Duke's Brew & Que | London

“Come, let’s go to this place with really good barbecue ribs! It’s almost always fully booked and packed with people.”

Unconscious of where I was heading to, we walked along what looks like a quiet residential area, minutes from Haggerston station. It was a converted pub that serves traditional deep-south American style barbecue. They use American wood smokers to smoke their meat. There is also a good selection of locally brewed beers that goes very well with the food served.

Since the ribs are the most famous here, we ordered the pork ribs. It had a dark sticky glaze and came served with refreshing home-made slaw, very finely sliced. The side order of fries was crisp and fluffy. The BBQ ribs reminded me of the coffee ribs I used to have in a restaurant back in Malaysia when I was a teenager. It was sticky and good, tender on some and over cooked on some. Apparently it was not as good as it used to be. Well, I must say that the ribs was although nice, it wasn't the best. I have had better ones. Depth of flavour was also lacking. I hope it was one of their off days as I have heard really good things about their ribs.

We also ordered a pulled pork slider which I found it dry and lack flavour. Pulled pork can be really wonderful if made well. Unfortunately, not this one.

A flight of 3 beers where each was a third of a pint was perfect to sample a few different beers for those of us who can’t decide which. We had the Sandford Orchards Devon Mist cider, Kernel Simcoe Pale Ale and Beavertown Smoked Porter. The porter was the best of all we tried. It had a chocolate and coffee hint which pairs really well with the ribs. I highly recommend ordering this porter if you are ordering the ribs.

Dessert of Peanut butter Chocolate Tart was hard and felt like eating a slab of butter with a slight peanut taste that just came straight out from the refrigerator. It is rare for me not to finish a dessert but this was really not my kind of dessert to end a decent meal. The vanilla ice cream with praline though, was good.

Smile..

Food was reasonably good, though I was a little disappointed from the rave review I received.

Great selection of beers. Generally a pleasant place for drinks and some nice food.

Frown..

It is recommended to not have the Peanut Butter Chocolate Tart.

Will I return?

Yes, more so for the beer and maybe to try that ribs again hoping it will be better.


Dukes Brew & Que
33 Downham Road
De Beauvoir Town
N1 5AA London, UK

Tel: +44 (0)20 3006 0795

  

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Tamarind Glazed Chicken

Are you getting bored of the typical roast chicken yet? If so, this roast chicken with Asian flavours might just refresh you a little. It is tangy from the tamarind and slightly sweet from the sugar  which will caramelise in the oven to balance out the flavour. The glaze also adds shine to the crispy skin.

If you think it will be complicated, I assure you, it is not at all. Marinade and roast the chicken like you always do and brush the glaze on the chicken at the final 5 minutes of cooking, and then again when it is ready. See, it is that easy!

TAMARIND GLAZED CHICKEN

Adapted from Jehan Can Cook


Ingredients:

Marinade

• 4 chicken leg
• 3 tbs Worcestershire sauce
• Garlic salt & pepper

Tamarind Glaze

• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 5 tbsp tamarind paste
• 8 tbsp ketchup
• 10 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp five spice powder
• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 inch fresh ginger, crushed

Method:

1.  Rub the chicken with Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Cover and let marinade for about 2 hours.
2.  To make the tamarind glaze, place all ingredients in a sauce pot over medium heat.  Cook for 15 minutes or until sauce thickens. Set aside.
3.  Place the chicken on a baking tray and into a preheated oven at 180C for about 20 minutes or until almost done.
4.  Brush the glaze on the chicken 5 minutes before the chicken is ready.
5.  Once the chicken is ready and is out of the over, top it with a final layer of glaze.

You may also like:

Banana Tree

Balsamic Glazed Steak Roll

Chicken Chop Malaysian Style

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Lake Głębokie | Szczecin

Not far from the city centre of Szczecin lies the picturesque Lake Głębokie (pronounced as Gwembokia) surrounded by the woods. It is a perfect place to get away from any city stress and be close to nature. The locals like to go there to cycle, run, fish, swim, chill and read. It is also a great place for bond fire gathering with a big group of friends as they have wooden huts dotted around the banks of the lake and areas to light up the fire to keep warm or barbecue some food. It was a really good experience being able to live like the locals for a short while I was there.

The beautiful Lake Głębokie

We had a really long walk around the lake to find the best spot for our evening of just hanging out by the lake and burning dry wood from found in the forest to make our dinner. All we needed to bring were some drinks, sausages, bread, ogorki (pickled cucumber) and some sauces.  The rest, we get them all natural. We even made skewers out of tree branches made pointed with a knife.

Duck in the swamp

Starting the fire

I must say, I really enjoyed watching the sausage fat drip out, the skin change colour and crisp up. Even toasting the bread on open fire was interesting. It makes cooking dinner so much more exciting, even made eating such simple food satisfying. I got a little nostalgic of my teenage girl scouts camping time. Another beautiful memory for future nostalgia.

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