Steak and Ale Pie

Indices wrote:

I guess we all miss some things from our homeland occasionally. For me it certainly isn’t my ex-wife who unexpectedly and rather fortuitously died a few weeks after our 25th wedding anniversary. Our marriage had been a mess for a decade but being a devout church goer any chance of a divorce was out the window. My fault I guess as for many years I was hardly ever at home in England due to work and on the odd occasion I did go home my return was usually greeted with a variety of incoming missiles that ranged in size from plates and general crockery to the occasional Iron Skillet. She became very adept at using the assorted armaments at her disposal. On one occasion when I detected the imminent launch of a heavy jug I instinctively ducked only find that she had cleverly adjusted the trajectory and velocity to score a direct hit in the gentleman’s region.
Nuts were sore for a week.
Her culinary skills were about on par with a mentally deranged Chimpanzee on Prozac and although I am not a religious man I always took the precaution of genuflecting at least a dozen times accompanied by several Hail Mary’s and a couple of Imodium tablets before sitting down to eat what ever life threatening mess turned up for dinner.
She did though have one dish totally nailed from a recipe given to her by her Grandmother. She could bake the most amazing Steak & Ale pie with thick Beef Suet pastry soft and soggy underneath with rich gravy and a golden crunch on top with succulent chunks of prime beef that almost melted in the mouth. Unfortunately she was as bad a wife as I was a useless husband and the pie alone was not enough to make amends. When she died I did not even go to the funeral which totally enraged her entire family that consisted of a hundred or so inbreds from a Cornish farming community.  It was an endless source of amusement to me that whenever we visited the village it was noticeable that everyone had the same genetic defect that curled their left ear lobe. The day of her funeral coincided with a clients request to examine a Pagani Zonda which included a test drive around the Nurburgring.
Lets face it, the option of standing by a very expensive box trying to conjure up the illusion of grief  when secretly wishing I had put her there many years previously or having a Pagani Zonda in my hands for a day was a no contest, it was the Pagani every time.
I have now been in a wonderful relationship and recently married for the last 12yrs to a Vietnamese wife that is the very best a man could hope for in every respect. She is also a quite extraordinary cook and the food on a daily basis is excellent with no genuflecting,  Hail Mary’s or Imodium necessary to survive the ordeal.
But I still miss those Steak and Ale pies.
My current wife and I have bought a whole variety of ovens over the years, all electric and all useless apart from making various breads the we bake fresh everyday.  I even imported a carton of Atora Beef Suet and Angus Steak from England  ( Vietnamese Tender Loin seems to be supplied by Pirelli or BF Goodrich ) in an attempt to replicate the pie but all to no avail.
The key as well as the Beef Suet seems to be the actual oven in that, at home in England, we used a wood burning AGA.
No such thing seems to exist here and even if I found one the combined weight of the thing would probably exit my apartment on installation and end up parked alongside the motorcycles in the basement via a direct route through the floor. They weigh a ton.
I am seriously considering buying a small plot of land near the Mekong and constructing a prefabricated cabin on it so that I can import an AGA oven just to make the occasional pie as I still have the exact recipe that must be at least 70 or 80 years old. Incidentally I have to add that if I lost my current wife I would be absolutely devastated and if faced with a similar choice between her funeral and the Pagani , well,  . . .  Lets just say it would be a very close call.

Fn brilliant PMSL! yer some man!!, you ever tried the grub at Union Jacks place beside Bitexco Tower?

[b] ( Vietnamese Tender Loin seems to be supplied by Pirelli or BF Goodrich ) in an attempt to replicate the pie but all to no avail[/b] Crock pot it for 24hours & it might just turn tender! or hang it for a week till it turns Blue!!

Never been there as I do not get out much anymore, am not very sociable and tend to generally offend people, ( one of the privileges of being old ) but will give it a try 

Indices wrote:

Never been there as I do not get out much anymore, am not very sociable and tend to generally offend people, ( one of the privileges of being old ) but will give it a try 

Have you thought about joining the Antisocial Social Club of Saigon?

colinoscapee wrote:

Indices wrote:

Never been there as I do not get out much anymore, am not very sociable and tend to generally offend people, ( one of the privileges of being old ) but will give it a try 

Have you thought about joining the Antisocial Social Club of Saigon?

Thanks for the suggestion. I will relay it to my alcohol addiction therapist and see what she says but I doubt she will agree as I have already disgraced myself on several occasions.

Indices wrote:

colinoscapee wrote:

Indices wrote:

Never been there as I do not get out much anymore, am not very sociable and tend to generally offend people, ( one of the privileges of being old ) but will give it a try 

Have you thought about joining the Antisocial Social Club of Saigon?

Thanks for the suggestion. I will relay it to my alcohol addiction therapist and see what she says but I doubt she will agree as I have already disgraced myself on several occasions.

As long as you dont look and act like Sir Les Patterson, your'e in front.

Indices wrote:

colinoscapee wrote:

Indices wrote:

Never been there as I do not get out much anymore, am not very sociable and tend to generally offend people, ( one of the privileges of being old ) but will give it a try 

Have you thought about joining the Antisocial Social Club of Saigon?

Thanks for the suggestion. I will relay it to my alcohol addiction therapist and see what she says but I doubt she will agree as I have already disgraced myself on several occasions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MF6bLIWJiY&t=33s

colinoscapee wrote:

Indices wrote:

colinoscapee wrote:

Have you thought about joining the Antisocial Social Club of Saigon?

Thanks for the suggestion. I will relay it to my alcohol addiction therapist and see what she says but I doubt she will agree as I have already disgraced myself on several occasions.

As long as you dont look and act like Sir Les Patterson, your'e in front.

Now that I can manage. 

goodolboy wrote:

Indices wrote:

colinoscapee wrote:

Have you thought about joining the Antisocial Social Club of Saigon?

Thanks for the suggestion. I will relay it to my alcohol addiction therapist and see what she says but I doubt she will agree as I have already disgraced myself on several occasions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MF6bLIWJiY&t=33s

Yup, that's me in the chair. Was cajoled into a gathering of vintage car enthusiasts recently, lured by the menu and free booze. Tightly packed venue of around a 100 or so very wealthy and well connected individuals sitting together with barely enough space for the food etc. After the main course and awaiting the desert I encountered a rather disturbing build up of methane in my lower intestine that was cause for concern. Unfortunately after waiting for 15 minutes or so and doing my very best to clamp my butt cheeks together the only available toilet was constantly engaged. Was doing well despite the gradual inflation of my lower bowel until a lady at the table dropped her spoon. Being a gentleman I instinctively and without considering the consequences bent off my chair to retrieve it.
Big mistake.
The resulting expulsion of gas must have blown out the candles over a wide area.
Doubt I will be invited again.

Indices wrote:

goodolboy wrote:

Indices wrote:

Thanks for the suggestion. I will relay it to my alcohol addiction therapist and see what she says but I doubt she will agree as I have already disgraced myself on several occasions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MF6bLIWJiY&t=33s

Yup, that's me in the chair. Was cajoled into a gathering of vintage car enthusiasts recently, lured by the menu and free booze. Tightly packed venue of around a 100 or so very wealthy and well connected individuals sitting together with barely enough space for the food etc. After the main course and awaiting the desert I encountered a rather disturbing build up of methane in my lower intestine that was cause for concern. Unfortunately after waiting for 15 minutes or so and doing my very best to clamp my butt cheeks together the only available toilet was constantly engaged. Was doing well despite the gradual inflation of my lower bowel until a lady at the table dropped her spoon. Being a gentleman I instinctively and without considering the consequences bent off my chair to retrieve it.
Big mistake.
The resulting expulsion of gas must have blown out the candles over a wide area.
Doubt I will be invited again.

Just had an email from a British chef here in HCM who wants to have a crack at recreating the Steak and Ale pie if I give him the recipe. So perhaps my prayers will be answered.

I craved for a chicken and mushroom pukka pie and chips with some gravy.

Nearest thing I could find was starbucks thailand who do the chicken pie. Was really dissapointed they don’t serve the same pie in starbucks Vietnam.

KFC in vietnam do fries and gravy.

Would be interested in  knowing of places to get these in Vietnam too. As much as I love vietnamese food sometimes you need a bit of home comfort food.

phikachu wrote:

I craved for a chicken and mushroom pukka pie and chips with some gravy.

Nearest thing I could find was starbucks thailand who do the chicken pie. Was really dissapointed they don’t serve the same pie in starbucks Vietnam.

KFC in vietnam do fries and gravy.

Would be interested in  knowing of places to get these in Vietnam too. As much as I love vietnamese food sometimes you need a bit of home comfort food.

Totally agree. I often get a craving for a decent pie but despite having been predominantly here in HCM for around 12 years I have never managed to find one. Pukka deep filled pies would be heaven. Pie chips and gravy . ..  Mouth watering already 

Vertigo bar in Danang has a wide variety of pies, if you're in the neighbourhood give them a go, haven't tried them myself, but their food is spot on for everything else.

Canman62 wrote:

Vertigo bar in Danang has a wide variety of pies, if you're in the neighbourhood give them a go, haven't tried them myself, but their food is spot on for everything else.

kangaroo bar Da Nang does a fn good burger

goodolboy wrote:

Canman62 wrote:

Vertigo bar in Danang has a wide variety of pies, if you're in the neighbourhood give them a go, haven't tried them myself, but their food is spot on for everything else.

kangaroo bar Da Nang does a fn good burger