Cafe Below

God, I love living in London.

Where else can you eat lunch in a crypt made by Sir Christopher Wren? Cafe Below is an exquisite cafe under St Mary-Le-Bow Church on Cheapside. A hop and a skip away from Bank tube station.

ilili

While mooching around the fine island-thing that is Manhattan, one must sample the seafood or one really is a loser.

Enter ilili, 236 Fifth Ave.

Love! A fabulously exclusive Lebanese restaurant (what, you didn’t book weeks ago? You mustn’t have any friends this side of the pond darling). A little darker than I like for a restaurant but phew, the tables are lit well

Sunday Mayhem in the West Village

Of course in New York you have to go for brunch. I have plenty places to recommend but my favourite is one that you don’t go purely to eat. You simply must try the Beaumarchais in the West Village, New York.

Don’t waste your time going there in the week, you have to go on a Sunday afternoon to get that truly bonkers feeling of turning repeatedly to people around you screaming oh my god can you believe this crazy place on a SUNDAY??

It starts off ok. A little bit pretentious and we were made to wait over 30

Amy’s Bread

If you find yourself wandering around bustling Hell’s Kitchen, New York then there are a million and one places to stop for cake and coffee. So how to select the best one once you ignore all the chains? (Rather alarming posters of Oprah Winfrey currently on every Starbucks window as she’s promoting her new Chai Latte, now that’s random.)

Easy! Go to Amy’s Bread – it is such a find! Too cute – it reminds me a little of Gail’s Kitchen in London but this is a million times better and cheaper. We walked in for $3 iced mochas and read a cute sign “Voted Best Carrot Cake by the New York Post”. Sold!

Tibits: Veggie Heaven

I am a veggie (sort of, I can eat fish if it isn’t looking at me) but I avoid veggie restaurants. I know that’s bonkers but I find that good restaurants always have good options and let’s face it, the atmosphere will be better as veggie restaurants aren’t usually filled with roaring drunken laughter.

Not so Tibits! Tucked away on Heddon Street just off Regent St, this gem of a restaurant is wonderful. I wouldn’t necessarily call it a restaurant because it

Orchard

Because you can get lovely veggie food everywhere it is easy to forget how different it is to actually go to an exclusively veggie restaurant/cafe.

If you find yourself around Holborn, you must skip along to Orchard on Sicilian Avenue. The Ave is cute enough but a fab lunch time stop is offered by Orchard. They don’t take bookings

Hakkasan

Are we cool? We go to Hakkasan, Mayfair for dinner and cocktails. Or are we stuck in the noughties? We used to go there when we were young and crazy, we would drink cosmos, giggle with strangers and go on to a club.

We went on Saturday – do people still go to Hakkasan? Apparently, yes.

Noodle-iscious!

The things I learn when I’m on the move!  Today I learned that there is a World Instant Noodle Association (WINA), can you believe it?  I’ve never been a fan of Pot Noodles although Supa Noodles were at the back of my cupboard in my halls of residence …long past the expiry date.

Instant ramen noodles were first invented by a Japanese man in 1958 who experimented on creating a low cost dish after seeing starving war veterans.  Many decades later

Waterloo Bar & Kitchen

It’s sunny in London and that means the evenings really do begin at 5!

If you are catching a play south of the river, heading to the BFI or find yourself generally milling around Waterloo then please may I recommend this slightly pricey but fabulous restaurant: the Waterloo Bar & Kitchen, it’s next to the Old Vic and is divine.

The menu

Cool Cooking With Atul Kochhar

Continuing the cool theme of my previous post, I will add Atul Kochhar to the “cool” list!

He’s delightfully nerdy and told us joke after joke and bless him, I was forced to laugh along with the rest of the audience on Saturday afternoon in Asia House.  He cracked a few wife jokes and then moved on to his curry demo. Ohhh what! I couldn’t believe my misfortune. He was going to make Lahori Chicken Curry. Jeezo! My mum is from Lahore and makes this curry every week.

The Art of Selecting A Watermelon

Apparently there is a science to selecting a watermelon but I think it’s quack. Science: Tap it and it should sound hollow if it’s ripe. Nonsense. Try listening to a watermelon when there is heavy traffic honking behind you.

The art of selecting the most perfect juicy red watermelon

Sunday Brunch In Style

On the way to the London Marathon today, we popped into The Wolseley on Piccadilly.  Isn’t it wonderful? You live in London for a million years and there are still amazing treasures to find. The welcome was lovely and we were quickly guided to lovely seats even though we hadn’t booked and it was busy brunch o’clock.

We ordered

I Only Need 8 Medium Chocolate Eggs This Year

One of my darling nieces who is five years old made that statement contrary to her mother who said that my niece’s teeth were in a bad state and she wasn’t getting any.  I know who will win that battle…!

Lindt bunnies are the cutest Easter treat to give to loved ones this weekend and you know their mini size bunnies are only about £0.30 but get a guaranteed smile and squee from the receiver.

My niece might be able to sit inside this chocolate egg by luxury chocolate company

Cecconi’s

I remember when I first moved to South West London and my cousin took me to a bar in Chelsea. “Oh my god” she heard me mutter as we walked in. “Great isn’t it” she nodded at me. No. It wasn’t great, it was awful, full of tossers, one of whom said “it was great to see Asians drinking in Chelsea”.

This experience happened time and time again. I would be taken to a “fabulous place darling”

Eat Yourself to Life

Lookin’ good!

We Brits will die before our European neighbours, so claims the latest research.  As we all know a healthy diet plays a big part towards our longevity.   The Mediterranean diet may well be wonderful but many Mediterranean breakfasts consist solely of black coffee and cigarettes.  Very healthy! 

Feed Your Mind

Want to know how to bake a Universe?  Kings College London will hold a festival of food and ideas from 7 – 22 March 2013 and the programme of free public events looks appetising indeed!

Seventeen

Having heard great things about Seventeen in Notting Hill, I broke with tradition and decided to Go West and try it out.

First impressions were incredible, this certainly is a very cool Chinese restaurant, very modern but in keeping with a Chinese aesthetic.  I’m not entirely convinced it belongs in Notting Hill which is more understated cool, but anyway, I was looking forward to a fab meal having been very impressed immediately with the restaurant interior.

Burns Night at The Drafthouse

Last week I went to the Drafthouse on Tower Bridge Road, SE1 for Rabbie Burns Night (25 Jan for the ignorant amongst you). The Drafthouse is a small London chain of pubs and they are so much fun, you should go for that warm pub glow while it’s cold outside.

Nobu London

Nobu is one of those marmite restaurants that people either love or hate.  A friend went a while ago and was hit with a £500 bill between four and frankly speaking, that did put me off a little.  I love sushi but always feel hungry after a couple of hours and would not appreciate a rumbling tummy after a hefty bill.

Having said that, every time I have had sushi at a restaurant with a Nobu guest chef

Festive Food: Chocolate Mousse

Luxurious velvet in your mouth made in 30 minutes.

Thanks Jamie Oliver. x

Festive Food: Red Onion Tart

During the coming weeks, I will be bringing you quick, easy and scrumptious recipes that can be rustled up for any celebration or entertaining during the festive season.

Red Onion Tart

Red Onion and Feta Tart recipe.

Gilbert Scott At St Pancras

Set in the exquisitely renovated St Pancras Hotel, Kings Cross, dinner at Gilbert Scott was definitely a date I was waiting for……

Nigellissima

Nigella Lawson’s current series on BBC 2 has caused controversy. Notorious for “cheat’s cooking” as she calls it and loved by working women everywhere for its ease and convenience, this current series has gone a step too far or has it????

The Italian inspired series is full of recipes that use unhealthy helpings of butter, cream, chocolate and the list goes on. Nigella recently said in an interview in The Telegraph that she is a great believer in fat; it helps look younger in middle age and is a moisturiser from within.

Apple Crumble

Apples are falling off the trees across the country. There are an assortment of foods that can be made from jams to chutneys to desserts. My recent favourite is a quick and simple Apple Crumble served with custard or ice cream.

Takes less than half an hour to prepare and perfect warm dessert for the colder autumnal nights.

Pimms

The sun is out and it is going to be a scorching 32 degrees in London this weekend and my favourite summer tipple is Pimms & Lemonade. It has to have cucumber and mint to give it the cool freshness needed for a hot summer’s day. Addition of fruit is always a bonus for me.

I have a recipe that always seems to go down a treat so I thought I would share:

Feed Your Face

It’s often said that beauty begins from within and although there are plenty people that oppose this theory it is logical that we are what we eat.  Here are some beauty power foods that will help you look your best:

Starting with a 2-in-1 beauty combo, avocado with cottage cheese.  The avocado is packed with vitamin Niacin (B3) and other essential oils to help give you a glow.

Cottage cheese contains selenium, an essential mineral, that teams up with vitamin E

Oysters

There is probably a good reason why I have stayed away from oysters. The slimy texture really isn’t my thing, so I cannot understand the appeal. I was literally frightened away from them even more when I watched a tiny wiggling creature pop its head out the oyster as my friend was about slurp one down……

 

Yuck!!!!

Luxury Botanical Vodka

The ultimate in glamorous drinks to enjoy with friends, Pinky vodka is my new favourite tipple.

A Scandinavian vodka distilled five times from pure glacial water, Pinky is hand blended with violets, rose petals

Roti Chai

Roti Chai in Portman Mews, next to Selfridges, brings street food of India to London.

 

The canteen style restaurant with a fine dining area downstairs, has carefully selected dishes from around India such as papdi chat, dhokla and bun kebabs.

Come Dine With Me Part 3

During this week, we have given you recipes for “Stuffed Portabello Mushrooms” and “Salmon Encroute“.

Today is the final recipe for this no fuss delicious dinner party menu….

Heartache Chocolate Cake adapted from a recipe by Harry Eastwood from Red Velvet Chocolate Heartache.

This delicious chocolate cake with an unusual ingredient is full of surprises.

Come Dine With Me Part 2

Day 2 of my quick and easy dinner party menu of Starter: Stuffed Portabello Mushrooms, Main Course: Salmon and Artichoke En Croute, Dessert: Heartache Chocolate Cake. 

Yesterday we did starters. Today we are on the main course.

Salmon and Artichoke En Croute as provided by a supermarket recipe card.

Come Dine With Me

Nigella Lawson eat your heart out. The Queen of Ease has been a role model for me who likes to create delicious meals with little fuss. My timetable just doesn’t allow lamented cooking efforts. So my menu for a dinner party this weekend took all of an hour and a half to prepare and was cooked entirely in the oven.

The Menu:

Starter: Stuffed Portabello Mushrooms, Main Course: Salmon and Artichoke En Croute, Dessert: Heartache Chocolate Cake.

Each day I will bring you a recipe starting with Stuffed Portabello Mushrooms from a supermarket recipe card.

Tea for Two

Afternoon tea is an institution and a real indulgence to be shared with girlfriends or cousins with a generous helping of gossip and scandal for entertainment.  As The Telegraph recommended London’s best afternoon teas, I will go a little further afield with my recommendations all genuinely tried and tested by me…burp!

Pret-a-Portea at The Berkeley, London is wonderful, it’s almost painful biting into the latest fashion-inspired fancies served on Paul Smith china, £37.50 per person with champagne tea starting from £47.50 per person.

Another London tea treat that is kinder on the purse

Delicious Chocolate Cake

I was delighted that my daughter wanted to make her birthday cake so we tried Jamie Oliver’s Easy Chocolate Cake recipe with a slight adaptation. It takes less than an hour to make!!!

 

Easy Peasy Pancakes

It’s Pancake Day. I am not observing Lent, but do love pancakes, so would like to eat plenty of them today.

 

Here is a really easy recipe from Delia Smith.

Himalayan Kitchen

The Himalayas stretch fromPakistan to Nepal and there are countless restaurants borrowing the majestic mountain range’s name.  However, the Himalayan cuisine I will focus on is the Nepal/Tibet side as I review one of my favourite restaurants in Delhi: Yeti, the Himalayan Kitchen.

Always fresh ingredients and light

15 Minute Trifle

If you are looking for a scrumptious dessert that takes very little time then here it is. Blueberry Trifle, Nigella Lawson style (it’s not her recipe though).

Mulled Wine & Mince Pies

The best aromas of Christmas must be that of mulled wine and warm mince pies.  Since I will spend Christmas in Delhi (sniff) I’ll share a taste of what I will miss, you cannot beat my mulled wine recipe – try and see for yourself.

You will need the following:

2 bottles of good red wine – I use cab sauv which works really well.  It is a myth that you can use rubbish wine.  Repeat after me: rubbish wine = rubbish mulled wine.

Soup Kitchen

Winter always makes me want to eat soup and one of favourites is roasted butternut squash soup which is always served as a starter for our Christmas dinner.

Ingredients:

Butternut Squash, 1 onion, 3-4 baby potatoes, salt, pepper, nutmeg and double cream.

Cakeage

I heard on Radio 2 today that restaurants are starting to charge “cakeage” and it could be anything like £6 per person which is what the Modern Pantry in Clerkenwell charge. Are you kidding me?