The Sugar Bar

Coming from an eating repertoire of fast food chain burgers, homemade giant patty burgers with Mummy’s healthy additions of sweetcorn, herbs, etc. and our Great British pub type burgers, it was time to add the good ol’ American fare to the list as well. I admit I have never been to the States (although I do want to) and have never been to an authentic American diner, or if I have, it’s a franchise outside the States or a sincere attempt to assimilate an American diner and its offerings. And if I could choose, I’d obviously fly myself to the US of A and sit in a classic  authentic diner, preferably one that does the whole stainless steal rail car and terrazzo floors shebang. 

Beggars can’t be choosers. And I must say, 10 mins away from my apartment where the wonderful Hoxton Square and Shoreditch area is, I found a jewel – The Diner. It’s pretty to look at. The waiting staff was American – blimey, surprise surprise. The music’s just so laidback and awesome with very warm and comforting decor. Just across the road from it, there’s American Apparel and other fairly American-looking shops. Somehow it seems this area’s just spot on for creating the whole illusion that you are somewhere in American munching on an American burger, dipping your American chunky chips (or fries as they call it) in way too much ketchup as you noisily suck a creamy chocolate milkshake through a white red striped straw. But hey, I’ve never been to the States so how much do I actually know what the heck I’m talking about or how you define a burger/chip/milkshake as American? Anyway, let’s not get academic or epistemological about this!

I know most people go to diners, like they would British greasy spoons, for the breakfast dishes and so, it’s common to find diners serving an all-day breakfast. But diners to me are quintessentially all about the burgers, the chips and the milkshakes. Burgers are great yea, I certainly cannot argue with that. Nevertheless, the chips are my defining point. The chips can’t be overdone which means they’re way past being golden brown, too crispy, crunchy with a hollow hardness. And they definitely can’t be served soggy and limp. They have to be cooked to perfection (whether baked or deep fried) and served just hot – perfectly golden brown crispy on the outside and fluffy soft but firm on the inside. Mmmm. Yes I do have a love affair with chips and the humble spud. At a pub, I’d douse them in malt vinegar and lots of salt. This time, no malt vinegar in sight, I did the usual and polished them off with ketchup. So delicious! The chips you see above are the Fat Fries (£2.80) and the Diner Fries (£3.00) which are cajun seasoned. 

I’m sure many of you share my love of the fellow chip – such a simple food that sometimes don’t get served right and thus is an infuriating situation – but cutting to the chase or the main dish that the chips actually accompany, let’s talk burgers.

I ordered the BBQ Chicken Burger (£6.50), pardon moi for not going for a red meat one but there’s something about bbq chicken I can never say no to. Thinking that it was going to be a simple chicken breast fillet grilled to perfection with herbs or something and then doused with a homemade bbq sauce, I was pleasantly surprised to find my chicken breast fillet had been grilled with some sort of bbq marinade. The meat had definitely been pre-marinated as it was so succulent, tender and flavourful all the way through the fillet. The juiciest piece of chicken I’d ever tasted in a burger! The burger is served open so you get to season it with whatever, or the serving of spicy mayo that comes with it, to your liking before wacking the tomato, pickle (or gherkin as they call it), lettuce and burger bun on top and consuming it like a real man with greasy hands and mayo-ed lips and all.

The fellow accompanying foodie Sya ordered the Fish Burger – a breaded haddock fillet served with tartare sauce (£6.50). Smelt damn fine from across the diner table. A lovely breaded coating, crispy and beautifully golden brown made with fresh and firm flesh of haddock. She was very pleased with the burger and polished it off quick! And she didn’t have anything bad to say about it. Neither did she show any regret for being unable to eat beef. Another bonus about the burger is that the bun’s just scrumptious! The bread’s toasted and lightly buttered and reckon it’s fresh from a bakery. Doesn’t taste like anything mass-produced. It’s wonderfully soft like cotton wool with a generous sprinkling of sesame seeds on the top. I have a bad habit of leaving the bread or bun if it’s too tough and icky. Not this time, no sir! Ate it all proper and that. Mum would’ve been proud.

Sya ordered a milkshade (£4.20) as well. She was a trooper through the whole meal and I admire her for it! I obviously have some lactose problems and so milkshakes, for me, would be very problematic. The Diner offers the usual flavours like vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and banana and other more special things like pistachio (which I was totally wishing I could have a taste of) and coconut. For the more exciting people, like Sya, you can order the 2 flavours combo (£4.50) or add Nutella or peanut butter at 50p extra. Doesn’t that sound ridiculously good?! Sya’s milkshake was a vanilla coconut one and the best thing about the shakes is that it’s mammoth. You get a full tall glass of shake and a metal cocktail-like jar of leftover shake which literally comes up to 2 servings so definitely order one to share. You so get your money’s worth with the shakes. And vanilla coconut is a mindblowing combination – that’s if you like coconut as it’s real coconuty like pina colada. 

The Diner also offers bar service so if you want a milkshake made Irish – go for the Hardshakes like Colonel Parker (£7.00) which is a wonderful concoction of Jack Daniels, vanilla ice cream, peanut butter and maple syrup. Sounds wonderful? I know it does. And that’s definitely what I’m trying next at this wicked diner. Seems like Hoxton has much to offer in eating places I’ll be making second/third/fourth trips to. It sure is awesome being in East London.

So yea, we left happy chappies. And it’s only been 2 days since my virgin visit and I’m already craving the next burger and a huge portion of fat fries. Gosh, I am sad and a real sucker for The Diner now aren’t I?

Right, it’s 2 in the morning here and it’s time for bed! The Hummingbird feature shall be posted next week. I’m sorry for the delay but I just remembered it’s the monthly Foodbuzz event ’24, 24, 24′ this weekend and I’m wonderfully excited about having my bestfriend come down this weekend for it.

Ooooh, intrigued? Well stay tuned for the 24, 24, 24 post on Sunday!

The Diner
Shoreditch Location:
128-130 Curtain Road
EC2A 3AQ

Tel: 020 7729 4452
www.goodlifediner.com

I am looking back into the past but I’m not writing about my life’s greatest hits – the food edition. Well, not really. But a plate of chow mein the way my mum used to make it back in the day with tomato ketchup was certainly a fab lunch treat to come home to after school. You see, in primary school, I had 3 out of 6 years of morning session classes; meaning, I got up well early at 6 in the morning to get to school for 7.20, looked forward to my packed lunch somewhere around 10 and then got saved by the bell at 12.50. Our lunchbreak for me, however, was never enough. Not that my packed lunch wasn’t sufficient. Rather, I was a growing kid who needed plenty of food to grow in both mind and body. So by the time I had gotten home and kicked off my dirty school shoes, I was starving.

I remember I’d sit in front of the TV with a glass of juice waiting for lunch and something like Ninja Turtles or Transformers would be playing on the cartoon channel which made life so much better. Chow mein was one of my favourite lunches. Really tasty, good-looking and quick to make. There was nothing I could fault it for. Another thing was, it was perfect for mum’s refrigerator-cleaning days when all the old stuff had to be cooked or chucked out. Sometimes, leftover meats got thrown into the wok as well and wooohooo. I never complained. We all know leftovers taste great the day after anyway! It’s a fact of life.

We used to visit this family restaurant, Baystreet 21, almost religiously every Sunday. It served a range of local and western dishes. It was always busy. The ambience was nice, the seats were comfy and us little kids loved to bounce around on it so it’d make squishy or farty noises. Year after year, as their clientele grew in size, the restaurant got busier and bigger. The kitchen got noisier and the staff got less friendly. But the food was good, the prices affordable and my dad got along awfully well with the restaurant manager. You could say this was our local ‘diner’. It was a place where families could take their naughty children for a good meal out, have a three course meal at affordable rates in a comfy, homey restaurant. And it was always really fun to watch the parents on the other table struggle with their bratty, spoon-banging children (we were always the most well-behaved ones). One of their memorable dishes, other than the fish & chips, was the chow mein. The first time I ordered it, I was quite blown away by the mammoth portion of noodles which were topped with heck loads of shredded lettuce and a sunny side up. But that plate of chow mein swept me off my feet because of that egg. It was like the whole thing was smiling up at me. Cracking the yolk and having it ooze all over the noodles was a little bit of heaven too.

I’ve had chow mein takeaways since then and my own stir-fry noodles on lazy cooking days. Odd as it sounds, however, the chow mein + sunny side up combo has somehow eluded me. I found myself wanting that little bit of heaven. A simple heaven within easy reach.

I admit this chow mein recipe looks nothing fancy but that’s the beauty of it. It’s nothing fancy. Use whatever you’ve got and it still ends up a pretty voluptuous dish. It’s not as soy sauce-ish, oyster sauce-ish as what you’d normally get at an eatery or takeaway but I love this ketchup-version nonetheless. Chow mein is all about the ethic of using what you’ve got anyway and turning the odd bits into a tasty treat.

This recipe serves 3-4. I don’t use a lot of soy sauce or salt in cooking so you might want to have additional salt (to taste).

Chow Mein with Sunny Side Up
Ingredients

3 packets of Chinese egg/yakisoba/ramen noodles
1/2 cup minced chicken, marinated with 1 tsp soy sauce
1 large carrot, peeled and shredded
4-5 leaves of hang bok cabbage, shredded
1 large stalk spring onion, chopped
1 medium onion, sliced
1 tbs ginger, thinly sliced
2 tbs hsao shing wine
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs tomato ketchup
1 tbs sesame oil
few shakes of shichimi tōgarashi, for garnish (optional)
few shakes of white pepper
vegetable oil, for cooking

For the sunny side up:
1 medium-sized egg
1 tbs butter

You can use whatever noodles you have at hand. Chinese egg noodles are real nice but I prefer using yakisoba noodles because you can get them in handy packets and I prefer slightly thinner noodles than egg ones.

Soak the noodles in cold water for a minute or two and use your fingers to ruffle through it to separate the strands, think of yourself washing someone’s long hair in a wash basin full of water. Drain away the water then set aside.

In a hot wok over medium heat, heat up some cooking oil and the sesame oil. Add the ginger and onions and sauté. Add the minced chicken and stir fry. Now add the carrots, hang bok cabbage, hsao shing, white pepper and stir fry. Cover the wok with lid, turn the heat to low-medium and let cook for a bit.

In a small bowl, mix together the 2 tbs soy with 1 tbs ketchup. Remove wok lid and add the noodles, chopped spring onions and mixed seasoning. Stir to coat well, making sure the noodles are completely cooked through. When done, serve hot with sunny side up on top. Garnish with shichimi tōgarashi if you like.

For the eggs:
In an egg pan or frying pan over medium heat, add some butter. When the butter is hot enough, crack the egg onto the pan and lower heat.

The egg will start cooking rather quick so be careful. Cover the pan with a lid for 2-3 minutes whilst the egg cooks over low heat. Check on it to make sure the edges don’t get too brown and crisp. If it does remove from heat and shake the pan to loosen the egg from the pan. To get the top nicely cooked, baste the top of the egg with the melted butter in the pan.

When done, all the whites should have cooked through and firmed up. The top of the yolk should be a matte colour, without its uncooked glistening sheen, and warm to touch.

Serve on top of your chow mein.

Sam G.: The fridge stinks.
Diva: -sniffs- I don’t smell anything.
Sam G.: Well I’ve got a big nose so I’m pretty sensitive to smells.
Diva: -sniffs fridge again- Nothing stinky is hitting me yet.
Sam G.: It smells. Like really bad.

Bewildered, I sniffed the fridge about every hour, thinking that my morning sinus was probably fogging up the system and thus needed a little time before it cleared off. Lo and behold, I was the cause of this clinging stench lingering on the fridge shelves and what was the bringer of stink? Kimchi. Who would have guessed that this lovely-tasting Korean pickle could turn out to be a major stink bomb? The smell just kinda came and went when you peered into the fridge. You could only smell it if you really stuck your head in and moved it from top shelf down — something you’d normally do to check out what food you’ve got in the fridge. Blimey. It was pretty bad. I was in a pickle (don’t mind that pun, eh).

The only thing to do was either eat it straightaway or cook it and then seal it up in airtight lunchbox. I did the latter. I had stuffed my face with kimchi and tofu for lunch, I wasn’t going to do it again for dinner. It would be too sad. There wasn’t very much kimchi left anyway to bother repacking the damn thing in a lunchbox so I decided to turn it into a soup as my younger sister advised. She is the queen of Korean food. Actually, she is just a Korea-obsessed chick. It’s truly adorable and very handy when you’re craving something Korean.

This jjigae is rather experimental because instead of using a kimchi broth or adding gochujang, a Korean chili paste, I played around with Japanese kombu stock and added konnyaku to produce some sort of nabe hot pot / jjigae creation. It surely isn’t authentic and thinking back on the time I had real kimchi jjigae, the taste is very different and you can blame this on the difference in stock and lack of gochujang. However, the taste wasn’t bad at all and you can say it is a less spicy and milder version of the real McCoy. I’d make this again, this time without all my post-its stuck up everywhere declaring my love for all types of food and therefore, apologetic for bringing home Stinky (as I would now call my yummy Korean pickles). Gosh, let’s try to avoid that embarrassing situation in the future!

Experimental Kimchi Jjigae
Ingredients

1 chicken breast, sliced into strips or chunks
1 tbs sake
a handful shiitake mushrooms, stalks removed and tops slit
2 bundles konnyaku
1 cup kimchi
2 cups water
1/2 to 1 packet tofu, sliced
2 spring onions, sliced
1/2 cup chopped white onions
1 tbs vegetable oil

For seasoning:
2 tbs kombu soup concentrate
1/2 tsp hot chili powder
1/2 tsp minced garlic
soy sauce, optional

In a large saucepan, heat some vegetable oil. Lightly sauté the minced garlic and white onions. Then add the kimchi and 2 cups water. Bring it to a boil, then add the sake, kombu concentrate, hot chili powder and half the spring onions. Give it a good stir before adding the chicken to cook. Leave this to cook and simmer about 10 minutes with the lid on.

Next, add the shiitake mushrooms. Give it a taste and add more chili powder if needed or a little soy sauce if needed. Then gently slide the tofu into the soup. Cover and let simmer for 10 to 15 minutes on low heat. Remove lid after simmering, turn the heat up slightly. Add the konnyaku, give it a stir to let heat through.

Serve with the rest of the spring onions.