March 28, 2013
Devil’s Dyke was the best walk I’ve had in a while. As much as I love hiking, I would be motivated to go more often if there was a “Hiker’s Rest” in the middle of every walk serving delicious cream teas (with amazing clotted cream) outside of a 19th century barn.
March 11, 2013
Photo: mysupermarket.co.uk
A few months ago, I had some dark, leafy greens at the Hawksmoor served braised with a Sunday roast. They were tender like mustard and collard greens but sweeter and without any of the bitterness.
Suspecting that these “Fresh British greens” were the same greens, I gave it a go — they are just as delicious sautéed in olive oil and garlic. I also added them in risotto. I am sure they will be starring in some gratin, stir-fry and noodle soup very soon.
But I still don’t know what they are. It’s a bit unfair that something this good is given such a generic name that googling it will pull up anything that’s fresh, green and British-grown.
Anyone out there have any idea if there’s another name for these greens?
November 13, 2012
My sister and I went to Crispy Pork Gang & Grill in Thai Town. It gave me heartburn for the next three days, but it was worth it.
January 25, 2012
I’ve been very naughty about updating my blog but I was too busy eating. (Obviously.)
November, when I went back to SGV for Thanksgiving, now feels like ages ago. My brother and his GF were in town for a week. They ate about five meals a day and one night I joined them, where we ate at four places in 2 hours: Don the Beachcomber for cocktails and pu pu platters, banh cuon in Westminster, chicken fried steak at Twoheys and one last place that I’ve now purged from memory.
It wasn’t until Christmas when I was able to have a decent appetite again. To be honest, it put me off food for a while. My stomach seemed to have been suffering a permanent fullness from Thanksgiving up unit about mid-December.
And dim sum. What is Chinese people’s obsession with dim sum? Being away for some time, the first thing relatives and my parents’ friends would want to do with me was take me for ‘yum cha.’ Then the first thing they would say when we’d sit down to dim sum was, “You can’t find this in London” or “You’ve lost weight because the food isn’t any good in London” or some kind of variation of that. Then I’d have to respond politely, yes there is dim sum in London but no it isn’t nearly as good as it is in LA (I think it would upset them to say that dim sum in SGV isn’t the best).
But it wasn’t dim sum that I missed the most about being away. I missed road trips, so I took one in January.
November 8, 2011
Having survived three winters in Europe made me realize that the cold weather is only good for one thing: guilt-free eating of things such as tartiflette.
October 28, 2011
I went home for a short visit a few weeks ago and had a little side trip to the Bay Area, revisiting my old haunts.
August 22, 2011
The town of Whitstable, off the Kent coast, has been an oyster haven since the Romans discovered it thousands of years ago. In July, the town hosts its annual Oyster Festival but we missed it by just a week!
August 5, 2011
Now that it’s been about six months since I’ve moved to London, I’ve noticed certain eating and dining themes:
The pop-up restaurant and bar. Like Meateasy at Goldsmiths Tavern that came and went. And now Frank’s Campari Bar that’s only open until the end of summer.
Haloumi. People in this town can’t seem to get enough of this cheese, grilled. I’ve seen it at every barbeque, traditional sandwich stands, swank gastropubs and corner shop.
Tea towels. They are everywhere, in every kind of store, appropriate to whatever they sell in the shop, be it screen printed imagery of London, kitschy designer art or the royal family. You would think that they were a nation of people obsessed with hand drying dishes.
Ginger beer. I can’t get enough of this non-alcoholic drink — it’s like ginger ale on caffeine (more on that in a future post). Could ginger beer be the secret ingredient to a Dark and Stormy?
I may be going out on a limb, but I’m putting shakshuka on this list. Nevermind my first taste of shakshuka was served to me as a heaping mess in a reheated Tupperware a few months ago. It was something I had never eaten before, something that was between a ratatouille and moussaka with baked egg. I was more impressed with saying the word shakshuka than actually eating it, but that’s probably why the word stuck. It’s just a fun word to say, shakshuka.
July 29, 2011
A few weeks ago I was in East Sussex for a barnyard wedding (and square dancing). The bride and groom, food and wine enthusiasts, served their guests copious amounts of champagne and Bordeaux. And since it was an English summer wedding, there was also a table lined with Pimms-filled glasses. It was a lovely wedding indeed.
Unfortunately, I got a little carried away with the alcohol, but at least I left before they brought out the brandy!
June 28, 2011
A few weeks ago I helped serve at a dinner in conjunction with the Gwangju Design Biennale. For the starter, diners were presented with syringes filled with olive oil, vinegar and mascarpone
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