A Girl's Essential

Barcelona

2012-07-05T16:46:00.000+01:00

Visiting Barcelona has always been on my 'to-go' list. I had heard many horrible stories about pickpockets and general security problems. And yet, every one of my friends still recommended it as the place to go.

Having spent 4 days there last week, I can honestly say that I am in love with it. Everything about its culture, city vibe, food and the people. I know there are many tourists who are still overwhelmed by stories of pickpocketing and stuff like that, but I can reassure you that there has not been a single attempt while I was there, and of all the sight seeing spots, there were police scattered everywhere.

As a first time go-er in Barcelona, I had to visit all the main touristy attractions - Gaudi's Casa Batillo, La Pedrera, Sagrada Familia and Park Guell; La Boqueria (fresh food market); Joan Miro's Foundation; MNAC - the National Museum; Picasso Museum etc.

As a foodie, I had so much fun in La Boqueria, where I brought back spices like paprika and saffron at a very decent prices! You always get to see all of its local produce in the area such as fish, shellfish, fruits, vegetables etc! It was absolutely eye opening!

My highlight was definitely my visit to Miro's museum. You know how the Spanish dedicate their cities to their artists: Madrid has Goya, and Barcelona Miro. There seems to be a lot of influences of Miro's work around the city, whether it was street art or buildings.

Let my photos speak for themselves!

Update

2012-07-02T14:57:00.001+01:00

Sorry for MIA
I have been on holiday in Spain and Italy.

Pictures will be uploaded soon.

Choccywoccydoodah Say It With Cake

2012-06-20T11:51:00.000+01:00

Choccywoccydoodah are back exclusively on the Good Food channel, weeknights at 9pm from Monday 2nd July for a new series of chocolate mischief and mayhem with even more glitz, glamour, celebrities and of course spectacular cake designs.
The Choccywoccydoodah team has recorded a single called ‘Say it with Cake’ featuring the Brighton and Hove gay male choir as well as the odd celebrity including David Hasslehoff, Brian May, Tara Palmer Tomkinson, and the cast of the West End musical, Wicked!

Please have a look at its video!

This third series of the hugely popular observational documentary sees business booming as the orders for Choccywoccydoodah’s inspiring and outlandish cakes continue to roll in. The pressure is on as the team has to create a stag’s head inspired cake to be auctioned at a showbiz charity fundraiser, attended by A-listers including Ronnie Wood and Manolo Blahnik. The cameras will also be rolling to showcase the team’s unconventional lives as they attend a whirl of society events and glamorous parties, and meet the great and the good, from royal dignitaries to celebrities, delivering cakes and chocolate treats along the way.

Choccywoccydoodah is new and exclusive to Good Food weeknights at 9pm from Monday 2nd July (Sky / HD 247, Virgin 260)

MEATmarket

2012-06-19T13:07:00.000+01:00

If you want a quick fix on your weekly or monthly burger cravings, then you should definitely drop by MEATmarket (MM) in Covent Garden.
Being the sister of MEATliquor, you can expect quality of the burgers at MM. Only MM is faster (order, sit and eat) and with a smaller menu, you don't actually need to spare 10 minutes deciding.
MM is located above The Jubilee Market in the heart of Covent Garden (designated entrance on Tavistock Street), overlooking many installs occupied by tourists. Inside, you will find long benches with stools, with an open kitchen.
The menu is small but it is enough for a pseudo fast food joint. It offers variation of beef patties burgers, dogs, sides and shakes.

We ordered a Dead Hippie (2 beef patties, lettuce, cheese, pickles, minced white onion and dead hippie sauce) // Philly Cheesesteak (shaved rump steak, cheese, peppers and onions) // Poppaz (Jalapenos and cheese with ranch dressing) and bottomless soda.

The Dead Hippie is similar to a Big Mac, but with their special Dead Hippie sauce, it makes sure that the burger stays juicy while you indulge it. The beef patties have been marinated well and deserve to be the stars of the burgers. The Philly Cheesesteak is very filling, though it seems to be in normal size; once you bite into it, your mouth is filled with cheese, steak and peppers all well balanced together.

I actually wanted to order the Corn Puppies (mini corn dogs), but they have been too popular that MM has actually ran out of them! However, the crispy Poppaz were not disappointing either. Even though personally I am not a big fan of cheese, but the flavour of the Jalapenos managed to come through the cheese.

All in all, MM is the place to go to for burgers. However, it does come as a little bit more expensive than other burger joints (Byron, McDonalds etc).

Food rating: 8.5/10

Budget rating: 7/10

MEATmarket

The Deck

Jubilee Market Hall

(entrance on Tavistock Street)

WC2E 8BE

Asadal

2012-06-12T18:46:00.001+01:00

Over the weekend, we had a craving for Korean cuisine. Our usual "go-to" restaurants would be Koba, Arang or Arirang, but all of those would be full without reservation on a Saturday evening. After a long walk (working our appetites), we went to Asadal, located next to Holborn tube station.

I had heard good reviews from my native Korean friends and they said that it is really good and authentic.

The restaurant is located at the basement, and once you are downstairs, you will see a spacious dining area with partitions dividing in between various tables.

The menu is quite comprehensive with a few odd Japanese-Korean fusion food options as well.
We ordered our favourite Yuk Hwae - Raw beef slices with pears and egg yolk; Fried sliced fish cakes and rice cakes in a spicy sauce; Spicy tofu and seafood and egg casserole and Sashimi salad with rice.

All in all, the food was average, our favourite was the Tofu casserole - very hearty and spicy, packed with flavours. Asadal has not won us over from our favourite Korean restaurants in London, but it was a new pleasant try.

Budget rating: 7/10
Food rating: 7/10

Asadal
227 High Holborn
WC1V 7DA

Food Festival of the World @ Southbank Centre

2012-06-08T12:28:00.002+01:00

Despite the traffic due to the Jubilee pageant, I managed to visit the Street Food Festival at Southbank Centre over the long weekend. I didn't stay for long, because of the weather (non stop rain) which completely took the fun away of this festival.

There were many stalls selling and promoting their own various products and range of food, however, maybe due to the weather (stalls were outdoors), there were less stalls than I had anticipated. I really do hope it is down to the weather. It would have been a good food festival offering a wide range of food.

Mango Eton Mess

2012-05-30T18:09:00.002+01:00

There is nothing that says "Summer is here" more than a good homemade Eton Mess.

I wanted to do a twist from the traditional Strawberry flavoured one, don't get me wrong, I love strawberries, but it is 'boring' and it does not really correspond with my personal excitement of the arrival of Summer hence Mango, it is exotic and definitely screams Summer.

To make the Eton Mess, you can either make your own Meringues, or buy them at supermarkets. I wanted to make everything from scratch, so I made the Meringues the day before.

Meringues
3 large egg whites (best at room temperature for a couple of hours - aged)
175g caster sugar

Preheat oven to 150°C.
Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks, then gradually add the sugar, continue to whisk until all the sugar is incorporated.
Spoon the mixture into 6 meringues on a lined baking sheet or tray, then place in the centre of the oven, turn down the heat to 140°C. Bake for 1 hour
After an hour, turn off the oven, and leave the meringue sitting in the oven until it is cool or preferably over night.

Mango Eton Mess
2 Mangoes - 1 skinned and diced, 1 puree
150g double cream
150g greek yogurt

Prepare the mangoes first. Place 1 mango into the juicer and pulse until it resembles a puree liquid form; Skin and dice up the other mango and place them in a bowl and refridgerate;
Whisk the double cream in a large bowl until it thickens, then mix in the greek yogurt;

Assembling:
Break the meringues into chunks, place them at the bottom of your serving bowl, then spoon the cream mixture, spread some mango puree on top - repeat twice. Then top with the diced mangoes and meringue crumbs. Finish with swirls of mango puree around the bowl.

Ta-da! Enjoy!

Counting down to THE long weekend

2012-05-30T17:48:00.001+01:00

For every ladies who are sitting in front of their computers, counting down the days to the ultimate four days long weekend...

What are your plans for the weekend?

It looks like the heat will be gone... Boo... but I guess nothing can stop us from having a lovely Barbie out in balcony, backyards, parks or beaches.

Here are some food which taste great on a barbie:
Burger// Chicken (whole or in parts)// Ribs// Steak// Fish (with tangy and spicy sauce)// Aubergine (sliced in half lengthwise and season with S&P)// Seafood (clams clams clams); and as for dessert, you can whip up a simple Eton Mess with homemade meringues (so easy to make!) and seasonal fruits (recipes to follow next)

For the foodies out there, you will certainly be interested in the World Street Food Festival 2012. It will take place on Southbank Centre, along the river Thames by the London Eye from 1st - 5th June. You will experience all sorts of street food from Malaysia, Korean, Vietnamese, Greek, Spanish, British, Italian, Middle East and everywhere else in the World!
For more information on the festival, please visit here.

Shoreditch Grind

2012-05-23T17:38:00.000+01:00

A great place for Artisan coffee and homemade pastries and cakes.

Located on the Old Street's Roundabout.

Shoreditch Grind
213 Old Street
London
EC1V 9NR

Tenshi @ Islington

2012-05-18T18:59:00.000+01:00

Was craving for a good Japanese simple lunch in Angel one weekend, and came across Tenshi.
A tiny and cosy restaurant located on Upper Street, serving simple and traditional Japanese food. As you all know, there are many restaurants and cafes on Upper Street, with various and different cuisine, however, I think Tenshi is the only Japanese restaurant at the moment.

It is a small restaurant, with limited seatings, however, do not be put off by it. Sometimes, what I find in Japanese restaurants is, the smaller the restaurant is, the better their food is.

Given a busy Saturday lunch hours, I unfortunately was given a seat next to the entrance. We were quickly given the menus but no drinks were ordered. The menu is pretty comprehensive, offering the most popular Japanese food - Sushi, Donburi, Tempura, Katsu, Noodles - pretty standard.

We ordered the Takoyaki (Octopus balls); 2 pieces of Sea Bream Nigiri and Hamachi (Yellow Tail); Chicken Teriyaki Bento and Pork Katsu Bento.

If you want a no fuss Japanese meal around Angel and Islington area, visit Tenshi, as it offers good and traditional Japanese food for a very decent price.

Food rating: 7/10
Budget rating: 8/10

Tenshi
61 Upper Street
London N1 0NY

The Del Rey @ Mulberry

2012-05-15T23:13:00.001+01:00

Mulberry has launched a new bag, inspired by Lana Del Rey.

Have you heard of her songs? If so, you will love this bag too!

The Del Rey has arrived in stores and online, here to shop.

The bag

Inspired by singer Lana Del Rey, the Del Rey also pays homage to classic Mulberry detailing and style accents. It is refined and practical, and although it implies structure the leather is soft and tactile, able to hold everything you might need and be as dressed up, or down, as you like.

Lana Del Rey

Lana Del Rey’s beautiful voice and nostalgic style have captivated us on more one occasion. Creative Director Emma Hill found inspiration in her coquettish elegance and desire to mix high and low cultural references in her music and fashion. Lana has a bespoke Del Rey in White Ostrich, as Emma says: ‘The white with the gold accent suited Lana perfectly – it’s glamorous, and a little bit retro!’

Homemade Dumplings

2012-05-09T23:53:00.001+01:00

There is always something comforting about dumplings, in particular homemade ones. I have always made my dumplings with shop bought dumpling pastry, and though they are easy and convenient, I felt that it is missing something in taste and texture. Thus, this time, I have decided to make everything from scratch.

Homemade dumpling pastry is simple, but a word of warning – it is time consuming! So make sure you have a couple of hours to spare and preferably a chair or stool to sit while working on the kitchen table.

This recipe makes 48 dumplings

Dumpling pastry:

500g Plain white flour or all purpose flour

250g Cold water

1) Sift the flour into a bowl, and make a well in the middle

2) Pour in the cold water into the flour gradually, while mixing and stirring with a wooden spoon, to form a dough

*You may or may not need extra water, please judge by the texture of the dough*

3) Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, just to bring the mixture all together and to loosen it a bit

4) Leave it to rest for around 1 hour in the bowl

5) Divide the dough into quarters (working with smaller portion of dough is easier)

6) Roll each quarter into a log shape, then cut into chunks (approx. 2-3cm wide)

7) Using your palm, flatten each piece into a disc; Take the rolling pin, and roll out to a circle, about the size of your palm

8) Make sure your work surface is dusted with flour to avoid the pastry from sticking to it

Now for the filling; the most common meat we use is minced pork. I marinated the minced pork (500g) with 3 tbsp of soy sauce, 1 tsp salt, 3 tsp rice wine and 1 tbsp of sesame oil. Then to the meat, I added diced black fungus (黑木耳) (alternatively you can add Chinese mushrooms冬菇), Spring Onions; for a bit of spice, I added some pickled vegetables (榨菜). Give everything a good mix, just to make sure they all stick to the meat. If the vegetables are not sticking to the meat, add a little cold water just to give it a help.

To make the dumplings:

1) Place a sheet of the pastry onto your palm

2) Take about 1 ½ tsp of the meat mixture and put it in the middle of the pastry

3) Wrap the dumpling, starting from the centre, working to the sides, press gently with fingers to make sure the sides are sealed (otherwise the meat will pop out when you cook them later)

4) Dust them with flour

5) Repeat until everything is used up

To cook the dumplings:

1) Carefully place the dumplings into boiling water

2) Cook them until they float on the water

*You should see the dumpling pastry becoming translucent*

Best served with vinegar (black not white) and some chilli oil; Alternatively you can pan fry them.

The Jugged Hare (Round Two)

2012-05-08T16:57:00.000+01:00

Earlier this month, I wrote of my dining experience at The Jugged Hare on Chiswell Street in the City (review here), and I decided to give it a try again.

Once again, both the restaurant and the bar areas were completely jam packed. And even after 10pm, there were still incoming diners (they had the option of post-theatre menu).

We sat on the side of the restaurant by the window, overlooking the open kitchen. A lovely waiter came to greet us and brought us a bottle of sparkling water following as we had requested. He introduced the specials to us - pie and soup of the day, daily specials on the rotisserie. The daily specials were actually written on the blackboard, but it was not visible to us from where we were sitting.

We ordered the Black pudding croquettes with Guinness sauce to share; as for starters, we ordered the Breaded Skate Knobs with Tartare sauce and Bath chaps with Langoustine.

The Black pudding croquettes were really appetising, and it is certainly a change of how black pudding is usually cooked.
The Breaded Skate knobs were well executed, the fish was meaty and batter was cripsy but not overly oily, the tartare sauce was complimentary.
The Bath chaps - as expected quite fatty, made from pig's cheek or jaw, but it was perfectly balanced along with its golden thin crispy texture; the Langoustine was succulent and its fresh taste helps to wash away some of the chaps' fat.

Both starters were top notch, and I would be more than happy to have them as main; though I did find that the size of the starters were rather generous, in fact, we were pretty full after devouring those tasty starters.

As for main dishes, we had Monkfish tails with cockles and caviar butter and a 350g Rib-eye on the bone steak, accompanied with chips and gravy. We also ordered a green salad and Parsnip and garlic gratin as sides.

The Monkfish tail was cooked on the bone so that it remained succulent and sweet. Monkfish is a very meaty fish, some even say it is a cheaper version of lobster. The caviar butter was not as buttery or creamy as I had expected, but the dish needed a sauce. Apart from a few bites of sand while eating the cockles, all in all, it was all right, but I found the dish to be too fishy, from the Monkfish, cockles and the caviar. It sort of needed a kick from something or another texture to complete the dish.
As for the steak, it was just a steak with chips. The highlight of the dish was probably the gravy, perfect to dunk your chips in. However, as for the steak itself, it was average, but of course this is no steakhouse.
The Parsnip and garlic gratin was a yummy sidedish, both parsnips and garlic were cooked right through, but yet still have a slight crunch.
Usually when we order a green salad as a side, we would expect it as a much healthier option (in comparison to chips or mac and cheese), but there were just far too much salt in this green salad. I could literally taste the coarse salt when I bit into the crunchy vegetables. It was just too salty for anyone's taste.

Desserts were Chocolate mint pot and Bread and Butter pudding with vanilla ice cream. The Chocolate mint pot was really rich with a thin layer of mint at the bottom of the pot. The Bread and Butter pudding was much bigger than I thought! Made with layers of pain au chocolats (which is more exciting than plain old croissants!), custard and currants, along with butterscotch sauce; along with the homemade Vanilla ice cream, the dish was complete.

Food rating: 5/10

Budget rating: 5/10

The Jugged Hare

49 Chiswell Street

London EC1Y 4SA

Dover Street Market Sample Sale

2012-05-04T16:53:00.003+01:00

We are pleased to announce the return of Dover Street Market MARKET!

Three crazy days of shopping madness, bursting with bargains and exciting products

from our archive with discounts of 70% to 75% off everything!

A marvellous array of clothing and accessories will be available from past seasons

from all Comme des Garçons collections, plus many of your favourite DSM brands.

Regular deliveries throughout the three days will ensure that no matter when you come,

there will be new items, so for those of you planning to come every day, you'll find something

different each time.

Friday 11th May – Sunday 13th May 2012
10.00am- 7.00pm

Victoria House
Bloomsbury Square
London WC1B 4DA
Nearest Tube Stations: Holborn and Russell Square
Click here for a streetmap
Only cash and credit cards please. No bags and coats will be allowed into the venue,
so to reduce queuing times for the cloakroom, please pack light!
We look forward to seeing you there!

Bread Making with the Masters @ Leiths School of Food and Wine

2012-05-01T19:21:00.000+01:00

I have always been a big fan of breads, all sorts of bread (literally) and as a bread lover, I am as passionate as one could be when learning to make breads. Thus, I signed up to the one day Bread making class at Leiths School of Food and Wine to master the basics of bread making.

A few tips before the class:
- bring an apron (if you do forget, they can provide you one in class)
- bring a notebook and a pen (trust me, you will need to remember the helpful tips)

Upon arrival, you will be seated in the dining room where coffee, tea, and fresh baked pastries are served as breakfast. This is the 'waiting room'; you will then be given a booklet specifically designed for your course (bread making in my case). Inside the booklet, you will see the schedule for the day, what sorts of bread will be demonstrated and baked, and most importantly, recipes (which you will be following later on).

After everyone in the class has arrived, we were led to the demonstration room. I felt like a student again (and a geek), front-row seat, making sure I jotted down all the notes and tips I gathered from the demonstration. First of all, we were introduced to fresh yeast (my first encounter) and the standard process of bread making (mixing, kneading, proving, knocking back and proving again). The demonstration includes making the doughs for an enriched white loaf, Italian bread (foccacia) and how to make your own starter (for sourdoughs for example).

After the learning and notes taking session, we went to the kitchen, where hands-on baking began.

The kitchen area

First, we had to make the dough for the Enriched White bread. The enriched part is from the butter, egg and milk that we added. Usually, you can make a white bread with just flour, yeast, water and salt. This enriched flavour bring a slight sweetness to the bread, and a yellowy colour as well. Once the dough is done, we had to place them by the ovens to let them prove. Meanwhile, we got on with the dough for the Foccacia - a bit wetter than the white bread dough. Knead, knead, knead and let it prove.
Third dough - we made a Soda bread dough with fruits and nuts, which does not need to be proved (as we used bicarbonate soda as an active agent instead of yeast). We were given a lot of freedom in terms of how to shape our breads. I stuck with the classics, and shaped my Fruit Soda Bread as 4 round rolls. As for my white breads, a small loaf and a plait.

My white breads before and after second proving

Our breads were happily baking in the ovens, while we had our simple yet warming lunch. One of our bread chefs made us a Carrot and Coriander soup and of course breads go best with soup! We ate the breads which had previously been demonstrated to us in the morning. As soon as we tried the breads, we all thought "if only our breads turn out to be this good!"

After lunch, we had to glaze our white breads which have had their second proving. We were given poppy and seasame seeds to decorate our white breads. Then all we had to do was to wait for them to be baked.

The course ended around 2.30pm. Because with breads, it is very time consuming with a lot of waiting around, most of the hands-on baking were done in the morning.

I left the school with some much joy and satisfaction that I felt like I was a little kid who had just made her first art sketch. Oh, and of course with many freshly baked loaves of bread.

I would highly recommend anyone who is or would be interested in learning to make your own bread. Freshly homemade breads are the best, and I can guarantee that you will not be shopping for bread at your bakery shops for a long while!

This is also a great activity for your weekends, afterall, baking is very therapeutic and brings great satisfaction. What is the best thing to do but baking when the weather is just being so unpredictable?

For info on the course, please visit http://www.leiths.com/enthusiasts-courses/bread-workshop-12/

I am now looking at other courses at Leiths for my next challenge!

London Coffee Festival

2012-04-29T22:01:00.001+01:00

This is my first time visiting the London Coffee Festival at the Old Truman Brewery on a Friday afternoon. It kicked off on Friday 27th April at 5pm as the morning was specifically for the traders only. This is the second birthday of the Festival in London, and I'm certain that it will be back next year again!
Tickets can be booked in advance, however, you can purchase them at the doors for £3 more.

As soon as I walked through the entrance, the smell of coffee and overloading caffeine were literally everywhere! Inside the exhibition, there were many booths, all promoting their own brands of coffee beans, machines, grinders, cups, and all kinds of snacks you eat when drinking coffee.

The exhibition is divided by zones - Hyde Park, Showroom, Soho, Growing Community and Shoreditch.
The Hyde Park zone has the band area (with live music!) and the 'picnic' area where you can sit on benches and drink coffee and enjoy a quick snack. There are also chocolates, macarons and cupcakes (Hummingbirds). And if you have had enough of coffee, you can find some but limited tea exhibitors around. Oh do drop by Gelupo for a free tasting of their sorbets and gelato.
The Showroom has the hippest, hottest and the best looking coffee machines and other brewing kits where you can test around and ask the professionals for advices.
Soho area is more focused on the roasting process of the beans. There, you will find artisan cafes.
The Growing Community is an interactive zone where you learn about the very beginning of coffee bean, and this is sponsored by charities, raising funds to help the environment in coffee producing countries.
Lastly, what you will find in Shoreditch is food and snacks, mostly from artisan producers. There are also a few food stalls where have sell Spanish paella, Burger, French Crepes etc.

I managed to try some tasty and aromatic authentic coffees, and a few that I wish I haven't. I would advise to stay away from barley coffee (it is a misleading concept for your brains afterall).

You will receive a goodie bag in entrance, and you will receive a guide to the London Coffee Festival and all its info, coffee and tea samples, Green and Black's chocolate bar, biscuit and other promotional leaflets.

See you all coffee lovers next year.

For more information on the London Coffee Festival, please visit them on http://www.londoncoffeefestival.com

Gourmet food in a gourmet cookery school

2012-04-28T04:11:00.002+01:00

In my last post, I wrote about my experience of attending the Petit Fours and Macarons course at Bellouet Conseil. It was a intensive three day course, with hands-on experience to take on making some of the finest desserts that I have ever tasted.

Another unexpected delight on the course was that both breakfast and lunch were provided - and of course you would not expect anything less than gourmet standard in a proper cookery school!

Breakfast - warm pastries were served fresh from the oven every morning, courtesy to the students from the previous pastry classes who prepared them all. Croissants, pain au chocolat, apple filled pastries... and the list goes on.

However... this sweet little pastry really deserves a shot on its own (it's my favourite!). Soft brioche with almond crunchy topping, oozing out with cinnamon and blueberry custard filling. It's truly so good - so good that I could probably have this for breakfast everyday.

Lunch - the term "school lunch" for me usually means "cottage pie", "roast chicken with gravy", "spaghetti bolognese". Nothing wrong with those dishes - however, in a cookery school there is a totally different interpretation of "school lunch".

A buffet? With escargot filled pastries? Pan-fried foie gras? Seafood salad? Chicken terrine?

No joke, but I must be living in dreamland.

Again, courtesy of this gourmet feast to the wonderful classmates next door. They were taking on a three day course on professional catering for groups.

Salad cup

Selection of chicken, seafood and
vegetarian terrine

Tea time! More desserts, anyone?

Chestnut ice-cream cake

Extra-large Ferrero Rocher!

Raspberry mousse cake

Vanilla ice-cream, with Orange
Grand Marnier
sorbet and chestnut ice-cream

There were endless selection of delicious desserts to satisfy my sweet tooth... these must be the "hooks" that will make me want to come back to take on all the other courses!

The aftermath of... RS sample sale

2012-04-26T21:49:00.000+01:00

It is not always good to look at the aftermath of a sample sale, who would want to calculate their damages?

For those of you who did not manage to go to the Rupert Sanderson sample sale, you have missed out big time! Shoes were starting from £45 a pair! Unbelievable prices!

Unfortunately I arrived late after work, so my sizes were ALL gone by 6.30pm! Of course, if you are either a size 34, 35, 36, or 40, 41, you would have had no problems finding your perfect pair of heels at a bargain price!

I had been told that many ladies started queueing religiously from 7.30am this morning in the horrible pouring rain (mind you, door opens at 8am!). Utmost respect for those who made it in the rain! However, because of the crowd, they had to limit each shopper of a 10 minutes stay only. That ultimately led some ladies coming back again in the afternoon for round two!

Coachella

2012-04-26T17:29:00.000+01:00

Kind reminder to Rupert Sanderson Sample Sale

2012-04-26T08:51:00.000+01:00

Essential details:

Thursday 26th April 2012 - TODAY!

Upstairs at Rupert Sanderson
19 Bruton Place, Mayfair
W1J 6LZ

8am - 8pm (last admission is 7.30pm)

Please remember to print the invite to gain entrance! (Please refer to previous post for the invite)

Cha Cha Moon

2012-04-25T20:41:00.000+01:00

Another creation of Alan Yau. Though he was best known for setting up Wagamama in London, to be very fair, the quality of the 'street food' in Cha Cha Moon is by far better than Wagamama. I'm not going to sugar-coat it for you, as a Chinese, the quality of these noodles and bite sized dishes are nowhere near to what we eat back at home. However, having said that, Cha Cha Moon offers the best alternatives to us.

Their signature is the Taiwan Beef Noodles, which has braised beef brisket and beef stock.

Some may find this bowl of noodles oily, but this is the essence and extract of the beef brisket which usually has been braised for at least 2 hours.

I have not been back here for a while, but their budget set menu is fairly new to me, and I find it very reasonable. You are to choose from a set menu, and for £10, it includes a choice of a main dish and a side dish (Only available from 2-6pm daily)

I went for the Singaporean Fried Noodles and Guotie (Chicken dumplings).

All in all, this is not the best Chinese 'street food' you will get in London, however, for what it is worth (quick, simple and on a budget), you are in the right place.

Food rating: 4/10

Budget rating: 6/10

Cha Cha Moon

15-21 Ganton Street

W1F 9BN

BALENCIAGA SS

2012-04-24T08:58:00.001+01:00

Check it out @ Selfridges or Balenciaga

Choccywoccydoodah

2012-04-23T22:10:00.001+01:00

This fairly new chocolate shop hidden just off Carnaby Street is a chocolate paradise. To me, it felt like it was a museum of chocolate, a home of a chocolatier who demonstrates so much talents in arts.

It originated from Brighton, where they specialise in chocolate sculptured cakes and more. I was particularly amazed by the flower decoration on one of the cakes; I had been told that they are all made out of chocolate, nothing from fondant, or any sugar pastes - amazing!

On the first floor, there is also a cafe and there, you would be able to sample and savour their chocolate masterpieces with a cup of tea!

These cakes are available to be order, or create your own bespoke design for special occasions.

Choccywoccydoodah
30-32 Fouberts Place
Carnaby, W1F 7PS

To get their updated newsfeeds, check out their Blog

Spuntino

2012-04-23T21:55:00.001+01:00

Spuntino... where do I start?
Well, I sort of got lost in Soho while looking for Spuntino. I was expecting some sort of restaurant sign or a big glass window over looking Rupert Street. I had to double check with Google and its website to make sure that this is it...

The decoration of this place is really just simple, and down to earth. From the outside, it looks like it is still in the refurbishment progress. And that theme leads right into the interior. Metal bar and stools, greyish white tiles on the walls, with bright lightbulbs dangling from the ceiling.

I was amazed by the budget prices of its menu - though simple and comfort food, the prices were incredibly under!
We ordered Truffled Egg Toast (a must try!), Eggplant chips with fennel yoghurt, Jerusalem artichoke, treviso & truffle vinaigrette salad, Cuttlefish, butterbeans and ink and Shoestring fries.

The Truffled Egg Toast is definitely a must try. Even though I am not a cheese eater (I scraped off the cheese on top), the taste of the deep fried toast, with fresh egg yolk and the truffle were just amazing and very well-balanced. As one of my guest puts it: "Making the simple classic dishes excitingly fresh again."

The Eggplant chips did not really work for me, the batter was light, however, it became a bit chewy. The eggplant has shrunken, therefore leaving some gaps in between the batter and the eggplant itself.

Shoestring fries really does resemble the looks of shoe strings. They were lovely seasoned, however, I prefer them to be nice and hot rather than served warm.

The Cuttlefish dish was good, full of fish and cuttlefish's ink flavours, and the cuttlefish were tender, not rubbery at all. I was more than happy to dip my fries and finish off the ink sauce!

As for dessert, I was contemplating between the Peanut butter and jelly sandwich or go next door and grab a healthier option at Snog. Well, I ended up licking my spoon and plate off the classic Peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

You cannot really go wrong with this classic combination. But, broken pieces of peanuts and sugar had been added to this dish for an extra dimension and added a bit of a crunch to this dish.

Spuntino has definitely been added to my favourite restaurant in London. Its dishes are simple and yet innovative and fresh.

Next time, I will be ordering their signature burgers and more tapas sized dishes.

Until next time...

Food rating: 9/10

Budget rating: 9/10 (6 dishes for 2 people were just under £40)

Spuntino

61 Rupert Street

Soho W1D 7PW

PS: They do not take reservation. Either go before noon or after 1pm is recommended on weekends.

Sample Sale @ Browns

2012-04-23T16:29:00.002+01:00

I know we are all trying to be good at the moment, saving up for the annual summer holiday getaways, maximising our extra special holiday over the Queen's Jubilee weekend and the Olympics.
BUT having said that, sample sale at Browns is just too good to give it a miss!

Needless to say, this is the sample sale of the year.

Get ready to grab your favourite items!