Dragon Castle, Elephant & Castle, London

There is rarely a distance too far when it comes to matters of the stomach, however I do not often find myself South of the Thames and Elephant and Castle is just not a pretty area of London. A photographer was arrested there in January for posing an "unacceptable security risk." As a known local Artist he had been photographing the evolution of the area for 25 years. Be warned. With this in mind, Dragon Palace roars with credible recommendations - Jay Rayner (2006), Giles Coren (2006), and most recently Time Out (2009). Even heralded as the best Dim Sum in London by some and the most enjoyable Cantonese food in London by others.



Dim Sum for two had turned into six and we had well over 25 dishes, so there was plenty for all. But the dim sum was forgettable. The few dishes that I have tended to judge any Dim Sum restaurant by were either standard or below par. Fried foods should be hot, crispy and fresh. Steamed dumplings should arrive steaming and burn the roof of my mouth off and their contents should be plump, bouncy and explode with flavour. The Wu Kok arrived only luke warm and what should've been a fluffy and crispy batter, whilst light, was flabby and soft. Like most Chinese food, I want it to arrive and burn the roof of my mouth off. Prawn, char siu and fried dough fritter cheong fun were again average. The noodle had sufficient bite but the fillings weren't outstanding. Cold chicken feet really don't do anything for me at the best of times. I do however love Fung Jau, which we didn't order. The beef hor fun with black bean sauce and green peppers was just too salty and portions of Char Siu Pork and Roast Duck were average again.



Dim Sum is about convivial times over great food and good conversation was had. But there are plenty of places in London that one can get Chinese food and with the invasion of sanitised and westernised versions like Ping Pong, standards of Dim Sum have arguably been challenged. Yauatcha is good but just too expensive and in a surrounding just too sterile for spilling tea and making that mess with your chilli oil and soy sauce. Royal China is ok. Leaving Pearl Liang as the most universally applauded Dim Sum venue in London. Wherever it may be, attentive and friendly service should not be at a premium, unfortunately the waiting staff had a real problem with bringing us water and being first to arrive the staff were notably shocked with disgust that I hadn't made a reservation for my expanded group. Twenty notes a head really is quite an outlay for Dim Sum but that's just an indication of overeating. So, is this a question of value or quality? Both, and Dragon Palace hasn't won me over on either this time.





Dragon Castle. 114 Walworth Road, London, SE17 1JL. Tel: 020 7277 3388

Marmite Pop-Up Shop Launch Party and the Marmite Cereal Bar

Marmite... I don't think there's any question about it, people either love or hate it and we have to give much credit to the marketing people at Marmite for ingraining this on our minds. Even more credit to those behind the seemingly infinite number of merchandising that has been born out of that dark brown, sticky paste with its distinctive extremely salty flavour. Marmite is perhaps a good example of umami.

The Marmite Pop-Up Shop opened under the Christmas lights of Regent Street on the 3rd November with the launch party just over a week later. How do you make marmite glamourous. You can't. But you can have fun with it. Give me another Love It Or Hate It Poire William liquor Martini served with delicate Marmite crème foam. The shop offers over 100 Marmite branded products up until the first week of January. Just in time for Christmas...

I LOVE Marmite. I have it on hot buttered toast, with pasta with butter and Parmigiano-Reggiano, in congee, and even marmite soup (one and half heaped teaspoons of Marmite with boiling water in a mug). So, the idea of a Marmite Cereal Bar sounds somewhat appealing. Made with oats, wheat and rice, rather than masking the taste of cardboard with fruit like other cereal bars, there is obviously a hearty fullsome kick of Marmite. Certainly a good alternative to sugary cereal snacks... Nutri Grain quelle horreur!

Marmite Cereal Bars

The Marmite Pop Up Shop

Marmite Canapés - Roast Pigeon with Marmite and Caraway Chutney on a Marmite, Beetroot and Chilli Risotto

The Marmite Pop Up Shop

The Marmite Pop Up Shop Launch Party

The Marmite Cereal Bar is available in packs of 6 from Morrisons and Waitrose, and other outlets from January 2010.

Marmite Pop-Up Shop, 82 Regent Street, Quadrant Arcade, London, W1B 5HH

Konstam at the Prince Albert, Kings Cross, London

I recently met Oliver Rowe from Konstam and I never got round to writing up a full post about dining at his restaurant. Konstam at the Prince Albert famously claims that it sources 80% of its produce from inside the M25. It's far too long ago to think about a retrospective post but I can say that whilst we had a good time it took almost 45 minutes to get our main course. We were the first table at dinner service that night and there no more than 10 covers by the time we got our main. We did not have an entrées. The pork chop was beautifully cooked. So the recent blagger banquet auction of a chance to cook Pork Belly with Oliver Rowe was a big win for sure. Worth a revisit.

Here are some photos taken with my late Panasonic DMC TZ-5... it was a great point and shoot camera...










If you got this far, perhaps you might be interested in checking out my flickr set here.

Konstam at the Prince Albert, 2 Acton Street, London WC1X 9NA
020 7833 5040 princealbert@konstam.co.uk

Food Blogger Connect 2009

I am attending the Food Bloggers Connect 2009 on November 28th 2009. The event for anyone, not just long-term food bloggers, is being put together by Beth of Dirty Kitchen Secrets, Jamie of Life’s a Feast, Hilda of Saffron & Blueberry and Mowie of Mowielicious. It's taking place at the Lebanese restaurant Levant, on Wigmore Street, which I've not been to before.

* WHAT: Food Blogger Connect
* WHEN: November 28th, 2009, 1 PM to 5 PM
* WHERE: Levant Restaurant, London, W1
* WHO: Everyone who is or wants to be part of the Food Blogosphere. Food Blogger connect is open to all, and you don’t have to be a long-time blogger to attend. Are you thinking of starting a food blog? This is the perfect time to come and learn how. This event is open to Non-UK Food Bloggers as well.
* HOW MUCH: £30 for food and 1 glass of wine. This is the only fee and it covers the meal.
* WHERE CAN I RSVP: Go to www.rsvpit.com. The event code is 2009.

This should be quite interesting and friend Kang L, of LondonEater, will be doing a talk on Food Photography and Styling and Creative Marketing and Social Media. Good luck to him!

Wilton's, Wilton Way, Hackney, London

Although I live in East London, and more precisely in Bow, I just don't know a great deal about it. Two years in East London so far and I'm still discovering so many places. Having opened earlier this month, Wilton's is the latest venture from the owners and managers of the Notting Hill Arts Club, David McHugh and Dominik Prosser. Along a row of shops on Wiltons Way, just north of London Fields (and 5 minutes behind the Hackney Empire), sits Wilton's in a tiny single shop unit. Space being a premium, the interior has been cleverly designed by Broadway market-based design duo The Dog and Wardrobe with the restored scaffold bench, clever hidden away fruit crate tables/seats/storage boxes, and corrugated steel cylindrical pod serving tables inspired by simple coffee cup shapes. Their coffee is also locally roasted by Climpson & Sons, on Broadway Market. Wilton's is also the home of London Fields Radio.

Alongside coffee they also freshly prepare to order a number of open and closed sandwiches including the avocado on sourdough (which could've been slightly more seasoned). Serving velvety Antipoden flat white coffees and smooth macchiatos, I am certainly a fan of their coffee and their part in the mini invasion of Melbourne, Sydney and Wellington café cultures.

A flat white

Preparing black tea with fresh peppermint

Macchiatos on fruitboxes

London Fields Radio

Avocado on toasted sourdough

More photos here.

Wilton's, 63 Wilton Way, Hackney, London E8 1BG

HIX, Brewer Street, London

I was intrigued to read BooinLondon's recent blog about HIX on Brewer Street having noticed it a week or so back when going for a drink after work at The Glassblower. HIX opened at the start of October this year on the site of the Aaya which closed sadly before I was able to go. Here's the Giles Coren article. Apparently Mark Hix chose the site because of its very central location and its recent refurbishments while as Aaya. HIX is the third and most recent of the chef Mark Hix's restaurants, which include Hix Oyster & Chop House in London’s Smithfield’s Market and also Hix Oyster and Fish House in Lyme Regis. The head chef at HIX is Kevin Gratton, formerly of Le Caprice.

I arrived during a very busy lunch service although I was able to book the table for 2 about an hour prior to my 13:15 seating for a lunch meeting. The white-ceiling front of house is bustling and noisy and I was lead to our small wooden dining table. We had already been served our own personal sliced mini bloomer and butter and a jug of filtered tap water. The menu read like a British menu with the kind of things I'd like to see in modern British menu - examples including Pollack Fish Fingers on Mushy Peas, Roe deer chop with celeriac mash and sea buckthorn berries, Heaven and earth (a black pudding hors d'oeuvre with apples and potatoes). I knew that I was going to like this place.

(A collage made with picnik using photos taken with a Blackberry Bold)

We started with the Blythburgh pork crackling with crab apple sauce. This is hardcore stuff and quite the jaw workout. Crunchy is one thing but I can imagine a couple of clientele losing a crown or two over this. I think they needed to keep a bit more of the soft fat to help with flavour but the accompanying crab apple sauce works very well with it.

My first course is an entree of Rabbit and crayfish Stargazy pie. As it turns out a traditional Stargazy pie is a Cornish dish made of baked pilchards, covered with a pastry crust. The pilchards are arranged with their tails toward the centre of the pie and their heads poking up through the crust around the edge, so that they appear to be gazing skyward. In this instance the rabbit has been carefully slow cooked and the crayfish added to give a fantastically rich, sweet flavour. The pie crust is a traditional suet crust pastry (like a great steak and kidney pie) with the heads of two crayfish arranged in the Stargazy fashion. If you'd like to recreate this at home, here is Mark Hix's BBC food recipe. My only ever so minor grumble is that there were perhaps one or two many little rabbit bones. What is the elegant way to remove them from one's gob? I had a side of very simply seasoned Purple Sprouting Broccoli.

And so there was pudding... Bramley Apple Pie and Custard. Good old english pudding. A cute round little pie with a creamy light custard that perhaps needed just one more egg yolk for colour but was perfectly sweet. The pie pastry tasted almost like a digestive biscuit. I really enjoyed this.

So, Mark Hix's signature sees him take British classics and update them with fresh ingredients and modern gourmet-fied recipes. I feel like a bad foodie for having missed an entire season of Great British Menu when it turned out that he won the main course with this very Rabbit and Crayfish Stargazy Pie. He did also win the dessert with a perry jelly and summer fruits with elderflower ice cream. Other things on the menu definitely struck a chord with me including the 65 quid Porterhouse Steak for two, a behemoth 1kg bone in steak that no less than two steaks in one (Sirloin and Ribeye). Also the Roast Wooley Park Farm free range chicken with toasted garlic sauce, supposedly a dish for two to four, although rarely has there been a roast chicken that I haven't been able to devour wholly by myself. At £50, this could be the best roast chicken I've ever eaten, or not. I love my Bresse chickens... I really enjoyed my meal and despite service being a little slow (a 25 minute wait for our main and yes, Jay Rayner, I did complain), I can definitely see myself coming back here with friends...

HIX, 66-70 Brewer Street, London, UK +44 (0)20-7292-3518

Badly needed update! From Browns Focus to Busaba Eathai to Princi

My web log is showing signs of neglect... back to norm soon I hope! Went to the Browns Focus Halloween Party last night. Cocktails by Nobu and Food provided by S&M cafe - a selection of three sausages with mash and mushy pea dips, roast beef and horseradish in mini yorkshire puds and mackerel pate on bread. Delicious! The cocktails were a mixture of so-so... pomegranate juice stains all over my hands and shirt, what a clutz.

Went to Busaba Eathai on Wardour Street for a late lunch in the midst of the miserable heavy rain. Can't help but order the Thai Calamari. Love it. Stuffed our faces on the Mee Siam although I think they were a little mean on the amount of coconut sauce.

What is that across the street? A new shop? It looks like the kind of place I need to see... NOW. Unable to tell whether it was a restaurant or a bar... It turned out to be the new Artisan Italian bakery imported from Milan, Princi... described to me by the helpful staff as the Armani and Dolce and Gabbana of bakeries. Prepare your tastebuds as everything in this bakery is mouthwatering. The breads here are baked in a wood burning oven on site and pops and crackles of the wood can be clearly heard. It only opened 3 days ago and it a joint venture with Alan Yau (Hakkasan, Cha Cha Moon etc.).

Cafe Espana, Soho, London, W1

Cafe Espana
63 Old Compton Street
Soho
London, W1D 6HT

Tel: 020 7494 1271

Rating: 2 stars (out of 5)

Date of visit: 12th October, 2008

Meal: Dinner

Having just come back from Barcelona I felt the urge to eat Spanish food and a quick net search pointed us at Cafe Espana. Cafe Espana certainly has a lot to live up to - The reviews on lots of sites were glowing, apart from some tell tale reviews from various sites. With expectations set high, it is easy to be let down. The restaurant itself is extremely cramped and we were levered into our tiny area by the stairs upstairs. I had to be careful not to knock the table behind my chair as I skillfully squatted and slid into my seat.

We chose the seafood paella. Paella is the quintessential Spanish dish perhaps one of the best ways of judging a restaurant. Whilst we were able to order very quickly, the dish took 55 minutes to arrive and all we had to quench our hunger was some freshly cut stale bread and a little butter.

When the food did finally arrive, the dish was certainly impressive looking and enough to feed a family of four. But we were quickly disappointed. Whilst seafood ingredients were seemingly plentiful, there were only two king prawns and the rest were tiny shrimps in their shells so small that after you had gone through the effort or deshelling them, there was only smallest crayfish sized shrimp - the effort was hardly worth it. The mussels had been so cooked that they had shrunken and become chewy, the fish was full of bones, the calamari was tough and chewy and we had an assortment of peas ranging of brilliant fresh green to dull brown and mushy. And worst of all the rice had become mushy. Paella rice should be dry and separate when done, not creamy like risotto.

Risotto di mare, with two glasses of house white came to £27. Perhaps in hindsight we should've ordered tapas and perhaps it was a bad day for the restaurant's kitchen. The cooking is standard Spanish fare and there are certainly no culinary flares. Their home style food at knock down prices has certainly won fans but I dare to disagree and unfortunately the Paella here gets two thumbs down.

Canteen, Spitalfields, E1

Canteen

2 Crispin Place, Spitalfields
London, E1 6DW
0845 686 1122

Rating: 2 stars (out of 5) previously 3 stars

The word Canteen makes me think of school. I remember the canteen at school serving a variety of mainly English and globally inspired dishes with it's daily salad bar and puddings. I had plenty of choice when I was at school and it wasn't all that bad as the kitchens improved dramatically by the time I was in sixth form. The Canteen group of restaurants are informal with all day menus serving up British cuisine. We've had good experiences many times before and had always considered Canteen to be a safe if slightly more expensive than average option in Spitalfields.

I started with the soup of the day, Pea and Ham, which is generously portioned with two pieces of multi-seeded thick brown bread with two little portions of butter. I prefer a little more vibrancy of colour in my pea and ham soup which was more a muddy green with the smallest visible signs of ham. Unfortunately for the peas and blended ham in the soup, the saltiness of the soup was simply overpowering. I am not one that has ever sent a dish back but I was only able to endure just over two-thirds of it.

For my main, I chose to have fish and having had the lemon sole on a recent visit, I chose the Plaice, Chips and Tartare Sauce. My dish arrived with overwhelmingly large piece of Plaice which completely dominated my plate spilling over the top and bottom sides of it. Surely a larger plate was in order. Salt on the mind, my waitress had to mention that my fish had already been pre seasoned with English sea salt. Great big massive chunks of it. And again, the salt was overpowering and the delicate plaice almost indistinguishable from the salted batter.

I chose to finish with an espresso whilst my fellow diner had a dessert. The espresso being the best choice of the night after the wine - a bottle of Sancerre 'La Vigne Blanche' (Henri Bourgois, 2006, Fr). A fruity wine with a really delicate and floral fragrance. A £7 bottle of wine marked up to £30... I've seen this wine for anything between £24 and now £30 in restaurants.

I must say that I like what Canteen is trying to do, serving up honest British grub made with daily fresh ingredients sourced from good producers, but unfortunately on this occasion it was unable to please on any level and two starters, two mains, one side, a bottle of wine, a dessert and espresso the bill came to over £80! I will not be visiting again in a hurry.

Haozhan, China Town, W1

Haozhan
8 Gerrard Street
London W1D 5PJ
Tel: 020 7434 3838
www.haozhan.co.uk

Rating: 4 stars (out of 5) - Very Good

I was recently asked about Chinese restaurants in London, not even specifically China Town and I genuinely had trouble finding a recommendation for anything other than those I might go for dim sum. I could've said Hakkasan and that would've been lazy but the food there was good, in fact it was great the last time I had been. I should've said so. It is a brave move for any restauranteur, in this case Jimmy Kong of New Fook Lam Moon, to open a new chinese restaurant in China town, and part of the attraction was former Hakkasan chef, Chee Loong Cheong, in the kitchen. Earlier in the day I came come across a review of Haozhan on Eat Like A Girl (Niamh from Trustedplaces) and decided just before leaving the office after a day at work to go there for dinner.

Walking past you would probably overlook it as just another dressed up bad experience in China Town, but Haozhan inside is modern looking with black and green Feng Shui inspired decor certainly a cut above the rest. On walking in we were greeted instantly and were seated without a reservation. Presented with a menu you can instantly see this is no ordinary Chinese restaurant with much shorter list of tinges of Japanese, Taiwanese and Malay inspired Chinese dishes. There are certainly some interesting dishes such as Marmite prawns and baked silver cod with champagne and honey (very Hakkasan!). The service is polite, prompt and friendly. Our waiters were eager to help and we weren't rushed at any point to order. We ordered and our Jasmine tea arrived swiftly, lucky as I was parched.

We start with Grilled Dumplings, also known as pot stickers. Shallow fried freshly made dumplings filled with juicy pork. They were gorgeous. Before digging into our second dumpings the Curry Soft Crab arrived. Relatively large soft shell crab lightly curry battered and deep fried. The crab was tasty and the curry perfectly balanced without overpowering the natural flavour of the crab.

After finishing our starters our plates are cleared and we are brought new plates with bowls and freshly, perfectly steamed Thai fragrant rice. Sanpei Chicken arrives. Sanpei chicken is a clay pot dish made with onions, whole cloves of garlic, spring onions, and basil flavoured with three Chinese wines. Good but, there was virtually no hint of wine, and turned into a good stir fry if not slightly too salty for my taste.

The second of our main dishes was a controversial matter. Dim Sum and Sushi inspired, Haozhan Tofu are four silk-soft dessert tofu cubes with a puréed spinach top, carefully deep-fried topped with a firm sweet scallops garnished with fish roe. For her the almost custard like consistency and softness was not to her taste. Too much like a dessert for her. However, this was the platinum centerpiece of the dinner and the contrast of texture and flavour was perfect.

As explained in the menu, Chinese meals do not often have a pudding or a dessert. Traditionally and when growing up a Chinese meal was ALWAYS followed up with hot towels and freshly cut sweet and sticky oranges. However, in this very fusion inspired menu we were tempted by two desserts and choose to end the meal with the Banana Kataifi and the Cream of Pumpkin.

Banana Kataifi - Banana filled with red bean paste and deep fried in a greek kataifi pastry with really fresh fruit garnish. Looked great, tasted ok, hard and messy to eat.

Cream Of Pumpkin - chilled pumpkin and cream puree with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream served with steamed black rice and cocoa powder. A subtle combination of flavours that was the perfect way to end a meal, reminding me of a mix of sago pudding and mango dessert but not at the same time!

I really like what Haozhan is doing. Clean, friendly and modern Chinese... in often unreliable China Town. I knew to expect a decent meal and was more than surprised at how good it turned out to be. From start to finish our choice of dishes was generally a hit and only controversial with one dish. Just a touch over £46 for two appertisers, two mains, two dessert and tea for two plus tip. I look forward to returning to try the other dishes and perhaps splash out on some of the slightly higher priced dishes and noodle dishes that have read well in other reviews.

Carluccio's Canary Wharf, E14

Carluccio's Canary Wharf
Reuters Plaza,
London E14 5AJ
Tel. 020 7719 1749

Open: Mon-Fri 7-11.30, Sat 9-11.30, Sun 10-10.30

I had a craving for Spaghetti Bolognese during work and Carina had already made her way home so we had to eat East. We know what to expect at Carluccio's and it is only a 20 minute walk and DLR from home so I met her there after work. It wasn't too busy being a Monday night and was full of the suits and multinationals in suits. This Carluccio's like all the others we have visited is both a caffé and a foodshop where you can have breakfast, lunch, coffee, dinner and pick up finest Italian groceries from their larders and prepared foods counters.


The menus across all Carluccio's are the same, with 5-6 choices for each course. We shared the Paté Di Fegatini Di Pollo to start with, which was delicious. I love paté but with only two tiny pieces of Ciabatta soaked with Olive Oil, it was both messy and inadequate for the pot of paté.

Pasta Con Funghi - Egg pappardelle with a mix of shiitake, oyster, porcini and button mushrooms.

Our choices of mains were the Pasta Con Funghi and Spaghetti Alle Vongole In Bianco. Both dishes were solid although I was disappointed that the Italian waiter that served us offered to put Parmesan on the seafood dish and my girlfriend mistakenly accepted. Parmesan Cheese (if it's the real stuff, Parmigiano-Reggiano) is an aged cheese with salt in it. Purists argue that because seafood comes from the sea it is already salted and the parmesan will over power it, unless the seafood dish is made with a pasta sauce from southern Italy where the sauces are heavy and can take the salt. This was the first time in over 10 visits that this had happened at a Carluccio's. Despite this the spaghetti with clams in garlic and chilli sauce was light and not over seasoned. My pappardelle had a great selection of fresh mushrooms in a well balanced sauce with al dente pasta.

Spaghetti Alle Vongole In Bianco - A Neapolitan spaghetti with whole fresh clams, garlic, herbs and chilli.

To finish, we overate and had the Tiramisu and Cioccolato Fondente. Over indulgent. The bill came to £34.05 plus tip (Interesting article about pay at restaurant chains, click here).

The tables needed another wipe and all the menus we were brought over were sticky. Our waitress was on her first night and clearly didn't know the menu but that was ok! The food is predictable but good and we continue to return.

Note to self: They do not make Spaghetti Bolognese at Carluccio's

Rating: 3 Stars (out of 5)

The Diner, Ganton Street, W1

The Diner
18 Ganton Street
Soho, London, W1F 7BU

The Diner is in the Carnaby St area of Soho, directly opposite Cha Cha Moon on Ganton Street. Arriving much later than we had planned our Sunday breakfast had turned much more into a late brunch when we arrived at 1pm. It is much more spacious and darker than it's Shoreditch cousin. Rather than waiting for the next available booth we opted to sit at a normal table. It was reasonably busy but customers didn't have to wait long to be seated.

The comprehensive menu is exactly the same as the other two branches and we quickly ordered exactly what we had planned before arriving, blueberry pancakes with maple syrup, a breakfast burrito and a side of potato skins with bacon and cheese with a Creamy Nut (a "hard" shake with hazelnut and pistachio and a shot of baileys) and Chocolate shake. Our helpful and friendly waitress very quickly brought our drinks over followed by our food a little under 10 minutes later. The burrito was average if not a little too salty and was served with standard guacamole (freshly prepared) and sour cream and a tiny side salad. My girlfriend's pancakes were good but they could've been a bit more generous with the blueberries. The side of potatos skins were crispy and delicious although a little more cheese could've been called for. Portions were just right. I love the shakes at The Diner's, blended ice cream complete with the bits of hazelnut and pistachio.

As we rarely have breakfast out, the diner style breakfast was an exciting trip for my girlfriend who is an American. Above average, The Diner is for Europeans not expecting "diner-sized" portions! The bill came to £30.94 including 10% service and I would certainly go back.

Rating: 3 stars (out of 5)

Taro, Soho, London

Taro
10 Old Compton Street
London, W1D 4TF

Rating: 3 stars (out of 5)

foodbymark said
"Fast" Food
This Taro is conveniently tucked away just off Charing Cross on Old Compton Road. It is the second of three restaurants with the original just nearby. The ground flood serves as the kitchens where you can see the team of busy chefs working away. With a single set of stairs leading down to the basement you arrive at the restaurant which has a very open layout with wooden tables and benches along the walls and tables and chairs dotted around the middle and towards the back.

We ordered the Toro Rolls (4 pieces), Gyoza (5 fried pieces), 2 portions of Beef Teriyaki, 2 cups of green tea and glasses of tap water. Our friendly waiter hurried back with our drinks almost immediately and within a couple of minutes the Toro Rolls arrived. Almost melt in mouth, the fatty tuna rolls were a perfect light start. Almost immediately our Gyoza arrived, fresh and light with a crispy underside and not drenched in oil. Again, perfectly timed for out "fast" food dinner, the beef teriyaki arrived. Thinly grilled strips of steak, sliced and placed on top of steamed rice and a small amount of fried vegetables. A medley of julienned carrots, cabbage, onions and bean sprouts. The beef was succulent and although stated on the menu as being medium done, the medium rare result in mine was perfect.

An early evening meal for two, the restaurant wasn't too busy and there never seems to be many tourist there, if any at all. £29 including service at 10% is just right.

Slow Food at Southbank Center Festival of Food, Southbank, London

Quite unexpectedly Carina found out about the Southbank Center Festival of Food this morning whilst she was looking for interesting things to do on a Sunday afternoon after realising most of the Open House events were not very appealing to us.. I hadn't heard about it and a wasn't happily surprised. We made it there by 2 and it was already very busy. Coming in from Embankment station today also turned out to be the London Freewheel cycling event.

From 080921 Southbank Centre Festival of Food

From Carrot Cake to Churros, from the few stalls across the river we ended up buying a beautiful loaf of Olive Bread that we ended up eating a couple of ours later with some Rilettes that I bought from a market in Paris a couple of months back. We learnt whilst there that it is a Slow Food Movement event and what they are about.

From 080921 Southbank Centre Festival of Food

I had not heard of the Slow Food Movement prior to this and now understanding what this they are about, I am about to join and anyone who appreciates good, quality and diversity over the globalisation of food should to. The Slow Food Movement manifesto says it very well, "Our defence should start at the table with slow food. Let us rediscover the flavours and savours of regional cooking and banish the degrading effects of fast food."

From 080921 Southbank Centre Festival of Food

The festival was pretty small but had a wide range of foodstuffs including some lovely Ciders, a hog roast (portuguese style), some vibrant organic vegetables, oysters, devilled kidneys, and awesome chocolate brownies amongst others.

From 080921 Southbank Centre Festival of Food

Unfortunately every time we passed the Paella they were either sold out or still preparing the next batch. I did catch a glimpse of the finished Paella and it did seem a little short of seafood so not so bad after all.

From 080921 Southbank Centre Festival of Food