The Front Parlour | Burnham-on-Sea

We found this beach out of coincidence and thought it looked nice so we spent some time resting and enjoying the sun on the sandy beach. The sand was although different from the white sandy beaches I am used to from South East Asia, this, I thought was still better than pebbles on the beach. What was weird, was that it might have been low tide and was not much water in the sea but no one was actually near the water. P tried going close to the water but it was just muddy and odd so never ventured any further. Perhaps it was one of those beaches with sinking mud that we have seen throughout this road trip. 

After enough time spending soaking up the sun, we headed to The Front Parlour which we thought looked quaint with wafting smell of a great Sunday roast. Too bad we already had a big breakfast at Dr. Fox's Tearoom in Weston-super-Mare earlier so something small in the late afternoon would have sufficed. 

Afternoon tea of scones with clotted cream and jam.

The Sommerset afternoon tea the table behind us were having looked fabulous, I wanted one too. What a bliss to have afternoon tea on the seafront after a relaxing lie down on the sandy beach. Plus, this felt so authentic. Scones with proper clotted cream and jam with tea is one of the best ways of enjoying the sun on the English coast. It was a well spent afternoon in this charming family run tearoom. The next time I come back, it will be for their famous roast. 

The Front Parlour
6 The Esplanade,
Burnham-on-Sea,
Sommerset,
TA8 1BB, UK

Tel: +44 01278 787383

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Chocolate Mille-Feuille

Making mille-feuille seems like a daunting attempt at first but it is actually pretty simple if you use store bought puff pastry. And since you save so much time from using ready-made puff pastry, it takes little effort to make with 4 simple steps. All you have to do is to bake the pastry, make the ganache, assemble and decorate. It is as easy as that and the final dessert looks stunning and impressive. 

Chocolate Mille-Feuille

makes 10

• Ready rolled puff pastry (store bought)
• Icing sugar

Chocolate Ganache

adapted from William Curley’s Couture Chocolate pistachio ganache

• 300ml whipping cream
• 1/4 tsp pinch of sea salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 250g fine dark chocolate (finely chopped)
• 20g unsalted butter

• Fresh raspberries

Method:

To make pastry:

1.  Preheat oven to 190C.

2.  Place rolled puff pastry on a baking tray and prick the entire pastry sheet with fork to let the air out so the pastry does not puff up too much.

3.  Put another baking sheet on top of the pastry to weigh it down.

4.  Bake for about 30 minutes or until pastry is cooked and golden.

5.  Sprinkle some icing sugar on the pastry and transfer to a cooling rack.

6.  Let cool completely before cutting pastry into rectangles with a serrated knife.

7.  Sprinkle pastry with icing sugar again before assembly.

To make chocolate ganache:

1.  Boil whipping cream  and salt then pour over the bowl of chopped chocolate.

2.  Stir until well combined then add butter and mix until smooth.

3.  Set aside for an hour to firm.

4.  Spoon ganache into a piping bag with an 8mm nozzle.

To assemble:

1.  Place a cut rectangular sheet of pastry on a flat surface and pipe two rows of chocolate ganache.
2.  Arrange raspberries in between the rows of chocolate ganache.
3.  Carefully place another rectangular sheet of pastry on top of the ganache.
4.  Decorate with whole raspberry and mint leaf. Repeat the process.

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Hot & Sour Soup with Vermicelli

Hot and sour soup

These days, I try to stock up on lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves when I shop at the oriental store, making sure I never run out of them. Lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves freeze well so it is great to have them at hand as it is a staple in most south-east asian food. Lemongrass itself has multiple benefits. This natural ingredient has anti-cancer properties, high in anti-oxidant which also helps prevent cancer, reduces cholesterol, helps rid of cold and fever, and many more benefits. The juice of lemongrass is also used as insect repellent. I know this because each time I visit Tropical Spice Garden in Penang, the staff there would have us spray lemongrass juice on our bare legs and arms. There are lots of mosquitoes hidden between those tropical bushes so to prevent from leaving the garden with dozens of mosquito bites, bare with the smell and spray them all over you if you are going anywhere near a tropical forest or garden. It does help you enjoy the beautiful surroundings than to be annoyed being bitten by those tiny evil creatures.

HOW TO MAKE LEMONGRASS TEA:

Boil about 4 stalks of lemongrass in a pot of water. Make sure you bruise and split them in halves so the lemongrass will infuse a lot faster. I have not measured nor timed this process so depending on how strong you would like the tea to be, add water accordingly. Let it boil and simmer for about an hour. Once ready, pour into teacups and serve with honey or sugar.





HOT & SOUR SOUP WITH VERMICELLI RECIPE
serves 3-4

Ingredients:

• 3 stalk lemon grass (bruised)


• 5 kaffir lime leaves


• 2-3 bird's eye chilli


• 15g shallots


• 5 cloves garlic (peeled & bruised)


• 2 inch ginger (peeled & sliced)


• 2 stalks celery


• 2 large carrots


• 2 large tomato (cut into wedges)


• 250g mixed seafood (prawn, squid, mussels)


• 1 litre boiled water


• 1 chicken bouillon cube


• 2 large lime (juice only)


• 1 1/2 tbs palm sugar


• Salt & ground white pepper to taste


• Coriander (as garnish)

• Vermicelli

1. Heat the pot with some oil and partially cook the seafood. Remove from pot and set aside.


2. Saute the onions, garlic, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, chillies and ginger in the same pot until fragrant.


3. Add in water and let boil for a few minutes, turn the heat down to let the lemongrass flavour infuse into the soup.


4. The celery, carrots and tomato is then added into the pot, together with the bouillon cube.


5. Let the soup simmer on medium to low heat fora bout an hour and until vegetables are soft.


6. While waiting for the soup to be ready, cook the vermicelli in hot water for 1 minute and drain.


7. Divide the drained vermicelli in separate bowls.


8. Squeeze some lime juice into the soup. Add sugar, salt and pepper to taste.


9. Tip the seafood into the hot soup to heat them up.


10. Ladle soup over the noodles and garnish with coriander. You can add a few slices of red chilli if you like, just to give some colour and contrast.

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