By lulu labonne on March 9, 2010
London E8, London Fields
w: www.broadwaymarket.co.uk
I was too bleary-eyed to see the notice telling me that the London Overground line was disrupted for the weekend and ended up on a replacement bus that took hours to meander its way east, the smelly drunk who sat next to me with his eyebrow pierced by a rusty nail wasn’t the best appetite stimulator either.
My queasiness evaporated within seconds of getting simultaneous blasts from the buskers playing blue grass and the scent of hot truffles and mushrooms. Broadway Market includes crafts and vintage stuff but is very much all about the food – and not just any old food, this food is superior food in every way – the stalls are very competitive on this issue; Wild Beef from Devon trumpets that the dead cow they are selling is ‘More than Organic’, the mutton seller gives precise details of the age of his animals and the rhubarb I purchased had been to finishing school … ok that last bit’s a tiny exaggeration but you get my drift.
Continue reading “Broadway Market – Saturdays”
Posted in Eating Out, Food & Drink, London, Reviews
By nisha on March 9, 2010
103- 105 Waterloo Road, London, SE1 8UL
t: 0207 021 0886
w: bangaloreexpress.co.uk
We’ve visited an Indian restaurant, again! This was sheer coincidence as we had no choice but to surrender to the hunger pangs from our stomachs. We were back after visiting an aunt in Camden and decided to take the bus instead of the tube, since we love watching the London life pass by from the upper deck.
We jump off at Waterloo and wander around trying to figure out where to take the next bus from, and come across this restaurant called ‘Bangalore Express.’ By then our stomachs were growling and without a second thought we decided to explore.
The interiors are tastefully done with pale green and white symmetrical designs, and there is also an interactive kitchen. The booths are set to resemble the insides of a train back in India, or so I thought. There are ladders to go up to the top booth and are a bit scary if you are sitting down. The waiters tactfully hold their serving trays in position while climbing up the stairs and you can’t help but cringe in fear of it toppling all over you. Nah, I’m just exaggerating a bit here, but on a serious note, I think it’s a brilliant way of saving space and accommodating more people at the same time.
Continue reading “Bangalore Express”
Posted in Eating Out, London, Reviews
By lauranickoll on March 4, 2010
16 Broadwick Street, Soho, London
t: 02074948888
w: www.yauatcha.com
Let me start by admitting that dim sum is something of which I know little, so this write-up is purely based on taste, atmosphere, and the nuggets of expertise channeled my way by two well-versed companions. My experience so far stretches to pre-pub/bar filling-station chains, Ping Pong (I do it a disservice, it’s really quite decent), and Dim T.
We were booked in to see A Prophet at The Curzon in Soho, at the awkward time of 6:30pm on a Sunday night, so dinner had to be very early, or very late. Dim sum in China is traditionally eaten either in the morning or afternoon (not the evening), so that afternoon was the perfect opportunity to try out Yauatcha, Soho’s Michelin-starred dim sum restaurant, founded by Alan Yau, the man behind Wagamama, Cha Cha Moon, and the first Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant, Hakkasan.
Continue reading “Yauatcha”
Posted in Eating Out, London, Reviews
By lauranickoll on March 3, 2010
My first attempt at making marmalade late last year was not a resounding success. It was Seville orange marmalade and took hours to reach setting point. I had to hurry it along by chucking in a muslin bag filled with lemon rind. Also, it had boiled down so much it was more a thick caramel syrup than a marmalade. The pieces of rind were as long as spaghetti, so it wasn’t an easy spreader.
This time around I tried Nigella’s Pink-Grapefruit Marmalade from How to Be a Domestic Goddess. It seems too simple at first glance, but works brilliantly as the basis for the recipe, with just a few tweaks to the method.
Continue reading “Pink Grapefruit Marmalade”
Posted in Brunch, Recipes, Snacks | Ingredients Grapefruit, Lemon juice, Preserving sugar
By Carla on March 3, 2010
A few years ago I spent a summer in Nairobi, Kenya. To this date I will tell anyone who’ll listen that there I had the best curries I have ever tried. I don’t know what it is, but they just taste so much better!
During those three months my aunt and I had a habit of visiting the local curry house on a weekly basis and all I would order was butter chicken; a refreshing dish that bears no resemblance to the sloppy stuff I have tasted in the UK so far!
After much complaining a good family friend and chef extraordinaire, Adil Karimbux, kindly shared his recipe for butter chicken with me and it definitely is what I remembered this dish by.
Adil is a great cook and not just of curries and I’m thrilled he has agreed to let me publish this recipe he has taken and adapted from long-running family traditions for everyone to enjoy. Thanks Adil!
Continue reading “Adil’s Butter Chicken”
Posted in Main courses, Recipes | Ingredients Blanched almonds, Cardamom, Chicken breast, Chilli powder, Coriander, Curry leaves, Double cream, Garam masala, Garlic, Ginger, Greek yoghurt, Ground cinnamon, Ground cloves, Onion, Saffron, Tinned tomatoes, Turmeric
By Matt on March 1, 2010
A bit of sad news today. We’ve decided to stop the Calendar Competition due to a lack of interest. I think it was a good idea, but shorter competitions like the Cornishware one are proving to be much more popular.
Apologies for those of you who entered and won’t be winning anything! We’d still like to keep entrant’s recipes on the site for everyone to enjoy.
We have a lot more ideas for new competitions, so keep checking back for those!
Posted in News
By Gabby on February 28, 2010
Moules Marinieres is a classic way of cooking mussels in France and they are perfect at the moment. They are high in protein and low in fat, and what fat they do contain is rich in Omega 3. They are also a superb source of minerals and are great to share with a couple of friends; I adore any food that can be picked up in the fingers and eaten informally, it sets the tone for relaxed pleasure.
Everyone has their own method of detaching the mussel from its shell, my preferred way is to choose one half of a shell as a tool that I push under the “foot” and gently lever, then it becomes a spoon.
Continue reading “Mussels in a white wine sauce”
Posted in Appetizers, Main courses, Recipes | Ingredients Butter, Creme fraiche, Garlic, Muscadet, Mussels, Parsley
By nisha on February 28, 2010
Park Pavilion, 40 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5FW
t: 0207 516 9145
w: http://www.wahaca.co.uk/
For those of you outside London, this is gonna be a boring, insignificant post. But I love doing restaurant reviews as it keeps me in touch with the job I miss terribly. I used to do restaurant, club, pub, hotel, boutique reviews for a living back in India.
Wahaca in Canary Wharf (SE London), owned by 2005 Masterchef winner Thomasina Miers aims at promoting Mexican street market eating. Like I have mentioned a zillion times before, I am a total sucker for Mexican grub and was pretty excited to try out this new restaurant so close to our place. I secretly hoped it would be kick-ass so I could quench my quesadilla cravings by just hopping over.
Continue reading “Wahaca”
Posted in Eating Out, London, Reviews
By Patty on February 27, 2010
These lovely little nostalgic treats bring back memories of party buns – really simple and scrummy. I have tried to make them a bit more adult and a bit more healthy by adding some seeds & nuts.
Continue reading “Easter Cornflake Cakes”
Posted in Desserts, Recipes | Ingredients Butter, Cornflakes, Golden syrup, Mars Bars, Mixed nuts
