A Journey Across China

The concept of travelling vicariously through food isn't new. I often look up recipes from exotic places that I long to explore but am unlikely to visit soon. Travelling across China is one such dream but it is a little low on the priority list. When HKK (part of the Hakkasan Group)  offered me an opportunity to experience China through a ten course taster menu created specifically for the Chinese New Year, I simply could not refuse. The menu promised to take me on journey across the eight provinces of China that were most influential from a culinary perspective.

Up until now, my experience of Chinese cuisine was limited to food cooked by Chinese friends, and the sometimes westernised recipes that I'd tasted at restaurants across the UK and Asia. My mind and my belly were open to more authentic epicurean experience. As with most 'invitations to review', I was a little concerned that my judgement could potentially be clouded by the focused attention I would receive and that feeling of gratitude for being offered the experience. I took my objective thinking friend Raahil along as I knew that even if it was rubbish, she would give me an honest view.

We started off by ordered cocktails, I chose the Floating Goddess and Ra ordered Red Lotus. They were both tallish drinks that lasted us through most of the meal. You also have the option of going for a wine pairing course to go with the menu. As it was school night, we gave that a miss, as well as the temptation to have another cocktail.

We sat down to eat just before 7PM and finished well after 10PM. Each course was beautifully presented, with the steward recounting the history of the dish and its culinary origin. Ra chose a semi-vegetarian option which meant we got to see two different versions of the menu.  Everything we tasted was new and different to anything we'd tried before, and they all had a certain element of showmanship. Think colourful dimsum served with a paintbrush to 'paint' sauce on and a teapot containing a yuzu infusion to pour over chocolate dumplings. The Roast Peking Duck was one of my absolute favourites; the skin of the duck was perfectly glazed and crisp, and the meat cooked to perfection. It was definitely the best Peking Duck I'd ever had.

By the time we'd got to the fifth course, I was *stuffed*. Despite each course being quite small, they were surprisingly filling. I had to ask for a bit of rest period before we went on to the next course. The staff gently encouraged us on saying the best was waiting for us at the end. And they were right, that final item on the menu was Sheep's Milk Mousse and Pandan Curd with Caramelised Puff Rice which didn't sound like something I'd like at all but turned out to be exceptional (and not strongly milky as I'd expected it to be). 

By 10:15 PM, I could have really done with a cherry picker to take me back to my hotel, I was so full! So was Ra. And she loved the entire experience as much as I did. As with many grand things, this experience does not come cheap. But at £98 for ten courses, it works out to less than a tenner per course. I'd highly recommend it for a special occasion or a celebration. And when you do book, make sure you eat very little all day!

The Chines New Year menu is available until the 28th of February and full details can be found on the HKK website.

P.S: All photos courtesy HKK as mine simply didn't do the food justice.

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Highlights of Winter 2013/14

Whilst pingponging between London and Edinburgh over the last few weeks,, it has become remarkably clear to me that Scotland is a few weeks behind England on the seasons front. So whilst my blogger counterparts south of the UK are waxing lyrical about bare legs and daffodils, us lot in Scotland continue to be bundled up in multiple layers.  I figured that whilst it is still wintery where I live, I'll do a little post reflecting on the season that we are soon leaving behind. Don't be fooled by all the pretty pictures on my Instagram feed, its been a terribly heartbreaking and stressful few months for me (and us). Christmas was only three months ago and I spent most of the festive season in hospital and the rest of time outside of it trying to physically recover and reconciling myself with the fact that I may never have a baby again (naturally) and that any other interventions will still be fraught with risk. And to add to that we moved our entire lives several hundred miles north, changed jobs and battled other challenges...However, Ed and I figured that the move to Edinburgh, the culture and new experiences will help us with the healing.  So, here's a snapshot of all the fun things we've been up to...

The Edinburgh Christmas markets, spread across three different parts of the city, are an absolute delight. We wandered around them  every time we could, admiring all the seasonal goodness they had to offer. I particularly love the sight of happy carousels and sky high rides, even if I'm not a fan of getting on some of these rides myself.  Christmas lights, sparkly shop windows, Harvey Nic's during the holiday season, online sales have all been rather delightful. The flip side of being horizontal so much was that I was that much more susceptible to a naughty sale purchases: Charlotte Olympia, Agent Provacateur, Cire Trudon etc have somehow made it into my wardrobe and home ;) And then there was wool, lots and lots of it, with lots of knitting to boot. Who knew I'd one day become a knitter! The nuns that taught me at school would be so very shocked! And, I got published twice... not for knitting but simply because of the blog....my Rhubarb Creme Brûlée made it to a book published by the Princes Trust and my blog was featured in the Making Magazine! And then there was the millinery masterclass with Katherine Elizabeth... so much fun but so not easy!

Winter is also a time when I somehow always manage to gain a few chubby pounds...a lot of it was  because of Dosa ( a crispy south Indian pancake that I could live off)... something almost impossible to find Peterborough way but quite the contrary in Edinburgh.... and there always a session at Laduree every time I was in the big smoke, sessions at Sketch, Yauatcha, Coco Maya and other favourite London haunts.  And there was the London Chocolate Tour... a fabulous chocolate extravaganza... an experience worth trying..Valentine's day card making with Rosie and Hannah of the New Craft Society at Drink Shop Do, a beautiful Valentines day surprise by the husband at our favourite haunt in Exton, a random but interesting Mongolian barbecue of Taiwanese origin at Khublai Khan etc...

Then a month ago, we moved 'properly'... i.e sold every piece of furniture, decluttered a lot of our 'stuff' down south, and moved log stock and barrel to start a whole new phase of life in Edinburgh. I continue to work from England i.e. travel to Newcastle, London etc but hopefully that is all set to change soon..And before the snow could all go, we learnt ( tried to) ski! Looking back, its incredible how much we've been through and how much we've accomplished and experienced in such a short space of time... it reaffirms by motto in life..carpe diem as life's too short and there is no time like the present. 

I hope you've had a season full of life enriching experiences too... and that when Spring comes along, it brings happy, new and wonderful things with it. Ann x

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Chocolate Tour of London

In case you were wondering, no I haven't given up blogging. Its been a long and manic few weeks (and I suspect will continue like that all of March) with the big move to Edinburgh and the lack of time off to do it all. Note to self, take a week off for the next big move, whenever that is! That said, in the midst of all the mayhem, I continue to seek out new adventures and experiences to draw energy from. One such fabulous adventure was the Chocolate Tour of London. My friend Katherine and I took an impromptu afternoon off to savour the chocolatey delights of the Big Smoke.

We met our lovely tour guide Lisa outside the Algerian Coffee Store on Old Compton Road who offered us a selection of coffee and raspberry flavoured chocolates to munch on whilst waiting for the remained of the group. We quickly figured that Lisa was a bit of a walkie-talkie chocolate encyclopedia of London. We listened on to Lisa's stories of the history of the Algerian coffee stores, Hotel Chocolat ( the next stop) and other nearby foodie establishments. The passion fruit flavoured Hotel Chocolat chocolates we sampled were scrumptious. I asked for seconds and that was the start of a pattern.

I was most impressed by the delectable creations at Paul A Young. The chocolates are made on the store premises itself and are available in a range of very unusual flavours. Stilton and port wine anyone? Marmite perhaps? Each of the chocolates we sampled were truly divine.  They also stocked Mast Brothers, Menakao and Duffys, winners all the way! I also loved the Prestat store ( bright colours, friendly staff and great chocolate) but was most impressed by the custom made Lulu Guinness bag on display.  We stopped by Freggo for ice-cream and I sampled far too many (as evident from the rainbow of spoons in the picture above). We passed by Laduree (Burlington Arcade store) but didn't go in. I didn't mind as I seem to go in to their Covent Garden outfit every time I'm in London!

The Charbonnel and Walker store was very swanky and the chocolates were amazing but the air there was perhaps a tiny bit too snooty for my liking? My favourite store of all on the tour was Fortnum and Mason; I love love love their wonderful window displays! Lisa then took us to the East India Company which was one of the friendliest stores by far. They even had snacks and tea out for visitors at various corners of the store; if I worked/lived in the area, I'd be visiting every day! Lisa stopped by a number of other shops along the along, proving a bit of history and gossip as part of the tour.  One such stop was Choccywoccydoodah and OMG, it bonkers. 

Our last stop was Liberty of London (another favourite of mine) where our group parted ways, so full of chocolate that we even took some samples home! Katherine and I headed back to to Paul A Young to buy some pressies for our boys before heading to Yauatacha for some nibbles, macarons and drinkies before taking a late old train back home.

We got our tickets through TimeOut London at 50% off but full price tickets are still available on the Great British Tours website. There is a similar tour in Edinburgh although I think I could try doing a self-planned version myself.  Hope you are all having a lovely week! Ann x

Quirky Shops: Butterfly, Pimlico

If you fancy a little treasure hunt and a good rummage, Butterfly is the place to head to. The tiny little boutique,  just across the road from Tate Britain, stocks a truly fabulous mix sale clothes from brands including Hoss Intropia, Crea Concept and Nougat London. The shop window caught my eye as I was walking back from work on evening and I decided to have a little look around. Despite being a tiny place, I enjoyed looking around so much that I only left a couple of hours later!

I think the other other reason I stayed as long as I did was because of the lovely lady who owns the shop. Butterfly is a friendly place and the lady who runs the place helps you along your treasure hunt with lots of little helpful tips. With summer around the corner, well sort of, I wanted a little lace number. I ended up buying a beautiful Havren dress for £35 instead of the £150-£200 that you pay for it  in Johnny Loo. The shops has also recently stocked up on a whole load of dressy Gatsby-esque numbers from Hoss and Nougat which are absolutely divine!

Butterfly as stock a mix of vintage and new jewellery, bags and shoes. They a section upstairs which is filled with loots of dressy numbers. The charm of this place is that it doesn't cater to one specific age group. You can find a prom dress next to a mother of the bride outfit or a classy cocktails number. And everything you find here is cheaper than most other places,. I know it as I'm a complete sales geek.

If you are ever in the Westminster-Pimlico, I'd very much recommend you pop over to Butterfly. Its a few minutes walk from Pimlico station and is usually open from 1PM onwards in the afternoons. Their current stock of Crea concept summer tops are fabulous and I very much doubt you will not find it cheaper anywhere else.

What re you favourite little boutiques in and outside London? I'd love to find new places to explore. Ann x

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Marvellous Manic May!

May has been an incredible month in many ways. I worked hard and played harder. So much so that I felt the need to create a special post to capture all my favourite moments. It was a very busy month at work which meant I was constantly travelling, down in London an awful lot and getting home at silly o'clock at night. However, I made the most of that by catching up with friends after work whenever possible, trying London experiences including Bubble Tea at Bubbleology, moseying around the lovely shops at the beautiful St. Pancras Station whilst waiting for my train and simply loving the beautiful and panoramic views of London from my window seat at work.

In between rather long work days came the first bank holiday which brought with it a small dose of sunshine, just enough to get us out for a little picnic around Rutland Water. I also experimented with lots of new and interesting recipes including grape jelly that popped from our allotment produce and a myriad preparations with Rhubarb. Every week, I made the most of what our spring garden had to offer and tried quirky new flower arrangements. I also managed to nab an evening ticket to the 100th Chelsea Flower Show by way of the Saatchi Gallery and the Hermes Festival des Métiers. The flower show was lovely enough but I felt truly lucky to have been able to attend the Hermes event and watch artisans at work making those world-famous stunning scarves, the Kelly bag, painting ceramics and so on. The best bit was that the Hermes exhibition was free!

And if fitting all that in wasn't enough in a fifty something hour week, we also organsied visits to see family and friends both north and south of the country. At all times, in true blogger style, I consistently persuaded the husband to take photos at every opportunity. However, the best highlight of the month was that my ickle seven month old blog got noticed a little! I won the Dorset Cereal Little Blog Award for April which meant a lovely little egg cup and lots of posh cereal which will last us a long while. I also got shortlisted for the Company Style Blogger Awards in the top ten for Best Thrifty Blog and Best Crafting Blog categories. I was invited to a swish little awards ceremony which in true Fashion world style was more fun and drinks and very tiny portions of food (a.k.a. just sushi). I didn't win either title but I met some lovely people and had loads of fun. Laura of the Afternoon Tea Club and I got stuck into making DIY funky sunglasses with  (a bit like this but funkier), getting fake eyelashes for the first time and posing for silly pics at the photo booth.

All in all, it has been a rather eventful and rewarding little month. A quick parting note to say 'thank you' to all of you who voted for me for the Dorset Cereal Little Blog Awards and the Company Style Blogger Awards-you are the best and I am very grateful for your support! 

What adventures have you had in May? I'd love to hear! Ann x

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Chelsea Flower Show: Review and Tips

Visiting the Chelsea Flower Show has been on my 'London to-do list' for a long time. As this year was the show's 100th anniversary, I was particularly keen on checking it out.  As it turned out, I was in London all thorugh last week with work and managed to get an evening show ticket via eBay. Whilst timing (in the midst of a rather long work week) and weather (extremely cold for late Spring and very wet!) were not on my side, I was resolute enough to still find a ticket and visit. The tickets to the show are like gold dust and sell out almost instantly which means you often pay ridiculous amounts on non-RHS websites. Thankfully, I only paid a few pounds over the face value of the ticket which added a note of positiveness to the whole experience .

Whilst I knew that it would be a popular event, I did not expect the magnitude of crowds that surrounded me as I shuffled through the gates of the show grounds. I had got a 5.30-8.30 PM ticket and was hoping it would be a quiet time to visit. On the contrary, the place was absolutely heaving and I struggled to move at anything more than snail's pace. I was also constantly having to make sure the 'unobservant' did not trip over my laptop trolley bag. It was a test of patience. There were numerous compact show gardens and lifestyle stores shops scattered across the show grounds. However, I wasn't interested in products as much as the plants and flowers themselves and so I skipped most of these. Due to the rather cold weather, I spent a great chunk of my time inside the fabulous marquee full of both traditional and exotic blooms.

The stalls inside the marquee were simply spectacular. I could have spent a whole day just in there admiring the stunning flowers. I have never seen so many varieties of delphiniums, orchids, irises, roses, clematis, daffodils in  such a small space. The stall owners were all helpful and offered sound advice on plant growing and care. I fell in love with a whole family of auriculas that were on display at one of the stalls. They were so compact yet perfectly formed and colourful. That beautiful display has inspired me grow an auricula collection myself. Among the other things that stole my heart were a bunch truly beautiful mini irises, some very innovative rockery gardens, arty displays of floral decoration inspired by the last few decades, exotic varieties of orchids, and heartwarming masses of chrysanthemums 

On another note, there humongous crowds continued to make access to some of the exhibits, facilities and food slightly challenging. I was incredibly tired after a long week and a long work day and desperately needed to sit down and get a bite. Getting somewhere to sit down can seem an even bigger challenge when you are trying to balance an over-sized hamburger full of mustard, a drink, camera, bag and trolley. I muttered under my breath an awful lot. Thankfully, a visit back to the marquee made it all better.

Before I love you and leave you, here are some quick tips on planning your visit. Make sure you plan to buy the tickets in advance and through the RHS website. Investigate membership if you are likely to make good use of it. For your visit, wear weather appropriate clothing, comfortable shoes and carry some snacks and drink. Food and drink are over-priced. Avoid heavy bags, my arms were killing me by the end of the day. Most importantly, be mentally prepared for the huge crowds and slow pace of moving around.

I hope you are having a lovely day and I'd love to hear about your favourite gardening shows/gardens too. Ann x

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Escape to Eritrea via London

OK, here is a random question; how much do you know about Eritrea? A couple of my mates confessed they had not heard of the country before and others said they knew it was somewhere near Ethiopia but that was it. Fact is, I knew little about Eritrea until I discovered Eritrean food. London is great like that. You find most most cultures represented there, even if in tiny proportions. My first encounter with Eritrean food and culture was a couple of years ago at a lovely restaurant called Mosob in Westbourne Park. The restaurant owner provided us with lots of insights into Eritrean culture and even organised a little quiz to test our knowledge of the country.

Westbourne Park is a bit of trek from Kings Cross and we like to spare a few hours to visit Mosob. It gets a bit tricky as we often tend to go down to London with work or on day trips. Also, they only open after 6 PM on weekdays, another point worth noting. Nevertheless, it is a great place to check out. More recently, I also discovered Adulis, another Eritrean restaurant, which is easier to get to from my London Offices. I like having a few different options at hand.

 

Eritrean food is has many similarities to South Indian cuisine. Injera, the staple on Eritrean menus, is a bit like the South Indian dosa. It is eaten in a similar fashion, expect that it is not served at room temperature. Similarly, Eritrean food is eaten with your fingers and without cutlery. You use the Injera to scoop the side dishes, a bit like a pseudo spoon. And the side dishes are often spicy-even by my Indian standards! And like Indian food, Eritrean cuisine is hearty, flavoursome and makes you feel happy in your tummy. Except, if you are wimpish and can't handle a spicy dish.

No Eritrean meal feels complete without a coffee ceremony. Fresh coffee beans are are roasted over hot coals (you are encouraged to sample its rich aroma) and then ground. The ground coffee is then emptied into a Jebena and boiling water added to brew the coffee. The coffee is served with pop corn and accompanied by the burning of frankincense- my all time favourite fragrance. In fact, it was after one such coffee ceremony that I decided to buy some frankincense for our garden chimnea. I'm just hoping we have at least a few days of summer this year to use it again.

 

 If you want to learn more about Eritrea, I suggest checking out the Visit Eritrea website or Lonely Planet. If are happy staying in blighty and travelling via food experiences, I'd recommend both Mosob and Adulis. Ann x

* First photo via http://www.mvmtravel.com/

Charity Shops: The Boutique, Pimlico London

I think Mary Portas is an amazing woman. When she gives something her seal of approval, I think its worth noting. So in my quest for amazing charity shops, I found Mary Portas's endorsement of the Crusaid shop in Pimlico. Crusaid has now been reinvented as The Boutique and it is pretty swanky for a charity shop. It is managed by the Terrence Higgins Trust which is the largest voluntary sector provider of HIV and sexual health services in the UK. It never ceases to amaze me how customer service is often so much better in a charity shop than a say a high street or designer store. The people that work here are often volunteers and not on big bucks but they are always willing to help. Needless to say, customer service was top notch at The Boutique too.

Charity shops are becoming more and more up-market these days and this particular one is a good example. The stock here included brand new Liberty silk scarves (donated by Liberty), Burberry and Tods bags, couture from Balmain and Dior etc. The shop had two rooms; one that focused on art, home decor and books and the other mainly fashion with a sprinkling of all sorts of other things too. I was particularly impressed by its collection coffee table books on travel and fashion and its vintage china.

The Boutique is a short walk from the Pimlico tube station and they also have log where they take note of any items you may be particularly interested in. I've listed vintage Chanel, Givenchy and Mulberry and am eagerly waiting for a phone call. Happy charity shopping!  Ann x

 

Finnish Christmas Market in London

My lovely friend Iiris recently invited us to the Finnish Christmas Fair in London. It's been nearly six years since my fantstaic trip to Finland. I was very excited at the thought of reliving that visit and also experiencing some Finnish Christmas traditions. So last weekend, Ed and I trundled down to London town for an evening filled with Finnish and Scandivandian culture.

We first headed out to the delightful Scandinavian street market selling oodles of Swedish, Danish, Norwegian and Finnish goodies. I was tempted by beautiful home design pieces, yummy cakes, gravadlax and ginger spiced hot chocolate. The main bit of the Finnish Christmas Fair happened within the premises of the Finnish Church in Albion Street. We drunk lovely warm glögg (a Finnish mulled alcoholic drink) and I nearly blew my brains eating far too much mustard with the Finnish national vegetable (a juicy sausage with mustard and condiments). Sadly, the reindeer and mash was all finished-yes I would have eaten Rudolph ;). The stalls sold lots of salty and spicy licorice (very much an acquired taste), several varieties of rye bread and a multitude of Finnish Christmas goodies. I bought a selection a Finnish goodies including salmiakki, fazer chocolate, savoury bread and rye bread. Nom nom nom!(except for the licorice which was a teeny bit strong for my taste).

I'll love you and leave you with some snapshots of the evening. And, I'd definitely recommend keeping an eye out on the Finnish Church website for next year's event! Ann x