I had lunch at the Gherkin in London today with some work colleges. The Gherkin is also known as the Swiss Re Building but officially it’s 30 St Mary Axe. We had lunch at the bar above the restaurant on the 39th floor and the 360 views of London were just spectacular. The food prices at the bar weren’t bad either. I had the fish and chips which were priced at £11.50. Very reasonable considering the location.

I just got back from spending a few days in Prague, Czech Republic yesterday and man it was fantastic. The people were friendly, the streets weren’t too crowded, the weather was good, the food prices were very reasonable (especially when compared to western European countries) and the city so incredibly beautiful. It sort of felt like being in another age with all the spectacular medieval buildings.

While shopping for ingredients to make teriyaki chicken in Sainsbury’s yesterday I came past some duck breast and decided to try using duck instead. I found a teriyaki chicken recipe online and just substituted chicken for duck. I also made a couple of other minor substitutions to the recipe since I didn’t have all the ingredients. Luckily, it ended up tasting pretty good.

Here’s the recipe:

• 2 duck breasts with skin on (about 300 grams)
• 4 tablespoons of sake (rice wine)
• 4 tablespoons of dark soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 2 tablespoons of pineapple juice

Combine the ingredients and marinate the duck breasts in the refrigerator for about an hour. Heat some oil in a fry pan and fry the duck breasts skin down on medium heat until the skin is brown and crispy. If the duck is browning too quickly turn the heat down a little. Turn the duck over and fry the other side on low heat. After about 10 minutes add the remainder of the marinade to the pan and cook until the sauce thickens. Remove the duck and allow to rest for a few minutes. Slice the duck and serve with steamed rice, brocolli and a slice of pan fried pineapple.

I was at Heathrow Airport a couple of weeks ago waiting for my flight to Melbourne via Singapore. It was early in the morning and as I hadn’t had breakfast I was looking for a place to grab a bite in the food court area of Terminal 3. It was quite busy and I didn’t really want to wait in a queue so I decided to head into the Rhubarb Food Bar.

The Rhubarb Food Bar is a little restaurant/cafe type place with nicely dressed waiters. I sat down a looked through the menu and remembered thinking that the breakfast items seemed a little pricey especially amongst the other fast food outlets in the food court. I ended up settling for the miniature English breakfast which came with a miniature bagel with smoked salmon and cream cheese and a sweet pastry. It seemed to offer the best value for money.

I didn’t realise that miniature really meant miniature until I saw it. Everything was so tiny even the fried egg. All quite cute actually. The whole meal was also surprisingly satisfying considering its small size. The total cost was £15.50 including a cup of coffee.

Tonight for dinner we had pork roast and veges. This is definitely one of my favourite dishes. I just love making a pork roast because it’s relatively easy to prepare and tastes so good.

I started with a nice cut of pork leg, seasoned with some salt, pepper, rosemary, mixed Italian spices, a couple of cloves of crushed garlic and a few splashings of olive oil. Then it was into the oven for about 90 minutes.

Once nice and golden brown the pork was sliced, covered in gravy and served with roasted carrots, potatoes and parsnips which are now on my favourite veges.