I scream, you scream, we all scream for ICE CREAM

Time to try one of the new crazes in London. The edible art that is the Amorino rose ice cream.

 

Amorino
41 Old Compton Street,
London
W1D 6HF
 

Amorino is an ice cream shop created in 2002 by two childhood friends Cristiano Sereni and Paolo Benassi. The quality is so good there ice cream is sold around the world and made according to traditional Italian methods with a dedication to using the very best ingredients from all over the world.
 
When you walk past their first London based shop in Old Compton street, you can help but want to go in. I has a really warm, inviting atmosphere.  Once inside you are presented with the counter of all the amazing flavours. Their products are not cheap but it isn’t a something you are going to have every day, more a special occasion treat.
 
You have a lot of different choices. Drinks, cakes, ice cream cups but what they are known for is there Amorino rose ice cream cone. So that’s what I decided to go for.

How it works.
One main flavour forms the "core" of the ice cream, and the rest of the flavours which you choose are petals carved and put around the cone to get the pretty looking flowers you see above.
The first flavour you chose becomes the core so make sure you pick your favourite as this one. It’s like you get one full scoop which is your core and then small carvings of the other flavours you choose around it.
 
They have a really great selection of flavours from mango and passionfruit sorbets to amaretto, tiramisu and speculoos gelatos.

There is a flavour for every taste bud.

I got a Ciocclato base with Tiramisu and Amarena petals. The flavours were really good. Full of flavour and rich and creamy. It was a perfect end to a fun night with friends.
 

Again it isn’t a place I am going to go to often as it’s pretty pricey for ice cream but it is somewhere you have to check out at least once. I have no doubt you will enjoy it.
 
 

A taste of Japan

One of the best experience of my life was the time I spent in Japan. From the people, culture, scenery, history and of course the food. It isn’t that easy to find good authentic Japanese food outside of Japan but thanks to a friend’s recommendation a Japanese gem in London has been located.

 

Oushi Eatery
All you can eat Japanese buffet restaurant
40 Frith Street
Soho
London W1D 5LN
Tel: 020 7734 9635

 

 

This place is great! It is all you can eat sushi, which I didn’t even know existed!

 

How it works.
You get a 2 little pieces of paper and tick what hot food and what sushi you would like and then you can just keep reordering the sushi if you want to. It is great!

 

The amount of hot food dishes you get depends on the amount of people you come with. We had 5 so the price included 8 options of hot food and then what seemed like endless rounds of sushi. The quality of all the food was exceptional but the sushi really stood out.
 

We got

King prawn tempura

 

 

Sweet potato and mixed vegetable tempura

 

 

Japanese spring roll and tofu steaks

 

 

Beef teriyaki

 

 

Chicken Gyoza and Vegetable Gyoza

 

 

Salmon Nigiri, Soft shell crab roll, California roll, Salmon avocado roll, Avocado roll, Inari cucmber roll

 

 

Butterfish Sashimi, Salmon sashimi, Salmon Nigiri, Salmon avocado roll, California roll, Inari cucmber roll, Avocado roll

 

 

By the end of it we were so full and if we wanted we could have had four more rounds of sushi! The food just keeps appearing. I can guarantee this is one time you won't leaving hungry.

The only point I will give though is don't order more than you can eat. If you leave a certain amount they charge £5 extra per head to avoid waste.

 

I suggest getting a bigger group together so you get to sit downstairs. We had five people and it felt like a good number to try a lot of different stuff. The down stairs has a great, very authentic atmosphere with recessed seating. It felt like being back in Japan.
 

It is a little pricey. Weekday prices £17.80 and weekend £18.80 pp but sooo worth it.

 

This place is a real gem if you love Japanese food so go check it out and see what I mean.

My Berlin Food Journey – Part 4 Change of cuisine

One of my favourite things about Berlin was all the different cultures that seem to be represented. From the diverse art scene, cultural institutes and of course the food. In past posts I’ve discussed the Turkish influence, My Berlin Food Journey – Part 2 Hasir and My Berlin Food Journey – Part 3 To kebab or not to kebab.

Today I am going to talk about a few other cuisines I tired while out in Berlin.

I can’t believe I hadn’t tried it before, but I am glad I got to try my first taste of Sudanese food on my first night there.

We went to a great little place called Sahara
Sahara
Reuterstr. 56
12047 Berlin
Germany
Neukölln

I got a falafel & Halumi sandwich and it was ridiculously good and it only cost 3 Euros!

The peanut sauce is what made it. I don’t even know how to explain how tasty the sauce is. It isn’t fancy but you’re really just in and out and the most important thing, the food tastes good and the staff are friendly.

I am generally not a fan of falafel but this was well-seasoned and fresh. If this place was in the UK I would be there every week! It’s a must the next time you are in Berlin.

From my blog you’ve probably notice my love of Dim sum/Yumcha so I was pretty chuffed when my friend suggested going to Yumcha one night.

We headed over to Yumcha Heroes
Yumcha Heroes
Weinbergsweg 8
10119 Berlin
Germany
Mitte

I wasn’t blown away but by no means was it bad. I think with Yumcha it can be a bit hit and miss if you chose the wrong dishes and that’s probably what I did.

I got the roast beef rolls which are filled Chinese pancakes, served cold with tender roast beef, Peking Duck sauce, cucumber, carrots and leek.

I wasn’t a huge fan of them. I can’t really put my finger on why though so I am guessing it was my more personal taste preference than that they were bad.

I shared the honey spare ribs which was honey-glazed spare ribs, pak choi with ginger-soy-sauce.

These were probably the best savory part of the meal. The meat was tender and the sauce was really good.

I also shared the orange prawn’s dumplings (Prawns, water chestnuts, Schezuan pepper, egg, and bamboo)

I felt the dumplings were maybe a little under cooked as the casing was chewy and I didn’t like that aspect but the filling was really good.

My other friend got the Shanghai dumplings, one of the restaurant favorites and known as the mother of all dumplings with steamed Minced pork, Schezuan pepper, ginger, hot broth inside.

She really like these and they looked more cooked than the orange prawn.

My vegetarian friend got the vegetarian fried rice-paper roll filled with glass noodles, ginger, zucchini, carrots, Shiitake mushroom and bamboo.

She liked them but I thought it looked a little greasy. They may have been better seamed than fried.

She also got the green veggie dumplings filled with glass noodles, zucchini, Shiitake mushroom, bamboo and carrots

Again these looked better cooked than the orange prawn ones and she enjoyed them.

The best part of the meal was definitely the dessert. Usually Dim Sum/Yumcha places don’t do dessert, if they do its either jelly or fruit but this place had a few different dessert options that sounded really good.

We shared the Tang Bao which is 2 yeast dumplings filled with hot chocolate-nougat crème with vanilla sauce.

It was really yummy and was the highlight of the meal so make sure you leave some room for it if you go check out Yumcha Heroes.

I would go back again and try a few of the other dishes and of course get that dessert again. I also saw a lot of other places while we were walking around that I would have loved to try if we had, had more time. Most of the places not only looked great but seemed reasonably priced, which can sometimes be hard to find in London.

I know London has a lot of great restaurant from all different cultural cuisines but its funny how I always seem to try more when I’m on holiday. Just gives me an excuse to travel more I guess *smiles*

(Picture taken form http://intelligenttravel.nationalgeographic.com/2014/04/04/reader-recs-signature-dishes-around-the-world/)

Fancy

Every now and then you have to class it up a bit and go fancy...it also helps when you’re going fancy if your boss is footing the bill.
 
My boss recently resigned, which beyond sucks but I’m happy for him because he’s going to something better suited to him. With his departure looming we went out for a sort of farewell lunch just the two of us and decided to go a bit fancy and headed over to Salt Yard.
 
Salt Yard
54 Goodge St
London
W1T 4NA 
 
There has been a recent influx of tapas and small plates restaurants opening in London, even a fair few of the pubs offer it now because it seems to be the ‘In’ thing. As I am not a big eater and I like to try loads of different things this is perfect for me.
 
Despite the array of tapas restaurants, there are those gems that stand out from the crowd and one of them is Salt Yard. The regularly changing menu and specials will never disappoint as the skill in the kitchen and the amazing attention to detail makes every dish that comes out a thing of beauty that tastes just as good. The menu is small but I’d rather a small menu where everything is amazing!
 
We had the
Jamon Iberico de Bellota, Castro y Gonzalez, Guijuelo
 

This is a sweet and nutty classic Jamón Ibérico aged for 5 years. Jamón Ibérico is a cured ham produced in spain from the black Iberian pig which are mainly fed on acorns. Due to this the ham has a really lovely nutty flavour. It was seriously good.

Courgette Flowers stuffed with Goat's Cheese and drizzled with Honey

 

It’s hard to say what my favourite dish was but this has to be a contender. 
The courgette flowers are stuffed with creamy goats cheese and then deep fried in a light and crisp tempura style batter and finally drizzled with honey. I could seriously eat these all day they were so good. All the flavours just worked so well together, the combo of the sweet honey with the tangey goats cheese mmmmmmmm

Smoked Eel Croquetas, Horseradish, Beetroot Purée

 

 
I am not a massive fan of Eel but these were amazing. It was a slight but distinct taste of eel that didn’t over power the dish. The texture and flavour was just perfect for the bite size corquetas.

 

Slow Cooked Octopus, Ratte Potatoes, Lemon, Chilli and Capers

 

 

This was one of my favourites. The octopus melted in your mouth and mixing it with the aioli, chilli, potatoes and capers was a flavour sensation.

Truffled Macaroni Cheese

 

 

I once had a grilled cheese sandwich with truffle oil in Monaco and it was to die for so I suggested we get this dish and it didn’t disappoint. The first mouth full properly shocked my taste buds. It is super rich and creamy with that lovely distinct intoxicating truffle flavour. It was lovely.

 

Patatas Fritas with Bravas Sauce and Alioli

 

 

These were good, but they are basically just chips but good ones. They were good mixed with the Macaroni cheese to dull the super richness a bit.

I was full to the brim by the end of all these dishes so we unfortunately had to forego dessert but the ones we saw come out of the kitchen looked amazing. In fact every dish that went past us gave me major food envy.

 

Again I am no a big drinker and I'm particularly bad with wine but they do have a collection of carefully selected Spanish and Italian wines which the staff are well versed on and happy to help you choose what best suits the dishes you’ve ordered.

 

This has to be my favourite dining experience of the year so far. Everything from the staff, to the place, to amazing quality and taste of food and the really good company just made it tops.

 

You must, must, must go try this one. You will not be disappointed. I promise.

 

Shrimp is the fruit of the sea

'Bubba was from Bayou la Batrie, Alabama, and his mama cooked shrimp. And her mama before her cooked shrimp, and her mama before her mama cooked shrimp, too. Bubba's family knew everything there was to know about the shrimpin' business.' ~ Forrest - Forrest Gump

If there’s one thing I love its shrimp! Two of my favourite dishes are my mum's prawn curry and her curried fried prawns. They were always a special treat at Christmas time when I was a kid and now she always makes them when I go home to visit, which happens a lot less then I would like.

When I was in Hawaii I really wanted to go to a newish American chain that had opened up called Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. It was meant to have fantastic shrimp so I couldn't wait to try it out. Unfortunately we just didn’t get the time. I was pretty disappointed but there wasn’t much I could do about it.

About six months ago on facebook I saw a friend tag herself at a Bubba Gumps restaurant...but in London! First thought was, how could there be one in London that I did not know about!! Second thought, time to get myself down there. You would think I would have got there straight away but again it just didn’t line up.

Fast forward 6 months and the day finally came. Two friends and I headed over to Coventry Street to check out the much anticipated Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. London.

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. London
13 Coventry St
London
W1D 7AB

It did not disappoint!

From the quote above I am guessing you have already realised the restaurant originated out of the Tom Hanks movie Forest Gump. The restaurant itself is a true movie themed experience. The effort they have put in to make you feel like you are in the movie is awesome. I loved it.

The food was really good and the drinks were…well…interesting.

We weren’t in the mood for alcohol so we got
Two Strawberry Speckled Lemonades and a Frozen Lemon-Ups mango flavoured.

They were so sour with the lemon but in a weird way enjoyable lol I don’t know how to explain that.

For food we got a
Shrimper’s Heaven

Hand Breaded Coconut Shrimp, Chilled Peel ‘n’ Eat Shrimp, Fried Shrimp, and Japanese style Tempura Shrimp with Fries. And of course great Dippin’ Sauces like Tangy Asian, Cajun Marmalade, and Zesty Cocktail.
 
And a Forrest’s Seafood Feast

Hand Breaded Southern Fried Shrimp, Seafood Hush Pups, Fish & Chips, Coleslaw… And
don’t forget the delicious Sauces for dippin’ –Tartar, Cocktail and Remoulade.

The shrimp was really tasty and we got enough fries to feed an army…literally. Probably overkill as you get a cone of fries and then at the bottom of every cone of shrimp is more fries!

The Fish was also really good. For those who do not know the American Hushpuppy, it is usually deep fried small balls of cornmeal batter. The Bubba Gump version is shrimp and fish with golden corn, deep fried. I hadn’t had anything like it before and they weren’t bad or anything but they just didn’t compare to the shrimp.

The Japanese style Tempura Shrimp was my favourite by far. Nom Nom Nom.

We couldn’t pass up dessert and they also did not disappoint but we are talking a serious sugar injection from these desserts.

We got a
Mama’s Best Strawberry Shortcake

Key Lime Pie

Chocolate Chip Cookie Sundae
Fresh baked Chocolate Chip Cookie served warm
with Vanilla Ice Cream, topped with Chocolate and
Caramel Sauce, Peanuts and Whipped Cream.

I had the Mamas best strawberry shortcake and it was soooo good. I tried a few bites of the other to and they were pretty damn good as well.
There are 43 restaurants worldwide. 29 are in the US, 4 are in Mexico, 3 in Malaysia and one in London, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines. So if you are near any of these places and you love yourself some shrimp, get yourself over to one and try it out.

'Like I was sayin', shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that's about it.' ~  Bubba - Forrest Gump

End of the Pizza Hiatus

I moved out of home pretty young. Cooking was not a forte of mine and cash wasn’t high. Studying full time and working part time only brought in enough to cover my rent and bills, with little left over for the food shop. I lived of toast and instant noodles for a long time. The one thing I did treat myself to was pizza!

I wouldn’t want to be told how much pizza I had back in Australia because the amount of pieces has to be close to a thousand. There was a lot of amazing pizza joints in both Adelaide and Sydney so it was easy to be convinced into grabbing a slice.

When I moved to London I tired a few joints and it just wasn’t the same. The pizza seemed stodgy and made me feel ill. Then began the pizza hiatus.

It was about two years before I had pizza again. My friend Chris took me to pizza chain called Franco Manca and that was pretty good and then my cousin Ivan took me to ICCO pizza which stepped it up again.

Faith was completely restored however when my friend's Sacha and Chris introduced me to Hardian’s Italian cuisine.

The pizza was amazing! Back to what I think pizza should be like. Tasty, tasty tasty!

We had:

CAPRICCIOSA

Tomato sauce, mozzarella, mushroom, artichoke,

prosciutto cotto, premium pepperoni, black olives,

oregano

FIORI

Sour cream, mozzarella, chicken breast, smoked

cheese, broccoli , oregano

HADRI AN’S

Tomato sauce, mozzarella, prosciutto cotto, premium

pepperoni, spicy sausage, chicken breast , oregano

If you are in the Acton area go and check it out.

Hardian’s Italian Cuisine 

43 Churchfield Rd

Acton 

W3 6AY

020 3302 5240

The best thing about pizza though is....

Leftovers. Love me some cold pizza, maybe even more than hot. Nom Nom Nom

PIZZA IS BACK!