Wheels & Pizza

I got some new wheels for my birthday. Coming downstairs to a beautiful, shiny, cobalt blue bike as a total surprise has made my year already. I am in love with my bike and have mostly been basing plans on where would be good to ride to since.

Since moving into the new house, we've passed a very cute looking sourdough pizza place on Upper Clapton Road a few times. I looked them up and they've been reviewed far and wide as being the Franco Manco of the East (and a little better value too). YUM!

I raced home from work to this lovely drawing from Robbie on the latest addition to our house - a blackboard painted side to our floating cabinet. It was supposed to be used for grocery lists but so far has just been for scribbles like this and bad puns. Oh well...  We cycled up to Springfield Park near Clapton which is gorgeous and can be accessed by the nice wide canal path (easy cycling for a beginner in London). 

 Arriving at Sodo, we were glad that we had booked as they get pretty full. The garden space is cute and a nice refuge from the heat of the pizza ovens inside. A simple menu with not too much choice is crucial when every single thing looks so delicious. We went for the special salami pizza and a green salad. Their house olives and a cheeky Aperol Spritz to start were the perfect appetiser too.

I'll let the pictures speak for themeselves. We cycled home the direct way happy and full. Book here.
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This Fire Is Out of Control

The Chiltern Firehouse is pretty much dinner and drinks combined with entertainment in the form of celebrity safari - watching the rich and famous dodging the paps outside. Saying that, the food is actually quite good and the drinks are too. I popped down on a quiet Sunday evening and had a lovely time but I wouldn't wait out the 6 month waiting list for it now if given the chance. 

You pass through a murder (collective noun?) of papparazzi to get through the gates and into the garden lounge which is lovely on a sunny day. The cocktail bar is small and overlooks the restaurant which could also be described as understated. The way the tables are laid out makes for both a little privacy but also great people watching as you sit in a sort of semi circle shaped booth around your table which faces outwards. Set up for celebrity safari then... 

I started with 'A Happy Marriage' - a lovely violet, bergamot and lemon gin-based aperitif which was as pretty as it was delicious. The bar snacks are a must have - the infamous deep fried chicken and crab doughnuts are incredible and despite tasting as naughty as they sound, they are light and fluffy enough to not spoil your appetite.

For a main course, we shared the red prawns in coconut milk with chilli and grapes and the pork ibirico. The maple sweet potato side is pureed nectar and a great combination with the chilli coconut milk. I've said it before on this blog that the sign of a restaurant that trusts in its own quality is to have some affordable wines and Chiltern did not disappoint for that. The Portugese red that we chose to accompany our feast was ideal and (to give you a bench mark - the cheapest thing on the table at a reasonable £6 per glass). 

I've had better food but this was all very delicious and the serving staff were lovely. Go if you want to get dressed up nice and pretty and point out other people's collagen implants. 

Oh and don't tell everyone but I've heard that the mirror in the ladies toilet is actually more than it seems - give it a little push and see where you end up or indeed who you end up bumping into... 

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Paesan in Exmouth Market

Paesan is one of these places I keep not reviewing because I am sure I'll be back soon. It is relatively new but has instantly become a dinnertime staple. It is just so damned delicious, charming, and excellent value. And it  doesn't hurt that it sits on a lovely little corner of Exmouth Market - the perfect pre-Saddler's feast.

Last week I went with two of my lovely colleagues and Paesan had recently launched their summer menu, so here are some of our favourites for the season: 

The burrata with aubergine is divinely creamy and the bruschetta toppings are orginal and well-conceived... 

... The pastas are less good for sharing but simple and delicious - we enjoyed the ragu but a little birdie tells me the orichiette is AMAZINGLY Good

The beef is perfectly rare and flavoursome with just the right level of char...

... And the truffle parmesan chips are the ideal accompaniment

Lastly, the rum baba is a great way to round off the meal - delicious boozy with a moist, syrupy texture

Then if you have any room left, there is a great cocktail bar downstairs with very reasonably priced drinks (and a 2 for one happy hour 6-8) 

Flo's Top Three Dishes from Bangkok

Although Chiang Mai is reputedly Thailand’s food capital, my top three Thai dishes are actually from Bangkok. That probably says more about gastronome Ollie – who owns Silvalai Place hotel, than it does about Bangkok, since she has given me the best insider’s edge imaginable.

The first time I came to Bangkok I wanted to get away from the Khao San road and experience a little Thai neighbourhood. I found Silvalai Place and booked an apartment. I met Ollie back then who kindly took me round the same market she took Elle around, when she stayed there last year. We quickly bonded over our love of food and she let me in on some of Bangkok’s best-kept secrets. When I returned for a few days either side of Chiang Mai, I simply had to go and find these dishes again!

Thipsamae – Pad Thai

Pad Thai is one of those ubiquitous dishes that one doesn’t really question but having been so wowed by Thipsamae’s rendering of it, I did a bit of digging and found it was heavily promoted by Thailand's fascist government in the 40s as part of campaign to promote Thai nationalism and reduce how much rice was eaten so that more could be exported!

Thipsamai’s has to be the best Pad Thai in the world. I really hate exaggerations like that since I obviously haven’t been all over the world sampling every Pad Thai but sometimes when you taste perfection you know that it can’t possibly get better. There have been long queues of Thai people outside it all 5 times that I have ever been, both in 2012 and 2014, which surely says a lot.

The menu consists of around 8 different Pad Thais for around 80 baht (£1.50) each, along with incredibly tasty orange juice. The best ones are the traditional pad thai which comes recommended on the menu, as well as the one wrapped in an egg womb!

Wang Lang - MassamanCurry

This isn’t all that easy to find but it is definitely worth the hunt. Wang Lang pier is also relatively near Wat Arun – my favourite Wat in Bangkok – so if you are out and about in the area, its not much further along the Phraya river. Wang Lang is a pier with a market so if you ask a Taxi driver of Tuk Tuk for Wang lane you will be dropped off opposite an alleyway surrounded by market stalls selling food, clothes and all sorts, that leads down to the pier. This bit has some good food around it but the better food stalls are further up, on Wang Lang Thanon. All you need to do is face the river, turn left up the road, until you meet Wang Lang Thanon, then turn right down it, until you meet another row of stalls.

There, you should be able to find this man and his divine Massaman curry. Hunt him down and you most certainly will not regret it. The curry is one of the best things I have ever eaten, humming with cardamom, cloves, blade mace, cassia and coconut, it is so finely balanced that its humble provenance is almost hard to believe. This man is a genius; I want to know his secret.

There is also a great selection of other snacks and puddings, including a favourite of mine - thin crispy pancakes with a dollop of meringue mix and a sprinkling of sweet shrimps – delicious - and not photographed since I ate them so quickly!

Mmm, crackling!

peanut filled sweet dumplings

Unnamed Seafood Restaurant

This restaurant is of Thanon Arun Amarin, close to Thonburi Hospital. I am afraid you'll have to ask Ollie for better directions since my navigational skills are somewhat lacking. Unlike the last two places, this was new discovery this trip. Ollie took Theo and me there for dinner. You can get all sorts of seafood to order with an incredibly spicy and delicious sauce, that I learnt how to make during my cookingclass in Chaing Mai.

Ollie and Theo

Mud crab curry

My favourite thing however, has to be the mud crab curry. It isn’t exactly the most beautiful of dishes but the soft flakes of crabmeat in that delicately flavoured sauce is pure heaven.