Hello 2014! …So how’ve you been? I’m guessing you’re still very disciplined adhering to your dry January schedule to sweat off those holiday excesses. My 2013 was a bit of a whirlwind. Lots of distractions, not enough time, but there was enough time to put…
My search for the fabled beef began about a year ago when I first visited Japan, spending 2 weeks or so trekking around Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe and Kyoto; and then again this spring back to Tokyo. I’ve spent nearly just as long trying to write…
Extra sprinkles of smoked pixie dust make The Smokehouse more than just a decent pub and dining room, after two visits, I have got to admit that I love what they’re trying to do. Yes, I’m still struggling to get my blogging groove back (incidentally,…
In 2011, Blumenthal opened Dinner at the Mandarin Oriental in Knightsbridge; In 2012, Ollie Dabbous’ debut effort quickly won universal acclaim from the zeitgeist (and continues to sell out every night) but in 2013, it seems London’s darling of the moment is Tom Sellers’ permanent…
3rd May 2016 UPDATE: Revisited in 2016 for the Extended Taster Menu. Worth a read. Review here. OK I’m back. Kind of. Service is resumed so to speak. You’ve been keeping well I hope. It’s been a while I know, I’m still eating out but…
…in my dreams, they are delivered through sealed message tubes passed directly from the Arzak to Ametsa kitchens, through an elaborate infrastructure of pneumatically controlled subsea pipelines underneath the Bay of Biscay. On one hand, it should be obvious that quality of food is controlled…
It’s not that I don’t like ‘high end’ Chinese food, it’s just that I don’t think the cooking is good enough to set it apart from (say) the average Chinese restaurant. Yes that Ling Ling bar is still genius interior design after all these years,…
All signs indicate that we are about to witness the second emergence of ramen in London; But this time, perhaps with less national franchise designs, and more of a focused effort on being small scale, independent, an identity differentiated by quality recipes. You already know…
Happy new year! So how are we all finding 2013 so far? All good I hope, and I also hope you made the most to completely over do it over the holiday period. In the Leong household, we opted out of the usual cote de…
Last year was definitely exciting with the number of new openings, pop-ups going permanent, burgers, ribs and things like that. I was sure that this year wasn’t going to match the relentlessness of the past two, but I guess I was wrong, especially with burgers…
It gives me great pleasure to write about my favourite Japanese restaurant in London, recently relaunched and relocated to Bayswater and renamed …The Shiori! Owned & operated by Chef Takagi-san and his wife Hitomi-san, this entire labour of love has finally shaken off previous trappings…
UPDATE – JAN 2013. *Ben Spalding & Nathan Holmes have left John Salt. Neil Rankin now runs the kitchen over there.* So after last week’s blockbuster dinner at John Salt, I wanted to return and try Ben Spalding’s other offerings from his current residency at…
