review: bi bim bap soho restaurant - great food at great prices

On Monday, I had the pleasure of a lunch date with the lovely Jess (@quellajesska) in the depths of Soho in London. Because we both wanted a decent feed but without the massive dent in our purses, we opted for Bi Bim Bap Soho - a restaurant that is a recommended 'cheap eat' on the Time Out website.

This meant that at about 12:15pm, we rocked up to the eaterie on Greek Street in the hope that the food would live up to its positive reviews. When you enter the restaurant, on the walls are small instax photos of customers that have visited in the past and I thought this was a neat and friendly touch. 

The menu is a bit on the more naked side - but I like this! This means that there is less of that 'ohhh, what shall I order' indecisiveness and more time for eating and chatting. From looking at the drinks menu, I saw that a pot of oolong tea was only £1 - compared to £2.50 for a lemon ice tea - so that was my choice of drink. 

Oolong Tea - a pot of goodness!

Although it was a chillier summer day (with temperatures of low 20s (celcius) as opposed to the mid and high twenties), I found the tea quite refreshing. I am a sucker for green tea though so that probably explains why I grew so attached to the tea during this lunch. The pot and was so cute too - I just wanted to take them home with me, but seeing as stealing is a crime, I refrained from doing so!

Drinks chosen; now we're getting down to business - the food! As the restaurant is called Bi Bim Bap, there was no way that I wouldn't order a bibimbap dish. Being a sucker for beef bulgogi, this is the one I opted for after some deliberation as I flirted between this one and the seafood one (like an angel one on shoulder and a devil on the other... except I would classify both as angels). 

Beef bool-go-gi bibimbap - the best value bibimbap I've had in London by a country mile.
I was so eager to tuck into it, I forgot to take a 'before' picture. The above picture is after I mixed everything together.
Also, it may not look a lot in that bowl but you do get a considerable amount of rice, veg and meat!

For those of you that don't know, bibimbap is basically a rice dish with a load of veg and meat plonked on top of it. It is served in a hot bowl and sizzles and cooks as you thoroughly mix the veg and meat into the rice. I love the sound it makes when you stir the stuff around.

Anyway, I can safely say that out of all the bibimbap I've tried (and I do love me some Korean food), this one was by far the best. The flavours are amazing and the beef was marinated perfectly. For the price (£6.95), it is worth every. single. penny. I am quite picky when it comes to my food (low salt and low fat please) and I found this dish on the slightly saltier side - but not so salty that I'm left guzzling water down like crazy. I must say that I also added some chilli sauce to my bibimbap and that may have contributed to the saltiness. My own fault really, but the chilli sauce was so good!

All in all, the beef bool-go-gi bibimbap gets a HUGE thumbs up from me. I am determined to head back enough times to try each of the different bibimbap dishes now!

Onto the sides... First up, the jak chae. The portion size of this dish is very generous. I struggled to eat more than half after eating the majority of my bibimbap. However, I don't usually eat much anyway so for a normal person, they would probably finish both the main and the side and with room for more too.

I was actually surprised by how big the sides were - and this is something I'm not complaining about. For my next visit, I'm going to starve myself and then aim to do better.

What English speakers will (probably) think is the weirdly named jak chae (pronounced jak che according to the waiter) - a Marmite dish that some will like and others won't.

I'm a sucker for a glass noodle, or fifty, and so this dish jumped out to me instantly. Though, when I saw the word 'dumplings' a bit further up the page, I very almost didn't choose the jak chae. However, common sense prevailed (as I am making homemade dumplings later this week with my mum! Learning how to be a culinary goddess isn't easy, ya know) and the jak chae arrived at our table.

The texture of glass noodles is a bit weird - they feel a bit rubbery and may even be a bit too worm-like for some people. Having been brought up on these noodles though, I don't mind it so much. This dish is nice but at the same time, I felt that there was something missing. It's missing that 'X-factor' and I don't quite know what it is!

I personally liked the dish but Jess didn't seem too impressed by the gelatinous look of the noodles and refrained from trying some. 

Chilli squid - better than Wagamama's apparently!

The other side we ordered was the chilli squid. There was no way I could have fitted this in my belly so all I have to tell you is what Jess said! In fact, she enjoyed it so much, she ordered two of these in total. Her comment was that these are better than Wagamama's version as they've used the tentacles here whereas Wagamama's tend to use the 'body' of the squid. After polishing off the first plate, Jess asked for another - and if that doesn't tell you how good it was, I don't know what will!)

Service-wise, I found the wait staff friendly and helpful; and the food arrived very quickly. Kudos to the lad who took our order and didn't look too insulted by my (probably mis-)pronunciations of 'hello' and 'thank you' in Korean! As the restaurant filled up, you could tell that they were rushed off their feet and yet, they still took the time to smile at customers. I've encountered frosty service before and I am pleased to say that Bi Bim Bap Soho are the opposite of frosty.

In terms of value for money - the bill came to around £33 (before two of the sides were deducted, resulting in the bill actually being £23) which isn't bad value for London (two drinks, two mains and three sides). For food this good, it is practically a steal.

My rating? 4.5/5 stars (because, I wanted to try all the dishes and there was no option for that on the menu (or room in my belly... )!

NB: Although two of the sides were complimentary, I have still reviewed them just the same as if I had paid for them.

restaurant review: Busaba Eathai in Westfield Stratford

This blog post is what you're probably not used to seeing on here but it's good to mix things up. Also, sharing good food really is caring. :)

Last week, one of my good friends, Kay, and I were in Stratford, London on some important business (not stationery related in case you were wondering) and by about 2pm, our stomachs were growling. In desperate need for some food, we navigated our way around a very big Westfield Stratford and stumbled across Busaba Eathai. I've never been there before but Kay had and she said it was alright - so what was there to lose? Thai food, a recommendation from a London restaurant connoisseur (her, not me!) and two starving bellies? Can't really go wrong there.

Now, I loooooooove Thai food. I made my own pad thai a few weeks' ago and it was pretty decent. It's obviously much better when you have it in a restaurant (I swear that having to wash up dishes and a wok can bring down a dish by a few notches) but it wasn't bad either.

Anyway, moving on swiftly... Our choice of beverage was a 'Guava Collins' each, which according to the menu had guava, lime, coconut and Thai lime leaf in it. It tasted a little sweet and a little mild too. I wasn't particularly blown away by this drink but I didn't dislike it either.

I opted for a 'tom yam talay' which was a noodle soup with prawn, squid and fish cake in a spicy sour soup base. I was quite impressed with the number of prawns that were in it and I really enjoyed it. It was quite a breezy day and as I feel the cold really easily, I chose this noodle soup and I didn't regret it although the soup base was a bit saltier than I personally would have liked.

That is... Until I tried what Kay had ordered. She went for the pad thai and when I tried a little, I found that the pad thai really, really tickled my tastebuds. That's definitely what I'm ordering the next time I venture into this restaurant chain! We also ordered 'Goong tohd prawn' to share and that wasn't bad either but I wouldn't say it was something to write home about (I found the sauce too sour and salty).

Overall, my experience with Busaba Eathai was actually quite a positive one. The service was fast and efficient and the food wasn't too bad either. Next time, I'm definitely ordering the pad thai, plus a different drink and side. For the two of us, the bill came to just under £30 (including 10% service) which is a on the pricier side. However, as I only eat out once or twice a month (on average), I felt that this treat was justified. After all, we all need a treat from time to time, right?

So, if you're ever in Central London and fancy Thai food, Busaba Eathai isn't a bad shout if your purse strings allow :)

NB: I was not paid to write this review and I paid for the food myself.

{ 16th march 2013 } my first philofaxy meet up

I popped my Philofaxy meet-up cherry on Saturday and boy, was it worth it. The itinerary for the day was that we would all meet at Vapiano, a restaurant near Oxford Circus and then head off to various stores selling stationery. Now, I'm quite shy when meeting new people and Saturday was no exception but surprisingly, as soon as I jumped on the train heading for London (only a 30 minute journey so quite a short one), all nerves were gone. And when I approached the crowd outside Vapiano, it felt more like meeting old friends rather than meeting strangers!

I've got the Philofaxy business cards... now I just need friends to give them out to ; )

The best bit about the day was putting faces to names. I'm quite active on Twitter (read: addicted) and so I knew the faces of some already but meeting them in person is completely different. I didn't get to talk to everyone but I think I at least spoke to the majority and everyone was lovely.

Imy (she's just as lovely in person as she is in her videos, blog and on Twitter!) very kindly gave me some Filofax purple ruled notepaper (I love that stuff!) and also threw in some Paperchase diary stickers and these Daytimer Hot Lists:

A photo to show the real size of these Day Timer Hot Lists - next to a 'personal' sized
Kate Spade ruler.

But the best part? I got not one, but two Imy's World stickers! The other one is stuck in my diary - ready for you to see on Sunday when I post my week.

An Imy's World sticker: how jealous are you?! : )

I made the mistake of saying yes to adding extra chilli to my bolognase, so urm, I ended up with a burning mouth for about ten minutes which kept me quiet for a bit! However, once that calmed down, you couldn't stop me from talking (just ask Lorena!).

Such a small world it is that I ended up bumping into a friend from uni at Vapiano! She was actually a fresher on my corridor last year when I was a hall senior and so, it was lovely to catch up with someone who I saw on a daily basis last year.

Anyway, after filling our little bellies, we headed to the Filofax store on Conduit Street. Prior to the meet-up, we were told that only eight of us would be allowed in at any one time but as it turns out, when we arrived, the shop was empty! We disregarded the 'eight at one time' rule and we all piled in.

Once we were all done and dusted in Filofax, we walked over to Mulberry. Imy was so eager to get there, she power-walked ahead but only to be called back by others who were left behind ; ) There was disappointment in Mulberry, however, with both service and stock to blame. Imy will say more on this on her blog about that!

Final stop - Artbox! Predictably, I couldn't resist and came away with the following:

I bought these sticker sheets (some of which, I bought several of).

And these bad boys. I have used these before and wasn't impressed by the stickyness of them, so here's hoping that these are of a higher quality (they certainly look higher quality than the ones they have previously sold).

Overall, it was a brilliant day and I couldn't recommend the experience enough. I don't think many of my friends understand the obsession with stationery, Filofax, binders, etc (though they accept it!) and to meet others who you share this interest with is fantastic.

I was sat on a table with Imy, Tracey, Lindsay, Lorena and Paula and I have to say, I have to thank Lindsay as I'm pretty sure she helped dissipate the heat of the chilli from my lunch with her jokes and infectious laughter! It really did feel like talking to old friends and to talk to them in person revealed more in common than first thought : )

Thank you, Steve, for organising this meet-up. I feel privileged to have finally met The King ; ) It was equally lovely to meet everyone over a tasty lunch (I'm not saying yes to extra chilli next time) and a stroll through the streets of Central London. 

laduree macarons

A bit of a random post; but a necessary one because these macarons are just SO good!

I mean, just look at the packaging:

And upon opening:

A leaflet that comes with it. It is stamped with the date that the macarons were bought too.

This box was to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Laduree.

These were the ones I chose.

And a closer look:

From top to bottom: salted caramel, coffee, lemon and lime basil and
strawberry marshmallow.

From top to bottom: Salted caramel again (yes, it's that good), mint, vanilla and lime marshmallow

If you're ever in London or Paris, these macarons are a must-try. When I do get them (once a year or so), I get them from Harrods as I get Harrods card points (kinda pointless but you can save them up to spend it on something - in my case: more macarons!). If it's your first time trying them, beware; as you might get overwhelmed from the number of flavours you could choose. Unless you get the box of 32 or whatever it is, you might end up being spoilt for choice (as I was as I get the box of 8!).

things to do in London...as a student

As a student, an important aspect of it is having fun but saving as much money as possible! Here are some things which are fun to do as a student but not costly either!

Be in the audience of a television programme.

Image Credit: The Telegraph

A good site for this is Lost In TV. From this site, I've been in the audience for The Apprentice: You're Fired three times so far and am planning to go again later this summer. Tickets are free and the experience is interesting and not to mention the fact that you get to see that week's episode of The Apprentice before the wider television audience!

Try Gourmet burgers.

Two better establishments for this is Gourmet Burger Kitchen and Byron burgers. I used to be a frequent customer at these two chains until my gluten intolerance came into the picture. They are a bit more expensive than a meal at McDonald's but the takeaway option makes them affordable as an occassional treat.

Ride on a Boris Bike!

Image Credit: New Biscuit

The more fun and cheap option to travel around London; or even to just ride around Hyde Park in! And with more docking sites added in recent months, this is definitely something that is convenient too.

Walk Along the River Thames

Credit: Rivers of the World

Always something to see and there are so many bridges you could cross to flit back and forth between north and south of 'the river'.

These are my top recommendations for things to do but with a city so big, there are so many more things that can be done for free or for a very small fee :)

touristy things to do in London

I received a request from a lovely reader asking for my recommendations for things tourists should do in London. In the coming weeks, I will also be doing posts on what current Londoners should also do and what students should do too. So, to kick things off; here are my five things tourists should be in London! My focus on these posts will be West London as that is the area I know the best.

Knightsbridge, South Kensington, White City and Notting Hill should be the main focus areas. My university is based in South Kensington so I know these areas quite well. Here are the highlights of West London:

Royal Albert Hall.

Even if you don't go inside; to admire the exterior architecture is free and not to mention awe-striking. In my first year, my halls were across Hyde Park but each day, I had to walk past the Royal Albert Hall to get to lectures and each time I did, I always noticed something new and different about it.

Westfield White City


A shopper's paradise with a good mix of high end, high street and cheaper retailers; as well as plenty of restaurants to choose from when your stomach starts to grumble. Not only this, there are random stalls throughout the shopping centre but it's so big, it may be worth leaving aside a whole day for it. Stores range from the normal Topshop, to higher end high street in NW3, Whistles, Reiss and also to technology shops, such as an Apple store and other department stores too such as House of Fraser and Debenhams.
If you're in the mood for sitting in the dark for a few hours, there's also a cinema and with the good transport links going into and out of it (in the form of two nearby tube stations - Wood Lane and White City - as well as numerous bus routes), there is no reason to not give this glasshouse a visit.

Notting Hill
Plenty of boutiques for window shopping and also many streets of pretty terraced town houses to stare at if you get bored of looking at things you can't afford or don't wish to part with cash for!

Harrods and Harvey Nichols
Knightsbridge gets to boast two department stores within walking distance of each other (literally about 100m apart!) in Harrods and Harvey Nicks. Harrods is definitely worth a look in as it really is shopaholic's paradise. Not only this, their food court is one to be rivalled - there is a champagne bar where you can guzzle oysters and sip bubbly on bar stools and feeling like a million dollars.

Museums!
South Kensington boasts several museums within walking distance from its tube station. Most are free entry but you may have to pay for exhibitions that they have going on at the time. Museums include the Victoria and Albert museum, Natural History and the Science Museum.

Boujis
The famous nightclub where Prince Harry has been spotted stumbling out of is actually in South Kensington! However, entry can be hard to come by with queues spotted on a regular basis, particularly on weekend nights.

Hyde Park


No entrance fee is required for this park and in the winter, it is home to Winter Wonderland - something that must be visited at night for a cup of mulled wine and a evening of fun at the German themed 'fair'.

A visit to the business area!

Canary Wharf is full of buildings that house businessmen and women on a daily basis. It's worth having a look at the architecture as although they seem to be glass buildings, it actually is a sight to behold!

Kensington Palace

Situated within Hyde Park, this is another place that can be seen during a day of lounging in the park or a day of casually strolling through it.

To the side of this park is a road, commonly referred to as London's 'Billionaires' Row'. I've walked through it at night and even then, there are policemen down that road! The road name is Kensington Palace Gardens for those interested and the houses along that road are very, very big and grand; plus the architecture is just stunning. I can only dream of living in a house like that and I can only imagine how amazing the high ceilings and period features would be in houses like those.

* * *

So, these are my recommendations for places to go to in West London. I'm afraid I'm not very informed about the other (massive) parts of London, apart from the shopping hubs but West London does make for a very safe and great day out!

Any other questions, please do ask in the form of a comment or email :)