The Little Viet Kitchen (Angel, London)

I had a dirty napkin down my collar as I nibbled away the remnants of the lamb chops, sucking them dry, licking my fingers.  I slurped in the noodles and the broth all too quickly that I was half in tears because of the heat but I kept going and by now my napkin had fallen and my dress was dirty --- let me backtrack.

Saturday night I went to The Little Viet Kitchen -- the Vietnamese restaurant owned by the infamous ex-supper club host Thuy Pham-Kelly.  We go in and we are greeted by Chris - your East London man with suspenders, checkered shirt, bow tie, mustache and an iPad mini.  He shook our hands, introduced himself and led us to a table by the window.  The restaurant is of white, pastel green and washed wood, with beautiful chandeliers and plants and flower pots -- Scandinavian minimalism if you may, a restaurant you'd imagine East London Chris to work in.

Mien Tay (Battersea, London)

There seems to have been a surge of Vietnamese restaurants in London,  and as with most Ethnic establishments in this city, they seem to fall into two categories: you've got the trendy restaurants with chic logos graphically designed with modern fonts and a menu that's been heavily smacked with Western flavors, and you've got the Asian take-away-esque ones.  Places like Mien Tay, where it's bare and charmingly tacky, where it's just this down to earth Vietnamese family-run restaurant.

I went to their Battersea branch.  And as with all of their restaurants in London, there's something very authentic and endearing about its shabby interior.  Densely-packed incongruous furniture dotted with pots of plastic plants.  A theme of white and jade-green and... all a bit alarm-bell-ringing until you sit down and eat.

Late Autumn this year, they celebrated their 6th anniversary with 6 new dishes.  Yes, 6 years is quite some time especially as they've in this time managed to open up 3 or 4 branches not just in London.  The focus is on Southern Vietnamese cuisine made with authenticity and they've had rave reviews.

So of the new dishes there is a deep-fried monkfish which is pleasant.  The batter crisp, the flesh not overcooked.  There is a whole grilled squid that was on the bland and (extremely) chewy side, which, however, was the only disappointing part of the evening, as then there are some bright cheerful salads.  There is a fabulous pomelo salad with chicken and prawns that's got those lovely bitter and sharp citrus notes flowing through; and a kohlrabi salad with squid, where fortunately the squid is tender, the kohrabi crunchy and it's altogether coated with a fresh and zingy dressing.

Best Eats This Week: Yogiyo Cooking Sauces

Too often have we been set back by "exotic" recipes simply because of the long obscure list of ingredients.  Fresh turmeric? Dried kelp? Spices you can't even pronounce?  And when you finally do find that specialty shop that sells everything you need, you hesitate -- well, how many times will you use this?  Is it worth buying a whole jar of fermented tofu? What are you supposed to do with the rest of it?  Better to just go out for dinner and make pasta at home tomorrow.

Even me, a relatively adventurous cook, am faced with this annoyance.  I just don't like to waste, and my food cupboard is full enough as it is.  I don't want to squeeze in half-open packs of dried shrimp and palm sugar which I will just forget about until I move out.  One of my favorite cuisines is Korean, and I just never cook it at home for the aforementioned reasons.  But now, enter Yogiyo -- UK's first range of Korean cooking sauces that have just launched at a Sainbury's near you.

Shikumen - Shepherd's Bush (London)

Having grown up in Beijing, there's always a slight hesitation in visiting Chinese restaurants in London.  I hate being disappointed, especially when it comes to eating out, and with Chinese food, it's just more personal.  My heart sinks at the sight of soft wrinkled skin on Peking ducks, or the taste of oversweetened generic meat coated in grease.   I therefore had my reservations when I went to Shikumen -- the Chinese restaurant that has received praise by the likes of of Fay Maschler. 

Best Eats This Week: Maison Blanc's Wine & Patisserie

It is romance at its peak.  In the back garden of Fulham's Maison Blanc, you have trees, flowers, wood decking, climbing plants intertwined with colorful fairy lights.  Simple wooden round tables are adorned with mini candles and a small vase of flowers.  At the corner there are two men playing Latin music on the guitar.  And it's a place to have dessert and wine. 

Best Eats This Week: DRINKmaple

Gluten-free, dairy-free, nutrient-rich and environmentally-friendly -- it's so good it's making coconut water look bad.  Maple water and coconut water are similar with their electrolytes and vitamins but Maple water contains significantly less sugar and has proven to do better in taste test in labs.  It has a delicate maple sweetness -- imagine water mixed with a tiny bit of maple syrup.  It is the sap from maple trees, and DRINKmaple is just purely 100% that with no added nonsense.

Best Eats This Week - Ibérica's Pinchos (London)

Ibérica - the renowned Spanish restaurant group in the UK has launched a new menu exclusive to their beautiful outdoors terrace in Cabot Square.   Designed by three Michelin-starred Executive Chef Nacho Manzana, it features a series of imaginative pinchos along with their usual tapas. 

Notable mentions include their mini Butifarra burger - a thick slice of fatty Catalan sausage meat encased between soft toasted brioche, with sweet and tangy pickled fennel and a sharp mustard mayonnaise. 

Best Eats This Week: YO! Sushi's New #YOLO Dishes

YO! Sushi has changed gears and launched three dishes for the summer that are fantastically fun and exciting. It's the theme of "East meets West" which, yes, has been done to death, but they deserve a good pat on the back for this one.

 The new series of limited edition #yolo dishes will only be on the menu for a few weeks.  These include J-Dog:  Japanese arabiki sausage in a brioche bun topped with spring onions, nori, crunchy shallots, misotchup, teriyaki -- and it comes with a cute little Sriracha keychain.   Flavor and textural sensation and the best thing is you get to have hot sauce on the go at the end of it,  if anything, that's your reason for ordering it.

Maison Blanc's Summer Range

I love the change of seasons because it inspires the entire food industry to launch new items.  The progression to Summer is a favorite as everyone goes towards lighter, fresher and more colorful food, especially in the UK, as it suffers from winters of achromatic produce and so summer just brings a whole new food scene.

Best Eats This Week - Carlo Rotta Chocolates

Gianduiotti are perhaps the most underrated of chocolates outside of Italy. It’s a genius combination of cocoa and Piedmontese hazelnut paste that was invented in the 1800s in Turin. Think of Nutella and imagine it in the consistency of a chocolate, now imagine a more sophisticated flavor profile with proper cocoa and more hazelnut and no added nonesense. Oh when a gianduiotto is good, it’s simply sublime - and Carlo Rotta is tapping into the London market with his.

Best Eats This Week: Doodle's Dockside Diner (London)

With the sandals on, sunglasses out and skins exposed, it is officially summer in London.  Long gone are the days of requesting a table away from the door in fear of the cold drafts and spending the evening eating potato soup -- for the next three months, The Doodle Bar is collaborating with The Grub Club to bring about a series of weekend alfresco lunches with entertainment.

Best Eats This Week: Bun Bo Hue (Salvation in Noodles, London)

A pho is like a warm hug - it's reassuring comfort food on a cold day and a hungover morning.  With its mellow flavors, its aromatic broth, it is as soothing and curative as food can get.  It is the noodle dish we think of when we think of Vietnamese cuisine.  This weekend, on a particularly sunny and hot afternoon, I was introduced to Bun bo Hue at Salvation in Noodles and it was the complete opposite.  It wasn't delicate or gentle or calming, it was a bowl of full-blown excitement.

Best Eats This Week: Seeded Scone with Vegemite Butter (Grain Store, London)

As much as I love London's prolific food scene, the sheer number of options for a simple meal can be painfully overwhelming. Take brunch, everywhere does brunch, and everywhere serves the same pancakes, fry-ups and porridge. So when convenience and cost are taken out as factors, how does one choose? Restaurants must make themselves stand out with something different, some imagination, something that makes your eyes light up in anticipation --- and with Grain Store, its brunch menu was just a beautiful list of exciting and original dishes.

Best Eats This Week: Vietnamese Pesto and Bánh Mìs (Whaam Bánh Mì, London)

I’m quite good with table manners in public. Even with burgers, shell-on prawns and chicken wings -- I can neatly eat with grace. However, there are times when I’m just shamelessly picking things with my fingers and licking the plate like a starving child in an effort to not waste any trace of the food. That was the case with this Vietnamese pesto that accompanied the summer rolls at Whaam Bánh Mì – the new Vietnamese joint in Soho.

The Queensbury Kitchen (London)

 

Located all the way out in Willesden Green, the Queensbury Kitchen claims to bring something different to the local area.  Perhaps.  It's a straightforward bar and grill serving the expected ribs, burgers and fried chicken, but I rarely venture out to Willesden Green, I wouldn't know.  That said, it does what it does well.

It's friendly and social as it's one of those food-sharing restaurants.  Not the ones serving dainty little small plates but ones with large platters and wooden planks of meat and sliders placed in the middle of long communal tables.  It's what you want for that kind of food, where you're not afraid to reach over the table and eat with your hands and shamelessly lick your fingers.  For rich fatty ribs - which are actually worth the trip to Willesden Green - it came big and bold in two racks, and were sweet and smokey and falling apart at the touch of your fork; for the fried chicken wings - spicy, juicy, crispy and so good that you're there picking off the remaining fried crumbs scattered at the bottom; for the sliders - both meat and vegetarian, served in cute traditional American burger buns.

Ethos (London)

It's hard to get vegetarian restaurants right and it's hard to get buffets right.  It's difficult to develop a vegetarian concept that can also draw in the carnivores and it's incredibly limiting in terms of the food you can prepare as they need to be served on a warming plate for 30 minutes before people eat it.  However, Ethos, a vegetarian buffet restaurant, has made a good effort.

It's not the standard falafels and roasted potatoes (though you get that too), but rather dozens of dishes ranging from rainbow salads to aloo scotch eggs to vegan Shepherd's pie to seitan ribs.  You grab a plate, take what you want, and then you pay at the counter by the weight.  Simple.

L'ETO Caffé Brompton (London)

With already six locations in London and having opened only in 2011, the L’ETO’s caffé and restaurant chain has seen a lot of success. It is a simple business concept done well as it caters to a wide audience from the young to the families, the couples, the city workers, the fitness freaks and the sweet tooths. And after visiting their newest branch on Brompton Road for brunch, I’d say that its popularity is justified.

Apt for its location, the restaurant itself boasts sophistication and class with high ceilings, dark hardwood floors, round marble tables, Victorian chairs -- it’s a place screaming cha-ching. Yet despite all this, it is reasonably priced as for brunch you’re looking at £9-12 without drinks. Thus with its pricing plus the appropriate music and service, instead of a snobbery atmosphere, it’s casual and chic.

The brunch options are aplenty. There’s an impressive display of luscious cakes and pastries on black slate boards, and next to it are rows of colorful Ottolenghi-esque salads and other savory treats like quiches and fish cakes. From the menu there are varied pancakes, crepes, egg dishes, toast dishes and healthier dishes like quinoa granola.

Best Eats This Week: Pork Belly & Aioli, Burrata & Tomato Bruschetta (Pizza East, London)

Being right next to the gym, I had passed by Pizza East perhaps once a month and I had always thought of it as an upscale Pizza Express.  Looking in, the decor of it is your cliched warehouse look: walls laden with red bricks and purposefully cracked white tiles; exposed pipes and bare floors; rustic wooden tables and stools.  Cute, but too much of it nowadays.  Then late one evening I went in with friends and was pleasantly surprised -- nothing like Pizza Express.  The menu proved to be exciting, and despite being a pizza restaurant, it had lots of tempting side dish options.   Pizzas were in fact not ordered, and the series of small plates we had ranged from decent to impeccable -- these two dishes fell in the latter.

Best Eats This Week - Sugar Cured Prawn Omelette with Chilli Sambal

Going out for breakfast is always a treat because it is hard to justify.  Lunch and dinner are proper meals where you can claim to be short on time, a bad cook and/or lazy, but breakfast -- breakfast is where cereal, oats and toast are sufficient.  In addition, personally I'm one who wakes up hungry and needs food immediately, thus waiting a minimum of one hour and a half to get dressed, commute to a restaurant and place an order before eating anything is an unappealing prospect to me.  However, despite it all, last Sunday morning I patiently joined the steady queue outside The Modern Pantry and it was worth it all.

Best Eats This Week - The Cornish Grill/The Three Crowns (London)

Blessed are the people that have made humble and honest food trendy again.  British food is exactly that, humble and honest, and in the age of foams and edible flowers, these run-of-the-mill dishes had become rather drab in a city like London.  The Brits were never known for their cuisine, and yes, unfortunately it is still very easy to stumble upon inedible British food, but here's a compliment from an Italian -- you have excellent produce and so when your food is made well, it's sublime.

That's what The Cornwall Project is about.  It's about Matt, who's passionate about all the amazing fish, seafood, meat, and vegetables from Cornwall, and giving them to people who can cook.  Him and chef Michael Harrison have just set up residency at The 3 Crowns, showcasing the finest of Cornish products, and I had some amazing things there (you're going to have to excuse me for the photos because with the dim lighting and my iPhone and my poor photography skills, they just don't do the food justice).

Cauliflower tempura with turmeric mayonnaise
It wasn't a traditional light tempura crust -- there was barely a crust at all as it was so thin yet it was so incredibly crisp and crunchy that it was as if it were the just the naked cauliflowers themselves.  And it came with the loveliest of mayos - light and earthy from the turmeric.  It was a simple dish done well with a creative flair.