ShaolinTiger - Kung-Fu Geekery

This cauliflower cheese is dedicated to KY..Yeah I ate enough for him too, don’t worry!

Apologies for the earlier post, I got mixed up, those were lamb chops not pork chops, lamb chops are a lot smaller.

Lamb chops with mint sauce, pork chops with apple sauce, just remember that.

Take some proper farm pork chops…

Take some nice fresh cauliflower and boil it for about 5 minutes in plain water..

Layer a load of stuffing on the pork chops to keep them moist

Pour the cauliflower into a baking pot, cover in cheese sauce (White sauce with some butter, grated cheese and a couple of teaspoons of wholegrain mustard to give it a kick + normal salt and pepper) and sprinkle some breadcrumbs on top.

Stick it all in the oven and roast it.

Cauliflower should end up like this, nice and moist with a crunchy cheesy top layer.

Pork Chop should come out like this, nice and juicy because of the stuffing with a crispy rind, served with normal boiled potatoes and carrots..

Add some Cauliflower Cheese, some tangy home made apple sauce and some nice meaty gravy made from the fat in the bottom the pork pan.

Well after that feast at the River I was still kinda full for breakfast so I skipped it and had a nice solid lunch, classic British Baked potatoe with bacon, baked beans and grated cheddar cheese.

Prepare a few simple ingredients.

We have one of those fancy Microwave + conventional oven affairs, which are perfect for cooking baked potatoes, I bought it years ago, now my mom loves it.

Mom had a salad as she was feeling a bit bloated from keeping up eating all the stuff I wanted.

Hmm look at the melting cheese, lovely! Added in a few small onions aswell fried up with the bacon.

Look at it steaming!

Great start to the day.

After that we headed down to Worcester Porcelain, there a few famous things here, Worcestershire sauce of course (the factory STINKS), Worcester Porcelain, Worcester Cricket Team and Worcester Race Course..

There was of course…well loads of porcelain.

There are a couple of designs I like, the Platinum edge and a navy blue and gold simple design, but this shit is top notch (expensive as hell).

For example one tea-cup and saucer from some of the latest expensive designs can cost you 30 pounds, yes, for ONE thats 210RM for 1 cup and saucer.

You can get seconds though which aren’t too bad, about 7 (50RM) pounds for a mug, or the plain white stuff which hasn’t even been painted yet.

Not too attractive though, very prison style.

After that headed home and had some proper afternoon tea, fresh cream and fresh fruit meringues!

My mom can make meringue of course, but she bought some as they are very nice home style ones, not the factory produced ones (about twice the price).

Used up the rest of the whipped cream from the strawberries and cream..

Chop up some fruit (Kiwi and Nectarine this time as the strawberries had gone mouldy)

Purrrrrrrfect..

*EDIT Am rushing off now back to KLIA to Phillipines, will try and update again soon!*

I wanted Fish and Chips, of course being a British staple food..

So we were pondering which chippy to get the meal from, the quality tends to fluctuate, we chose one near the middle of the city which has always been good..

So I suggested, seen as though it had stopped raining for a while and cleared up we should go and eat down by the river.

Turned out to be a good idea, apart from one idea, during the walk after dinner I lost my friggin camera case, it was expensive..and nice…and had a memory card in it! Oh well…at least I didn’t lose my camera.

Mom had the bright idea to bring a couple of bottles of beer…she looks so happy opening one, she does enjoy her drink though 😉

This r proper fish and chips in paper down by the river with a bottle of Carslberg Export, laced with salt and vinegar of course..

For me I have to have mushy peas too..but some people think they are disgusting.

You can’t beat that, crispy fish, squishy fresh chips and a cold bottle of beer!

After that we had a walk along the river past the cathedral and back up to where we parked.

It was a lovely evening.

There were swans everywhere, they are elegant creatures.

God bless Worcester.

I do take nice photos 😉

In UK there are a few things in every area, every few streets there is:

1) A Pub

2) A Fish and Chip Shop

3) A Convience Store

In most areas, the older ones there’s usually a flower shop, a grocers and a butcher too (an often a hairdresser).

So the next day we headed to Birmingham to meet my aunt for lunch, hit a classic brit pub called The Black Horse.

Normal city pub, most have the same menu and they don’t really have any proper country food, but a few things on the menu are usually decent.

Of course they have the number 1 dish in the UK on the menu (it’s on EVERY menu) and no it’s not fish and chips…

It’s….CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA!

The menu is pretty normal for a pub menu..

I went for the classic and hearty steak and ale pie.

Served with ample chips, peas and carrots smothered in gravy.

Followed by a large coffee and a hot chocolate fudge cake with real vanilla ice cream!

We went to my other aunts for dinner after that, so unfortunately no pictures..

But we had pasta anyway, so nothing typically british to take pictures of!

Managed a nice picture of their garden though before batteries totally died..

Got home and headed out with me homes for a game of pool…the typical British past time.

Pretty normal pastime for many people here, couple of pints, packet of crisps or a basket of chips and a few games of pool.

My buddy kicking my ass….I haven’t played for a long time.

We used to be pretty even…I did catch up in the end though, lost 7-5 I think..

And yeah we have proper pool tables, not those poncy american things 😛

So after some hardcore shopping we were pretty hungry, we headed home and sparked up some snacks and Gin and Tonic (How English I know..)

After that mom started up the cooking machine again, whipping up another one of my favourites! Chicken escalopes with potatoe wedges!

We used turkey this time though, take a couple of turkey breasts and slit them down the middle, fill them with cheese and thick ham..

Then take a couple of bowls, one with milk, one with breadcrumbs, dip the breast in the milk, then coat it in breadcrumbs..

Then shallow fry the badboys so the breadcrumbs stick on and they are golden brown, but not totally cooked.

While you are doing that toss some potatoes in olive oil, pepper and salt, then stick em in the microwave for 5-6 minutes.

After that put them on a baking tray and shove em in the oven.

After they are part cooked, put the escalopes in the oven on a baking tray to finish them off.

Stick them all on a plate with some lightly boiled veg and voila! Lovely.

Wash down with LOADS of gin and tonic 🙂

After that of course because it was mom’s bday I treated her to some Strawberries and Cream, English classic dessert.

Take the strawberries and slice them (not too finely), sprinkle a little caster sugar over them and leave them to sit for a while (not to sweeten them, but it really brings the flavour and juices out).

Take some whipping cream and whip it up.

Add a little sugar if you have a sweet tooth, then serve together (With more gin and tonic of course).

And well that was the end of my mom’s bday, she had a great day, of course the best present was me being home!

Pubs, Pool, Guiness, Pie and more coming soon..

The topic reminds me of one of my old housemates from my Uni days, nutter from Wales by the name of Taffy.

The first time I walked into the flat he was there, he introduced himself as such:

He proceeded to open the fridge and show me…it contained only cider and cheese, anyway that’s going off topic..

Got up in the morning, mom opened her presents and we headed into out so I could treat my mom lunch for her Birthday..

It’s her 60th next year, so I’m hoping I’ll be able to come back for that one, double party, 60th AND retirement, hopefully she’ll be able to visit Malaysia more often (And cook for everyone :P)

This is the view from the place we parked..

That’s the railway line over the old aquaduct and another car-park, it’s a pretty small city (120,000++ population).

Managed to get my cream cakes, passed a few traditional English cake shops on the way through, not the commercial chains..

We headed to a small place called Elgars which has been an eatery since around 1830, before that it was a Shoemaker.

The name comes from the composer Edward Elgar, one of the few famous people that came from here..

I had a nice pint of English Cider (something like beer but made with apples, very ‘countryfolk’).

My mom wouldn’t stop talking for me to take a picture, so I just had to take it anyway..

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

I had myself the perfect meal to go with cider, a Ploughmans Lunch.

A very typical, simple countryside kinda meal with a big lump of cheese, some thick ham off the bone, a chunk of bread, some pickled onions, some branston pickle and some salad.

Did a bit more shopping after that, got my work shoes (For 12 pound!) and mom managed to get a pair of deck shoes for a stunning 4 pounds because one had been in the window and was slightly faded.

Next up..Mom’s Bday Dinner