LEFTOVERS - Frozen Food Review: Unagi

I love eel, especially cooked the japanese way in that rich sweet barbeque sauce. A slab of unagi on rice is absolute heaven for me. I managed to buy some of the unagi sauce froma a Japanese supermarket and then proceeded to hit various fishmongers to score some fresh eel. Most of them, like my local one L. Mash & Sons in Brixton wouldn't stock it, "Too expensive!" they all cried. The estimated prices they were coming up with were extortionate.

Funny because I'd always thought that in London atleast, jellied eel was common place in the old days because it was cheap to acquire? I guess things have changed. Either way, I needed some eel so I hit the supermarket at Japan Centre to investigate the frozen variety, which can be grilled or baked.

This stuff is surprisingly good for frozen food, and tastes very close what you'd get in a small Japanese joint here. I'm convinced that some places do infact use frozen or premaid unagi, I can't think of where but I was once at a sushi place and caught a glimpse of a suspect look package from which the unagi was retrieved.

Bottom line, it's excellent value for money if you want a quick no-fuss Japanese fix at home, serve on some warm japanese rice with some pickles and enjoy.

£6.99 @ JAPAN CENTRE, 212 Piccadilly, London W1J 9HG
(You can get it in most Japanese supermarkets)

Getting Fatter,
Rajesh
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LEFTOVERS: M. Manze Pie & Mash House, 105 High Street, Peckham SE15 5RS

Me and my equally brown skinned Cypriot friend known as 'The Moufflon" walked into this place to be greeted by stares, we definitely felt far away from home. They must've laughed at us, two novelty foreignors coming in for some British blue collar gastro tourism.

There's not many of these old fashioned Eel & Pie joints left in London, there's a few east, a few west and some down this way. Surprisingly Manze owns three locations. I've been dieing to try this stuff for ages, and when finally served up this opportunity I found it to be bland, very bland.

The pie pastry was nice enough but the whole plate needed a heavy lashing of salt and vinegar to get some sort of flavour out of it. The filling itslelf was minimal on meat volume. The liquor was flavourless and weak, I'd like to say it was 'subtle', but it was just weak.

I'd still give it another go though, because it's simplicity was kind of comforting.

Yours in Fatness

Rajesh
xx