Dip & Flip, Battersea Rise

A roast meat sandwich served with gravy... SOLD!!

Dip & Flip opened not long ago down the road from me and i've been meaning to go in ever since, finally made it this week in a stolen moment resulting in a spare hour. 

Jing Tea Tasting, Paramount

I’m relatively new to tea drinking, well black tea anyway. I grew up drinking herbal teas, but have since joined the ranks of the "real" tea drinkers (after working in offices where a tea break was obligatory and faffy herbal teas were frowned upon). 

Poulet Rouge, Balham

After deciding against Daddy/Daughter morning in Starbucks or queuing in the cold I popped into Poulet Rouge, where not only had I enjoyed a fabulous dinner earlier this week (dauphinoise to die for!), but which was also most importantly empty. Perfect!! Nothing better then silence on a Saturday morning.

Sushi Making - Sumosan, Mayfair

After falling out of love with sushi a few months ago (after a terrible salmon experience that still brings tears to my eyes) the invitation to Sumosan was received with mixed feelings. However I reasoned with my inner cry baby that if ever there was a time/place to relight the fire, then London's finest Sushi restaurant was probably the place to do it. So I accepted the invitation to make Sushi with Chef Bubker Belkhit and mentally forced myself to leave my salmon experience behind. A taster of what Sumosan has to offer and why they are dubbed as London's finest Sushi restaurant, left no doubt in my mind that my bad experience was a one off and all my fears were forgotten.

On to the Masterclass and although most of us were novices Chef Bubker and his team made us all feel totally at ease (aided by them not allowing us to handle the razor sharp, cut through your nails like butter, knives. Good shout on their part).

Fiendish & Goode, Duke of York Square

Knowing that i'm on a constant quest to satisfy my sweet tooth Mummy Rumblings is always on the look out for anything fabulous and produced this after a visit to the Duke of York Square market on Kings Rd.

Haagen Dazs New Flavours

After suffering hideously at the hands of the overwhelming disappointment that was Haagen Dazs Secret Sensations (I actually washed them down the sink! For Haagen Dazs to go unfinished, worse still thrown away in my house is unheard of!). 

Megan's, Kings Rd

After what was hands down the most confusing, frustrating parking experience I have ever been party to, so much so I can't even attempt to explain it; myself and my effortlessly but unintentionally witty dining companion made it into Megan's.

Hilton, Park Lane

In the words of Paul Hollywood the Chocoholics Afternoon Tea at the Hilton Park Lane is  "style over substance". 

 Fabulous to look at, but extremely disappointing once we stopped looking and started eating. I did get to spend time with my amazingly entertaining niece so that's a plus, but the afternoon tea was a huge disappointment, the best things were the scones.

GBK, Northcote Rd

As a recent recruit to the Chicken Burger Eaters club (Does one exist? If not we should start one), having eaten my first a few months ago after being a staunch "Burgers should be beef" advocate, I decided to forgo my usual Wellington at GBK and opted instead for the Chicken Pesterella. 

Grilled chicken breast with pesto, mozzarella, mayonnaise, red onion and relish accompanied by sweet potato fries, which I didn't enjoy very much, as they were soggy. The burger was good though,

Pizza Express, Clapham Junction

Decided to give the Pizza Express gluten free menu a try. I'm not a huge fan of wheat/gluten free options as 80% of the time they don't live up to expectation, (yes, they're wheat/gluten free, which my intolerant digestive system is glad of, but you can usually taste that they are lacking). I do love me some pizza though and Pizza Express are finally up to speed, so Polla ad Astra here I come. 

When I get there however the thought of a crunchy rather than crispy, undoughy pizza base seems extremely unappealing. 

Knights, St Johns Hill

Walking into an empty restaurant I tend to find a bit off putting. Why is it empty? Where are the people? Why does no-one else want to eat here? Why are we the only one's here? What don't we know? Why? Why? Why? In this case the answer was, we were early.

Bodeans, Clapham Common

A new Year Seven starter and new Year Two starter decided that Bodean's was the place they wanted to unwind after their respective first days back at school. Pretty sure I expected them to ask for McDonald's, possibly even Nando's but can only hold myself responsible for their unchildlike food requests. Bring on the meat!

Chicago's Best all beef 1/4 pounder hotdog, Prime Beef Burger, BBQ Beef Brisket Burnt Ends, Cornbread Muffins, Chilli Cheese Fries, Buffalo Chicken Wings, yes we ordered them all, we were clearly ordering for the impending Apocalypse. It didn't seem like much when we were ordering, but when they brought it out and there was barely enough room on the table the reality hit us. We had SERIOUSLY over ordered and were well on the way to a meat induced coma.

If i'm honest you can't really go wrong with meat and chicken smothered in BBQ sauce. The Burnt Ends and Cornbread Muffins were the stars of the show, but only really because you can't get them everywhere. Yes, we were full. Yes, it was tasty. Yes, we'd probably go back, but not in an enormous hurry. Will let you know when the meat coma wears off and I can put my jeans back on. 

PR Xxx

If you haven't been already then see for yourself Bodeans

Brew, Northcote Rd

Blueberry pancakes, caramelised banana, creme fraiche and maple syrup, the breakfast of Queens... Or people like me with a very dominant sweet tooth who have no concept of sweet things only being for dessert. I could've done with the creme fraiche being on the side rather than on top, but other then that 'twas lush!! Caramelised is one of the only ways i'll eat a banana, the other is in a banoffee pie... ;-) 

Brew is small, intimate, friendly and local. Will definitely be returning as I was too full to have a smoothie or milkshake and the avocado on toasted pide has me salivating in anticipation.

PR Xxx

http://www.brew-cafe.com/LDN.html

BRGR Co, Soho

Another day, another Bloody Mary... And another burger... It is the weekend after all...  Burger sliders this time, as part of BRGR Co Soho's take on Afternoon Tea.

Beef and Cheddar, Chicken Caeser and Lobster sliders served with tiny fries make for a very interesting take on the traditional Afternoon Tea and I like it. A lot. You can only win with variety and three different burgers followed by three different mini desserts (a salted caramel doughnut, strawberry and white chocolate cheesecake and a chocolate brownie) and a mini milkshake all for £17 with a glass of Prosecco and an Iced tea. It's like a Tapas of Burgers... What's not to like? I think it's a brilliant idea and expect similar ones to pop up soon.

I will admit that even though the variety is fabulous I could happily eat the Lobster burger, sans bacon and the Salted Caramel donut all day. Lol.

If you're looking for something a little different I definitely recommend it and the staff at BRGR Co Soho are lovely. I'm not being paid to say this :-)

PR Xxx

http://www.brgrco.co.uk/index.html

Ben's Canteen, St Johns Hill

Bloody Mary to start the weekend? Don't mind if I do... Only the third i've ever had, but so far the best... Delish! My dining partner didn't agree and downed his OJ in one to get rid of the flavour. I guess it has the marmite effect.

The BC Burger with salt beef, burger sauce and smoked cheddar with sweet potato fries hit the spot twice, would've loved a gherkin or two though. 

Wish i'd seen the specials before ordering, as the Jerk Popcorn Prawns sound amazing. Guess that means I have to go back, I think a dinner date is in order next time.

Been meaning to go here for aaaaages. It is literally on my doorstep, but until today I haven't made it. The space is lovely, bright, airy, high ceilings with outdoor space and they cater for animals, providing water and dog biscuits to keep your canine companion happy.

PR Xxx

http://benscanteen.com/

Ekachai, Wandsworth

Considering we got here after the lunchtime rush and were a table of 4 among 6 other diners, the service was appalling. They were slow, forgetful and very unconcerned, almost as if we were a bit of a hindrance. However all diners were treated the same so not to be taken personally, but still not acceptable.

The Pad Thai noodles were overcooked and the Prawn Tum Yum soup was quite lacklustre, which is a shame as i've had many a good meal here. 

The Lamb Massaman Curry saved the day. It was sweet and spicy and the lamb melted in the mouth.

If this had been my first time I wouldn't return, but I think they must have been having a bad day, or the lunch time rush had been particularly taxing. I shan't return in a hurry as there are so many untested places on my list, but hopefully the next time it will live up to past visits and not this one.

Better luck next time...

PR Xxx

http://ekachai.co.uk/

Cah-Chi, Earlsfield

An impromptu day spent in Earlsfield and a lucky dip lunch choice, made by 2 under 7's led me to Cah-Chi Korean restaurant on Garrat Lane. It was a little bit more intimate than i'm used to for Sunday lunch, especially with minors but it was clean, quiet and most importantly empty. The staff were friendly and their recommendations were perfect, the food was fresh and packed with flavour. FIlling but without the sluggish feeling of having eaten too much.

Once we placed our order we were presented with free mini appetisers of (clockwise from top left) mashed potato, caramelised soya beans, pickled cabbage and pickled cucumber. All new to me and my mini-diners, they enjoyed everything but the pickled cabbage which had a little too much chilli for them. I found the caramelised soya beans to be very moreish.

I had Yuk-gae-jang soup - strips of beef and vegetable in hot spicy soup. The flavour was as intense as the colour, every mouthful packed a spicy chilli punch, with tender beef and crunchy vegetables added to the mix. A deliciously light, but extremely satisfying taste explosion.

    

My mini-diners decided on the Stir fried vermicelli with chicken and vegetables. Never seen clear vermicelli before, feel like i've led a rather sheltered life based on this, which isn't the truth, lol, but this style of vermicelli was new to me and to them. The egg strips on top rather than scrambled in with the noodles was really nice, would've liked a little more though. Again the food was so fresh and light and just full of flavour. They were extremely happy diners. 

The staff were extremely accommodating to my mini-diners who loved it and have been wanting to go back ever since, which luckily for them won't be too long as i'm desperate to get adventurous and try some more new things.

Highly recommend!

PR Xxx

http://www.cahchi.com/

Feast, Battersea Park

For me the lack of Sweet Treats is the thing that sticks in my mind the most. My sweet tooth was not satisfied. Even the dreaded Churros were absent and they're usually EVERYWHERE. 

(I don't like them, but I think I must be the only person judging by the queues.)

I did pop my 'liquid nitrogen ice cream' cherry, with my very own combo of caramel and crunchy popcorn. Lighter, smoother and creamier than normal ice cream the combo was yummy, but I believe the experience is more in the watching of your ice cream being made in 2/3 minutes than the actual taste. I have been told that I need to visit Chin Laboratories in Camden for flavour combinations to blow my mind... So watch this space.

My younger cousin had a Buffalo burger which I neither tasted (I can't eat animals from the 'Safari' category) nor got a photo of (I wandered off to get Pimms whilst she queued and when I returned she'd finished)... Apparently it was delicious; tastier and less chewy than beef was the description she gave. Take what you will from that. She thoroughly enjoyed it and I thoroughly can't believe she ate a Safari animal.

Ever heard of Lychee Tempura? No. Me neither. But I like Lychee's and I like Tempura so I thought i'd give it a try. The Lychee seed is replaced with minced prawn and then the whole thing is battered, deep fried and served with sweet chilli sauce. Not awful, but definitely an acquired taste. I washed it down with some Chicken satay skewers. 

The sundried tomato topped bruschetta literally danced on your taste buds. Sometimes the simplest things are the most delicious.

My Arancini Risotto balls were the worst buy of the day. Quite dry and just the slightest hint of a mint flavour but not much else.

Full. Full. Oh so full, but no foodie fest would be complete without a jelly coconut to end the day, especially one where half the coconut water is replaced with white rum.

Full to the absolute brim of the brim. So it's off to the Parentals for Sunday dinner :-)

And the rest...

 A very light coloured Pimms, but just as delicious.

 Curried mutton, rice and peas, coleslaw, plantain. Ok, but not as good as my Mum's ;-)

The Homemade Lemonade cocktails were tastebud squeezers.

BBQ Lamb Salad

Will definitely be going to the next Taste, Feast etc... And will be wearing stretchy pants next time, skinny jeans were not a well thought out clothing choice.

PR Xxx

Sanderson Green at The Sanderson

Sanderson Green at The Sanderson would be the perfect setting for a first date (not that I was on one). A lovely candlelit terrace that is outside, but not quite outside, with heaters giving the feeling of a lovely balmy summer evening when in actual fact it had not long ago rained. 

You could pretty much build your own burger and the list of options was impressive. Myself and my dining companion both opted for Chicken burgers, something I never do, as burgers to me should be lamb or beef. It's one of those unexplainable weird things that just is. However, on this occasion there was something about the Crispy Chicken that sounded very tempting and it was a great choice. Topped with avocado relish, crispy red onions and aged cheddar, the combo was a winner, possibly a few too many onions for me but they didn't take away from how delicious it was.

The fries came with the option of various toppings and I opted for orange salt, never heard of it, probably never see it again, once in a lifetime opportunity, Carpe Diem! Lol. The orange flavour was subtle, not quite savoury, not particularly sweet, but very moreish.

Dessert was always going to be Eton Mess, but the deal was sealed when I was told it came WITH pastry! Helloooooo!! Fat girl inside skipping with joy. The joy was well founded. Chantilly cream... Goood! Raspberry coulis.... Gooood! Meringue.... Goooood!! Sugar coated puff pastry straws.... Goooooooooooooood!!

The candlelight rendered my iPhone camera all but useless, this looked so much better then the pics give it credit for.

The Malted Blueberry tipsy shake was quite a heavy start to quite a heavy meal, but well worth the food coma.

All in all a lovely dinner at Sanderson Green, the staff were helpful and attentive without being too full on which is quite a fine balancing act. Will be heading back soon for The Mad Hatters Afternoon Tea ;-)

PR Xxx