Katiwok Cardiff - Pan Asian Street Food - Restaurant Review

On a random Sunday my very hungry friends and I ventured down to KatiWok - the fairly new Pan Asian Street Food open on Crwys Road.  

I noticed KatiWok a few months ago on my cycle to work - it's hard not to notice a bright pink and green restaurant in Cardiff!

The menu was broken up into starters, Kati Rolls, noodles, and deserts.  They also offer a meal deal for a starter, a Kati Roll, and a drink for £7.99 or noodles instead for £8.99.  They do different lunch deals as well.

Everything came together about 25 minutes after we ordered, and in adorable packaging:

The hungry Brewer Half ordered an Asian Beef Kati Roll. Brewer half turned from hungry to happy when he saw the size of the Kati Roll. It was massive! We had 3 nice sauces to chose from, a medium spicy, an extra spicy, and a green one that I didn't try but probably should have.  The asian beef was just spicy enough for Brewer Half, the beef was tender and fresh, and the paratha (Indian fried bread) was tasty without being greasy.  Yum!

For the sides Brewer Half ordered meat samosas and I ordered fishcakes.  We were served 5 samosas and 4 fishcakes, a good portion for the price (£2.99)! The fishcakes were tasty and fresh, but the samosas were the stand-out STARter!  Spicy chopped meat with indian spices, fresh dough, deep fried but not oily.  I think that was one of the best parts of Kati Wok, everything was fried (as street food is!) but nothing was oily - it was all just well cooked.

I ordered an Afgan Chicken Kati Roll.  I could have done with more spice, but that's because I'm a spice addict.  It was described as "hot and spicy strips of chicken with onions, tomato, ginger and garlic."  I'm not sure if it was that much spicier than the Asian beef, but given the option I'd rather eat flavorsome food than mundane spicy food.  And this was tasty - fresh chicken and fresh herbs.  You can also see half a samosa I bartered from Brewer half - hand made samosas are amazing!

MTB Ben ordered Asian beef noodles and veggie samosas.  MTB Ben ate all the noodles and all the samosas and then made groaning noises because he was too full and then fell asleep.  When I asked MTB ben about the meal, he said "that was good food" It looked like good food before it got devoured (he's devouring as I took the photo!).  MTB Ben notes that the medium sauce is quite hot, and that his noodles were spicy but good.

We all enjoyed our meal at Kati Wok.  Good fresh food at a good price.  The manager, Niaz Taj, clearly had a vision for the type of restaurant he wanted to open, and Kati Wok is a distinctive and unique addition to the many options in Cardiff. The food is fresh - as it says on the website "good food takes longer than 60 seconds."  This is truly good food - good flavors, good preparation, good service, and certainly unique decor!

Details:

KATI WOK

02920 376222

53 Crwys Road

Cathays, Cardiff

CF24 4ND

Brewer Half's Half Brewed Review: Danish Monster by Celt Brewery

Celt Danish Monster - 6.2%

Celt Brewery, based in Caerphilly, have been running for a few years, and are winning me over with their understated yet quirky beers. This one I especially enjoyed, although it is definitely not understated.

The bright, golden colour hides a thumping personality, with a surprisingly thick and heavy body.

The first mouthful was like being hit gently yet firmly (thanks Peep Show) in the face with a beery sledgehammer. It was wonderful.

There is a rich maltiness, fantastically balanced with a healthy dose of bitter, citrusy hop flavours, and an alcoholic punch.

The initial citrus hop bite is quickly followed by a lingering liquorice and sweet malt body, all interlaced with a lovely bitterness. I say interlaced, what I mean is that the intense bitterness cuts through the already strong flavours present, but the beer is so well balanced it doesn't overpower.

I like this beer a lot. It's intense.

Celt Brewery
Caerphilly
@CeltBeers

And that's the Brewer Half's Half Brewed Review! 

Sunday Training - my first attempt at a Long Run

Today is Sunday, and Sunday is Ajax long rides, and I did not go on the Ajax long ride.  I was nervous because it was long (75 miles!) and lumpy (read: hilly) and I was probably going to be the worst one there.

Instead of getting on the bike I decided to hit the gym and learn how to use machines.  As you can probably tell, I tend to do my workouts in circuits, with sets of exercises that I run through 3 times.  I remembered I used to do 3 sets of 10 things, and then move on.  So I brought a notebook and paper and did 3 sets of 10 on all the things.  I wrote down the weights I used too so I can go back and do it again.

It was cool, machines make me feel lame but are probably good.  I like free weights but I feel like I exhausted my arms more than normal by doing every machine in the gym.  I still did my favorite bar stuff (CLEAN AND PRESS!) but at least now I have an option for when they weights area is mega full.

After gym I had a protein bar and an apple and a cup of coffee before heading out on a long run.

I don't know exactly what possessed me - I've wanted to do a long run for a while, more than a 5k and more than 5 miles.

I found an awesome trail that was super pretty and took some photos:

I was out for a while and wanted to keep going but the trail sort of ended so I headed back towards home.  The last 2 miles was mostly painful but I kept going - I did stop to change the song and check my strava a lot on the way back, but in the end I made it home and had run a total of....

8.3 Miles!

This is pretty awesome as I was never a runner before and I don't like running, but there's something amazing about propelling yourself forward with only your feet and exploring new places without bicycle or car.  I will have to head that way again and see if I can find some more trails - it was absolutely stunning!

Of course my legs do feel like led now, as do my arms from the gym, but it's been a pretty excellent Sunday!

So I treated myself to some lovely beers in celebration

What an epic day!

Brewer Half's Half Brewed Reviews: Dark Arts Surreal Stout

It's time for another edition of the Brewer Half's Half Brewed Reviews!

Magic Rock Brewing Surreal Stout - 6%

I love thick, dark beers, and this looked like it would fit the bill. This is a new brewery to me, and my local beer shop (the Discount Supermarket - an excellent beer shop cunningly disguised as a corner shop) has just gotten in a selection. 

This beer has an aroma and flavour of roasted barley. Each mouthful has a fine balance of thick, smooth richness, and bitterness from the dark malts. The finish is lingering and smoky. 

This smoky finish adds a little extra twist to what is a fine example of the style. 

Mountain Biking Castle Coch - my first trip to my properly local trails

The other week MTB Ben took the Brewer half and me up to some of the local trails at Castle Coch.  It was a sunny day and MTB Ben was set on teaching us some new skills.  I'de never really been up Castle Coch but knew there was biking there - it turned out there was much more than I expected!

After grinding to the top (with a bit of pushing) ben took us to some little jump-y courses.  MTB Ben took us to a steep downhill bit and encouraged us to go down it.

I did not want to go down, neither did Brewer half.  But after some coaxing I gave it a go, and It was actually fine!  I practiced shifting my weight back to try and control the bike, and did not crash at all.

In fact, MTB Ben took a photo that was kind of awesome

It doesn't even look that steep!

After playing on the jumps we cycled to the top of the ridgeway overlooking Caerphilly...

...where MTB Ben fondled his bike...

...And then took some class photos

Check it out, here's me going over a very small bit of down!

And here's MTB Ben, going over a much larger bit of down!

April Recap!

April was Pile on the Miles!  I was going to run lots and lots, all the time.

It started strong (as these things do) with 13 miles of running in the first week.

And now, at the end of April, my grand total is...  24.9 miles.

Not even a Marathon distance!  Oh well.  That's okay, because this month is

PILE ON THE MILES: MAY EDITION!

The cool thing is that after runs I sometimes feel bad because I went slow.  But when I count up my total miles I don't look at speed, I just look at miles.  And so I shouldn't feel bad about being slow, because I'm not looking for speed, I'm looking for distance!  Here's to more distance in May.

Cycling-wise I only did 92 tracked miles (there are about 50-60 more in commuter miles) of which 50 were road cycling and 42 mountain biking.  I'm going to try and track my commutes more, and certainly going to get out with Ajax more too!

Unfortunately last month had a lot of stressful things.  This month is starting mega-stressful as well (I'm moving in 2 weeks, among other life-stresses) however I'm quite excited because in about 2 weeks lots of different stresses should be sorted, and then it will be very exciting!

Also, the more stressful times are now means that the more relaxed times will be later when the world is not being so... stressful! :-)

Phew, that's a lot of stress!

You know what's good for stress?  Running!

Horray for Pile on the Miles in MAY!

Oooh check out this Strava Widgit I found!

A Sleepy Saturday in Roath: A trip to Roath Market and Allen's Bakery

On a recent Saturday my Brewer Half and MTB Ben and I went on an Adventure through Roath.

First we looked for the mystical bread-heaven of Allen's Bakery - or The Secret Bakery as I've heard it called.  A lot of walking later and down an alleyway we saw it!

Unfortunately by the time we arrived (11am - we are not morning creatures) most of the days breads were sold, but what was left still looked amazing!

We bought some tasty rolls and then headed to Roath Market.  A few weeks ago I tried duck eggs for the first time, and they were delicious!  I was a bit tipsy as well when we ate them (I know, strange drink-snack) but I wanted to try them again!  £1.80 later I had a lovely box of 6.  Brewer half bought some fresh butter, which was the most tasty butter I've ever tried.

 We also stopped by the Blaencamel Farm stand - happiest veg stall in the world!

Recently I ordered a Blaencamel Box - fresh veg delivered to my door.  It was so good - lots of different greens I'de never tried before.  In ordere to use everything I made some lovely indian meatballs which are still waiting in my freezer - nothing goest to waste if I can help it!

Blaencamel had some stunning greens for sale

 Wild Garlic & Winter Purslane

While on our adventures we also spotted the most ridiculous bike hack - tri-bars with gears and brakes.  Amazing.