Avoca Ireland - new food market in the Rathcoole store

Avoca is a successful Irish family run business with stores dotted around the country from Wicklow to Galway. The Avoca store in Rathcoole, Co Dublin (just off the N7 and near Citywest) is the nearest one to me and it's one of my favourite places to visit for a special treat or to meet up with family or friends. 

In late 2013 an exciting new food market was added to Avoca's flagship store in Rathcoole. Here's an insight into the new food market and other random things that I love about this store!

Michie Sushi Bar (Michie Sushi has two other restaurants in Dublin).

Lunch deal for €10 and a sushi take-away service. 

As a Tipperary girl I'm delighted to see the well-known James Whelan Butcher Shop from Tipperary who recently wrote his own book along with Katy McGuinness called "The Irish Beef Book".

Rotisserie Cooked Chicken with a sandwich bar (voted best sandwich by LovinDublin).

Fresh fruit and vegetables supporting local Irish producers such as The Happy Pear. 

Bakery with freshly baked scones, danish pasteries and white/ brown breads. 

Great selection of cakes and buns. On a recent visit I got this custard bun for just over €1 which reminded me of my honeymoon in Lisbon, Portugal. 

You can have something to eat and/ or a coffee in either the self-service Birdcage Cafe or the Egg Cafe. I'd recommend the Egg Cafe for brunch facing the window looking onto Rathcoole's beautiful park. 

Avoca has a decent selection of Japanese ingredients including different types of Irish seaweed packed in a user-friendly manner. They also stock stylish bento boxes. 

Local Irish producers are featured throughout the store including Irish seaweed skin-care and beauty products such as Green Angel and Voya. They also stock organic fake tan!

Click here to find out more about Avoca.

BENTO - JAPANESE STYLE LUNCHBOX

Japanese people take great pride in preparing bento for their families. Many Japanese mothers get up quite early in the morning to make bento. They put a lot of effort and time into creating a bento that is nutritionally balanced, tastes great and looks appealing. In Japan, the appearance of the food is just as important as the taste! Generally, the bento will have rice, fish or meat and some kind of vegetable or fruit. Since the bento box is divided into different compartments various dishes can be stored in the box together.

It is surprising how quickly you can become immersed in this bento culture. When I lived in Japan the thoughts of bringing my bento to work every day seemed like a chore but it didn't take long before I was looking forward to making my bento every night.

Here is a bento that I made for my family at the weekend. It is served in a bento box used by Japanese restaurants and can be used to serve a Japanese meal at home. I bought this online from Amazon! The bento box used for work/ school lunches is smaller and more compact.

BENTO BOX MENU

1. Japanese rice - click here to see my post on how to cook Japanese rice. You can use any type of rice of this meal.

2. Japanese style pan fried cod fillet 
Ingredients:
1 tbsp vegetable oil or rapeseed oil (for frying)
Cod fillet
2 tbsp sake

Pinch of salt

Thumb size piece of ginger root (peeled and finely grated) 
2 tbsp Japanese soy sauce

Instructions:
Marinate the cod in sake and salt. Leave for about 10 minutes before frying.
Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium to high heat. 
Place the cod on the pan and seal one side by frying for a minute or so. Then turn the cod over and seal the other side. 
Reduce the heat and continue to cook for another 5 minutes or less. 
Mix the ginger and soy sauce together in a small bowl and then pour over the fish when ready to eat. 

3. Japanese style stir fried spinach/pak choi with beansprouts

Ingredients: 
1 tbsp vegetable oil or rapeseed oil (for frying)
2 large garlic cloves (peeled and finely grated)
Thumbsize piece of ginger (peeled and finely grated)
200g Spinach/ Pak choi
200g Beansprouts

Seasoning (mix all in a bowl together):
2 tbsp sake (Japanese rice wine)
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
2 tsp caster sugar

Roasted sesame seeds (optional to garnish)

Instructions:
Heat the oil in a heavy based saucepan on medium to high heat. 
Add the garlic and fry for about 10 seconds. The quickly add the ginger and fry for another 10 seconds.
Toss in the beansprouts and stir. 
After less than one minute add the spinach. 
Pour the seasoning evenly over the vegetables. 
Fry for a few minutes until the seasoning has absorbed into the vegetables.
When ready to serve sprinkle roasted sesame seeds over the vegetables. 

4. Sliced melon and mango sprinkled with pomegranate (Japanese people often eat fruit as dessert)
Ingredients:
Honeydew melon 
Mango
Handful of pomegranate seeds

Instructions:
Peel and cut the chilled melon and mango into small bite size cubes.
Toss a handful of pomegranate seeds over the fruit salad.

How to eat:
Bento goes well with miso soup if you're eating it at home or in a restaurant.

Tips:
Pack a smaller version of this bento into a lunch box by using cupcake cases or tinfoil to separate the dishes.
Be adventurous by swapping the dishes in this bento with your favourite Japanese dishes.

Why not:
You can get takeaway bentos in a few places in Dublin including Kokoro on Lower Liffey Street in Dublin http://kokorosushibento.com/
Musashi noodle and sushi bar and Michie sushi in Dublin, Ireland have a reasonably priced bento lunch deal 

JAPANESE FOOD REVIEW: MICHIE SUSHI

If you like good quality sushi in a casual setting then you'll love Michie Sushi. It's not an easy place to find if you're not familiar with the Ranelagh area so make sure to look up the address before going there. It's located down a narrow lane called 11 Chelmsford Lane just off Ranelagh village. 

I went there for the first time last month with my husband and little boy. We started with the the salmon and tuna combo (€13.80) and miso soup. We enjoyed this so much that we decided to order more sushi!

My husband ordered the Michie Special (€13.80).

And I ordered the Ebi Fry Roll (€11.95). Our little boy tried a bit of everything!

I can honestly say this is one of the best sushi experiences that I've had in Ireland. 

Michie also serve traditional hot Japanese dishes. They provide a takeaway, delivery and catering service and won various awards including "The Bridgestone Best in Ireland 2011 & 2012" and the "Regional Winner Dublin Best Casual Dining 2011". 

I was delighted to hear that they recently opened another restaurant in Dun Laoghaire in Dublin. I've no doubt Michie's new venture will be a success and wish them the best of luck.

Website: www.michiesushi.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/michiesushi
Twitter: @MichieSushi
Email: info@michiesushi.com
Phone: (01) 497 6438
Location: 11 Chelmsford Lane in Ranelagh, Dublin 6 and Dun Laoghaire 

NOTES: All restaurant reviews posted on this blog are written by me without the prior knowledge of the restaurant. I visit the restaurant as an average customer and always pay for the food!