Pho - soho

Pho is one of those places that i have been meaning to visit for ages. Mainly because it always smells amazing when i walk past. I have very little knowledge of Vietnamese food so for this visit i took a friend who has visited Vietnam a few times to get her verdict. That and the fact that place seems to have such mixed reviews so i wanted to see what i was like for myself.
For me, the lay out is an issue. Obviously, this can't be helped because of the constraints involved with being in a listed building. The bar is at the back and this is also where you have to ask about getting a table or your reservation. So on opening the door, you are confronted with a busy restaurant and a lucky guess as to how to get in on the action. Once round at the crowded and cramped bar, we got the booze in and our names down for a table. However, a couple of unfortunate diners were unaware of the "system" and had been waiting for quite some time before asking about a table and getting their names on the list. This system could be avoided by having someone greet people at the door, though they may have to remove a table for this. Ultimately, if you get your elbows out, you get a table. As long as you sit where you're told. We asked to sit elsewhere but told this was impossible. We then became the honorary meet and greeters as our table was by the door. So we told people about the "system" as they opened the door and got confused.
On to the food then, it was delicious. We had fresh spring rolls and lemongrass pork balls to start. They were both lovely and balanced in flavour and had a fantastic dipping sauce that was more than addictive.
For mains, we didn't have the pho after which the restaurant is named, but i had a fantastic curry which was delicious and very warming. So, my travelling friend gave it her seal of approval and i would definitely go back. If anything it's made me more keen to try the clutch of Vietnamese places dotted along the kingsland road. The service was slightly slow and haphazard but this was surely down to the fact they were so busy. Where is your favourite Vietnamese place? Let me know your recommendations!

More Al Fresco Frolics - Frank's Cafe

This may be posisbly the most over-used phrase of the summer, but what the heck is up with the weather?! Autumn is trying to take over and just when you think that the pathetic excuse we've had for a summer is over, the sun comes out blazing  and your wardrobe dilemmas continue to exponentially increase. I've essentially crippled myself with back ache of late because of the growing size (and weight) of the handbag I've been hauling around so I can be prepared for all eventualities. I was in boy scouts after all.

It's not an overstatement therefore to say that we Londoners have been clinging on to summer as if our lives depended on it. To that end, I am continuing on the theme of al fresco destinations in London that don't often crop up on the 'top 10' list but that are definitely worth a visit, even if we just have to face the fact that it's not really summer anymore after all.

A few weeks ago, it was Becca's birthday celebrations and I was excited to hear that Frank's Cafe was the venue of choice. I'd heard about it before but being an East London girl, Peckham Rye is not a frequent destination for me. In fact, I'd never really been there before except once by accident when I got a night bus in the wrong direction but the less said about that, the better.

Frank's Cafe is on a carpark rooftop about a minute's walk from Peckham Rye station, a short hop on the overground from London Bridge. It's confusing, you have to follow a red line I think. Don't do what I did and go up the first set of stairs you see, that is a fire exit for the nearby cinema, they won't appreciate you trying to get in there. Once you've negotiated the car park ramps and steps and reach the roof, you are rewarded with an amazing view of London, you can see every landmark there is from up there and it's great trying to identify them all and realising that many of them are not where you thought they were (in relation to Peckham at least!). Perhaps it would be more accutate to say, Peckham's not where I thought it was in relation to everything else. Anyway, the view is ace.

The bar itself is great too, lots of choice, lots of Campari and lots of lovely staff. They serve Greenwich Meantime, what could be better? The queues were long but you didn't wait long to get served and the food was fantastic BBQ fair. My favourite being the sweetcorn with lip-smackingly good paprika butter, something I've since tried (and failed) to recreate at home. Not having a bbq was obviously the problem. Probably. It's a really fun place and a fun time was had by all. There is an awning to protect you from the worst of the rain but it is exposed up there so take a rucksack of jumpers and blankets and those rain ponchos that tourists wear (or an umbrella) and you'll be set. 

I thought it was only open for the summer but I think it might be open all year round... so worth a visit then whenever the mood strikes except maybe not in the snow. Although saying that, in the snow I think it would be a bit like being in an Alpine lodge, albeit in Peckham but how nice!?

Gabriel's Wharf - Gourmet Pizza Company

Finally, London has seen a glimpse of summer and Londoners are clamouring to stay outside no matter what. For me, the nicest thing about the sunshine is how everyone is in a better mood and generally London feels like a reasonably friendly city for a change. Of course the other nice thing is having a meal outside and pretending that you're actually on holiday. So where is the first port of call to eat outside? Apparently the entirety of London storm the South Bank to queue for an hour to get a table as when the sun shines, I found that a whole host of south bank restaurants won't take bookings.

A quick scour of my usual London resources reveal lists of top ten al fresco restaurants in London, most of which will set you back a significant amount of cash which is not ideal. So, I've hopefully managed to find some more reasonable  options and as I try them out, will update you here about them.

First up is The Gourmet Pizza Company, Gabriel's Wharf on the south bank.

Gabriel's Wharf is a cute little enclave of shops, bars and cafes that has a really nice feel to it and the Gourmet Pizza Co. is one of the first restaurants you encounter as you enter from the riverside. It makes for a really good outdoor option with a lovely terrace alongside the restaurant and out onto the south bank as well. I rang up at lunch time on the same day and was able to book a table for dinner which was great as I had actually intended to visit a different restaurant that refused to take a booking. It was great being able to saunter to the front of the queue, if a little awkward but I have excellent death stare deflection abilities. We had a short wait for a table which thankfully, was outside. I don't think booking guarantees you outside but I got the impression that you had priority which was good. I would recommend waiting if it's a hot day as the inside temperature in the restaurant was about that of the pizza oven. If you don't book, I would guess that you would have at least half an hour wait.

On to the food, pizza is the obvious choice given the restaurant name! They are all reasonably priced and excellent quality and they offer a range of specials too. On my visit, I had a starter of bruschetta followed by a bacon and goats cheese pizza which was delicious. I was anxious about the level of service in the jam packed restaurant but they know what they're doing and we were served promptly by a very friendly waitress. The food didn't disappoint and it all arrived very swiftly. I mean it's pizza so it was nothing life changing but a good spot to enjoy some wine, pizza and a good amount of judging people watching from the terrace. So next time you're looking for somewhere to eat outside, give them a try and hopefully you'll have as good a time as I did.

Union Jacks

Jamie Oliver, love him or loathe him, his influence on contemporary British cooking is irrefutable. I do have three JO recipe books in my collection and I do enjoy watching his cookery shows, partly for the giggle but mostly for the food. One of the most successful series he's done has to be 'Jamie's Great Britain' with an impressive number of recipes you'll find something for any occasion that's bound to impress.

One of Jamie's latest restaurant ventures 'Union Jacks' ties in with the series' patriotism not just by name as some of the recipes featured appear on the menu. Union Jacks is all about celebrating the best of British produce in a whole new way and has been established by Jamie in partnership with renowned American pizza chef, Chris Bianco.
The website has a nice vintagey feel and I used the online booking system which worked a treat. If you can be arsed to watch the two or three videos on the homepage, you're in for a treat as well! The central location of the London branch is really convenient, a short walk from tottenham court road and holborn stations and a short skip and a jump from covent garden and shaftesbury avenue. A minor drawback from a personal perspective is that it is situated in one of those super shiny new office developments where they leave room for retail/restaurants on the ground floor. I'm not going to rant about it now, but these kinds of locations irritate me - however they have managed to inject some personality into the place so all is well. They also have a very funky looking function room downstairs for anyone who's hatching party plans.
Met with a friend for an earlyish dinner meant that we were in time for happy hour which is always a pleasant treat and the cocktails served with those old skool stripey straws didn't disappoint. I was surprised the place wasn't busier! Happy hour - on a Friday!! The service was friendly and attentive throughout our visit which is always excellent, especially getting recommendations from the staff, all of which were great.
To start we had the smoked trout pate and baby yorkies that I have previously blogged about adapting so I was keen to try it as intended and the waitress spoke very highly of it. We also had the garlicky mushrooms which were the most garlicky things I've eaten in a long time, they certainly lingered. Both starters were absolutely delicious - the trout pate was nice creamy and smokey in flavour and the yorkies were searing hot, straight out of the oven which was great. The combo worked really well because of the contrast, will definitely be giving this a go at home, following the recipe next time.

On to the main event - I had the Empire Chicken, a recipe I've been intending to attempt from the book for a while but haven't quite mustered up the courage energy. It was delicious. The chicken is served on the bone and is amazingly tender with really zingy flavours coming from the spicy rub. Served with a jug of gravy and bombay potatoes - it was quite delicious. I like that the gravy was served separately, it does mean you can regulate the coverage of sauce to your liking.

Despite being absolutely stuffed we couldn't resist the lure of the home made ice creams and chose a scoop each of earl grey and biscuit flavour along with sticky toffee pudding flavour. It was gorgeous. All throughout the meal they were playing amazing 90's tunes as well, some real classics which just added to the atmosphere. So much so that my friend asked if they had a copy of the playlist available, I'm sure that they'll be selling compilations before too long. Jamie's next venture perhaps. Next time, I'll try  out the flatbreads, which are apparently the speciality here. Check it out while it's quiet! No doubt many branches will be cropping up over the city in no  time and there are already plans for a branch in Covent Garden.


View Larger Map

Recipe: Leek, Bacon, Cheese and Asparagus Quiche

I love the feeling when you happen to have two or three amazing ingredients in your possession and a recipe is born. This happened to me recently, I had a mysterious episode where I mislaid a box of eggs. Being in the pub might have had something to do with it, because I lost my copy of Grazia around the same time. After recovering my sanity somewhat, new eggs were bought, a requirement for a weekend breakfast. By the end of the weekend, I had  a box of lovely eggs, some English Asparagus and a hunk of Lancashire cheese. What else could I do but make a quiche? Lancashire cheese and asparagus are a match made in heaven, if I do say so myself and if Nigel Slater says so, it must be true ( I love how he calls asparagus 'Spears of the realm'). The creamy, crumbly cheese works so well with the delicate spears of greeny goodness and asparagus is delicious in a quiche.

So how, I hear you cry, did leek and bacon come into it? Well, I love leeks and thought they would complement the flavour better than an onion or similar and the bacon was on offer. If I were to make this over again,  I would probably skip the bacon but it made it salty and tasty - all the better for a workday lunchbox.

I've never made quiche before and I honestly thought that it would be a lot easier to make than it turned out but I neglected to take the whole pastry thing into account. So, the first thing you have to do is blind bake your pastry crust which firms up the pastry in your quiche tin so it cooks properly and doesn't turn to mush when you add your filling. I'll admit, I didn't make my pastry - I used ready made own-brand supermarket stuff. the trouble was that it was ready rolled a bit too thin so blind baking wasn't that successful - the pastry just didn't firm up as expected however, I carried on regardless.

For the filling I first cooked the bacon in a frying pan with a bit of garlic - the bacon really took on the garlicky flavour which was really tasty in the quiche but if you don't like a strong garlic taste, you can omit this to no bad effect - I tend to get quite carried away. Once the bacon was cooking and nicely I added the chopped leeks. I then blanched the asparagus for about three minutes in boiling water and when I removed them, I plunged them into ice water - a tip I saw somewhere I can't remember that helps the spears to keep their nice green colour. I wouldn't usually bother but I thought it would be a nice idea so that I can arrange them nicely on top of the quiche.

In a mixing bowl, I whisked together three eggs and about 200ml double cream, seasoning with plenty of salt and pepper. I then added about 150g smushed up lancashire cheese (it's so crumbly, it doesn't really grate). Once all the goodies for the filling were cooked, I mixed it all in the bowl and turned it out into the pastry case. Arranging additional blobs of cheese on the top along with the asparagus spears to make it look pretty. Baked in the oven at 180 degrees for about 25 - 30 minutes or until just firm and golden on top.

Once, out of the oven a certain someone crumbled even more cheese on top which did no harm (except to the waistline!). Served with a side salad and with plenty leftover for lunches, this was a really nice sunday supper. In fact, I would say this was even better after a night in the fridge and tasted mighty fine hot or cold.

Herculatte, it's a thing. Or at least it should be.

In the previous post, I was harping on about London's coffee revolution. It comes as a disappointment then, that a recent trip to one of London's independent coffee stalwarts, Grind Coffee Bar (not to be confused with Shoreditch Grind). Grind has a new outpost in the epic temple of mammon that is Westfield in Stratford. Stratfield as I like to call it. The great thing about this is that I can be guaranteed to grab a fantastic coffee to see me off on my merry way to the land of Kent for a parental visit as it is a stone's throw from Stratford International Station where you can catch the high speed service and be in the depths of Kentish countryside in under an hour.

The particular Saturday of my visit, I was in a foul mood. I was very tired and very grumpy indeed, coffee was needed. The strongest coffee, the richest milkiest coffee, something that would really satisfy me and caffeine jolt me out of my grumpity grump. I had just the thing in mind, a Herculatte. Yes, the Classics geek in me enjoys the reference to the eponymous hero, Hercules, but I needed caffeine in Herculean proportions and little else would do. My discovery of the Herculatte occurred in Toronto last Autumn. It was a true beauty to behold after a horrible all-night bus ride from Montreal. It was early and after a particularly disastrous order in Starbucks proved that their stuff just wouldn't cut it, we consulted the trusty guide book and made a bee-line to The Moonbean Cafe around the corner from Kensington Market. What could be better a better caffeine jolt than a triple shot latte? It was some of the nicest coffee I've ever had, this lovely little cafe roasts their own and they know their stuff. After drinking it, I came back to life and was no longer the zombie-off-the-bus-from-outta-town.

So it was on this particular Saturday that Grind Coffee Bar was my salvation, they would surely understand my need!
I know what I want and when I'm grumpy, don't mess with me. Especially if I haven't had coffee and you're the person who I'm expecting to provide me with the coffee that I want. On the menu was a flat white. Perfect, they do it in large as well - brilliant. Most places will only do a flat white in small which is something to do with the quantities or maybe just trying to differentiate it from a latte. Grind however does serve a large flat white but only if you're staying in and not for take away which I just find pointless if they have the large takeaway cups. So, I asked for it. A herculatte. Ok, they probably wouldn't have known what that was so, I asked for a triple shot latte. But no. I was to be let down, they don't 'do' triple shots. To which I just frowned at the guy behind the till (like I said, I was grumpy).

"All our coffees are double shot" as though this would be enough and make it all ok.
"I know, I've had your coffee before. Can I have a triple shot latte?"
 "We don't do triple shots."
"Alright fine, I'll just have a normal flat white"
 "I'm sure you won't be disappointed"

Well, I was because I wasn't drinking a triple shot latte which is what I wanted! No, the flat white was seriously nice but what is more irritating is the cafe's inability to listen to the requests of the customer. It wasn't until after I had left that I realised I could have just bought a latte and added my own espresso shot but the cafe should have offered to do this. I realise it would have made my coffee more expensive but I had pounds in my purse for caffeine purchasing purposes. Even if they'd bothered to ask me why I needed three and not two shots, they might have realised that I'm not a luddite who thinks that the coffee at Grind is going to be weak, I was just in need of that level of jolt. It's a customer service thing. It's also a matter of  personal taste, I wanted everything that is a triple shot latte, the caffeine (did I mention that I needed caffeine?), the milky goodness, the coffee coffee taste. It also probably stems from too much time spent messing around with my own coffee machine and making really strong coffees.

Someone, anyone needs to start selling a Herculatte before I have to go back to Toronto and get one, but that would be an expensive cup of coffee.

They like to grind it in Shoreditch - Shoreditch Grind coffee

London's had a well documented 'coffee revolution' in recent years, with a seemingly ever increasing number of independent coffee shops cropping up all over the city. Good news for the independent businesses and good news for coffee loving Londonahs. More recently and somewhat controversially, the big chains have been upping their coffee game as well, which is no bad thing either but I think a big proportion of Londoners would rather opt for their local indie joint than generic chain. 

We're so lucky to have the variety that there is in London and I quite often find myself on a coffee pilgrimmage of a weekend. This has been made much easier since lovely T bought me a beautiful book, 'The Independent Coffee Book' (London edition). This fantastic little book has info on over thirty of London's independent coffee shops, helpfully divided into London regions with maps included too. What's more they also tell you the type of coffee machine each place uses and whether the company roasts their own beans or not. You don't get much better than that. It's also perfectly handbag sized so I've made a habit of taking it with me of a day when I'm out and about. Keep an eye out for it as it's well worth the purchase. T even wrote little notes in mine giving reasons why we need to go and visit them, which is just amazing. Folks, take note - the book is an excellent gift for the coffee lover in your life - added notes make it so much more personal.  I'm hoping that they're able to release an updated version very soon as it seems that there are many cafes that have opened since its publication that could definitely be featured.

Recently, a particularly hungover Sunday called for a bike ride and some fresh air. Then it started to rain. As everyone in the country knows, it hasn't stopped since. It's rained all April and we're STILL in drought apparently, how can this be?! Anyway, as one not in the know about the ins and outs of our ground water levels, my mantra of 'we need the rain, we need the rain, we need the rain.' is beginning to wear thin.

So it was that shelter was needed and nourishment, well, a bonus as it was the perfect opportunity to visit Shoreditch Grind. Though not featured in the aforementioned book, it's a great little coffee shop just off Old Street roundabout, perfect to dip into if you're waiting for a friend at the maze that is Old Street station.  It's housed in a old building, apparently called The Roundhouse and I really like their old cinema style sign in front, I think they change the message every so often too which is nifty. I'm pretty sure it used to house some kind of mobile phone store before being empty for some time and the cool coffee joint took over in timely fashion because it's slim pickings for decent coffee around there as far as I'm aware.

Promoting themselves as East London's favourite coffee shop, I had to investigate this bold claim, and if the expansion plans mentioned on their website (into the courtyard at the rear of the building) are pulled off, then they may well clinch it. They don't roast beans themselves but have them roasted to their own specifications and they have a beautiful La Marzocco coffee machine for those who know how this can make a world of difference between coffees.

The coffee was  really great and well-crafted as expected and the service was  very friendly. They are clearly enthusiastic about quality coffee AND pastries. A vital mix! My only (minor) issue was the weird stools by the window. Not comfy! They look cool and are an obvious design feature but what happened to nice squishy seats in which to sink and hide from the downpour outside? The decor is spartan but that does work with the whole feel of the place and the 'normal' chairs probably do better on your behind but are still lacking in desired squish factor. I think it's a trait of East London coffee shops to not have sofas... but correct me if I'm wrong. That said, it's worth perching on those ridiculous stools for some of the best coffee in the area. The desire for squish was likely stemming from my hungover state after all. Shoreditch Grind is definitely well placed to serve a wide crowd from Shoreditch hipsters to the local office types and long may they continue to do so, it's definitely earned a place on my mental map. 

A few days in Amsterdam

On a recent trip to Amsterdam, found some gems that I thought I'd share with you here. I'm not going to go into loads of detail about what we did/ate/saw as there is so much to discover there but I have to let you in on where to find a bloody good cup of coffee, some incredible pizza and tasty chips and mayo, all pretty essential when it comes down to it. If you do want to read more about some of Amsterdam's essential culinary treats check out Hollow Legs.
If you're in Amsterdam for a special occasion or you're just feeling fancy De Kas Restaurant is an absolute must. It's an incredible restaurant set in an old municipal green house that the owner and chef saved from being demolished to create an amazing culinary experience. What makes it quite unusual and very special is that they grow a lot of their own produce in the greenhouse on site and in small farms outside of the main city. They also source the best local seasonal produce and create an ever changing menu according to what's in season and what's good that day. I didn't take photos of the food, I don't often take photos of the food.. partly because I'm still behind on the whole smart phone thing and my current phone sucks but partly because I've nommed all the food before even thinking about taking a photo of it! Hopefully I'll get a snazzmatazz phone soon and will be a whizz. All I'll say about the food at De Kas is that it was unbelievably good! Everyone eats the same menu unless you have specific allergies or dislike something they're serving so the nice thing was that as we were eating early, we didn't see what other people were having! Starters were beautiful followed by venison to die for, a trio of perfect desserts and a delicious cheese plate. What's more is that we had the wine pairing (a wine to match each dish) which just enhanced the whole experience. The staff and service were impeccable, with explanations of each dish and the wine as well. What was even better was that it was T's idea to go here as a complete surprise to me and it really was the highlight of the trip.

The next day, a little hungover we wondered over to the main shopping streets in search of much needed caffeine. Coffee@Last came to our rescue. Serving beautiful coffee and brownies, sandwiches or pastries, it doesn't look all that special from the outside. A warm welcome awaits as does some great coffee, they clearly know what they're doing. Though a little part of me feels that it might be let down by its location, right next to a few tacky touristy spots which can be off putting but it's worth a look for a decent caffeine fix, it's right near the station too so we took a stop there right before getting our train out of the city.

Looking for budget places to eat when staying near the city centre can be a bit of a challenge but we spotted this pizza place, Da Portare Via on a stroll of an evening and so decided to give it a whirl. The place is tiny but on later research I discovered that there are a number of other larger branches in the city. They make everything fresh in front of you and they have a beautiful wood fire oven to cook the pizza in, moving them around on one of those giant paddle things. So nice to watch! The pizzas are simple and classic, with lovely ingredients. I had one with Parma ham and rocket that was delicious.

This particular branch is mainly takeaway but is next to a very cool pub and people were coming over from the pub, grabbing piles of pizza to take back to their friends enjoying the beer next door. We were lucky enough to grab the two stools at the front of the pizza place to chow down our pizza but this did mean we couldn't have a beer, they sell only take away alcohol. The people in the pub had a good thing going on! I guess if you go to a larger branch you could probably have booze on site. We stopped by the pub after we'd scoffed all our pizza.
What are the dutch known for if not chips and mayo!? We went down to the market, Albert Cuypmarkt of an afternoon in search of lunchtime snacky and the first stand you come to had your classic fries and mayo and they were the bomb. The market was pretty good too, with a variety of food, sweets and chocolate private parts.. interesting if you're into it.
Amsterdam is a great place with a fantastic vibe to it. T was mesmerised by all the bikes and I was inspired by how stylish the cyclists are and how many there are of all different ages, shapes and sizes, it's brilliant. T sought out some of the specialist bike shops to get some inspiration for ugrading his single speed bike to cycle from Lands End to John O'Groats this summer (madness). I also bought some amazing panniers not from a bike shop but from a shop that only sold red stuff! They're going to look great on my red bike! I'll try to post a picture once they're in situ.

Where we stayed: We stayed in a tiny B&B (only two guest rooms) called B&B Margot. It was a lovely room, with a view of the canal and an amazing breakfast each day. There was also a really cute cat (the main reason we chose to stay there, obvs) Here's a picture of her looking desolate at the prospect of our leaving, I think she kinda liked having us around.

 
How we got there: Eurostar. It's an easy journey with a quick change in Brussels, taking about 5 hours in total (not including the wait time). Book in advance and you might get lucky with a £99 return deal, it's worth it I tell you!

Down in Battersea town..

This ia bit overdue but a few weekends ago it was a beautiful day and so T and I decided to cycle down to Battersea and have an explore. We made a day of it too as we had tickets to the fabulous Battersea Arts Centre in the evening.
After a lovely cycle along the river from Aldgate East, it's just a hop over the river and even though the river is not the most direct route (probably is the easiest) it only took half an hour, which is about half as long as I was anticipating.
So, after a little basking in the sunshine in battersea park, we had to have lunch and we went to a lovely spot on Battersea Rise called Entrée. Now, it was a while since we went but it was fantastic. T had pork belly (I remember distinctly the food envy) and I had trout for the mains - both were great. The atmosphere is very nice for a late lunch as well and there's a cocktail bar downstairs which must be lively come the evening. The service was also excellent, very attentive. I was leaning to the side so I could see the kitchen past T when the waitress came over asking if we were ok as she thought I was trying to get her attention. I then had to explain that I was just being nosey and looking at the kitchen as everything smelled so delicious. Hey, at least I wasn't lying! Worth a look if you're in the area at any rate.
After a little shopping, a little mooching there was suddenly a need for something and that something was CAKE. We didn't have dessert with lunch after all (as if there's ever a need to justify cake).

I've wanted to go to visit Cake Boy for ages but it is totally out of my way. When I knew we would be going to Battersea though, how could we not go? I became aware of Eric Lanlard about 4 years ago, maybe? When a friend invited me to a wedding cake tasting at the shop where she was working at the time. The cake was absolutely amazing, and since then, Eric has had a tv show on channel 4 and released a book all about his fantastic cake creations, he was at the cafe the day we visited which was nice to see.
Although it is in a slightly unusual location, (it's back by the river away from the main shops in the bottom floor of a new block of flats). It's unusual in the sense that it's out of the way but it is worth the trip, the picture below speaks for itself. When we arrived, a cake class of some description was just finishing up and all the students had the biggest grins and had clearly really enjoyed themselves. I also overheard Eric give career advice to an aspiring baker which was so nice! It's a very chic cafe with something for everyone and the counter literally spills over with treats, both made at the cafe and a few others thrown in. It is a very hard choice I went for a chocolate walnut slice that was just so rich and decadent with amazing decoration including gold sparkles! This coupled with a beautiful cup of tea was perfection.

In the evening, it was off to the beautiful Battersea Arts Centre for a performance of Homer's Odyssey by The Paper Cinema. This will mark the fourth time I've seen them since I first became aware of their work in 2009 as a volunteer for the East London festival. Essentially, the team that is the The Paper Cinema create films out of beautiful ink drawn puppets and projects them live to live music and sound effects. That description doesn't really do it justice at all but the video below gives you more info. They'll be going on tour this year and I urge you to see it. It's just gorgeous, see anything they do for that matter.



What better way to spend a saturday in London than exploring a different area of the city? It's definitely something  I should do more often! What's your favourite way to spend the weekend?

Adaptation Station

Like a lot of people out there, I own quite a lot of recipe books. I like to flick through them and get ideas. I like to just look at the pictures of all the nom, many books are well designed for this exact purpose. One of the most recent additions to my collection has been ‘Jamie’s Great Britain’ the book that accompanies yet another successful TV show for The Naked Chef on channel 4.
More often than not, on flicking through the books I not only pick out the recipes I want to cook over the next week or so but I also use them as inspiration for my own twist on it. This, for me, is what cooking is all about and I’m pretty sure it’s how a lot of people go it. For me, adapting recipes in this way is as much about what ingredients I already have as well as personal preferences. More than that though, it's also a good way to gain confidence with unfamiliar ingredients which will enhance your cooking in the long run especially for those occasions when you do improvise.
I’ve had my eye on a particular recipe from ‘Jaimie’s Great Britain’ (JGB) for a while now and that is the baby Yorkshire puddings with Smoked Trout pâté. Although I missed the episode on tv where this was made, I saw the snippet on the trailer where he ate it and nearly cried with happiness. When any chef ends a recipe with the words “To. Die. For.” you know it’s going to be good!
So how did I adapt it? Admittedly, not significantly! This was for a midweek supper for me and T rather than a starter as is suggested in JGB (it would be a fantabulous starter) but although the change is not that big, I did want to see how this could work as a main meal. Firstly I only had cold smoked haddock, rather than hot smoked trout as stated in the recipe. I can’t say for sure that I’ve had hot smoked trout so I couldn’t really tell you the difference in flavour, but cold smoking leaves your fish or meat raw whereas hot smoking would cook it.
So firstly, we heated the oven so it was really hot for the Yorkshire puds. Make sure your oven is quite clean if you want to do this, or that your kitchen has a window. The oven gets very smokey otherwise, add to that hot, smoking oil and it’s really unpleasant. One task for my weekend? Clean the oven!

To cook the fish fillets (there were two), we melted a little butter in pan and added some milk and heated it through. Then we added a bay leaf and a touch of salt and pepper, added both fillets and simmered very gently for about 5 mins or so. Meanwhile, we prepared the pate mixture and yorkie batter and put some water on to boil for some peas to accompany it. My only issue is that the horseradish pate mix ended up being slightly too acidic. I think this is because I used really hot horseradish which is basically pure, grated horseradish in a jar as well as the juice of half a lemon as stated in the recipe. I didn’t need to add that much lemon with such an acidic horseradish but I wanted it to be a strong flavour, it turned out too strong, and a bit runny! It was still delicious though so a little tinkering here and there and it’ll be great. I was somewhat impatient! When the fish was cooked we removed the skin and flaked it into the horseradish pate mixture and set to one side while the yorkies cooked. Once the water was boiling peas were added and the pate mixture was returned to a very gentle heat to warm it through. This is one of those dishes where it all comes together at the last minute. As soon as the yorkies were ready, they were on the plate along with the peas, stick the pate in a big bowl and dig in. For me having the pate warm and not cold just made it a more warming dish. It was lovely to get the smokey fish, lemon and horseradish flavours just zinging away. We had about four mini yorkies each which was plenty and it’s great to spoon the mixture into them and shove it in your gob, you’ve got to love any chance to eat with your hands. If you’ve got a bigger crowd to feed, I would probably serve up some buttery boiled new potatoes and a spinach salad.
The great thing about this is that there are all sort of versions you could try out and it’s great to see the yorkie being used in such a way. I mean, we all know that yorkies and sausages go together like.. well what better combination? But it’s nice to see the humble yorkie coming into its own with more unusual combinations. T and I were talking about different versions you could do, prawns are up there that would be delicious. Watch this space!

Obika, Mozzarella Bar.

Oh Mozzarella, how you have climbed the ranks in my cheesey estimations. When I first became aware of Mozzarella (probably thanks to Jamie Oliver, but I forget) the stuff available in most supermarkets was pretty poor. Nowadays there's a lot more choice and a lot more quality on offer. I realised how amazing Mozzarella can be during my days as a cheeser at Borough Market where you can buy some of the best Buffalo Mozzarella in town.
When it comes to Mozzarella, it's as important how you use it as much as the type or quality that you're buying. For me, it serves as a foil to other flavours but you shouldn't expect too much from it alone. Just a light milky, ever so slightly salty yumminess... Ok, enough of that, you get the idea.
What with all this Mozzarella love going around it's been a timely opening for 'Obika' a Mozzarella bar based in the West Wintergarden at Canary Wharf. I first became aware of the chain when I was in Toronto last year and spotted it there, though we didn't eat we were keen to find out if there existed a London branch and lo, one opened two months later.
Alongside some delightful Italian offerings or pizza, pasta and the like, there are a range of dishes that you choose to accompany your choice of Mozzarella. This is the Mozzarella bar portion of the menu, and if it's your first visit, how can you resist? There are three Mozzarella types to choose from, the Classic, Smoked and Creamy. I went for creamy and was quite unprepared for what arrived. I opted for the simple accompaniment of basil pesto, cherry tomatoes and baby spinach. My creamy Mozzarella was amazing. So creamy, it's hard to describe. It's as though the mozzarella ball had unravelled and melted into a creamy pile of awesome.
T had the smoked option with an amazingly delicious Sicilian aubergine casserole. The casserole was lovely, but the smoked mozzarella is just not my thing. I'm just not a fan of smoked cheese in general. So I'll leave it at that. It you like it, go for it! I know that T enjoyed it and he said it went well with the aubergine. I didn't think that I would be full after the mozzarella bar dish but I was, it was more filling than I thought it would be.
We did manage a dessert though and it was the best Tiramisu I've ever had. Serious. What's also handy is you can get the desserts in different sizes so if you're not sharing or pigging out, a mini option is just the ticket. How can you resist?!
The only quibble was that the service was a little over zealous and there's a small amount of upselling here but  it's only a minor thing and forewarned is forearmed or whatevs. There's no doubting that the indredients here are at an extremely high standard and the success of the chain speaks for itself, with offerings in three continents.
It's something quite different without being too crazy and the quality of the produce shines through with classic cooking. Definitely worth a look. Check out the the moody video below for some cheese-porn basically.

Not all Orchestras Are the Same.

The Night Shift, a night of classical music "without the rules" has been happening in London since 2006 and I've been to quite a few. Back in my student days I went along as it was inexpensive, accessible and ahem, you got a free beer. I went for the music, honest. Now my student days are all but a distant memory however, The Night Shift is still going strong and, by all accounts, gaining momentum.
In terms of the classical music concert genre, The Night Shift has to be one of the most innovative events on the scene. I'm not saying that I know a lot about the scene but I do know that you don't get a lot of classical music performed in pubs or if you do, it's unlikely to be played by totes profesh musician types who are used to playing such prestigious venues as The Royal Festival Hall and Glyndebourne.
The Orchestra of the Age of Englightenment or, the OAE for short, has the motto "not all orchestras are the same" and I would venture that this orchestra stands above most others. The OAE has many things to make it stand out from other orchestras and it's worth finding out why. The Night Shift is a great example of what makes the OAE unique and the most recent Night Shift last night was no exception.
The idea of the Night Shift is late night performances that that don't have the often formal etiquette of the classical concert hall. They are presented by erudite characters who act as the voice of the audience in asking questions and providing insight. Before and after the main event (which tends to be comparatively shorter than other concerts) there are often support acts and DJs to promote the casual atmosphere. Previous events brought a new vibe to the Southbank Centre and other venues have included The Roundhouse and Village Underground and my personal favourite, Wilton's Music Hall.
So it was that last September, the Night Shift took this informal approach to classical music one step further with a scaled down orchestra (scaled right down to a trio!) playing to an audience of just 200 in a pub. The success of the event sparked an idea, to take the event on a pub tour. However, as with many arts organisations funding was a struggle and so they took to the effective initiative of crowd funding through an organisation called We Did This. Watch the video to see how it works.

WeDidThis: art for everyone, funded by everyone from WeDidThis on Vimeo.

In a nutshell it's a nifty form of arts fundraising where you donate to projects and your donation sees you get a reward. That is as long as the project reaches its funding target. It's quite an interesting scheme and it was thanks to this funding scheme and donations from OAE Friends and supporters that The Night Shift were able to tour the pubs of London Town.
The first of five pub tour gigs took place last night at The George Tavern on Commercial Road, conveniently just around the corner from my flat. It is a great pub and a fantastic venue with a great reputation for performances in the East End. It was a great night. A cosy, candlelit pub the perfect setting for some Purcell and what lovely Purcell it was. I used to hate Purcell but this evening had me converted thanks to three players in a pub with some really interesting snippets about the composer and the music from the players. It was a great evening that certainly exceeded my expectations. A particular highlight was singing some excellent drinking songs,  you don't get THAT at any classical concert I've been to. There certainly was a real intimacy to the gig and the audience seemed to enjoy the humour and the informality of the event to really connect with the players and of course with the music.
Tonight they go to the Amersham Arms  in New Cross, I love that a pub that has a weekly student night called "Whip It" is playing host to The Night Shift. There are stil three more gigs to go, so get your tickets! You won't regret it, even though I'm not a student anymore, it's still a bargain.
Classical music in Pubs, it's a thing. Oh, and if you like The Night Shift, you should check out The Works. If you still need convincing watch the trailer below. If after that you're not convinced, you should go and get yourself checked.

The Night Shift Pub Tour Trailer from OAE on Vimeo.

Walk on by?

What would you do if you saw someone in need on the streets of London? On the underground? Or anywhere else for that matter? It's such a tricky situation if you happen across people in need when on your commute or thinking about what to have for lunch/dinner/snack. Admittedly our society isn't really conducive to intervening in such situations. Horror stories abound of The Good Samaritan gone wrong.
A few months ago, I took First Aid training for the work place with St John Ambulance. It's a one day course and enough to (hopefully) save someone from the worst case scenario as the ambulance is on its way as well as dealing with the obvious minor injuries in the office. You know, paper cuts and that sort of thing.
Shortly after the course I got chatting with a friend about whether or not we would stop and save someone having a heart attack in the street, they mentioned that they wouldn't give them the "kiss of life" and would merely walk past with the kind of anonymity that London seems to bring. Personally, I like to think and certainly hope that I would have the guts to stop and do what I could to help. Recent advice from the British Heart Foundation has been published to say that "just hard CPR" is an effective way to help someone in danger for those who are concerned about giving the kiss of life or who have not had training. Check out the video if you've not seen it, of Vinnie Jones in the campaign I think it's really effective and hopefully instils in people the mentality that you don't have to snog someone to make a difference.
Whatever your feelings are, kiss of life or otherwise, you can never truly predict how you will react until you are confronted with the situation. There are some incredible stories out there of human efforts to rescue their fellow man and these are stories to be inspired by. I recently read about the yachtsman Pete Goss who during a round the world yacht race in 1996, turned his boat back into hurricane conditions to save the life of fellow sailor Raphael Dinelli. While his story may be extreme and there aren't many of us that would face that kind of test, it shows the lengths that some people are prepared to go to when a fellow human is in trouble.
I think increasingly in London, people do walk past someone in need partly through a fear of getting in too deep (or worse). All you can do is trust your instincts. I'm not trying to preach here, just musing on the topic. After all, we Londoners walk by someone in need on a daily basis, you just don't realise it unless it's immediately obvious.
Recently I experienced two admittedly small incidents of people in need but they've definitely got me thinking. The first, a girl in her early twenties had a seizure on the tube. It was 8.40am the Jubilee line was absolutely packed after filling up at London Bridge. I jumped up and shoved the girl in my seat where she seized for the second time, her body going stiff and her eyes rolling back in her head. I looked for a medical bracelet or necklace to see if she were epileptic perhaps or even diabetic but couldn't find one and she came to just in time to look at me as though I was going to rob her. I yelled for someone to give her water and at the next stop, Southwark, took her off the train. A lot of people were in the carriage but I was the only person who disembarked the train with her. Perhaps people assumed I knew her as I was first to react but perhaps people were just worried about being late for work. After a few minutes on the platform spent trying to advise her to go to hospital to no avail there was little more I could do other than continue with my own journey to the office. My main concern was that the platform guard seemed to think she had simply fainted when this was just not the case. Anyway, she was extremely grateful that I had helped her off the train but it got me thinking about my previous conversation with my colleague and how if they'd been there they would have let someone else deal with the situation, but we can't all have that attitude. Admittedly, I was nearest but that's just how it was. People were yelling to get her off the train but was this out of concern or because they were after the seat?
More recently, I was reminded of this incident by another happening that made me feel annoyed, frankly. I rarely listen to my ipod when I'm out and about, I like to have my wits about me and I tend to save it for the train or the bus. On this occasion I had my earphones in, though not particularly loud music. I was mainly focussing on what to have for dinner when through the music I heard a lady ask no one in particular if she was at the crossing. The lady had a white blind stick (is there a technical name for these?) and I assume she was partially blind. I turned to her to see what she was saying and removed my headphones, when I realised she was confused I helped her to the crossing she wanted to get to. As soon as it was safe I asked her to take my arm and she refused. At the other side, I asked if she needed further help as when we were crossing the road she couldn't keep a straight line in spite of refusing my offer for guidance. She refused my offer of help and was genuinely so rude and ungrateful I felt annoyed and irritated that I'd even helped her in the first place. A simple thank you just wouldn't go amiss.
I think the riots back in August had many of us questioning our sense of community as a nation. Increasingly our lives are carried out online, our education system is failing people, the economy is doom and gloom, have we just stopped caring for our fellow man or is it just that I live in a big, bad anonymous city? I'm just constantly let down by strangers.
On a more positive note, there are good people and one of my favourite things of a morning is to read the Metro paper's Good Deed Feed which tells stories of the kindness of strangers and loved ones that makes you feel a bit more at ease with the ways of the world, as Rob Green puts it in his blog, the feeling of good will is quite contagious. Let's hope we start to see a bit more of it in 2012.

A healthy and frugal supper for January

So, it’s January and generally it’s a quieter, more sober, frugal and possibly even (dare I say it) healthier month than any other. Personally, I’m trying to be at least a little frugal (I like the word frugal, it pleases me) without compromising too much on enjoyable goodies, but food prices are rising where sadly the salary is not and who knows, hopefully a little frugality might also equate to being healthier anyway…hopefully.
At the moment, I’m all about the chickpea. They are healthy, cheap, tasty, filling and oh so versatile. You can use them in all sorts of contexts. The other night I had a lovely chickpea dish so I thought I’d share my version of a recipe for chickpea fritters!
You will need:
1 can of chickpeas, drained
2 spring onions
2 cloves of garlic
A bunch of fresh basil leaves
1 tsp hot chili powder (more if you’re feeling spicy – you could also use a fresh chili)
50g of grated cheese (use something that melts well, cheddar or parmesan both work, I also plan to try this using halloumi)
Salt and Pepper
1 egg (beaten)
1 tbsp plain flour
Olive Oil
Makes about 6 small fritters or 4 large ones.
For the fritters:
Tip the drained chickpeas into a large mixing bowl and coarsely crush them using a potato masher or a fork. You want them to be squished but not pureed. Finely chop the spring onions, the garlic and basil leaves and stir them into the chickpeas until well mixed. Season the mixture with salt, pepper and chili powder or fresh chili. Then stir in the grated cheese. Finally, pour over the beaten egg and combine well. Then stir in the flour so the mixture is not too wet. Put some flour over your hands and then take a bit of the mixture and make it into a patty or burger shape. Heat the olive oil until almost smoking on a high heat and fry the patties for about 3 or 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown. The flour on the outside should make them nice and crispy but don’t put too much flour on or your will taste it. Place the cooked patties on a plate covered in kitchen roll to remove excess oil and serve while hot with a spicy tomato salsa or lovely salad. I had mine with garlic mayo and a cous cous salad with broccoli, mozzarella and cherry tomatoes. I reckon it’s a healthier alternative to burgers, and cheaper too. Also a great dinner if you’ve got a vegetarian guest or a nice starter with a spicy dip.
Enjoy!

Hairdo or don't

Having my hair done is quite close to torture. I've never been able to stick to a hair dresser and envy those that have a nice, chatty, gossipy relationship with their hair dressers. One lady I know drives for over an hour to her hair dresser every 6 weeks whom she discovered while at university.
Frankly the whole thing makes me feel awkward. There's the awkward over friendly receptionists who joke that the bag you're carrying is a present for them even when you've never met them before. Then they mock you for not knowing how to react because you've never met them before. There's the awkward person washing your hair for you who may or may not be the same person cutting your hair. There's the slight fear that they might find something weird in my hair (irrational, I assure you). Then I always get annoyed that they never ask me what kind of shampoo I like/prefer/need. Then you have to pretend that you're comfortable when craning backwards over a sink is rarely so, not to mention pretending that you're ok with the temperature and the shampoo's not going in your eye.
Then they always towel dry your hair in a weird way that makes it a million times more tangled than it was to begin with. This leads to an annoying comment from the hairdresser about how tangled my hair is and I'm too awkward to disagree after having my head rubbed to oblivion and the consequent knots yanked with enthusiasm for what feels like ages.
Finally combed through, you have to face the fact that a complete stranger is going to be staring at your scalp for the best part of an hour. What makes this more awkward is the obligatory small talk that comes with having your hair done. Yes, you can read a magazine or a book but then they do that annoying readjusting-the-tilt-of-your-head thing. Can just about manage to drink coffee, my only solace during this time. The only choice you're left with is to stare into the mirror. For an hour with only the mind-numbing small talk for a distraction. My mirror time is usually limited to a quick glance here and there, brushing teeth, putting in ear rings, applying make up. Maximum 5 minutes. So to be effectively forced to stare at myself for an hour is not much fun. Moon face. Moon face, moon face, moon face.
After a bit of strained small talk to the tune of "Did you have a nice Christmas?" and "What did you get up to for New Year" the blow drying begins. I like this, just enough talk to make me feel less awkward (somewhat). After  a while my head is generally feeling rather tingled as the skin has been pulled off my skull for some time but I like having my hair blow dryed as it actually makes me feel really sleepy. Really very sleepy. So as well as being generally awkward, I then look like a weirdo or one of those small animals you see on youtube as I actually can't keep my eyes open.
Finally, the tousling, preening and application of product leads to a shiny bouncey new hairdo and suddenly I remember why I booked the appointment in the first place. Cue strutting akin to mid 90's shampoo ads. This time, I might have found a hair dresser I can stick with, even if this is because it took less than an hour.