Winter-y hot chocolate nights are coming

Tried Nestle's Aero hot chocolate today from a package. I liked it and it doesn't taste like the crappy hot chocolate you get from a machine. Made with water it gave me the 4pm chocolate hit I needed today. I always remember burning my tongue as a child when we would have tiny white Styrofoam cups of it after skating sessions. I never did think it warmed me up, the only thing that did was getting into the car and getting home! Today is a nippy day in Londontown, frost on some cars this morning - old man winter is coming!

Am bacck!(Mr. Freeze - freezies)

Apologies bloggies, I had the Dolce family in town this week and it was a full on week of eating, drinking, sightseeing and enjoying the glorious London sunshine. Not London Ontario, London England! Yes, that is correct Mother Nature was very kind to bring sunny and warm weather for almost the whole week! I was as shocked as you probably are reading this. One day it rained and was like 'proper' British summer so they did get the full London experience.

Lots to blog about foodie wise - one observation: having little kiddies around means you need to feed them constantly and their eating habits are sometimes peculiar. I think the highlight for them was the copious amounts of ice cream we had each day in various formats. Luckily I had a box of freezies, the Canadian term for an ice lolly, in the freezer which kept them calm for at least 3 minutes each day. The rest of the day from 7am til their bedtime of 9pm (it really should be 7.30-8pm, but they were too excited to sleep) was filled with constant action and they both didn't take naps! Again, much respect goes to parents everywhere. It is tough work!

I never bought so much milk in my life, these kids drink a lot of milk in the morning and at bed time. Well am going to miss them dearly but it was fantastic and will cherish all the fun we had, there are some great memories to stash away (and lots of photos!).

So back on track this week with blogging and foodie-stuffs!

x

Lucky 7I ate a beef burger here, for the first time in years, some people know my strict avoidance to ground beef for various reasons. The reasons why I ate one is a) the meat is all organic and b) the restaurant is owned by Conran's son Tom who has a great reputation in the restaurant industry. It didn't disappoint!

Check our more info no Urbanspoon.com

St.Albans' street marketOnly 20minutes outside of central London by train, you can visit the markets of St. Albans, here are some pics of my last visit there which was on a Saturday morning. The street market is held in Market Place and St Peter's Street on Wednesdays and Saturdays, as it has been for many hundreds of years. There is also a monthly farmers' market, normally on the second Sunday, and a French market every four months. I always love the vibe, sights and sounds of a street market and just visited Borough Market on Saturday after a very long time -yes even on a chilly winter day it was packed full of people! And Happy Birthday Dearest Sister!!!!

Japanese in HattonTaking a break from Sicilian food today. Here are some pics of a lovely dinner I had with the Japanese expat at Tajima-Tei on Leather Lane, near Hatton Garden. I let the expert order the meal and he did a fantastic job. I was a little daunted by all the sashimi (and no rice) but I managed to survive and enjoy it all.
A delicious tofu dish The quality of the fish is amazing and the presentation and service is impeccable - excellent choice Mr. H (he kindly paid for dinner too - a big thank you/origato/mille grazie). I can't recall what we ordered but I know it was a sashimi mix of salmon, tuna, prawn and other quality fish, with a delicious tofu dish and miso soup as starters.

The restaurant is very traditional in style, downstairs they have private booths like they have in Japan and according to the expat it was very much like being in Japan, although he didn't speak to the servers in Japanese, next time. So if you are in the area of Hatton Garden, famous for all its jewelery shops walk a few streets over to Leather Lane, there is a bustling market there during the day and find this little gem.

The V
We were settling into a nice lunch at The V, as the locals call it, (the Volunteer for tourists and non-regulars) located on Baker Street the other afternoon when I was suddenly hit by the lurgy, as Jess calls it, so had to leave half my lunch behind. The first half of my spinach veggie burger tasted good, but had only a half sip of my Magners cider and had to leave the rest behind. If Clara was there I could hear her say - it is 'just wrong' to leave a beer unfinished and down it herself (well that was in her younger days). Have been there several times before with the Bunny rabbit but only for drinks and banter. Next time will have to go and eat my whole meal and play some of their board games. At least the Squirrel enjoyed his big burger lunch and Leffe.

The 'Close' pizza night
Long Pizzametro (means pizza by the metre- originated in Napoli) served at Made in Italy on the King's Road for the Close's bday. His girlfriend specially brought a cake for him, but they served it to him while she was in the toilets! So all she has of him blowing out his candles, on his errrm...21st birthday, is this pic.

Run by Italians, Made in Italy was great, although we were sitting on the 2nd floor and the wood burning pizza ovens are on the level below, so it was quite warmish to say the least. It was a great night with lots of interesting conversation. Especially the lengthy discussions with the New Yorkers on multi-dating (interesting insight into the NYC dating scene, v. good for a dating blog, not this one unfortunately!)

The owners opened up this restaurant in '96 and since have opened several more with different names in Notting Hill, Fulham and Islington - it has a great atmosphere and real Italian food so you should definitely check one of their restaurants out, see their website here.

Alcohol fuelled personality types

According to the UK govt. The nine alcohol-fuelled personality types are:

· "De-stress drinkers" use alcohol to regain control of life and calm down. They include middle-class women and men.

· "Conformist drinkers" are driven by the need to belong and seek a structure to their lives. They are typically men aged 45 to 59 in clerical or manual jobs.

· "Boredom drinkers" consume alcohol to pass the time, seeking stimulation to relieve the monotony of life. Alcohol helps them to feel comforted and secure.

· "Depressed drinkers" may be of any age, gender or socioeconomic group. They crave comfort, safety and security.

· "Re-bonding drinkers" are driven by a need to keep in touch with people who are close to them.

· "Community drinkers" are motivated by the need to belong. They are usually lower middle class men and women who drink in large friendship groups.

· "Hedonistic drinkers" crave stimulation and want to abandon control. They are often divorced people with grown-up children, who want to stand out from the crowd.

· "Macho drinkers" spend most of their spare time in pubs. They are mostly men of all ages who want to stand out from the crowd.

· "Border dependents" regard the pub as a home from home. They visit it during the day and the evening, on weekdays and at weekends, drinking fast and often.

Did you know there were so many? And isn't it weird that reading this you can probaly think of several people that you know that fit one of these categories?

Read the full article from the Guardian here and find out what the govt is planning to do to help these people that drink 50% more than the weekly limit.

I think they forgot a category - "Celebs" see the pic of Lilo above. There are a lot of celebs rolling out of clubs in London each night, ending up in the London Paper or the Metro the next day in horrid photographs. It does sell papers though...

Free Paella - Borough Market


They were handing out free paella at Borough Market on 5 & 6 of June for a Spanish/city of Valencia showcase. The queue was massive but it looked good and everyone was enjoying their little dish of rice.

Breakfast at SandersonHad a business function at the Sanderson Hotel this morning. We had the courtyard cafe booked and it was lovely, bar the June rain! The pastries and fresh fruit platters were delicious - the atmosphere is so relaxed and chic that you could easily spend the whole day there. I wanted to take pics of the fruit platters and set up but didn't think it was right in front of the client so have these pics instead which come from their website. Top is of the courtyard at night and bottom is of the Long Bar which gets very busy in the evenings with the chic tribes of London town descending on it.

Tip for the weekend: take your girlfriend/boyfriend for a cocktail to the Sanderson - hopefully the sun is shining and you can relax outside. Be sure to check out their lifts, their billiards function room and even their toilets are very posh.

Second tip: Try not to act like a dumb, snoopy tourist.

British GQ calls it - 'the hippest hotel in the world'


Pics below: entrance & lobby

Prova - ProvidoresTurkish eggs from changa restaurant in Istanbul - two poached eggs with whipped yoghurt and hot chilli butter.
This is what I had for breakfast today at The Providores! It was divine and we were very pleased to get a table as the queue is always very long to get inside. Once inside it was lovely and the service was fabulous - you can tell Kiwis own it as customer service is a priority as opposed to some British establishments who put that very low on the list.

In Italian prova means - try - so - you must try this place - I will definitely go back for other menu items and to try some of their New Zealand wines - my brunch parter was kiwi and was admiring their wine collection.


The three owners of The Providores created a unique dining experience in the heart of London’s Marylebone Village - the union of an award winning relaxed fine dining restaurant, and an all-day cafe and wine bar with one of the best breakfast offerings in London and the most delicious coffee. (from their website - am still on a mini typing ban!)

Get there for some great food and great service and to hear a lot of kiwi accents around you!

Alimentari Alimentari is a new deli/café in Queen’s Park, London. My friend Clara and her two partners set up shop in December - it is a quaint and fabulous little place to pop in for an espresso, cappuccino or a latte, a light sandwich or some freshly made lasagne or gnocchi. They also sell salumi e formaggi (deli meats and cheese) and some great food products direct from Italy to take home. I bought some traditional northern Italian pasta for dinner –and Guido, who works there, gave me a recipe on how to make it- he was very helpful as we walked through the shop he would say, ‘oh that is good if made with a little olive oil and chilli’ or ‘that is my favourite, all you need to do is boil some pasta and add those spices’ it was like a personal shopper for food! And the lovely Italian accent made it even better (I wish I had one). With Clara’s style and dedication to quality the shop has every detail right. I met up with the Kirsten’s there and we all chatted to the main ‘supporter’ while Clara busily served the incoming and outgoing customers with cute kids and dogs in tow.

Alimentari’s website is great with tips on how to cook pasta, how to order Italian coffee and more on Italian life and eating habits. I love the design – great work Andrea!

I recommend popping in for some traditional Italian hospitality and food if you are in the neighbourhood! Auguri on the new shop opening, it looks wonderful.

Baci x (and they sell my fave Baci chocolates too)

Itsu for sushi
Had a great fast and friendly sushi dinner at Itsu the other night with my Canadian visitors, the fashion-pharmacist is a sushi freak. The one we went to is located on Wardour Street in the heart of Soho. There we had spicy tuna and salmon sushi, sashimi, grilled chicken teriyaki, a fabulous chicken and coconut soup with ginger and I had a lovely pineapple zinger juice. Their website is funny as it has some interesting copy - I italicized the parts I think are funny/odd:

'because Itsu food is light, full of goodness and won't make you fat.'

'because it tastes amazing. You can eat lots without guilt, sorrow and pain.'

I am typing in the dark as the girls are still dreaming...they are 'carpe diem' each morning sleeping til 11am- but that is the way to do it when you are on holiday. Shopping, sightseeing and walking makes one very tired! (Carpe diem - phrase from a Latin poem by Horace. It is popularly translated as "seize the day")

Dans le Noir?Eating in the dark with blind waiters serving you. Is that something you would enjoy? I think it may be quite an experience, although Rexi said she heard people come out of that place with food all down their top ;)

The restaurant Dans Le Noir (which means ‘in the dark’ for those non-frenchies) opened last year in London after their first restaurant has had a few successful years in Paris. Since you are in complete darkness your other senses are heightened. I am curious to see if you will enjoy this experience or find it frustrating as the first time you eat in total darkness am sure there is a lot of learning our brain needs to do in order to memorise where forks, knives and glasses are and also to get used to eating dinner but in total darkness. Some say that enjoyment of a meal is enhanced by the sight of it – the colors and presentation also prepare the brain for the meal. Am definitely intrigued…

Founded in 2004, Dans Le Noir started in Paris with the support of their leading institution for blind people – the Paul Guinot Foundation. Their website says that they are the largest institution creating awareness of disability in France (am not sure where that statement comes from or how it is quantified?) But I agree it does bring great awareness to every day folk.

Will check out Dans Le Noir soon and report back. May try and eat dinner tonight in the dark to give it a test run. Not sure my dinner guest will like it though.