Dining Disaster: All Star Lanes Westfield Stratfod restaurant

'Twas a Wednesday evening when I dashed through Westfield Shopping Center, level by level to the top floor where I found All Star Lanes tucked away in a corner. With the promise of an excellent bowling experience and exceptional food though I gave the bowling part a miss, (long story- I hate germs) I was just in time for the food. And as a foodie and at that time undergoing a vegan detox, I was surprised to find that they had a dish which I could enjoy on the menu. It is always hard to find food that tastes good when dining out at places that aren't specifically established to cater for the vegan lifestyle.

I ordered the quinoa and avocado salad. It was presented as well as you can expect from a place where you can bowl with damask wallpaper and a bar. Everything about the place was a lukewarm interpretation of elegance and 5* service. The salad comprised of tepid quinoa served with avocado, some skinned orange pepper and salad cress for good measure a la 2010. I guess the most shocking part of the experience was the flavour or the lack there of in everyone's meals. Mine was on par with porridge oats, bland and only eaten for the fuel it would provide and my sheer hunger at that point. It was so bland that I added enough pepper to send myself into a sneezing frenzy and even had to fish out the lemon wedge in my water to make the salad slightly more palatable. 

As a chubstar, it's seldom that there are any remnants of any given meal left on the plate when I'm done with it so this was a first. What's even more telling of the extent to which the dish lacked flavour is that it was a salad and I still couldn't finish it!! 

It was my best friend's birthday that day and she had put so much thought into the evening which she had invited eight friends which made it a party of nine. She ordered a chicken burger with bacon and a side of fries (pictured above) 

Out of the nine people, only two enjoyed their food. They had ordered a small portion of Mac and cheese and the other a basket of fried chicken with sweet potato fries. They looked like they were premade and the restaurant's only hand in the preparation was to fry, bake and present the food. Having worked in a top French restaurant which prides itself in cooking fresh food I got to see some of the short cuts which included buying ready cut French fries, ready prepared snails and such. I understand that in catering some shortcuts  are needed for time, aestheticity's sake and such but everything on some people's plates looked like it was from a packet. Suprisingly that was the most enjoyed food. 

Needless to say, the birthday girl didn't finish her meal with complaints to the tune of the burger being too dry and she didn't feel too good afterwards. So my plate wasn't the only one going back with food on it. 

With the guilt of my bestfriend not enjoying a big birthday and with the complaints from the rest of the party I sought out to speak to the manager.  First in line was a nervous server who spoke to us and then referred us to a very perky and wide eyed manager who even crouched down at the end of the table to speak to us. We went on a fierce rant which detailed our grievances but her first response was that we should have told them earlier so that they'd swap our meals. At first we were infuriated and very vocal about our grievances but she was very polite and didn't express the expletives probably running rampant through her mind, managing to keep a smile on her face and the high tone in her voice. 

After sometime of complaining she asked us what we wanted to be done about it to which we had no answer because it's her job to rectify any problems the customers have. This however gave us grounds to demand a discount which we were quick to oblige. She informed us that we could only get the "Westfield" discount which is 40% which we accepted and she set off to finalise the payment details. When the payments were all totalled we had received up 45% off the final bill and my friend had received a free bowling and food pass if she emailed ahead of coming next time with some friends.

All in all this place was saved by the gracious manager's attempt to appease our disgruntled party and if the food matched up to the customer service it would have completed the experience. However the fact remains, the food was insipid and unpalatable. I was very suprised to hear that A-lister Rihanna was rumoured to have visited the place but I'm sure they would have rolled out the red carpet and presented the best of their microwaved and deep fried fodder. 

We are still yet to use that coupon for the free experience as we are hesitant of another bad experience after narrowly evading food poisoning from last time.  However with the manager being so gracious and professional we could give the place another try sometime in the future. Let's hope it'll be a good review then!!!

Tantalising tidbit from kymmiishadaily.blogspot.co.uk

Here's a canapé idea that works all year round! Enjoy. Xx

Canapés: 

Above pictured is an example of how you can wow your party guests with a range of canapés. Instead of a plate I opted for a slate which can now be widely sourced. In the picture we have mushroom galettes (puff party topped with a duxelle of mushrooms. Satay chicken, avocado and prawn sushi and a red pepper and goat's cheese crostini. 

Not to overwhelm  you with a list  of recipes for things in a language foreign to us both I've included a a fun and simple recipe which requires minimal prep and can be served hot or cold.  This recipe has served me well and works well to get the kids involved in the cooking and hosting process and it's something they will enjoy eating. 

Mini posh pizzas! On a toasted baguette  with a simple Italian tomato sauce and can be served with a mild cheddar cheese for kids or goat's cheese for the adults.  Here goes the process! 

Baguette cut on a bias into little disks- drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle salt n coarse black pepper and put in a preheated oven (gas mark 6- 200C) for 10 minutes

Tomato sauce 1 medium onion I can of chopped tomatoes  Bunch of fresh basil + more to garnish 3 cloves of garlic  Extra virgin olive oil Salt+ pepper Fine dice+ sweat onions in olive oil with the garlic crushed until translucent. Add tomatoes and half the basil and simmer on a low heat till it reduces to half and season with salt n pepper. And stir in the rest of the basil. Assembling - spoon a teaspoon on to bread disks and spinkle grated cheese (cheddar cheese for kids and richer goats cheese for adults) place under grill for a minute to melt cheese and serve! 

Food talk filter: recipes from kymmiishadaily.blogspot.co.uk

I'm going back and getting my food faves from my old blog for those who haven't read it. It's also a chance to let the food shine without the rest of the lifestyle waffle so enjoy and there's more recipe recycling to come before I present you with the fresh ideas I've been working on! 

This was my Christmas dinner and left overs for a few days after.  

Smoked Salmon salad with sour creme ramoulade

There wasn't any cooking involved in this dish which is why I chose it. I didn't want to add a complex starter when I was doing four courses on borrowed energy amidst a recovery and ongoing symptoms from the list of ailments I'm daily kicking butt. The only recipe here is for the spicy sauce and it was:

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup mayo

1 tbsp dill

1 tbsp parsley

1 tbsp chives

2 tbsp spring onions 

1 tsp paprika 

1 tbsp habanero hot sauce (more to taste)

Salt and pepper to taste 

Mix everything and get right balance of herbs-sour cream-salt-spicy 

Adjust accordingly. Put in bowl to serve with the salad and garnish with a splash of hot sauce and chopped chives. 

Main: Turkey/ Salmon Encroute with red wine and cinnamon red cabbage, crushed and herbed new potatoes, creamed leeks and cranberry sauce

We had two mains, a side of salmon encroute mainly for my pescetarian self and a crown of turkey for the meat eaters. Whereas there's no one standard recipe for turkey I have tips to keep it moist and give it more flavour!

Turkey tip1- for extra flavour add herbs to the butter before you put it under the skin for the turkey baste itself when cooking. I used thyme, rosemary, chives, garlic and a bit of paprika alongside salt and pepper

Turkey tip2- since it was just a crown I cooked our turkey for the recommended 1hr 45min with an extra ten minutes just to be safe even when the juices were running clear (to check if poultry is cooked when roasting- pierce with a knife, press it against flesh and let the juices run, if cloudy it's not cooked yet and if clear it's cooked)

Turkey tip3- cover with foil for half the cooking time and then took it off to brown and crisp up. a) it makes sure it's cooked on the inside by keeping the heat from escaping 

b) it stops any garnish (bacon, herbs etc) from burning prematurely and being wasted 

Turkey tip4: Make a vegetable trivet ( veg between turkey and oven dish) from root veg. I used quartered onions, potatoes, carrots, celery and parsnip. The tip to this tip is to keep the veg cut very big so it's doesn't disintegrate when cooking. Try and and achieve a uniform cut so they cook evenly. These veg not only get all the flavour from the turkey and taste good but also if left in the oven for 10 minutes to crisp up, they can make a good garnish for your bird!   

In the left corner we had the salmon encroute which was every bit tasty and tantalising. This can be made all year round for dinner parties, gatherings and such.  I didn't make my own pastry on account of life being too short to make your own pastry for a four course dinner and I refuse to go into Tachycardia on Christmas Day from all the stress. Ready rolled pastry had to suffice and it actually worked well. I also made another short cut by asking for the fishmonger to take the skin off the salmon for me since my knife set containing my filleting knives hadn't been touched since the day I gracefully bowed out from my position as Commis chef at Brasserie Blanc; it made sense and it was free! 

To prepare it I greased a large, square oven dish. 

Placed one sheet of ready rolled pastry. 

Added the raw side of salmon on top

Topped with leeks (sautéed with garlic, dill, parsley and stirred in Philly cheese)

Applied egg wash to the sides 

Added top pastry

Folded in edges tightly, scored the top with a knife to let air out and brushed with egg wash. 

Cooked for 45 mins- 1hr on gas mark 6

Mains went with creamed leeks and red cabbage. I did the traditional creamed leeks. For the red cabbage:

Sautée cabbage with red onion and add cinnamon stalk. Add red wine and then cook in the oven with the rest of the food for 25 mins. I prefer to make a cartouche out of grease proof paper instead of a lid. That's how we did it in chef school and that's how it stuck! 

Instead of roasting potatoes I boiled mine  (baby potatoes) whole with skins on. Crushed and added sour cream, chives, spring onions, salt and pepper

Dessert and cheese courses: Christmas pudding, Ice cream, chocolate mousse and profiteroles cake,cheese and fruit platter plus coffee, port and baileys

This colourful feast fit for Roman gods was easy as 123 to assemble. I bought a variety of cheeses including Cheddar, Red Leicester, Brie, Stilton and Wensledale with cranberries. In lieu of my French culinary training where cheese is usually served with walnuts and dried apricots etc I went for grapes, crackers, breadsticks and persimmons which worked well. Try Stilton with crackers and persimmons, it's amazing! I totally mellows out the sharp notes in the Stilton, rounds the flavour up with a creamy finish!

The filtered coffee ended up making Irish coffee with the baileys with a hint of cinnamon which went well with the cheeses and desserts. 

The Christmas pudding was the best I've ever had thanks to Harrods, the profiterole chocolate mousse cake was also a shop bought delight which only required putting on a platter and dusting with icing sugar!  Usually don't take this many shortcuts but I've been unwell and on bed rest since coming out of hospital. 

Leftover Makeover: Leftover Birdie Pie

The next morning the unexpected happened, I felt hungry again! After the big feast the day before I never thought I'd want for another morsel of food but lo and behold, the whole household woke up ravenous!! Overwhelmed with the amount of leftovers also nursing a slight hangover I came up with what I feel will be a tradition in my house for years to come! I made Left Over Birdie Pie! 

I put the left over parsnips, carrots and stuffing in the good processor. 

Shredded the turkey

Put it in an large oven dish alongside some left over veg for texture, turkey bechamel sauce from the night before, paprika, dill and parsley and mixed 

Made breadcrumbs with the left over French stick, breadsticks a little bit of cheese to bind and some chives and parsley. 

Topped it with breadcrumbs and browned in the oven for 45 minutes. Served with left over red cabbage and a selection of salads (beet, coleslaw and green salads)

It went well with both red and white wine suprisingly! 

Deserted dessert:

Again I still had some leftover dessert and decided to do a frothy baileys custard and topped it with left over Christmas pudding crumbs, served with the profiterole mousse cake and Irish coffees ......And that is you keep on gaining weight, even the day after Christmas! 

The night after two nights before: 

The day after Boxing Day I still hadn't used the left over potatoes and for dinner I made quorn cakes with a Brie cheese center. 

I added flaked quorn chicken, spices and herbs (paprika, chives with salt and pepper) bound with an egg. Placed Brie slice in the middle of the patties. Baked for 25 minutes turning halfway though and served with a (mayo, honey, Dijon mustard and lemon dressing) salad and Shiraz. 

Enjoy! And thanks for stopping by!

Strictly food talk: introduction

Hello hungry humans!!! Welcome to my new blog! This blog will be exclusively about the food and my other one, as aptly named, a lifestyle journal, will cover a wider spectrum of topics. Whilst on the topic of my other blog www.kymmiishadaily.blogspot.co.uk, I would like to thank everyone who has read it! You came out in your thousands and made this girl feel welcomed to the blogosphere!!! 

For those of you who haven't read my first blog, I'm Kymmiisha and as well as being a singer and plus size model I'm also a trained chef. I've been blessed to have many ecstatic highs and strengthening lows with every one of my aforementioned passions and follow each of them as fervently and passionately as I can. All of that being said, I love food and found the biggest sense of achievement and gratification whilst training as a chef and working as a Commis chef in restaurants. I'm currently unable to work in restaurants or do any such toiling due to a mirriad of health complications including a failed ablation treating Wolff Parkinson White Syndrome and a few more that I am actively conquering everyday. Whilst in recovery I ascertained a love for food writing which would defy any obstacle as I could virtually do it anytime, anywhere as long I am of sound mind! 

On this forum I hope to be able to share my best recipes, from chef school classics and restaurant inspirations to every day dishes for all your dining and hosting needs! I can't promise it will always be healthy but one thing I can bet my last taste bud on is that it will taste good! So please enjoy and keep coming back, tell a friend or two if you may!!