recent posts
Dislikes: lukewarm soup; rudeness to wait staff; inflicting impeccable ingredients to indifference.
Category: Uncategorized
-
EVERYTHING LOOKS MORE APPEALING in the sun. Whether al fresco dining, or simply seeking snack satisfaction in sweltering in London; we’re spoilt for curb side choices. Every borough brings out even the stingiest of punters. To restaurants; beer gardens, bars. Like bees to honey we flee our un air-conditioned homes, to cooler pastures, unsure what…
-
PHED MARK LONDON is Mark Wiens’ London restaurant pop-up. It’s in quite the location: lower ground floor of Platapian on London’s Greek street, Soho. Writing this with urgency: it’s open till the end of May. Platapian stays, who knows about Phed Mark. Pronounced Ped Mark. Phed เผ็ด being the Thai word for spicy. Ever-growing is his niche;…
-
IS LE VACHERIN THE BEST FRENCH RESTAURANT in Chiswick, West London? London’s Côte chain finds a home, apparently, in Chiswick. La Trompette is Le Vacherin’s only independent competitor in Chiswick. are their sole competitors. Is the answer to this question of interest to anybody at all? I mean, besides Chiswick and nearby Ealing locals? Whom…
-
Date of visit Feb 18th 2026 CHINESE BBQ IN LONDON is growing in popularity. Meats on skewers; charcoal BBQ delights, with beer from any frosted glass container, is that thing we need to connect. Pierce almost any food stuffs, with something sharp enough to go through it, that’s safe enough to eat off. Use that…
-
MY LOVE OF DIM SUM transports me to where it started. Not just my love of dim sum. Chinese food devoid of beef with broccoli. Specifically, Chinese Cantonese food in London. Cantonese classics designed for whatever time of day you fancy: yum cha. Giles Coren once said “I love Chinese food above all things”. You…
-
My Chinese culinary journey to dim sum stemmed from childhood in Chinatown. Dim sum in London was “served until 3pm” on Gerrard street. This meant, inconveniently jumping off the tube at Leicester Square for a pork or prawn filled dumpling. Dim sum 點心 all day in London and Greater Britain is prolific now. Har Gow…
-
THE CÔTE BRASSERIE WAS SOLD to the Karali Group in late 2025. Experiencing what’s become of this 2007, Wimbledon born chain toady, asks more questions that it gives answers. Dropping the “Brasserie”, this French-style; British restaurant chain, is now simply known as Côte. Founded by Richard Caring et al, certainly entertains change these days. That…
-
Crêpe vs. Pancake THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CRÊPES AND PANCAKES comes down to the recipe. Texture is finite when flour marries moisture. Ingredients in a structured recipe for crêpes or pancake batches, are yieldingly familiar in their similarities. Typically, a crêpe is just a thin pancake, is it not? As is a European culinary delight. Shunning…
-
THE MENU AT EAT TOKYO in Notting Hill is an encyclopaedia. It’s also incredibly tedious to find snip-its online. No, it’s not an omakase restaurant. Natch, a member’s club in Notting Hill, you say? No, not that either. Eat Tokyo isn’t hidden down a cobbled street. Tucked away; it is not. Quite the opposite of…
-
I WAS REFUSED ENTRY at the French Bouillon restaurant I researched. This is to preface to what happened next. I hot-footed it there, knowing that the opening hours were all over the shop. Bouillon restaurants are mostly a Parisian thing. I found another, by chance that I was passing by. This is what happens when…
-
OUISTREHAM Ft. Funny Fish Date of visit – 22nd October 2025 IF YOU LOVE FRESH SEAFOOD – come to Normandy. Brittany, famous like Normandy, France, are synonymous with raising children to eat well, eat oysters. If you don’t believe me, see it for yourself. Take a look at a French school child’s menu in this…
-
LOVE OF SPECIFIC FOOD TEXTURES is as subjective as taste. In Cantonese cuisine, for example, there is a desired contrast in textures of bouncy, in tandem with a crispy mouthfeel. Something slippery or slimy like an oyster or rice cake can dim the light of a palate unaccustomed to it. The best wok hei flavour.…
-
GEORGE ORWELL SAID: “A genuinely unfashionable opinion is almost never given a fair hearing…” Why then, visit Vilnius, Lithuania? Regional Culinary Delights in the Historic Lithuania Earlier, I acquainted myself with Lithuanians of London, by way of booking an off-peak Ryan Air flight experience. Ryan Air had just set in place a new reason to…
-
UNDER THE BRODGE; down the steps, en-route Borough Market, a perpendicular swivel to your right, finds you enface an alleyway. Phew. Not nearly what it once was: finding a top rated London French menu. Here finds you in a courtyard, leased out to indoor crazy golf, et voila Boro Bistro. I would say, follow the…
-
Largest restaurant on Sloane Square – Colbert Colbert, not to be confused by the American comedian and writer of the same nomenclature, was opened to replace the Oriel restaurant in October 2012. Colbert the restaurant was created by Jeremy King and Chris Corbin after the Earl of Cadogan, the landlord, was dissatisfied with his meal at the Oriel and chose not to…
-
London is England but it’s also, well, London. It’s a City and an expensive one at that. After a trip Tesco where you forgot the one item you intended to buy, what do you eat? In your London flat when you have a craving but no ingredients? Order from Deliveroo or other food delivery apps…
-
ZUMA review – date of visit Saturday October 2025 BEHIND BULGARI’S ENTRANCE, A BOUNCER boxed in his, gives Zuma London that members’ club air of mystique. Cul-de-sac reminiscent Raphael Street, a hidden gem behind Bulgari Hotel and residences, is cobbled like Firenze’s trattoria lined streets. Knightsbridge discretion, neighbouring a Green King Pub— are all good…