deansa's Profile
Restaurant recommendations for near Canary Wharf or ExCel conference venue
I haven't been in a while, but lots of people recommend The Gun gastropub, which is about a 15 min walk from your hotel. As a plus it has great views of the O2.
Sunday Lunch between Heathrow and Euston
Have you been to High Tide recently, can you confirm it's still open?
From checking the web it seems like it may be long-closed.
heron pub- Thai, is it open?
It recently got written up in timeout, so must be reasonably accessible to Westerners (and probably will also be busy for a while too!)
Cocktails (+ poss. Bistro/brasserie) in London? like Balthazar (NYC) or Eastern Standard (Boston)
Just to avoid confusion, I think you mean Deux Salons.
Dinner near Barbican? [London]
Hix is quite good and if you fancy a more casual wine bar style, vinoteca's also worth a try. Some people also like Morgan M, though I haven't been.
London - Best Baked Chinese Cha-Siu (Barbecued Pork) Buns at Kowloon Bakery
Have you tried Golden Gate Cake Shop around the corner? I have found Kowloon's pastry frustratingly inconsistent, sometimes overly yeasty or dense. Golden Gate do it a bit better and also have good char siu. They also have kaya and yam fillings, which though not matching the best examples I've ever had still fill a craving!
What's the point of Borough Market? [London]
I popped into Borough Market at lunch today and Kappacasein was back! Anyone know what happened?
Indian/Pakistani....Better than Tayyabs in Whtechapel ???
I prefer Needoo to Tayyabs. It's run by an ex-Tayyabs manager and is BYOB. Very similar menu and in my opinion some parts of it are better executed. (Though naans are a bit variable.) I'm a particular fan of the dry meat. Also Needoo has much less queue than Tayyabs!
I'm not sure about the branch in Whitechapel as I've always been to the Tooting branch of Mirch Masala, but their karahi gohst is wonderful. And they do reliably good naan.
Is this the best value dinner in SW London?
I was just thinking friends, but if there's interest I'm happy to organise a chowdown. Email me (my address is in my profile) and I'll post a chowdown once we work out a good date.
Is this the best value dinner in SW London?
Thanks Gembellina, I keep meaning to organise a group to try out the hotpot as I live a couple of minutes walk away. Is the stock good?
They also have a lot of non-hotpot items, spanning standard canto to sichuanese and north-western. From memory of my one trip there the chef is from Guandong, and the non-hotpot stuff I had was perfectly serviceable though they did emphasise hotpot was their specialty.
Anything around the Andaz Hotel? [London]
The area is very corporatey so places near there are generally more geared to the after-work-drinks market. But St John's Bread and Wine is great for Modern British. Hawksmoor is a pretty good British steakhouse, if that's your thing.
From the Galvin Brothers, Cafe a Vin is a bistrot type place, for a more formal meal around the corner, try Galvin La Chapelle.
L'anima Italian is nearby and supposed to be quite good, though I've never been.
A bit of a longer walk away is Whitechapel, with cheap-and-cheerful but-oh-so-good Punjabi places like Needoo Grill.
But keep in mind Liverpool St is very central, so you can easily go to pretty much any of the places in central London mentioned in other threads.
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Hawksmoor
157 Commercial Street, London E1 6BJ, GB
Cold pork belly, good gammon (SW11)
I live just up the road from Moen, but always leave there frustrated!
The first time, I bought cumberland sausages which were massively overseasoned (to my palate, anyway), the second time I had a confusing conversation with the butcher who didn't know what a chicken oyster was and I had to explain, and the third time got sold a rabbit that was about three times more expensive than I was expecting. Haven't been back since. Everyone else seems to love it, though!
Fish and Chips - the best?
I had a stunning fish and chips at Colmans in South Shields the other week - chips were lovely and crisp on the outside, and fluffy inside - a bit reminiscent of triple-cooking, though not sure what they do. Batter was delicate and well-crafted, and fish inside perfectly cooked. Apparently they've just had a refurb. Only downside was the tartare sauce, which I found to have a strong acetone odour.
Where is the best fried chicken?
At least Kilburn Fried Chicken amuses you with its acronym as you go past!
American sweets/candy/snacks not available in the UK/Ireland?
I thought I was the only one!
American sweets/candy/snacks not available in the UK/Ireland?
I saw Reese's peanut butter cups in Tesco recently!
There are specialised stores such as Cybercandy which have a reasonable range, but are quite expensive, so your friend will surely appreciate the gesture!
Help - Kennington/Lambeth (London)
Was in the Old Red Lion last week - it's a nice, quirky pub for a drink, but it was absolutely empty (by about 8PM I think we were about the only people there) which did affect the atmosphere a lot. Not sure why no-one goes there and Dog House & Tommyfield are buzzing, assume location must be responsible.
Adulis isn't bad. Amused that every time I go, pretty much everyone in the restaurant orders the same dish - the mixed-meat set.
Prickly Pear Juice or Syrup - Does anyone know how to get hold of this in UK?
Yeah, I saw the fresh ones in Turkish Food Centre Dalston when I popped in last week.
Help - Kennington/Lambeth (London)
Not a huge amount of culinary stuff in Kennington. If you want something really good, best to hop on a tube to nearby Brixton for Brixton Village (see other huge post on that subject). Locally there's a nice wine bar upstairs at Brasserie Toulouse Lautrec. Some people like The Lobster Pot next door (same owner), but I've never been able to get past the weird OTT maritime decor.
The Tommyfield is an attempt at a gastropub, but wasn't hugely special on my visit. Maidera has a deli (good) and a cafe (outdoors, looks nice, but untested) on Albert Embankment.
Zeitgeist on Black Prince Road is a German pub and has a great range of German beer plus German food.
Shopping, there's a farmers' market at the church opposite Oval station - either Saturday or Sunday, a quick google should confirm. Otherwise there's a big tesco on Kennington Lane. Again, not really much in this area.
There was another thread a while back suggesting a Polish place in Elephant & Castle shopping centre. I haven't been, but if you're brave enough to enter that dire shopping centre, could be interesting.
Not food related, but there's a lovely square in the area called Cleaver Square. There's a cute little pub at the end of it, where you can get a drink and rent out boules to play on the square. A lovely way to pass a long summer evening.
A bit further afield, in Stockwell there's the Canton Arms gastropub, and a long strip of relatively authentic Portuguese places if you continue up South Lambeth Road.
Molecular Gastronomy Tools In London
I think it was Waitrose I was in the other day where I saw Xanthan Gum for sale. For some of the more obsucre hydrocolloids, you'll probably need to order online.
Quick Trip Update
I agree. While I've become used to English batter, the antipodean style is much more delicate, in my mind almost like tempura.
I suppose the English stodginess does have the advantage that the fish is insulated better from the oil, so in theory fish should stay moister. If it's cooked properly, that is!
Where to eat near Wiltons Music Hall? (London)
Glad you enjoyed it. I find you don't get the corporatey, polished, done-this-dish-thousands-of-times perfection and consistency of the bigger kitchens, but the enthusiasm and creativity of her cooking really comes through in the food, and makes me enjoy my meal each time I'm there. Had a very nice tasting menu there one Saturday, too!
What's the point of Borough Market? [London]
Very saddening. Can just manage Borough Market from work, but Maltby Street is quite a bit too far.
To save everyone trawling through the multi-paged link, one person in the thread claims that the following stalls have been asked to shut down (note I haven't verified this):
Kapascein, Keiser swiss cheese, Borough cheese (comte), mons (cheese), Hophurst farm bio-dynamic butcher, Stichelton cheese, topolski polish stall, The Parmesan cheese company and the related salami stall.
(I'd post a link to his comment, but I can't find a way to do this. For those interested, it's the comment from anon trader, Monday 9 May 2011 4.18pm)
London - Solo dining near Piccadilly?
Seconded! On a Saturday night you'll probably be safest to make a reservation, even as a solo diner at the bar.
Buying pandan essence in London
Thanks klyeoh, very kind. I spoke to the people at Sedap, and they said they can sell me some – but they only make it when they rotate around their dessert special to one that includes kaya. That should be in a week or two, so I appear set!
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Sedap
102 Old St, Islington, Greater London EC1V 9, GB
Buying pandan essence in London
Can I cheekily broaden this question to ask if anyone also knows a good source of kaya in London? Though I suppose if they have pandan leaves in Chinatown I can make it myself!
Where to eat near Wiltons Music Hall? (London)
I'd be more inclined to eat at Rosemary Lane.
Hiba, Borough, London
Agree the jawaneh is very nicely grilled, up with some of the best grills I've had. Garlic sauce could be a bit more garlicy, but I'm splitting hairs here.
I found the fattet a bit watery and muted though – maybe it's just personal taste, but I grew up with renditions where the yoghurt was much thicker, there was more chickpea action, and some pine nuts livening up the top.
Vietnamese places on Deptford High Street, Deptford, London
Just popped in to Cau Dat, the successor to Quan Viet. Apparently they've only been up and running for a couple of weeks, so maybe another place opened and closed in the meantime.
The waitress was super-friendly, and explained they currently have in place a daily rotating menu, which will become more permanent once they settle down. Sunday is pho. I was guided to the combination chicken & beef, which was quite decent. The chicken in particular was lovely and tender, though not a huge selection of garnishes. Iced coffee was very strong.
Supposedly Saturday is banh mi day, and they make the bread in-house. May be worth a visit to check that out.
