London - Hummus Bros

When it comes to food, every person has a couple of essentials that they just cannot live without. For example, I have a friend that puts ketchup on everything- eggs, toast, macaroni, crackers, salad...I'm not joking, literally, EVERYTHING. There will always be, for as long as she lives, an industrial sized bottle of ketchup on the lower shelf of her fridge. My other friend O always has a ready stock of Activia yogurt (strawberry and vanilla) , W is never without his avocados, and C must always have her Tetley tea. We all have our staples and edible comforts; items that immediately make any new kitchen seem just a little more homey and a little more you.

As for me, my essentials include: Organic Peanut Butter, Finn's Wheat Thins, Green Tea, Smoked Salmon, Oranges and Hummus.

I first tried the stuff when I was about 16. It was at a family owned Greek restaurant called Stephos, famed for its cheap prices, large portions, and ridiculously long line ups out the door. Not knowing exactly what to make of the less than appetizing pile of 'mush' I dove in courageously and have been enamored with the stuff since. In hindsight, it wasn't the best hummus in the world, but from that day forth I couldn't get enough of the stuff. Back in Vancouver, my favorite take-away hummus is from Urban Fare - it's got a great consistency, not too grainy or smooth, with a nice strong kick of garlic to it.

In London, my hummus dealer was a stocky guy, always flanked by one or two attractive lady assistants, with a stand in Portobello Market that also sold a variety of olives, goats cheeses, sun dried tomatoes, and the best red pesto I've ever tasted. However, on a night out with the VAL Team (Vince, Ant & Ly...all very manly men) we decided to check out Hummus Bros as several of us had read good reviews, which were backed up by an added endorsement from Vince.

The place is a far cry from the typical dingy, poorly lighted, questionably hygienic, and wobbly tabled hummus joints that are found along Edgware Road in London. Not that there's anything wrong with London's own 'Little Arabia,' and the food there is without a doubt just as, if not more, tasty; but there are times when you just want to sit in a nice bright room, receive some service with a smile, and have your hummus arrive all gussed up on spotlessly clean plates. It may not be the most authentic experience, but hey, the hummus is tasty.

By the time we arrived at their Soho location, it was right around dinner time so the place was understandably totally packed. Even though it wasn't a very large space, the room felt open and airy, much of it due to the simple and minimalistic decor. The majority of seating is provided by several long communal picnic tables, with a few 'window seats' lining the front of the store. Once seated, a scan of the menu revealed a short but tasty looking list of options. We decided to order several of the hummus topping options and side orders of the tabbouleh and grilled vegetable salad.

Here's what arrived at our table...

Tabouleh & Grilled Vegetable Salad

Hummus w/ Fava Beans Topping & a Hard Boiled Egg

Hummus w/ Stewed Button Mushrooms

We also ordered the Chunky Beef Hummus, which was delicious. Unfortunately, the picture turned out blurry and I couldn't include it in this posting.

Overall, I think the place is an excellent option for lunch, dinner, or anytime you're feeling a little hungry and want something healthy and filling. The the hummus is goooood. It's a creamier texture than what you'd find at most Greek or Middle Eastern establishments and a there was a much more conservative use of garlic. The service was prompt, polite and non-fussy. Most important, however, was that we all left with our bellies jolly full, unable to take even one more bite of their deliciously warm fresh pita - and all at a bargin for less than £10 a person.

Hummus Bros

Soho
88 Wardour Street
London W1F 0TJ
Tel 020 7734 1311
Tube Station: Oxford Circus, Picadilly Circus or Tottenham Court Road

Holborn
Victoria House
37-63 Southampton Row
London WC1B 4DA
Tel 020 7404 7079
Tube Station: Holborn or Tottenham Court Road

One billion bites per second....

I know. I am terribly far behind in my writings. I've still yet to write about Italy, France, Berlin, and a few more on London, and yet I've already moved onto something and somewhere new.

China.

To be frank, I've never had any desire to visit China. Even when I was travelling all over SE Asia with a friend about five years ago, we were in Hong Kong, China was about as close, and easy to get to, as Seattle is to Vancouver, and I chose an extra day in Hong Kong over visiting Mr. Mao's country. Even when my plans for a trip to China began to solidify and take form a few months ago, my anticipation levels could be described as being rather...muted. It wasn't until a conversation in Rome with my friend J that I was given a real reason to be excited about my visit to China. How silly of me! Blind really! That I should have ever failed to realize that China would be an amazing experience for the palate! With over a billion people and counting, hundreds...maybe even thousands...of local specialties, food with a strong emphasis on flavour, flavour, flavour, food so good that how much you gain in weight is almost indicative of how good of time you had. If there is one thing that everyone can afford to do in China it is to eat and to eat well. A meal for two, with a generous spread of 4-5 dishes, beers, and tea can be had for a mere 50 yuan (approx. $6 CAD), even fine dining is well below what one would pay in North America. And so I packed my bags, a little nervous about my soon to be expanding waistline, but very eager to begin my explorations of true Chinese cuisine in one of its largest and most historical cities.

Having only just arrived in Beijing yesterday, I've had little time to research and ask around for local recommendations. However, by pure luck I managed to sample one of the biggest trends in Beijing restaurant/dining culture right now - Szechuan food.

So what is Szechuan food? I could tell you a little bit about the province, give you some background information, but the only thing you really need to know about Szechuan cuisine is that it is SPICY. Not the kind of spicy that puts a little heat in your mouth, or even the kind that clears your sinuses; this is the kind of spicy that has you pulling at your shirt collars, asking for more napkins not because you spilt your drink, but because you are sweating like a guilty man on trial from the furnace that used to be your mouth, the kind of spicy that bring grown men to tears, but it tastes so good you just can't seem to stop the self-torture. Some of you may scoff at this, thinking to yourself, "I've had Szechuan food before, it's not that spicy at all!" Well, I am willing to bet that either you are living and eating in some country other than China, or you were born with almost no taste buds in your mouth.

Just around the corner of the place I'm staying is a small restaurant of no more than 10 tables, each seating a maximum of 4-6 people. The decor is sparse, plastic/wooden tables with matching picnic bench seats, linoleum tiled flooring, a drink cooler in the middle of the room beside the server station, and the kitchen is hidden behind a small doorway draped with a cloth curtain. Yet, like anywhere in the world, one can generally tell if a restaurant is good by the size of the line outside and how consistently busy it is during the week. According to W the place was always busy and after walking by again on a Wednesday night, I can also confirm that a line up is generally present as well. Peering through the windows people were eating what appeared to be some type of large Hotpot, but without the soupy base, from which emanated a most deliciously smoky aroma.

Now, here is my personal predicament when dining out in any Chinese establishment.

I can't read Chinese.

It's terribly embarrassing sometimes, especially when you take into account the fact that I am every bit the Chinese-girl in appearance and can actually speak pretty fluent Mandarin. Thus, the minute I open my mouth it's generally assumed that I can also read and write. It is definitely something I am working on, but as far as I'm concerned at this present moment the character for "beef" might as well stand for "pudding."

So, back at this neighborly establishment I found myself faced with a menu full of choices, however, none of which I could decipher. So I flagged down their friendliest looking waiter, and explained my situation and placed our order completely in his hands. It turns out that the ordering method is very much like Hotpot, you order various types of sliced meats, select your vegetables, and maybe some tofu options. The waiter then brings out your order with the various ingredients placed on individual platters for your inspection. Unlike Hotpot where you basically do the cooking yourself, the waiter then takes your selection of meat and veggies back into the kitchen where the chef quickly stir fries it in a large metallic pan with hot red peppers and various Chinese spices, before returning the dish, still in the metal pan, onto a burner in the centre of your table which keeps it warm for the duration of your meal.

Since W can not handle spicy foods at all, I did my best in asking the waiter to make it as mild as possible. However, what arrived at our table looked about as spicy as it gets, with large hot red chilies appearing the be the dominant flavouring in our dish. We had ordered sliced pork, beef, as well as lotus root, tofu skins, and sliced winter melon. Our meal was accompanied by a bowl of white rice, and a few cans of "Wang Lao Jin," a type of Chinese iced tea, to help wash the spicy food down. While I didn't find it too bad, poor W was sweating buckets from the heavy handed spices. The beef was tender and almost falling apart, I found the pork a little tough to chew, and the vegetables soaked up the flavours nicely. There was so much food it could have easily been shared amongst 4-5 people, and in fact many of our neighboring tables were doing just that. We left the restaurant feeling very much satisfied and our bellies nice and round. And the best part of the meal? The bill. After everything it came out to around 120 yuan, approximately $15 CAD, and had we gone with more friends it would've been an even better bargain.

I'm hoping to try out the famous Szechuan Hotpot sometime this weekend or next week. It's a craze that's swept throughout China and can now be found creeping into North America. Fortunes have been made, built on Hotpot empires. So even though I doubt I'll get the chance to gain in such fortunes myself, there is no reason why I cannot at least indulge in the flavours from which they were made.

London - Oh Yum Dim Sum!

I love dim sum.

To me its always been associated with lazy weekend afternoons, sleeping in, talking as loud and expressively as you want, lots of wild hand gesturing, ordering ridiculous amounts of perfectly bite sized, and very pretty if not weird looking, food, eating aforementioned ridiculous amounts of food, having the push-cart ladies convince you to order more food when you can’t even finish what’s on the table, and large family gatherings where someone inevitably says something wrong, resulting in one (or more) person storming out of the restaurant, an awkward silence and then a sudden mad rush to settle the bill.

Okay, so maybe that last association wasn’t exactly picturesque, but hey – family is family. It is understandable then that it was rather difficult having a “dim sum” restaurant directly across from where I was working in London and not immediately run over and gorge myself silly. So, why the quotation marks around the words dim sum? And why didn’t I make a mad dash over?

It was too pretty.

Seriously.

I’m used to walking up dark narrow staircases to reach dim florescent-lit rooms with disgruntled looking middle aged women practically yelling their offerings to you; or overtly bright rooms where one finds painted gold dragons upon the wall, red signage inscribed with Chinese calligraphy, imitation scroll paintings, fish tanks, or all of the above. Even at the more upscale dim sum locations, such as Kirin in downtown Vancouver, there is still that typical white tablecloth Chinese restaurant vibe. Ping Pong is none of those things.

Ping Pong is a successful chain of restaurants in London, with several locations in prime areas all about the city, serving up “little steamed parcels of deliciousness.” I dined at the original Ping Pong located in Soho, right on Great Marlborough Street just around the corner from the fashionable Carnaby Street. Designed by architect David Marquardt, the restaurant is stunning; the place looks and feels like a study in minimalistic, Asian, feng shui design. From the front of the restaurant where large open windows let natural light into the entire front dining area, dominated by a large, curved, sushi-bar like counter, behind which stand the chefs working in billowing clouds of steam, preparing your meal; to the interior of the restaurant with its fluid, airy open design, glossy black lacquered tables, and suspended diffused lighting. The most impressive focal point of the room, however, is a glass enclosed square in the middle of the dining room that, on the gorgeous spring day we were there, filled the room with so much sun, one could’ve easily forgotten they were indoors.



Strangely missing from Ping Pong are the Chinese people, there basically aren’t any. Usually, that’s a very, very bad sign when it comes to Asian dining; but I figured this is London, there just aren’t that many of us, and Ping Pong never did say anything about authenticity. Gone are the rude, loud, ladies and their pushcarts, instead your bamboo baskets of steamed goodies arrive on the well balanced tray of good looking, indifferent, accented French waiters dressed in chic black head to toe. The décor is, in my opinion, more Japanese in essence than Chinese, and yelling or wild hand gesturing is a definite social no-no. The menu is collection of fairly standard dim sum items, some reinterpreted and redone “eurostyle.” There are no chicken feet or various animal digestive parts to be found here, they don’t even have egg tarts. Blasphemy! At least that’s probably what most of you dim sum lovers out there are thinking. I was curious though. How do you westernize dim sum? Well, let me be the one to tell you, it’s actually not half bad.

Firstly, order the jasmine tea. Yes, it’s an exorbitant price to pay for tea that tastes like the free stuff they serve in any other Chinese restaurant. However, those teas come in a disposable tea bag, dunked into a cracked tea pot that never pours properly; the Jasmine tea at Ping Pong comes in a tall clear glass, the “tea leaf” is an entire blossom head dried perfectly round that gradually “blooms” as it soaks in the hot water. I know. I’m a total sucker for aesthetics. Then I would strongly recommend going with one of the set meals as they are a good deal – each includes a baked puff, sticky rice, several types of dumplings, and dessert. Of course, you can always just order off the a la carte menu and share amongst yourselves…but I would really only do that only with a minimum party of four so you can try a larger range of items from the menu. I ordered the mixed menu that came with 2 baked puffs, 2 each of the following dumplings: Chive, Spicy Pork, Seafood, and Crystal, sticky rice and two scoops of ice cream.



With lunch around £20 per person, you’re definitely paying a little extra for the location and ambiance. I felt that the food definately fell short of expectations- the flavors underdeveloped in several dishes and non-existent in others; but I was pleasantly surprised by the nice balance that was struck in a few of the items, such as the Chive dumplings and Seafood tortellini. Both items benefiting greatly from the fusion of Western/European forms and elements with traditional dim sum ingredients and flavors. Authentic it is not, for that I would head over to Royal China in Canary Wharf, but in keeping with what I said in my review of Amaya, sometimes a little innovation is good thing, and Ping Pong wins me over in both concept and design, but fails to deliver with its cuisine.

Ping Pong (Original Location)

45 Great Marlborough Street, Soho

London, W1F 7JL
Tel 020 7851 6969

Tube Station: Oxford Circus

She returns.

Four weeks, four countries, five major cities, three minor cities and lots and lots of food. Some good, some bad, some very very bad, but there were a few highlights worth mentioning and that I plan on happily sharing with you all here. So for those of you who've been nice enough to drop by while I was gone, I thank you for your patience and promise that I will post up stories from my travels very soon along with pictures, of course.

In the meantime, I won't leave you with nothing, I'd like to introduce you to a very talented pastry chef by the name of Blair Fukumura. He is based in Toronto and, though I've not had the good fortune of sampling any of it, I absolutely love his work. It's witty, clever, funny, and doesn't take itself too seriously. However, don't be mistaken, the guy is a master in his art, everything he makes is undeniably impressive and well...awesome. Here is a link to the pilot episode of A Piece of Cake, a show featuring him and what he does best, that was being shopped to the Canadian Food Network. Unfortunately, the network's apparently on the fence about the show, so if you're like me and think it'd make an amazing show then I encourage you to take the time to send them a quick email encouraging them to add it to their lineup next season.

That's all for today, but do drop by again soon as I'll be adding more updates very soon!

A Sandwich for the Ladies Who Lunch...

Sandwiches you say? Of course not!

What a preposterous notion that London's fancy ladies should eat such drab, regular fare. However, replace the "brown or white" with French Poilâne, knock off the top slice, pile on some unconventional toppings and give it a fancy drizzle of a balsamico or olive oil, and voila! Leave it to the French to take open faced sandwiches to the next level. Even the name sounds better - "Tartine."

Of course the tartine is not just for fancy well-heeled ladies, everyone can enjoy a tartine. It's very common all over Paris, where the Parisians (who definitely know how to make the best of a good thing) have it for lunch, a quick mid-day snack, or even a light dinner. In London, however - judging from the regular stream of Knightsbridge socialites, waifish Kate's, and well groomed suits that pack the front bar during cocktail hour - the owners of Tartine have managed to make this everyday french fare into almost something of a epicurian fashion statement Most of the women look like they would rather lose an arm than allow evil-carbs to pass their carefully glossed lips.

Well, their loss is my gain, because the food at Tartine is actually very good. Maneuver your way past the thick cloud of cigarette smoke enveloping the front bar by those-who-shall-not-eat-but-drink, and to the back is a very comfortable and cozy area for dining. By the time some of you read this, Britain's indoor smoking ban, effective July 1st, 2007, may have already come into effect and therefore you lucky-ducks will not have to take a few breaths of cancer before your meal. But I digress....back to the meal.

The menu contains over a dozen different types of tartines, with toppings ranging from wild mushrooms, pink prawns, and crab meat, to Moroccan spiced lamb, shredded duck, or smoked salmon. All you vegetarians out there will be happy to know that the Wild Mushroom tartine is one of the best combinations on the menu - which is exactly what I ordered.

A word of warning, before your tartine comes out the staff usually bring over a "house salad" as a starter. I place the term in quotations because as someone who has come to appreciate really great salads, what they place in front of you is an insult to the term "salad." It's basically a few pieces of frilly frisee and leaf lettuce served with a rather bland lemon vinaigrette. I've taken to asking them to skip serving me the salad because I can't stand wasting food (there's starving children in Africa you know?), and if they put it in front of me those sad UNICEF faces guilt-trip me into actually eating it.

So, choke down the salad if you have to because I promise it gets better from there. The tartines are made with French Poilâne - the internationally famous french sourdough bread, lightly toasted with olive oil and then piled on with some rather inventive combinations of fresh and seasonal ingredients. The specials menu is a good place to start, their soups are always pretty good, but the pastas can be hit-or-miss. My top picks from the menu have to be the Wild Mushroom (as mentioned earlier) and the Shredded Duck tartine. If you're a seafood lover, I'd suggest avoiding the Pink Prawn tartine. My friend V ordered it one night and it tasted...well it didn't taste great. When you order your tartines, the waitress will almost always ask if you'd like an order of fries to share. Throw your diets out the window and say "yes," because they are some pretty fantastic fries. Ask for a side of mayonnaise and ketchup and promise yourself you'll eat salad tomorrow.

The wine list is rather short, but roughly half the list is available by the glass, bottles are very affordable, so one needn't break the bank to enjoy a few glasses here. Depending on how much you drink, and I guess how much you eat as well, the bill can vary quite drastically. But if you're on a budget it is still very possible to keep your meal under £15, with VAT and 12 % service charge included. Which, for dinner in South Kensington, is almost a steal.

Overall, Tartine is not without it's flaws; but it is still one of my favorite places for a quick bite in London. The restaurant is never so loud that conversation becomes impossible, the service is always quick and polite, and it is tucked away in one of the nicest neighborhoods in London. With a little direction when it comes to ordering, and a bit of luck getting seated at a roomy corner table, it's the perfect place to go with friends to share a simple but delicious meal, glasses of wine, and lots of conversation.

Tartine

114 Draycott Avenue

London SW3 3AE
Tel 020 7589 4981

Fax 020 7589 5048

Tube Station: Knightsbridge or South Kensington

Draw me a lunch please.

I was lead to Sketch by my friend V one random Saturday afternoon as we strolled the shops along Oxford Street. He had heard of the place through some work colleagues and upon seeing it, I realized I'd also come across it a few times during my time in London, though I'd never ventured in. The restaurant is a rather venturous concept by Algerian-born restaurateur Mourad Mazouz and French chef Pierre Gagnaire. Mazouz is well known in the UK for his phenomenally successful restaurant Momo, an off-beat North African restaurant he opened in 1997. Pierre Gagnair is an icon of the culinary world, having been at the forefront of the fusion movement where he revolutionized French cooking. His eponymous, 3 Michelin Starred restaurant in Paris is consistently voted one of the top restaurants in the industry.

Of course, I knew nothing of this at the time; all I knew was that the menu looked interesting and I was very hungry. The restaurant itself is divided into five rooms: the West Bar, the Parlour, the Lecture Room and Library, the East Bar and the Gallery. In 2005, the Lecture Room and Library at Sketch earned its first Michelin Star for its Pierre Gagnaire's unique use of ingredients and combination of flavours. V and I dined in the the artsy West Bar and settled upon their 3-course prix-fixe lunch menu. Here is what we dined on:

Organic Salmon - Slow cooked organic salmon, white cabbage salad, iced green apple juice and coriander. I loved the combination of apple and salmon, it was so light and refreshing, a very enjoyable starter.

Chicken Breast - Organic chicken breast flavoured with citrus; almond cream and grapefruit juice, spring cabbage, passion fruit and creamy French beans. I apologize for the blurry picture, I'd forgotten my camera at home that day so had to make do with the one on my blackberry.

Sea Bream - Grilled fillet of sea bream and crispy bellota ham, tomato, basil and garlic crouton. They really managed to pack in a lot of flavour into this tiny piece of fish. I liked the simplicity of this course.

Chocolate Cake - Layers of chocolate cake separated by alternating layers of various flavoured mousse. Again, apologizes for the blurry picture.

Okay, so I'm not quite sure exactly what this was called. It was basically a sponge cake with layers of what appeared to be apple reduction of some sort, encased in a crisp meringue shell. As I'm an absolute sucker for any dessert with apples in it, this dessert gets bonus points from me on both presentation and sheer deliciousness.

Overall, I wasn't exactly blown away by the food. It was good, and I really enjoyed the playfulness Gagnaire has with mixing flavours and ingredients, and for a lunch that ran about £30 each it was almost a bargain. I think I may just have to plan a meal in the Lecture Room and Library next time for a more intimate foray into Gagnaire's culinary experimentation's. One suggestion I do have if you do take in a meal at Sketch, is to definitely make a point to visit their bathrooms. Individual egg-shaped pods, clustered together at opposite ends of an open space above the futuristic bar, make for a very amusing trip to the loo. Currently, the 1,819-square-foot Gallery is showcasing a solo-exhibition by Damon Packard called "Lost in the Thinking;" which is ' a retrospective of Packard's shorts, features and fictional trailers that appropriate and revel in the vocabulary of 1970's Hollywood movies and classic sci-fi flicks.' Personally, I didn't get it. To me it just looked like a bunch of random dark and disconnected images flashed on massive white walls, accompanied by bad music, in a massive empty room with big, modern, lounging sofas. But hey, that's just me.

Sketch is definitely a visual and gastronomic spectacle - a unique fusion of art, food, and music. Is it a bit much? Perhaps. Entertaining? Most definitely. If you find yourself in London debating where to have lunch, and wanting something to go home and tell your friends about, make a trip to Sketch - it really is a dining experience like no other.

Sketch
9 Conduit Street, Mayfair
London, W1S 2XG
Tel 0870 777 4488
Fax 0870 777 4400
Tube Station: Oxford Circus or Bond Street

So let us begin with a star...

A Michelin Star to be exact.

What better way to start off my first restaurant review than a dinner at a multiple award winning restaurant in one of London's most exclusive districts. The night was meant to be a "farewell London" dinner, but events in the past week have turned it into more of a celebratory dinner, which suited me just fine. I went with my friend B, who recommended the restaurant, having dined there several times already and had yet to be disappointed. Knowing her love of the cuisine, I trusted her judgement and told her to make the call.

Ten minutes and a quick text later - we had reservations for 7:30pm, Saturday night, at Amaya.

The restaurant is from the brainchild trio behind uber-successful Veeraswamy, Chutney Mary and Masala Zones. Since opening in 2004, Amaya has had no shortage of praise thrown at it and almost just as much criticism. In 2006, the restaurant was awarded a Star in the Michelin Red Guide, firmly establishing its status as one of the best non-European restaurants in London. With a ZIP code in one of London's most exclusive neighborhoods, along the border of Knightsbridge and Belgravia, the place is definitely not your typical Indian restaurant. Forget the elaborately, old-world, and just a slight leaning towards tacky decorating that seems to be the standard of most Indian restaurants. Amaya is all modern chic. The lavish dining room is a mix of sleek black accents, rosewood, vibrant red panels and Agra red sandstone, decorated with terracotta sculptures and minimalistic Italian leather chairs. Dim, candle-lit, mood lighting sets the tone for what is an undeniably stylish space catered to a fashionable and glitzy clientele.

Stretching along the back of Amaya, and definitely its main focal point, is the restaurants dramatic open-plan kitchen; housing three different grilling stations: the tandoori, the sigri and the tawa, it provides diners with an excellent view of their meals being prepared. When we arrived it was still relatively early and the restaurant had only a sprinkling of guests. Apparently, the restaurant has a no kids rule after eight, but being Easter long weekend it appeared to have been largely ignored as there were quite a few tables with kids. There were also quite a few flashily dressed women with their well-moneyed men, as well as one very peculiar mute couple that ate their entire meal in silence.

The menu at Amaya might be a little bit of a shocker for most people walking in expecting a typical Indian list of vegetable dishes, curies, and sides. Instead, Amaya's menu is divided into four sections, one for each type of grill- the tadoor, the sigri, and the tawa, as well as a small section of curries and biryanis. The food for the most part consists of small plates, designed to be shared tapas-style amongst the diners at the table. Since the restaurants speciality was pretty obvious, we focused our attentions on items from the grill. Luckily for me, since B was fairly familiar with the menu, I didn't have to agonize too much over what items to order.

After our order was placed, and glasses were 'clinked' (champagne for B, and a mimosa for me), the waiter brought over four little ceramic containers containing two different chutneys and two kinds of spices. We began with two different kinds of tikkas - chicken and monkfish. The chunks of chicken with a paprika marinade were juicy and tasty, nothing spectacular though. However, the bright yellow curried round balls of monkfish, cooking in fenugreek and leaf tumeric were absolutely fantastic. The fish was perfectly flaky and moist, almost falling apart on the tongue, the flavours were fully infused into the fish and the curried spice not overpowering. Both the chicken and monk fish were beautifully presented, and came skewered with what I can only describe as glamorized toothpicks. Next up was the spiced aubergine, a little sweet and tangy with just a hint of heat, there were definitely no complaints there. The show stealer of the night, however, was most definitely the Leg of Baby Lamb; the leg meat was shredded and presented with the bone, incredibly tender and coated in a wonderful light sauce, it was absolutely delicious. Last to come was our rice pilaf and dahl. The dahl was actually very good, but having had the misfortune of arriving after the lamb it really didn't stand much of a chance to shine.

Doesn't look like much food does it? That's what I thought when we were placing our order, but B assured me that it'd be more than enough and it's a good thing I listened. We were both so stuffed by the end that neither of us could bring ourselves to finish off the dahl. Within a few minutes of clearing our plates, our ever attentive waiter (perhaps just a tad bit too attentive) eagerly brought over the dessert menu. The desserts all looked amazing. If you're anything like me, someone who can't "plan" ahead while their eating in order to save room for the last course, then I'm happy to inform you there is a dessert on the menu that is just perfect for people like us. At just 40 calories and no added sugar, even the most waistline obsessed can have one, its their Pomegranate Granita. Served in a martini glass, it was a very appropriate finale to a distinctly different kind of Indian meal.

I can see why some are less than impressed by this rather ambitious and divergent take on Indian cuisine. The prices are not for the faint at heart, portions are (to put it kindly) dainty, and whether its as a result from the area it's located in or the general clientele, it almost comes across as a bit pretentious. Amaya, in all its slinky decor and elevated interpretations on traditional Indian street fare, defies all the traditional western stereotypes of what Indian food is and how it should be. Indeed, the restaurant has been criticized for diverging too far from from tradition and adopting, perhaps, just a bit too much of the western aesthetic. And while I'm generally not one to scoff at tradition, I love a good 'ol spicy vindaloo any day, I do think it's exciting to see someone tamper with it and manage to pull it off so successfully in all aspects - presentation, flavour, ingredients, and setting. Like everything food should evolve. Otherwise, it becomes static and what was once "traditional" eventually becomes just plain boring.

It's about time that a cuisine as aromatic and complex as Indian, has begun to gain recognition amongst the gourmet elite. True, it's undergone a bit of a make-over, and had a few extra $ symbols added to its reviews, but in my opinion Amaya deserves the praise for giving us something fresh, exciting, and a decidedly different experience in Indian dining. Although, a few extra tikki skewers apiece wouldn't hurt.

Amaya
Halkin Arcade, Motcomb Street
Knightsbridge, SW1X 8JT
Tel 020 7823 1166
Fax 020 7259 6464
Tube Station : Knightsbridge

London - Imperial China

In Vancouver, British Columbia, there is a restaurant called No.9 in an area called Richmond that is basically open 24 hours, 365 days of the year, and it is almost always busy. The fact that it is a Chinese restaurant should not surprise you. Now why should I mention a restaurant in Vancouver when I’m writing up a review of one in London? Its because anyone that has been to Vancouver knows that it is home to some of the best Asian cuisine outside of Hong Kong and the rest of South East Asia. Now, No.9 is not a fancy restaurant, or even a nice one. The service staff are efficient (in other words rude), the décor is sparse (florescent lighting and wobbly tables), and during busy hours its not unusual to be jammed in so tightly with a neighboring table your chair backs touch. So why, besides the fact its one of the few places open at 5am, do so many people continue to go there? It’s because the food is cheap, it’s tasty, and it’s consistent. There is nothing special about this place, it is just another one of the hundreds of Chinese restaurants in Vancouver, and like so many others a little cracked vinyl, chipped teapots, spots on the white tablecloth, all are easily ignored because…well…the food tastes good. Now, lets get back to London.

In London, there are some good Chinese restaurants. I’m not saying they don’t exist, just that they are few and far between. I find that it is also fairly safe to say that when it comes to Chinese food in London you do get what you pay for, and often a great Chinese meal will set you back more than just a few pounds. More common are the Anglo-Chinese restaurants where Sweet & Sour Pork, Lemon Chicken, and House Special Fried Rice reign supreme. So to say my expectations going into Imperial China were low would be an understatement of the grossest sort. Even as I crossed the little wooden bridge leading to the entrance of the restaurant surrounded by a pretty oriental style garden with its own mini waterfall and fish pond– a reminder, this is still in central London – I was already bracing myself for a meal of various glowing neon colours.

Inside the crowd was a fairly equal mix of Asians and Europeans, an encouraging sight. The restaurant was very dimly lit. It’s possible they were aiming a romantic vibe, mood lighting for first dates, but I found the overall effect a little closer to someone trying to shave a few pounds off their electric bill. The waiters were all dressed in black Mao suits with red piping, and while I’m not sure if it convinced me that the place was any more authentic, I did find myself wanting a set to lounge around the house in.

For dinner we went with tried and true Ma Po Tofu, a recommended Taiwanese Style Chicken, Yin-Yang Rice, and some Bak Choy with Oyster Sauce. Our waiter was quick to try and recommend some of the pricier items on the menu, perhaps we should have taken his advice, but we were pretty set in our choices and just wanted a no-fuss Chinese meal. The food came out fairly quickly and, contrary to the most common complaint of luke-warm dishes in many diner reviews, they were nice and hot out of the kitchen. First to arrive were the Ma Po Tofu and Yin-Yang Rice. The tofu was surprisingly very good, exceptionally silky and smooth, not too salty and with a nice amount of heat to it. Unfortunately, the rest of the dishes fell short of positive praise. Yin-yang rice was a murky orange ketchup sauce with a counterpart white sauce that possessed almost no flavour at all, the Bak Choy was somewhat overcooked, a little stringy, and much too salty, whereas the Taiwanese Style Chicken, served in a clay pot, was ruined by the overwhelming amount of star anise in the cooking process.

While I can’t say that it was a bad meal, I’d be hard pressed to say that it was a good meal. At this present time I think I’ll leave it with a neutral opinion, there are enough good reviews of the place floating around out there to convince me of a second venture before passing any solid judgments. The service was good, the décor ambitious, and the food while not exactly authentic or life changing, still managed to satisfy our Chinese cravings and we left not entirely disappointed. For less than £10/person I think it was a good value, and if for not other reason than that, deserving of a second chance. Don’t we all?

Imperial China
25a Lisle Street
London, WC2H 7BA
Tel 020 7734 3388
Fax 020 7734 3833
Tube Station : Leicester Square

London: Borough Market

Every weekend, at the southern end of London Bridge, hundreds upon hundreds of Londoners, tourists, and food enthusiasts of all shapes and sizes, gather to taste and explore the gastronomic delicacies offered in London's famed Borough Market. So what is it that makes this particular market a cultural phenomenon, hailed by celebrity chefs, and setting it apart as one of the most famous food markets in the world? If 4.5 acres of Britain's finest local produce and artisan foods - such as black truffle terrines, towering mounds of award winning cheeses of every shape, taste, and texture, air-dried cumbrian lamb, buckets of olives and gourmet olive oils, wild boar steaks, mammoth sized ostrich eggs, English apple cider, beers from around the world, fine French winse, fresh organic breads, hand shucked oysters, fois gras, and hand made cocoa dusted truffles - aren't enough for you, then there is always the history behind it.


The history of Borough Market can be traced back to AD 43 when the Romans, led by Aulus Plautus, en route to sacking the city discovered the market on south bank of the Thames. There the Romans built the first London Bridge and whilst the Romans were followed by various successors, Borough Market continued to grow and flourish, welding itself into the bustling scene around the bridge. However, by 1272 the traffic from the market was becoming a rather significant nuisance, causing major congestion problems on London Bridge. A few hundred years later, Edward III passed a series of Royal Charters (in 1406, 1442 and 1462), moving the market a few hundred meters up and along the south side of the bridge to little or no effect. Apparently, road-rage from around the area helped deposit more than a few residents into two of London's most infamous prisons -The Clink and The Marshalsea. The poor City of London, thoroughly frustrated and exhausted, petitioned Parliament in 1754 to remove from themselves the responsibility of controlling the area. In 1756, an Act of Parliament granted the parishioners of St. Saviors church to move the market to its current location.

These days Borough Market is a registered Charity organization, run by a board of Trustees, with the aim of "providing relief of the rates for the inhabitants of the parish of St Saviour’s (Southwark Cathedral)." Recently, the market celebrated 250 years of trading at its current site and indeed it has much to celebrate. Not only is it widely recognized as the "Best Market in the Country", Borough Market is rapidly becoming a well know foodie-desination around the world.

Indeed the market is full of charm, if it were a man I'd marry it in a second. What with its bustling english vibe, merchants lined side by side , customers crammed into each other, each vying for that last parcel of hand picked morel mushrooms, the energy of the place filling your head with a pleasant buzz - or is that the sugar high from consuming one too many strawberry tarts and turkish delights? On gorgeous sunny days the bars spill out with people of all ages, pint in one hand and maybe a delectible little nibble from the market in the other. And with spring having come upon London almost overnight, beautiful fresh cut flowers, with their vibrantly coloured blooms, have been added to the great many other treasures one can find in the Market.

All the public accolade and atomospheric allure aside, however, in the end it comes down to the one basic element that started it all - the food. Without the dedicated merchants of Borough, who each believe so strongly in providing only the freshest produce, sourcing the best ingredients, and their focus on quality over quantity, the market would not consistently draw and encourage initial visitors, such as myself, to make themselves, or wish themseles, a regular.

From me to you.

Dear Friend,

Yes, "friend." How do I know that you are indeed a friend? Well, if you have come to this page and are reading these words, it is highly likely the result of humoring a request from a pesky little girl you know; perhaps, one with a penchant for full bodied reds and rich french cuisine, who swoons at the sight of anything containing the words "carmalized" or "truffle" (not necessarily in combination with each other). However, if you are here not as a result of my pestering, then I welcome you warmly and hope you'll stay as both a reader and a friend. Making new friends is always exciting.

So what am I doing here, setting up my own little corner in the blogosphere? The explanation though, far from exciting and ground breaking I'm afraid, is actually very simple:

I wanted to share.

A few weeks ago, I sat fork in a bowl of red beet salad with aged balsalmic, thinking about how I haven't shared a single meal with either of my two oldest and dearest friends in almost a year. Sad isn't it? It's nobody's fault, just part of being this age and at this stage in our lives. The experiences I've had this year, opportunities I never dared to seriously hope for, travels to places I never thought I'd see, food encounters that, literally, left me speechless...so much, and yet, in the madness of day-to-day life I've kept them all to myself. Most of what I do end up sharing are but the bare-bones of the actual story, kind of like a book with nothing left but the rotted old spine and a few ratty title pages. The real flesh of the stories is lost in the mad rush of busy schedules dashing off in opposite directions.

So, to sum it all up, this is a place for me to sit, nurse a cup of tea, think, mull, think some more, and write. No more bare-bones (even if they are good for making stocks, j/k). Most of what you'll find here will circulate around my passion for food. There will be the occasional review of restaurants I know and love, new places I discover and glimpses of little culinary pockets around the world as I occasionally pack up my bags and skip town. I'm no professional chef and not, by any measure, an expert in the culinary or gastronomic world. I am simply just a girl that has a great appreciation for good food. Of course, it won't always be about food. Food is just something I've found to be such a great medium for conversation, love, laughter and sharing.

This is for you my friends.

Much Love,

Pingy