The vegetarian sausage: does it beat a Cumberland?

In short, to answer the question, no.  A vegetarian sausage does not beat a good old traditional sausage.

The company is Good Life, a vegetarian producer.  The branding is excellent on their products, they do look good.

They have a few varieties of sausages so for the first try, I went for French Bean and Spinach.

The ingredient list looks OK.  Only 34% of the ingredients are actually vegetable with a whopping amount of wheat so if you’re celiac this is not for you.  Nutritionally:

Each grilled sausage contains

• 86 calories
• Fat 3.0g of which 1.9g saturates
• Carbohydrates 8.6g
• Sugar 0.5g
• Fibre 2.5g
• Protein 4.8g
• Salt .45g

Taking them out the box, they do not look appetising. But, one must try!

They are cooked from frozen so it takes a while to cook. And I couldn’t stop checking out of curiosity.

• To Grill
  Pre heat grill to medium. Remove all packaging. Place sausages under grill for 16-18 minutes, turning regularly.
• To Pan Fry
  Pre heat 10ml of oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Remove all packaging, add sausages to the pan and fry over a medium heat for 15 minutes, turning frequently.
• To Oven
  Pre heat oven to 200oC /Fan 180oC /Gas 6. Remove all packaging. Place sausages onto a baking tray in the centre of the oven and cook for 20 minutes.

And here’s the finished product.  The “skin” didn’t hold up too well as you can see with the filling popping out the sides.

From a taste perspective, they aren’t too bad!   I’ll take a Cumberland over these any day, though.

Would I buy them again?  Maybe.

Tash

 

 

 

Bibigo: Korean food in London

If you’ve seen the film Oldboy (the original, naturally), or you are familiar with Korean cuisine, you’ll know that live baby octopus is a strange feature of the Korean menu to a total outsider. Yes. Live. Baby. Octopus. Eaten. Alive.  It’s called Sannakji.

A couple of weeks ago, I joined some colleagues for dinner after work at a Korean restaurant, Bibigo.  With no live baby octopus on the menu, and I can’t say I was disappointed, we proceeded to have a thoroughly delicious, filling dinner.

At excellent value for money – three courses for a mere £13 – we tucked into fabulous tastes from a preset dinner menu.  My stomach loved these dishes.

Course One: Korean Chopped Salad 

A very understated looking salad, but an absolute winner with those of us that ate it.  Hints of sesame dashed with crispy fried spring roll pastry and soy dressing.

Course Two: Baby Squid 

I’m a huge fan of squid in any form (dead, preferably).  Served with lemon and a tiny bit of okra.

Course Three: Grilled Chicken

Beautiful with delicate rocket and some steamed riced on the side.

Bibigo’s has two restaurants in the UK, both in London (Soho and Angel).  The gorgeous food aside, the Angel restaurant is super stylish and the staff are attentive.

Good to know:

• My pet hate is the assumption of any restaurant to add a 12.5% service charge.  Bibigo’s is no different so it expect to see it on the bill.
• You’re presented with chop sticks and a single silver spoon, get acquainted with the sticks ahead of your adventure!
• White wine starts at £18 a bottle.
• Prepare to have your taste buds tingled.
• Portions are generous.  Did I already mention the value for money?!

Do yourself a favour, pop in for lunch and dinner and feast.

Tash