Pix Pintxos bar - 5th of November

I haven't written any updates for a while since we have been on holiday :-) Back in London again and my first update will be for Pix tapas bar in Neal Street in Covent Garden: http://www.pix-bar.com/
My lovely friend Hannah and I went there for a Friday lunch - it is a concept based on the little pintxos/tapas bars in Spain. On arrival we sat down and ordered drinks, you then get a plate each and you help yourself to all the different tapas lined up around the bar. Each tapas has a short or a long stick in it which determines the price of the tapas, you then collect your sticks in a glass and give the glass to the staff to calculate what your bill is.. not unlike Yo Sushi! 
The smaller tapas were around £1.50 each and the larger ones around £2.50 each. We both really enjoyed our tapas - for example, grilled pepper stuffed with goat's cheese, bruschetta with serrano ham, chicken and bacon salad & stuffed grilled mushroom.
Will definately go back again!

Boheme Kitchen and Bar - 6th of October

I went to a film preview on Wednesday with my friend Hannah who i used to work with. The film was called "Life as we know it" and it was really good - a romantic comedy with a lot of laughs and a tear or two. Go and see it!

After the movie we went for a catch up at Boheme Kitchen & Bar in Soho over a bottle of wine and some nibbles.
They had a very yummy platter menu where you pick 3 items for £14 or 5 items for £20. We decided to go for a platter with 3 choices: mini burgers, spicy sausages and corn fritters. All of it was lovely and i would go back again for more!

Cantina Laredo - 29th of September

A couple of colleagues from Dallas came over to London for a few days and we went out to Cantina Laredo for lunch. Cantina Laredo is a new upmarket Mexican restaurant in Covent Garden which i have wanted to try for a while.
I really like the fact that they make the guacamole at your table to share which is fun and you can then decide how chunky or smooth/ hot or mild you want it to be. You get corn chips and 2 types of salsas with your guacamole order.
I went for a "Enchilada Veracruz" (with chicken and spinach) for my main which was very nice but looked a bit scruffy (for it being an upmarket mexican restaurant - being picky here). It also could have done with some spice but i just used the salsa sauces that came with the chips. I would definately like to go back again and be a bit more adventurous with the menu - maybe for dinner.

 

Inamo - 25th of September

My friend Karin asked me to join her and her 9 year old daughter, Emely, for a shopping day in central London for Emely's birthday. So we met up in the morning at the Nordic bakery for a swedish cinnamon bun and some coffee to start the day before hitting the shops including every child's idea of heaven.. Hamley's.
I had booked us in for lunch at Inamo's thinking that Emely would find it fun. Inamo is a Japanese restaurant that i have reviewed before with a futuristic way of ordering. Each diner basically have a computer screen projected onto their place setting and you can click through the dishes and then click to order. You can also change the "table cloth" with different moodlights..and you can play games - perfect for kids when they get bored during lunch!;-)

My last visit had me raving about the place but this time i was not as convinced. We were seated in the basement since it was full on the ground floor.. the basement was very dark with a fierce airconditioning (think gale wind) and i asked them to turn it down but not much changed. Some of the food also came out a tad cold (amazing presentation though).
We had a large selection of dishes to share and everything was nice. The highlight was the creme brulee.. to die for!! the letdown dish was the springrolls which were very strange - i do not recommend them.
I would go back again on the 50% off deal .. and i keep dreaming about the creme brulee..

Bar Boulud @ Mandarin Oriental - 23rd of September

The famous Daniel Boulud who once upon a time created the "DB Royale dubble truffle Burger" at DB Bistro Moderne in NYC and then successfully opened many other restaurants in the US have now opened Bar Boulod at Mandarin Oriental hotel in London.
Bar Boulud has got it's own separate entrance from the street and on the Thursday when i visited with a friend for an early dinner it was already quite busy at 6:15pm. Plenty of people in the bar area and lots of attentive staff.
The dining room was quite dimly lit up and you had a full view of the open plan kitchen where you could watch the chefs at work.
We went for the 3 course pre fix menue which had 3 choices for each course and at £20 it is very good value for money.
I started with a "pulled Rabbit terrine" which came with some grain mustard and miniature pickled gherkins and onions. It was really tasty with very simple presentation.
My main was grilled mackerel which was very nice and not too rich.. forgot to take a photo of the dish though!! oops!
The dessert was the star of the show though.. "Tropical Fruit sundae with ginger mascarpone foam and coconut/passionfruit sorbet and coconut biscuit" Wonderfully fruity, fluffy and indulgent. One to recreate at home for sure!

Really enjoyed this restaurant and will have to go back again to try their burgers that looked amazing (not the original "Royale" one though.. ;-)

Cooking for friends - 4th of September

It is so nice to have friends around for dinner and i love the whole planning process of coming up with what to make. We invited our friends Erika and Andrew over for dinner on a Saturday night and i had already decided that i wanted to to a "Tian of crab & prawn" as a starter so i headed to Selfridges to buy some micro herbs (only place i have ever found them in) as a garnish for my starter and for the freshly picked crab.
Main was a bit harder to come up with but in the end i settled for shoulder of lamb.. slowcooked in the oven with potato wedges and a red wine sauce. Nice and easy! for dessert i made a pannacotta with fresh berries since again, it can be prepared in advance.. i want to be able to sit and chat with my friends and not spend the whole evening in the kitchen :-)

Here is the recipe for my Tian of crab:

Ingredients (4 people):

• 200 gr of fresh white crab meat
• 200 gr of cooked prawns (roughly chopped)
• 1 avocado (finely chopped)
• 1 lime or lemon - juice squeezed - added to taste)
• 5 radishes (finely chopped)
• 1 small red onion (finely chopped)
• 1 red chili (finely chopped0
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1-2 tbsp creme fraice
• freshly ground pepper and salt
• a few drops worchester sauce

Mix all the ingredients together and season to taste. Cover and leave in the fridge until ready to serve.
Use a ringmould and place on a plate, fill up with the mix and gently remove the ringmould. Put some micro herbs on top and serve with some melba toast on the side (toast some white bread, remove crusts and cut in half to make 2 thin slices, toast again and cut into 3cm strips and place in bowl on plate - i used egg cups) decorate plate with some fresh tomatoes. Voila!

Bloomsbury Street Bar & Restaurant - 25th of August

Two friends took me out for dinner to celebrate my birthday .. (a little late but hey, i am not complaining :-)) at Bloomsbury Street Bar & Restaurant http://www.radissonedwardian.com/hotels/gbmarlbo/dinings  It is situated in the Radisson Bloomsbury Street hotel and it is a really nice little restaurant with dark colours and a cosy feel. This is my second visit and i really enjoyed it but i felt that it was playing a bit more safe with the dishes this time around then when i visited last (around a year ago). The food was a bit more innovative that time.

I started with a "Tartar of tuna and smoked haddock with sushi ginger and coriander crème fraiche" which was lovely and light. Presentation was beautiful and simple.

My main was "Pan-fried fillet of sea bass with smoked salmon basil risotto and shellfish oil" which was very good but the fish was slightly over cooked. Very tasty though.. i even forgot to take a photo of the dish! Not the end of the world though since i have a tendency to always order seabass when it is on the menu..i have to count all the seabass dishes on here one day ;-)

I finished with a dessert of "Spiced pears with a dark chocolate cinnamon sauce, rum and raisin ice cream" which looked pretty but actually tasted a bit bland. Definately needed a lift .. and more dark chocolate cinnamon sauce!

We had the 50% off the full a la carte menu on Toptable so it was a great deal. 3 courses each with water and a glass of wine came to £23 a head including service. Not bad at all.