Poor crayfish are ready for the pot

Poor crayfish are ready for the pot
Originally uploaded by danielharbord

My brother added a good dose of sichuan peppercorns, peanut oil and dried chilli - nice and hot for those little buggers

Poor crayfish are ready for the pot

Poor crayfish are ready for the pot
Originally uploaded by danielharbord

My brother added a good dose of sichuan peppercorns, peanut oil and dried chilli - nice and hot for those little buggers

Zaru Udon and Lenkon Salad @ Koya

Originally uploaded by danielharbord

Chocolate ice cream massacre

Chocolate ice cream massacre
Originally uploaded by danielharbord

My brother's homemade ice cream didn't scoop so we had to hack it up with a
knife! Now feeling very sick with all this chocolate on board. Delicious
though!

He used the recipe from our favourite restaurant St John in Fergus Henderson's recipe book entitled Nose To Tail Eating with a slight alteration since we don't have an ice cream maker. Had to blend, freeze, blend about 20 times!

Spicy Beef Noodles

Spicy Beef Noodles
Originally uploaded by danielharbord

Ok so I admit it. I'm noodle obsessed. It is true that when I lived in Japan I went on a 2 week holiday dedicated to finding the perfect bowl of noodles.

Noodles are simple. A little broth, a little meat, some nice crunchy vegetables and of course some firm slurp-friendly hand-made noodles. So why is it that London is incapable of serving anything that doesn't look remarkably similar to the polystyrene 'pot' noodle?

Well that was my opinion until a couple of months ago. Things have changed my friends. The Baozi Inn in Little Newport Street has provided us with a reason to jump for joy...or perhaps more aptly, to...how shall I put it?...SLURRRPPP!

As you might be able to tell I like this place. I like it a lot. Small cramped tables house eager hungry noodle fanatics as bowls and bowls of spicy refreshing noodles and other Chinese treats fly out of the kitchen at a fierce pace. Baozi Inn serves an awful lot. Their name suggests that their delicacy is Chinese steamed buns which are certainly good but I assure you if you go, and you should, get the spicy beef noodles!

The beef is braised to perfection. The noodles thick and firm. Mountain vegetables provide the perfect refreshing relief to the spicy, lethal Sichuan pepper infested broth. Heavenly. The first time I had this dish I wished that I had my worst hangover as this would have provided the perfect antidote. Oily and spicy enough to wake you up, but with enough nutrition to calm that pulsing head.

Don't take my word for it. Grab your loose coins and check it out!

Baozi Inn
25 Newport Ct
London, WC2H 7JS

Mao's Red Pork

Mao's Red Pork
Originally uploaded by danielharbord

Not as spectacular as some other dishes but believe me belly pork braised in oil, sugar and ginger is simply awesome. Allegedly 'brain food' for the Communist Party. Brain food? More like flab food! But oh, that gorgeous, soft, fatty goodness!

Well done brother once again!

Bruschetta

Bruschetta
Originally uploaded by danielharbord

Here's the bruschetta...best photo of my batch.