Greenberry Café

Greenberry Café, Primrose Hill

A few days ago I suddenly realised that I had not written a restaurant post since September last year. I thought about writing about ramen but there are quite a few out there (see here and here), so I am going to leave it short and sweet - I LOVE BONE DADDIES. That is all.

But today I would like to share with you a very enjoyable meal that I had earlier this year at the Greenberry Café, Primrose Hill. I first met the head chef PC a couple of years ago at The Long Table. At that time he was about to embark on a culinary trip around the world. His impressive experience at some of the best restaurants in London (e.g. Chez Bruce, Cinnamon Club and Claridge's) had given me much anticipation for his return so I could try his food. Coincidentally I also know Hannah - a Leith’s trained chef who also works at the café - at a Jewish supper club she used to run at her home in Islington last year. She is renowned for her love of cakes, and she is very good at making them. Her strawberry cheesecake was so good that my husband ate three slices at her supper club.

I went to the Greenberry Café with my girlfriends for a late Sunday lunch. The café was very easy to find, but somehow one of us managed to get lost and only got there an hour after our booking time! It was a very busy Sunday afternoon, thankfully the staff were very understanding and we were given the menu and some Japanese pickles while we waited. The menu could be a little overwhelming at first – there were bar snacks, breakfast, "traiteur", a la carte and desserts, all on one page. But each section was well thought out to cater for guests visiting at different times of the day. We were encouraged to mix and match, from classic British bites to interesting international dishes like ceviche, miso aubergines and soba noodles, which I was pleasantly surprised to see on the menu.

We started the meal with some light dishes and cold meat plates. Among the starters we were most impressed by the house cured spice beef. It came in relatively thick slices with a few gherkins on the side. The beef itself was dark and rich, the slight chewiness gave each mouthful an extra meaty sensation.

Top: Endive, Roquefort and pecan salad. Middle: Terruel Lomo D.O.P. Bottom: Spice cured beef.

Because we were extremely hungry when we ordered the mains, we all opted for the heavy dishes on the menu (we even did a ‘go-large’ on the miso aubergines!). I ordered the roast cod, and adored it. The flesh was cooked just right with a lovely silky texture, which together with the gentle sour note from the tamarind puree made for a highly addictive dish, and I just wanted more. Another highlight of the meal was the pulled pork bun. The pork was heavily seasoned but not overly salty. Eating the bun was a messy job but it worked in my favour as I could just nibble the flakes off my friend’s plate when she was not looking.

Top: Miso glazed aubergines and smoked aubergine relish. Second: Pulled pork bun. Third: Salt beef sandwich. Bottom: Roast cod, quinoa and tamarind puree.

We were all full up by the time we finished the mains, but it would be foolish to miss Hannah’s desserts. So we ordered the two most tempting desserts to share between six of us – an apple tarte tatin with cinnamon ice cream and a St. Emilion au chocolat. And yes we chose well. SO WELL. The pastry of the tatin was beautifully brown and crispy. It was a hearty portion but soon demolished out of greed. The St. Emilion au chocolat is a no-bake chocolate cake, think heavenly rich dark chocolate mixed with crunchy marcaroon.

It was a busy Sunday so the service was a little slow at times, but nonetheless the staff were cheerful and accommodating. Considering the amount of food we ate, the bill of £25 per person including service seemed very reasonable to me. It is the kind of place I feel I could drop in any time of day just for a cup of coffee or a pastry, a light lunch, or for a mid-week night out. I just wish it was closer to home!

Greenberry Café

Purple Sweet Potato Mochi

One of my favourite Asian desserts is mochi - glutinous rice cakes with a sweet filling. In particular, there is a Japanese company called Mochi Cream, who sells a wide variety (15+) of flavoured mochi. My favourite ones are peach/blueberry yoghurt, green tea and cherry blossom. A few years ago they went global and opened a branch in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. But unfortunately on my last trip to Hong Kong I found that it had closed, so I do not think I can have mochi cream again any time soon…

So I have decided to make my own, using the purple sweet potato puree recipe from my last post. Making the mochi dough is very straight forward, but shaping is not. You have to seal the opening while the dough is still warm, so the sides stick together without leaving a line. The ones I made tasted good but they were certainly not as pretty and neat as those by Mochi Cream. More practise is needed!

Purple sweet potato mochi

Makes 10

220g Glutinous Rice Flour

15g Glutinous Rice Flour (for dusting)

110g Caster Sugar

200ml Full Fat Milk

150g Purple Sweet Potato Puree

1 tsp Icing sugar

1 tsp Vegetable Oil

Combine 220g glutinous rice flour and the sugar, and then gradually add the milk. Mix until the batter is smooth. Oil a plate with vegetable oil, and then evenly spread the batter on it. Steam the mixture on a medium heat for 20 minutes. 

Meanwhile, divide the potato puree into 10 portions. Cook 15g glutinous flour in a microwave on full power for 50 seconds. When the dough is nearly done, dust your hands and work surface with the cooked flour.

Leave the dough to cool for a couple of minutes so you can handle it with your hands. Use a circular cookie cutter (I use 68mm diameter) to cut the dough, and then gently pull the side of the skin outwards so it is thicker in the middle.

Place a portion of the puree in the middle of the skin, fold it in half without squashing the puree. Repeat on the other side. Seal the opening by grabbing the four corners together, then twist and cut off the end. The closing should face downwards. Dust the mochi with icing sugar to finish.

Purple Sweet Potatoes And Green Tea Swiss Roll

When I was small, my family used to take me and my brother for barbeques in a country park in 'Tai Mo Shan' (literally 'Big Hat Mountain'), Hong Kong. Barbeque is a very different affair over there. There are stone barbeques and benches in the park, where people sit around, skewer the food on special metal forks, and grill them over a bed of charcoal. I would always start with two Frankfurter sausages (with a coat of honey) and end with a roast sweet potato. Since purple sweet potatoes are more rare and expensive than the normal ones, my parents would buy a mixture of both and then wrap them in tin foil. And if I was lucky, I would get a purple one.

There are not many Chinese sweet potato desserts. The most common one we eat in Hong Kong is called 番薯糖水 (sweet potato sweet soup) – boiled chunks of sweet potato in ginger syrup. However, cakes made from sweet potato are very popular in Japan, and that is where the influence for this recipe came from. A few weeks ago I got hold of some purple sweet potatoes. I baked them in the oven until soft, and then added... erm... condensed milk. I know it is not very conventional, but it tasted damn good. So trust me on this one.

I used the puree as a filling for a green tea Swiss roll, which I made for last month's Band of Bakers ‘Vegetable’ themed event. The green tea is quite subtle in this recipe, just enough in the background to complement the earthy taste of the sweet potato.

Sweet potato puree

Makes around 300g

3 Purple Sweet Potatoes (around 420g)

4 tbsp Condensed Milk

2 tsp Full Fat Milk

Preheat a fan oven to 200C. Bake the whole purple sweet potatoes (skin on) for at least 50 minutes. Use a fork to poke the potatoes to check that they are soft enough.

One by one, cut the potatoes in half, and then use a teaspoon to scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Use the back of a fork to mash the potatoes. Add the condensed milk and full fat milk. Mix well.

Use cling film to shape the puree into a long tube, twist to tighten both ends and then keep cool in the fridge.

Green tea Swiss roll with purple sweet potato puree

Serves 8

Sponge:

6 Medium Eggs (separated)

100g Caster Sugar

50g Self-Raising Flour

10g Matcha Powder

10g Ground Almond

40ml Full Fat milk

1 tsp Icing Sugar (for dusting)

Filling:

250ml Double Cream

30g Icing Sugar

160g Purple Sweet Potato Puree

Sugar Syrup:

20g Caster Sugar

60ml Water

Preheat oven to 200C. Line a 25cm x 38cm tin with greaseproof paper. Make the sugar syrup by dissolving the sugar in the water, and bring to boil until reduced by half. Leave it aside to cool.

Beat the yolks with 50g caster sugar until pale and creamy. Add half of the flour, mix well. Repeat for the remaining half. Add the ground almond, then slowly sift in the green tea powder, add the milk to loosen the mixture in between.

Using an electric whisk, beat the egg whites at a medium speed until you see lots of small air bubbles. Switch to high speed, and then add the 50g caster sugar, spoon by spoon, into the egg whites. Stop mixing when stiff peaks form. Do not overwork it.

Mix a quarter of the egg white into the cake batter. Fold in the remaining egg whites, a quarter at a time, until fully incorporated. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, and gently spread out with a spatula. Bake in the preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes.

Remove the sponge from oven. Cool it in the tin for a few minutes, and then cool (with the greaseproof paper still in place) completely on a wire rack. Place a piece of greaseproof paper (a bit bigger than the size of the tin) on a work surface, turn the sponge upside down.

Carefully remove the paper on the top. This 'smooth' side is the outer layer of the Swiss roll. Turn the sponge over (i.e. 'rough' side up). Brush the sugar syrup onto the sponge, including the edges.

Whip the fresh cream with icing sugar until soft peaks form, and then evenly spread it onto the sponge. With the shorter side facing you, line the puree around 6 to 8 cm from the bottom of the sponge. Roll the sponge over the puree and carry on until it is done.

Use the greaseproof paper to wrap around the roll, twist to tighten both ends and then put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Cut both ends off when ready, dust with icing sugar and serve.

Kung Hei Fat Choi 恭喜發財

Happy Chinese New Year everyone! I wish you all a prosperous year恭喜發財, good health身體健康, and that all your wishes come true萬事如意!

How are you going to celebrate this 15 day long festival? With food! Before my grandfather passed away and before I moved to the UK, we used to go to his house for almost every meal during the Chinese New Year period. We would only eat vegetarian food on the first day of the New Year, probably because my grandfather believed in Buddhism. I remember he used to make a mountain of ‘Law Hon Jaai’ spring rolls, filled with Chinese mushroom, black fungus, carrot and bamboo shoots - full of crunchy delights that made grumpy little me forget they were meat-free.

I have not been back to Hong Kong for Chinese New Year since I came to live in the UK, and it has been more than 10 years now (I am not old, I just came to live here when I was REALLY young). As the years go by, I tend to make more effort to keep the traditions alive. I guess I am worried that one day I will not care about it anymore, and lose touch with the Chinese side of me. That would be very scary. So this year I followed the tradition to clean the house on the 28th of December (Chinese calendar), and bought some new stuff including pyjamas, socks and bedding to prepare for the New Year. I feel particularly proud of my candy box, obviously koala biscuits are the way forward.

My husband's side of the family was over for lunch on the first day of Chinese New Year. Apart from the must-eat dishes like Law Pak Go, Nin Go and Tong Yuen, I also made a few dishes that carry special greeting messages:

Law Pak Go (Chinese radish/turnip cake) – radish sounds like good fortune in Chinese.

Pork and chive dumplings – the dumplings look like old Chinese currency, symbolising prosperity.

Steamed whole grey mullet – fish sounds like leftovers in Chinese. It is good to have some leftovers every year, as it means we are not lacking anything.

Prawns with salted egg yolks – salted egg yolk give the dish a golden look, a good look understandably.

Clams in chilli sauce – fresh and lively clams give good motivation for the New Year.

Roast meat platter, braised whole chicken with spring onion and ginger sauce, and broccoli with beancurd and Chinese mushrooms – they appear in ALL Chinese festive meals by default.

Fried purple sweet potato mochi cake – no meaning, just something I wanted to make.

Nin Go (coconut and glutinous rice cake) – literally means gaining height every year.

Tong Yuen (black sesame glutinous rice balls) – the shape and the name give the meaning ‘reunion’.

Happy eating in the year of snake! Tssss…