Happy Chinese New Year! Today marks the start of Chinese New Year, and this year is "Year of the Pig"! Last weekend was the closest to Chinese New Year, although London's parade and other activities for the New Year actually take place this coming weekend. The pig is the twelfth animal in the Chinese zodiac, and the order of the animals in the zodiac follows a story that set the order of the animals arriving to an event. The pig was the last to arrive, but although he is last and took his time, the pig is lucky in Chinese culture and is a symbol of wealth and fortune. It is said that those born in a pig year are blessed with fortune and personality.
To celebrate this year, a group of friends and I went to Barshu Restaurant, which is located near London's Chinatown (just on the other side of Shaftesbury Avenue from Chinatown on Frith Street). Barshu is a Sichuan restaurant, and it is a popular choice for authentic Chinese Sichuan food. Sichuan is a province in southwest China, and their food uses more spice and has more flavour in this region.
First up, some of us had mocktail juice drinks, and I started with watermelon and aloe. Afterwards, I had a creamy mocktail made from mango and lychee. Both drinks were very refreshing. We had starters first while we waited for one friend who was running a little bit late. The starters consisted of spring rolls (unfortunately they do not do vegetarian ones), chilli chicken, fried meat balls, and potato slivers.
For the main meal, we shared a lot of different plates with two vegetarian dishes, a beef stew, chicken dish, lamb, fish hotpot, and some friends had scallops. This was served with steamed rice. The food was delicious, but the clear favourites seemed to be the Dry-Fried Green Beans (vegetarian), Gong Bao Chicken with Peanuts, and Stir-Fried Lamb with Hot Peppers.
We spent some time catching up before deciding to head onto the street to enjoy a warm drink and cake to pick us up a bit. One of my friends recommended Caffé Concerto a short walk up the road. I've never actually been to this chain of café before, but I've always wanted to go and the cake displays in the windows always look inviting. There are a few of these dotted around London with a couple on Piccadilly Street. Caffé Concerto it is a UK company that started in 1996 and was one of the fastest-trading companies in 2013.
I had the Caffé Concerto hot chocolate, which was topped with whipped cream and marshmallow. It was a little disappointing as it is a standard and watered-down hot chocolate. The whipped cream and marshmallow gave it flavour. On the other hand, the pistachio cake that I had (pictured below) was amazing. The cake was not too filling.
My friends got the honey cake, which was extremely light and delicious. I wasn't sure that I'd like it or even knew what to expect, but it was delicious too. My other friend had tiramisu, which is a dessert that I don't like, so I did not try hers. Other friends had chocolate cake and chocolate fondant, and apparently the chocolate fondant was not the greatest.
I was torn between pistachio cake and chocolate mousse, but I am glad that I went with the cake as I am not sure if the mousse would have been to my liking. I have struggled to find a chocolate mousse in London that meets my expectations. I think that the French and Americans are good at making chocolate mousse. I may be tempted to try it from Caffé Concerto some day.
Last up is a visit that I made by myself while I was enjoying my walk on Sunday. Soft Serve Society, a London ice cream shop based in BOXPARK Shoreditch (see my previous post about Soft Serve Society Ice Cream), are currently selling "Year of the Pig" ice cream. To order this, you have to say "I like pig butts and I do not lie", as that is the name of this cute pig-inspired ice cream. The flavour of ice cream can be selected by the purchaser, and it currently comes in vanilla, taro, or pomegranate. I've had their taro ice cream before, but I wanted to try something new, and the flavour pictured in their shop is created using the pomegranate flavour. This flavour has a sour taste, so it's probably best not to have it if you're looking for something sweet or it's for a child. The cone can also be customised between the standard cone that I selected or a black one.
I went inside an empty Soft Serve Society shop and ordered my piggy ice cream with the white chocolate pink ears and nose and a pink pretzel on the back (not pictured, but I assume this was to make a tail). As I stood outside the shop to get some quick photographs for a couple of minutes, a large crowd formed with most of the others opting for their own "Year of the Pig" ice creams. There was much ice cream envy as people stopped to ask me where I bought the ice cream. I don't know if this happens to any of my readers, but I seem to be a trend-setter!
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