Soho could not be a merrier place. The colours of the rainbow adorn shop fronts and in this most celebrated of city underbellies – home to a myriad of eclectic restaurants – it is the default option to hang out with the cool kids, albeit being a little cliché. Randall & Aubin is such a place for them cool kids; There is an air of relaxed openness from the outset as if, like the rest of Soho, the party never stops. The thumping music so loud it is matched by the eye catching seafood counter. We might still be knee deep in a recession, but man do I need to indulge in abit of weekend gluttony

Trend is a funny thing. It is exhilarating riding the hype waves and it had driven me to try Yalla Yalla, especially after reading about it on World Foodie Guide and on Metro. It was a toss up between Tayyabs and this, for a five person feasting on a Saturday night and I chose to go with the new kid on the block

Last weekend I was a tourist all over again. Parading around Soho with bleary eyes, brandishing my camera at whatever piqued my interest… don’t you just love the August bank holiday? One of these years, I swear I will make it to Blackpool

I will never be able to afford the Martin 0M-28. The solid mahogany, the musky rosewood and that resonant, clear and crisp ring, I was John Mayer possessed strumming along to ‘No such thing’, now eternally burned into my memory from years of fandom. Achingly, I have to put down the guitar in the shop on Denmark Street and head out to lunch across the road at Giaconda instead, and sit there to dream about legendary guitars seemingly tempting me to empty my wallets. But in recessionary times, I’ve only got enough for a Blueridge, not quite a Martin or a Taylor and definitely not a Cherry Sunburst Les Paul

The class falls silent; my eyes turn toward the fluttering curtains, Miss V’s constant chalking against the green board is fast becoming hypnotic and my eyes can barely stay open. The tummy, now rumbling like a motorcycle is in dire need of some refuelling. Is it nine thirty am yet

Many many moons ago, people used to refer to me as ‘Leong’. And several moons after, I became a legend, and I galloped into the sunset with my silver stallion and lived happily ever after. No, I’m kidding, but I did (and still do) go by Kang L(eong), Leong being my surname for anybody who is wondering. I think it translates to ‘Gentle’, so you can all refer to me as Mr Gentle from now on (perhaps a reflection of my skills in the boudoir….?). This (of course) has nothing to do with the Taiwanese restaurant we’re going to talk about, which is now so successful, it has open its second legendary outpost. Let’s find out if indeed, the legend does continue

L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon Official Site 13-15 West Street WC2H 9NE 0207 010 8600 Set Lunch £25 for three courses; Ala carte £expensive. Photography is an addiction. The kit lens that comes packaged with a standard digital SLR is never enough, all it does is make you lust after the very best lenses either Nikon or Canon have in their arsenal. I am £400 poorer but oddly enough, feeling good about it. What better way to celebrate this than to lunch at the two Michelin starred, internationally hyped sensation that is L’atelier de Joel Robuchon

You are now reading   intro | one | two | three | four | five | part six | seven I think I’ve covered most of the wine basics in five parts and feel as if this would be the perfect post to write about some alternatives to the grape staple. There is so much stuff out there to try, it would take you a lifetime to experience it all. The human quest to continually search for methods to refine the hedonistic has reached the point where you can find alcohol being made from pretty much all kinds of starch based foods out there. I’m not going to go into every single one, instead I’ll highlight the two which I think most of you will find interest in: sake & scotch whisky

I’m almost always unsure  i I should keep the headings simple or come up with something more elaborate to get you to click on it. If you live in London, you will have heard (and read lots of reviews) about this nice little tapas bar in soho, and if you are planning a visit to London soon ( exchange rate as of writing is GBP£1 to US$1.55) then you might fancy paying a visit to one of the slickest tapas bar in the capital

Following my scoop! post a few weeks ago, I went on abit of an ice cream rush before summer ended. Ciao is smack in the centre of Leicester square..ok that’s an exaggeration, its more like behind Leicester square and yes that headline is not a joke, they really do spaghetti ice cream here. Got your attention yet? Cool, keep reading&#

I have to talk about the interior. Its got really retro, old wood that look like they’ve been up since the 70’s, and one of the things you’ll notice is the cramped space, appropriately cosy.   The red walls feature a lot of interesting items with throwback new age artwork, big vintage clocks, mandolins and the ceiling even has what appears to be a vintage fan. It already looks like a nice place to eat.