thai Edge, who occupied the space prior to Siamais.

The cocktails pedigree from Aluna has carried over as part of the dual concept of Siamais, accompanied by a range of South East Asian dishes.

The decor is a mix of traditional items like baskets and lanterns but in a modern setting. The reason for tonight’s visit was part of a ‘blog date’ arranged by Birmingham Bloggers. I’d decided to catch up with a good friend in the shape of Mr David “BrumHour” Massey.

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After getting settled down, we started off the evening with a bit of a show. The Bang Pai Falls  is from their Book of Siam, their specially themed cocktails. The description was “Overproof Rum with Cherry & Vanilla notes and cranberry juice. Names after the clear blue waterfall, you’ll see why!” It was a bit of a showstopper and there were a lot of onlookers in the restaurant (for the first time) when it arrived:

We decided to call him Steve as I thought it looked a little like the monkey from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs’!

Onto our starters, I chose Soft Shelled Crab, a deep fried soft shelled crab smothered in chilli and salt.  Dave went for Chicken Tom Yum Soup, a Thai classic with chicken, kaffir lime, lemongrass, mushroom, galangal, chilli and coriander.

My Soft Shell Crab had a crisp batter with the nicely balanced flavour of crab coming through.  A touch of black pepper would have possibly lifted if further. The crunchy legs were my favourite part, with a flavour akin to a crab version of pork crunch, if you get what I mean.

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Dave was certainly enjoying his Tom Yum Soup. I snagged a piece of chicken and some broth. The chicken was delicate, with the lemongrass coming through as a strong note, and the heat of the galangal and chilli following in quick succession. One thing I would’ve loved on the side was a prawn cracker or two to steal some of the broth from Dave when he wasn’t looking.

Our second set of cocktails, which turned out to be our first (more on that later) arrived:

Mine was the Dark Side of the Moon, Glenmorangie, blood orange and cherry. It was sweet and silky with a citrus finish and a whiff of whisky to the nose, but it didn’t linger on the palate as some whisky cocktails can.

Dave plumped for an Apple & Kiwi Mojito, white rum, mint, kiwi and apple syrup. I snagged a sip and it was a nice take on a classic mojito, with the kiwi adding an extra dimension and green apple keeping the bite.

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For main I chose Lamb Massaman Curry.

I’m actually reminded of another visit to a Thai restaurant a few years back, when four of us ordered rice and three mains to share as we’d stopped for lunch. I was insistent on ordering Lamb Massaman, much to the grumbling of my fellow diners who wanted one each of red, yellow and green curries. I’d nipped to the loo just after the food arrived and upon my return to the table, one solitary piece of lamb was sitting in a small puddle of the middle of the dish. I was most upset!

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If you’ve always stuck to green or red curry, I’d really suggest giving this a try. It’s a completely different dish to the others. Made, in this case, with coconut milk, potato, peanuts and onion along with star anise. It’s one of Thailand’s most popular dishes and I can see why, it’s certainly one of mine. I was happy to devour the lot and the accompanying sticky coconut rice quickly to avoid a repeat of my previous experience.

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The erstwhile #Brumhour chose a Chicken Red Curry, chicken, coconut milk, bamboo shoots, aubergine, basil and red chilli. I once again did the blogger thing of darting my fork in to relinquish a piece from his plate. The chicken was again tender with a velvety spicy sauce.

Returning to the subject of #Steve, he had been bubbling away quietly in the corner of our table whilst we tried our others and got on with munching our starters and mains. We ordered dessert and I was moving Steve into position (he’s a sharing cocktail after all) and I dropped him…

… right on top of another glass, and contents pouring freely…

…and the whole restuarant paused for a breath.

Luckily the staff, probably warned that two of the most clumsiest and cloddish bloggers in Birmingham were due to visit, were marvelous. Within mere seconds, we’d been ushered to a new table and the disaster recovery team had swept the glass, mopped up the moisture and cleaned the table and chairs, whilst Dave and I were still rigid with adrenaline and embarrassment. I turned redder than Dave’s curry!

Thankfully nerves were returned back to normal with the arrival of #SonOfSteve and dessert:

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For dessert, I selected the Coconut Cup, a half coconut shell filled with coconut ice cream

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It was a really nice palate cleanser after a couple of heavy dishes, a light fragrant ice cream with nice chunks of coconut flesh throughout.

Dave went for something, in his words ‘photogenic’, so he had the Chocolate Ghirlanda, a coronet of dark chocolate with crunchy meringue, rich chocolate ice cream, white chocolate sauce and dusted with cocoa. Now if that doesn’t sound decadent, I don’t know what is!

It was rich, sweet, unguent and gooey, chocolate and all in all, deliciousness.

And that was it for our #mandate.  We survived and so did #Steve (less his innards). I’ll be back again, with Wifey in tow, when I next get a craving for Massaman… mmmmm… Massaman…

When: 27/07/2017

Where: Siamais, Six Brindley Place, 7 Oozells St, Birmingham, B1 2HS.

Who: Siamais

Disclaimer: For this visit, I was a guest of Spray Marketing and Siamais, arranged by Brum Bloggers, 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.

 

 

 

 

#GBTour – Chase Distillery at The High Field

aroundbrum, brummiegourmand, cocktails, multi, pub grub, restaurants

I like gin and I’m very glad it’s currently having a revival. It’s a curious spirit, being made from another (vodka, if you didn’t know) and steeped with a variety of botanicals.

So you can imagine how happy I was when this appeared through the post from the people at Chase Distillery.  There was also an invite to sample their wares at their #GBTour, part of the 10th anniversary of Chase Distillery, which highlights the crisp and dry Williams GB Gin. The Birmingham stop involved a supper at The High Field, an offer I couldn’t refuse!

Arriving at The High Field in glorious sunshine, I saw their transportation for the evening (a lovely Land Rover Defender 90, if I’m correct; why did they ever stop making them?). After a few snaps, it was inside to have a quick globe of G&T on The High Field’s terrace, before settling upstairs (happily seated next to the estimable Paul Fulford).

The evening promised to be a celebration of gin with a ‘Ginfused’ three course meal tied with three cocktails, each a different take on how to use gin.

Our first course was Gin Cured Salmon with Cucumber Salad and Lime Mayonnaise accompanied by a Gin Twist (GB Gin, Cucumber, Lime, Elderflower Liqueur, Tonic), served chilled than the traditional hot cocktail.

The salmon was light with juniper notes, and the zesty lime mayo perked up the dish remarkably. The Gin Twist reminded me of cucumber water cut with lime cordial. It was very refreshing and took the edge off the heat.

Our second course was Braised Lamb Shank, Rosemary Gnocchi, Broad beans, Peas and Juniper Jus, accompanied by a GB Fruit Twist (GB Gin, Red Vermouth, Chase Blackcurrant Liqueur).

The lamb, braised for 24 hours, was tender as you’d expect and fell off the bone. The greens delicious, with a crisp al dente bite. The rosemary gnocchi was a tad disappointing.  I know they can come baked, boiled or fried (fried in this case), but as flavoursome as they were, I found them a tad cloying to the roof of my mouth. I hankered for a roast potato or two, especially to go with the wonderful lamb and tart juniper jus.

The GB Fruit Twist was a nice cooler with the vermouth giving a red wine vibrancy, undercut with fruits, and a dry finish coming from the gin.

Our final course was a Gin & Raspberry Summer Pudding with Clotted Cream, accompanied by Rasberrilicious GB (GB Gin, Lemon Juice, Raspberry Juice).

The summer pudding really cheered me up, as Bill Bryson says

“It’s a funny thing about English diners, They’ll let you dazzle them with piddly duxelles of this and fancy little noisettes of that but don’t f#ck with their puddings, which is my thinking exactly.”

Mine too Bill, mine too! This was a lively example of a proper British dessert, thick carb-olicious bread, stuffed with fruit (and a not inconsiderate amount of gin) and unctuous, glossy, rich clotted cream, evoking memories of happy Sunday lunches at my Nan’s.  The plate was polished back to the ceramic!

The cocktail, on the other hand, was a touch too tart for my tastes with lemon and raspberry juices giving an acidic edge.  As an dessert, this could have done with a touch of sweetness

And the evening came to a close, all gin heavy but hangover free the next day (wonderful!). Goody bag in hand with a miniature G&T to make at home and a summer pudding recipe (inserted below), I stepped out into a sweet summer twilight as my carriage in the form of my long suffering Wifey awaited.

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When: 14/06/2017

Where: The High Field, 22 Highfield Road, Edgbaston, B15 3DP

Who: Williams Gin, Chase Distillery, The High Field

Disclaimer: For this visit, I was a guest of the wonderful team at The High Field & Chase Distillery (who also sent me a natty bottle and book), 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.

 

 

 

Bourbon meets The Bulls Head

aroundbrum, brummiegourmand, pub grub, restaurants

Davenports. that’s a name a lot of Brummies will remember (and a hell of a lot wont…). For nearly two centuries until the late 1980’s Davenports was the brewery of Birmingham, just off Broad Street, and their ‘Beer at Home’ slogan was known across the country.

It’s great to see the name come back (alongside sister brand Dares), with a planned 6 venues across Birmingham & The Black Country. The closest of which to me is The Bulls Head, just off Broad Street itself.

People may remember this pub as The City  Tavern, but it’s been converted into a beautiful traditional pub, with plenty of classic features and nods to the history of the Davenports name across the venue.

Anyway, back on subject. The reason for this evening’s visit was an invite from Gerard, the Manager, who had invited myself and a colleague down for a bourbon or four in the company of Bulleit and Buffalo Trace Bourbon.

Before that, time for Mint Julep (mint leaf, bourbon (Buffalo Trace), sugar syrup, and crushed ice), a nice, clean and simple palate cleanser to prep the taste-buds, whilst we ensconced ourselves at the rear of the bar.

Out hosts for the evening were Gavin Jones and Matt East, covering Bulleit and Buffalo Trace bourbons respectively. and taking us on a journey through how Bourbon came to be, the rules around producing and the distinctiveness of each of the bourbons for tasting.

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First up we were told both tales of how Ireland and Scotland both claim to have invented the oaky spirit. The Irish claiming to have learned it via the spice road and the distilling of perfume for men, whilst the Scots claim to have made it via accidentally fermenting grain in horse saddlebags.  Whoever made it first is lost in the annals of history and much grumbling.

We then learnt about its birth in the US with the frontiersmen making moonshine through to the categories we know today. We also learned their varied categories of whisk(e)y such as Rye (at least 51% rye), Malt (at least 51% malted barley), Bourbon (at least 51% corn  / maize), and Corn (at least 80% corn / maize), with bourbon and corn both requiring virgin oak barrels.

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Our first neat drop of the evening was Bulleit Bourbon (65% corn 28% rye, 4% malted barley). revived in 1987, by Thomas E. Bulleit, Jr. Inspired by his great-great-grandfather Augustus Bulleit, who made a high-rye whiskey between 1830-1860. It has a high Rye content compared to most bourbons, allowing for a spicier finish than most bourbons, there was heady wood-smoke and peppery to begin then descending into an almost marmalade flavour, a very agreeable drop.

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Next to taste, the Buffalo Trace, a Kentucky straight bourbon, and a well regarded, well rounded one at that. It’s aged 8 years, a rarity for a US bourbon, and rigorously checked by 14 tasters at the distillery (what a great job to have). The flavour could be described as smooth, and went down like velvet.

As we were mid way through it was time for a food breather:

Our sharing platter had spicy lamb burgers, bourbon glazed chicken wings, asian slaw and sweet potato fries. The lamb burgers were absolutely delicious, made with the same meat as their lamb koftas. The wings were slathered in a rich, sticky glaze and were deliciously tender inside. They were served with a refreshing mint and cucumber dip which i couldn’t stop dipping the crunchy (yes actually crunchy for a change) Sweet Potato Fries. It was a great sampler of their street food inspired menu , one which I’ll be back to revisit.

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Back to the whisk(e)y. Our next dram was a Bulleit Rye. This ‘frontier’ whiskey is made with a 95% rye and 5% malted barley mash, and a winner of many gold medals. This whiskey pulled no punches in flavour,. deceptively soft to begin with it hits with an  exceptionally oaky flavour and descends into a toffee / caramel flavour.

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Our final neat whisk(e)y of the evening was an Eagle Rare, a premium blend from Buffalo Trace, aged 10 years, from carefully selected barrels. A very very complex, enigmatic and expressive flavour which I  struggled to pull any individual notes out of, but overall, slightly sweet and spicy.

To round out the night we had a Buffalo Trace Old Fashioned, one of the most classic of whisk(e)y cocktails, and one that will earn your the wrath of many a bartender on a busy night if ordered in great quantities. Muddled in bitters and that zesty orange citrus burst, always a lovely way to take your whisk(e)y.

Post all this lovely Bourbon, Gerard was nice enough to have a sneaky peek at the upstairs suite, in the final touches currently. It’ll be hosting live music and relaxed dining and looks to be a gem of a location, and one I’ll be revisiting, I mean it’s almost a local…

When: 23/05/2017

Where: The Bulls Head, 38 Bishopsgate Street, Birmingham, B15 1EJ

Who: The Bulls Head, Davenports, Buffalo Trace, Bulleit Bourbon

Disclaimer: For this visit, I was a guest of Gerard and Davenports, 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.

Feliz Segundo Aniversario! Brummie Gourmand is 2!

aroundbrum, brum bites, brummiegourmand, caffeine, multi, nonfood, outsidebrum, pop-up, pub grub, restaurants, Streetfood, Uncategorized

It’s hard to believe it’s been TWO YEARS since my first post. I gave an update on what the first year had held so I thought I’d give you an update on Year 2!

This year has been an interesting one so far, having been shortlisted for the Midlands Food Drink and Hospitality Awards Blogger of the Year, the first anniversary of Geeky Brummie on Brum Radio, the launch of the Geeky Brummie Podcast, and lots and lots of blogging.

Some personal highlights have been:

and

  • Enjoying Beef & Malbec at Gaucho

Choosing just a dozen of the things I’ve been up to was difficult so head on through the archives to read more!

To finish, a quick thank you, again, to long suffering Wifey and thank you to all those who’ve taken time to read my little corner of the internet. Here’s looking forward to year 3!

Punjab Perfection at Canal Square

brummiegourmand

In keeping with the theme of getting more local, Wifey and I decided to try our nearest (and newest) local restaurant in the shape of Canal Square. Knowing #BrumHour‘s taste for Indian food, we invited him along too!

Canal Square specialises in high end Punjabi Cuisine and Cocktails, taking over the unit which was formerly Loves Restaurant, a few paces from JuJu’s Cafe and a stone’s throw from the Barclaycard Arena.

On their website, they describe themselves as an eclectic Punjabi dining experience. They do tasting menus, taking you around the Punjab region but for this evening, we thought we’d try their la carte “Glasshouse” menu.

Before tucking in, Wifey picked their signature Tequila and lime based cocktail which was sweet and refreshing, so much so, she changed her plan from choosing another cocktail from the menu and stuck to that for the evening. Dave and I went for Diet Coke, accompanied by ice and a slice.

Harvey Bains, maître d’ and owner, introduced us to the menu and concept. Each dish is balanced by the staff but can be tailored to how ‘hot’ or ‘wet’ you want it to be. We decided to skip the starters and instead went for poppadoms followed by mains.

The poppadoms were served as triangles rather than the usual “plate”, which most of us were used to, and was accompanied by mint sauce and mango chutney.

The poppadoms were crisp with no greasy film to them and were served warm.  It was nice to have them as good sized portions rather than breaking them ourselves and chasing shards around the plate with a finger (I hope I’m not the only one that does this!). Special mention must be made for the mango chutney, which was sweet and had a nice piquant edge to it. They were that good that we ordered a second portion!

For main I went for their Punjabi Murgh (chicken) signature with a Peshawari naan. Mine was a really nice balance of spice and flavour, with enough of a kick to get the heat going and the flavour coming through. The Peshawari naan, though nicely cooked and fluffy, was a slight disappointment as the paste filling ended up more in the serving dish rather than in my mouth, though what I ate was delicious.

Wifey went for the Butter Chicken, made of Punjabi butter chicken mildly spiced, mixed nuts, tomato simmered rich dish, accompanied by Pilau rice.

Wifey doesn’t do spice so this was perfect for her. It was rich, but not in an oily sense, with just enough spice coming through to give it a solid flavour, and lots of good sized chunky chicken pieces. Her pilau rice was colourful, with addition of vegetables, and was well cooked.

#BrumHour chose a Chicken Jalfrezi and Garlic Naan.  From the noises of delight coming from across the table, I am sure he was relishing in having the rare chance for a curry rather than his traditional Chinese.

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We all chose mint ice cream for dessert, which came sprinkled with a pistachio crumb. This was a perfect finish for the meal as it was light, smooth and velvety with the pistachio crumb adding a second texture to mix things up.

It’s the little touches which elevate a place and the bill came in quite a stunning fashion: an ornate silver box laden with their signature chocolate truffle shaped like a Brazil nut, this went sharpish.

We all very much enjoyed our food and the quality of the ingredients came through in the flavours of the dishes.  We shall certainly be making a repeat visit soon.  This could be the perfect place for a pre-visit or post-visit meal, if you are heading to the NIA for a show.

When: 24/01/2017

Where: Canal Square, Canal Square, 100 Browning Street, Birmingham, B16 8EH

Who:  Canal Square

New Menu at El Borracho de Oro

brum bites, brummiegourmand, cocktails, restaurants

I was invited by Emma Yufera-Ruiz of El Borracho de Oro to go an sample some of her amazing Tapas as part of their menu relaunch, unfortunately I couldn’t make it so instead George Elsmere (Caramel Latte Kiss) bravely stepped into the breach for me…

Tapas is one of my favourite styles of food, so imagine my delight when Ryan asked me to play roving reporter and pay a visit to El Borracho de Oro.

Tucked away in Edgbaston, the restaurant is independently owned with a focus on authentic Spanish cuisine. We were welcomed with an enormous Sangria (just the way I like it) and settled at a table near the kitchen. The main restaurant is cosy without being kitschy, and I always enjoy being able to see the chef working from the kitchen pass.

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We started with a selection of dishes from the tapas menu. Vieria con Morcilla (Grilled Scallops, Black Pudding, Piquillo Sauce) was the real stand-out. The black pudding was packed with flavour without being overly rich, as I often find with the British version. The scallop was plump and tender, perfectly cooked. They could have just kept bringing this dish all night and I think our table would have been happy!

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The Patatas Bravas were crisp on the outside and fluffy in the middle. The addition of Aioli alongside the classic Bravas dressing lifted the dish with a little freshness. We also tried Calandracas (Ham, cheese and chorizo parcels cooked in beer batter), Costillas de Cerdo (Slow roasted Pork ribs, sweet potato puree) and Guisantes Salteados con Huevo Cocido (salted garden peas with onion and garlic topped with a boiled egg). Everything we ate was beautifully unfussy with good ingredients allowed to speak for themselves. Deep fried cheese is always a winner with me, and the ribs were so well cooked they were almost hard to serve as the meat simply dropped off the bone.

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This was the point we found our eyes were bigger than our bellies. We’d previously decided that we’d like try two kinds of paella at our table of four, but all the tapas dishes were so generous in portion, we were already feeling pretty full. The Chicken and Chorizo Paella was full of huge pieces of chorizo (so often skimped on), and was a rather huge portion. Designed to share between two, this would be plenty for a dinner out if you’re in need of a treat on a budget, priced at £15. The Seafood Fideuà was equally generous, chock full of prawns and mussels. We were less convinced by ‘fideos’, which is a type of toasted pasta. It was a bit Spaghetti like, and our table were in agreement that we would have preferred paella rice. The flavours were delicious though, and we made a good dent in the huge dish.

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Almost full to bursting, we found a corner for tasters of Brownie, Tarta de Santiago (almond cake) and of course, Churros y Chocolate. I love Churros, and these are excellent. Light and crisp with a good helping of liquid chocolate for dunking.

El Borracho are producing truly excellent, authentic food, and the experience is heightened by their truly outstanding staff. Every single person we spoke to was incredibly friendly, passionate about the food and ready with recommendations. Owner Emma is exactly the same, and it’s clear her staff are carefully selected for their customer service skills.

In short, go. Let your waiter suggest some food, and roll home, full and happy.

Disclaimer: For this visit, George was a guest of El Borracho de Oro, 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: 07/02/2017

Where: El Borracho de Oro,  Harborne Court, Harborne Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 3BU

Who: El Borracho de Oro

Whisky meets Wok – Tasting Evening at Chung Ying Central

brummiegourmand, restaurants

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