Category Archives: gastronomy

london getaway 2016 | day 5

07 Sunday Aug 2016

Posted by in food & drink, friends, gastronomy, getaways, london, travel, trips

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Saturday was amazing. First of all it started off with me discovering that the number 100 bus took me directly to Waitrose and back again! No more 45 minute Death Marches. So I popped over there in the morning to stock up on a few things. Then got ready to meet very old and very dear friends Sara & Steve – can you imagine that I met them online even before Twitter! In fact, they don’t even have Twitter accounts (though Sara was convinced/forced to open an Instagram account during dinner – but I’m getting ahead of myself). The plan was to meet up at Liverpool Street Station, which by now was a piece of cake for me to get to. From there we went over to Spitalfields Market and had a wander around…

london day 5 (1)This Turkish food stall smelled amazing, but we were saving ourselves…

london day 5 (4)

We ended up stopping at Taberna do Mercado for a bottle (okay, two) of lovely crisp and fresh Portuguese white wine. We were there between services and got to witness the staff meal, which looked so cosy and convivial that we wanted to join them. Afterwards we went to Vertigo 42 for cocktails with a SERIOUS VIEW…

london day 5 (3)Outrageously expensive, and not something I’d probably do again, but it was fun and I got to see my Shard from a whole other perspective (yes, I am slightly obsessed with the Shard…)

london day 5 (2)

Then it was off to the main event of the day – dinner at Quality Chop House. I’d been here before (last year during the Foodie Hub awards) but it was the first time for Sara & Steve and we all loved it. Hard to pick a favourite dish but THOSE confit potatoes (a signature dish) are crazy good.

london day 5 (5)

After dinner we waddled back over to Liverpool Street and I caught my bus home, feeling happy and full, and also full of love for these two guys. We’ve been through a lot together, and I hope we’ll keep going through and sharing all our life stuff. Good people, good friends. xx

london getaway 2016 | day 4

06 Saturday Aug 2016

Posted by in food & drink, friends, gastronomy, getaways, london, restaurants, retail therapy, travel, trips

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london day 4

Friday was SHOPPING DAY, as I had a few places I wanted to check out in the Regent & Oxford street area. I hopped on my trusty number 15 bus, which took me directly to Trafalgar Square, just around the corner from Regent Street (not the shortest route, but saved me from having to take the Tube). I got off the bus and immediately lost my 4G connection, so Maps stopped working too. Then I started crossing the square and – who knows why? – just after taking this photo I was overcome by one of the worst panic attacks I’d had in years. In fact, since the whole cancer thing I’d pretty much stopped having attacks, but suddenly there I was terrified in the middle of Trafalgar Square. Somehow I got to the other side and saw two women talking in the street, so I went over and asked them for directions to Regent Street. This calmed me down a bit (distraction therapy) and I was able to carry on, but then realised the time (going on 2 pm) and decided to stop somewhere for lunch first. A nearby-ish recommendation from my Twitter pal Robin @HERMANOPRIMERO proved to be the perfect spot for solo dining.

london day 4 1

I got a place at the bar and ordered a couple of tasty dishes, had a couple of glasses of wine, and thus fortified I was suddenly much less “panicked” and able to head out shopping…

london day 4 (1)hot butter devilled shrimps

london day 4 (2)black pork Kari Dosa with chutneys: coriander, tomato, coconut

What followed was a four-hour shopping expedition, mostly fruitful. I got some new clothes – Sevilla has very little “fat lady” clothes that aren’t awful polyester numbers better suited to grandmothers and maiden aunts. But man, it was hell walking in totally packed Oxford street, with many people staring at their phones as they walked, so bumping into everyone else. At some point I heard back from my friend Lizzie @hollowlegs who said she was able to get away from work early after all and would meet me at Noble Rot Wine Bar for their famous slip sole (apparently one of the trendiest dishes in London atm). Yes! But that meant getting there. From Oxford Street it looked a straighforward walk, but once again I got lost and – once again – Peter came to the rescue, directing via WhatsApp messages. And I finally arrived…

london day 4 (7)
london day 4 (4)slip sole with smoked pimentón butter

london day 4 (5)roast saddleback chop, coco de paimpol beans and salsa verde

london day 4 (3)Lizzie chewing on a bone

It was great to catch up with Lizzie and hear all about her new job. Unfortunately she wasn’t able to join the couple of group dinners I’d arranged so I was really happy she made the extra effort to join me here for a quick bite, even though she had to get up at 5.30 the next morning. We called it quits around 9.30 and Lizzie also helped me order my first Uber! I got home exhausted and happy, and wondering how I was going to fit my new stuff into my already over-stuffed suitcase. There was only one solution – I’d have to buy another bag.

london getaway 2016 | day 3

05 Friday Aug 2016

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london day 3 (1)One issue with my otherwise fabulous apartment in Wapping is that the WIFI is dodgy, to say the least, making it impossible to work. And although not ideal, Mark suggested I pop over to the nearby Yurt Café to take advantage of their WIFI. Turned out to be an unusual and interesting venue, a massive yurt with a small patio basically under the rail lines. So I was able to get some work done and it was a nice place to spend the morning.

Later on that evening came one of the week’s BIG EVENTS. Dinner at Som Saa…

london day 3

london day 3 (2)Mark @marcooth, John @cityjohn, Thane @thaneprince and “look no hands!” Bob

london day 3 (3)whole fried sea bass – spectacular presentation but didn’t quite deliver on taste

london day 3 (4)star dish of the evening – pork neck with “nahm jim” sauce

While the food was mostly good (though nothing spectacular other than that one pork dish imho) it was a terrible shame that a gathering of witty and wonderful people ended up in a shouting match across a rather narrow table because the FUCKING MUSIC WAS TURNED UP TO MAX. Seriously… why? It’s a small venue, and it’s a restaurant (with a small bar area as you come in). Ironically the bar is quieter than the restaurant. So what’s with the fucking ear-splitting music, unless it’s to make clients eat up and leave fast so they can turn more tables? Som Saa started off as a pop up and, after the owners went off to do research in Thailand, they opened this very new restaurant in Commercial Street. I’m told they didn’t actually change their pop-up menu much after their research and to me it all felt a bit contrived. Staff didn’t seem well-trained… overall not an experience I’d repeat.

london day 3 (5)all the Som Saa dishes we tried

london day 3 (6)just to show I wasn’t exaggerating about noise level – we measured it

Afterwards us diehards (John, Mark and me) headed to a wine bar in nearby Spitalfields Market as Thane & Bob headed home (they had an early morning next day). Can’t remember the name of the wine bar but Mark ordered for us and we enjoyed a couple of lovely wines – always a treat for me to try non-Spanish wines. Afterwards I got on one of my trusty 3 buses that seemed to take me almost everywhere and got home to find messages from the boys asking me to check in. Nice. Nice friends, great evening out.

restaurante amador

24 Friday Jun 2016

Posted by in food & drink, friends, gastronomy, holidays, Malaga, malaga getaway, travel

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amador (2)

It was almost two years ago that my pal Antonio Carrasco, who I met while he was working at La Azotea in Sevilla, told me he was moving to Málaga to start a new job at Restaurante Amador, which belongs to the the splendid hotel Villa Guadalupe. And he said once he was settled in I HAD to come and see him at the restaurant. And I said – hey great! – because of course I am ALWAYS in Málaga so of course we’d be seeing each other again very soon. Ahem…

amador (1)So this visit I was determined to finally visit the restaurant and, as Victor had already been up to see the place, and had also met Antonio, we decided to make a date and go together. You see, part of the reason I hadn’t gone earlier is that Villa Guadalupe is located up on a mountain way the heck out of the centre of town, so you do need a car to get there. But let me tell you right now… it’s worth it.

I mean, obviously it’s a “special occasion” type of place, though the prices aren’t prohibitive. The food, the wines, the view… all make for a superb night out. Antonio had come up with a personalised tasting menu for us, including some smaller versions of dishes on the regular menu and one spectacular special of the day. I’ll be writing a proper review over on Azahar Tapas soon, but I think you get the idea from the photos.

amador (3)

Here are Victor and Antonio – bless Antonio’s heart that he got in a bottle of Botani just for me as it’s not on their wine list. He also recommended a couple of other wines to pair with certain dishes, which were simply perfect. It was a fabulous evening and the only “downer” was that I had had my heart set on getting down to the beach to see the bonfires of San Juan, but after the Antequera Adventure ealier that day, and this amazing meal at Amador, there was simply no energy left. Instead we watched the midnight fireworks from our privileged viewing spot overlooking the city and harbour and enjoyed a nightcap before heading home. Thank you Antonio! xx

el merendero

22 Wednesday Jun 2016

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merenderoRemember that lunch I mentioned with Victor and Andrew? We went to El Merendero, located right on Malagueta beach in the landmark Antonio Martín building. After having been abandoned for many years it was transformed into La Moraga by superchef Dani García in 2010, which was then bought by another group that continued to run it as La Moraga, but without the same spirit. Recently the space was taken over by Grupo Gorki, which has transported three of its restaurants from the city centre to the beach: El Tres, Bao and El Merendero. I’d been to El Merendero for tapas at the bar, but this was the first time trying out the restaurant.

Malaga June 2016

As you can see, it wasn’t half bad! What you see up there is Málaga sausage tartare, crispy fried lemon boquerones, artichokes topped with jamón and chopped egg, and – the star dish – tuna parpatana au jus with soufflé potatoes.

andrew victorAfter lunch we stopped for a penúltima on the rooftop of recently opened Roommate Valeria. A perfect afternoon with dear friends.