We’ve enjoyed so much fantastic (and foul) food from around the world that we’re opening a Fantasy Cafe in Bristol…

Would you eat at our Fantasy Cafe?
Starters
Seaweed wrapped rice triangles filled with tuna mayo – Japan
Firm white sushi rice shaped into a triangle with a small tuna mayo filling and cleverly wrapped to ensure the seaweed stays crispy, this is a healthy and filling grab ‘n’ go snack
Fried tempeh with garlic, ginger and sesame seeds – Java, Indonesia
Made from fermented cooked soya beans, tempeh is firm and dry with an earthy, sweet taste. Deliciously crispy when fried with garlic, ginger and sesame seeds!

Toasted corn taco, Oaxacan cheese, tomato salsa and guacamole – Mexico
Finely chopped tomatoes and mashed avocado are the perfect accompaniment to a simple corn (not flour) tortilla that’s toasted long enough for the mild white Oaxacan cheese to go all stringy – yum
Tostones – Cuba
Green plantains fried twice to a soft crispiness and sprinkled with salt
Frijoles pintos – Cuba
This hearty, salty, soupy-stew is made with a mix of mashed pinto beans, whole pinto beans, onion, peppers, garlic, tomato sauce and cumin
Veggie samosas – Chungking Mansions, Hong Kong
The Asian version of a Cornish (vegetable) pasty, these delicious triangles are crispy and light, filled with a really rather spicy mix of carrots, peas and onions
Salted edamame beans – Japan and Vancouver
Just whole edamame beans steamed and sprinkled with salt. Pop the whole pod in your mouth and scrape out the shiny green beans with your teeth. Healthy, filling and oh-so-good!

Mains
Dahl and mango curry with coconut sambal – Sri Lanka
A sweet and hearty curry with sambal – a cold salad made with freshly grated coconut flesh, chilli, peppercorns, garlic, red onion, salt and lime juice


Fish and chips – New Zealand
Battered deep fried Hoki fish with medium-chunky chips – always cheap, always good!

Nasi goreng – Indonesia
Fried noodles with kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), sambal olek (chopped chillis and vinegar), garlic, carrot, green onion, cabbage, fried shallots, eggs and thinly sliced red chillies with a fried egg on top

Potato masala dosa – South Indian (but eaten in Sri Lanka, Singapore and Vancouver)
A bit like a crepe, this crispy and light dosa is made from fermented split black lentils and chana dal, filled with potato masala curry and served with a variety of chutneys and sambals
Vegetable miso ramen – Japan + Vancouver
Deep wide bowls of miso soup filled with noodles, carefully topped with oodles of bamboo, spring onions, firm tofu, beansprouts, pak choi and a soft-hard boiled egg

Biscuits and (vegetarian) gravy – southern USA
A bit like dumplings, biscuits are tender and flaky. Made with just salt, baking powder, milk and solid vegetable oil fat, they soak up good veggie gravy to make an excellent (but unhealthy) breakfast
Pink pasta – lots of places
A McAllister family recipe – a quick and simple pasta sauce made from soured cream, smoked salmon, salt and dill served over any pasta shape
Red pasta – nearly everywhere
Another McAllister family recipe – a quick and simple pasta sauce made from tinned chopped tomatoes, tomato puree concentrate, tinned tuna and olives served over any pasta shape, sometimes topped with grated cheese and/or a hard boiled egg
Scrambled egg on toast – worldwide
No one makes eggs as good as Mum does! That’s what you get when you add loads of salt, pepper and grated cheese to slowly cooked eggs and serve them over any heavily buttered toast
Cheddar cheese and chutney sandwich – Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, Cape Town, South Africa
Strong, crumbly Cheddar and tangy fruit chutney sandwiches made from freshly baked still-warm whole flour bread with ready salted crisps on the side
Lentil dahl and hoppers – Sri Lanka
These pan-fried or steamed mini pancakes (hoppers or appam) are made from a fermented batter of rice flour, coconut milk and spices. Eaten with a slightly spicy lentil curry, they make a delicious and filling breakfast
Street chips with soya sauce and mayo dip – Hanoi, Vietnam
Cooked in a deep wok of oil in a dark alley over a portable gas stove, these simple chips are great for sharing and dipping into rich soya sauce and cheap mayonnaise from a squeezy bottle

Dessert
Pineapple and chamoy paleta – Mexico
Chunky pineapple homemade-esque ice lollies finished with a layer of chamoy (a salty/sweet/sour fruit sauce spiced with chillies)

Jicama and mango fruta fresca with chile limón dusting – Mexico
Chunks of freshly prepared and perfectly ripe mango with jicama (a crunchy, juicy, sweet, white nutty tuber) dusted with a bright orange mix of ground dried chiles, citric acid and salt and loads of lime juice


Rise ‘n’ Roll peanut butter creme donut with dark chocolate topping – Shipshewana, Indiana, USA
The biggest, lightest, most ooziest donut you’ll ever have! This ultra-fresh donut is filled with a perfect salty/sweet peanut butter creme and topped off with a semi-soft glaze of bitter dark chocolate

Sugared churros – Cuba
Flour dough is squeezed through a tube into boiling hot oil to make these long, thick donut sticks served in a paper cone and liberally dusted with sugar and/or cinnamon
Pancakes with maple syrup, strawberries and whipped cream – California, USA
Gravity defying pile of pancakes, dripping with maple syrup, topped with sweet strawberries and doused in whipped cream straight from the can
Carrot cake – Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa
A mahoosive slice of fluffy orange carrot cake squished together with lashings of sweet cream cheese

Drinks
Oaxacan hot chocolate – Mexico
An intense, silky and deep-bodied hot chocolate with a hint of orange, served in rustic wide bowls
London fog tea – Canada
Topped off with frothy milk, this super-milky Earl Grey tea has a dash of vanilla syrup and the tea bag is left to brew in the cup
Mojito – Cuba
White sugar, lime, loads of mint, rum, sparkling water and ice
Steamed apple juice and cinnamon – Canada
Cloudy apple juice steamed with cinnamon makes a lovely autumnal drink that’s great for the kids
Cucumber water
A load of cucumber added to a jumbo jar of water a makes the most fragrant and refreshing glass of water ever!
Green tea – Japan
Served in dinky handle-less cups from squat ceramic teapots, this hot tea is incredibly light yet beautifully flavoursome and refreshing
Mango lassi – south east Asia and Sri Lanka
Some are salty, most are sweet. All are thick and luxurious. This drink, made from mangoes, yoghurt, cardamom and sugar, is like a meal in itself

Flat white coffee – mostly New Zealand
This is a middle-of-the-road kinda coffee: half espresso + half milk, it’s creamier than a cappucino and less milky than a latte


Coconut water – Java, Indonesia
A fresh green coconut straight from the tree with its top chopped off and a straw popped in to suck up the contents. How pure can you get? As an extra treat, you can eat the juicy flesh from the inside too

Things that will NEVER make it on to the Fantasy Cafe menu…
Dim sum – Hong Kong
Slimy, slippery, tepid, albino parcels of grey gloop. Yuuuck.
Gudeg – Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia
Jack fruit is boiled into a meaty-type stew and served with a black-yolk hard boiled egg. I tried. I failed.


Coca-Cola with condensed milk
Yup – Fraser ordered this out of curiosity. He drank it. What more can I say?
Deep dish pizza – Chicago, USA
Like a pie, this pastry pizza is an inch deep and filled with gooey pale yellow cheese. Topped with a bit of tomato sauce, its utter unhealthiness wipes out any pleasure and/or taste
Matcha tea and matcha cake – Tokyo, Japan
This special type of powdered green tea looks striking, especially when used to make cake, but it just doesn’t taste good

Fermented lotus root – Japan
For breakfast? No. Just no. Wrong, wrong, wrong (at any time of day)

Soba noodles – Japan
Cold thick noodles served in their cooking water. Deeply unsatisfactory.






yes i am coming sounds great even red pasta also a rahmani family staple xx
Ah now that’s my kinda blog x
…and mine Jo!
cool beans, I’m in!
Fancy the Japanese starter of rice in seawood (from the healthy end) and pancakes and strawberries just for the hell of it. You could perhaps make your pink pasta when we’re down?!?