For every ladies who are sitting in front of their computers, counting down the days to the ultimate four days long weekend...
What are your plans for the weekend?
It looks like the heat will be gone... Boo... but I guess nothing can stop us from having a lovely Barbie out in balcony, backyards, parks or beaches.
Here are some food which taste great on a barbie: Burger// Chicken (whole or in parts)// Ribs// Steak// Fish (with tangy and spicy sauce)// Aubergine (sliced in half lengthwise and season with S&P)// Seafood (clams clams clams); and as for dessert, you can whip up a simple Eton Mess with homemade meringues (so easy to make!) and seasonal fruits (recipes to follow next)
For the foodies out there, you will certainly be interested in the World Street Food Festival 2012. It will take place on Southbank Centre, along the river Thames by the London Eye from 1st - 5th June. You will experience all sorts of street food from Malaysia, Korean, Vietnamese, Greek, Spanish, British, Italian, Middle East and everywhere else in the World! For more information on the festival, please visit here.
Was craving for a good Japanese simple lunch in Angel one weekend, and came across Tenshi. A tiny and cosy restaurant located on Upper Street, serving simple and traditional Japanese food. As you all know, there are many restaurants and cafes on Upper Street, with various and different cuisine, however, I think Tenshi is the only Japanese restaurant at the moment.
It is a small restaurant, with limited seatings, however, do not be put off by it. Sometimes, what I find in Japanese restaurants is, the smaller the restaurant is, the better their food is.
Given a busy Saturday lunch hours, I unfortunately was given a seat next to the entrance. We were quickly given the menus but no drinks were ordered. The menu is pretty comprehensive, offering the most popular Japanese food - Sushi, Donburi, Tempura, Katsu, Noodles - pretty standard.
We ordered the Takoyaki (Octopus balls); 2 pieces of Sea Bream Nigiri and Hamachi (Yellow Tail); Chicken Teriyaki Bento and Pork Katsu Bento.
If you want a no fuss Japanese meal around Angel and Islington area, visit Tenshi, as it offers good and traditional Japanese food for a very decent price.
Mulberry has launched a new bag, inspired by Lana Del Rey.
Have you heard of her songs? If so, you will love this bag too!
The Del Rey has arrived in stores and online, here to shop.
The bag
Inspired by singer Lana Del Rey, the Del Rey also pays homage to
classic Mulberry detailing and style accents. It is refined and
practical, and although it implies structure the leather is soft and
tactile, able to hold everything you might need and be as dressed up, or
down, as you like.
Lana Del Rey
Lana Del Rey’s beautiful voice and nostalgic style have captivated us
on more one occasion. Creative Director Emma Hill found inspiration in
her coquettish elegance and desire to mix high and low cultural
references in her music and fashion. Lana has a bespoke Del Rey in White
Ostrich, as Emma says: ‘The white with the gold accent suited Lana
perfectly – it’s glamorous, and a little bit retro!’
There is always something comforting about dumplings,
in particular homemade ones. I have always made my dumplings with shop bought
dumpling pastry, and though they are easy and convenient, I felt that it is
missing something in taste and texture. Thus, this time, I have decided to make
everything from scratch.
Homemade dumpling pastry is simple, but a word of
warning – it is time consuming! So make sure you have a couple of hours to
spare and preferably a chair or stool to sit while working on the kitchen
table.
This recipe makes 48 dumplings
Dumpling pastry:
500g
Plain white flour or all purpose flour
250g
Cold water
1)
Sift the flour into a bowl, and make a well in the middle
2)
Pour in the cold water into the flour gradually, while mixing and stirring with
a wooden spoon, to form a dough
*You may or may not need extra water, please
judge by the texture of the dough*
3)
Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, just to bring the mixture all together and
to loosen it a bit
4)
Leave it to rest for around 1 hour in the bowl
5)
Divide the dough into quarters (working with smaller portion of dough is
easier)
6)
Roll each quarter into a log shape, then cut into chunks (approx. 2-3cm wide)
7) Using
your palm, flatten each piece into a disc; Take the rolling pin, and roll out
to a circle, about the size of your palm
8)
Make sure your work surface is dusted with flour to avoid the pastry from
sticking to it
Now
for the filling; the most common meat we use is minced pork. I marinated the
minced pork (500g) with 3 tbsp of soy sauce, 1 tsp salt, 3 tsp rice wine and 1 tbsp of sesame oil. Then to the meat, I
added diced black fungus (黑木耳) (alternatively you can add Chinese mushrooms冬菇), Spring Onions; for
a bit of spice, I added some pickled vegetables (榨菜). Give everything a good mix,
just to make sure they all stick to the meat. If the vegetables are not
sticking to the meat, add a little cold water just to give it a help.
To
make the dumplings:
1)
Place a sheet of the pastry onto your palm
2)
Take about 1 ½ tsp of the meat mixture and put it in the middle of the pastry
3)
Wrap the dumpling, starting from the centre, working to the sides, press gently
with fingers to make sure the sides are sealed (otherwise the meat will pop out when you cook them later)
4)
Dust them with flour
5)
Repeat until everything is used up
To
cook the dumplings:
1)
Carefully place the dumplings into boiling water
2)
Cook them until they float on the water
*You
should see the dumpling pastry becoming translucent*
Best served
with vinegar (black not white) and some chilli oil; Alternatively you can pan fry them.
Earlier this month, I wrote of my dining experience at The Jugged Hare on Chiswell Street in the City(review here), and I decided to give it a try again.
Once again, both the restaurant and the bar areas were completely jam packed. And even after 10pm, there were still incoming diners (they had the option of post-theatre menu).
We sat on the side of the restaurant by the window, overlooking the open kitchen. A lovely waiter came to greet us and brought us a bottle of sparkling water following as we had requested. He introduced the specials to us - pie and soup of the day, daily specials on the rotisserie. The daily specials were actually written on the blackboard, but it was not visible to us from where we were sitting.
We ordered the Black pudding croquettes with Guinness sauce to share; as for starters, we ordered the Breaded Skate Knobs with Tartare sauce and Bath chaps with Langoustine.
The Black pudding croquettes were really appetising, and it is certainly a change of how black pudding is usually cooked. The Breaded Skate knobs were well executed, the fish was meaty and batter was cripsy but not overly oily, the tartare sauce was complimentary. The Bath chaps - as expected quite fatty, made from pig's cheek or jaw, but it was perfectly balanced along with its golden thin crispy texture; the Langoustine was succulent and its fresh taste helps to wash away some of the chaps' fat.
Both starters were top notch, and I would be more than happy to have them as main; though I did find that the size of the starters were rather generous, in fact, we were pretty full after devouring those tasty starters.
As for main dishes, we had Monkfish tails with cockles and caviar butter and a 350g Rib-eye on the bone steak, accompanied with chips and gravy. We also ordered a green salad and Parsnip and garlic gratin as sides.
The Monkfish tail was cooked on the bone so that it remained succulent and sweet. Monkfish is a very meaty fish, some even say it is a cheaper version of lobster. The caviar butter was not as buttery or creamy as I had expected, but the dish needed a sauce. Apart from a few bites of sand while eating the cockles, all in all, it was all right, but I found the dish to be too fishy, from the Monkfish, cockles and the caviar. It sort of needed a kick from something or another texture to complete the dish. As for the steak, it was just a steak with chips. The highlight of the dish was probably the gravy, perfect to dunk your chips in. However, as for the steak itself, it was average, but of course this is no steakhouse. The Parsnip and garlic gratin was a yummy sidedish, both parsnips and garlic were cooked right through, but yet still have a slight crunch. Usually when we order a green salad as a side, we would expect it as a much healthier option (in comparison to chips or mac and cheese), but there were just far too much salt in this green salad. I could literally taste the coarse salt when I bit into the crunchy vegetables. It was just too salty for anyone's taste.
Desserts were Chocolate mint pot and Bread and Butter pudding with vanilla ice cream. The Chocolate mint pot was really rich with a thin layer of mint at the bottom of the pot. The Bread and Butter pudding was much bigger than I thought! Made with layers of pain au chocolats (which is more exciting than plain old croissants!), custard and currants, along with butterscotch sauce; along with the homemade Vanilla ice cream, the dish was complete.
We are pleased to announce the return of Dover Street Market MARKET!
Three crazy days of shopping madness, bursting with bargains and exciting products
from our archive with discounts of 70% to 75% off everything!
A marvellous array of clothing and accessories will be available from
past seasons
from all Comme des Garçons collections, plus many of your
favourite DSM brands.
Regular deliveries throughout the three days will ensure that no
matter when you come,
there will be new items, so for those of you
planning to come every day, you'll find something
different each time.
Friday 11th May – Sunday 13th May 2012
10.00am- 7.00pm Victoria House
Bloomsbury Square
London WC1B 4DA
Nearest Tube Stations: Holborn and Russell Square Click here for a streetmap
Only cash and credit
cards please. No bags and coats will be allowed into the venue,
so to
reduce queuing times for the cloakroom, please pack light!
We look forward to seeing you there!
