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.