As the name suggests, the School of Wok is an Asian and Oriental cookery workshop tucked away in Chandos Place, just behind the Strand and only a few doors down from my favourite fast Mexican food joint Wahaca. I'd visited their dining room previously as the location for a few Edible Experiences pop-up events, and certainly heard whispers about their expert tutorials amongst London's food-loving community.
1. When I visited Spain last summer I fell in love with the traditional pintxos bars, and was amazed to discover an impressively authentic replica much closer to home in the form of Pix Bar. Last week I visited with fellow food lovers Selina from Yummy Choo and Laura from Digest Magazine, and as I predicted they were equally taken with the stunning display of tapas on offer.
With items priced at either £1.95 or £2.95, Pix is very friendly on the purse, but because everything looks so appetising you still need to keep an eye on your growing stack of skewers. Thankfully for greedy folks like me, Pix have introduced "infinity Sundays" where you can enjoy 90 minutes of unlimited pintxos and cava for only £29.95. There's a tray of churros and chocolate sauce ready with my name on it for my next trip...!
Oh boy...this is another one of those situations where I include a photo in a round-up and promise that more photos are "coming soon"...and then realise 3 months later that I still haven't shared them...! Apologies, my bad (and note to self, I really must stop doing that!).
So back in Spring the London food scene was going wild over Story, an intimate new restaurant near London Bridge from former Noma chef Tom Sellers (not to be confused with American chef Thomas Keller or moustachioed actor Tom Selleck). Established food critics and unknown food bloggers alike were fighting for reservations, particularly once word spread about fantastical dishes such as the "beef dripping candle" starter and "Three Bears' porridge" dessert.
It's been months since the last time I posted one of these random montages - even though I like writing them and apparently you like reading them. As ever, there's a whole host of excuses, but I won't bore you with these now. If you follow me on Twitter, you can probably figure it out. The main thing is that I'm finally BACK with another selection of my favourite foodie moments from the past week, plus some other random musings...
1. Check out this incredible (overflowing!) duck slider courtesy of Donostia Social Club - just looking at it makes my mouth water! I'd heard rumours of great things being produced by these relative newcomers to London's streetfood scene, and decided to check them out for myself at KERB Saturdays in Kings Cross. I loved the concept of a pintxos bar attached to a food truck, and would have happily perched there all afternoon sampling their tasty tapas (and perhaps a few Sangrias...!). This duck was rich and tender, with a clever contrast from the sliced apple and Basque cider sauce. Their juicy prawns a la plancha with shallot salsa were also delightful. One to watch...
Full disclosure: this meal was a total and utter freebie, hands up. I'd never heard of Soho Joe, the family-run pizza restaurant on Dean Street, but I was invited to visit their new sister restaurant Cookhouse Joe on Berwick Street, and the promise of a combination of Lebanese dishes and rotisserie chicken enticed me.
It's the start of the holiday season, with people jetting off to warmer climes in search of some sunshine after the total washout that has been this year's British Summertime (based on the evidence so far).
At heart I will always be a Dorset girl, no matter where I live in the big wide world or how long I'm separated from the Jurassic coast.
Occasionally the rural twang in the pronunciation of my vowels gives away my heritage (much to the amusement of my trendy urban friends), coupled with my obsession for seeking out the nearest spot of beach as soon as the sun begins to shine. In my eyes there are few things more mesmerising than watching the deep blue sea lapping against the sandy shore, whilst breathing in the salty air - transporting me back to my childhood in an instant.
One of my favourite blog series' is Weekend Things on How Sweet It Is - the photos are always fantastic and it's so clever how your mind fills in the gaps in the story. If anything my love of food photography has grown after completing Project 366 in 2012, so I thought I'd share with you my Instagrammed snapshots from a particularly gluttonous Bank Holiday weekend...
Three Bears' Porridge at Restaurant Story...which one was "just right" for me?! More photos from this fantastic meal coming soon
My favourite foodie moments and other random musings from the last week (or so!)...
1. I believe that this is what is known in the industry as "the money shot" (I'm not saying which industry...!) Get your ass down to FishDog's truck at Brockley Market on Saturdays or the Red Market on Fridays to wrap your lips around these bad boy "dognuts", served alongside their sexed-up fish finger sarnies. These hot dognuts are crispy on the outside, light and fluffy on the inside, coated in sweet cinnamon sugar and smothered in salted caramel sauce for an added treat...just like all the best bad boys...!
Not since Elvis was jiving in his blue suede shoes has the humble burger been such a phenomenon.
In London right now it feels like a new diner opens almost every week, promising a beef and bread combo that's bigger, better and dirtier (!) than ever before. Needless to say, with so many options on the table there's a danger of worshipping false idols, and it's hard to know where to begin on the quest for sensory enlightenment.
Crowned King of kings at Burger Monday's latest #LondonBurgerBash, Joe Grossman's Patty & Bun has certainly generated the most evangelistic response from the masses. Disciples flock to this tiny restaurant in a constant stream, waiting with the rest of the outdoor congregation until they can enter the shrine and be charmed by the infamous Ari Gold, or experience a whole new level of foodporn courtesy of the Ron Jeremy special.
Having harked on for months about taking a trip to Patty & Bun, I decided it was time to discover for myself whether Joe really is the messiah, or just a very naughty boy...
Am I the only one who's obsessed with Middle Eastern cuisine right now?
Perhaps it's Ottolenghi's beautiful Jerusalem calling out to me from my kitchen bookcase. Perhaps it's this neverending freezing weather making me nostalgic for the humidity of the Moroccan souk (can you believe it's still snowing in April?!). Perhaps it's simply that the classically Arabic combination of sweetness, spice and aromatic scenting appeals to my palate.
Whatever the reason, it's a craving I'm more than willing to satisfy. So a lunch date with fellow food-bloggers Yummychooeats and Mondomulia, plus bona fide journalist Felicity Spector, sounded like the ideal opportunity to scratch my itch with a visit to Honey & Co.
You know that I love eating comforting rich meals like hearty casseroles and crumbles as much as (ok, maybe even more than!) the next person. But I'm keen to make sure that I offset this decadence with a lot of clean living too. The healthy Vietnamese noodle soup at the forefront of Pho's menu has always appealed to my inner fitness fan, so it was a serious bit of luck on my part when I was invited along to their Spitalfields branch to test out the menu for free.
Shrove Tuesday is just a few days away, so food bloggers across Britain are currently racing to toss their recipe for the perfect pancakes to the top of the stack.
Personally, I'm a sucker for pancakes at any time of year. In fact, they were the subject of my first ever post...which I confess was far shorter and sweeter than those you're now accustomed to reading here!
Since moving to London I'd dined at a series of supperclubs showcasing a whole host of exotic cuisines - ranging from a fiesta of Spanish flavours, to a mouthwatering Mauritian medley, and a treasure trove of Persian delights. But so far I'd never been served sharing portions of traditional British cooking, so I was attracted to the seasonal fare on offer at The Factory House's inaugural supperclub.
Whilst there were many contenders for my most memorable meal of 2012 (such as my birthday dinner courtesy of Mat Follas at The Wild Garlic, and licking chicken off a brick thanks to Ben Spalding at John Salt) it was understandably impossible to beat Michelin-starred supremo Tom Kerridge serving up a storm inside a glass Cube overlooking London's legendary landmarks.
But Chris Pople of Cheese and Biscuits has highlighted an interesting distinction between a great meal and a great restaurant:
"A great restaurant, then, isn't just where you happen to have a great meal, it's a place you look forward to going to more than anywhere else because you always enjoy the time you spend there"
This got me thinking...obviously as a gastronome I am always keen to try new culinary experiences, and even when I return to a favourite haunt like Brockley Market or Brixton Village it's usually with the hope of testing out what different vendors have on offer each time.
However, there is one London restaurant that I gladly return to at least once a month if not more...Mexican market diner Wahaca, the brainchild of former Masterchef winner Thomasina Miers.
I'm stunned by the number of page-views the first instalment of this new series received! Hopefully this is a sign that I should continue regularly sharing my favourite moments and random musings from the past week...
1. What better way to prepare for the impending #snowmageddon than with a hearty venison stew?! Through the magic of Twitter I was lucky enough to win tickets to The Factory House's inaugural supperclub, where this classic winter warmer was the star of the show. The meat shredded easily after 5 hours slow-cooking, and the rich umami gravy contrasted perfectly with creamy cabbage and mashed potatoes. Apparently those cute oven-proof side dishes were for my boyfriend and I to share, but somehow most of their contents ended up in my tummy...!
As with most (if not all) food bloggers, my dream has always been to see one of my articles published in classic hard copy. To be able to hold the text in my hands and run my fingers across the page, instead of simply staring at a computer screen and hitting the scroll button. To be able to observe my photographs catching the eye in glossy print, instead of merely being one shot on an everlasting luminous instagram feed. To be able to file the recipe alongside my favourite cookbooks on the shelf for future use, instead of just saving the dish’s corresponding image to a Pinterest board to be forgotten immediately.
So I’m delighted to announce that this long-held fantasy has finally become a reality! This weekend sees the launch of Ad Lib, a new monthly magazine for Liberal Democrat members and supporters, and the first edition features my version of Nigella Lawson’s Coca Cola braised ham, with an additional sweet mustard glaze in its regular cooking slot “A Liberal Helping”.
