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Miso Tasty

I miss Japanese food, or should I say I miss cooking Japanese food. When I was living in Japan I didn’t think twice about the ingredients and products I had available to me. Now I realise just how lucky I was. The food is incredibly delicious, with a variety of amazing flavours, and it’s healthy to boot! Japan is the only country I’ve lived in where I’ve eaten everything I wanted and lost weight. I felt healthy, which is the most important thing to me. Miso is a very traditional, healthy ingredient in Japanese food and is something I’ve eaten and cooked with many times. So when Miso Tasty contacted me about an press event come dinner party, I jumped at the chance to attend.
When I arrived I was greeted by an enthusiastic group of people and my own personal place card, in the form of a miso spoon. A lovely touch! Bonnie (the founder of Miso Tasty) told us all about the brand and it’s origins as we nibbled on veggies that we dipped into different types of miso. As we sipped sparkling sake (even better than regular sake), we were told about the different fermentation processes, and why each miso tasted as it does. If there was a wine tasting of the food world, it would have been this. My favourite was the hatcho miso, which we were told is the champagne of the miso world (and is the only miso eaten by the Emperor of Japan). Trust me to pick the most decadent and expensive of the selection! Bonnie then served us our own bowl of miso, along with a variety of ingredients such as: smoked salmon, noodles, tofu, spring onion and more. I have only ever had miso soup by itself, or with mochi at New Year, so I thoroughly enjoyed trying something new. Next we were served saikyo miso grilled black cod and smoked salmon (to die for!) with an aubergine-miso dish. I didn’t want to intrude on the veggie/vegan option so I didn’t try it but it looked good. The coleslaw (made with tahini and miso) was void of mayonnaise and still managed to be creamy. In fact it’s probably one of the best coleslaws I’ve had! I felt like eating all of the fish and coleslaw, but controlled my urges, which I’m sure my fellow diners were very happy about. Finally, we were served freshly baked gluten-free miso cookies…it might sound odd, but these were beyond delicious. We all snuck a few home too. 
Miso Tasty showed me that whereas their miso soup may be great for eating on the go, or as a healthy lunch option, you can also make a meal out of it. I had actually tried Miso Tasty’s soup before and was impressed by their use of miso paste, over other brands who usually opt for powder. The lovely company added to the atmosphere of the evening, but in the end the food was the star of the night. Every dish left me wanting more, and wondering how on earth they had managed to seal so much flavour inside. I’ll definitely be using my Miso Tasty to create some of the delicious recipes I tried during the event, and for some of my own creations.

You can find Miso Tasty in Selfridges, Harvey Nichols and Whole Foods.

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Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s Tokyo Kawaii Guidebook App

I don’t often deviate from European fashion and beauty, but you will see me post the occasional Japanese fashion/beauty article on here. So when I heard that Kyary Pamyu Pamyu (a Japanese street style model come pop idol) was releasing an iPhone app for her English and French fans I knew I had to write something about it. Not only because it combines four of my favourite things; Tokyo, shopping, travel and food.

Moshi Moshi Tokyo is Kyary’s guide to her favourite spots in Tokyo. The app allows you to explore Tokyo through her eyes, visiting clothing boutiques, cafes and more. Kyary has become a worldwide hit – her London tour was a sell-out with devoted fans turning up in hoards. It’s because of this success that the release of this app makes so much sense. It’s also a great way for the Japanese government to garner interest and promote tourism. Tokyo is an amazing city but it can be slightly overwhelming at times, especially if you’ve never visited before. This app will be a great way for fashionable young things to check out some of Tokyo’s hot spots.

I downloaded the French version to get a taste of the app before the English release. My French is terrible but surprisingly I still managed to understand everything. I loved the interactive features and thought the photography and design was incredibly cute and fun. The small magazine-style section highlights 9 clothing stores, featuring some of my personal favourites, including Nadia, Avantgarde and Tokyo Bopper. Ultimately though the interactive map is the most helpful as it highlights a large number of restaurants, stores etc. making it much easier to find your desired location. Unfortunately the promise of “Kyary’s favourite spots in Tokyo” actually translates to chosen spots in Harajuku. However this is the area that made her famous, making it slightly more understandable. It may seem limited but there are still tons of places to visit and it’s nice to see Harajuku is still getting some love, after a decline in popularity in recent years.

The app is currently available to download on iTunes, however the app only offers a download for the French version right now (to coincide with Japan Expo 2014). The English version will be released on July 18th, in time for Hyper Japan in London (and J-Pop Summit Festival 2014 in San Francisco). The first 500 people to download the guide (via the app) will also receive a voucher for a free badge that they can collect at Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s booth at Hyper Japan/J-Pop Summit.

Download Moshi Moshi Tokyo.

Source: 1

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Photo Diary: Taste of London, Matcha and more

Last week was a pretty busy one for me and my camera. I headed out to several press days, did brunch and visited Taste of London.
 If you have a penchant for beef burgers, or novelty items Maiden is going to be the place for you this Christmas. Whereas Sticks & Stones offer more of a relaxed, one-off vibe with their items (for both men and women). In between press days I received a matcha care package from my good friend Jess, all the way from Japan. It was the ultimate pick-me-up, which I really needed. Speaking of food, I shared brunch with friends in Village East (my favourite haunt south of the river) – I highly recommend the turkey hash and beetroot bloody mary. I headed off to the Taste of London straight after, which in hindsight wasn’t the best of ideas, although it did keep my purse firmly in my pocket. There were plenty of tasters so I did sample a few items; Korea Foods and Go Coco being my favourite exhibitors. 
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Photo Diary: Food & A Photography Masterclass


Waking up early on a Saturday is not something most people would do, and when I say most people, I mean me. That said, the lovely people from Simplyhealth had me leaping out from beneath my covers for a special workshop that included food and photography – two of my greatest passions in life.

The event started with a mini masterclass with the photographer Paul Hames. He taught us the basics of using a D-SLR on manual mode, something which can seem a little intimidating at times. I will admit that I’ve been lazy in the past and flicked my camera onto auto and just gone with the flow. So this gave me the kick up the derrière that I needed. It also gave me the push that I needed, to finally decide on buying a Canon…now I just need to figure out which model.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand! After Paul had shown us around the basics of a D-SLR, he took us out for a wander around Kings Cross, to try out our newfound photography skills. We headed to the viewing platform behind Kings Cross Station, which gave me a view of the area that I’d never seen before. It was the perfect place to take some snaps of London. It began to get a little crowded though so we headed alongside the canal to take some portrait shots in the gorgeous sunshine. Sarah, Jess and I became a threesome for the project and found a nice shady spot to take our photos. Both ladies were the perfect models. Although I may have got a little carried away taking photos of Sarah’s gorgeous tattoos. All that snapping finally took it’s toll on us though, and we were ready for food! Luckily the Kerb street food market was on so we headed over and wandered off in search of sustenance! Marlene and I paired up and headed to Bill or Beak for one of their amazingly juicy sandwich-burgers…I’m still not sure what to class it as. We soon found a shady spot to to keep our delicate skin from burning (it still didn’t save me) and to enjoy our food. After we’d all enjoyed our food we headed back for some more photography chit-chat with Paul, who taught us how to take a good photo.

I had such a wonderful day and was so inspired by Paul that I’ve been taking photos like there’s no tomorrow…on manual, of course. So thank you to everyone who made the day so great!

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Photo Diary: The Underground Cookery School

I’ve never been into the whole housewife lifestyle – cleaning and chores aren’t for me. Yet I’ve always enjoyed cooking and baking, which means that I cook 99% of the meals in our household. I do it purely for enjoyment, but of course there are times when I can’t be bothered, or I have run out of recipe ideas. Luckily for me I was contacted by The Underground Cookery School to attend one of their classes, where I would be cooking a 3-course meal (sea bream starter, chicken main, and roulade dessert) with some fellow bloggers and writers. I was eager to learn some new skills, and pick up a few recipes whilst I was at it.

The classes are literally held underground, in the basement of a rather unsuspecting building. Walking into the school I was impressed at the clean cut look of the kitchen and the large, inviting dining table. There were some familiar faces in attendance, and some lovely new ones also. We were all handed a glass of prosecco, canapés and an apron – a brief summary of what to expect from the night. After catching up with everyone we were handed our first task for the night – shelling broad beans. It may not sound very glamorous, but in the kitchen everyone has to chip in! Soon after we were split into two groups to start on the Strawberry Meringue Roulade. Luckily Ashleigh-Jayne was in my group – a self-confessed meringue connoisseur. After prepping our meringue we moved onto filleting our fish and preparing our chicken. Now I’d never done either of these things before, but as a sometimes meat-eater I think it’s important to be more hands on with your food, and understand how it is prepared. So I got stuck in, with a lot more enthusiasm than you’d expect from someone who was just handed a dead fish/whole chicken. I won’t go into details as I know some of my readers will be veggie/vegan etc. and I don’t want to cause any upset. After we’d washed our hands (very thoroughly) we went back to our meringue and prepared our cream, which we then smothered on top of the meringue and covered with strawberries, before carefully rolling to complete our roulade.

The cooking part of the class may have been fun, but the real entertainment came when we sat down to eat! My favourite dish of the night had to be the sea bream, with the roulade coming a close second. In fact they were all delicious! We were served by the chefs, and were given a complimentary wine to go with our courses. Conversation flowed, alongside the wine, thanks to the lovely company I shared. Food is fun, but it’s really made by the company you share it with. So a big shout-out goes to Lily, Charlie, Jesse, Lucy, Cassie and Plum! Also, thank you to Anneliese for hosting us, and the wonderful chefs of The Underground Cookery School. I had a night to remember, and I will certainly be trying out some of the skills I learnt, in my own kitchen!

Find out more at The Underground Cookery School.