By, Anonymous
1 min read
I eat very little lunch and try to keep "special" dishes special by not having them too often. I love good wine but probably only indulge once or twice a week.
Fresh cep and onion omelette: Cep are large fleshy mushrooms with a wonderful flavour this time of year.
Crispy aromatic duck in pancakes: Even after 22 years of Kaifeng, this is still one of my favourites.
Egg and chips: There comes a time when only something very basic will do. Steamed sole with ginger and spring onions: The Chinese do this dish perfectly with a light soya sauce.
Häagen-Dazs ice cream: I mix Belgian chocolate and Dulce de leche together and let it melt slowly to release the flavours. Fabulous.
It is probably just as well that Philip does not have his "special" dishes too often: with the exception of the sole dish, his choices of fried eggs including omelettes, shredded duck together with its skin, chips and extremely high calorie ice-creams all have a high fat content. He could try using a virtually fat-free sunflower oil and lethicin emulsion cooking spray for shallow frying (and roasting and baking).
Philip has made some healthy choices - walnut oil provides alpha-linolenic acid which is converted to omega-3 fatty acids, fish is a good low-fat source of protein, vitamins and minerals, and mushrooms and a green salad count towards the recommended daily five portions of fruit and vegetables - but he should keep to small portions of rich ice-creams and duck eaten with skin on an occasional basis. Green tea will supply anti-oxidants to help protect against heart disease and cancer and help regulate the immune system.
Philip Pell is the owner of Kaifeng in Hendon, NW4