Since the beginning, we didn’t really care about making authentic food. We were mixing Mexican, Brazilian, German and American food. The only judge is our taste.
Now we’re also exploring Asian cooking and how we can bring those flavors into our food. Right now, we’re playing with Vietnamese recipes, but soon we’re going to open the door to Thai food as well. Because I’m curious.
There are options for Asian food in Ericeira, but I keep having cravings for dishes or flavors I haven’t found here yet. Something I ate on a trip, saw online or just got stuck in my head. Recently, it was a properly spicy Thai dish. I wanted something with enough heat to make me slow down a little, even though I wanted to keep eating.
That’s usually how a new dish starts at Cheat Day. I want to eat something, so I start figuring out how to make it. Then you guys get involved.
We spend a lot of time thinking about whether we’d be happy to pay for what we’re serving. People work for their money, and whether they come in on their lunch break or during their two weeks of holiday, we want that meal to hit the spot. They’ve chosen to spend some of their time and money with us. We should make it worth it.
Our Vietnamese-inspired pork belly tacos were an absolute blast. People loved them. It took me a few tries to get them right, but now we have nicely marinated pork belly, slow-cooked in the oven and caramelized on the hot plate. For the taco, we used torshi bandari, an Iranian pickle, and a crema made from fermented lemons.
Last week, we had the pho-inspired sandwich, and this week I’m trying to get gua bao onto the specials. Those soft, steamed buns that fold around the filling.
I’d had them in a few places, but my first real experience was in a small shop up in Porto. Since then, I’ve tried to reproduce them, but it’s been hard. Something that looks so simple can keep you busy for quite a while.
So this weekend, we’re giving it another try and bringing together the gua bao and our pork belly. Let’s see how it goes.