Feliz Segundo Aniversario! Brummie Gourmand is 2!

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

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

Game, Set & Match at The British Oak

If you weren’t aware, Stirchley has had a bit of a revitalisation in the food world. Loaf has been leading the way to change up the run of traditional Balti houses.

More recently, The British Oak has joined the area with a focus on great food and drink in a traditional pub setting. It has been taken over by The Humble Pub Company (owners of The Prince of Wales, The Dark Horse and Cheval Blanc) and was refurbished throughout earlier this year, whilst keeping the vast majority of its original features. Under the eye of Executive Chef Paul Maders, it’s also had a revival in the kitchen too.

I’d been invited along to try out their Game Night: a 5 course tasting menu from their A la Carte Menu (available Weds -Sat, 5:30 pm -9 pm), highlighting the best in game with a few sweet treats too. It was also partnered with a choice of Wine or Beer, selected to gel with the courses, and hosted by the Restaurant Manager, Helen Morton.

 

First up was the Pigeon:

This came served with carrot puree, roasted shallots and a celeriac remoulade. The pigeon was served pink and the meat remained moist throughout. My favourite accompaniment was the celeriac remoulade. It had a great tangy mustard flavour to it, which I believe came from a bit of horseradish lurking in there. The shallot was sweet, and the carrot was sweet with a touch of warmth from spice in there.

Partnered drinks for this course were:

  • Wine: Cote du Rhone
  • Beer: Crafty Dan 13 Guns

 

Our second course was Roast Pheasant:

This was a breast of pheasant accompanied with a confit leg bon-bon, fondant potato, apple, pear and root vegetables. The breast had retained its moisture well and was very tender, whilst keeping its gamey flavour intact. The fondant potato was excellent, and the bon-bon just melted away happily in the mouth.

Partnered drinks for this course were:

  • Wine: Forgot to write it down (sorry!)
  • Beer: A Belgian Dubbel

 

The final meat course of the evening was Loin of Venison.

The meat was cooked rare, my personal preference, and was delicious. It was complimented by a crunchy potato rosti, tart wild berries, wild mushrooms, braised red cabbage, spinach and a deliciously rich red wine sauce.

Partnered drinks for this course were:

  • Wine: A Coffee Pinotage
  • Beer: Purity Ubu

 

Our ‘Pre Dessert’  was a Cherry Sorbet.

Topped with a fresh raspberry, this was a delicious and luxuriant smooth sorbet which reminded me of a cherry bakewell tart.  The only thing missing to complete the effect would be a touch of amandine. It went down well and prepared our taste buds for the final course.

Partnered drinks for this course were:

  • Beer: Cherry Lambic

Pumpkin Pie

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This is one not usually seen on British menus, a shame with the amount of pumpkin flesh wasted at this time of year by Jack-O-Lantern carvers. The pumpkin pie wasn’t too sweet and hit the right balance for me, topped with toasted pumpkin seeds, vanilla ice cream and a berry jus.

Partnered drinks for this course were:

  • Wine: Argentinian Torrentes dessert wine
  • Beer: Titanic Porter

I was really impressed by what was on offer and it’s worth a trip out of the city centre to visit here. I certainly left into the chilly Autumnal evening, radiating with an internal glow, stuffed and happy and am making plans to return again with Wifey so she can experience it too!

 

Disclaimer: For this evening, I was a guest of Paul Fulford and the team at The British Oak, 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: 09/11/2016

Where: The British Oak, 1364 Pershore Rd, Stirchley, Birmingham B30 2XS. 0121 458 1758.

Who: The British Oak