A dollop of off-the-curb eating quirk to brighten up those midweek blues every wednesday or thursdays or both Photo by The Dana Files The Michelin guide is quite possibly the most prestigious restaurant rating system in the world. Gaining one of these bad boys is like giving a restaurant a license to charge ridiculous amounts of money and be able to create gimmick heavy food while almost guaranteeing rock-star celebrity status within the community. The rating system is fairly straightforward in that it only gives them away to a fairly small group of establishments (and their mates) which are deemed worthy. There are only three categories: One Star given for a very good restaurant in its category Two Stars given for excellent cooking, worth a detour Three Stars for exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey Over the decades, the Red Guide has had its fair share of critics, citing that because it’s a French publication – it’s ratings tend to be skewed toward French restaurants with an emphasis on stuffy over complicated formality and way too much attention to presentation rather than just straight forward great food. 

 A dollop of off-the-curb eating quirk to brighten up those midweek blues every wednesday or thursdays or both Depending on which part of the far east you travel to, the Durian is actually considered the king of fruit. This is a tropical fruit, so you won’t see it growing in someone’s back garden in Croydon, but in places like Thailand – where the famous ‘Monthong’ breed is planted – the durian is abit like a national treasure. The thick outer shell is usually oval shaped, green and spiky. The flesh is usually cream in colour (sometimes yellowish or reddish too) and it tastes rather like natural egg custard or a crème brulee . Perhaps the most distinguishing characteristic of the Durian is it’s smell. Now, this is one of those polarising foods of the world, you either love it or hate it. That smell is unique and rather strong. I can’t quite describe it except to say it’s the smell of a durian. It is also uniquely because of the smell that people get put off by it. The best analogy I can give is that of a great French soft cheese, like a good unpasteurised Brie, for example. Some say it’s super pungent, but to me it’s like a golden tingling sensation. The runny creamy texture and the sharp hit is like music to my tastebuds, or it could be like eating

I love reading restaurant reviews. Perhaps this comment from Heidi of Savory tv summarises it most succinctly: “Now you know I live nowhere close to London, so why am I reading a London restaurant review? Because I love your writing! And I get to live a bit vicariously through you, living the glamorous restaurant visiting life.” That’s exactly what I feel reading my favourite foodblog reviews ( Hi Helen ) , which is why I decided to build London Eater. And now, I’m giving you the chance to post your own restaurant review here. Everyone can enter (yes, that means you) and you have the chance of winning a prize amounting to the princely sum of £ 50 if you do

Weekly round-up of yummi-news from around london and the blogosphere, every Sunday. Brought to you, via the magic of the tube and the imagination of Kang the LE. Dominion Theatre, Totenham court road Honorable caretaker of the internet tubes, the most gracious LCD of your computer, Ladies and Gentlemen. It is my privilege to usher in the grand new year of 2009 with this humble round-up – the first – of the year. Before I do so, please allow me to (re) introduce myself; I am Kang, the aforementioned London Eater and for the next couple of minutes, if you let me, I will be presenting to you the highs, the lows and all shades of atrociousness which occurred over the week here on London Eater – only the lowliest of all food blogs in the virtual land. I will then move to provide you with snippets of news related to our great city of London and finally, I will conclude with but a short-list of some of the more distinguished bringers of tales of awe & splendour from across the virtual lands. Shall I begin

In part one, it was all about the big & fluorescent things, here in part two we focus on the food. It’s almost, an all German, all Bavarian affair. Only two more days left to go. Last day is Sunday 4th Jan folks. The official site is here. At the end of part one, I left you with on the door step of the christmas market ( and after spinning about on the UFO thing ). After a much needed lunch break, I’m firmly back in my blogging chair to resume part two of this series. Funfairs are great for the puke inducing rides and all, but it wouldnt be much of a fun fair if the air was not filled with aromas of all kinds of grilled meat now would it? The story of a german grill So I alluded to those german long things in part one, and here we jump straight into it. Legend has it the wurst is long, bouncy and full of flavour. Ok, well that’s depending on which kind of wurst you’re having that is. The last time I check, currywurst (literally sausages with curry) was Germany’s most favorite dish (bit like our chippie I suppose) and are basically grilled pork sausages, diced and then smothered with smooth curry sauce. Yowza

This is the first article you are reading on this website (or it isnt, but just go along with it anyway ) . You’re from beyond the shores and wondering what we Brits eat , or perhaps you’re just a little out of reach from the Big Smoke and have always wondered why city wide boys (no, I’m not one.) throw their money away feasting on overfed snails. Well, forget everything you read, instead let me take you on my quest for culinary indulgence in the year of 2008, in the city of smoke and in search of that dish

Weekly round-up of yummi-news from around london and the blogosphere. Now released every Sunday and brought to you by a London eater. A snowy christmas eve‘s eve special! Good morrow fellow webbist reader, trust all is merry, jingly and that you have stocked your fridge up and someone is busy in the kitchen (as we speak) shoving all manners of savoury goodness into oversized birds (sorry vegans) while the latest brew of hot mulled herbies or cold alcoholic custards are being concocted. For there isn’t a better time to be furrily merry and no one is more so than yours truly

a dollop of off-the-curb eating quirk to brighten up those midweek blues every wednesday or thursdays or both. (warning: this post is NC-17) This is one of the most hilarious marketing campaigns I’ve ever come across. cnn.com ran a video about FLAME today. ‘What’s FLAME ?’ you might ask; Well it is only the latest body spray of seduction.. with a hint of char-broiled meat. Cue sexy porno music in background with 80′s style saxaphone. And then a deep baritone voice comes on and says…. ‘FLAME’. Come on baby, give it a spray&#

Weekly round-up of yummi-news from around london and the blogosphere. Now released every Sunday and brought to you by a London eater. Ranting about oversalt at hibiscus, wondering why a humbug club exists in the UK and reading up on great christmas recipes. Come in and join me won’t you

You have a strange food fancy don’t you? Let’s face it , weird combinations can and often will turn out better than one might expect. How else could you explain michelin star chefs turning bread into jelly, or working bacon into an ice cream ? Ok, i’m going to out myself here and declare my weirdest food combo: Laksa and a cheese toastie. Laksa is a sort of curry noodle soup and a cheese toastie is well, a cheese toastie. It might sound weird, but damn does it taste good! I thoroughly recommend you get a bowl at your nearest thai takeaway and dunk that toastie into the luscious soup ( you just have to take my word for it ) . The other time I had curry and cheese was a baked curry lasagne. Very good too. Anyway, if you think i’m weird, here’s more weirdness around the web

Weekly round-up of yummi-news from around london and the blogosphere. Now released every Sunday and brought to you by a London eater. Apologising for the lack of eater news, introducing the midweek quirkers and watching boris johnson not turn left in the reasonably priced car

Some of you might have noticed that I missed last sunday’s edition of eating&reading. Thanks to a combination of work related issues, a notorious double charging ticketing machine at the local cinema and other non-mentionables, I was kept completely offline for the entire weekend. I’m still feeling the ripples of withdrawal. To make up for the lack of weekend quirkiness I’m introducing the midweek eating quirker! Reporting the very latest in the world of eating quirkiness to help break up those mid week blues. Yes, these will be an ongoing series of super short posts ( I’ll limit to 250 words if possible ) to report on some of the more unique things I’ve read so far , in my role as resident london eater. Okies, so hang tight friends, I’m prepping the brussels sprouts ice cream to go out in a couple of hours as we speak

Jingle bells. It’s not long now before I break out the reindeer sleights and go ho ho ho across the London skyline… hey it’s Christmas – miracles do happen. I’m taking a break from the usual eating, because it’s chrissymas! Chrissymas is one of my favourite holidays because, well, my company is closed for 10 days and I don’t have to work. But it also gives me an excuse to cosy up without being dodgy. Most of all, chrissymas means yet more reasons to buy gifts and more gifts. Ah yes, tis’ the season to be jolly. So are you starting to think about your Christmas shopping yet? Well I am and if you’re stuck, then here’s some ideas to work up those warm wintery holiday feelings

The trust thing All writers want to be read and all seek the reward of trust and consequently the foundation of a loyal readership. That precarious writer-reader relationship is personal and one which I think is dependant on both the skill of the writer and his untold mojo to draw an audience. This trust thing is tricky. Take my own trusted reads for example. I’ve never been to New York and know next to nothing about it, but I regularly follow the midtown lunch updates and over time, I’ve established a level of trust in the blogger – to the point where if I go to NY, he would be my first point of resource. Contrast that to London, where I don’t tend to be a loyal follower of any one source. While I have a bias toward the timeout chaps, I’d feel safer taking a second opinion from an american in london and even urbanspoon before finally taking the plunge. It must be psychological I’m sure – but this trust thing, its difficult business. If you can’t beat em, may as well join em More and more publishers are now embracing web 2.0 rather than loathe it. In addition to his rather gloomy reviews, Jay Rayner regularly flexes his muscular opinions in the guardian word of mouth blog. Hah! The empire strikes back, foodies

Whose view do you warm to ? A superstar food critic who writes for the established publishing house or the  living room eater who has a passion for food equal to , if not greater than the aforementioned superstar. A pinch of salt “ Really? ” The first thought that comes to mind when I read recommendations. I guess its quite normal to open the bonnet and kick the tyres before taking the plunge. As low-cost publishing capabilities expand with technology, its not surprising that the food blogging community has exploded. Everybody has a critic in them and the blogger platform seems suited for the average food lover to voice frustration or shower praise over his latest gastro-ventures. No disrespect to the Giles Corens and Guy Dimonds of our world, but how hard can it be to rant about last night’s dinner? Sure, I’m one of those who asked that question, being just the latest to join the food blogger phenomenon. This debate has been floating around for a while now; is the traditional restaurant critic a dying breed in a world increasingly driven by social media

There was no way I could miss this monster of an event dubbed the ‘ultimate gourmet food show’ and I didn’t. I spend much of last saturday whizzing around london olympia, nibbling on free samples, being swayed by the latest gimmickry in kitchen technology, sipping free wine and also managed to squeeze in some food in between. I took less pictures than I anticipated, but I think I managed to get the ones that mattered.. and this one, definitely matter. Do read on to have a look at more

Weekly round-up of yummi-news from around london and the blogosphere. Now released every Sunday and brought to you by a London eater. My buttons need sewing while I’m on a quest to find more burger, reading up on 25 other ways to use vinegar and blogging about guest bloggers

Weekly round-up of yummi-news from around london and the blogosphere. Now released every Sunday and brought to you by a London eater. I’m cruising & dining on the thames, running circles around Maze, thinking about a burlesque show in a seedy venue and making five minute cakes in the microwave

After a long morning staring at that spreadsheet or coming out from yet another mind numbing meeting with the powers that be, you are greeted by yet more paper pushing. You are very much looking forward to a quiet lunch at your desk, to double check those numbers perhaps and maybe steal a quick minute to catch a daily dose of your favourite foodblog updates. For some apparent reason, you have landed upon this site and are five seconds away (from getting frustrated by my reminder of yet another morning in the bland and soulless climb up the corporate ladder) from hitting Google on your bookmarks… Wait. I’m about to give you ten reasons why you should keep reading this

Weekly round-up of yummi-news from around london and the blogosphere. Now released every Sunday and brought to you by a London eater. Eating giant pancakes, thinking about the christmas lights on Oxford street and surfing the london blogging community