Lizi was off to Japan and I was again left to fend for myself for the next two weeks 😛 We were going to attempt the same system as last time, where I would try to copy what Lizi was eating but on a delay. This ended up being a bit more of a challenge as Lizi tried to describe the different dishes and weird and wonderful Japanese ingredients by email, but without photos because she had to borrow a computer, but I was still going to try and stick to a general Japanese theme for my dinners.
23/02/15: Halloumi and red pepper wraps – own recipe (see Lizi’s dinner on 12/02/15)
I missed out on this dinner earlier in the month so I thought it would be a good option while I was waiting for some Japanese inspiration from Lizi who was mid-flight at this point. Very quick to put together and I loved the bistro salad and halloumi combination. As you can tell from the photo I may have put a tad too much in the wrap. A lot ended up falling out on my plate while eating!
24/02/2015: Broccoli salad with bacon, raisins, and cheddar cheese – Julia’s Album blog (see Lizi’s dinner on 18/02/2015)
http://juliasalbum.com/2014/03/broccoli-salad-with-bacon-raisins-and-cheddar-cheese/
I played safe again and went with a dinner I had previously missed out on. After a fairly snack heavy afternoon at work a healthy salad fit the bill perfectly. This salad didn’t disappoint at all. Delicious combination and couldn’t get enough of the dressing. So much so that I ended up eating the extra portion that was meant to be for lunch the next day…
25/02/2015: Chicken Teriyaki served with rice – Noodle Foodle, Wimbledon.
Time to move onto the Japanese food! I’d had this dish before as a takeaway so knew that I couldn’t ruin a classic meal choice by trying to make it myself J. This is an ideal midweek comfort dinner, and this particular restaurant cooks it perfectly to my taste.
26/02/2015: Gyudon – Japan Centre, Shaftsbury Avenue, London.
The Japan Centre is a well known place in central London to pick up all your Japanese ingredients and a bite to eat. I was meeting my sister and a friend here after work to grab a few staples and carry on the Japanese theme. Lizi hadn’t yet had beef donburi but I just couldn’t resist! However despite my eagerness, I was a bit disappointed with the meal. The whole dish was very dry and the beef was not good quality.
27/02/2015: Miso turkey nuggets (recipe in Lizi’s post here).
For the first time this week I was going to attempt to cook one of the Japanese dishes that Lizi had eaten for dinner. The recipe was fairly simple but I made one hell of a mess in mixing the turkey up and trying to form the nugget shapes. I was careful when frying not to cook the nuggets too quickly, as I was scared of both undercooking the middle and burning the edges. Thankfully they cooked without a problem and were super tasty. I’ll definitely be giving these another go sometime.
28/02/2015: Kitsune soba – Tomoe, Putney, London
http://www.tomoe-london.co.uk/
What a find! This was the first time I’d been to this restaurant and definitely not the last. The menu is full of authentic Japanese dishes and the atmosphere is lovely. I was out with a group of friends after watching the Six Nations rugby and had managed to book a table earlier in the day. My kitsune soba was simply delicious. No more to say really. I made sure not to leave any of the broth behind! I’m looking forward to coming back here and trying out more of the menu.
A Year in Dinners 