Relative Values at Harold Pinter Theatre & Viet Café

The Harold Pinter Theatre has seen it’s fair share of big names since it opened in October of 1881, under the name of “Royal Comedy Theatre.”

Since no official warrant had been issued the “royal” was removed and was titled the “Comedy Theatre” until as recent as 2011 when it was renamed “The Harold Pinter Theatre.” After Harold Pinter a distinguished playwright, screenwriter, director, political activist, and actor.

A few weeks ago I was given the opportunity to visit the theatre to see Noel Coward’s comedy Relative Values. 

My mother-in-law and her husband were supposed to attend, but do to unforeseen circumstances she found herself unable to attend. I got to take her place.

I am sorry she was unable to attend, but I was glad I got to go!

Noel Coward is a well-known writer, actor, director, film producer, painter, songwriter, cabaret artist – I don’t know if there was anything he didn’t do. His close friends called him ‘the Master’ so that says a lot!

He wrote Relative Values post World War II and it reflects the social atmosphere at the time. Our fascination with aristocracy and class is why this play is still a success today. I didn’t actually know anything about the play going in, but I soon found myself laughing out loud. Having grown up in America some British culture references were beyond me, but the over all comedy was brilliant.

As I mentioned above the theatre has seen a lot of big names and Relative Values was no different with Patricia Hodge, Caroline Quentin, and Rory Bremner! The whole cast was amazing! I loved the old world of England clashing with the Hollywood lifestyle of the US. 

I had a really nice time. Unfortunately upon writing this play is no longer showing. If you are looking for another Noel Coward play the English Touring Theatre (ETT) are performing “Tonight at 8:30” until the end of July see if it’s near you! Or if you are looking to visit the Harold Pinter Theatre they will be showing The Importance of being Earnest from the 27^th of June. That's today! 

After the play my father-in-law were hungry and after something to eat. There are plenty of places to go, but we wanted something we've never really tried before.

Right around the corner (quite literally) we stopped out side a Vietnamese place called Viet Café and decided to go in. Having never tried Vietnamese food before I wasn't sure where to start, but we had decided to order a variety of things and share!

Nem Ga Tom (fried pancakes with chicken and prawns) - these were super yummy and probably my favorite out of all the dishes.

Goi Tom (summer rolls) since we were ordering a lot of sea food and chicken I thought we should try some tofu, it was okay, the crushed peanut sweet soy bean sauce is what made these!

Pho Xao Hai San (fried rice noodles) This was my choice as well and I thought it was very tasty. It was a bit of a small portion, but since we weren't starving it was perfect for us to share.
 

Tom Yam (soup) this was a nice subtle spicy soup that was refreshing and delicious! 

Overall the food was good and the play was entertaining, I couldn't have asked for a better day out! If you like this post and you'd like to see more of days out in and around England please leave a comment below! 

notes:

Harold Pinter Theatre: Panton St, London SW1Y 4DN

Viet Café: 23 Haymarket, London SW1Y 4DG

English Traveling Theatre

Noel Coward

“Hot Doughnuts Nice and Fresh!"

I've tired to make fried doughnuts a couple of times now and have not been successful. 

I've baked doughnuts with no problem at all so, I didn't really think I'd have that much trouble frying them. Well, I was wrong about that. 

After reflecting I figure it’s probably due to over proving, probably not kneading right or enough, and not regulating the temperature of the oil.

It had to be one or all of those things!

Baked doughnuts are easier, but fried taste so much better! Who doesn't like fried dough?

So, using the first recipe I tried, I tried again!

This time with the results I wanted. They made the house smell delicious! I covered mine in Vanilla Sugar to give them an extra flavor.

Vanilla sugar is easy to make! Just place a vanilla pod, new or used, in a jar of sugar. Some stores now sell it if you don’t use vanilla pods often.

After rolling them in sugar they can be filled with jam or cream. They can be iced or made into rings, they are pretty versatile so use what you like!

I prefer a plain fresh doughnut without all the extra stuff.  So, I made these “Hot Doughnuts Nice and Fresh!" just the way I like them!

If any of my readers are also from Reading (Berkshire) then they will know where the phrase comes from! You cannot have walked down Broad Street without hearing it as the picture below informs us!

Fried Doughnuts:

500g/1lb 2oz strong white flour

50g/2oz caster sugar

40g/1½oz unsalted butter

2 free-range eggs

2 x 7g sachets instant yeast

10g/¼oz salt

150ml/5fl oz warm milk

130ml/4½fl oz water

Sunflower Oil or Crisp n Dry, to fry

vanilla sugar, to coat

For the dough, place all ingredients except a quarter of the water, into a stand mixer bowl. Mix on low until combined. Slowly mix the rest of the water into the dough and beat with the dough hook for 3-5 minutes or until the dough comes together and comes away from the side of the bowl. The dough will be sticky, but it shouldn’t be sticking to the side of the bowl. Also you should be able to handle the dough without it sticking to you.

Place the dough into a lightly oiled large bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rise for an hour or until doubled in size. Tip the dough out onto a very lightly floured surface, and knock it back by kneading it a few times. Do this part by hand, especially as you’ll have just cleaned your dough hook and bowl!

Divide the dough into 10 equal portions and shape each portion into a ball. I just folded the dough into itself to form a ball; I didn’t want to handle the dough too much. Place all balls onto a lined baking tray and allow to rise for another hour or until doubled in size.

In a large sauce pan, using sunflower oil or Crisp n Dry (what I used) heat the oil to160C-180C. Keep an eye on this, as I had to keep turning my heat up and down to keep it within the range I wanted. Lower each doughnut into the fryer, cooking each side for about 3-5 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the doughnuts from the oil with a slotted spoon and immediately roll in the vanilla sugar so that the hot fat makes the sugar stick to the sides.

Set aside and leave to cool. Only just slightly! Fresh Hot Doughnuts are Nice and delicious!

notes: I showed off my failed doughnuts here! Recipe is adapted from The Great British Bake Off: How to turn everyday bakes into Showstoppers by Linda Collister. The Game of Throne's Image is from Spotted: Reading Town’sFacebook Page.