Neon - Asian Street Food

Neon, a new Asian Street Food restaurant, opened its door a few weeks ago and as soon as I saw the menu online and saw the phrase 'Vietnamese Pho Soup', I was hooked and knew I had to get myself down there as fast as I could. So last Friday with only a few hours to spare before heading off to a gig I decided that a visit to Neon on Camden Street had to be fitted in.

One of the first things I noticed was how inviting the restaurant looked from the outside with its green exterior and dark wooden panelling. Then all it took was one look through the window to fall head over heels in love with the place. The long wooden tables and the lovely graphics of street traders in Vietnam brought back wonderful memories of travelling with friends. I was looking forward to relieving the food experience.

So myself and the boyfriend grabbed a table and a menu and sat ourselves down to confer. Deciding what to get always takes us an age and it never helps when everything on the menu sounds delicious! There was a good variety of soups, salads, curries and noodle, rice and wok dishes on offer.  Favourites such as Pad Thai and Massaman Curry also make an appearance. Finally we made our decision and so up I went to order. Ordering in Neon is the same as ordering in any fast food restaurant, you go up to the staff, they dont come to you, but that is where the similarity ends. The staff were very attentive the whole time we were there, asking us whether we were enjoying the food and if we needed anything. I also noticed that they were very efficent at keeping the place clean as the majority of the seating is communal and does tend to get messy quite fast.

Now on to the food! First off, and to my delight, we received some prawn crackers which we hadn't ordered but which come with the meal. They were the good kind, not the greasy, flimsy, white ones, but the crunchy, slighty spicy ones and teamed with a sweet chilli sauce they started the meal off on a good foot.

As we couldn't decide on a starter each we got a Starter Box to share so we could try a bit of everthing. There were prawn rolls, chicken satay skewers, vegetable spring rolls, duck spring rolls and a selection of sauces. The duck spring rolls were the standout for me. They were just really tasty and moreish but everything in the box tasted very fresh.

Then it was on to the main feast. Since the main reason I was there was for the Vietnamese Pho Soup I had to order that but we also ordered some Mekong Duck and stir fried egg noodles. All the food comes to the table in paper cartons but there are bowls available on the tables which you can put your food into yourself.

Vietnamese Pho Soup

Mekong Duck

Mekong Duck and Noodles

The soup was delicious but I think if I was to eat it just by myself I would be a bit overwhelmed as the portion size was huge. There was also quite a strong aniseed flavour off it which I liked but might not be to everyone's taste.  The Mekong Duck was succulent and melted in the mouth and it was accompanied by crisp, crunchy vegetables. Then to top the whole meal off one of the staff gave us two cones and told us to help ourselves to icecream!! Icecream that we could pull ourselves, well it was like a childhood dream had just come true!  One little girl nearly fell over herself when she saw what we were doing.

This is fast food at its best. You can't beat Asian street food for sheer quickness, taste and flavour and Neon delivers that by the cartonfull! I can see this place becoming a firm favourite on the Camden Street trail and that is just going by the fact that by the time we left at 7 the place was packed with lot of happy looking chopsticks clicking clients. Our whole bill came to 26 euro and at that we couldn't even finish it all!

For more info on Neon click here. They will be offering a home delivery service from the 12th March. This is also a family friendly restaurant with a special children's selection and an icecream machine so how could it not be!!

Jamie Oliver to open Taste of Dublin 2012

Here's some exciting foodie news. Jamie Oliver is coming to town!! A whole generation of young foodies have grown up watching his shows drawn in by his easygoing 'pukka' attitude towards food. He will be in Ireland soon to launch this year’s Taste of Dublin Food and Drink Festival on Thursday June 14th at the Iveagh Gardens. This will be the first time Jamie has ever given a live cooking demonstration in Ireland.

This is the seventh Taste of Dublin and it will run from Thursday June 14th to Sunday 17th June. Jamie will be in good company as other chefs such as Valentine Warner, Thomasina Miers, Rachel Allen, Oliver Dunne, Ross Lewis and Derry Clarke will all take to the stage over the four days.There will also be two live entertainment stages, over 100 exhibitors and 20 of Dublin's best restaurants where you will be able to choose from a range of delicious food. You will also be able to pick up informative tips with culinary demonstrations in the Chef’s Theatre and participate in intimate Q&A sessions with top chefs at the Chef’s Table.

I am very excited about this event, it isn't the cheapest event in the world as you have to buy your ticket and then buy food on top of that, but to see Jamie live in action is worth parting with my hard earned cash!! 

General Release Tickets go on sale from 18^th April or to beat the crowd and get some early bird tickets sign up to the Taste of Dublin Newsletter  for the chance to purchase them. All advance standard tickets are now only €20 discounted from the 2011 price of €25.

To view the Taste of Dublin website click here.

Foodie Fairs for the Weekend

If you are looking for something to do this weekend two food fairs are taking place this Sunday. Meath Craft & Food Fair and A Taste of Offaly. Both events kick off at 12 noon.

Meath Craft & Food Fair
Crafters Ireland's hugely popular Meath Craft and Food Fair is a great day out for the whole family and will be taking place in the Newgrange Hotel, Navan on the 26th of February. Visit over 30 of the best crafters, foodies and small businesses in the area - including restaurant quality curry sauce, wickless candles, the best cakes and biscuits Meath can offer, woodturners, handmade jewellery, the forever living company plus much much more. Check out www.craftersireland.ie for more information.

Taste of Offaly
A Taste of Offaly will take place at the Tullamore Court Hotel and will feature more than 40 exhibits, sampling opportunities and cookery demonstrations. The exhibits will range from gourmet jams to cheese, various types of bread to handmade sausages and fine wines, hand made paper products and crafts and is truly is a celebration of all things local. Chef Yvonne Carty of Hey Pesto fame will also be offering demonstrations on the day. For more info click here.

A Sunny Saturday at the Sugarloaf Lounge

So last Saturday, on one of those beautiful Irish spring afternoons, Ms J suggested we head to Powerscourt and have afternoon tea Downton style. It didn't take much to convince me, I love the whole idea of afternoon tea - china cups, bitesize sandwiches and scones - what's not to like. So off we headed to the Ritz-Carlton and gracefully arranged ourselves in front of the grand windows overlooking the mountains. We tittered at the range of mini size jams, complimented the tea and coffee and ooohhed when the three tier cake stand arrived. So far so good.

 

Maybe my expectations were too high, maybe I have watched one too many English period dramas, maybe I have read too many Austin novels, but I was disappointed. First off for a five star hotel it took over 45 minutes for the sandwiches and scones to arrive. Diners around us were being served full meals while we drank an entire pot of tea and coffee and waited and waited and waited. When they did arrive some of the bread on the sandwiches tasted stale as if they had been sitting out for ages uncovered and the foccacia was greasy from too much oil.

The prawn sandwich and the chicken wrap though were very tasty with juicy fillings. The mini scones were ever so delightful especially with a thick topping of lemon curd and freshly whipped cream. And then we came to the desserts. I was surprised by the fact that we weren't offered small petit fours but instead full size after dinner desserts. I am most certainly a dessert person so I took my time deliberating what to choose from the well stocked trolley but clearly I didn't choose well enough as I didn't like either. I started with a dark chocolate sponge finger with the added glamness of some gold leaf but this was too rich and bitter so I left most of it behind. Then I moved on to a raspberry and pistachio eclair which was super sweet and the raspberry flavour was lost in the over sugary filling. Ms J faired better with a vanilla tart with a surprise filling of custard in the base and a light lemon meringue pie so I did what every proper lady would do and offered to help her eat them! 

Chocolate Sponge Finger

Vanilla Tart

Raspberry and Pistachio Eclair

Overall for the price that was paid - €35 -  it is an expensive treat and obviously not one that people would be having all the time.The venue is beautiful and the hotel is very comfortable to sit in for an afternoon but I would be hard pressed to justify eating there again. I am still enamoured with the idea of afternoon tea but if I ever get the chance to do it again it won't be at the Sugar Loaf Lounge.