It has been a while since I last wrote about how my little blog was really doing in the wide, wide internet. I have since switched over to sitemeter and slowly overhauled the design and structure of the blog. As a consequence, my sitemeter stats only start from about mid October … I’m a number cruncher you see and I love bar graphs, Google analytics doesnt offer them.

So how are we doing so far?

Well, it’s no real surprise the numbers were low in December with just over 7000 visits, you returned in January , but only slightly with 7,600 visits, hopefully this means that site traffic is on the up and up. To date I’ve had well over 100,000 page views, approved over 1000 comments and written 124 posts. I have always said that if I can get 100 readers per day , I would be a happy camper, I have and Im a pretty happy camper.

So dear reader if you are among the 7,600 visitors in January, thank you for your continual support – I am committed to writing better articles and take even more sumptuous photos for your pleasure.

Perhaps a more important stat that site traffic are my RSS subscriber numbers. Back in November, it was still pretty non-existent, even now it’s just a measly number – but in the grand scheme of things, 120 subcribers for a niche city blog after about 5 months of blogging is not too shabby. That’s 120 people who ( I assume ) find my reviews useful and have elected to reserve a seat whenever I take the virtual podium. If you’re one of my subscribers, thank you very much – its nice to know I am writing to people who want to read my work and for that I’m grateful.

My objectives

Back in the first seventy five days, I laid out a few goals I wanted to blog toward and I’m glad I have been able to achieve some of the things I set out to do:

1. I twittered and twitted and now have about 450 followers. Thanks guys, Im at @LondonEater
2. I have yet to start my bi-weekly newsletter – I would like to do so in the next couple of months, but I have a funny idea to collab with someone to help launch something abit more targeted and meaningful for the citizens of London , and anybody interested in gossiping about the Smoke. If you currently stewing about an email newsletter about London , then we might be potential partners. Email me if interested.
3. I have integrated a new set of articles here: Opinion. And I’m loving it. I write them every wednesday/thursday under the guise of the ‘Midweek Quirker’ and you can find some of them under the Feed your Mind sidebar to your right. I enjoyed writing the critic vs blogger the most.
4. I have established a pretty firm presence on Urbanspoon and have worked out a schedule to integrate my stuff there. I’d like to now start upping my contribution to Niamh’s TrustedPlaces.
5. In terms of a site landing page, I’ve overhauled the About page to include everything you need to know about London Eater; a why subcribe? page to help you subscribe to my feed; a restaurant review page that shows all the reviews and a links page for any link loving. I went abit obsessive with minimalism – lots of white space, minimal pages and simple and straightforward design in a way that my blog can be pitched in ten words ( or less ) :
   LondonEater.com is a foodblog helping you find that dish.

Ideas for the immediate future

1. Useful articles. I am shunning wine articles for the next quarter because I’d like to shift my focus and write a new set of blog posts: stuff that will help make an aspect of your life easier. I’m thinking food photography tips, food blog start up help , social media promotion , it’s all still abit muddy so we shall see how this pans out.
2. Guest Posting. I did my first gig at Gourmet Chick and I am looking to give away my best stuff to anybody who is willing to have me. I’m trying to line up at least one gig per week, I am doing Hungry Mouse this weekend, Simply Scrumptious & Chew on that next week, Mark of Global Patriot extended an invite to which I am publicly accepting it here and finally I’m working on C and T for a guest blog over here or at Metrotwin. Beyond that, I’d love to give a food photo guest post to dPS but I best write it first and see if it will get the nod from Darren.
3. Restaurant reviews. Will continue to get most of my attention and I will pump even more of my time to ensure that they are of the highest quality. I’m no literary genius or a pro photo man, but I do know what I want to read when it comes to food porn.

Apologies for the interruption to normal proceedings – eating resumes tomorrow with a visit to Arbutus and a visit to Obika will follow this friday. Till then, happy reading and hope you’re snuggled up at home and watching the snow fall in the back garden!

Did you enjoy reading this post? Why not subscribe to my feed updates for free. You can also subscribe via email too, and for free.

I’m committed to producing great foodie content and I’m always looking for ways to improve the user experience and ensure that all articles are entertaining and delicious. If you like what you read on LE , I would love for you to subscribe to my latest updates. The updates are free and also spam-free, I don’t make any money if you subscribe, but what I do get is motivation and inspiration to write even more great content as LE’s subscriber numbers grow. Here are ten more reasons why you should subscribe to London Eater.

Reason #1. What is London Eater?

London Eater (LE) is a city food blog which provides reviews for great stuff to eat in London. I try to keep things personable, humorous, and entertaining as much as I can. Think of this as a little column designed to deliver an update on what to eat in London with a dash of humour.

I strive to show all food in the best light possible, so I ensure that all my pictures captured are of a certain quality. Bad lighting will not get in my way of getting the best possible pictures. I think that currently they are good, but I am always looking for ways to improve my food photography and create an even better user experience.

Reason #2. Why subscribe?

Subscribing to the London Eater feed allows you to receive all the latest updates when they get published allowing you to keep up to date with the latest London eating news, offers and yummy restaurant articles here on London Eater. The best way is to subscribe to the London Eater RSS feed.

Reason #3. What is RSS?

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and it allows websites to publish all their latest updates in the form of a news feed. Using an RSS reader, you can subscribe to these feeds and be able to track the latest stuff from your favourite websites without having to manually go to the web address on a regular basis to see what has been added.

It has given millions of people the ability to tell their favourite websites to send them the latest updates for their reading pleasure.

Think of it as a magazine subscription which sends you a copy every month – RSS works in a similar way and will send you the latest updates ( in my case, the latest blog posts ) directly to your RSS reader of choice.

Reason #4. What is an RSS Reader?

There are several great web-based RSS readers which are free. The great advantage of RSS readers is that it allows you to subscribe to multiple news feeds (including mine) and lets you follow all your favourite websites from one tidy place. Some of the most popular ones to use are Google Reader and Bloglines. I am a firefox user and so I get my updates using Sage.

If you want to steer clear of dedicated RSS readers, your up-to-date web browser would also allow you to subscribe to news feeds. When you surf onto a webpage, your browser will automatically tell you if an RSS feed is available, on firefox , it looks like this:

On Safari, it will look like this:

What you do next is to click on the RSS icons and your browser will allow you to subscribe to the feed as a live bookmark.

The best way to learn how to use an RSS reader is to simply get one and start subscribing to a few RSS feeds. Try it now .

Reason #5. Subscribing using Email instead of RSS

If you want to steer clear of RSS completely, then you can subscribe to LE via Email instead. When a new post is released, it will be sent to your email on that day. Currently, daily email updates are sent out at 9PM GMT. If there is no new content posted on that day, then there won’t be an email sent to your account.

You are free to unsubscribe at any time you wish and all the emails are kept private and will not be used for any other purposes. No strings attached at all.

Reason #6. Content, content and more content

I am always seeking new and better ways to deliver great content and always looking for new ways to keep you entertained and make your reading worthwhile. Currently, I have three types of flagship articles which get weekly updates:

1. Restaurant Reviews If it’s good or not, how much and is it worth your money. I will strive to do one every Tuesday and Friday.
2. Midweek Eating Quirker A dollop of off the wall eating news to lift your mid week blues and will be posted every Wednesday and Thursday.
3. Eating&Reading Sunday , A round up of the snippets of news (including any offers) in London , a list of great blogs & websites to read and also a round-up of new posts on LE.

In addition, there will be occasional content such as food market trips, wine write-ups, perhaps write-up on irresistible offers and perhaps a couple of editorials on food.

Reason #7. What kind of restaurant reviews and is it worth my while?

I am striving to strike a balance between eating out at restaurants which will stretch across all kinds of budgets. Whether your budget for a meal is £5 or £150 or if you are looking for a bowl of soba or a great grilled steak, it is my aim to help you find great places to eat out in London which will fit your budget, occasion, location and type of food.

In my reviews, I will strive to be as objective as I can and describe, in as much detail as possible, as to why I think the particular meal was good. I aim to help firm up my opinions with great quality photographs.

In that regard, I will strive to release at least two reviews per week:

1. On Tuesday, will be a full course meal and a nice place for dinner
2. A budget place, a café or just a nice relaxing place to grab lunch or a coffee

If I find more great things, I will obviously write about it too. I am committed to improving my writing and aim to keep things crystal clear, at the same time, quirky and light hearted, so you are entertained, engaged and feel like you’ve read something that was worth your while.

Reason #8. My commitment to future content and even more great stuff

I am constantly looking for ways to provide even more great reads for you, in the future I am planning to expand the wine section to include a weekly recommendation for a great bottle to get. In addition, I am also planning to add a monthly newsletter and also provide series of posts in the form of a ‘quickie guide’ .

Reason #9. London Eater is 100% independent and survives because of you.

London Eater is completely independent and maintained by me. All the stuff you see on this website is the result of endless hours of me slaving away after work hours. I produce all the photographs on this website, I do all the custom graphics & site design and I do all the writing. If I put anything up that isn’t mine, I will credit the original source and I will observe any and all copyrights. London Eater will continue to exist as long as you keep coming back to read it.

Reason #10 I have a passion for food and I want to make you smile

Food has been my passion for as long as I know and I love food like an obsession. My reason is simple: I love Life and I want to lead a healthy and full one. I inherited this passion from a father who taught me that ‘if you have no health, you have no wealth’. I strongly believe that food can bring people together and in an ever increasingly wacky world, it is the golden time for family to catch up and just be together.

Finally, I write because I want to bring a smile to people and share my passion with everyone I know. I feel fortunate to be able to enjoy the little things in life and I hope that this little food blog will someday make a positive contribution to our world.

Those are my ten reasons; the next step is to subscribe either by rss or email. Give London Eater a try, if you don’t like it, just unsubscribe, but if you do, then I look forward to providing you with yet more interesting eating articles.

Thank you!

(Almost) Everytime I’m out and about snapping things, I manage to get alot of pictures of the people around me. It started out being completely accidental, but these days I’ve started to realise that people are what adds to the buzz of a certain place. During this walk about, I captured some pretty beautiful people.

Like these lovely ladies whom asked me to help them take a snap (with their camera). I duly obliged and also took a picture of them with my nikon. So beautiful girl whoever you are, I gave you my url, if you are reading this, then please drop me an email at kang.leong@londoneater.com.

I’ll be waiting ….. in the mean time, check out the rest of the pictures from this trip.

Wide eyed wanderer

I wish I remember how it felt like to be ten years old, to be among the lights and the people. Everything seems to be in high technicolor and everything I experience is new. Oh, wait – I still feel like that now.

Making memories in a giant snow globe

People like observing other people. People like observing other people do stuff. People sometimes don’t realise that they are being observed while observing, like the way you are observing me observing these ladies in a giant snow globe.

Don’t forget the ones who put this thing together

This was taken close to the end of the night – he’s already closed shop and his grill is almost sprinkly clean. I like this photograph, he cuts a solitary figure in his christmas grill shop ….a hard days’ night.

Abit of sparkle

This was suppose to go into part one, being that it is big and sparkly , but then I thought, well look at all the folks watching the lights, those lights are very cool.

Is he a person too?

I’d like to think so.

And on that photograph…

I actually live very close to hyde park. In fact, I live so close to it, I can run there in 3 minutes. It feels very, very lonely living in zone one considering most of my mates are in the outer rims of zone four. But it’s been close to seven years since I made my residence in west london and it’s very much home to me now.

Anyway, it’s Sunday, it’s freezing cold and I need abit of warm mulled wine to keep me going. Hope you enjoyed this series and don’t forget to spend time with the loved ones today.

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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.

Personally, I prefer my seasoned minces between nice warm bread, but the German eat it sans flour. I should know, I was in Hamburg when I was introduced to it. Anyway, they sell these things out of carts in Hamburg and serve them with a choice of baguette. You can actually catch a pretty authentic cart ( I think they brand themselves as dutch/german though I could be wrong) which is a permanent feature at portobello market – unmissable because you can see the queue from a mile away and you can hear the sizzles of the grill and smell the meat. Yummy. Otherwise, the christmas market at hyde park has about five or six of the sausage grill stalls. Take your pick, they are all good.

German sweet things

Gummies, liquorice, dried sweet stuff and other rubbery sweets ( sour apple? perhaps ) and a stall featuring the whole lot of them. Interestingly enough, the gummy bear originates from Germany and the most famously consumed staple among german little ones ( and probably the main source of income for German dentists ) are the products from Haribo. I’m certain they sell them at Sainsbury’s or Waitrose… but the imported crap just doesnt rate when compared to the ones they sell in Germany… ah, maybe it’s just all in my head.

A tip that may come in handy for the boys: learn how to stick a gummy bear to a tree and you’re half-way to getting that first date with the lovely german mate of yours whom you’ve had a secret crush on for years and years now.

( I still don’t know how to do it and as a result she dumped me… take it from one who’s been there.)

Give a Lebkuchen heart before they go back to germany

If you love me, fraulein, you can buy me one of these Lebkuchen hearts (with an extra special message scrawled over it with icing) that could say “I love you, Kang.” or “You’re special, Kang”, perhaps “You are the only one… I keep in my heart, Kang.” but what I really want is “I want to hug you…. tight, Kang.”

Or maybe you don’t want to give me a cookie with a special (if abit creepy) message.

These German Christmas cookies tastes rather like gingerbread cookies , dry and crunchy, they are sometimes also known as Honigkuchen, or honey cakes and are sold wrapped in cling film. They are perhaps mostly infamously prominent in the raunchy tale of Hansel and Gretel, and makes for a nice winter stocking filler. There you go – that’s one less christmas present idea to worry about, only another 350 odd days left (early bird, always catches …something.)

Ok so that’s what’s hanging above, below we have….

… even more sweet things! More liquorice and honey cakes and also chocolate coated fruits. Hang on, let’s get the next picture out:

Look! Chocolate coated apples. They also do the apples in a candy (sugar?) coated variety , but the really good stuff are these giant chocolate coated strawberries. Super yummy. Oh, almost forgot to mention my favorite – the chocolate coated banana.

Yeah, get the white chocolate one girls, and oh whoops, I think you have abit of white chocolate hanging off your lips. Tissue?

(sorry, being cheeky there.)

Europe representatives of sweetness

More french than german this one – complete with nutella, not that I have anything against the crepes at wonderland, but if it’s london crepes you’re after, then you need to head to south kensington, just outside the station there’s a small french creperie (next to oriental canteen and their roast duck which is lip-smacking too) that does fillings such as eggs & spinach & cheese, ratatouille and my favorite white belgian chocolate with banana.

Since we’re going around the continent then I may as well throw this one in..

….. come on England! Yup, thats aberdeen angus burger baps with fried onions. I’d like mine with cheddar please.

While we’re on the topic of pancakes and europe, these dutch mini pancakes are like mini pockets of joy. Sorry I didnt get a shot up close…. I gobbled them up as soon as I ordered them.

Before the final act befalls

I am assured that this is a bavarian style food market and is complete with a bavarian style hog roast on the spit. Poor thing, it really tastes great, especially with those german style pan fried potatoes ( think fat thick cut and juicy crisps ) . Now, what are they called again, ah yes that’s it – bratkartoffeln, lovely stuff they are.

You know what, all this snapping is making me thirsty, time for a break and one of these:

Coming in part three…

So there are large pieces of machinery throwing people around in all ways to turn stomach (at extortionately high prices) and you have also set up dozens of ‘authentic’ food stalls ( also, at extortionately high prices ) .

However, all this means nothing if you don’t have these guys:

Yup, that’s right, in part three it’s all about the people who make the magic believable….

You, and you and you and you too.

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Ok, so here’s the situation. It’s new year’s eve, it’s freezing cold at 3 C, you’re in London and you happen to walk past hyde park corner and wonder what the lights and fuss are all about. There’s far too many people around you, you hear the cheesy winter 80′s wham blaring from the hot dog stands, you see the children laughing with their parents and beautiful strangers walk up to you asking you to help them freeze their experience in time…. what do you do?

Too late, that was last year. It is now 2009, the winter wonderland in Hyde Park continues but it’s only staying till sunday (4th January 2009) and you can either go there NOW…. or you can keep on reading and I’ll show you the sprinkles of magic those Germans have brought to our park. ( and then you can go there tonight )

Remember this guy?

I always wondered what happens after christmas, where do all the lights go? What do you do with the tree, how about the decorations…. left over turkey – hey what if I’m still feeling those wintery feelings? But it’s like sombre and it’s already the 1st of Jan, yet I still don’t want to go back to work … can I please, please , please just have one more night to make those holiday blues go away?

Yes. You. Can.

What is this German sausage business?

The german sausage is a beauty, it’s really, really long, chock full of flavour, bouncier as oppose to our chunky and chewy sausages here… and it tastes great! Anyway, the winter wonderland is packed full of all manner of fun ( and it’s free ) , it’s got an ice rink, small but real ice. It has a mini london eye (weee..) , it has a roller-coaster ( it really does ) , a giant 40 feet slide ( I have photos to prove it ) and it has an ‘authentic’ german market featuring more wurst, baguettes, crepes and beer than you can shake a stick at. Wunderbar.

Take a walk with me why don’t you?

For it may be a dark and cold winter night, but behind it lies truly wondrous things of luminosity and fervent fan fare.

London is a truly atmospheric place. With every season, the city seems to morph itself to suit the occasion. January is traditionally the coldest month of the year and it looks like this year ( wow, it really is 2009 already ) is shaping up to be the same. But it’s not a bad thing that it’s cold, because that means that everybody wraps up warm, german christmas markets get setup and you get surrounded by the bright flourescent lights and the sound of warm laughter. The energy of happy people is really an experience on to itself, naturally I had to capture this on camera, to try and freeze the moments and encapsulate that energy.

Are you feeling the buzz yet?

Let’s jump into the ice rink

It was such a beautiful new year’s eve when I took this picture. Everything was perfect ( including the freezing cold ) and the ice rink really came alive with abit of sparkle and magic. I mean just look at it. The lights coming off the monuments of fun, erected in the distance – almost like flares stuck onto the structures, the moody blue spotlights shine a kind of neon cool to the icy surface and finally, the people bringing the whole experience to life.

….. and you even have a maintenence guy trying to fix a chink in the rink armour. It’s winter wonderland indeed.

Cycle Carousel

Or the merry go round as some people call it. I just had to do this one, it’s like one of the reasons why people invest in dSLRs: the long exposure. Actually this one was only a second long but gosh look at the lights coming off of that thing, it really was beautiful. I liked the fact that people actually stopped and just stared at it going round and round… ahh, why can’t it be like this everyday?

When I looked to my right, I saw this…

There’s the 40 foot slide! And to the left -though not very clear- are the lights coming off of the rollercoaster, let’s get abit closer…

….and there you have it, the glorious, glorious slide. Toward the left, you can actually see the people going up the thing. I think ‘Munchner Rutschh’ roughly translates to monster slide? I could be wrong, of course.

As I tilt the camera to the left, we have the BIG roller coaster. The lights, just look at the lights on that thing.

UFO lights

I almost forgot to mention this UFO spinner thing. I wouldn’t have thought that you needed me to fill in the words with this one, it spins and people stop and stare and marvel at the lights. Wooo…

Intermission, waiting for part two

I’ll have you know, I’m a very organised sort of guy. You’ve come to the end of the first act, think of it as the big opening with the car chase scene, the explosions and the excitement (anybody saw quantum of solace? ) , not much dialogue just plenty of action to numb your senses. In part two, things get abit intimate, we’ll step into the christmas market, we’ll have a look at the food on offer and we’ll have abit of conversation…

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Its a bit of a dilemma. On one hand, a blog- in it’s very nature – is a tool to broadcast your thoughts, on the other hand, LE ain’t a personal venting machine for my emotional musings …and it’s rather like shouting to the wind if I ever did so (don’t think I have that many interesting thoughts to begin with).

But the attraction to do so is seductive. Once the thoughts start forming, and then the words start flowing, the process becomes a little unstoppable and it just feeds itself. I feel proud looking back at the past few months on the bulk of stuff I’ve managed to achieve. Granted, this site is still in it’s infancy, and I have many hopes and dreams for it going forward into the new year. I want it to be more than just a personal guide to london, I want to show you the colour and beauty through which I experience and above all, I wish to bring a smile to you.

If you’ll let me, for the 93rd time, I’d like to invite you once again to go on yet another literary odyssey, filled with wonder, excitement, the odd burst of humor to experience the sights through pictures and this time, let me take you through some of my own, personal, fondest memories of London Eater, 2008.

the accidental portrait

This one was taken on my visit to borough market. It’s completely accidental. I was snappy-happy with my camera and and swimming in the middle of the crowd hoping to get a shot of the atmosphere in the middle of the busy food market… and somehow I caught her – totally in focus – and smiling for the camera. When I wrote this post, I offered to give her this photograph if she ever came across this blog and I still am. Who are you oh lovely lady walking about in borough market? I think this is a great picture of you.

welsh monkfish tales

I spent alot of time at this restaurant when I was away in Wales earlier this year. When I say alot, it’s like five dinners in a week for two months. I’ve practically eaten everything on the menu. I was still learning my way around the camera and this was still shot in jpeg and I was still rather clueless about levels. It was a really bright and sunny day ( rare, really it is) , I sat by the window and the lighting was just really perfect. So was the fish too. Just, Perfect. Quite possibly, the best monkfish I’ve ever had… for now.

Eating in the dark at dans le noir… not dan le noir

There is a superb typo on my blog. Superb because my eating in the dark write-up should have been about dans le noir and not dan le noir and its amazing how this little typo has propagated throughout the blog…. the funniest thing is that’s what people point out to me when they first read my blog.

“Kang I caught you” says reader.

“Caught muah, the infallible Genghis Kang?!” sez me.

“Yes you have a typo, it’s ‘dans’ not ‘dan’ ” quips the now winning reader.

“Crapola” says the no longer such infallible Genghis wannabe.

Yes you read it here on LE and if you hadnt yet – maybe you should do so here. It really was quite fun , but the photograph of the candle is real. Real in a sense that it’s not a stock photo. I actually took it at london’s oldest wine bar: Gordons. It’s pretty much like drinking in an underground wine cellar, atmospheric ( claustrophobic to some) and fun. I don’t know what it is, I just like this photograph alot – the saturation of the blackness against the solitary candle light. The blackness is so dark that there is no luminosity emanating from the flame… blackness, darkness, there’s just much more to this picture that you don’t see and I think its in the darkness that you don’t see which kind of sums up my experience at dans. There’s so much you don’t see – but it doesnt mean it’s not there.

Ah , I just like it.

talking about soul

I talk about restaurants and soul alot. If a kitchen is the heart that beats, then the setting and atmosphere is, naturally, the life and character which makes a restaurant come alive. Food at da aldo’s in soho will never be good enough for the michelin man but boy does this restaurant have soul. Heaps of it, bags of it. The vintage portraits seemingly untouched and dusty since the 1970s , the low hanging incandescents, the all too brash table cloths, the maturing wood and the burgundian walls. Da Aldo’s is alive, the food is so heartily bad, it’s good. We live for memories and I remember Da Aldo much like I remember nobu cod.

heroic sushi

Some say that sushi hiro is the best kept secret in london. After my first visit – I’m afraid I have to agree. It’s run by no more than three people and the sushi is ultra fresh. But I want to talk about this shot. It was the first time I used my 50mm primer for a shoot and I loved the images it produced. The wide aperture meant that I could create these fantastically striking poses with good bokeh and extremely shallow depth of field. The white edge of plate jutting out at you and the dramatic in your face nature of the shot somehow made the sushi seem so alive. This one was accidental, but quite possibly , the photo I’m most proud of so far.

breaking the fast

Hands up who hasn’t had, or heard of an english breakfast. I was in search of an ‘alternative’ to the old fry up and stumbled upon the tapa room in the marylebone area run by a couple of kiwis. Ive had my heart set on the nikon 16-85mm for awhile now. Its got great features in it’s excellent antishake capabilities, the ED glass and the wideangle. Lately, Ive been experimenting with closer shots of food. Instead of doing a full wide angle shot of the dish, I decided to focus more on the details. Leave some of the other bits to imagination and just zoom in close to really give you a flavour of the dish. The room was dark resulting in a shaky picture. I really should have taken a few more shots of this, but I got hungry. But still, the tomato is totally in focus and the poached egg toward the right hand side is just cool. This picture represents the style and direction to which my 2009 pictures are headed… for now, who knows what I will feel like changing to abit down the road.

finally, old vino

This was taken at berry bros & rudd, only my favorite wine shop in londres. The shop is more like a museum to be honest. The reception area had this shelf which housed these old wine bottles, all dusty and musky and detailed and vintage and super cool. Stare at the photo abit and you can see all the details in the wine labels. 

And on that note..

I hope you enjoyed this little trip down archive-land. I do hope your 2008 has been a great one, reflections are nice – taking a deep breathe and going ‘wooo, I ate all that?’ Hope your holidays continue to be merry and do come back here in a few days for my 2008 best eats list.

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london eater is the one man eating machine chomping his way through his beloved city of smoke.

Londoneater is officially 4 months old..yesterday. To mark the momentous occasion, I went on a rebranding spree and gave it a nice spit-shine. It’s all about minimalism and slickness going into the new year. From now on, I am no longer kang the konqueror , I’m going to call myself Kang the court jester of LE.

Muahaha.

slick, slick, slick

I’ve done away with the grey backgrounds, bold texts and cluttered sidebars in favour of a super slick, maximum white space, squeaky clean design. Generally speaking though, its a minor facelift as everything is still in the same place, a bit of widget reshuffling, otherwise it’s all pretty much still there. I’m currently in favour of a ‘less is more’ approach to sidebars – let’s face it, you’re not going to have the time to go through my many links ( more on this later ) , it’s just confusing with so much content crammed into two small side bars. So from now on, everything is uncluttered and and the above-the-fold stuff is what you need to surf the blog:

1. search button,
2. an rss feed subscribe widget (please do subscribe to all my updates via rss or email - afterall, it’s free and 100 % no spamming ) ,
3. a swirly tag cloud for candy and
4. a calendar so you can browse my latest additions.

That’s it! Clutter-free and easy on the eyes.

You’ll notice that I’ve incorporated a prominent ‘featured posts’ slide show smack in the main content area above the latest posts. I thought it’d be a good way for new readers to get acquainted with the historically popular posts. Go have a play with it at the home page if you wish. Personally, I don’t think much of slide shows, I just want to read the newest updates when I read blogs – but it’s added touch I suppose. We’ll see how it works out – comment on what you think of it please. Other than that, new pictures will be bigger now – 12% to be exact. Up to 560px from a previous 500px. I think bigger pictures tend to be more impactful.

new headers and revamped sub-pages

I’ve been cracking my head over how else I can brand the site, came up with all sorts of designs for the logo and I think I’m quite happy with the new look (for now) . I’m going to start calling myself kang at LE when commenting now -not that there are many kangs out there to begin with- but i think LE is nice.

What do you think of the new branding folks? Like? Dislike? Banu of befoodiealready said she prefers the old header… what do you think? I kept cheesecake.

In case you hadn’t noticed, I spend a good chunk of my time organising my posts into subpages for your convenience. You can find the link to each subpage on the nav bar. I’ve been slowly upgrading them over the months, while they are not what I would like them to be yet – they are beginning to take shape, I like to think of them as mini-hubs, like the restaurant page for instance where each review is made into a little square widget. Click to get to full article. There’s also a great big google map and I’ve drop-pinned all the places I’ve eaten at too. Go check it out here.

For the benefit of the rss readers, here’s a little sneak at the rest of the pages, starting with the wine section:

The just foods and london sections:

And the links page, I’m really proud of and would want to keep it up to date on a more consistent basis:

Sometime next year, I’ll make the links page into a ‘mini-blog’ in it’s own right complete with a photo of the week/link of the week kind of thing. The idea is to make the subpages come alive so in addition to the main blog, there will be other stuff happening elsewhere on the blog too. In my mind, I think of it as a sideblog in addition to the main blog. Don’t know how I’m going to have the time to do it all though. Till then, do watch this space.

What do you think of the new stuff folks? Do you have any advice or suggestions as to how I can make things better?

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……….. in case you hadn’t noticed, just a little heads-up.

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.

1. Personalise a moo portrait

I’m sure you’ve heard about this great little company called moo that does personalised cards, note cards, business cards which allows you to upload any pictures you want and print them for reasonable prices. This year, they’ve unleashed the moo portrait frame which lets you shuffle about the mini-moo cards and arrange them in which ever way you wish , making for a ‘new’ portrait every time you get bored of it hanging on the wall. Anyway, this would make for a great idea for loved ones instead of the mandatory knitwear don’t you think? You can also personalise and make your own christmas cards too, so what are you waiting for? There is no better occasion to moo than now.

2. The self sustaining ecosphere

Alright, I’m a sucker for gadgets.

Especially the really cool ones. This one in particular is uber-cool. It’s a self sustaining closed (nope you can’t reach inside) mini living world which needs no maintanence aside from the odd tank cleaning (using the magnet operated internal scrubber) and plenty of sunshine for sustenance. In the same way our world is dependent upon the sun for enrichment, so is this mini-world. The inhabitants are these tiny shrimps who mate and reproduce like they’re the only two shrimps left in the world. The oxygen is produced from the plants, CO2 get absorbed by the plants and the vegetation also act as food for the beloved shrimplites, whose decomposing wastes gets chewed up by bacteria and ultimate go back to the greens for sustenance. It’s a living world encased in glass.. brilliant!!

If you’re in London, I’ve seen them being sold at the RED5 gadget shop on the 1st floor in Westfields. Otherwise, you can order directly from their website here. If you know somebody (like me) who appreciates life and pets (esp self-sustaining ones) then this is the ideal gift.

3. Iberico Ham

Without question, the best ham in the world. The pigs are fed on an acorn diet and treating like pig-kings. Their legs are then hung for up to 36 months and the end result is this moist, smooth, chewy yet soft texture which is very uniquely different to any other hams. The best ibericos are nutty, sweet (like acorns) , mature , savoury and really appetising. In London, Selfridges are exclusively importing this stuff directly from Spain. Be forewarned, it’s pricy (£15 per 100g) but you’ll love it. Perfect as an alternative to the mandatory bottle of wine for when you are visiting the in-laws.

4. Villandry christmas hampers

I had a quick peek at these. While I’m abit sceptical about hampers in general , villandry’s stuff looks really good and while the prices seem abit exuberant, the one in the picture is the ultimate ‘christmas carol‘ at a hefty £350, it is packed with far too much goodness for me to list. Perhaps you could look into the more slim line boxing day morning hamper at a more reasonable £55.

For those of you among us who are profiteering in the global recession. Read more here.

5. The x-factor christmas number one

Ok, none of the ones left are going to be the next Leona Lewis, but Cheryl Cole stole my heart a lot time ago and I’m (shamelessly) supporting whatever she does.

(Cheryl, are you reading this? All I want is a quick peck on the cheek)

6. Book an expensive hotel in the city for a cheap price

Rumour has it that the great big smoke that is London becomes and empty ghost town come Christmas day. And that means that all the five star establishments suddenly become as cheap as chips. If you’re not entertaining the in laws by the fireplace then head on over to superbreak.com for some super deals, make sure you get one close to the shops just so you’ll be first in line for boxing day sales. I’ve got my eye on a brown ted baker ‘endurance’ range, slim cut please. Also, do  make sure you check the hotel out on tripadvisor.com for peace of mind.

7. Donate to a charity

Bah hambug. You don’t believe in the spirit of St. Nick then at least believe in the goodness of giving. On my visit to hibiscus, £1 was optionally added to my bill. It turns out this £1 was for a charity called streetsmart that helps get the homeless off the streets of London. Yes, I know there’s plenty of other charities who need help, but I see the homeless outside Gloucester road station every day, if there is a concerted effort to help these folks, then I’ll do my part. Besides, I’m sure every little bit go a long way. Read more here.

8. Mini pet cactus

I’m a sucker for cool gadgets. I found this self-sustaining mini cactus key ring through legal andrew which pointed me to the think geek website where they sell a range of cool, albeit geeky scientific gadgets. All very cool and I’m loving the mini cactus. Its soaked in a magically blue gel.. And it’s alive!!

Only problem is they only ship within the states and that they don’t ship to the UK. (wink, hint, wink, hint, wink,wink, hint)

9. Robotic chick

This is from the same website which sell cool and absolutely useless gadgets (emphasis on cool). Come on, who wouldn’t love a cute robotic chick for Christmas?

Same problem again, no shipping outside of US. (not so hard winks on this one)

10. If you really need to get a bottle of wine

Then head on over to the Oddbins Fine wine branch in Notting Hill Gate and pick up a bottle of the very fine David Duband range. 2005 was a great year for burgundies, as it has been for the past couple of years, sparking some sort of revival after a series of appalling vintages (97 through to 03). More detail here.

11. Of course, if you’re going out for a Christmas meal…

…. Go have some awesome German saugages, german potatoes, go on the great big slide and have some chocolate smothered bananas at the hyde park winter wonderland!

12. …but If you really, really need to eat out then

I suggest you go for broke at Hibiscus. It really is lovely.

Now go out and be jolly.

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My moo cards finally arrived and I thought it’d be nice to talk abit about them. If you do a quick flickr search for moo cards, you’ll find there’s a quite a following for these super cool things. I was surfing around for an appropriate idea for abit of offline blog promotion and came across moo.com . I thought this would make for some great cards, perhaps too nice to give away.

Following the lead of moo lovers on flickr, I’m posting my moo love here as well. I went for the £10 for 50 business cards deal , each one with a different picture at the front. They arrived after just about a week after I ordered them, nice and speedy.

You are well aware that I love a good photo shoot and thought it appropriate to break out my 50mm primer for some moo card loving. If you’ve never heard of moo, they are based right here in london and they love to print a range of products. Their most famous range are the rectangular ‘mini-cards‘. If you have a pro flickr account, I think you can get a free pack of 10.

Moo also does postcards, note cards, stickers. The best part is the fact that its completely customisable and you can have a variety of pictures on the front. I think it’s great for a blog because the customizability lets you highlight the very assets each and every blog has – it’s vast content. It was just a great way of bringing all the online content into the real world. It wasnt till I received my moo cards that I ‘held’ london eater in my hands. It felt alittle awkward I must say and then it kind of hit me… london eater is real!

Of course the question in your mind must be “quality.” Well, the paper its printed on, is quite thick (2mm maybe?) and has this smooth matte finish, lending a silky feel. The text at the back is slick and the photos, while not as vibrant as they would appear on screen, still looks great. Just make sure you upload it large (I did it at 6.1 M) and set your pictures to 300 dpi to ensure maximum sharpness.

I was mulling over what to put on the back, initially i wanted each card to have a quote which matched the picture in the front, so for example, picture of burger in front, at back it would say “Gourmet burgers have landed” … or something to that effect. But they can’t do 50 different texts at the back. So I had to settle with just my blog tag line. Minor complaint – but still a very happy customer They can however, do 50 different text fronts, so I think the next ones I might order are going to be quotes or headlines from my various posts.

So, do you want some of my moo? If so – let me know, I’m itching to give them out. If you have some moos, then be sure to send them my way, I’m starting a collection.

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