afds's Profile
Sicily - Scopello and San Vito Lo Capo
If you do go to Erice, try the pastries and marzipan which are typical products. There was a shop run by ex-nuns which was supposed to have the best marzipan, I've forgotten the name since my last visit was many years ago, but I found this website which may be the place I'm talking about:
http://www.mariagrammatico.it/home/home.html
Best Ethnic Restaurants in Rome???
Indian: Jaipur in Trastevere, Via S. Francesco a Ripa.
Sichuan Peppercorns
Another possibility is www.spicesofindia.co.uk, whom I use for Indian food supplies. I haven't tried their Sichuan peppercorns since we get good ones at the local Chinese supermarket, but I found this blog by someone who seems to have done a lot of research and the brand carried by Spices of India gets a thumbs up : http://tokowijzer.wordpress.com/2008/06/20/sichuanpeper/
London July 2010 trip report
I completely disagree. When your main buffet has over 20 choices, your desserts cannot be just 3. Fresh fruit does not count.
Indians don't do desserts well? Really? Excluding the usual gulab jamuns and rasgullas and rasmalai, there are several options, from halwas to burfis to sandeshes to jilebis - with all their different variations - the list is endless. I'm Indian so I know they exist, and I also know that a dessert buffet at any Taj in India would have a large selection, but anyone whose exposure to Indian food was limited to what was on offer at the Bombay Brasserie's buffet would not get any idea of what they're missing.
London July 2010 trip report
It's a pity because the main buffet was really good, with a very respectable representation of different regional cuisines. The desserts didn't do justice at all to Indian sweets, and I told them as much in my feedback. Who knows, perhaps they'll take note.
London July 2010 trip report
We were sort of resigned to having mainly unmemorable meals, but next time round I hope to convince my son to be more adventurous.
London July 2010 trip report
Our foodie possibilities were severely hampered by our 14 year-old's insistence on pasta/pizza at least once a day, but we did manage to sneak a few exceptions by him. Here's the gist:
The Bombay Brasserie's weekend brunch, which I have been trying to get to ever since it reopened, was memorable. A good selection on the main buffet and consistently high quality, but a huge letdown when we got to desserts where there were just three options - kheer, kulfi (an interesting and not entirely successful combination of lychees and black pepper), pineapple halwa, and fresh fruit. Still, the main buffet on its own was good value.
The other Indian restaurant which we walked into on a whim was Masala Zone in Covent Garden where we were surprised by the authenticity and quality of the food. Surprised because we'd had a less than stellar experience with Veeraswamy a couple of years ago and I'd written off the whole group, big mistake.
We managed to get back to Pearl Liang for dim sum at lunchtime. Very good indeed. The standouts were the paper-wrapped sesame prawn rolls, wasabi prawns, stir-fried KaiLan and the chrysanthemum custard buns. The shanghai dumplings were dry, and the spare-ribs in black bean sauce were a funny grey colour and tasted weird.
Of the various Italians, bearing in mind that we avoided fine dining places, we found that Strada at the Brunswick Centre has very respectable pasta and risotto. We also went to Carluccio's, Bertorelli and Zizzi which were OK, but I would in future avoid La Ballerina on Bow Street where my risotto was literally drowned in tinned tomato paste and my son's lasagna was orange.
bombay brasserie weekend lunch
Thanks for the tip, howler. I thought the buffet was only on Sundays, a day on which I never seem to be in London, but your post made me check their website and I see it's been extended to Saturdays too. So next time I'm definitely going.
London: Lunch time near museums
I've heard that the afternoon tea at the British Museum is very good, hoping to try it for myself next month.
Which Christmas pudding?
An update on the pudding question : I decided to give myself an early Christmas present and ordered a sticky toffee pudding and a Christmas pudding from Alnwick. Yes, the postage was quite steep but it *was* a present...
Naturally I haven't yet tried the Christmas pud, but the STP is incredible. I have never eaten this pudding before so don't really have any credentials to judge and compare, but I'm prepared to go out on a limb and say it has to be among the best around. Nice, friendly people too, it wasn't easy organising the shipment and they were very helpful. Thanks again for the tip, Simon.
Asian food in Italy?
Chinese restaurants certainly abound, but very few are chow-worthy, many have serious hygiene issues. Cooking for yourself is a very good option in the meantime. Bring some supplies to tide you over till you find a shop. I did a google search and a name that came up was "Dragone d'oro" via Bottego 1, Parma 43100 which got good reviews. Here's the link: http://www.tolasudolsa.com/scheda_locale.php?id=cccb
I assume you're planning to learn Italian, for the moment try posting in English on local boards, definitely better than using online translators which are atrocious.
Which Christmas pudding?
Thanks everyone. Maybe I'll have to look for tiny puddings and do a taste test to try them all ;-)
Simon that website is truly drool-worthy.
Which Christmas pudding?
We'll be in London in December so I was thinking of buying a pudding there since online options are limited. I found that The Telegraph did a list of the five best puddings last year: Harrods, Selfridges, Waitrose, Sainsbury's and Marks and Spencer, in that order. Another which came up in searches was from Matthew Walker. Which would you pick? Is there some hidden treasure which I've missed?
ISCHIA/ANACAPRI--looking for great food in non-fancy setting
I found this link useful when we were planning a visit to Capri last year:
http://www.capri.net/en/restaurants
Of these I can definitely recommend La Capannina, where we had the most memorable meal of our trip. We heard good things about Add'o Riccio in Anacapri but didn't go there in the end, it was just too hot to face the long drive.
Dinner with an 8 year old in Paris
Last year we travelled to Paris with our (then) 12-year old who is well-behaved but an extremely picky eater. I had the same concerns as you did, but it worked out fine. The only chain we went to was Chez Clement which we all enjoyed. We also went to Josephine Chez Dumonet and Au Petit Marguery, in both places he didn't find anything appealing on the menu - except for desserts! - so asked for plain pasta with olive oil which was provided without the slightest hesitation.
Our Honeymoon Trip to Paris in July
Congratulations on your wedding! And on your research - for first-time visitors you have a really good selection. I think the day you have dinner planned at Le Cinq you should consider a very light lunch or skipping it altogether, you don't want to risk gastric overload. Speaking from experience, our first trip I had lunches and dinners booked and by the second day we were losing our enthusiasm. Re macarons I've heard Mulot can give Laduree and Herme a run for their money. Have a great time!
Paris Report
Great report, thank you! This was Chez Georges on Rue du Mail, right? Because there's another one in the 17th and I wouldn't want to make a mistake.
Did you do any macaron tasting?
My London list
We ended up going to Pearl Liang which was good and Shanghai Blues which was better, although we still feel that so far Kai is the best we've had. I was hoping to try the Dim Sum but the choice was really limited. Maybe the problem is we went for dinner and dim sum is more a lunch thing? Shanghai Blues had a mango mousse which was just out of this world. For Indian restaurants we went to Moti Mahal, again good but not superlative, and Mela which was so-so, with the exception of truly outstanding gulab jamuns. One nice thing about Mela is that though I had a Toptable booking which I changed at the last minute to a direct booking with the restaurant when some friends decided to join us, they decided to apply the 50% off Toptable offer anyway. The afternoon tea at the Covent Garden Hotel was a disappointment. I think the sandwiches at Brown's were much better, but my real issue is with the scones. There were four, one plain, one fruit, and two chocolate chip. I ask you, chocolate chip scones, the horror, the horror. The jam was fantastic and the tea itself was very good, there were free refills, but I didn't find the ambience appealing either.
What's the best macaroon in London (french style)?
I found that Laduree's London macarons taste different. The meringue part is harder, and the fillings, at any rate for the pistachio, vanilla and rose ones, seemed to have less flavour. Odd.
Crumpets
Many thanks to Harters and Mrs H. We bought the Warburtons crumpets at Sainsburys, brought them home, toasted them, slathered them with butter and devoured them. To coin a phrase they were finger-lickin' good ;-)
Crumpets
Nope, "home" is Italy, just a hop, skip and jump away so it's doable. I'll keep a look out for M&S and Kingsmill. On jams, my favourite is Bonne Maman which I find here. Now clotted cream is another story, but I hope to find that at M&S as well.
Crumpets
I stand corrected. Actually, I should have guessed, 'tea and crumpets' always seem to go together. Now to track down a decent cafe.
Crumpets
But I could buy them and toast them when I get home - unless they don't travel well?
That's why I was hoping to find them on a menu somewhere.
Crumpets
I've read a lot about them but never tasted one. Next week we'll be in London, where would be a good place to try them? Preferably not as part of breakfast, I've tried the FEB and found it an interesting experience but not one I'd like to repeat.
What's the best macaroon in London (french style)?
Macarons, they're macarons! I know you know that, but calling them macaroons is sacrilege IMO. Another vote for Laduree.
My London list
Thank you very much for your replies. The Lanesborough is on my "someday" list, but this time it has to be the Covent Garden Hotel because the next thing on the itinerary is a performance at the Royal Opera House. I will definitely consider Tayyabs, hubby hates queuing but will try to convince him.
