A former solicitor from Sidcup has published a noodle-cookery book after being so “wound up” by the MasterChef final she took to blogging.
Former West Lodge Schoolgirl MiMi Aye became so frustrated with the approach to eastern recipes she began a blog which attracted the interest of a publisher and has resulted in Noodle! 100 Great Recipes.
The 35-year-old Cambridge graduate wrote the book during her maternity leave so she could share her love of noodle-based dishes.
MiMi, who has lived in Sidcup since she was a toddler, told News Shopper: “I started meemalee.com after the 2009 MasterChef final wound me up so much that I felt obliged to take the mickey out of it publicly.
“Weirdly, I'm now friends with Mat Follas, the guy who won that year - he once let me completely take over and cook in his restaurant, and I even thanked him in the book.
“I wanted to do the cookbook because I'd also been getting increasingly frustrated by the influx of confusion cuisine to the Western market – dishes such as EAT's Laksa Pho."
The Twitter fan, who has more than 6,000 followers, said: “I wanted to share my love of food generally, especially Burmese food as that's where my roots lie - my dream is to write a Burmese cookbook.
"I wanted to write a book that I'd use myself. I adore noodles and have them at least twice a week, but I found I'd been relying on a few staples and there was a whole world of noodle dishes out there that I should try – and I hate missing out."
Noodle! is published by Absolute Press.
Follorw MiMi on Twitter at @meemalee
MiMi’s Sidcup tips
"I adore Carnivore Foods on Main Road - a wonderful butchers run by Richard Douglas and his nephew Ryan.
"Their meat is incredible, and they also have a fab deli counter where I can snaffle Scotch eggs and pork pies. They were a god-send when I was testing recipes for the book and they can order anything in.
"Moghul in the High Street does really good, refined Indian food and I’m also a fan of Italian cafe La Cantina a bit further up the High Street.
"One of my favourite shops is the recently-opened Sidcup and Co which gathers all sorts of artisan traders together - I bought the prettiest handbag from there last week for only £20."
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