Better than Roti King

clafoutis, and Roji!

Food news of the week:

A clafoutis recipe today, all custardy-flan-like.

If you haven’t been to the quaint Laxsa in Soho, then really what are you doing? Not to mention their roti canai is better than Roti King’s, outside which there’s always a headache of a queue? Dipped into their sweet-savoury, thick chicken curry, it’s a humble, flaky winner. Next, a new café Sip and Rise opened near me in Kensington, so new they don’t even have a website, but they happen to do the best tuna melt on a soft and sweet toasted challah slice. I was so impressed that I had to leave a review, something I don’t really do, especially for a new place.

better than it looks: Laxsa’s roti canai

Science of the week:

There may really be a link between fast eating and postprandial glucose levels. Fast eating is linked to overeating and fluctuating fasting plasma glucose concentration. Inflammatory markers like certain interleukins (signalling molecules) are involved with insulin resistance– when your body doesn’t respond to insulin– which is what regulates our blood glucose, and these are markedly decreased in people who eat slowly.

Insight of the week:

I feel like I keep talking about movies in this section, but Blackberry was phenomenal! The flick traces the company’s rise and fall, leaving you wondering if moving too fast (and trusting the wrong people) can make things break.

Recipe of the week:

It’s an autumny clafoutis, of which a slightly veganised version can be found here in the original post.

Chocolate, Pear and Banana Clafoutis (makes one 9-inch cake)

Ingredients

2 large pears, peeled, cored and quartered

240ml milk of choice

65g white sugar

2 bananas, mashed

1 egg

100g chopped dark chocolate, split into two portions

50g plain flour

Directions

Preheat your oven to 200C (400F) and butter a large iron cast skillet or pan (as I did). Lay your quartered pear in a ring in the pan so the tops all face and touch at the middle.

In a bowl, whisk together almost everything else– the flour, sugar, bananas, one portion of dark chocolate and milk. Pour this over the pears, making sure that there’s an even amount of batter between each quarter. Sprinkle the rest of the chocolate on top.

Bake for 35 minutes, then remove and let cool for at least 10 before tucking in with something cold like ice cream or creamy like custard. A star show.

Restaurant of the week:

Since its arrival in bustling Mayfair, Omakase at Roji is a mainstay-classy-eat for me. Although my partner and I were mildly late, our hasty scoffing did little to numb the punch of the first set of powerful, unique flavour combinations. My dear friend Miriam mentioned that I should put in number ratings at the end of each review, so those will always be at the end, too. First up: Dorset crab, corn dashi, egg.