All posts tagged: Authentic

Brighton Be Beautiful: Bardsleys, The Chilli Pickle, The Lion & Lobster & Coggings & Co.

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside. So much so that last weekend I played away from home (cheated on my glorious sandy hometown of Swansea) and enjoyed a weekender in Brighton. I was fortunate enough to have plenty of suggestions and advice from a network of food lovers and twitterers, so ‘the ol’ food itinerary’ was pretty chocker block.  Alex has been away with me enough to know that ‘free time’ doesn’t really feature in my holiday itineraries – but what’s leisure time when you get the chance to taste the best food around with me, eh? BRIGHTON BITES 1. For the perfect fish & chips – Bardsley’s   Now, I spent the best part of my early teenage years working in a cracking local chip shop on the seafront in Swansea. During the summer of 2008, I think mushy peas were the only vegetable in my diet and my lunch of choice was curry and cheese on chips with chilli sauce (oh to have the metabolism of a teenager again.) So I know good fish …

Cooking with matcha

I have recently rekindled my love of green tea after discovering matcha – a powdered green tea made from specially selected green tea plants, which are shade grown for a few weeks before being ground up. The result is a clean, smooth-tasting tea that doesn’t have that horribly bitter after taste that first put me off regular green. It’s really easy to drink and has helped me through many a starvation lull on one of my fast days, as i’m currently trialing out the intermittent fasting (or the fast diet) in an attempt to (pun-alert) have my cake and eat it too (sorry.) But I’m more interested in matcha being used as an ingredient in cooking. The first time I tasted matcha was in a life changing dessert at So Japanese, Soho. This place was recommended to me by an ex colleague for its unbeatable sushi (and at a reasonable price for sushi) but I would also highly recommend the Japanese desserts. The Matcha & White Chocolate Cake with Black Sesame Ice Cream & Fruit Mousse   This was ordered …

Song Que Cafe – Review

Real Vietnamese food in East London Song Que was recommended by an Instagram follower, who described the Pho as ‘Boom ting!’ I had to give this place a mention. We had a fleeting visit from an old friend last night and wanted to take him somewhere authentic, and try something new in East London before my move in two months (only down to South London but still!).    Song Que In a sea of fairly decent looking Vietnamese restaurants, the only thing that makes Song Que really stand out (apart from the tacky lime green front) is the fact that it was absolutely rammo – Vietnamese, Londoners, old, young, couples, catchups, families, predrinks. We felt at home straight away in this echoey, green canteen style joint, where the waiters are speedy and the prawn crackers are free (I mean, where can you find free prawn crackers anywhere anymore?) The words ‘authentic’ ‘true’ and ‘famous’ are plastered over their menu so I don’t have to go into this. But all I can say is believe their glowing …