Eats of the Month | October 2019

Buckwheat Pancake and Toppings - Home-cooked

On a quest to cut down on my wheat intake for the day one day, I decided to use the

buckwheat flour I impulsively bought a few weeks ago. I had a vision in my mind of what I

wanted the pancake to look like with all of the toppings and thankfully, everything was in the

house. THANKFULLY.

I mixed buckwheat flour with water and salt, and to my surprise, the consistency turned very

okra-like. Slimy, and gloopy. I had no idea that was what would happen. It also appeared

that the more I mixed, the thicker the batter became. I got scared. I added more and more

water until I was happy that I wasn’t creating something that I would have to bin immediately

after cooking.

Buckwheat Pancake with Plantain, Avocado and Salad

The pancake ended up being thicker than intended; as it was a savoury pancake, I didn’t let

this bother me too much, as I saw it to be more fitting for the toppings I would add later.

I cooked up some shallow fried plantain fries (say it out loud), chopped a full, small avocado

up into little pieces and did the same with some cucumber and tomatoes. I added some salt,

chilli flakes and parsley and voila! A quick and easy tostada, pancake hybrid thing.

Next time, I will mix the buckwheat flour (if there is a next time because I am truly scarred)

with a ‘looser’ flour – possibly coconut or almond, to make it less gloopy.

Cooking is truly a science and it is usually when things go wrong or take an unexpected turn

that you remember this.

I must say, though, that all in all, this was a solid dish and it didn’t make me feel heavy and

lethargic afterwards. Try it out.

Tofu Gyoza and Lemongrass Chicken Banh Mi - HOP

I would certainly recommend going to Hop on your lunch break. It is a cute little spot near

Leadenhall Street that is more spacious than it looks and offers many affordable dishes that

are not too fattening.

I had been wanting to try Banh Mi for such a long time! So, I finally tried one filled with Lemongrass Chicken. Hm.

Lemongrass Chicken Banh Mi

I was slightly disappointed with the Banh Mi. I'm not sure of what I was expecting but I wasn't wowed. The wetness of the chicken had dampened the bread, which was not the thickest. The chicken was flavoursome but had no wow factor.

I did also try the Vegetable Dumplings with their peanut sauce and although it was all intentionally cold I enjoyed them slightly more than I did the Banh Mi.

Vegetable Dumplings with Spicy Peanut Sauce

I was sold on the ambience (I did take a late lunch so it may have just been a quiet time, but still) more than I was the food. However, I know that I probably just needed to make a different food choice. I won't rule out visiting again.

Interested? Okay: http://hopvietnamese.com

Sio