Lunch Queen

I am addicted to the somewhat ridiculous Japanese “drama” series Lunch Queen, or Lunch no Joou. This blog entry by she bakes and she cooks led me to the 2002 show’s existence. Just watch that video above (first episode, part 1 of 6) and tell me if you don’t get a craving for omurice!

It’s only 12 episodes long and so you’ll only be wasting away approximately 12 hours of your life. Well, maybe wasting away is a bit harsh – I’m 7 episodes in and the plot (which at the beginning is frankly very silly) is starting to get quite interesting. The story is of a girl who ends up at a restaurant run by a family with 4 brothers. That’s all I’ll tell you – you’ve just got to watch it. There is some cod-philosophy kicking about through the entire series that is a bit cringeworthy though.

But the food! You get to see many contemporary Japanese dishes such as omurice, hayashi rice, curry rice, hamburg, and children’s meals and many home cooked meals eaten at the back of the restaurant in the family home. This is food porn at its best! You can find all the videos on YouTube here.

Demiglace!

 

Ratatouille

Ratatouille looks amazing! I’ve seen nothing about it in the UK – no ads, no commercials, nothing. Why are they ignoring what will obviously be the best film this year?!! To keep it short, the film is about a gourmet rat called Remy helping Linguini, a lowly kitchen cleaner, to the heights of culinary wizardry. Or something like that – I can’t help it; I pay more attention to all the little details in the kitchen and wonder how the animators did it all. Is it sick of me to get a thrill at watching this trailer and becoming all excited because I have the same microplane grater that they’re using in the kitchen? No,wait, don’t answer that.

Longer preview videos (that’s just the teaser above) can be found on YouTube and on the official Disney site. I have to admit that I’m also loving the game on the official site involving veggie chopping! Chop chop.

An article in the New York Times details how the Pixar crew studied with Thomas Keller and ate at notable restaurants in Paris. They’ve truly done their research and it’s apparent to see in all the preview clips. There are even rumours that Thomas Keller and Ferran Adria, among others, provided their voices for minor roles.

It comes out in cinemas in the US on June 29. Unfortunately for me, the film opens in the UK only in October!

 

Around the Web

I’m loving this BBC series, Cooking in the Danger Zone. I was genuinely frightened for him in the Chernobyl episode! And the roast suckling pig in Tonga…ooooh! I want one!

Thanks to Cooking in the Danger Zone, I learned about this terrific Chinese fast food chain – Kung Fu! I can’t read a single thing on that page but I’m content to look at the pictures.

Frank Bruni in the New York Times has written about the glory that is fat showing up on many menus in New York restaurants.

There’s a picnic special in this week’s TimeOut! Let’s hope the weather holds for some great outdoor eating!

 

Around the Web

Not very recent, but this pig would make some pretty big bacon.

I nicked this link from Serious Eats – What’s Cooking Grandma? is full of videos of grandmothers sharing their special recipes.

There was a terrific review for Kiasu, a Malaysian restaurant in Bayswater, in the Guardian this past Saturday. It’s definitely on my hit list!

Also an excellent review of the Forge at TimeOut. I visited with a friend about 2 weeks ago and had a very good foie gras with orange and brioche, ribeye steak and frites, and pistachio souffle.

 

Around the Web

I surf the net so you don’t have to!

Not a recent post but Pim’s Pad Thai for beginners looks very promising.

I learned about Kushi-Tei through a recent review on Time Out London. Japanese food on a stick – how can it go wrong?!

Elsewhere on the Time Out London site: Cheap Eats 2007, Offbeat World Cuisines in London and a guide to Eating at the Bar.

This is what happens to me in the kitchen.

Marco Pierre White would rather eat a Big Mac than airline meals. I agree.