Red Roaster's won Anton and Anna's recommendation for a cup of lava-thick hot chocolate. Yummy cringed when I paired it with a brownie while he had coffee and UK version of flapjacks. In the US, flapjack is slang for pancakes. These were more like a cookie bar or granola bar with the oatmeal on top.
Hot chocolate next to brownie, flapjack and coffee.
There was an emergency glass of water near the hot chocolate in case something went awry...like sugar shock.
Now to work off the chocolate...
On a clear day, you can really see beautiful Brighton!
This is the burnt skeletal remains of what was once called the West Pier. No one has dismantled it and I find that utterly charming. You can even see the remains of the bridge near the the beach, too.
Yummy was jonesing for fish and chips so we stopped by the seaside at lunch. His order had mushy peas. Uh-huh.
Part of our adventures was trying to find a Filipino deli that Anton had seen. I don't know that Filipinos actually have delis, but what do I know? Our first trip up a hill onto Montepelier Road yielded nothing so we went back down the hill near Waitrose. Yummy called Anton again and received better directions. Up the hill we go again where I saw the flag I would recognize anywhere painted on the Filipino Market store sign. I felt great considering how many Chinese stores were around Brighton. My peeps were represented.
Yummy asked me if I would speak Tagalog and I said no. We walked inside the tiny store and was greeted by a friendly (yet highly inquisitive) Filipina named Sheryl. And, yes, I spoke Tagalog -- well, more like Ta-garbage (Tagalog-English). Bought some stinky goodies and headed back down the hill for vegetables that looked like they were grown in Chernobyl from The Taj. This place was another wonder. We spent some quality time here before rounding out the shopping list at Waitrose...
Back home again and it was time to have everything mise en place by the stove. I decided to make lumpia (Filipino eggroll) with homemade sweet and sour sauce, chicken adobo with potatoes (chicken and potatoes in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic and bay leaf) and pinakbet (veggies in stinky stuff and ginger). All these required a lot of slicing and dicing which Yummy happily watched me do.
I've taught many how to roll lumpia in Filipino cooking classes I have given in the past. I can roll about 50 in one hour. The filling was cooked, drained and cooled enough to assemble. Teaching Yummy how to roll these gave me great pleasure. It felt like a rite of passage. He did very well and I was proud of him. There were too many for tonight's meal so we bundled them in fours so he could have an emergency supply in his freezer.
I asked Yummy to make rice his way which cracks me up, however, it does yield perfectly cooked grains. Won't go into it. I am just spoiled by my rice cooker. It's all good.
When everything was cooked and plated, I held my breath while he tasted everything. I have gone through this many a time with friends. The first bite, I mean. It is either a hit or miss. Yummy had second helpings. He might become more of a "flip" than me at this rate!
2 comments:
The food was wonderful! And still snacking on the lumpia.
The food was fun to make. Now you can "roll your own" (lumpia). Ha!
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