Foodie in London

Vietnamese Dining in London

2012-02-23T11:03:00.000-08:00

Yum, yum Vietnamese food!

Fresh, cheap, spicy - you can't beat it.

Read all about it in my feature on Vietnamese dining in the capital on Visit London's blog this week.

Read more on Vietnamese Dining in London

Test Driving New Restaurant Orchard

2012-02-23T10:47:00.000-08:00

The lovely Hot Dinners sent me to visit the newly-opened Orchard on Sicilian Avenue, Holborn.

This is the second venture from the duo behind successful vegetarian restaurant Vanilla Black although don't expect the same sort of experience if you're heading down there. This is much more laid back cafe-style dining.

Read more about my visit to Orchard

Photo caption: Orchard's Golden Syrup Pudding with Burnt Satsuma and Cream = highly recommended!

Le Cordon Bleu School London Launch

2012-02-10T10:35:00.000-08:00

I'm now writing for www.hot-dinners.com. They kindly sent me down to cover the launch of London's flagship Le Cordon Bleu School this week.

Check out the fun we had on the Hot Dinners blog: Foodie in London at Le Cordon Bleu London Launch

Hop Namo at Box Park - London Word

2012-01-19T07:06:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

I'm now writing for www.thelondonword.com.

Check out my first review for Hop Namo at Boxpark in Shoreditch.

http://www.thelondonword.com/2012/01/hop-namo-at-boxpark/

Cheese is Nice: Obika Mozzarella Bar Opens at Canary Wharf

2011-12-19T00:50:00.000-08:00

Denial is difficult. Well for me anyway. I don’t like denying myself what I want, especially food. So pregnancy and all its little confinements has been tough so far.

I dream of gorging on big slabs of blue-veined Stilton piled on crackers, or cradling a large piece of pungent soft-rind Camembert in my arms, and the taste of my old friend goat’s cheese is but a distant memory.

So, when I received a 50% off opening offer from the Obika Mozzarella Bar in Canary Wharf, I was in two minds. Clearly this new restaurant was all about the cheese. Should I visit for a torturous evening surrounded by the forbidden or just wait until 2012 and return to enjoy the full experience uncut?

Curiosity got the better of me however, so I booked dinner for myself and dad-to-be.

Obika Mozzarella Bar, What’s The Deal?:

For what is essentially nothing more than a raised platform in the middle of a corporate foyer, the restaurant had a surprisingly sophisticated feel. A jazzy soundtrack piped through speakers and softly-lit tables were placed around two sides of a mozzarella bar in the middle.

As we queued for our table, I felt a strong presence to my left, and turning around I saw them - three large tanks of fresh mozzarella sat atop the bar just staring me in the face willing me to dive in. I turned away and followed the waiter to my seat.

“Stay calm,” I told myself. “There’s bound to be plenty of alternatives you can enjoy on the menu,” but as my eyes perused the other options my face began to redden.

To begin, there was a whole half page to devoted to delicious fresh mozzarella combinations. You can choose from three different types of fresh mozzarella at Obika – delicate Bufala Classica, naturally smoked Buffala Affumicata and extra creamy Burrata. These can be paired with a number of delicious-sounding further pregnancy-forbidden foods such as Prosciutto Crudo di Parma DOP (cured Parma ham) or Bresaola della Valtellina (cured beef).

“I won’t get the mozzarella because it’s unfair on you,” says hubby.

“No don’t be silly, get it, it looks like the best thing on the menu,” I reply as plates of fresh mozzarella with various delightful accompaniments arrive on neighbouring tables.

“There will be something I can have for a starter,” I say as I look through more combinations of cheese, cured meats and pates. Grr.

“Maybe I can just have some. I’m sure it’s fine."

“Well I don’t think you should risk it."

“Hang on let me check with the waiter, excuse me I have a question."

It’s now my boyfriend’s turn to begin to redden in the cheeks.

“Uh, I’m pregnant. Do you know if I can eat the mozzarella?”

“Yes madam, all our mozzarella is pasteurized.”

“Oh great, thank you,” I say as I feel a hard kick at my leg under the table.

“What are you kicking me for?” I wallop my partner in the leg in return.

“I don’t think it’s worth the risk,” he mutters through gritted teeth.

And so the squabble continues. The next-door table is clearly listening. I’m having a tantrum. He’s toying with ordering mozzarella anyway to spite me or just having a pizza for an easy life.

“Just have the sodding mozzarella. I’ll have a salmon salad to start. I’m allowed salmon by the way before you say anything.”

Finally we order. He goes for the Burrata with Parma ham and I opt for salmon salad.

His mozzarella is creamy and has an almost yogurt-like consistency and comes with an olive and spinach garnish.

My salmon and avocado salad is served in a big glass goldfish-type bowl and is very tasty despite the fact that I over dress it using the olive oil and balsamic vinegar accompaniments on the table.

We then shared very rich and tasty lasagna and a lovely smoky pizza with large chunks of grilled aubergine, courgette, charred radicchio and smoked Mozzarella di Buffala.

The Obika Mozzarella Bar, The Final Word: Despite our cheese disagreement, the food was all of a high standard and I can't wait to return when I can fully appreciate the fresh mozzarella.

Click here to visit the Obika Mozzarella Bar website

The Laundry Room Christmas Pop Up

2011-11-29T09:53:00.000-08:00

Although It's not strictly food, I thought it was about time I wrote about my forthcoming Pop Up shop on my blog.

The Laundry Room Christmas Pop Up will take place on 3rd and 4th December.

We will be showcasing a beautiful array of work from artists, designers and makers in a very luxe Georgian townhouse setting on 3 Fournier Street, Spitalfields E1.

I'm really excited that we have managed to source 8 of Dan Hillier's original prints.

Talented jeweller Corrie Williamson will be getting involved and we'll also have some lovely pieces from Dynasty Jewellery.

We're already getting interest for the brilliant Sue Whimster's ceramic dogs. Cute!

Helen Beard has also won over our hearts with her high class pottery painted with fantastic London scenes and figures. Her work is stocked at Fortnum & Mason's and we're super chuffed she is getting involved.

The Laundry Room Christmas Pop-Up will take place at 3 Fournier Street, London E1 6QE

3 and 4 December, 10am-7pm

www.thelaundryroomeast.blogspot.com

twitter: @laundryroomeast

The Balcon Pall Mall

2011-11-20T13:23:00.000-08:00

The Balcon, What's The Deal?: For some reason, the fact that I have lived in London all my life, makes me think I need never look at a map or work out my route when trying to navigate anywhere. And so I set off to meet my dining partner @hungryBecs at newly-opened The Balcon, believing as I always do that my sixth sense would subliminally guide me to the correct location.

I set off to Green Park tube station and then spent the best part of an hour circling along Piccadilly Circus, taking a couple of jaunts up and down St James Street, a long lengthy walk up and down once side of Pall Mall before finally making it to the restaurant (the other way down Pall Mall) about 30 minutes late.

I burst in through a classic old revolving wooden door and came face to face with London’s only indoor balcony from which the restaurant takes its name. This is now home to a rather fabulous selection of champagnes, which one can peruse and choose by popping up one of the circular stairwells flanking each side of the balcony.

The Balcon, The Food: My guest and I were left to leisurely take in the smart surroundings and scoff our way through a large selection of bread accompanied by a moreish smoked butter – which needless to say all disappeared!

The restaurant has a large charcuterie selection and separate charcuterie bar where you can drop in and pull up a stool for some serious meat eating. Alas, being pregnant cured meats were off the menu for me so we settled on some of the restaurants signature pieces:

1. Herefordshire snails, garlic jus, parsnip purée, Mas air dried ham
& country croutons. The escargot was very tasty. Each little snail had already been plucked from It’s shell and was served with a rich garlic jus and creamy parsnip was a lovely accompaniment.

2. Brioche ‘toad in the hole’ with Lyonnaise pistachio sausage and garlic confit chicken jus - the sausage was served inside a chunky piece of disappointingly dry brioche – something I would not order on a repeat visit.

For mains we did the coupley thing and went for two different fish dishes and shared half-half.

1.Cornish brill, butternut squash purée, brown shrimps and lilliput capers. A great dish. Another well executed purée, and the salty capers went well with the crispy cooked piece of brill.

2.Pan-fried black bream with braised fennel,seaweed and beurre blanc Another fine fish dish. Tasty and faultless.

We also ordered a side dish of delicious colourful roasted beets with thyme.

For dessert I managed to polish off in entirety – a very rich and hugely portioned chocolate fondant – I blame the baby not greed.

The Balcon, The Final Word: A perfectly posh experience. Just remember to bring you’re A-Z if your navigation skills are as poor as mine.

The Balcon, 8 Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5NG, 020 7968 2900, www.thebalconlondon.com

Harvest At Jimmy’s Festival, Suffolk

2011-09-24T16:29:00.000-07:00

I’m back from a whirlwind weekend at Harvest at Jimmy’s Farm in Suffolk. The access all areas pass and role of looking after all press for the weekend certainly gave me a different viewpoint of the festival happenings and an excuse to…

1.Grab Antony Worrall Thomson as he came off the Chef’s Stage and ask him to taste Andy Bates AKA Pie Man’s rhubarb and custard pie – he obliged most charmingly.

2. Take photographers into the pit right at the front of the Village Garden stage and get a chance to see the acts so close I was practically up there with them. Highlight: the amazing Fat Freddy’s Drop in glorious melodic action right in-front of my face.

3.Run around after the delightful Jimmy Doherty asking him to talk to various people and take numerous press snaps – despite having 20,000 people pile onto his farm over the weekend, not once did he stop smiling.

4. Get the front row action of Jimmy’s sausage eating contest – the winner was a svelte-looking teenage Suffolk boy who pretty much ate his own body weight in sausages.

5. See the lovely Street Kitchen collect the award for best main dish - well done guys!

6. Watch Dobie from Fat Freddy's Drop prepare his dinner party favourite wonton with prawn and abelone, (a New Zealand shellfish), at the Chef's Unplugged stage.

7.Meet the guinea pigs with the best home in the UK.

See you next year: harvestatjimmys.com

Carnivore Club at The Blues Kitchen

2011-08-27T02:53:00.000-07:00

Blues Kitchen, What’s The Deal: When I arrived at the Blues Kitchen early on Tuesday evening, I was surprised how busy it was. There was a great buzz about the place and a real mix of people. Female Blues singer Bex Marshall was playing live later in the evening, which may have been why it was so busy, however mine was a different agenda ...MEAT.

Blues Kitchen, Toilet Watch: As my ‘date’ was running late, I headed downstairs to get acquainted with the powder room. Thanks to an unruly soap dispenser, I managed to cover my top with a large dollop of liquid hand wash. I then tried to rinse this out which resulted in a large wet patch across my front which I attempted to dry off under the hand-dryer. I gave up and left the loos with a big wet stain.

Blues Kitchen, The Food: Carnivore Club is taking place on a serious of Tuesdays, giving adventurous eaters the chance to try a different rare meat each week. When we visited, kudu (a type of antelope found in Africa), was on the menu.

I started with a delightful (and very generous sized) glass of Chilean Merlot and thought carefully about which side dishes I would choose from the regular Blues Kitchen menus to go with my meat.

My dining pal hungrybecs finally arrived and tucked straight into a Dark & Stormy - a mix of Gosling's Dark Seal Rum, fresh lime juice and ginger beer.

Our kudu arrived on a large butcher’s block, along with our chosen side orders of coleslaw, sweet potato fries and green salad. The kudu itself if I’m honest was not that tasty. It was slightly on the tough side and a lot leaner and less juicer than many red meats. On the plus side however, as kudu is such a lean meat it is much healthier for you and it was accompanied with a very good spicy pepper sauce.

Blues Kitchen, Dessert: To finish, we shared a brownie with vanilla ice cream and Charlie the waiter’s favourite milkshake – vanilla and peanut butter which was AMAZING. I'm a sucker for anything peanut-butter based.

The Blues Kitchen, The Final Word: This joint is rockin’ and serves up decent southern American fare. Check out the website to see their regular menus and live music schedule: www.theblueskitchen.com

An Evening at A Grelha, London

2011-08-08T13:36:00.000-07:00

Anyone familiar with the delightful East London areas of Poplar and the Isle of Dogs will know that there isn’t an abundance of decent boozers on offer, but tucked away down a side street just off Cold Harbour Lane, is historic riverside boozer The Gun.

A Grelha: What’s The Deal? Every summer, The Gun plays host to an outdoor Portuguese restaurant A Grelha. The scenic spot overlooks The Thames and the alien-like 02 and on a sunny day the smell of barbecuing fish wafts on to the Isle of Dogs luring in hungry locals.

A Grelha, The Food: We visited on a brilliant summer's evening and unfortunately for me, due to the weather, most of the day’s fresh fish (sourced from the nearby Billingsgate Market) had been eaten.

There was still a number of Dorado (Golden Bream) left though, so I snapped one up straight away. I was asked if I would like to choose my fish from the remaining ones sitting on ice at the front of the restaurant. I thought this was a nice touch and went for the largest (natch).

While the fish was on the grill, our bread was served with a tasty Portuguese twist – sardine paste.

To start we had clams in garlic, herbs and butter and mussels in tomato and red pepper sauce. Both were fresh and delicious.

My Dorado was served up whole and we also opted for a Monkfish Espetada (hanging kebab), which came on a standing skewer alongside chunks of grilled onions and pepper.

All main dishes on the menu are served with buttery new potatoes and salad.

Monkfish has a much meatier texture than some fish and made a great contrast with the softer Dorado.

A Grelha, The Drink: With our meal we shared a very enjoyable bottle of white - Tom and Ed Martin’s own house wine brand chosen and blended somewhere in France. This was the only non-Portuguese part of our meal. Oops.

A Grelha, Toilet watch: Doh! Forgot to snap it.

A Grelha, The Final Word: Get yourself down there for a cerveza and some fresh fish in the sun while the summer lasts: www.thegundocklands.com

Christmas Comes Early – Carluccio’s, London

2011-07-25T23:07:00.000-07:00

See below for a sneak preview of this year’s glorious Christmas spread coming to a Carluccio’s near you this Autumn.

Carluccio's Christmas Press Preview
Last Thursday, Carluccio’s at St Christopher’s Place was transformed into a winter wonderland complete with real fir trees and (not so real) snow at the entrance. Inside, a long banqueting table was filled with this year’s range of regional Italian sweets, cakes, biscuits and treats.

Press and bloggers mingled with the superb Carluccio’s team to discover this year’s range.

Those that arrived early were treated to an espresso and the chance to be the first guests to dig into this season's panettone, dark chocolate-dipped clemetines, chocolate-covered nougat cigars and much, much more.

As the day rolled on, the feast grew to include summer vegetable risotto, broad bean and pancetta salad, free-flowing bellinis and prosecco, and those who timed it well even got a glimpse of Carluccio’s own father Christmas aka Antonio Carluccio.

Carluccio’s Christmas Range – Highlights
In no particular order here are a couple of this year’s delights.

Panforte Bianco – a dense sticky Tuscan cake made with candied fruit, toasted almonds, honey, cinnamon and nutmeg and covered in icing sugar.

Christmas Crackers
Guaranteed to give your festive table a bit of design kudos, I love this year’s Carluccio’s Mini Christmas crackers. Inside each cracker there’s a party hat, chocolate and Italian trivia question.

Pasticceria di Benevento – A subtle butter biscuit selection covered in dark chocolate and decorated in little gold balls. What a lovely gift!

Sfogliatine. – These beautifully-packaged delicious honey and almond slices are new to the range this year.

Wrapped in gold, the Pandolce is a classic Christmas cake from Genoa. A great gift for gran!

Ho, ho, ho – Pupazzetti milk and dark chocolate Santas, stick them in the kids' stockings.

Get Your Italian Christmas Fix:
The Carluccio's Christmas range will arrive in stores at the end of October and will also be available online: www.carluccios.com

Jazzy Burgers, Boisdale, London

2011-07-18T13:49:00.000-07:00

I still haven’t made it to London’s latest Boisdale jazz club, which opened recently in Canary Wharf, although it is my local so I do want to check it out soon.

Boisdale Great Burger Takeaway Menu

Today I got a press release however, announcing their launch of takeaway burgers for local businesses at lunchtimes. Yum?

You can choose from Classic, Latin, Gourmet, Dangerously Hot or Truffle-mayonnaise burgers all made from proper Scottish beef and served with Bloody Mary Ketchup and chips.

Orders need to be placed before 11:30am and collected before 12:15pm or order to your desk for a £5 charge if you work locally. I feel a Friday hangover lunch run coming on…

Boisdale, Canary Wharf, London:
www.boisdale.co.uk
T: 020 7715 5818

If anyone orders one, please let me know if you rate them.

Ceviche Peruvian Pop-Up in London

2011-06-19T14:16:00.000-07:00

I ‘popped’ along to a Peruvian pop-up on Thursday with my foodie friends @HungryBecs and @PaulFrmTheNorth.

Ceviche Pop-Up, What’s The Deal?:Martin Morales is opening Peruvian restaurant Ceviche later this year in Soho (venue TBC). This pop-up is a chance for the team to experiment with menus and get word out about the restaurant ahead of the opening.

Ceviche Pop-Up, So How Was It?: A bevy of tanned South American waiters served up tasty cocktails to guests on arrival and the communal tables were topped with strings of bright pink faux flowers.

Peru’s official national drink Pisco Sour = YUM! Good enough a reason for me to visit the restaurant when it opens alone. Pisco Sour is made with Payet Acholado Pisco blended with fresh lime-juice, sugar and egg white and topped with cinnamon.

Ceviche Pop-Up, The Food: Things started well. Our appetiser of aji de gallina tequenos (deep fried dumplings filled with chicken stew with milk, peanuts and yellow Peruvian chilli) was served with a beautiful rocoto spicy mayonnaise and the starter of trio de causas (three potato puree terrines – coriander with tuna, tuna with salmon and sweet potato with asparagus) was a pretty and light summery starter.

The seabass ceviche that followed was fresh and punchy and I loved the addition of the large Andean corn-husks.

Things fell down a bit at the main course. The rice, which was supposed to accompany the lomo saltado (Peruvian sautéed beef with chillies, onions and tomatoes) didn’t arrive due to “an incident” in the kitchen and the dish was not particularly stand out.

Dessert was Guanaja chocolate sponge and lucuma mousse with glazed blackberries – a great combo to finish with.

Ceviche Pop-Up, Toilet Watch: The framed religious paintings in each cubicle were a nice Peruvian touch.

Ceviche Pop-Up, The Final Word: A thoroughly good evening and I’m looking forward to visiting the real deal Ceviche when it opens. Thanks to Martin and the lovely staff. Check out the website for more Ceviche pop-ups this summer: http://martinceviche.com/

What a Difference a PR Makes: The Riding House Café

2011-05-21T08:38:00.000-07:00

Big up to the PRs behind the opening of the Riding House Cafe as it’s been getting press all over the place, from website e-zines to big name critics, and luckily (cause it’s rather fabulous), the reviews are all sounding dreamy.

We even spotted sexy silver-haired celeb George Lamb having a drink in the bar when we visited.

Riding House Café: What’s The Deal? Taking over a previous restaurant, which barely lasted a year (RIP Chutney & Larger), on a ground-floor site on Great Titchfield Street, I could hardly believe the transformation yesterday when I popped in for lunch with one of my buddies from work.

Riding House Café is the sister restaurant to two Bermondsey sites Village East and The Garrison which have both been quietly ticking away to gentle acclaim for a good few years now.

Riding House Café: How Does It Look?: Subway tiles, plenty of light, a huge circular bar and sharing tables on one side and distressed orange leather sofas, huge hanging cream lampshades and questionable taxidermy in the restaurant (see photo).

Riding House Café: The Food: The menu is free and easy. You can order large or small plates any time of day and most things sound pretty appealing. We settled on sharing three small plates and a main.

1. Beetroot carpaccio, sheep’s ricotta, merlot vinaigrette – Gorgeous and fresh and I’m all for a bit of sexing up of this underrated vegetable.

2. Chermoula spiced poussin, jalapeno, lemon – Beautiful looking couscous peppered with small flecks of red and green er … pepper. The poussin was cooked to perfection, Soft, pink and succulent. I was expecting something a bit more fiery than pickled jalapeno pieces though.

3. Goat’s curd, figs, honey – Okay so maybe we didn’t need to order quite so much whipped cheese? Sorry Laura. The goat’s curd was light and lovely and paired nicely with the figs and honey but the figs did lack flavour slightly.

4. Chorizo hash browns, mushroom and poached egg – The hero dish of our meal by far. I’d eat this for breakfast, lunch or dinner and If I was hungover I’d order two in a row. Perfectly poached eggs, big Portobello mushrooms and Chorizo with hash brown is a genius addition to tasty fried spud.

Riding House Café: Toilet Watch: Get past the stuffed pigeon on the stairwell and take a left. The bogs have a touch of a warehouse feel to them: brick walls and exposed copper taps. Each loo has its own basin complete with hand-wash and lotion.

Riding House Café: The Final Word: It’s buzzy, fun, relaxed and serves up great food and booze. I’m coming back soon to work my way through the rest of the menu…..

The Riding House Café:
www.ridinghousecafe.co.uk

The Modern Pantry – It Beats Mine

2011-05-06T16:17:00.000-07:00

I’ve been hearing about The Modern Pantry for a while now and it’s been on my long list of ‘restaurants to check out’, but I didn’t realise it had been around quite as long as three years – until our waiter confirmed its lengthy existence this evening. Still, better late than never….

The Modern Pantry: What’s The Deal? I love Clerkenwell on a warm Friday evening, hundreds of cool looking creative types spill out of the pubs clutching their pints and there’s a buzz of excitement in the London air. The Modern Pantry is found in Clerkenwell’s coolest corner – set back on the cobble-stoned St John’s Square and neighbouring the newly-opened Zetter townhouse.

The Modern Pantry, The Food: Canadian born and raised in New Zealand, female chef Anna Hansen sure does know what to do with her vegetables despite being brought up in the land of a thousand sheep and trained under purveyor of all things meaty Fergus Henderson.

We dined in the downstairs café and stuck to vegetables only for the evening. We shared Hansen’s trademark fritters – lemon roast fennel, feta & parsley with golden & plum wine compote; a gorgeous gooey and Asian-tinged smokey grilled aubergine with chilli, yuzu soy dressing, crispy shallots and Thai basil, and a salad of roast golden beetroot, miso lentil, broad beans, pickled chantenay carrots, ricotta and spiced seeds all from the small plates/starters menu.

We also split a beautifully presented main dish of Amchur roast parsnip, cauliflower, spinach & Manouri briq cheese, with cashew cream, mango tamarillo and mint salsa.

The Modern Pantry, Toilet Watch: Light, spacious and airy and featuring a large pink mirror. Thumbs up.

The Modern Pantry, The Final Word: Treat your veggie friends to a meal here and watch them weep with joy.

The Modern Pantry, Check It Out: www.themodernpantry.co.uk

Lazy Days in Ko Kood, Thailand

2010-12-16T23:20:00.000-08:00

Less about food and more about travel, this latest post brings tales from the glorious island of Ko Kood (pronounced, and also sometimes written Koh Kut).

Ko Kood is one of the four main islands in Thailand's Ko Chang archipelago, found on the Cambodian/Thai border.

Ko Kood, What’s The Deal?: Ko Kood is a honeymooners' island. Plush resorts are dotted all along the palm-fringed coastline and bungalows are anything but rustic – air con, satellite TV, tea and coffee makers, power showers, room service, you’ve got it.

Delve a little deeper though and it’s still possible to seek out the backpacker experience.

We arrived in fashion by a very fast speedboat. The driver stopped just once in the ocean to witness a fisherman haul A HUGE fish out of the water and onto his longtail boat. Serious skills!

We got dropped off at the jetty at Hat Khlog Chau bay, one of the best beaches on the island which is great for swimming due to the wide calm bay of sparkling blue sea which stretches gently out into the ocean.

Ko Kood, Where to Stay: Got cash? Ko Kood 'is your oyster'. We spent three nights in a luxury tent, overlooking the ocean, in the Away Resort. Tent doesn’t really do the canvas-clad dwelling justice, which comes complete with a comfortable double bed, wardrobe, kettle, air con, fan and a bamboo-walled bathroom.

Strapped for cash? Meander down the river (you can rent a kayak or take the road) and you will find lots of less expensive accommodation. We stayed at the Cozy Guesthouse which was cheap, friendly and clean. There’s even free Wi-Fi and tea and coffee.

Ko Kood, Where to Eat: Next door to Cozy you’ll find The Mangrove - a popular restaurant overlooking the river. Try the soft shell crab - some of the best I've ever tasted!

If you’re after a cheap lunch, perched on the hill overlooking the Hat Khlog Chau bay is a low-key bar and eatery, The Chill House. The view is beautiful and you can choose from a menu of local Thai dishes all priced at £1 or under.

Last but not least, be sure to visit The Sunset Bar for a couple of sundowner cocktails mixed by the lovely owner Jay. Each night his wife Ouy cooks up a feast of local dishes, which the evening’s guests share communally. Not only is it terrifically tasty and inexpensive but you also get the chance to try local Thai dishes that you may not have tried before, and make some new friends.

Flash-packer: Away Resort 1,500+ baht a night

Back-packer: Cozy Guesthouse 250 baht a night (sorry, no website)

Party time: The Sunset Bar

Street Food in South Vietnam

2010-11-01T06:59:00.001-07:00

I'm in Southern Vietnam and I've been eating like a king from the street food stalls for days. This is a nation of foodies. You can't turn a street corner without bumping into a fruit-shake stall, noodle soup shop on wheels, or someone frying or boiling their lunch on a stove on the roadside.

Our first dinner was a classic Pho Gà (chicken noodle soup) which we ate in the main square of the Mekong riverside town Chau Doc. The soup came with chicken, rice noodles, dried onion and chopped spring onions and a side plate of fresh bean sprouts, herbs, chilli and lime.

Cost = 1 pound

The next night we had a theatrical meal at an outdoor street food restaurant in fellow Mekong Delta town Can Tho. We ordered beef in soybean sauce and prawns in chilli. These came raw and we cooked them ourselves on a barbeque at our table. Each order came with a free portion of okra in chilli.

Cost = 2.50 pounds a head

For dessert we hung out at the nearby fruit shake stall. I had a mixed shake of coconut and mango. This was blended with ice and milk and delivered in a tasty milkshake form.

Cost = 50 pence

Night three we arrived in Ho Chi Min city (Saigon). I've been told there are seven million people here and six million mopeds. Needless to say crossing the road is an art that I am yet to acquire.

We managed to navigate on foot to one of Saigon's main markets – Ben Thanh Market – and ate at the outside restaurant – Hai Lua. This was a serious operation with lots of uniformed staff buzzing around and cooking meat and fish on large charcoal barbeques.

We dined on grilled red snapper, pork spring rolls, beef with chilli and onion, morning glory with garlic, and rice. To drink I had a fresh coconut. The food was fresh, flavoursome and sublime.

Cost = 15 pounds total for three people.

I'm going to get very large if I stay in this county too much longer......

Kep Vine Retreat, Cambodia

2010-10-29T20:03:00.000-07:00

Eco-tourism is taking off on the Southern shores of Cambodia.While reading local brochures and guide books, buzzwords like 'solar powered', 'naturally filtered', 'organic' and 'home-grown' are on the increase.

We went to check out The Vine Retreat near the coastal town of Kep, an area that may one day be Cambodia's answer to New York's Hamptons.

Krong Kep seaside resort and the neighbouring French colonial riverside town Kampot are also home to a number of Kampot pepper plantations. Rich minerals in the soil, lots of rain and traditional growing methods help to make Kampot pepper some of the best in the world, and Kampot Pepper is the first Cambodian product to be given the status of Protected Geographical Indication.

Order a plate of grilled beef or Cambodian Lak Lok (grilled strips of beef with onion and green pepper) and you'll likely be served up a sauce of freshly ground black pepper with salt and lime juice on the side. Simple, but simply one of the best zingy pepper tastes I've ever experienced.

The Vine Retreat is 12km off the beaten track from Kep, down a windy road into the Krong Kep countryside. We took a wobbly Tuk Tuk past farmland with the looming Phnom Vor mountains in the background.

The Vine Retreat is an eco-guesthouse and organic farm with its own Kampot pepper plantation. Organic vegetables, chillis, salad and fruits are all grown in the surrounding gardens and served on the outside terrace in communal dinners.

Manager Suran chooses the daily menu inspired by the foods in season. We all shared a dinner of beef Lak Lok, tomatoes stuffed with minced pork, morning glory and steamed rice followed by the freshest papaya I've ever tasted for dessert.

The retreat is solar powered, organically farmed and thoughtful energy consumption is encouraged during your stay.

A 'naturally filtered' pool (a hollowed out space which will collect rain water) is planned for next year and local builders have assured the operations manager Dan that this will work a treat.

The Vine Retreat is roughly half an hour in a taxi from Kampot or 3-4 hours from the capital Phnom Penh. Check in to chill out: www.thevineretreat.com

Crab Lunch at Kimly Restaurant, Cambodia

2010-10-24T18:25:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Cambodia, a land filled with bicycles, green rice paddies and unforgettable Khmer smiles.

My foodie pilgrimage on this leg of my South East Asia tour was to the coastal town of Kep, famous for its crab.

First we stopped to get a shot of the town's stone crab statue. Cambodians seem to be keen on painted cement sculptures. In the nearby town of Kampot, a monumental Jackfruit statue (one of the area's favourite local fruits) was in mid-construction but yet to be painted.

We then drove down to the long strip of beach shacks for our lunch. We chose Kimly restaurant, recommended to us by a local, but I'm guessing most of the restaurants would have turned out a pretty fresh meal seeing as we ate literally on top of the water.

As I was reading the menu, a young boy waded into the sea in front of the restaurant to inspect his crab boxes and see if he'd already got his catch of the day.

We ordered a plate of 'crab with local spices' and were served up a humungous portion of bright orange crab with a side order of rice. This cost us a mere nine dollars and was more than enough for two hungry people.

The crab was cooked with a creamy coconut based spicy sauce with chilli, green peppers and fresh green buds of local Kampot pepper - Cambodia's first product to be given a protected geographical indication.

If you are ever in the area, pair your lunch with a visit to one of the local pepper plantantions. Bicycle and moped hire or taxis can be organised at any guesthouse.

Julib - London Restaurant News - August 2010

2010-08-22T02:16:00.000-07:00

The capital goes Italian this August with the arrival of Tinello, Polpetto and storming success of Gelupo ice cream parlour.

Plus Benito's Hat opens in Covent Garden and Fenwick department store welcomes Bond & Brook.
Click here for julib.com London August Restaurant News

Breakfast Club, Shoreditch

2010-08-06T09:20:00.000-07:00

It may just all be in the clever title, but everyone seems to want to be a part of The Breakfast Club right now.

I popped down to the all day diner in Shoreditch for a sunny Sunday brunch with one of my best pals and there was a queue of Hoxton trendies half way down the road all waiting for their morning fix.

Breakfast Club, What’s The Deal: Inside, retro light fittings, mix and match chairs and tables (all from e.bay or second hand furniture shops), kitsch old signs and the odd plastic palm tree, are all thrown together to make a no-fuss, laid back eatery.

Breakfast Club, On The Menu: I had blueberry stacked pancakes with a side of crispy bacon. These were tasty although not show stopping and the side of maple syrup could have been a bit more generous. Not a patch on the US pancake houses where they trust you with your very own maple syrup jar at each table.

Still, food is reasonably priced and perfect for hangovers and I’m guessing about 70% of the diners were in exactly that state as they chatted away piecing together hazy memories of Saturday night’s shenanigans.

Check out the smoothies, which you can have by the jug. We went for Return of The Redeye - blueberry, raspberry, passion fruit, orange and hangover boost.

Breakfast Club, Toilet Watch: Possibly best of all is the bogs. Not only is each cubicle dressed in retro wallpaper – Fraggle Rock being my personal favourite – but those waiting for a pee can have a boogie in the queue in the ‘World’s Smallest Disco’. Yes, the hallway has it’s very own set of disco lights and music.

Breakfast Club, The Final Word: See you there next Sunday.

Breakfast Club, How Do I Get There?:
The Breakfast Club Cafes are in Soho, Angel and Hoxton:
www.thebreakfastclubcafes.com

Sweet Sensations Launches in The Cotswolds

2010-07-13T13:19:00.000-07:00

I’m very excited to announce that we launched Sweet Sensations Ice Cream the weekend before last at Cornbury Festival, Oxfordshire.

The sun shone all weekend and customers had the choice of mango & passion fruit, vanilla bean and mint choc chip ice cream flavours.

We’re selling organic, fairtrade Cotswold ice cream from Farmington courtesy of the lovely Danni.

Hire Sweet Sensations at Your Event
Need ice cream at your do? Sweet Sensations is available for events or private party hire. Mail us at foodiefollower@gmail.com

Image of Betsy, aged four, tucking into a vanilla ice cream.

Julib - London Restaurant News - July 2010

2010-07-02T12:00:00.000-07:00

Bistrotheque Pops out its latest, Centre Point's Paramount opens to the public, Roux Jnr. opens in Parliament Square and legendary chef Pierre Koffman is back....

Click here for Julib July Restaurant news in the capital

Elliot’s in the Park, Victoria Park, London

2010-06-11T09:35:00.001-07:00

I’m still in a foodie daze, fresh from the heady delights of my first ever supper club dining experience - Elliot’s In The Park at The Pavilion Café.

The team at the pavilion are preparing to open Elliot’s restaurant in Borough Market in October and as a precursor, they’re treating a select group of diners to sneak previews, at this rather elite Friday night pop-up taking place until the end of August.

My mother and I mingled with the other diners in the early evening sun on the picturesque jetty framed by the lake. We were treated to champagne and nibbles in the form of popcorn chicken served in wooden crates with pine cones and radishes in green pea foam and some sort of sesame seed concoction that was supposed to mirror dirt. Strange, but it worked.

We chatted to some of our fellow diners, locals Matt and Paul who come to the Pavilion Café for their Sunday brunch most weekends and it was great to meet fellow food blogger youngandfoodish.

Elliot’s in the Park Pop Up, The Chef:
The weekly-changing menus have been created by chef Isaac McHale, who’s been all over the place this summer, gathering ideas for the autumn restaurant opening. His time spent at this year’s World’s 50 Best Restaurants winner Noma in Copenhagen had a lasting effect on his cooking style and this year he’s already done stints at Indewulf in Belgium and in New York working at restaurants including Momofuku and Corton.

He also makes a mean cherry compote, which each guest got an Elliot's-branded jar of to take home at the end of the evening.

Elliot’s in the Park Pop Up, The Food:
We began with a beautiful dish of English asparagus with mussels, tarragon sauce and vibrant orange edible flowers.

Isaac's focus is on fresh, local food. He's working with Chegworth Valley Farm in Kent who are providing orchard fruits and heritage vegetables for his menus.

The second course was an equally picturesque plate of Cornish Mackerel with speckled splodges of Celtic mustard, sprigs of dill and pickled cucumbers.

Local winery Bottle Apostle on Lauriston Road have matched a different wine to each course. Our American dining neighbours Avery and Drew lucked out sitting next to my mother as she doesn't drink. Throughout the evening they were willing her to keep having her glass filled up by the waiters and divvy out any excess liquid into their glasses.

The third course was pork shoulder with bacon pieces, crumbles of crackling, broccoli and pea puree.

Strangely the 5-course tasting menu (priced at a very reasonable £50 with wine pairing) included two dessert courses. The first our waitress pitched as a palate cleanser of sorts. This was a fragrant little bowl of goat’s cheese foam with a blackberry compote and crumbled Speculoos.

The second pudding was a gorgeously seasonal strawberries with elderflower sour cream and was filled with the joys of summer and fit for an English wedding.

Finally we headed off in to the night, chaperoned by owner Pheobe who let us out of the park gates clutching our Elliot’s jams.

Elliot’s in the Park Pop Up, The final word:
These guys are the real deal. There was no element of phony PR-driven ‘pop up’, just a really special evening filled with great food and wine, interesting people, and a serious dining outfit taking place behind the scenes.

Roll on October when we can check out Eliot’s in Borough: www.elliotsboroughmarket.com

Elliot’s in the Park is nearly booked up but you can try to nab one of the remaining dinners by calling the café on: www.the-pavilion-cafe.com

Images on this blog post courtesy Eve Aspin: www.paulaeveaspin.com

Julib - London Restaurant News - June 2010

2010-05-28T10:17:00.000-07:00

Portuguese barbeques, village cafes, parkside dining and outdoor eateries. Read on for all the hot openings this month to try to bag a table at on www.julib.com:

June Restaurant Round Up - julib

72 Hours in Eating – New York City

2010-05-17T14:07:00.000-07:00

French Martinis @ Schiller’s Liquor Bar

131 Rivington Street, NY 10002
212 260 4555
www.schillersny.com

Dinner @ Freemans
Devils on Horseback, artichoke dip with crisp bread; goat’s cheese salad with pecans

End of Freeman Alley, New York, NY 10002
212 420-0012
www.freemansrestaurant.com

Breakfast @ The Bus Stop Café

Blueberry pancakes with maple syrup, lattes and fresh OJ

597 Hudson Street (12th & Hudson)
(212) 206-1100
busstopcafenyc.com

Lunch @ Pastis

Mussels in Pernod with fries

9 9th Avenue
New York, NY 10014-1203
212 929-4844
www.pastisny.com

Frozen Margaritas @ The Crooked Knife

29 East 30 Street, NY 10016
www.thecrookedknife.com

DIY Salad @ Wholefoods

95 East Houston St, NY 10002 USA
http://wholefoodsmarket.com

Lunch @ Grimaldi’s Pizzeria

Pizza and root beer

19 Old Foulton Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
www.grimaldis.com

Dinner @ The Natural Restaurant Spring Street

Tostada salad with corn chips, pinto beans, rice, onion, tomato and guacamole.

62 Spring Street, NY 10012
www.springstreetnatural.com

Espresso Martini @ Soho House

29 9th Avenue
New York, NY 10014
www.sohohouseny.com

Brunch @Cafe Select

Crispy bacon, poached egg and hash brown with lattes and fresh OJ

212 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10012
(212) 925-9322
www.cafeselectnyc.com

Green Dining at The Park Terrace Restaurant, Kensington

2010-05-08T00:24:00.001-07:00

This week Foodie In London was most excited to recieve an invite to the new Park Terrace Restaurant at The Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington.

The Park Terrace, What’s The Deal?: The Park Terrace has just re-opened at this classic London hotel that’s been around for so long that my mother remembers visiting the lobby to phone home (she’s American) when she was a student at the nearby Royal College of Art.

The towering 5-star hotel is also home to the swish Chinese restaurant Min Jiang which opened a couple of years back. One of the waiters gave us a quick tour of the top floor restaurant and the views of the city skyline really were spectacular. Note to self: book on NYE to see fireworks over the London Eye minus the crowds and cold.

Come on back down to the ground floor with me though as this my friends was the reason for mine and my dining companions visit (known affectionately as Mom).

The Park Terrace, The Food: This restaurant was in fact already called The Park Terrace but the dining room has been revamped where executive chef Steve Munkley is bringing a newfound dedication to local produce.

Local suppliers include Mrs Tee’s for wild mushrooms, venison sourced from the New Forest and smoked salmon comes from the John Ross Smokery in Scotland.

Even more local still is the cocktail list. Peering out of the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Kensington Gardens, with even a glimpse of the palace in the distance, we pored over a cocktail menu inspired by the adjacent royal park.

Alcoholic inventions include Elfin Oak (Château Damasse, Amaretto, Angostura, fresh mint and soda) – named after a painted 900 year-old tree stump in Kensington Gardens, Betwixt & Between (a Peter Pan creation of Absolut Citron, Passoa, Mandarin Napoleon, orange peel) – JM Barrie was said to be inspired by his strolls in the gardens, and Green Woodpecker (Mud House Sauvignon Blanc, Amaretto, Blue Curacao, pineapple juice). The waiter assured us that although he had not personally seen a green woodpecker (yet) they were known to nest in the gardens.

However my mother doesn’t drink and in a bid to be healthy for once and try to go for a novel 24 hours without booze, I joined her in a ‘mocktail’.

We had a Parkside Cooler (strawberry puree, peach juice, fresh mint, orange juice) and a Virgin Vanilla Mojito – (apple juice, fresh mint, lime juice, vanilla sugar and lemonade) which were both fruity and delicious but my Parkside Cooler was perhaps a bit filling to kick off a three-course meal.

After debating about whether it was wrong to have fish to start and more fish for a main course, I settled on rosemary and sherry marinated Shetland organic salmon with crème fraîche and oyster crisp to begin with, followed by a meaty main of loin of New Forest venison with celeriac purée, confit root vegetable terrine pink fur potatoes and port jus.

Throughout our meal we were served by the adorably charming manager Jorge Canela who was such a cutie, I find it hard to criticize even the slightest thing but here’s my honest opinion.

The starter was nicely presented and generous in size but I found something a bit too slimy about the salmon – perhaps the sherry infusion had this effect. I wasn’t a big fan of the thin slivers of cucumber that came with it either. Too fussy. Altogether a dish that just didn’t excite me much.

The venison was really good – beautifully gamey and flavorful and the ‘oh so rich’ port jus that accompanied it was fabulous. The celeriac puree complimented everything on the plate and the root vegetable terrine had a nice tough texture too.

By the time the dessert menu came round we were getting a bit full but we opted to share the white mozzo coffee tart with mascarpone cream and coffee crisp which Jorge said was his favourite. AMAZING! Really, this was one of the best desserts I have had in long time.

The tart filling was rich and creamy and punchy and filled the mouth with all sorts of lasting sweet sensations. Jorge revealed the secret of this gloriously sweet treat. There is white chocolate in the tart filling.

To finish we had coffee and some beautiful petit fours, which came served in an edible leaf-shaped biscuit.

Park Terrace, Toilet Watch: Grand, spacious and filled with marble and mirrors. Plenty of room to swing a cat.

The Park Terrace, The Final Word: A fancy hotel restaurant with adoring staff and a serene setting. Visit a) if you’re a tourist, b) if you love British produce, or c) if you’re in the area and looking for a tranquil spot for lunch. Let’s hope The Park Terrace lives on.

Details:
Park Terrace
Royal Garden Hotel
2-24 Kensington High Street
London
W8 4PT
www.parkterracerestaurant.co.uk

Livin’ is Easy at The Summerhouse, London

2010-04-24T16:08:00.001-07:00

This week Foodie In London was delighted to bag an invite to London’s latest pop-up restaurant The Summerhouse in Maida Vale.

The Summerhouse, What’s The Deal?: From the owners of the nearby canal-side restaurant and bar The Waterway, this temporary eatery is modelled on a New York Hampton’s beach hut. With pebble flooring, sailor striped wallpaper, boating memorabilia on the walls and even its own mooring space for river arrivals, this is faux beach kitsch 'eat your heart out'.

My friend and I spilled out of Warwick Avenue tube station and walked around in circles for a while until we found the correct way along the picturesque canal towards the restaurant. What a beautiful village of London this is to dwell in. Breathing in the early-evening air and gazing up past the huge mansion houses I realised there was a reason I hadn’t been in Maida Vale for as long as I could remember – none of my friends can afford a house this damn expensive.

The Summerhouse, The Food: We arrived and were offered a cute table for two by the plastic awning right onto the canal. We kicked off with some fresh fruit cocktails. Moi - a 'Basil and Strawberry Mojito' and the gal pal – a 'Summer Pimm's' made with blueberries, blackberries, mint and cucumber.

"Well that went down a treat and you can quote me on that." - were my friend's exact words once she had demolished her drink and started making loud noises with her straw, sucking on ice at the bottom of the glass.

To start, we shared a clam chowder which was creamy, well seasoned, and as good a bash as any London kitchen could do to re-create the USA classic (head to Cape Cod if you want to try the real deal). We also shared some popcorn shrimp. This was served up in two mini white sand pails (you get what they've done here?) alongside blue and white striped napkins, a sweet chilli dip and watercress garnish – top marks for presentation. The shrimp coating was soft and fluffy and not too greasy.

Next came the mains, eventually. Luckily we weren’t in a rush but Maida Vale 'ladies that lunch’ might have a bit more to say to the waiter on the matter. I went for whole seabass with caper and butter sauce and she had The Summerhouse signature fish pie.

Some might say my seabass was practically cremated, but I happen to be big on crispy skin and this was oily, crunchy and delicious. The fish was also served in the best possible way, whole, with the head still on. I can’t stand squeamish eaters who are happy to shovel down meat by the bucket load but as soon as they see the first resemblance to the being from where it has derived get all squeally and start shrieking 'urgh I can see its eye, it’s looking at me'. If you don’t like it, eat vegetables.

The fish pie was delicious but was a filled with aubergine and tomato ratatoille interiors – a dramatic departure from the classic dish. However, we both agreed that fish pie can be too creamy a lot of the time and it did say that the pie included ratatouille on the menu – so I think it deserves The Summerhouse thumbs up.

To drink, we ordered a bottle of Billi Billi Pinot Grigio from Mount Langi Ghiran, Victoria, Australia. It wasn't cold enough and tasted pretty dull but we did order a Pinot Grigio I suppose.

Dessert was my dining highlight of the night. We ordered a watermelon and strawberry platter for two which came again with another beach pail of clotted cream. Our waitress confirmed that the strawberries came from Heulva in Spain. They were some of the most beautifully ripe, sweet, juicy and good-looking strawberries I have ever tasted.

The Summerhouse, Toilet watch: Fun, fun, fun. Bright interiors, proper expensive throw-away hand towels, more pebble flooring and fish print wallpaper. Top marks for effort in the bog.

The Summerhouse, The Final Word: Probably not worth venturing all the way across town for, but this temporary dining addition will have the locals smiling all summer. A pop up of the greatest proportions.

The Summerhouse
Opposite 60 Blomfield Road
W9 2PD
Tel: 020 7286 6752
www.thewaterway.co.uk/Summerhouse/

I Heart Daylesford Organic, Cotswolds

2010-04-11T00:21:00.000-07:00

Aaaah, the Cotswolds. A quick hop, skip and a jump up the motorway and the grey streets of London are replaced by honey-coloured stone cottages, perfect picketed fences, fresh air, greenery, and frowning, stressed faces turn into smiles.

When the big smoke is getting you down I thoroughly suggest making a run for it and heading to the countryside, and when you do, be sure to stop by the epitome of Cotswolds chic — Daylesford Organic.

Daylesford Organic, What’s The Deal?: The restaurant, farmshop, garden and spa sit on the Bamford estate (owned by Sir Anthony and Lady Bamford), and is found nearby the picturesque village of Kingham.

When we arrived the shop was buzzing with rural couples doing their overpriced shopping with a toddler or two tugging at their coat-tails. Locals stop to say hi to one another and the staff really do seem to be 'happy to help'.

Buy expensive but perfectly formed vegetables, safe in the knowledge that this is organic produce at its finest – picked in the fields adjacent.

Step into the heady cheese room and have a whiff of the award-winning cheddars, gorgonzolas and blue-rind deliciousness made in the Daylesford Organic creamery.

Plump Daylesford Organic sausages (from pigs reared happily at a family-run farm in Shropshire); gorgeously packaged chutneys and jams; freshly baked organic bread, are you getting the picture?

Losing my bearings, I turn the corner, and I'm met by a charming shop assistant manning the wines.

“Would you like to taste some rosé madam?”

“Oh go on then. Mmm, very tasty, thanks.”

After browsing a room full of beautifully packaged things that you don’t need but think you do to achieve the countryside idyll – garden accessories, sheepskin rugs, candles in jam jars, stuffed toy rabbits, potted daffodils, and more – we passed through to the shrub-adorned courtyard to have lunch in the sun.

Daylesford Organic, The Food: Boyfriend ordered a Ploughmans and I ordered a selection of Daylesford salads.

People surrounding us quaffed rhubarb bellinis, but due to my not having had my morning coffee and his heavy night – I opted for a tasty skimmed latte and he had a pressed apple juice.

The Ploughmans got top marks. Everything was top quality finest Daylesford produce. The half a piece of pork pie was a cut above the shop bought variety. There were two types of bread (one white and one brown with sunflower seeds, both freshly baked on site). A chunk of strong pungent cheddar, gloriously homegrown fresh tomatoes, an egg, gherkin, green leaves and sweet jam which the waiter confirmed was tomato and chilli.

The Daylesford Organic plate of salads was fresh and healthy although not up to Ottolenghi standards (watch this space. I’m determined that Ottolenghi will be my next blog).

The four salad selection consisted of Greek salad with excellently creamy feta and lovely leaves like dandelion – as local as it comes; winter coleslaw – made up of white cabbage and mustard; Bulgar wheat with tomatoes and parsley (a tad on the dull side) and quinoa with wild brown rice and dried cranberries.

Daylesford Organic, Toilet Watch: Armitage shanks basin (tick), Daylesford’s own hand wash (tick), wood panelling (tick) and paper towels.

Daylesford Organic, The Final Word: Living the English dream – if you can afford it.

Daylesford Organic
Daylesford
Near Kingham
Gloucestershire
GL56 0YG
01608 731 700
www.daylesfordorganic.com

A Visit to London’s Whitechapel Dining Rooms

2010-04-03T14:27:00.000-07:00

Mr H. rang me up the other week and said, “I’ve just passed the Whitechapel Dining Rooms, and it looks pretty nice. Do you fancy testing it out at some point?”

“Urh, yes please” I replied. “The critics all raved about it when it opened last year and I’ve always wanted to try it.”

Whitechapel Dining Rooms, What’s The Deal?: This small, one-roomed restaurant is attached to the Whitechapel Art Gallery. Head chef Maria Elia has received endless praise for her seasonal food, which shows off the best of British produce through her unique flair and style.

Inside the art-deco inspired dining room seats no more than 40 diners under glowing cream-coloured hanging pendant lights, endless mirrored walls which mirror themselves repeatedly if you look directly into them, and light wood hues form the rest of the space. All together a surreal almost 70s vibe is the setting for a middle-aged, middle class crowd arty/media type crowd.

Whitechapel Dining Rooms, The Food: Tip 1. Don’t be fooled by the name, The Whitechapel Dining Rooms is confusingly next to Aldgate East station, not Whitechapel, as was confirmed when the BF (boy friend) and I rang MR H. to find out where he had gotten to after a 20 minute wait.

Not only had he gone to Whitechapel Station, but he’d then walked 10 minutes in the wrong direction and was now on a big hike back. One should perhaps worry about the clear lack of navigational skills of a man who has in fact lived in the East End of London all his life, but you either have directional instinct or you don’t I suppose? Or maybe, in this day and age, all that he is lacking is a Google maps Ap for his phone.

Once he’d finally arrived, he ordered a glass of champagne to recover from the traumatic journey and I though to myself “damn it, I wish I’d ordered champagne instead of a modest small glass of house red”.

Maria Elia could be seen buzzing around the kitchen (it’s not open plan but I could see one end of it from my seat on the back wall of the dining room). The menu is clearly a woman’s work. The dishes, the ingredient matching, and something in the food in essence is just more ladylike.

To start, I had one of the most divine soups I’ve ever tasted. Do I say this in every blog post? Maybe I just like food too much. But really, the spiced cauliflower, parsnip and ginger soup was creamy and dreamy and the quince jelly, watercress and drizzled truffle oil would have made the likes of Jackson Pollock proud.

The boys both had pan-fried scallops with white bean puree and mushrooms. These were served in a long thin dish and the scallops were gorgeously glazed on top.
For my main course I had pan-fried duck breast served on a bed of creamed lentils with King Edward potatoes. Delish!

The boys – again in unison – ordered a fantastically interesting dish of pot-roasted rabbit, confit rabbit baklava, swiss chard, lemon dressing and parsnip skordalia. Surely a man couldn’t dream this sort of thing up?

Treacle tart with confit rhubarb, creme fraiche and clementine scented macaroon with ginger ganache and clementine salad were both wolfed down quickly by the guys for dessert while I had a macchiato.

Whitechapel Dining Rooms, The Final Word: This is not the place to go for a raucous evening out. By 10pm the dining room had pretty much emptied and Mr H. was subjecting the lovely waitress into listing every liqueur and aperitif they served and their list was limited.

Those that live in the area however will already know that aside from the multitude of endless curry houses on Brick Lane (equally great if you’re in the mood), fine dining is not in abundance, so if you’re after some really great local food, the Whitechapel Dining Rooms is a triumph. It’s ideal for a quiet evening with a partner or a place to take your mum for lunch.

Ps. Opposite there’s a large private dining room, which can be booked from £35 a head for dinner. A nice setting for a private do. Arty party anyone?

Whitechapel Gallery
77-82 Whitechapel High Street
London E1 7QX
T +44 (0)20 7522 7888
www.whitechapelgallery.org

Cielo Restaurant Opens in Mayfair, London

2010-03-28T13:08:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, little ol’ FIL (Foodie In London) was delighted to accept an invitation to try it out the swanky new Italian restaurant Cielo in Mayfair.

Cielo, What’s The Deal?: This upmarket pint-sized restaurant and bar has just five or six tables downstairs. Head chef Monserrato Marini offers an Italian menu with Sardinian influences. Upstairs the mezzanine bar area is the perfect playpen for the rich and glamorous and the entrance hall houses changing collections of art.

Cielo, Get the Look: Italian architect Rossella Stina has given Cielo a creamy, dreamy look. In the dining area Philippe Starck chairs, crisp white tablecloths, twinkling candles, mirrors and metal beaded curtains hanging down the back wall all fit together harmoniously.

Cielo, The Food: We were greeted by a flurry of tanned, good looking Italian waiters and escorted to a corner booth table for two next to the bar.

Bar manager Andreas Jansson was at the nearby Cuckoo Club previously so it seemed only polite to kick off with a couple of his Cielo creations. I had a Cielo Bubble – green apple liqueur, elderflower, cloudy apple and Moët & Chandon which was very tasty and mu dining partner aka boyfriend went for the Cielo Negroni - Bombay Sapphire gin, Campari, Martini Fiero and rhubarb syrup.

Bread and foccacia was served the authentic Italian way – with lashings of oil and balsamic vinegar.

To start I had grilled beef carpaccio with rocket and parmesan which was delicious and an absolutely huge portion, while BF had an equally generous plate of scallops with pancetta and avocado sauce. The scallops were large, firm and beautifully cooked and the pancetta was still nicely soft. It was prettily presented and we were still dreaming of the dish on Sunday evening.

We drank a light and lemony Fiano d’Avellino, DOCG, LA Molara, Campania, recommended by the waiter.

After the generous-sized starters, I was a little disheartened by the size of our main courses in comparison although my dish of homemade tortellini with seabass and lemon butter was an absolute triumph albeit a small one. The lemon sauce was wonderfully tangy, herby and fresh and the tortellini was served properly al dente.

BF had a tender piece of lamb fillet wrapped in pancetta stuffed with rosemary and black truffles from Norcia with roasted onions and potatoes. Delicious again although neither of us noticed the truffles.

We finished up with a tiramisu and vanilla panna cotta with Amarena cherries.

Cielo, Toilet Watch: Compared to the uber design-led dining room the toilets are a bit of a let down. There’s a white square china basin, throwaway paper towels and three basic toilet cubicles. Won’t be a memorable trip.

Cielo, The Final Word: If you’ve got cash to splash and you’re looking for a late night drinking spot to impress this is worth a venture. A fully retractable roof and a late night drinking license until 5am are both planned for summer.

Cielo: 3 New Burlington Street
Mayfair
London
W1S 2JF
0207 297 2893

March Restaurant Openings - julib.com

2010-03-11T13:51:00.000-08:00

Read up on the latest restaurant arrivals as told on www.julib.com.

Charlotte's Place gets a sister site, Mark Hix opens in Selfridges, Guerilla Burgers lands, The Brickhouse (pictured) has a makeover and Petrus finds a new home. Hungry yet?

Julib's March Restaurant News

Cecconi’s

2010-03-04T23:40:00.000-08:00

I think Cecconi’s is my favourite Italian restaurant in London. The classic Mayfair establishment is a slick operation with polished staff, a buzzy central bar (complete with hanging hams and good-looking Italians perching for a drink), and comfortable seating ideal for people watching if you nab a spot by the window.

I visited on Saturday with one of my favourite and most generous of dining companions (and bearer of a healthy credit card) – Mr H.

We popped in after seeing the brilliant Van Gogh exhibition at the Royal Academy (go if you can get tickets). Our time was so enjoyable it turned into a long, boozy lunch, which resulted in unnecessary purchases at Regent Street’s Habitat on the way home. Oops.

The Food:
I started with a delicious dish of gnocchi with butternut squash puree and Mr H had a rather decadent potato soup with truffle shavings.

For main course I went for the waistline option of rare seared salmon, artichoke, fennel and quail eggs. It was fresh and lovely but tasted a little bit too on the healthy side. I would have preferred a bit more of a lively dressing on it.

Mr H. had, without a doubt, the largest piece of rib-eye steak I have ever seen served in a restaurant, which came served with purple sprouting broccoli and a side order of spinach. The piece of meat was so large he was defeated before he reached the end and that is the first time I’ve ever seen any man not finish a steak!

To accompany, we drank our way through a couple of glasses of Pinot Grigio and then a nice bottle of Vermentino di Sardegna 'Crabilis', Pala, Sardinia Italy, 2008.

Moving on to desserts, we indulged in chocolate fondant with pistachio ice cream and apple tart with custard cream. Bellissimo!

Toilet watch: Fresh lillies, a posh marble basin, Cowshed hand wash and hand cream and individual towels.

Cecconi’s
5a Burlington Gardens
London W1S 3EP
T: (0)20 7434 1500

Bricklane on My Mind – The Brickhouse Relaunches

2010-02-27T14:43:00.000-08:00

On Thursday I went down with a gaggle of girlies, to check out the re-opening of The Brickhouse.

I’m not too sure why it was re-launching, but having never visited before, I must say I was well impressed with the East London supperclub. Surely this is Brick lane’s classiest nightspot by far. Why had I never visited before?

What’s The Deal: This three-tiered warehouse-style restaurant and bar is seriously cool.

A semi-circular stage on the ground floor bar is the main focus. Upstairs a mezzanine dining area overlooks the stage and one mezzanine up higher is the Bedroom Bar. Tilt your head upwards on entering and you can see all three floors and all the way up to the roof.

We were treated to a host of cabaret entertainment including a toned bare-chested male acrobat; a sparkly stiletto wearing hula-hooper, another man throwing shapes on material suspended from the ceiling (see image above), and my personal fave, a chav burlesque dancer.

Canapés: We ate rare tuna cubes with wasabi and watercress; tomato, goat’s cheese and basil crostinis; and a posh version of mushroom volovants.

Other highlights included two larger than life drag queens trying to jump the queue in the ladies loo and a real live snake being passed from person to person as the ultimate neck accessory.

Foodie in London would be just delighted if the management would like to invite her into review ; )

The Brickhouse: The Brickhouse

Bistros, Clubs and Colonies – A week of New Openings in the Capital

2010-02-20T04:01:00.000-08:00

There I was, all geared up for a big week of launches in London. I’d even purchased a new heart-patterned playsuit for the occasion and then I went and got the bug that’s going round. Rubbish!

So here’s a quick round-up of the openings I didn’t make it to this week.

Luxx
Tuesday saw the opening of new nightclub Luxx. Okay so I didn’t actually get invited to this opening. They're obviously trying to attract a more astute crowd than the likes of moi!

The boutique club in Mayfair has been designed by Italian architect Rossella Stina. It fits just 200 people and is decorated with LED neon strip-lights, mirrors and charcoal lather bench seating. Outside there’s a private, walled garden.

General Manager, Andreas Jansson, previously Bar Manager at Cuckoo Club, will oversee an Italian-influenced drinks list. The signature cocktail is Luxx Black Ice Tea served in a julep tin and the wine list is solely Italian.

Colony
Wednesday was the long awaited (by me at least) opening of Michelin-starred chef Atul Kochar’s new restaurant Colony.

Modelled on the days of the British Raj, the restaurant and bar will fuse Eastern and Western influences and serve up dishes inspired by Asian street vendor foods.

The bulk of dishes will be prepared using either a Tandoor – hot clay oven, Tawa – heavy, cast iron griddle plate, and Sigri – method of cooking on hot coals, all ancient Asian cooking techniques.

In the bar, headed up by mixologist Marco Perrotti (Sketch, London and Buddah Bar, Paris), you can dine on tapas-style plates of roasted quails rubbed with coriander and chilli served with tamarind chutney, foie gras seared in a crust of toasted fennel, cumin and star anise on toasted brioche, and lamb brochettes with garam masala, ginger and coriander, flavoured with rose petals and served with an olive raita.

Possibly the best of all, Colony will serve afternoon tea with an added twist of Masala tea and Asian-inspired pastries alongside traditional English tea and home-made scones with clotted cream.

Then, on Thursday I missed out on the launch of Bistrot Bruno. Acclaimed chef Bruno Loubet has returned to London after an eight-year stretch in Oz and has opened Bistrot Bruno Loubet at The Zetter. Offering French bistro dining, you’ll find onion and cider soup with upside-down Emmenthal soufflé, beef daube Provencal with mousseline potatoes, and apple and rosemary millefeuille with chilled orange blossom sabayon on zee menu. Ooh la la.

Look out for tales from the re-launch of the Brickhouse, E1 coming next week.

February Restaurant Openings - julib.com

2010-02-17T08:52:00.000-08:00

Read up on the sexiest new openings in the capital this month: Julib London February Restos

El Pilon – Palma Mallorca

2010-02-13T13:50:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, thanks to the joys of Ryan Air seat sales, I embarked on a trip to the Balearic island of Mallorca for a weekend away with nine pals. On Friday night, as recommended by the Lonely Planet guidebook, we had dinner at El Pilon.

The memories of this meal are slightly tarnished due to my kicking off the day with a glass of something sparkling at Stanstead Airport’s JD Wetherspoons at 11am. There I admitted it, yes I was in a Wetherspoons enjoying a boozy beans and bacon on toast for breakfast. I’ll never be trusted as a foodie again.

The day’s antics proceeded to include high altitude drinking – a sure-fire way to get you pi**ed, and on to the glorious pavements of Palma Mallorca for cava and Mallorcan-measured G&Ts.

No thanks to my map reading (Palma’s roads are confusing okay), on our way to find El Pilon we took an accidental detour and had the good fortune of whiling away an hour or two in casino-cum-bar Punta de Joc, lured by the neon door sign of four arrows pointing towards an apple!?

This bar is the sort of place to go if you really want a local experience eg. Dodgy old man’s bar Spanish-style. Still, despite beings shoved to the back of the establishment by the waiter to sit in a room resembling a youth hall, the stiff G&Ts,free bar snacks (when do you ever get that at home?) and mini-casino kept us all happy for some time.

Once we’d finally exited the mystique of possibly the best bar ever, we ventured through town and finally made into El Pilon.

What’s the deal: El Pilon is a small, cosy, touristy joint specialising in tapas and seafood found just off Passeig Born.

The meal got off to a great start with lashings of Rioja, garlic bread, and bread with tomato.

Highlights of our starters included the local speciality bacon-wrapped dates, which were absolutely fabulous, a generous-sized seafood platter, and broad beans with calamari.

The main complaint of the evening surrounded the meat. Several of the guys in the party ordered steak. Not only were they a little on the small side and some served up medium when the request was medium rare, but the biggest offence was a fillet steak being passed off as an entrêcote. Grumbles all round.

I opted for the two-person fish shared with my friend, which was nice but not spectacular, but due to prolonged drinking I can’t for the life of me remember what it was. Jess?

The waiters were jolly throughout and allowed us to make a racket and even brought us a nice homemade shot of something limoncello-like at the end of our meal. We then set off to partake in a bit of the Balearic nightlife.

Toilet Watch: Nothing to write home about.

The Final Word: El Pilon was a memorable meal, and ideal for a big group of friends, even if a little on the touristy side. Definitely worth a visit.

Details:
El Pilon
Just off Passeig Born, Palma Mallorca
Telephone: 971 717590

Jamie’s Italian … Finally

2010-02-09T14:23:00.000-08:00

I’ve already made a couple of attempts to visit Jamie’s Italian in Canary Wharf, but since its opening late last year and due to its highly irritating ‘no bookings’ policy, the wait has been over an hour and a half each time I’ve tried.

However, it’s now 2010, the hype has died down and I’ve just returned from a late Monday lunch with my family where we walked straight in and took our pick of tables.

What’s The Deal: Jamie’s Italian seems to pitching itself as Carluccio’s younger, brighter, funkier, brother, with restaurants popping up in many new towns and lots more openings forecast around the UK.

The Meal: I ordered Pappa Pomodoro – a rustic “Tuscan peasant soup” (£5.25). It was hearty with a generous amount of fresh basil and gorgeous chunks of soggy tomato-soaked bread and drizzled olive oil. Slightly on the salty side but apart from that a good soup.

Alongside this I ordered Gennaro’s Winter Salad (£3.35). This was a plate of lovely oily chargrilled vegetables – roasted pumpkin, radicchio, red onions, warm plump sultanas and pine nuts (which I forgot just how much I loved). Tasty but perhaps better ordered as a side to a meat dish.

Dining companion 1 ordered Chargrilled Chop Steak Beef Burger, which came stacked high with gherkins and Fontina cheese. The meat looked gorgeous and he confirmed that as far as burgers go, it was pretty faultless.

Dining companion 2 went for a Jamie classic – Roasted Pumpkin Risotto (£10.25). Risottos are in essence easy to do well although I have had a couple of duds at previous London restaurants and occasions where the rice was a little on the hard side. This risotto had the right sticky consistency, lashings of Parmesan and plenty of pumpkin.

Dining companion 3 opted for South Coast Fritto Misto. The menu described this simply as “crispy fried fresh fish using the fish we should be eating”. She complained that the menu should have been a bit more explanatory as the fish included in the dish such as sardines and prawns were not her faves and if the menu had specified, she wouldn’t have ordered it. Good point – Jamie take note!

Toilet Watch: Visiting the toilet during your time at a restaurant is a necessary if not defining moment of any meal. I am very fond of the short break where one is able to stretch their legs, gawp at other diners’ food and check out the standard of the bathroom accessories – eg. Is the loo posh enough to have Molton Brown hand wash and individual hand towels?

Jamie’s designers have gone for an old-fashioned look in the bathroom, opting for traditional Crapper toilets with wooden seats and a row of tall china sinks, topped with an arty array of mirrors in the basin area.

The Final Word: If Jamie’s Italians are trying to steal the Carluccio’s market they will have to work a bit harder to compete with Carluccio’s wonderful Italian deli and foodshop than by simply offering up the odd Jamie tea towel and oven gloves. Jamie’s Italians appeal to a younger market who have far more adventurous tastes than young people 30 years ago and the prices are reasonable. However if he wants to beat Antonio Carluccio's Penne Giardiniera, Jamie’s going to have to stay in the kitchen for a little while longer…

Details:
Jamie's Italian, Canary Wharf
Unit 17
2 Churchill Place
Canary Wharf
London
E14 5RB

Tel: 020 3002 5252

A Trip to the Circus

2010-01-30T04:29:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday night I visited new Covent Garden restaurant Circus.

What’s the Deal: Circus serves up Pan-American fare in a super-modern setting designed by lighting guru Tom Dixon with an added element of live entertainment served up alongside your meal.

Curtains: The press release says, “The entrance to the venue will be subtle, almost secret with a distressed black steel finish, barely hinting at the wonders within”.

Well they got that right! After un-glamorously changing out of my Ugg boots and into my stilettos in front of a group of blokes outside the pub adjacent to the restaurant and then continuing to walk up and down Endell Street in Covent Garden, the doorman of The Hospital Club took pity on us and pointed out the entrance. We then spent another five minutes looking like tits trying to work out how to open the door before finally bursting in from the cold.

We were escorted through the open-plan restaurant to our table. The centrepiece was a party table for 20 + diners which took up the bulk of the space. Stairs led up each end of the table and a round trapeze hoop was centered above it. This was clearly the focal point for the evening’s entertainment.

Our table was in a separate section backed by the bar and a low ceiling, which was covered in silver Tom Dixon spherical lights.

Tom Dixon has designed the whole space, one of the highlights being the unisex bathroom. Anyone spotted in Fabric in the 90’s talking shit and trying to work out how to turn on the tap at the sink will no doubt reminisce as I did when they get there.

However once you’ve located the tap, the addition of Molton Brown hand wash and the absence of wasted people in the toilet cubicles makes it all the more comforting that you’re no longer going raving. For anyone who hasn’t got a clue what I’m on about, let’s just say the bathroom is made up entirely of grey stone and taps are at first hard to locate.

We sipped on our espresso martinis and waited in suspense for some ‘circus entertainment’.

Our tall leggy Eastern European-sounding waitress looked after us well. We ordered scallops and red and yellow beet and goat’s cheese salad to start. The scallops were firm and flavoursome but for £9.50, I would have expected more than four slices of scallop served in a seashell. The beet salad was fresh and the goat’s cheese was light and creamy but again could have done with a bit more goat’s cheese and a bit less of the medley of green leaves.

For mains we opted for BBQ ribs, tuna steak, and side orders of zucchini (that’s courgette to all non US natives) and green beans, and hush puppies – which turned out to be deep-fried corn fritters. The pork was cooked beautifully - melt in the mouth – but I prefer ribs to be smothered in BBQ sauce and an altogether messier affair. The tuna steak was generous in size, but coated in a strange mix of dry spices which didn’t work at all well with the smoothness of the raw fish.

Periodically throughout the night, the lights dimmed, the waitresses stood to the side and a scantily-clad burlesque acrobat walked up onto the main table and writhed around on her ring to music.

Lastly we polished off peanut butter brownie and gingerbread for dessert, which were both tasty, and downed the remains of our Rioja before braving the January air for the march home.

The Final Word: I was expecting a little more performing than one girl on a rope, but the girls in the cloakroom said weekends were much more lively with performances throughout the room as well as on the hoop. The food is good but not remarkable and very overpriced in places. However, for an evening with an added element of fun, Circus definitely does the trick (excuse the pun) and is definitely worth the trip for a girls night out or a special occasion.

Happy 2010

2010-01-30T04:24:00.000-08:00

Greetings blogosphere. I’m back!
Apologies for a severe lack of blog posts, but with Christmas, moving home and no internet for two months it’s been hard.

Anyway onwards to 2010 and my new year’s resolution is to MAKE SURE I blog regularly. There’s plenty of new restaurant openings about so Spring looks set to be busy and i've just set up my internet at home. Phew. Yippee. Circus post coming shortly.

Hanging Out With Hix

2009-11-25T12:30:00.001-08:00

Just got back from a gloriously satisfying and marvellously impromptu visit to Mark Hix's new Soho restaurant.

"We'll never get a table," I said to my spontaneous dining partner, "but let’s just walk past and check it out on the off-chance anyway".

We peered past a heavy metal door into the reception and lo and behold there was a table for two with our name on it.

The upstairs dining room looks very much like an old-skool Conran restaurant although a cooler version with a scattering of art deco details and one-off art pieces from London's art fash pack including the likes of Emin and Hirst.

Wooden tables are dotted about, a little too close for intimate chats, and the room is backed by a large bar running the length of the restaurant featuring a back-lit crusteca section complete with seashells. Over on the right, there's a row of booth seating and a semi-private dining room.

Onto the menu: Hix's thing is British dining with a big hearty focus on red meat. This was perfectly evident by the fact that nearly every table of suited and booted guys (and there were a few) had a great hunk of hanger steak hanging off of it.

Being a lady however, the starter of cod's tongue and girolles caught my eye.

"Does cod actually have tongue?" I sheepishly asked the waitress.
"Yes it does."
"They must be rather small then?"
"Well the dish actually contains some cheek glands as well as the actual tongue." Mmm, that's sold it for me. No really, I ordered it.

The cod's tongue was served grilled and breaded mixed with some perfectly chestnut-coloured mushrooms and slices of spring onion. It was a bit too salty for my high blood pressured liking and if I'm honest I couldn't taste any difference in cod tongue to any other parts of cod flesh, but it was tasty all the same.

But the starring starter was my partner's De Beauvoir smoked salmon 'Hix cure'. A generous portion of six slices of the thickest and most tantalizingly-smoky smoked salmon I have ever tasted.

For my main course I had a seasonal salad of roasted squash with pickled walnut and goat's cheese (actually a starter on the menu) and my dining buddy opted for steak, which appeared to go down very well.

After our meal, we popped down to the basement bar for a nightcap. True to the rumours of being London's most sociable restaurateur, Hix was propped up by the bar entertaining friends including Peter Blake whilst sipping on a pink cocktail.

The bar is a funky den of purposely mis-matched furniture, distressed mirrored walls, an embossed tin ceiling and soft, sexy lighting. Shelves of homemade jars of of an alcoholic nature sit happily on the back of the bar, fermenting into tempting liqueurs, mixers and aperitifs.

The cocktail menu is a drinks history novel and thirst quencher all rolled into one, brimming with British berry-infused concoctions and fruit punches. Not surprisingly, the man behind the drinks is Nick Strangeway the fabulous mixologist from Hawksmoor.

Hix: www.hixsoho.co.uk.

Porridge Party on the Southbank

2009-11-21T03:01:00.000-08:00

On Saturday 28th November, wrap up warm and head down to the Southbank for free porridge outside Giraffe restaurant at the Royal Festival Hall.

Rude Health (makers of very tasty museli, porridge and cereal-type products) are hosting a big porridge cook-off and roller-skaters will be handing samples of their tasty treats too.

London Porridge Cook Off
If you think you’re a bit of an expert at whipping up the Scots' favourite breckie, you can enter your best recipe for a chance to take part in the freestyle porridge cook-off.

Twelve finalists will have five minutes to transform a bowl of Rude Health porridge into their finest breakfast, using their choice of secret ingredients, as they try to impress the judges to win the title of London Porridge Prince or Princess 2009.
E.mail Rude Health for further details at: hello@rudehealth.com

Junior Porridge Cook Off
Mini cooks will get a chance to create their best porridge too.

With no experience or ingredients necessary, budding alchemists are invited to transform a bowl of plain porridge into their own tantalising breakfast treat using their choice of Rude Health's toppings.
For an application form to the Junior cook off: E.mail: hello@rudehealth.com

Finally the World Porridge Champion Anna Louise Batchelor will be cooking her winning Spotted Dick Porridge Pudding.

Don’t forget to bring your spoon!

Champagne Oh How I Missed You

2009-11-14T03:22:00.000-08:00

On Thursday night I went to the launch of Galvin La Chapelle & Café de Luxe.

This is the third restaurant from the Galvin brothers – they already have a French bistro Galvin Bistro de Luxe at Baker Street, as well as the highly acclaimed Galvin at Windows, which overlooks Hyde Park from its 28th floor location. Ie. cracking views of London.

Despite this latest project launching a year behind schedule, they're clearly hoping to cash in on the city boys, as the site is seconds from Liverpool Street Station on Spital Square.

The building is pretty spectacular. Architects have added to the 19th Century Grade II listed building St Botolph's Hall, once home to Central Foundation Girls School.

The restaurant is divided into two sections – a fine dining room housed in the original building with a newly added mezzanine that fills half the space where showy dinners can eat looking out over the paupers below. A glass atrium joins the original space to a newly added bistro side of the restaurant.

Mirrors, worked metal, black furniture and large silver candelabras all take part to create a decadent look.

I consumed:

·Six oysters
·Two steak tartare on crisp bread
·One foie gras on artichoke
·One shredded duck on toast
·4,000 wasabi peanuts
·Too many glasses of champagne.

I'd forgotten how much I love champagne. It’s been a while. Paid for it on Friday though!

Great British Nosh at The Wharf – Canteen

2009-10-31T01:31:00.001-07:00

After years of being a relative dining void (with the exception of course of the marvellous, magical Plateau Restaurant), Canary Wharf is swiftly becoming London's hottest new dining spot.

Jamie's Italian opened this summer to rave reviews. I still haven’t managed to try it as the wait has been over an hour for a table every time I've tried and they run an annoying no bookings policy.

At the other side of 'The Wharf', The Lower East Liquor Bar and Inn has opened next to Goucho serving up American food and cocktails at the riverside.

Now diners are flocking to the Park Pavillion where a medley of restaurants have sprung up on the new spot which overlooks Canada Square.

You can take your pick from the vast bar The Parlour, a new Roka, (those that know and love Roka, Charlotte Street will be salivating at the very thought), Mexican street food café Wahaca is to open imminently and last but not least a new Canteen.

We visited for dinner last Sunday.

Canteen does classic British comfort food well, served in unimposing identikit surroundings (other Canteens can be found at Spitalfields, Baker Street and The Royal Festival Hall).

Canary Wharf's Canteen had a bit of an American feel to it when we visited on Sunday evening. We sat down in a cosy green-carpeted booth in the serene and airy restaurant with glass floor-to-ceiling windows throughout and some chilled out jazz playing in the background.

All the roast dinners had sold out. A good sign!

We ate:

Devilled kidneys on toast
Spiced parsnip soup

Chicken tarragon and walnut salad
Prune, chicken and ale pie with mash and greens.

This was all washed down with a nice bottle of Primitivo Sangiovese and a banoffee pie to finish.Perfect Sunday night comfort eating.

Our only complaint was the banoffee pie had way too much crust (which you practically needed an electric saw to permeate) and not enough banoffee filling. In true American style we piped up and made our banoffee pie feelings known.

Look out for a Canary Wharf Wahaca blog post coming soon.

Don’t Ask for Dessert at Bocca Di Lupo

2009-10-25T02:42:00.000-07:00

I never made it to Bocca di Lupo when it opened in Soho late last year. It's still one of London's most talked about restaurants, most searched for restaurant entries on websites like Time Out, and seems to have been unanimously hailed as the best thing since Italian sliced foccacia by London's food critics.

Needless to say, I have been excited about last night's visit ever since I booked a fortnight ago.

The restaurant was much smaller than I was expecting, with no more than 15 tables in a bright, square dining room topped by a stunning glass panelled circular chandelier and surrounded by peach wall paint. The front section of the restaurant is devoted to a long bar area and downstairs there's a private dining room.

The Good (a mini ramble about watermelon):
The cocktails! I chose a basil and watermelon martini and despite the misleading title (the drink was actually vodka based) this was one of the smoothest tasting wonderfully concocted fruity delights ever to meet my lips. The basil and watermelon were a powerful flavour combination, so perfectly blended that I envisaged a fine figure of a barman poring timelessly over my drink as he measured out the perfect quantities of each ingredient to the exact millimetre, before crushing the watermelon by hand and then sieving the liquid through ice to get it to the optimum temperature.

The Menu:
...is a headache for the indecisive and a treat for any foodie. There are eight sections and every dish is offered as a starter or main. By the side of each option you can read which region of Italy it comes from, or if it's a creation of Bocca di Lupo's chef Jacob Kennedy it is awarded a 'BDL'.

After an hour of discussing our dishes and bugging the waitresses for translations of cotechino (a type of sausage cured on site), orecchiette (pig's ear shaped pasta) and guinciale (bacon made from pig's cheek), we were ready to go in for the kill.

I started with a BDL invention – shaved radish, celeriac and pecorino salad with pomegranates and truffle oil. It was fresh, zingy and bursting with truffle aromas.

Then I settled for a partridge seeing as it's game season and I've been reading and writing about the damn little birds for over a month now. The meat was juicy and rich and tasted great with side portions of wet polenta with Parmesan; borlotti beans with tomato and basil; caponata (summer vegetables in agrodolce with anchovies); and Romanesco broccoli served with parsley and Parmesan. Ahem, not all just for me of course.

Bocca di Lupo is special. The food has that homely, rustic, good-for-the-soul quality to it as well as the notion that time, love, thought and skill has been invested into each dish.

The Bad:
We didn’t order our food until an hour into our 2 hour and 15 minute slot and so sadly when the waitress put the dessert menus on our table she followed by saying we had come to the end of our time slot and didn't actually have time to order.

So, humph, we left without dessert and moved on to Soho's best-kept drinking secret 23 Romilly Street.

Oh well, next time I'll have to book for dolci and drinks only and finish off what I started.

Italian Tapas At Polpo

2009-10-05T10:11:00.000-07:00

Last night I took one of my oldest gal pals out to dinner to hear about a crazy trip to Ibiza over a lovely bottle of Montepulciano and cicheti (sharing plates of Italian tapas) at Polpo.

Polpo has just opened on Beak Street, and is the brainchild of Russell Norman, who used to work as operations director for Caprice Holdings, looking after top London restaurants like The Ivy, J Sheekey and Scott's.

Head chef Tom Oldroyd worked at Bocca di Lupo previously, another acclaimed Italian restaurant in Piccadilly, which opened last year.

The mid-18th century townhouse restaurant was heaving when we arrived with people seated at every table, eating at the zinc-topped bar and standing around at the entrance. This all helped to conjure up the rustic Venetian tavern style dining these guys are hoping to create.

We were seated at a row of tables for two running down the left hand side of the restaurant. Trying to get out to nip to the loo if you were on the inside banquette was no easy task and it was all a little too close to your neighbours for my liking.

On the plus side though, it was busy, bustling, and the food was reasonably priced. Our best starters included a delicious Gorgonzola and walnut wrapped in Mortadella (£1.90) and fig, prosciutto and mint served on grilled bread (£1.80) – sweet fruit, with meat and some fresh herb – one of my all time favourite flavour combinations.

Moving on to meats, we chose a dish of tender pork belly which came with a generous amount of crackling alongside radicchio and hazelnuts (£5.50); roast pumpkin, prosciutto and ricotta (£6) was interesting although I would have preferred a little more spice and flavour in the pumpkin; and Bigoli (buckwheat pasta) with anchovies although not to my liking (cold fishy noodles, eugh) was authentically Venetian and the pasta was homemade on site.

Polpo is no fine dining restaurant but nor is it trying to be. It's perfect for a lively dinner with a bunch of mates after interesting tasting and honestly priced food and wine and an easygoing dining experience.

I'm looking forward to returning to sample the other half of the menu!

We skipped dessert and instead jumped into a black cab to get to the official launch of Eight Club in Moorgate. Four floors up in a glass elevator, this private members bar and restaurant has floor to ceiling glass walls all over and 360 degree views of the city from the large outside terrace. The pomegranate cocktails were good but it ain't a patch on the nearby Shoreditch House.

Loving The Luxe for Sunday Brunch in Spitalfields

2009-09-28T13:57:00.000-07:00

Greetings foodie followers.

Newsflash, The Luxe in Spitalfields is finally open.

Those that knew its predecessor, The Spitz bar and restaurant, will welcome it with open arms as trying to get served even a bowl of chips at The Spitz was a painful experience, particularly on a hangover.

On the contrary, our cheery waitress wouldn't leave us alone despite the fact that it took my friend and I over twenty five minutes to order: a fish finger sandwich & coarse tartar (£5) and blueberry pancakes & maple syrup (£4.50).

Well I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed my sandwich. The fish fingers were piping hot and nice and crunchy on the outside and featuring 'real' tasting fish on the inside. The tartar was chunky and fresh and accompanied with fresh white bread and some ketchup, it was not far off the best fish finger sarnie ever. Although now that I come to think of it, I can’t remember the last time I had a fish finger sandwich so perhaps I didn’t realise how much I missed the childhood snack.

I tasted the pancakes and they were of good consistency, with decent maple syrup and lots of tangy blueberries inside.

The boys' fried breakfasts seemed to go down a treat too.

For those that don’t know, The Luxe is the latest venture from John Torode, the restaurateur that you may have seen on TV, presenting and judging MasterChef (not the bald one, the other one).

John Torode also owns Smiths of Smithfield, the Farringdon eatery that offers some of London's best breakfasts on the ground floor and a fine dining restaurant at the top.

Similarly, The Luxe upstairs restaurant will open on 1st October. Watch this space for more news...

Central Perk Coffee Shop Pops Up in Soho

2009-09-24T23:48:00.001-07:00

Calling all pop-up bar fans, coffee addicts and lovers of the cult TV series Friends…

A pop-up bar modelled on the Central Perk coffee shop from the hit TV series Friends has appeared on Carnaby Street.

Head down to pick up your FREE coffee and soak up the re-created Greenwich Village coffee scene.

I popped along to check it out and although I did have to queue for a while, it was worth the wait as Gunther was there in the flesh having pictures taken on the 'Friends sofa'!

The coffee's not bad either. Latte, Cappuccino, Americano, take your pick. Just don't ask for a skinny OK? That's taking the pop-up coffee concept a little too far, as I learnt when the server smirked at my request.

You'll have to be quick. It will all be over on 5th October.

Download your free coffee voucher and directions here:
www.warnertv.com/friends/

Friday Night in Soho - Yalla Yalla and Jrink

2009-09-12T01:33:00.000-07:00

When I close the office door behind me on a Friday evening and burst out on to the streets of central London, the feeling of relief of not having to return to work for a whole 72 hours is always a liberating one.

London is great in late September. The sun is still shining, the air is still warm and the evenings are still light.

I stopped off at Office in Covent Garden and bought a lovely pair of black boots (oops, naughty) before meeting some friends for drinks.

When I asked around the office for a good cocktail bar in Soho someone said try Jrink. It’s at the top of Frith Street near Arbutus. Just £4 for cocktails at happy hour between 5pm and 8pm and it wasn't ridiculously busy like most bars on a Friday night. We knocked back some rasberry Mojiots in quick succession.

The night's mission was all about visiting the new Beirut street cafe Yalla Yalla. Since receiving a glowing write up in the Metro and and similar praise from Charmaine Mok in Time Out, it's been hard to get a table.

Down an alley of sex shops, Yalla Yalla makes for a wholesome contrast. We didn’t realise it was quite so cosy.

There's just a handful of seating, dotted around, in front of a counter laden with baklava, pickled chilli and Lebanese pastries.

If you're after a boozy Friday night, this probably isn’t the place for you, but for a homely lunch or afternoon catch up with a friend or two it's perfect.

Yalla Yalla is snug and inviting and serves up simple but tasty Middle Eastern treats. We had babah ghannouj, hummus and fattoush salad followed by a mixed meat grill and moussaka with rice, and flat bread that lived up to its name wonderfully, eg. very flat!

Apsleys - A Heinz Beck Restaurant Opens in London

2009-09-09T13:53:00.000-07:00

Last night, I tested out the newly re-opened Apsley's restaurant at the London's 5 star Lanesborough Hotel.

Past the lobby's ornate flower arrangements, statues and plush carpets, we entered the dining room to find a scene reminiscent of London in the 1920s.

Three glistening chandeliers hung from the glass-roofed ceiling of the two-tiered Art Deco dining space (tip: if you like people gazing, request a table on the top level).

Charming waiters floated around us effortlessly bringing us foccacia, homemade bread sticks and olive bread, which we dipped into a choice of two olive oils along with some coarse and incredibly strong tasting salt that we were advised by the waiter was originally used by the Romans.

Triple Michelin-starred chef Heinz Beck has devised the new "light Mediterranean menu", and while he's not around executive chef Massimiliano Blasone will head up the team.

Best dishes included perfectly al dente rabbit ravioli with asparagus and pistachio and potato gnocchi in shellfish broth.

A sommelier chose all of mine and my pal's wines, pairing us something different with each dish and each one was spot on.

Fergus O'Sullivan gave it a pretty crap write up in today's London Paper which I thought was a bit harsh!

London Paper verdict:
Food - 4 stars
Vibe - 3 stars
Service - 1 star
Veggie choice - 2 star

He said "staff scurry around with crumb catchers and constantly ask if you're enjoying the meal".

I found the staff to be a complete pleasure and despite the huge size of the dining room, everything worked like clockwork and every waiter was busy at all times looking after customers needs. In my opinion attentivness is part of what you're paying for in a fine dining restaurant, no?

And yes, it was on the expensive side Fergus, but for a one-off special occasion and to sample Heinz Beck's fabulous food I would say worth it.

Ps. Image is of our very lovely amuse bouche.

Apsleys - A Heinz Beck Restaurant on julib.com