Laura's £5 lunchEvidence of how expensive London is? It was from Whole Foods and it tasted great but the portion of fish was so teeny that I couldn't even have a taste!

Peckish PenguinsCute pics from the London Zoo last week. I wondered what they fed the penguins as we got to the viewing event a bit late and missed the actual feeding. So I found the answer via the wonderful tool that is Google. Answer: 'Penguins eat fish, squid and rock crabs.'Other interesting factoids are - Penguins do have knees and they can bite. If you want more info visit our penguin friends in NZ at: www.penguin.net.nz

Octopussy & the Beckham dream shatteredPics from the Greek restaurant where we had the cute Beckham-like waiter serving us fresh octopus and fresh smelt. We then saw the young waiter eating lunch on his break and it was vile, he was shoveling the food down like it was his last supper!

Face down, not swallowing and just stuffing the food down without breathing; not knowing how to use a knife and fork properly dropped the David Beckham fantasy quite quickly. At least the octopus was delicious and we got to watch the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics and chat with the nice Papou who's son owned the restaurant, he is sitting in a special chair by the TV.

Greek fish market
This fish vendor was lovely, although we communicated with very few words in the same language. The little fish in the wooden crate were served to us in the restaurant facing this fish market (our young waiter looked like David Beckham!) they were just fried in a simple flour batter and they were delicious with a simple squirt of lemon. I call these fish smelt and so did the menu, but this man was calling them something different, most likely their Greek name.

My Dad used to catch these when he went fishing, I think that is all he ever caught with the net, as when he used his fishing rod he only seemed to catch sea weed!

What's in a name part 3
Can you tell I am away for the weekend?

Topeka - good place to dig potatoes (Kansas, USA)

Harbin - where fish is dried (tenth largest city in China)

Danube - river of sheep (longest river in the EU which starts in Germany and flows all the way to Romania/Ukraine) Pic is of the Danube gate on the Romanian-Serbian border

Gerry at the market week 2
Unfortunately the Gerry at the market series is coming to an end as he is leaving ol' Blighty for a 3 month holiday in sunnier climes. LA, Australia and Thailand to name a few of the lovely spots he will visit. Today is his last day in the office so I thought I would post pics from the last outing we had to Borough Market. As usual Gerry is a stage hound so posed appropriately for the pics. I am trying to figure out how to post a pic of him in his fluorescent green, Borat man-kini on the blog?! It is hilarious. Maybe will have to write about food in Kazakhstan and slip the pic into the story.

At our last outing to the Market I opted for the scallop wrap again as I couldn't resist and Gerry diversified and got the fish and chips from the FishKitchen!

Fish! restaurant located in the market also have a standalone take away stand. Owner of the Fish! group of companies Tony Allan started with the fish restaurant at Borough in 1999 and now has this little fish and chip shop and owns Jarvis The Fishmonger in Kingston which sells fish to wholesale and retail customers. Fresh, sustainable and good quality fish is part of their mantra. And only fish. Their restaurant menu is 99% fish and their Fish! stand sells only fish and chips. Specialize and you will become an expert!
If Gerry goes to the market today will get him to take a farewell pic for the readers. The Cottle family are born entertainers (they had the largest circus in the UK at one point) so am sure I will have more Gerry news in the future! Have a great trip Geronimo! x

Korean bad-b-qIf this is what is plopped on your table at dinner would you feel hungrier or a little bit grossed out? Presentation is everything and with this put on our table I felt a little queasy as there was such an array of meat and fish in their various bloody juices, in these little trays - all mixed together it was a bit much - we declined on the ox-tongue and livers thankfully!

I knew when we got to Korean Grill House at 214 Queen Street West and walked through their dirty-ish entrance that it could go either way -we could either have a spectacular meal or it would be bad. Unfortunately the latter was true. The all-you can eat part of the menu should've triggered another signal but it didn't and instead we ordered it and waited for the main event to begin.

I actually suggested this restaurant so was very optimistic - I had guests in town and wanted to impress them with the culinary excellence this city has to offer, I guess I will have to try again as this place was nothing to write (or email) home about. The reason I wanted to go there was every time I drove by it looked busy and I could see people happily eating and bbq-ing at their little tables.

I guess if you look at the price for all-you-can eat meat and fish and it is only $12.95 then you should ask yourself what kind of meat and fish are they using? Obviously cheap cuts and bad quality.

The meats arrived in sliver thin slices which made bbqing them quite quick, but if you weren't quick enough they burned and then they left a layer of black burnt stuff on the bbq. After that everything tasted the same - burnt, which probably added some flavour as there was none to begin with. After having a sip of the milky looking miso soup -which was horrid - I gave it back to the waitress then decided to start on the meat fest. I ate a bit of the pork and white fish which was ok when doused in soy sauce ... I then tried the squid and chicken - which was totally flavourless.

I can't write any more as it will just be a rant on how every item of food looked and tasted awful it was just such an terrible experience. The only positives: the side salads were decent and the staff was friendly enough but again nothing to write home about. Am sure there are better quality Korean bbqs in town and will have to check them out...

If you click on their link to their website you will see how the food is supposed to look but then compare them with my pictures - not even close...this place should be in some back alley in Chinatown. I guess you get what you pay for!
first food on the bbq...
end of bbq fun.

Traditional Fijian lovo
Traditional Lovo is used on special occasions. We were lucky enough to experience this day long affair which ends in a great meal. Similar to the New Zealand hangi, food is wrapped in natural materials and buried and cooked. All foods are cooked in the lovo, pumpkin soup, taro, potatoes, fish, chicken and more.

It is a long process that starts early in the day. Step one: build a great fire and when it burns down to just coals place a grill on top and the food for your feast. These baskets were woven especially for the meat and fresh fish. You cannot see the detail but the fish ones were woven with a fish tail .
Cover the food with palms and branches, then with burlap sacks and cover the whole meal with sand. The food will then cook with the smoke/steam from the hot coals. The smell is amazing.

While watching this we were told how this is the way they used to cook bodies during the days of cannibalism...eeek! Now I always think of that when I look at these pictures.



After a few hours the meal is ready. The palms have also turned a lovely golden brown from the heat.
Dinner is served and it is splendid. Traditional lovo dinner at Otto and Fanny's is not to be missed.

Fresh out of the wood burning stove
These pizzas were made last week in in Sicily for festivities for Zia Concetta's 80th birthday. Happy Birthday Zia! Clara, Silvia, Mark and the gang went there for their gran's birthday and had a lovely time.

Apparently since they were the special guests they were served elaborate fare; grand dishes of fish & funghi(mushrooms must've been in season)and more Sicilian treats; but...poor Mark went all the way to Sicily and couldn't get a plate of pasta?! Poverino, so his mother in law made him a special meal when he got back to Canada.