Spice Fusion, Maidstone

Of all the types of food out there, Craig's absolute favourite is Indian so he was very happy to find out we had a new Indian restaurant in town.

Spice Fusion opened in an old pub which has been fully refurbished a couple of months ago.  We have driven past a few times and to be honest from the outside it looks very odd and stark, however we didn't let this put us of trying it out.  A friend of mine who has very high standards visited this place a few weeks back and she gave a glowing report so on the back of that we decided to give it a go last night.

I had a look at the menu online in advance so I already knew that this place seemed a bit different to your average Indian.  It seemed more modern and fresh with more interesting menu choices.  It listed Connoisseur's starters and traditional starters, connoisseurs mains and traditional mains, plus a section for Biryani's, North Indian Tandoori specialities, vegetable main courses, vegetable side orders, rice & breads.

When we arrived at about 8pm there were only a couple of other tables seated.  You enter through a very contemporary and modern bar area which has high stools and red sofas and I could imagine spending a bit of time in here either before or after a meal having a few drinks.  We went straight through to the restaurant......wow.  Wooden floors, crisp white table clothes, funky down lighting at every table and a HUGE central chandelier plus a long yellow leather bench along one side of the room made up the decor.  Even the cutlery was modern and cool.

Menus and drinlks in hand we set about choosing what to eat.  I started with the Jhinga Til Tinka which was King Prawns marinated with fresh spices, dipped in batter, then cooked with breadcrumbs and sesame seeds and served with a mango sauce.  The prawn was a giant prawn split down the middle and was plenty for a starter although it was so nice I could have easily eaten another one.  The mango sauce was not too sweet and had a very subtle spice flavour. 

Craig went for Nizami Sheek which was minced lamb mixed with coriander, tomatoes, mint cheese and spring onions.  This was no ordinary sheek kebab.  The meat was moist and tender and the spicing really well balanced.  It was also served with the same mango sauce as my starter.

For my main course I choose South Indian Garlic Chilli Chicken.  I didn't want rice and bread so I asked for a side salad to go with it. The side salad turned out to be a mixture of various leaves, fresh green peas, green peppers, red onions, cucumber and tomatoes.  It was fantastic although my only complaint would be that there were not many leaves in it.  The chicken dish was probably the best chicken curry dish I have ever had.  Long strips of chicken breast in a rich sauce that had a very gentle heat.  the chicken was still very moist and tender.

Craig ordered a Chicken Rogan Josh, Bombay Aloo, Mushroom Pilau, and a nann bread (why do men always feel the need to order half the menu?)  We shared the naan which was hot, light and fluffy, very nice.  The potato dish was also very good with decent sized chunks of potato in a tomato spiced sauce. For some reason I forgot to take a photo of the curry! Sorry.

When we had finished the table was cleared and the waiter brought us a dessert menu.  We didn't have anything as we were both full so we just asked for the bill.  The bill arrived on a plate with 2 chocolates and 4 straws of sherbet which is something I have never seen in a restaurant before.  I thought this was a nice touch.

I know I have said this before but this is now our new favourite Indian restaurant in Maidstone.  The food was much lighter, fresher and more modern.  I liked the decor, and the little touches like the sherbet.

Give it a go, its worth it.

Spice Fusion

Sharon x

Beer Butt Chicken

I never imagined the day would come where I cooked a roast chicken by putting a can of beer up its bum!!!

I had heard this method of cooking mentioned in the past (in fact I think my sister has done it?) but had never seen a recipe until recently.  I was looking through "Jamie's America" by Jamie Oliver and I came across the recipe accompanied by a rather obscene looking photo of the chicken cooking (see first photo).

With friends due for lunch on the Sunday I went out a bought a couple of free range chickens (never battery!) and some large cans of Budweiser beer.  This was going to be a joint cooking effort between Craig and I since there was a barbecue involved!

The whole idea of cooking this way is that the beer in the can heats up and steams the chicken from the inside out keeping it nice and moist while the outside gets nice and crisp.

The recipe starts by making a rub for the chicken and letting it maride for a while.  Once you have mixed up the rub use your hands to massage it all over the chicken making sure you get all the nooks and cranny's!

The rub is made up of the following -

1 heaped teaspoon fennel seeds - ground up in a pestle and mortar
1 level teaspoon cumin seeds - ground up in a pestle and mortar
1 level teaspoon smoked paprika
1 heaped teaspoon brown sugar
1 level teaspoon mild chilli powder
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil

Mix everything together and massage into the chicken in a large dish. Cover and leave to marinade for a couple of hours or overnight.

When you are ready to cook you need to get your kettle BBQ hot.  Move the coals to either side so you are not putting the chicken over a direct heat.  And the BBQ must have a lid.  If you don't have a BBQ you can do this in the oven, you just need to make sure you have the height so you might need to take out the shelves.

You need a 473ml can of beer.  We used Budweiser but I don't think it matter what beer you use.  Drink or pour away a few good gulps so that the can is about half full.  Then lower the chicken over the can so that it is sitting upright.

Then put the chicken on the BBQ for about an hour and 10 minutes to an hour and a half until its golden and the juices run clear.  Its important to keep the lid on while cooking so the heat stays in.

This photo is the chicken ready to get cooking, how weird does that look!  We put a tray underneath them to make it easier to lift them out and catch all the juices as they cooked.

The last photo is the chickens when they have cooked, you can see some juice in the tray.  I think we cooked then for slightly too long however the finished product was delicious.

It was a really fun recipe to cook and it had a "wow" factor however I obviously wouldn't do it like this every time I cooked a chicken.  I would use the rub for a normal roast chicken though or even on chicken breasts on their own.  One word of caution, the beer is very hot when you take the chicken of the BBQ and we accidentally pierced the can and hot beer poured out so be careful (another comical sight - use your imagination!!!)

Have fun :-)

Sharon x

Papas Barn, Maidstone

Papas Barn is a Fish & Chip Restaurant and takeaway in the Ditton area of Maidstone.  We have been driving past it for years now but have never stopped to go in.  Last year it unfortunately burnt down and was shut for a long time.  The owners took the opportunity to rebuild it bigger and better than the original establishment.

A couple of weeks ago Craig and I decided it was about time we took a drive over to Ditton to have fish & chips for tea.  When we arrived the attached car park was very busy but luckily for us there was one space left.  We wanted to sit in the restaurant part to have our dinner and there were a couple of free tables.  The decor was very bright and fresh and modern and I noted very clean.  The atmosphere was buzzing and the smell coming from the kitchens made our mouths water.

Any thoughts of dieting went straight out of the window, we were in a fish & chip shop after all!  I decided to go for plain and simple cod and chips.  I was really worried I would end up with a piece of fish the size of a small whale however I was pleased that my fish was a very manageable size to eat.  The batter was very crisp and hot and not too thick. Sometime it can be a bit stodgy but not in this case.  I had a wedge of lemon dipped in parsley to squeeze over the fish which I duly did.  The chips were delicious and just how chip shop chips should be (but often aren't).

Craig ordered one of his favourites, Rock and Chips.  Rock has a big bone through it.  Last time he had it in a fish & chip shop it was raw in the middle so he hoped that this time there would be no problems.  He needn't have worried as the fish was cooked perfectly.  Again his batter was crisp and hot and very light.  He didn't have the lemon but he did have a little pot of tartare sauce (which he hates so he didn't try it)

The food was great, the service was good and the atmosphere was buzzing.  We really enjoyed our meal at Papas Barn and its somewhere we intend to return to (occasionally) if we fancy fish & chips for tea. We got chatting to the manager and he told us that they also open for breakfast and morning coffee and cakes.  Unfortunatly there is no website so I cant post a link.

Papas Barn
497 London Road
Ditton
ME20 6DB
Maidstone

Sharon x

Cadbury Cocoa House, Bluewater

Last weekend Craig and I had a Sunday afternoon shopping at Bluewater shopping center in Kent.  We arrived around lunchtime so that we could get a bite to eat first before we started on the shops.

We decided that we only wanted something light rather than a full meal so we chose the Cadbury Cocoa House.  Its a fairly recent addition to Bluewater and we had not eaten there before or even know anyone who had, so we were trying it out without any pre conceptions at all.  I had had a peak inside previously when I have walked past and thought it looked good.

When we arrived every table was already taken and the only option was to be seated at one of the high marble topped tables with tall stools.  Normally I hate sitting on these as I find them uncomfortable however I was very surprised to find that they were actually just fine.

A waitress came over to give us our menus.  All the waitresses are dressed in really cute old fashioned tea shop uniforms complete with hairbands.  This sets them apart from other cafes I thought and it was a nice touch.

The menu had plenty to choose from including a whole page of chocolate drinks.  Funnily enough I'm not really into chocolate so I stuck to black coffee however Craig decided to order a Rich Malted Milk hot drink.  It arrived in a big thick white mug, piled high with cream.  Not my thing at all but Craig loved it (he is a real chocoholic)

To eat I went for a Club Sandwich.  This came presented on a wooden board with a little basket of fries. These were hot and crisp and really good.  The sandwich was on white bread (brown is also on offer) and was filled with boiled egg slices, chicken, tomato, and bacon.  It was a nice sandwich although nothing out of the ordinary.  But there was nothing wrong with it either and I would order it again.

Craig had the Fish Finger Sandwich which also came with chips.  Two fillets of fish freshly fried and served in a floured bap.  He absolutely raved about the sandwich.  It was hot, fresh and homemade.  Again the chips were good. A little pot of tomato ketchup also came on the board.

The food, drinks, service and atmosphere at the Cocoa House were all really good and I would say its a great choice for somewhere to eat if you are at at Bluewater.  They also do a great range of breakfast dishes and afternoon teas which we intend to try on another occasion.

Cadbury Cocoa House

Sharon x