Besties Dim Sum

If you're ever in London on your travels or if you live in London and would like to meet up with friends for lunch one weekend, can I suggest New World in China town.

I remember my mum taking me and my cousin Alice when we were around 9 and 8 yrs old (not so long ago!) for the first time and I haven't stopped going since then!!

I have taken family, friends and boyfriends (now ex's) there as an intro to dim sum or to ask them have they had better? With the huge exception of having it home cooked by a Chinese friend/relative or be it having it in China! Because I sure haven't...

I will admit I can't comment on their a la carte menu as I've never really ordered from it but I can say this, the only time I've EVER walked out of New World was when Al and I had a craving for their prawn cheung fun one late Saturday afternoon and was told they were FINISHED! This was taken as a lesson - never go after 3pm!

Now The latest I go is 1pm and its to meet up with my Bestie Liz, for what is suppose to be our monthly catchups! But due to our jetset life style (I wish!!!) we've been crap and just meet up when we can.

Our lunch consist of me ordering a portion of rice because I am half Filipino and what's a meal without it!?! And if I'm not too late my fav at the moment suckling pork with it's perfectly cooked crispy skin and the oh so important hoi sin sauce... Double MMMMMMMMM!

What I love as well is the fact that you don't order off a menu but get various carts passing by, waiting for you to stop them so you can query what they have on offer.

We are creature of habits and our choice of dim sums tends to be the same and very rarely do we add to it. Liz will get her sui mai a prawn and pork dumpling and a har gau which is just a prawn dumpling, I will order my spicy ribs and roast duck hot! Which means they heat it up in the microwave for a min or 2 as this is suppose to be a cold dish but I haven't managed that just yet!!

We will then look out for the waitress carrying steamed Chinese broccoli and of course the trolley that carries the cheung fun and as each dish is set on the table we eat, talk, drink tea, people watch and eat some more for at least 3hrs!! We'll wind down with a dessert, which used to be a snowball, a coconut covered glutenous rice ball with sweet fried peanuts in the middle but they've stopped this and my waiter recommended I try (reluctantly) a jin dui, a sesame seed bun deep fried with lotus bean in the centre and guess what? It was bloody delicious!

So after 6 pots of jasmine tea and belly's so full you walk out feeling 6mths pregnant we'll ask for the bill! This is normally £25 a head and worth every single penny...

Now I have 4wks to work this lunch off in time for the next :)

Mx

What would the world be without Nutella?

One of my favourite things in the whole wide world is NUTELLA!

I could just sit there with a teaspoon and indulge away... Have you ever had it on a cracker? If not then DO IT!!! OMG! Now that is what I call moorish before you know it the jar is empty and the packet of crackers done!

My preference is Jacobs cracker - MMMMMMMM.... Or Jacobs Cornish Wafer - double MMMMMMMM... THROW OUT the cream cheese and salmon and go for that jar of hazelnut heaven :)

I'm half way done!!!
Mx

Pho Me...

Tonight my sisters and I ate at a local Vietnamese restaurant called Viet Garden which is on Liverpool road. My sister Antronella is a regular there I believe it was her 3rd visit this month!

I was really excited to have my starter of crispy, salt and pepper ribs and for my main a beef pho which was just what the doctor ordered as I'm not feeling 100%!

Now I really want to say that I thoroughly enjoyed my dinner but I must admit I've had better and I did find myself comparing it to my favourite place - Au Lac in Highbury.

I found their ribs a little over cooked and dry and my beef pho was OK (not what my doctor ordered!!!) it's only saving grace was the fact that the coriander was big enough for me to pick out! Unfortunately I haven't much to say about it as I didn't find it memorable :(

In a funny way I feel bad that I didn't enjoy the food as much as my sisters do (as you can see from my photo!) but then again that's just my opinion especially as my sister Antronella told me it reminded her of her trip to Vietnam (surprisingly!!!) and my sister Marie-Royce raved how much she missed dining there whilst living a jet set life in LA...

I feel like I must be missing something here, because that's not how I felt when I saw the bill. I did find myself surprised at having to pay £20 for a forgettable meal and if you know me then you'll know that when it comes to food that I never look twice at the cost... Except when I don't think it's worth it!

Mx

WHY??

Ok I've had a few requests for recipes of dishes I cook for friends and family and thought that I would create a page for me to put these into for easier access. So if you have a request for a recipe of mine please let me know and I'll post them up here for you.

I'll also be randomly putting recipes up that I've tried and I think are great, simple and easy to follow and cook. But I'm putting it out there when it comes to desserts I'm absolutely useless, I don't know what it is but I fear making desserts... I made a successful Victoria Sponge Cake which came out brilliantly, it was the first time and last time I've ever baked (from scratch). I guess I wanted to go out on a high! LOL

Mx

Iced Melon Drink Alternative :)

If you're a Fili or have Fili friends then you will know what an iced melon drink is. You can find this drink at barrio fiestas and most Fili restaurants.

If you've never had the pleasure of this drink then I suggest you give it a try, especially on a hot summers day.

All you will need is 1 cantaloupe melon, crushed ice, water and sugar, oh and a melon shredder (doh!!!)

Cut the melon in half, de seed and remove skin, use melon shredder and proceed to shred melon into a jug. Add water, how much is entirely up to you and how 'melony' you would like it to taste, add crushed ice and if you have a sweet tooth you can add sugar. Stir with a wooden spoon, pour and enjoy!

Now having told you how to make this drink and you find yourself (like me) craving for this outside cantaloupe season I've found an alternative!!! YEP that's right lol Rubicon has a WATERMELON juice!!! And I am so bloody excited that I needed to share this find with you!

Yes it's a watermelon juice not cantaloupe but honestly, when I first tried it, my first thought was of the melon drink my Aunty Ethel made for me many moons ago - now I do expect a lot of people who try it may disagree but for me that's what it reminds me of and it's light and not heavy like my favourite Rubicon juice MANGO...
Mx

Challah Mate!!

Challah Mate!!

So last night on my way back from Ikea with Alice and (of course) Cammy, I took the route home via Finsbury Park, now BTW I hardly ever go to Finsbury Park anymore ever since my offices in Highbury closed down and I became homebased!!

So I had stopped at a red light and had looked to my left and was faced with a bakery that I use to love... (use to.. because I never go there anymore since my "Highbury days") I think it's had a facelift (new signage out front) - now I'm hoping that this means it hasn't changed owners as they use to do the Best Challah bread I'd tasted especially when you managed to get there in time for their freshly baked batch. It's all warm and soft in the inside and the best thing about it for me is the crust isn't too hard but has a nice feel to it, also it has a slight sweetness too which allows you to eat it on it's own and is VERY moorish - Honestly!

Now if you are an early riser then you can catch a nice warm batch at 6am or if like me you can't possibly imagine even opening one eyelid at that time then you can catch the next lot at around noon, it's worth it trust me, I would personally have this with a cup of coffee, slap on a healthy dose of butter (don't be shy) and dip it into some fried eggs....mmmmm YUUUM!

My friend Mary could devour a whole loaf within a couple of hours on her own, no help needed or wanted!!! Anyways I proceeded to tell Alice this story oblivous to her cries of "OMG! What's happening over there, hey cuz have you seen this?" As I turned left on to Blackstock Road, she yelled at me from the backseat - "I can't believe you are talking about bread!!! Didn't you see all the sirens and tape? It looked like some kind of crime scene and there was blood!" that is when she reminded me I have a blog for my obsessions around food which needed updating - freeing me up for possible scenes of blood and gore and conversations of what could have happened and did we think it was a murder, stabbing or a shooting?

Happening Bagel Bakery - opposite Finsbury Park.

Challah Mate!

Mx

Why I've started doing this...FINALLY!

I'm passionate about food and I love eating, cooking, talking and shopping for food (yep I get more pleasure in a grocery store than I do in any retail outlet!) much to the dismay of my family whom are ALL fashionistas! I definitely must be the milkman's love child!! LOL

To put it into perspective Waitrose to me is Selfridges to them as Salisbury's to me is Topshop to them - I could go on but I guess you can catch my drift!

So this blog I guess is my outlet as to be honest I think they are fed up of having to listen to me go on and on about what to eat, what's good and what's not, where to go for veggies, meat and fish, what restaurants are great for certain dishes etc, etc and between you and me I think they are hoping that there is someone out there that can appreciate all of my little tid bits so that I don't have to burn their ears off any more.

As my cousin told me, just the other night I was speaking to her about where I think the best greasy spoon is and why it's great and that I'd gone into it's history and after 5mins she'd lost interest but for my sake she let me go on for at least an hour! Engrossed in my conversation I oblivious to her having lost interest whilst struggling to get her photo albums up on Facebook.

My bestie (best friend) actually set this blog up for me (love you bestie!) maybe she too is tired of all things food too!

So in saying all of that, I have no expectations so if after reading this you decide not to read on, no worries like my cousin said "I'm oblivious" and actually writing this I find that I'm actually enjoying it - sitting here with my laptop and going on and on and on and on... Mx