Lunchtime Roasting

The other week my good friend Puja (also known to the Twitter world as @Mopicide) invited me out for lunch at Roast.

It was a much deserved treat for the both of us, and the perfect setting to enjoy the views and food while having a catch up. As I've mentioned before, (when I came to Roast for their Full Borough breakfast), the restaurant is stunning, with floor to ceiling French windows looking over Borough market. (Despite sticking out among the shirts of the City on their lunch meetings, we managed to have a relaxing 2 hour lunch with no rush to be moved along for preparation for evening service.) *Air punch*

In the lead up to my visit I kept on looking over the menu in anticipation to help decide on what to order. But that all went out of the window when I walked past another table where someone had just been served the grilled Wester Ross salmon. That was it. Sold. In my tummy please! Yes, I flirted with the idea of looking over the menu (again) and considered the slow roast Wicks Manor pork belly...the crispy Goosnargh chicken breast...the daily special of roast rib of Welsh black beef. But I had already made up my mind. Salmon was the one. The one I planned to devour.

So, before I drivel (or dribble) on too much, I shall leave it to the photos to tell you how incredible the food was...

Grilled Wester Ross salmon with cucumber, fennel, chilli and yoghurt

Heritage tomato salad with red onions and rapeseed oil

Runner beans with mint

Chocolate banoffee pudding with Devonshire clotted cream,

with Jolly Roger (rum, Roast falernum and orange zest)

Buttermilk baked custard and strawberry mess with honeycomb using pasteurised cows milk and vegetable rennet,

with Cherish (bourbon, fresh cherries, cherry bitter, coffee liqueur)

A Little Pick Me Up

Along King Street in Ravenscourt Park, there are a number of great independent restaurants and eateries such as Lola and Simon (Argentinian), Indian Zing (Indian), Anarkali (Indian) and Saigon Saigon (Vietnamese), and among them is a bright little cafe called Upsy Daisy Bakery.

With a simple design of creams and yellows against white and blue crockery, there are no gimmicks, just clean cut food and drink. The produce is sourced locally and where possible are organic, including all of their wines.

On my visit for lunch I went for a bacon and avocado sandwich which had large sized coarse rashers of bacon along with fresh avocado, tomato and lettuce. The organic white bread was fluffy apart from the crusts which were, well, crusty.

I didn't opt for a pot of tea but with the range of green, black and herbal infusions - not to mention all the organic coffees - it's easy to be spoilt for choice. I just had a juice to take away with me. I was also pleased to spy on the menu that they offer cream teas and afternoon tea as well!

I also got won over by one of the cupcakes, the fudge caramel cupcake in fact. The smaller end of the scale in terms of size, but that' fine because the flavour was quite intense in the frosting as well as a little caramel ganache inside the sponge.

The service was friendly, helpful and relaxed as well. I think most afternoons it is probably acquainted with yummy mummies but there was a group of friends meeting up and a few singletons like myself with only one small table of mums and one child, so don't feel put off. Heck there was even an old bloke with a cuppa reading his paper. Although, he didn't appreciate me taking the photos of the bakery as he felt I'd encroached his personal space, and LITERALLY shooed me away - with hand gestures - which made me feel awkward! But I guess when you're not used to that bizarre breed of bloggers cropping up and taking snaps most places you eat out at, then it must seem quite alien.

So, if you're in the Hammersmith / Chiswick / Ravenscourt Park area one afternoon and fancy a little pick me up, then Upsy Daisy Bakery will sort you out!

Teanamu's Artisan Teas

Tucked away in Westbourne Park, near Portabello Road, is a gorgeous and modest-sized converted coach house belonging to Teanamu.

The newly opened Chaya Teahouse is perfect for (as cliche as it sounds) relaxing and just as importantly, drinking beautifully infused Chinese artisan teas. There is a ridiculous amount of white, red, black and green tea combinations all designed and made by creator, Pei Wang.

We ordered the Tea of The Week: Organic Snow Bud white tea and the Ba Bao 8 Treasures tea (which had a special 9th ingredient on the day!) The Snow Bud is stunning, refreshing and one to drink at a lower temperature in order to appreciate its flavour; and the 8 Treasures changed each time we topped up the water - from floral and nutty to fruity notes.

Top: 8 Treasures. Bottom: Organic Snow Bud

They looked so lovely in the teapots and the quick demonstration from Pei on how each tea should be poured, was great. I was completely ignorant to the fact that water temperature, distance its poured and technique of swilling as you pour all enhance the flavour of the leaves.

As we were invited to stay and relax Pei made up some extra teas to sample including a white tea with Jasmine and his "mistake tea" which was an accidental stumble across a combination of his Organic Golden Monkey (black tea) and Organic Emperor pu erh 2008 (red tea). Both of which were lovely.

"Mistake Tea" - Organic Golden Monkey &; Organic Emperor pu erh 2008

There is a small selection of food on the menu (all hand-made by Pei) but they are great snacks to eat along side the teas. We had the vegetarian char siu puffs (which are based on pork dim sum) and the berry nutty chocolate fudge as well as a scone with rose petal jam, which was unbelievably tasty!! We were also given some clementine almond cakes on the house.

Vegetarian Char Siu Puff

Berry nutty chocolate fudge & clementine almond cakes

Warm scone with rose petal jam and clotted cream

At the weekend Pei held the first Chaya Teahouse MedTEAtation in which a small group of people met up in the Koyoto Garden at Holland Park to perform the Chinese tea ritual...from what I understand the purpose is to forget about trivial everyday things (like Twitter/Facebook/phones) and concentrate solely on the tea; making it and sharing it with the other people in the group. I was unable to go along this time round, but plan to go to the next one on 19th June. (I think the MedTEAtation event happens once a month on a Sunday). To get an idea of what it'd be like check out Teanamu's Facebook photos.

If you're in the area or want to retreat for a bit of quiet time at the weekend, the Chaya Teahouse is open midday till 6 Saturdays and Sundays. It's definitely worth it!

The Mayor of Scaredy Cat Town

It's been open for a week and The Breakfast Club's Speakeasy cocktail bar, The Mayor of Scaredy Cat Town, behind the Smeg fridge, Spitalfields, is a MUST!

In a similar ethos to The Breakfast Club's 80s retro American kitch, this cocktail bar recreates that downtown Chicago/Boston bar with an air of underground exclusivity. This is partly to do with the promotion (if any) for its opening has been a simple website only giving contact details, a few hidden clues on Twitter and (mostly) word of mouth. Then there is the password 'Let The Bees See The Knees' to get 2 for 1 drinks; and of course the big question...'What's Behind The Smeg Fridge?' These little utterings can't help but inject you with a feeling of importance and guaranteed enjoyment that awaits!

So what is behind the Smeg Fridge?

The barmaid opens the fridge door to reveal a walkway down to the small low-lit bar.

There were roughly 30-40 seats, and the right level of buzz so that the music and chatter never needed to get too loud. Speaking of which, a constant selection of good tunes played, from James Brown to Roxy Music to Amy Winehouse (and a few gambles, like Hot Chocolate's 'Everyone's A Winner'), and a huge part of enjoying bars comes down to a decent soundtrack!

The menu (including a handful of food dishes and bar snacks) is designed for a manageable selection of cocktails with a black leather cover and a simple Mayor of Scaredy Cat Town logo on it.

We had a few cocktails each:

The Old Fashioned - with Woodford Reserve bourbon, orange zest and brown sugar

Rosie & Gin - with Bombay Sapphire Gin, pressed pineapple juice, rosemary and lime juice

Red Lady - with Bombay Sapphire Gin, Grand Marnier, lemon juice, raspberries and egg white

Tommy's Chilli - with Jose Cuervo Traditional Tequila, red chilli, lemongass, agave syrup and lime juice

Mexican Mule - with Jose Cuervo Tequila, ginger beer, lime and sugar

Linchberg-Leith Lemonade - with Baili Nicol Jarvie Scotch, Grand Marnier, lemon juice and Fentiman's Victorian lemonade

The Rosie & Gin was stunning. Definitely my favourite! Smooth and fruity with a hint of rosemary. The Old Fashioned was also mixed well...I guess you know it is when the barman says he needs at least five minutes to make it!

Old Fashioned and Rosie & Gin

Mexican Mule, Red Lady and Tommy's Chilli

TIP: Don't get too carried away as the alcohol kicks in after cocktail #2!!

The Commissary, Holborn Studios

The Commissary Bar & Restaurant is joined onto Holborn Studios on Eagle Wharf Road alongside Regent's canal. When the weather is behaving it's a great place to head for lunch and sit outside on the dock.

The interior is modern and artistic, with a big theme on cameras and film - due to being part of Holborn Studios. To paint a picture for you, on the way to the toilets there's a beautiful vintage projector and there a little images of clapperboards held by mini tripods for the table numbers.

They serve breakfast and lunch but on our visit we sampled the cheese board between three of us and the chunks of gorgonzola, stilton and cheddar were so generous that, for a brief moment, we thought we wouldn't be able to finish it all.

We did......

The accompanying pickle and celery sticks were perfect alongside these three heavyweight flavours.

The rest of the menu looks tasty and I did spy a couple of massive burgers going to another table to be devoured. The lunch menu changes daily but they have a sample menu which should give an indication of the style of sharable dishes on offer.

Because there are various different projects and shoots happening at the studios it's likely you'll spot some celebrities (or if you're lucky, some vaguely recognizable people). While sitting out on the dock, The Arctic Monkeys were sat a few tables away enjoying a quiet break from (I presume) a photo shoot. I'm afraid I didn't have the nerve to ask for a photo so instead of the Arctic Monkeys, you can have this one.

(He was attached to a plant inside the restaurant)

and a little video from their 4th album Suck It And See...

Bargain Bite: Udon Goodness at Koya

Here's this month's Bargain Bite!

Koya, Frith Street, Soho

This little Japanese udon noodle restaurant has been rather popular over the past year or so and here's a few reasons why:

1) No Bookings - so if you're impulsive and can't decide where you want to eat until the last minute, there's no need to worry about booking in advance. Though some people don't like to queue, there's something simple and appealing about the idea of rocking up somewhere on the off chance of getting a table.

2) Fantastic Udon - obviously they specialise in udon noodles so you'd expect the dishes to be good. But they're better than good. They're wibbly, chewy, light and healthy good.

3) Other Dishes - there are plenty of other options other than udon noodles if you happen to be (or be with) someone who's not a fan of the chunky elasticity of them.

4) Satisfying - come on, either hot, cold, in broth or sauce, you know how satisfying it is to eat those slippery strings of wheat noodle!

Cold udon with tofu and cold sauce.

Cold udon with mackerel and poached egg

Bompass & Parr's Chocolate Waterfall

The last time I ventured to a pop-up event put on by Bompass & Parr was a couple of years ago at their Alcoholic Architecture walk-in gin and tonic cocktail, in which you had to 'breathe responsibly' as you inhaled vaporized G&T in close proximity with a handful of other people all wearing white protective suits. It was a great idea to induce excitement from a low visibility effect a bit like Antony Gormley's 'Blind Light' installation, (except it was in the basement of a tiny building on Ganton Street). There was also some great indie-disco classics playing I seem to remember...

Antony Gormley's 'Blind Light' at Hayward's Gallery, 2007.

Image courtesy of www.josweb.co.uk.

And this easter weekend the two food architects put on another spectacle relating to one of my favourite pleasures in life...chocolate!

Not only was it timed nicely with easter, but it was also to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first movie Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. I somehow forgot to don a purple blazer and top hat, a la Gene Wilder, but this didn't stop me from enjoying the quick fix chocolate hideaway at Whitley shopping centre. It seems like they went for the psychedelic boat ride in terms of decoration, neon lights and soundscape, which worked really well to create a confusing and disorientating atmosphere. It wasn't very busy when I went along but I can imagine if there was a group of people it would have felt even better. One room was similar to the walk in G&T cocktail with a walkway full of mint chocolate mist that you had to walk through to get to a rickety bridge which sat across the flowing chocolate from the 7ft chocolate waterfall.

A big difference between this and the film was that you got to fill up a glass bottle from the waterfall and take it home to drink - unlike poor Augustus Gloop who got sucked away for drinking the stuff. You also got the choice of adding a flavour to the 'elixir' chocolate including juniper berry, fennel, frankincense and orange!

This project provided just the right amount of wow factor and fun for anyone who's a fan of chocolate and/or the film...at least they didn't overdo it and go for an actual boat ride or things could have turned out badly!