July 29th, 2010
Nothing beats a good steak and there’s something special about the meeting of hot charcoal and lamb. But the meat I keep coming back to again and again, is that of the pig. Maybe it’s familiarity, maybe it’s that I see something of myself in the pig. Maybe I just love the taste of pork.
Whatever the reason, pork is a real comfort blanket of an ingredient. I feel kinda jumpy if i don’t have hanging around. You can do so much with pork, and I just love versatility. Cut some spicy sausage into a prawn jambalya? Magic. Pork shoulder in milk? Pure comfort food. Sizzling bacon sarnie? Hangover cure extraordinaire. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Chinese, pork, Sichuan
Posted in Eating in | 8 Comments »
July 26th, 2010
Big lumps of slippery smooth tofu the texture of crème caramel rose and fell in the chilli hot currents of the deep red liquid slowly swirling in front of me, the odd prawn floating to the surface. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting jjigae to to be, but it wasn’t this.
Not that I was disappointed, far from it, this was exciting. I’ve eaten a lot of food from a lot of countries over the last three decades but Korean is a new thing to me. And boy, have I been missing out. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Korean
Posted in Eating out | 8 Comments »
July 21st, 2010
My first brush with proper Sichuan/Szechuan cuisine was something of a sweat soaked revelation. It left me panting for more. The question is, would Chilli Cool get through that notoriously tough second visit? All that expectation and the unrepeatable joy of a new discovery is tough to beat.
I remembered the crispy flavourful intestines, the earthy and hot lamb skewers and most of all that heavenly aubergine. Oh God the aubergine. Obscenely tasty I’d elevated it onto an oil-drenched pedestal. So it was with both trepidation and excitment that I wandered into the dining room. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Chinese, Sichuan
Posted in Eating out | 13 Comments »
July 15th, 2010
Pork belly. Those two words open up vistas of pleasure for most carnivores. Who would have thought that something so simple sounding could deliver so much pleasure? The antithesis of the push for lean dry tasteless meat that blighted the menus and school lunches of my eighties childhood, belly is full of interest and excitement.
And at lunch, well, it’d be a sin to pass it up. Meemalee, Mr Noodles and I were trying out 28-50. Named for the latitudes between which most wine is grown, it’s the more casual, wine-focussed, sibling of Texture. With the stripped back simple wood tables and underground space, there is something of both Terroirs and Vinoteca about 28-50. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: wine
Posted in Eating out | 8 Comments »
July 9th, 2010
Tea and chocolate. More daddy or chips than port and Stilton surely? That’s what I thought as I wended my sticky and hot way through sunbaked Fitzrovia trying to find Tapped and Packed, where I was to participate in a tea, coffee and chocolate matching evening run by Green & Blacks.
Coffee and chocolate, that I could see. They’ve closed the curtains on a multitude of meals from Turkish grills to Aussie seafood. I just couldn’t see fine teas standing up to a deep and bitter 75% cocoa dark chocolate. Just goes to show how much I know. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: chocolate, coffee, tea
Posted in Drinking, Eating out | 14 Comments »
July 7th, 2010
Big squidgy balls of sweet, gooey goodness. What is there not to like about mochi? While I wouldn’t pretend to know the first thing about how to make the wobbly buggers, they’re something I always try to pick up from Asian stores when I see them.
And nowhere stocks a range (in my very limited experience) like the Japan Centre. Black sesame, green tea, pink strawberry and plain white. Brightly coloured, neatly wrapped bubbles of fun waiting to catch your eye as you cruise on by. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: dessert, Japanese
Posted in Eating in | 13 Comments »
July 5th, 2010
This is my secret weapon when it comes to impressing dinner guests, particularly those who don’t eat much Levantine or North African food. Big piles of fluffy golden cous cous studded with glittering fruits and flecked with emerald green herbs.
And yet – shhhhhh, don’t tell anyone - it’s just so easy to make. There’s practically no cooking, very little preparation and you end up with this conical treasure trove of a dish that looks like it belongs in 1001 Arabian Nights. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: couscous, levantine
Posted in Eating in | 6 Comments »
July 1st, 2010
Summer time is salad time. Which is great because I’m not getting home till quite late at the moment and all I’m craving after a long hot walk home is something fresh and light to eat on our small balcony.
Add a glass of delicately dry Provençal rose or a tart sauvignon blanc, and the warm light of the setting sun and you have something approaching paradise – or at least as close as you can get in London. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: broadbeans, salad, tomato, vegetarian
Posted in Eating in | 6 Comments »
June 28th, 2010
If Koya had ears, they would’ve been incandescent in the months since its low key opening back in April this year. Quiet the opening might have been, but within days cyberspace was awash with excited chatter as foodies across the capital and beyond sampled the deceptively simple noddle-centric menu.
Of course, the worry is, when you hear so many good things, can the place itself actually live up to the hype. And so it was with some excitement, tempered with more than a dash of trepidation, I found myself in a queue with a group that included Mr Noodles, Tom and Jen, Uyen and others, patiently waiting for table. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Japanese, noodles, restaurants
Posted in Eating out | 10 Comments »
June 24th, 2010
Being ill sucks. I’ve been full of aches and pains, lethargic and knackered for about three days. And the weather outside is all blue sky and sunshine. Bah humbug!
Times like this require ameliorative grub, soothing soft and easy to eat and – crucially – to prepare. This is where fresh veg and an oven come in. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: vegetable
Posted in Eating in | 15 Comments »
