The Lazy Posts of 2012: Part 1 - The Pricy Ones

There seems to be a trend of “lost posts” going on at the moment, posts which got lost in the draft sections of their blog archive. This post is not a lost posts writeup, but a lazy posts write up. This has nothing to do with being lost, these have been sitting penned in ink upon my notepad next to me, staring at me whenever I sit down to type anything at my computer.

So here they are, the lazy posts, written up lazily, but hopefully with enough to help make you decide whether it could be your cup of tea, or just another herbal teabag destined to be languishing at the back of your store cupboard. Part one (oh yes, there will be at least THREE parts) will be about the places on the slightly dearer end of the scale.


The Classic Posh One: The Square, Mayfair



Now, I really should have written something about this earlier, because the food was very very well executed, and as good an example of classic French techniques as you will find anywhere in London, I would imagine. I was there for a little blogger dinner for the launch of Phil Howards new cookbook, an anthology of savoury recipes. Apparently, this had been many years in the making and I can see why. It’s a beautiful and bountiful cookbook containing recipes for beginners up to the pros.



In summary, a flawless masterclass of classic cooking.

Check out the book HERE, and more photos of the food HERE.

The Square - 6-10 Bruton Street, London W1J 6PU







The Next Big Thing: Upstairs at the Ten Bells, Shoreditch




In a stark comparison to the Square, the food I ate at the Ten Bells with the Young Turks in residence was about as cutting edge as you can find in London at the moment. Formed by a few guys who have come from some of the best restaurants in the world, expect pine flavoured fried chicken, mackerel with pickled melon and olives, and one of the best dishes I had in 2012, a pork, sweetcorn and peach dish which inspired me to cook something similar at home. Suffice to say, it wasn’t as good.





I love what these guys are doing, and their residency at the Ten Bells is now permanent with some of their chefs still working in the kitchen (led by Giorgio Ravelli). The Young Turks will be opening up their own restaurant in Shoreditch Town Hall soon. Destined to be a success so keep your eyes open for this one.



For more pics, please click HERE

Upstairs at the Ten Bells - 84 Commercial Street, London E1 6LY







The One Where The Scary Chinese Owner Gets Me Into A Headlock: Hunan, Pimlico



Hunan had been on my to do list for as long as I have been writing this blog and is quite an institution down in Pimlico. The principle is old school Cantonese banquet, a never ending sequence of dishes which only stops when your stomach yields and waves the white flag. Getting a group together is not essential, but it is quite an experience best shared with others.



Over the course of the evening, we covered a whole selection of food groups, from the humble green bean to every meat known to man. Half the time I had no idea what I was eating, but that mostly didn’t matter, it was all pretty decent. There is no heavy seasoning or use of MSG, with the aim of letting the main flavours come through central to its ethos, although slightly unfortunate in some instances where lack of seasoning was definitely an issue. On the whole though, loved Hunan, it’s conveyor belt of mostly excellent food and a hat tip to the chef who having smacked me round the head and got me in a headlock, was great entertainment (for my friends mostly).

Click HERE for more pictures of the meal.

Hunan - 51 Pimlico Road, London SW1W 8NE

Mini Bites: It's not a whole New World, Chinatown

When I was younger, my family and I would follow a very familiar weekly/fortnightly routine. With me and my three sisters in tow, we would make sure we would all be ready to leave the house bright and early, to arrive in Chinatown around 11am. We would head straight for New World and if we had arrived on time, we would head straight to one of the tables on one of the three floors. Any time after 12 and queues would form and you would be handed a little brightly coloured raffle ticket. My father would pass me the ticket and I would be the one to get us our table when our number was called.

After we had eaten, we would stroll down Gerrard street, to either Loon Fung or New Moon supermarket to stock up on provisions for the week ahead. If we had behaved, we would be bought white rabbit sweets and haw flakes for the long journey home. As you can expect, I look back fondly at those trips and reminisce what it was like to be that kid. Really happy times.

Sadly New World hasn't really stood the test of time. We stopped making those trips into Chinatown, a consequence of the birds flying the nest, and any family meetups are at the more south friendly Dragon Castle. I went back once a few years ago and the food was poor. The fried goods were extremely greasy and left a slick down your throat, whilst the dumplings were devoid of flavour and were basically balls of stodge.



It was pretty disappointing on that occasion, but I wasn't willing to just give up on it. I recently returned for what I hoped wasn't the last time with a friend, and thankfully it wasn't terrible. The trolleys were still out in force. It enables you to check out the goods before you try, and you get served as soon as you sit down, great stuff. The food isn't great, but it was far from bad. The dumplings were heavy but actually tasted of more than just MSG. Old favourites of roast pork went down well, and they are one of the few places I know that sells affordable and decent plates of suckling pig.



The best thing for me was the fact that it still sold almond beancurd with fruit cocktail, a dessert which seems to have faded out of existence across other dim sum restaurants, and one I frankly cannot get enough of. Nothing like ending a trip down memory lane on a rather enjoyable high. New World is one of those places which will always hold a fond place in my heart, even if it isn't my number one dim sum destination. It's not terrible, just rather average which is about the best endorsement I can give it. For nostalgia, I'll probably just grab a bag of haw flakes next time.

New World - 1 Gerrard Place, London W1D 5PA

I'm back! Dim Sum at Phoenix Palace

So, I have been on a mini hiatus recently as any regular readers might have been able to tell. In the past, the blog has taken over many facets of my life, but over the last few weeks, my real life has wrestled the blog away from me and I just haven’t found the time. Fear not, I have eaten at many lovely places, and I will try to add a few words to each over the next few weeks to let you know about all the delicious details.

So let’s start at the most recent, which was a dim sum trip to Pheonix Palace organised by the one and only Mr “F*cking” Noodles. Now, I hadn’t heard of Pheonix Palace before, but it is a popular haunt of Mr Noodles and I trust his judgement in the minefield that is the London Dim Sum restaurant. First impressions are strangely comforting. The place is absolutely massive and is adorned with large walls covered in Dragons and red & gold paint. Match that with marginally excessive Xmas decorations and parachuting santas and you get the picture. I love it, the absolute seeming chaos exacerbated by the frantic staff and the high chintz rating are amongst all the things that endears me most about Chinese restaurants.

Hand pulled: Noodle Bar, Leicester Square

Having been at my “new” job now for six months, I have had a decent amount of time to assess the lunch options and report back. One of my more favoured destinations happens to be a place quaintly named “Noodle Bar” (amongst a myriad of Chinese (?) characters that I am unable to decipher). In the window they have a rather dire array of pre cooked, probably been there for 3 days, fodder. Not the best start.

Once you look past the sheen of the hotlamps, you will see a guy standing next to a bubbling vat of water/stock, hand pulling noodles to order. Rumour has it that he was flown over specifically to perform this role, and in all fairness, I have seen him do little else. Rumour aside, a bowl of steaming hot noodles comes to a very reasonable £6, and most variations come in either a dry or soup version.

Although the rare beef version (number 1 on the menu) seems to come highly recommended, I always seem to opt for the spicy chicken. Although the broth seems to change on every visit, nothing quite hits the spot on a cold winters day than a freshly made pot of steaming and spicy noodles. Well worth dropping in, and not just for a takeaway as they have a few tables out back too.

Noodle Bar - 33 Cranbourne St, London WC2H 7AD

Wuli Wuli, Camberwell: Bringing the burn....

A couple of weeks ago, I headed down to newly opened Wuli Wuli with two of my favourite South East London friend and bloggers. It looked far too classy for a Chinese restaurant in Camberwell with smart lighting and stylish black interior. We walked in and it was empty bar one other table, never a great sign, but it was early days and the initial word on the street was positive.

We shouldn't have worried as much of the food we ate was very good. With Chinese/Cantonese staples in the front part of the menu, the interesting stuff lay behind what was simply labelled as "Chinese Style". The food behind this divide was more based around the Szechuan cuisine and contained interesting dishes of smashed cucumbers and other dishes containing the more "interesting" parts of the animal.

I wanted to write it up back then but Lizzie and Helen had already covered everything I wanted to say and I sat back hoping that the empty seats would soon fill up.

And fill up it did. Taking the bus down Camberwell Church street every evening, Wuli Wuli seems to bustling along nicely. So why write it up now? Well a week ago I excitedly got a menu delivered through my front door informing me that they now did delivery. Awesome. I waited until the weekend and ordered. Swift delivery and an incredibly cheery Chinaman (much like myself) greeted me, with great food to boost. Spicy thin slices of cabbage, leeks and pork, all intermingled with dried chillis, what's not to like?

Wuli Wuli - 15 Camberwell Church Street, SE5 8TR

Farewell to Sydney, dining with old friends: Mamak and Icebergs

One of the things often said about Sydney is that it is a smaller version of London with more sun, more beaches and definitely more rain. With such astute observations, it isn't hard to imagine why so many Londoners flock to the other side of the world. I yearn for sun just like the next person, but on days like today where the weather is quite stunning with the London roads drenched in sun and nothing else (correct at time of press), I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

Unfortunately that isn't the opinion shared by all. Take my mate Dave as an example. Lured to Sydney by bigger bucks and a better job, he jacked in his life in London to live the dream. Having worked together for the better part of two years, I was sad to hear he was jacking it all in and heading down under, another good friend lost. A meetup on my trip was a must.

Same old Dave, I met him at his office overlooking Hyde Park on Liverpool street (seriously) and he was late. Very late. Plans to visit the Opera bar at the Royal Opera House were dashed, sunset had come and gone, so when he had finally got his arse in gear, we headed down to one of the places on my list, Mamak, a popular Malaysian restaurant.

Mamak is pretty damn popular. In a city with a huge Asian population, it was no surprise to find an authentic Malaysian restaurant selling rendang, curries, noodles and roti to be doing well. We waited a little while for our table but we admired the chefs in the window tossing up the roti in the air, and crafting a light and airy roti. By the time we took our seats, we were ravenous.

Dave opted for the chicken curry which was pretty decent, and formed a perfect accompaniment to the light and crisp roti. I really couldn't resist the maggi mee goreng, a simple dish of fried maggi noodles with lots of bits and pieces thrown in, basically anything you can get your hands on in the kitchen. This is a real favourite of mine in my own kitchen and I can knock up a pretty decent rendition. This version was packed with all the bits you could ask for (such as fishcake, prawns, egg, beansprouts, bits of meat etc...) and was good but lacked the crunch I like to add to mine from the fried noodles.

Mamak was decent and for Sydney, was very cheap. I can't remember the cost but was more than happy with it. It was great to catch up with an old friend and comes highly recommended if you are in the area. Good authentic Malaysian food and it's open till 2am at the weekend for a post pub feed.

It had been great to catch up with Dave, but I had to get out of the city and see the wonderful beaches that Sydney have to offer. A hop on the blue Bondi explorer led to a tour of the East Sydney beaches and some stunning views of the city. The end destination, Bondi of course.

Mocked for being the mecca for all English people who head to Sydney, you can hardly blame them. I arrived and what lay ahead of me was a stunning stretch of white sand and blue sea. I stood and surveyed in awe before it dawned on me that I wasn't here solely to gawp at the beautiful beach and sea, but to meet Anna and Zac (or AnZac as they are affectionately known), brother and sister in law of one of my oldest and closest friends. It was great to see them, and I am sure that Zac was glad to see me on home turf (the last time we met saw me mercilessly torturing him as the English won back the Ashes).

Bondi has plenty of places to eat, but we headed towards the Icebergs, a "club" with a bar selling food. An ironic name as I am pretty sure that Bondi has never seen an ice berg let alone know what an iceberg is! The food here was very average but offered stunning views. My chicken schnitzel was decent enough for a piece of fried chicken but not much can rival sitting and chatting with friends in the sun overlooking the deep blue sea. A perfect end to a fantastic jaunt.

Sydney had been amazing. Old friends, new friends, family, it had it all. And with each of these encounters came fabulous food, I really couldn't have been happier. Next stop Melbourne, where more of the above were awaiting me. Stay tuned!

Mamak - 15 Goulburn St, Haymarket, Sydney

Icebergs - 1 Notts Ave, Bondi Beach NSW 2026, Australia

WMPD: Café de Hong Kong, Chinatown

It's been a while since I had the motivation to blog. Since I left my job in the beginning of March, I have led a charmed life. After a trip to the other side of the world and an extended rest, it's time to get back to the grindstone and find a job. It's been a while since I was in this position and I really wasn't prepared for how intensive and how much hard work job seeking was. Essentially, looking for a job is a full time job. Thankfully, I hope I'm nearing some sort of resolution so my mini hiatus is ending. Expect more blog posts soon.

In the meantime, I thought I might as well add another contender to my eternal search for that great roast duck and crispy pork. This time, Cafe de Hong Kong, an interesting little restaurant on the edge of Chinatown. Having arranged to meet Charmaine before one of my aforementioned interviews, we arrived at our destination just before 12 to find it devoid of people and looking rather closed. Disappointed, we headed next door to Cafe de Hong Kong and took our seats in a rather crowded dining room.

Already brimming full of Asian students, Cafe de Hong Kong serves simple noodle and rice based dishes, with a few other interesting bits and pieces including items in "spaghetti sauce" and French fries. Of course, for me there was only one choice, roast duck and crispy pork and rice.

The first thing I went for was a bite of the duck. With slightly crisp skin and a thick layer of juicy fat, my mouth burst with the unmistakeable flavour of the delicious fowl. First bite good, second one, not so much. The flavour of the roast duck was seriously good but bite after bite, the greasy fat began to get quite claggy and my mouth started to feel like an oil slick. The crispy pork had none of the prescribed crisp and came in tiny thin slivers with little to no flavour. The final constituent part, the rice, was soaked through with sweet gravy, whilst being reasonable, acted like a glue to the rice and ensured that large sticky lumps were formed.

The food had been pretty disappointing. Even if the duck had really great flavour, it was very greasy and the "crispy" pork was anything but. Even though the place was rammed full of young Chinese, at £6 a plate there are cheaper and better places across Chinatown. The quest goes on...

Cafe de Hong Kong - 47 Charing Cross Road, London WC2H 0AN

New friends: Hurricanes Grill and the Chinese Noodle Restaurant, Sydney

Darling Harbour

Before I flew out to Sydney, I thought it would be prudent to look up some of the Sydney based food lovers I have met (virtually) through blogging. After all, these are the people who would be in the know and it's always fun to meet people you don't know what they look like or how they sound.

First up was Kate, aka @katejferguson. After a few tweets, we realised that we were mutual friends with the one and only Catty and Kate was instructed to take me out to eat ribs for fear of death. Hurricanes Grill was our destination and is a bit of an institution in Sydney. With two branches (one in Bondi and the one I went to in Darling Harbour) it is very much like our beloved Bodeans in London, serving steaks and more importantly, succulent ribs.

When I met up with Kate, she recognised me instantly. Not only had we scoped each other out on Facebook, but I was the guy very much looking like a tourist drinking on my own. It's always nice when you instantly like somebody and we nattered away quite comfortably until the time for ribs was upon us. Once arrived at Hurricanes, we met up with another of Catty's old entourage, a lovely guy named Geoff. Overlooking the harbour, we asked if we could get moved from our allotted table inside to one outside. Although it was rammed, the staff accommodated us with little hassle and we were soon sat enjoying the view and the lovely late summer breeze.

The menu covers many of the meat groups and advertises itself as a steakhouse but the night was all about the ribs. The ordering could not have been simpler, 3 full racks of pork ribs please, thankyouverymuch. It didn't take too long before they had arrived and the nice touch of adult bibs were tied around our necks by the delightful waitress. The rack was huge but I was hungry. I tucked in rib after rib, savouring every smoky and tangy mouthful. Soon, the gigantic rack was reduced to a pile of bones, sucked dry. I felt like I was in an episode of Man v Food and this time, Man definitely won.

Kate and Geoff were lovely and I actually felt quite sad to be leaving them. Really nice people and perfect eating companions. The next day I had scheduled a lunch with yet another mysterious lady, Denea aka The Gourmet Rabbit. Running a hybrid blog/magazine and hot on the pulse of the Australian food scene, I've been following her adventures with great interest from the other side of the world and I was excited to meet her in real life.

What she had in store for me was quite a treat. The destination was her favourite noodle house, simply called the Chinese Noodle Restaurant located in the heart of Chinatown. The tiny little place had quite a queue forming, but owing to the astounding pace in which they seemed to be able to turn tables, we got a table fairly quickly.

Staring through the open window into the kitchen, I saw the team working at a feverish pace, preparing dumplings and hand pulling the noodles to order. One of those batches of noodles was for us, as well as a mountain of dumplings and some aubergines drenched in a sticky sweet soy sauce. I was stunned. Such a tiny unassuming place was rolling out fresh, springy and extremely tasty noodles, with stunning dumplings to match. I guess I shouldn't really have been that surprised, after all, queues speak for themselves.

Denea and I chatted for a while but it wasn't long before we were shooed away, more hungry punters were waiting for their fix of noodles and dumplings and were demanding to be fed. We settled the bill and at less than £20 for both of us, I laughed a little chuckle to myself at how cheap it was.

She had one last secret up her sleeve as she took me to sample a famous Sydney mango pancake. At this stage, I was full to the point of delirium but I wrapped mine in a little paper bag and saved it for later. It was a little while before I could muster the strength to try it but I am so glad I did. A thin pancake holding a luxuriously creamy egg custard "block" sat on top of the most divine chunks of sweet mango. I was in heaven and devoured mine in under 30 seconds flat.

It was great to meet fellow lovers of food and was a privilege to be shown to some of their favourite places in Sydney. A fitting end to a simply fat (and rather excellent) time in Sydney.

Hurricanes Bar and Grill - Harbourside Shopping Centre, Darling Harbour, Sydney

Chinese Noodle Restaurant - Shop 7, 8 Quay St, Haymarket, 2000 Sydney