Wimbledon 21st of June

I have lived in London for over 10 years and never been to Wimbledon..shame on me! So, guess if i was happy when i was offered 3 hospitality tickets to the first day this year!
So, tickets in hand i went with 2 friends.. arriving at the Gatsby club at Wimbledon in time for some lunch.
We had a nice glass of champagne and i then started with salmon and salmon mousse served with brioche. It was nice but not very memorable.



My main however was very nice. Chicken stuffed with morels and a lovely jus. Very nice!


The dessert was very summery and nice. Actually reminded me of a Swedish "Princess Cake" with a sponge cake filled with strawberries, custard and cream and a pink layer of marzipan on the outside.


After watching Federer play and win we went back to the club for afternoon tea. Had some nice little sandwiches followed by scones and all the trimmings.. it was a lovely day indeed!

Villa Kennedy in Frankfurt - 20th of June

We flew to Frankfurt on the 19th of June to go to a 10 year wedding anniversary party.. and wow, what a party it was! We stayed at the Villa Kennedy in Frankfurt which was stunning!

http://www.villakennedyhotel.de/

Nothing beats a good breakfast after a big party (and too much champagne) and Villa Kennedy did not disappoint. The choice from the buffet was endless and it took me forever to pick.. we then ordered fried eggs and bacon from the egg menu and i had to take a picture of course...pretty as a picture :0)

Taste of London - 18th of June

We go to Taste of London in Regent's park every year and i really enjoy it.. especially when the sun is shining and you can sit in one of the pop up bars and sip some pimm's .. for the last couple of years the weather gods have not been our side though.. no change this year. There was a light drizzle of rain the whole evening so we had to keep busy trying the food and keep out of the rain. There was plenty of tasty offering available as usual and plenty of celebrity chefs around which is always fun. I managed to take some photos of the food and here is what i had:

Deep fried courgette flower stuffed with goats cheese and drizzled with honey. Very nice!

Cured and barbequed salmon with pressed cucumber, avocado and horseradish.. from Maze.. simply amazing!

Spit roast suckling pig with black summer truffles from Launceston Place. Very nice and great presentation... and lots of shaved truffles..Mmmmm

Mexican doughnuts with butterscotch sauce and champagne sorbet from Asia de Cuba. I have actually eaten them before in the restaurant and i loved them. They were a little bit doughy this time around for me.

This was a great beef dish.. but i can't remember where from.. need to look it up and update!

I also had some handmade pasta with braised lamb shoulder, peccorino and summer truffle.. but no photo of that dish. It was very tasty and came from Mennula.

Adrian's birthday dinner at Santa Maria del Sur - 12th of June

My friend's husband has wanted to go to Santa Maria del Sur http://www.santamariadelsur.co.uk/index.html ever since Gordon Ramsey's TV program that searched for Britain's best restaurant. Santa Maria was one of the contenders with their Argentinian beef, grilled over open flames in the kitchen. However, being on TV also means that you can't get a table for months and months.. so my friend Karin finally managed to get a reservation for an early dinner only at 6:15pm on the 12th of June.. we didn't realise it until a week prior to the dinner but England was also playing the USA that evening in the World cup!
So upon arrival our partners were ever so quick in ordering food and drink in order to eat and move on to a pub to watch the footie.. charming! ;-)

Anyway.. none of the starters looked enticing so we all ended skipping starters and ordering big hunks meat for mains instead with sides of chips and sauces. This is actually a very rustic restaurant that has very good argentinian meat.. and that is what you come here for. The atmosphere is great and they have lots of nice red wines on the menu. We were too full for dessert and left to watch the second half of the football.. turns out we didn't miss much ;-)

Dinner at Bertorelli with Hannah (10th of June)

Met up with my friend Hannah for a catch up over dinner and to celebrate her belated birthday.

After a martini or two at "Dirty Martini" in Covent Garden (£4 during Happy hour) we went to Bertorelli's for some food.

We decided to have some olives and chillies stuffed with cream cheese together with
Crescentine e parmigiano (Pizza dough fritters). We were quite surprised when the fritters arrived.. for some reason we didn't think that they would be deep fried. I guess we have both been to Pizza express too many times since we had assumed they would be more like dough balls.. anyway.. we had a few but they were very calorific so there was no way we could eat them all.

For main i had the Ravioli with ricotta, spinach and parmesan with a lemon and sage butter and Hannah had a Risotto with queen scallops and pancetta.

We had a nice catch up and i finally stumbled home and into bed at 11pm :-)

Work lunch at Zizzi's (8th of June)

Just realised that i forgot to write about my work lunch at Zizzi's! We had PA colleagues visiting our London office from Geneva and Rome - so a lunch was of course on the cards.

I booked Zizzi's around the corner in Covent Garden and printed out some vouchers (offer was 2 mains for £12 - not bad!)

Zizzi's in Covent garden has recently had a makeover and it now looks so much better then it used to. They also spruced up their menu with some new dishes.

I went for one of their "Rustica" pizza's called Piccante which had spicy sausage, salami, mushrooms, mozzarella, mascarpone, chili and rocket on it.

The pizza was huge and very tasty but i could only finish half of it.

Tennis at Queen's and Kings Road Steakhouse (8th of June)

Went to Queen's after work with friends to watch some tennis. We were so lucky and got to see both Murray and Roddick play in one evening - not bad!

We then went for a late dinner at Kings Road Steakhouse and Grill by Marco Pierre White http://www.kingsroadsteakhouseandgrill.org/ Nice restaurant and of course plenty of steaks to choose from.

For starter i had a beetroot and goats cheese salad with caramellised walnuts. It was very good and pretty as a picture.

I then had a ribeye steak (medium) which was huge! served with bearnaise sauce and grilled mushroom / beef tomato. Nice!

All in all an excellent evening out!

Home made Mushroom soup! (7th of June)

I have a thing about kitchen gadgets and our cupboards have anything from waffle makers, ice cream machines and smoothie makers. I have however wanted a Stick blender for a long time and after convincing my boyfriend that it will be a doddle to make breakfast smoothies with it - he finally agreed (instead of using the blender/smoothie maker that is a pain to clean).

I have been experimenting making soups and i now have 2 clear favorites, the asparagus and pea soup and the one i did on Monday, mushrooom soup with truffle oil! Both takes under 15 min to make.. almost as quick as heating up a shop bought Covent Garden soup :-)

Anyway, here is my recipe for the mushroom soup (note that quantities are estimated since i very rarely measure)

Mushroom soup - (for 2 greedy people)

- 1 punnet chestnut mushrooms

- 1 punnet button mushrooms

- 1 tbsp of olive oil for frying

- 1 red onion

- 1/2 a red chili (chopped)

- few sprigs of thyme

- 1/2 liter of water

- 1 tbsp of Knorr conc.chicken stock (liquid)

- 1 tbsp of Knorr conc.vegetable stock (liquid)

- 3 tbsp of double cream

- salt & pepper

- truffle oil

Chop and fry the onion until soft in a little olive oil, add the Mushrooms (cleaned and quartered) but hold back a handful. continue to fry until the mushrooms are cooked and add the thyme, then the water and stock. Simmer for a few minutes and then take of the heat. Use the stick blender until you have a smooth consistency then add the double cream, season with salt and pepper to taste. Fry the remaining mushrooms in a pan with a little of the olive oil, then add thyme, salt and pepper.

Gently re-heat the soup. Pour into bowls, carefully add the fried mushrooms on top, drizzle with some truffle oil and eat! YUM

Sunday Brunch at Giant Robot (6th of June)

We decided to go and try out a brand spanking new Diner that opened up in Farringdon on Sunday called Giant Robot (http://www.london-eating.co.uk/37510.htm ) for brunch.

I think this is my new favorite brunch place from now on.. never been to a diner where you can buy pancakes for £1.40 per pancake.. so if you only want one you can have just one.. no need for a full portion! Anyway.. on this occasion i went for the full english.. and i was not disappointed.. it was fab! Definately going back!

BBQ in the Sunshine on a Saturday afternoon (5th of June)

After yesterday's meal at Launceston Place we decided to have a BBQ at Karin's house. In addition to the usual sausages and burgers we also did some fish. One of them being fish in foil.

we just thinly sliced some fennel (note: you really need to slice it thinly so it cooks in time) sliced some spring onions and chili, add some cod fillets and top with lemon slices, salt, pepper, butter and white wine. Seal the foil packet and put it on the BBQ for 10 - 15 min depending on the thickness of the fish. Very nice!

We also decided to reproduce yesterday's rice pudding souffle.. so Karin made some basic rice pudding in the morning (needs to cool) and we then whisked up eggwhites with sugar and folded through. Filled some buttered and sugared ramekins and cooked in the oven for 10-12 min.. and voila! They were fab!!! Do i dare to say that they were on par with the ones last night? We still need to work on the presentation since the ramekins were too big and we couldn't fill them to the top. (you would then take a palett knife and make the surface flat - they then rise evenly and create a tophat effect). Anyway, for a first attempt it was fine... and the flavor and texture was spot on!

Launceston Place

One of my favorite restaurants in London is Launceston Place (http://www.launcestonplace-restaurant.co.uk/) in Kensington where Tristan Welch is the head chef. Tristan appeared in Great British Menu last year and he does some really theatrical modern british cooking. Not a place you go to every week since it is not exactly cheap - but now and again it is worth treating yourself! ;-)

We went with some friends last Friday and we went for the 6 course tasting menu.

Here is what the evening entailed:

Nibbles of hand made crisps with holes in the middle that were tied together with ribbons.

Amuse bouche: youghurt sorbet with marinated cucumber. Very refreshing and clean flavors.

Raw marinated rainbow trout with cucumber, basil sorbet and and a clear tomato consomme (poured at the table). Absoutley beautiful dish.. i now have to start practise making basil sorbet at home!

Asparagus with a sunflower puree, sunflower seeds, snails and herb dressing. Loved the sunflower puree - never had that before. Never had snails either and they were OK :-)

West coast Scallop roasted with aromatic herbs. What can i say? Nothing beats a good scallop!

Celery sorbet, walnut moussse and apples. We had this dish last time too.. it is great!

Rose veal rump, nettles, pickled mushrooms and deep fried sweetbreads. Never had sweetbreads before.. and don't like the idea of them.. but deep fried like this - delicious!

Pre-dessert of Pimm's Jelly and champagen granita.

Rice pudding souffle with raspberry ripple ice cream. Again, we had this last time.. it is wonderful and very light and fluffy. The home made ice cream is divine.

As a parting gift us girls got a little box of Launceston Place's own hand made chocolate truffles (2) in a box. Nice touch! .. and nice truffles too...they were finished off in the car home!!

I really would recommend this restaurant for a special occasion!

The Bath House in the City

I had not seen my friends Ian and Fredrik for absolute ages and Fredrik who is much better than me when it comes to organising get togethers took charge and booked us in for dinner at the Bath House (http://www.thebathhousevenue.com/home.aspx) in the city on a Toptable deal (50% off the a la carte).

After a few drinks in the sun at a pub we headed to the restaurant which actually is and old Victorian bath house, dating back to 1894. We headed down the stairs into a very sumptuos and intimate dining room. It was hard to believe that we were still in the city of London!

So, what about the food... well, firstly we all loved the fact that the menu's were folded documents sealed with red wax!!!

For starters i had asparagus with a poached duck egg and crispy bacon bits.. have to admit that we were all so hungry that we forgot to take photos!

My main was a lamb rack with crushed potatoes, carrot puree, cabbage and gravy which definately hit the spot. Picture is a bit blurry since the lights were dimmed and my iphone doesn't have a flash - oh well :-)



None of us could manage dessert.

I really enjoyed this unusual venue and would go back again!

Dinner at Karin's

It is no secret that i love food.. both eating and making. Luckily my friend Karin is the same so we sometimes cook together and try out new recipes. So, last Sunday (30th of May) it was time again. I have been dying to try to make "goats cheese springrolls" for ages so that is what was on the menu as a starter.

To make them you just need some goats cheese, filo pastry and some red onion jam/chutney. I made my own which is super easy - just slice some red onion, fry until soft and then add some sugar and balsamic vinegar and let it caramelize. Then add some fresh thyme, salt and pepper to taste. To assemble you just roll out the filo, brush with melted butter, add some goats cheese and a spoonful of the cooled onion mix and then neatly roll up into a springroll shape (i am sure i will get better with practise). Then oven bake them for around 15 - 20 min or until crisp at around 220 centigrades.

I served them with some salad, fried pancetta, toasted walnuts and little french dressing.

Karin then did an amazing chicken dish - she painstakingly de-boned some chicken legs (skin on) and stuffed them with a mix of finely chopped onion, breadcrumbs, rosemary etc, then just sealed with a toothpick and oven baked them.. simply served with some oven roasted new potatoes, beetroot, spinach and a white wine sauce.. Very nice.

We also made an amazing strawberry semifreddo but it was so nice and fresh that we forgot to take a photo of it. Such a simple thing to do and tastes so fresh and creamy. Only has 4 ingredients (strawberries, whipped cream, icing sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice), freeze for a couple of hours and hey presto :-)

Kettners & Sex in the city 2

So last Friday was the opening day for SATC 2! It is always good to have an excuse to get the girls together so this time we decided to have an evening out with dinner and drinks prior to watching SATC 2.

I booked Kettners in Soho which was refurbished last year. I really like the kitch but stylish interior and i thought it was perfect for a girly get together. It was 7 of us in total and we had a lovely table in the middle of the room with beautiful candles on it.

Service was great and friendly which is a bonus! Food was good and everybody enjoyed themselves. I had mozzarella and chargrilled vegetables with a lemon oil as a starter (not bad but slightly bland) and Seabass with summer vegetables as a main which was very good. I have however noticed that i seem to have seabass everytime i go out so i will try to have something different next time - promise.

.. and what about SATC 2? Well, we all really enjoyed the movie - pure entertainment!

Aqua bar & restaurant

I love going to launch evenings tasting food and have a few free drinks - who doesn't? So when i got invited by the very cool Aqua restaurant and bar (http://www.aqua.com.hk/) to join them for the showcase of their summer terraces i immediatly said yes! My friend Helen agreed to come with me for a freebie evening too. So, if you haven't been to Aqua it is in the old Dickins & Jones building opposite Liberty's.

You take the lift up and then enter Aqua Spirit which is the bar area, with an asian theme.. next to it is Aqua Kyoto which is, an asian restaurant. It has also got a massive terrace with it's own bar. It is absolutely beautiful to sit with a glass of champagne (we had champagne bellinis with rose and lychees - yum) and eat some sushi in the sunshine. I am planning to go back again - that is for sure! We also went to the other restaurant at Aqua called Aqua Nueva (spanish) and they have 2 further terraces there too.. so plenty of space for everybody.

Incognico on Shaftesbury Avenue

I can't believe it has been a month since i last posted anything on here - have a bit of a catch up to do today then so there will be a couple of posts going up!

So, back on the 11th of May me and my partner decided to go and see Ironman 2 in the cinema (yes, it was good) and in order for us to not be disturbed by rumbling tummies during the movie we had a quick dinner beforehand. Since i am an avid toptable booker i also have a lot of points to redeem and this time i booked Incognico (http://www.incognico.com/) for a cheap and cheerful points dinner. We had a set menu with a choice of 4 starters/4 mains/4 desserts.

Karim started with a Mozzarella and chargrilled vegetable - looked lovely and tasted very nice. I started with a Smoked salmon terrine which was nice but not terribly exciting.

We then followed that with a fried seabass with butterbean salad and pesto for me which i really enjoyed and a Chickenbreast with pepperonata for Karim - he said it was nice.

No time for dessert since we had a movie to catch this time.