A London Life… in Dalston

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L’atelier Dalston | East London | Nearest Tube: Dalston Kingsland/Dalston Junction

As I prepare to say goodbye to the part of London that I’ve spent the last 3 years in, I decided to take one last long photo walk around Dalston and Stoke Newington (the Stoke Newington post will be up later this week). I will still be living in East London, but I’m moving on to greener pastures (or something like that). I’ll miss this part of London, but I’m excited to start a new adventure and see even more of this amazing city.

View more of the  ‘A London Life…’ series

Where to Eat in London: On The Bab, Covent Garden

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On The Bab | Korean Street Food | Covent Garden | Website

– reservations not available –

You may be blinking right now, wondering if you’re seeing double. Well yes, I have featured On The Bab before in my “Where to Eat in London” series. However that was their Shoreditch location, and last week saw the official opening of their new Covent Garden restaurant. But how is it different to the original? Well there’s a whole new menu that you won’t find anywhere else, and it’s perfect for Spring.

On The Bab is a special place for me. I first visited it (with my now best foodie buddy V.A) last April, and I instantly fell in love with the menu. So with V.A alongside, we naturally wanted to sample everything from the new menu this time. We started perusing the menu with a sweet Cherry Blossom Cocktail. This culminated in us ordering: Korimari with Bulgogi Beef, Spring Onion Fried Chicken, Pumpkin & Potato Salad, Fried Chicken On The Roll, Seaweed Salad with citrus dressing, and Rice Poppers.

The Fried Chicken On The Roll was definitely my favourite dish of the evening – something similar to gimbap, it has been amusingly named Korean Burrito. The mixture of textures and flavours work incredibly well together, and left me wanting the whole two rolls to myself. The Spring Onion Fried Chicken was a drier version of one of my favourite dishes at OTB. Whereas the flavours were strong, it was the crispier texture that I enjoyed. The Korimari came with a tender well-marinated side of bulgogi beef and vegetables. I loved the sesame oil aftertaste, and the simplistic way of eating – this is definitely one for Summer! The light, refreshing salads were thoughtful sides to the mains, and whereas the Pumpkin & Potato Salad was a little bland, I liked the sweetness of it. The Seaweed Salad was the better of the two though, with a tangy citrus dressing that paired well with the stringy vegetable. The rice poppers weren’t to my liking, but I think they’d be pretty good if you were drinking more than you were eating…you know what I mean.

Of course when you love a restaurant so much there is always the chance that you may not enjoy a new menu. However I had faith in OTB, and thanks to the chefs wonderfully modern take on authentic Korean cuisine, I need not worry. The new Covent Garden location has a serene ambience, and the usual superb service. This is one restaurant I would make the commute from East to West for.

Thank you so much to On The Bab who invited me and V.A to dinner to celebrate their opening. On The Bab is one of my favourite restaurants in London, so it meant a lot to be invited before the restaurant had even opened. As always with these kind of post, my views and words are my own – I truly love this food.

You can read more of my restaurant reviews on Zomato

Square Meal

Travel: Hay-on-Wye – The Town of Books

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Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales

Remember all the fairytales you read as a child? The ones of magical villages whose alleyways were lined with bookstores, and curiosity shops filled with trinkets and oddities. What if I told you all of that was real, and you could re-discover it as an adult? All you have to do is go to Wales. Yes, this town really does exist, and it’s called Hay-on-Wye – The Town of Books.

You would think that such a fantastical introduction would make for a pretty boring visit. That certainly wasn’t the case when I headed to this lively town last weekend. I found myself running away from everyone, eager to get lost in the small alleys. Ducking my head into antiques stores and galleries. Rummaging through dusty books and maps in a bookstore straight out of Harry Potter. It’s not everyday that you reclaim that special wonderment you felt as a child. That’s why my trip to Hay-on-Wye felt so wonderful. I actually can’t stop talking about it to people. I know that my photos and words can’t do it justice, so I can only hope that you will be inspired and visit the town for yourself. Your inner child will thank you.

You can find out more at Visit Wales.

A London Life… in Tokyo?

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Eat Tokyo, Hillgate Street, Notting Hill, London

One of the best things about London is being able to find authentic food from pretty much any country or region. That isn’t to say though that there aren’t imitations. Unfortunately for every Asakusa, there are ten Wagamamas. Still, part of the fun of discovering new places to eat is in whether or not they will be true to form. One place I had heard about through the grapevine was Eat Tokyo. I’d heard several people say “this is the real deal” or “it’s the best Japanese food in London”. However I’m pretty critical of cuisines I know well, and I’d also heard some not-so-great reviews, so I decided to take these opinions with a pinch of salt. In fact I’d resigned myself to never visiting the restaurant “chain” (they currently have 6 locations in London). Yet last week V.A and I found ourselves unsure of where to go for dinner after our SHOW DRY salon visit. Low and behold, there was Eat Tokyo on our Zomato app with a 4.6 rating. So we decided to give it a go.

First off, let me say, the Notting Hill location is small. VERY small. In fact we were lucky enough to get the last table, right next to the front door. The layout of the kitchen and seats – this location features seats where you can watch the sushi chefs at work – reminded me very much of a typical izakaya. Even though the restaurant was full, the staff were efficient. We were given the ginormous menu (really guys, it’s too much) and took our time looking through it. I took charge and ordered a whole selection of my favourite dishes for the both of us, as V.A wanted to try something new. This included: Natto (fermented soy bean – Japan’s marmite), Unagi Don (grilled eel on rice), Wakame-su (pickled cucumber and seaweed), Agedashi Tofu (fried tofu in a tentsuyu broth), Salmon Sushi Rolls and Karaage (fried chicken). The chef also accidentally made us some natto sushi, which we were given for free.

As for the food, was it authentic? Everything apart from the wakame-su (it should have been sunomono) tasted exactly as I remembered it from Japan. The flavours and textures were all there, but something was lacking. Unfortunately whereas Eat Tokyo excels in bringing authentic Japanese dishes to London, it did not excel at bringing good quality ingredients and well cooked food to our table. The karaage wasn’t bad and neither was the age-dofu. However the unagi was overcooked and chewy, the sushi was cold, the natto didn’t come with a side of tare or mustard, and the wakame-su wasn’t pickled, and had ginger on top?! Overall not a great experience, but not one that I regret. I won’t be heading back anytime soon, but if I had nowhere to go I’d probably give them another chance.

You can read more of my restaurant reviews on Zomato.

Afternoon Tea at The Mandeville Hotel

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Vintage Afternoon Tea at The Mandeville Hotel – Reform Social and Grill

Afternoon tea symbolises everything great about English food; cake, sandwiches, scones and tea. It’s also the perfect introduction for anyone visiting or moving to the country. It truly is a relaxing and indulgent treat. That’s why I decided to treat my mum to afternoon tea at The Mandevlille Hotel in Marylebone, when she visited for her birthday.

We started with a mango bellini, which we were served as we were seated. The menu mentions being able to choose from a selection of seasonal bellinis, but this wasn’t the case for us. Though we were offered a choice of which tea to accompany our food with – I chose the refreshing organic mint melange, which was clearly a quality tea. Next up were the sandwiches, which were light and flavourful. The cucumber and cream cheese was my favourite of the selection. I know cucumber sandwiches sound incredibly boring, but they’re one English tradition that I dearly hope will never fade.

One of the most integral parts of afternoon tea are the scones, of course. These ones looked as good as they tasted – rustic (there’s something just not right with a smooth scone) and slightly sweetened. The jam was store bought, but was sweet and not overly sugary. However the pièce de résistance was the clotted cream – something I’m always very critical of – which was rich and sweet. And before you ask, I always put cream on first, then jam.

The apple and custard pots were by far the best sweet offering on the table. The soft, tart apple contrasted perfectly against the sweet custard, and the crunchy, sugary crumble. Both me and my mum agreed that we would quite happily eat a plateful of them. However the rest of the sweets on the table were a bit of a let-down, the raspberry meringues and battenburg cake were good, but nothing to write home about. However the biggest upset of the afternoon was the cake, and as we all know, cake is an important part of afternoon tea. So to be served up dry coffee and walnut cake/chocolate fudge cake (that tasted a day old) was quite upsetting for me. Luckily my mum had left hers until last, by which point she was quite full, so she wasn’t upset. Though if I had been taking anyone else here, I would have complained.

The hotel itself is a comfortable setting, and the afternoon tea area is quite intimate (around 6 tables), making for a lovely experience. However whilst I felt that we ate and drank plenty, I felt that the quality of the food was lacking slightly. It’s not one of the best afternoon tea’s I’ve had, and I probably wouldn’t go back, but for the price it isn’t bad. Afternoon Tea at The Mandeville Hotel is £26.50 each with a free bellini (minus service charge).

You can read more of my restaurant reviews on Zomato.

Sweet Like Chocolate…

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One thing you may not know about me is that I actually don’t drink much milk. I know, I know, I live a crazy life. Joking aside though, I prefer almond or coconut milk. People honestly look at me oddly when I say I don’t eat milk chocolate. It’s not the end of the world, but it can make it awkward when people buy me chocolate as a gift. So when Hotel Chocolat offered to send me a treat from their new Easter selection, I knew exactly which one I wanted to try – the Milk-Free Milk Chocolate Scrambled Egg.

Now you’re probably wondering why this post even exists, as I don’t usually do food product reviews. Well, as a kid my sister and I didn’t really get too many Easter eggs. Instead our parents bought us gifts. Probably because they knew what we’d be like if we received too many…which is made evident by the following story. One year, we actually ended up with quite a few chocolate eggs from various relatives. So my sister and I decided that we would play a ‘chocolate game’ (the underage version of a drinking game apparently), in which we would watch the movie Chocolat, and whenever a piece of chocolate came up on the screen we had to eat a piece of chocolate. Now this may sound like fun, but actually we didn’t anticipate just how much chocolate there would be in the movie. Suffice to say, there is a lot! Both of us ended up on a sugar high, which culminated in me falling into a paper bin (arse first) and getting stuck. We were pretty sick the next day. Even so, this is still one of my favourite memories from my childhood, and my sister and I still laugh about it now. So I guess what I’m trying to say is, Easter is a nostalgic and sweet time for me.

The milk-free scrambled egg smells like dark chocolate, and tastes like it too. It’s a smooth, rich flavour, which I personally love. The addition of the Nutty Fruitcases was an extra treat, and again I found the chocolate to be reminiscent of dark chocolate (more so than milk). Something which contrasts well against the crunchy hazelnuts and sweet sultanas – I’ll be keeping these to have alongside a cup of tea. The whole set is a great alternative to a milk chocolate egg, and wonderful for anyone who can’t (or doesn’t) eat dairy. I may be a little wiser now (and not drown myself in chocolate) but I do still love savouring one quality Easter egg a year. This year I’m glad it was this one.

Pop by Hotel Chocolat to browse their selection of Easter Eggs, and to purchase the Milk-Free Milk Chocolate Scrambled Egg.

What’s In My Handbag?

Work Phone: Apple iPhone 5c | Personal Phone: Apple iPhone 5s | iPhone 5s Case: Cavendish Cases of Bath
Earphones: Happy Plugs | Eye Roll-on: Simple | Velvet Matte Lip Pencil: NARS | Pen: WC(ダブルシー)

Remember how I said one of my resolutions for 2015 was to minimise my wardrobe? Well I’ve been doing pretty well, and recently I continued that winning streak by downsizing my handbag. Just last year I couldn’t go anywhere without a bag big enough fit a small dog in – no I’m serious – so this is a big step for me. So a bag of this size is just the incentive I need. Of course this has also meant putting less items in my bag, meaning I have to stick to the essentials. It’s been a tough transition, but a good one.