Lebanese at Kaslik in Soho

All of the things

Fancy gold table!

Delicious dips

Yesterday we felt like being tourists and wanted to go look around town a bit. I also wanted to go out to eat and felt like having lots of small dishes so I used the top table app to find some options of places in Soho we could go and we decided on a Lebanese place called Kaslik which is just off Soho Square. When we got there it didn't really look open but luckily it was. The guy who was working there, maybe the owner, was super nice. He was blowing up balloons for a 21st party they were going to have there in the evening but was really friendly and welcoming.

There weren't any other people in the restaurant when we arrived but a few others came in while we were there. The restaurant itself was really cute, it had all sorts of random lamps and light fittings which were made out of like gold and other metals as well as colourful glass. All the tables were these round gold metal ones which had patterns all over them.

There were so many vegetarian options for us to choose from which all sounded really delicious so we went with an option where you could pick 3 mezze for 10 pounds. We got hummus, baba ganouj, falafel, halloumi, batata harra (spicy potato) and a pastry dish with spinach and pinenuts. We also got some pita bread and complimentary olives.

The olives were really good, some of the best I have had in London. Quentin tried one but he didn't like it. That was good because then I got to eat all of the olives. I don't think they make their own pita bread but is was warm and soft so I didn't mind too much.

The hummus was delicious, so smooth and tasty and it came with extra chickpeas on top. The baba ganouj was good as well, although a little more chunky than I am used to. The falafel was amazing, so much better than the last falafel we had at the toy shop. It had a bunch of flavour and was nice and crispy on the outside but was light and fluffy on the inside.

The halloumi was grilled and chewy, so good! I could have eaten tonnes more than what we got but we had so much other stuff to eat as well. The potatoes were not surprisingly my favourite part. They were cooked so well, and had a great flavour with some good spice from the chillis.  The pastry dish was not the best. The spinach was tasty but the pastry itself was a bit weird. It was the only one of the six which wasn't awesome though so I didn't mind.

Overall it was all delicious and I would go back except for the fact there are so many other places to try! The service was great, the food came out pretty quickly and we felt like we could have hung out there all day and they wouldn't have minded. I will give them a 4 out of 5. Yum.

Vegetarian platter at the Toyshop in Putney

All of the food!

So many deep fry!

On Tuesday Quentin and I went to see Captain Phillips at the Odeon in Putney and I thought rather than go home and then come back we should go out to eat somewhere in Putney. There are tonnes of restaurants just near the movie theatre but the Toyshop had been recommended to us and the menu sounded good so we thought we would give it a go.

They had a bunch of interesting sounding starters and mains, and the menu was about 50/50 vegetarian and non-vegetarian so we had heaps of choice as well which was cool. We decided to get the "Earth Star" platter which was about 28 pounds so not super cheap but could have fed more than two people for sure!

When the platter came out it looked amazing! It was on a sort of wooden board which was raised off the table and could spin around so you could get to all the things, I had never seen anything like it. There were so many foods to try as well which I love. Variety is totally the best.

The things we got were a couscous salad which had some fruits and brazil nuts, Quentin really liked this one but I thought it could have had more flavour, maybe some lemon juice or something would have been a good addition. The next thing you can see is a sort of take on a potato salad, it had a creamy dressing but no potato, instead it had cheese, peas and some red pepper. I found the dressing too creamy but it was nice when you just had a little bit mixed with something else. Quentin agreed that the dressing was too creamy but he liked it more than I did.

We also got a bowl of sautéed green beans which were cooked perfectly, still a bit crispy, and they were one of my favourite things, although they could maybe have done with a little salt, maybe some soy sauce or something. We also got some focaccia bread which was great for the goats cheese lollipops which were coated in pistachio and some spicy paprika. The goats cheese lollipops were probably my favourite thing out of everything, they were so delicious and went well with everything.

Another thing which you cant see too well in the pictures was a barley risotto with broad beans and spring onion. I really liked the risotto although I thought it could have had a little more flavour, maybe some parmesan or something to give it a bit more richness.

Now for the deep fried things... There were aubergine chips which were covered in a buttermilk batter which was amazing! The actual aubergine I am still not sold on but the batter was so good I was just eating that by itself when I usually don't even like batter. There was also sweet potato chips which were my second favourite thing, they were super delicious and just needed a little extra salt. They went nicely with the goats cheese because they were sweet and warm where the goats cheese was cold and more sharp and sour.

There was also falafel which we both agreed was not the best, it seemed like maybe they had blended their ingredients for too long so it was sort of pasty rather than being chunky. They also didn't have a whole lot of flavour. Oh and the final thing which was also my favourite were the risotto balls. They were made from sundried tomato so had tonnes of flavour and then had a nice crispy coating. I could have eaten about 20 of them I think!

As well as all of these things there were also three dips. One was a tasty beetroot chutney style dip which was my favourite, then there was a mint sauce which we both found a little weird since it tasted really like a mojito and was super strongly flavoured. The third dip was something which reminded me of curried egg, I don't know what it actually was, possibly some sort of curried mayonnaise, Quentin really liked this one anyway although I found it a little too creamy.

Overall it was a really fun meal, it was cool to be able to mix all different things together and try so many foods at one meal. Not all of the different foods were as good as I thought they could be, some were a bit lacking in flavour or could have been a little more tasty but overall most of it was delicious.

The service was good and the food came out pretty quickly. We didn't get any drinks but they had a fun cocktail list which I would like to go back and try at some point. I will give them a 4 because some of the things could have been more delicious but it was a fun meal and most of it was really good. I would go back there for drinks with friends and get this again.

Snacks and drinks at Lost & Co

Arancini, so pretty!



Arancini and fries!

Last week one of my workmates from Ireland was over in the London office so we went out for some drinks on Thursday. There are heaps of places to go for drinks in Putney, and lots of restaurants as well which is cool. We went to a place called Lost & Co which is apparently quite new because it used to be a different restaurant.

They have a lot of different beers on tap which is cool but their food menu is almost completely vegetarian free so there wasn't a lot of choice for me. Everyone else was getting pizzas but there was only one vegetarian pizza and it had only things I didn't like on it. It was pear, walnut and goats cheese I think. So not the best.

Luckily they did have a couple of things I could eat on the snack menu so I ordered the fries and arancini. I had actually just been saying to Quentin the other day how I wanted some arancini so I was happy that they had them on the menu.

The pizzas looked pretty good but they should totally have more vege options! The food came out reasonably quickly as well which was good. The fries were fries, I mean you can't really get them wrong unless they aren't fresh. These were nice and hot and crispy and I ate them all!

The arancini were really tasty, they had a nice crisp coating with soft rice inside and some cheese in the middle which was all melty and delicious. I think it's hard to make rice delicious and usually find it bland but this rice was full of flavour. I couldn't eat all of the arancini since I had eaten all of the fries but the others all wanted to try them so it worked out well.

I have no idea what the dip was which came with the arancini and forgot to look on the menu but it had a strange flavour. Quite good but also weird. I can't even really explain what it was except it reminded me a bit of a tapenade.

The service was good and the beer list is impressive but since they had almost no options for a vegetarian I am only going to give them a 3. The food I got was good but fries and arancini are not what I would usually choose to have for dinner.

Mexican at Mestizo in Camden

Deep fried cheese!

The tortillas come in such a cute warmer!

Enchiladas de mole

Mexican crepes

We were lucky enough to win a ballot to buy tickets to see Nick Cave in a special show at Koko which was being filmed for a documentary, which was awesome! It was on a Sunday so we didn't really want to drink but thought we would go out for dinner before the show, since we had to go there early to pick up our wristbands and then wait around until it was time for the show to start.

When we had got our wristbands I just googled Mexican restaurants in Camden and picked one which seemed relatively close. It turned out to be quite fancy with all white table cloths and stuff which I wasn't expecting but that was ok. There were a few other people in there but they seated us at a weird table really close to some other ones and then ended up putting another couple at the table next to us which was so close we were basically at the same table. It was weird because they had so many other tables available and it meant you were listening to each others conversations the whole time!

We were pretty hungry so decided to order a starter to share as well as mains. All the other tables got given complimentary corn chips and salsa when they were seated but we didn't for some reason, which was annoying because we had to wait ages for the starter! Maybe they didn't like us.

For the starter we order queso frito which is basically fried cheese. I'm not usually that big a fan of fried cheese but this was actually really really good. It came with a bunch of tortillas in a little tortilla warmer, and had a base of tomatillo salsa (not as spicy as the stuff I had had recently!) and some chopped onions and coriander (which I also don't usually like, but here it really worked). It was lucky we didn't order two starters because this was way bigger and more filling than I expected. I think what made it awesome was the salsa which meant the cheese wasn't too greasy or rich.

For mains we decided to get two different ones and share. Quentin ordered the enchiladas with mole sauce and I ordered some Mexican crepes with red salsa. They both came with black beans which I love, and rice which is usually good with Mexican but this one was pretty bland. The crepes were amazing, so delicious and had heaps of veges and really good salsa.

I tried some of Quentin's as well but ended up swapping back because I really didn't like the mole sauce. I'm not sure what it was about it but it had a really strange flavour. Maybe like dirt, I don't know. The filling in the enchiladas was really good (potato and cheese, you can't really go wrong!) but I would say my enchiladas were a lot better.

Overall I think the starter was by far the best dish and the mains were actually quite average. Still definitely good because I love Mexican food, but not on the same level as the starter. I think maybe just because the flavours were kind of dull whereas in the starter they were bright and fresh.

The service was not great, they took a long time to bring the food even though there weren't that many people there, and they sat people really close to us for no reason. Also no chips was annoying. Overall I would give them a 3.5. The starter was awesome, the mains were a bit above average but the service wasn't very good. I might go back and just order a couple of starters but I think I would prefer to try some other Mexican places. Oh and they had two giant TVs in the restaurant playing a looped tape of about 2 minutes of some random cooking show which was really off putting. There is no need to have a TV where you are eating unless you are in a sports bar or something, I really dislike it!

Brunch at the Cock Tavern

Super cute mugs!

So many food

Fritters of deliciousness

Health points!

Negative health points! But amazing!

Most filling pie ever!

On Saturday Quentin and I had a concert to go to (Vista Chino) and expected to do some drinking in the evening so we thought we better have a hearty brunch. Also we had no good brunch foods so had to go out (what a tragedy). We walked down North End Road which is pretty close to our house and almost went to a place called The Goose but it didn't appear to be open so we went further down and ended up at a place called the Cock Tavern.

Inside it was cute and had a bunch of tables and booths, an outside area (too cold for that but would be nice in Summer) and all sorts of random posters and pictures on the walls. It also had all sorts of random light fittings, some of them reminded me of the ones that Dad used inside the boats he was building when they didn't have power. Quentin liked all these lights.

They didn't have a huge breakfast menu but they did also have grazing plates and mains available. Thinking that grazing plates would be small portions we thought we would get a few of those and Quentin really wanted this pie so we thought we would get that as well. Bad idea. Portions were not small at all and we ended up with enough food for about four people!

It was really good food though! I really wanted the triple cooked chips so we got those and they were really good, although as Quentin pointed out they weren't as crispy as you would expect. They still tasted amazing though with a light and fluffy inside and they weren't greasy at all which is awesome, that is my pet peeve with fries, when you can see the oil sort of dripping off, it is just too much!

We also ordered 'roasted butternut and balsamic tomatoes' which ended up being a salad with just these two things and a big bunch of rocket. It was really nice though and we needed it with all the other food we ordered! I must say though, butternut has nothing on normal pumpkin, it has way less flavour and doesn't cook into nice soft gooeyness like pumpkin.

We also got some zucchini and sweetcorn fritters which came with a tomato salsa. The fritters were really good, they had a slight flavour of pancakes but were full of veges which was really nice. I ate them with the salsa and some mayo and it went together so well. I think I may have even managed a whole one!

The final thing we ordered was a mushroom and stilton pie which came with root vegetable mash and kale. The pie was amazing. I am not usually the biggest fan of mushrooms but man this was good! The pastry was the right amount of crispy and soggy (reminiscent of an Irvine's from the pie warmer) and the filling was super super tasty, I think there were some red onion and leeks in there as well. The mash was also amazing and came with some delicious gravy which is basically one of my favourite things to eat ever. The kale was meh. I don't think the dish needed it and no kale will ever be as good as the kale salad that Jean made that one time. Quentin and I both agreed that if we went back we could just get the pie and share and that would be enough.

I felt super guilty about the amount of food we left behind but we did sit there for over an hour trying to eat as much as possible! The place was great, good service, great food, heaps of vege options and also good coffee! They can have a 4.5 and I will totally go back, but order less food next time!

Japanese Delivery!!

So many options!

Getting all of the things!

On Friday night I didn't feel like cooking so we thought we would order some food to be delivered. That is the awesome thing about London, you can basically get anything delivered! I felt like sushi so I just looked up Japanese places on a couple of apps (Hungry House and Don't Cook I think) and found one which had good reviews and seemed to have the food I wanted, then I just picked some stuff and ordered it for when I would be at home (since I was ordering while still at work).

There was one bad thing about this experience, and that is the delivery ordering over an hour before I ordered it to be delivered! For some reason they must have just ignored the time I picked and delivered it right away! Anyway luckily Quentin was already home but otherwise it could have been a problem.

I ordered quite a lot of food because I was hungry at the time... I got edamame, vegetable gyoza, a vegetarian sushi set, pumpkin katsu curry and vegetarian ramen. This may have been a bit much!

The edamame were good, just regular edamame. I find it weird eating them cold now when I am so used to having them hot in New Zealand, but it's ok. And when I make them myself I make them hot. The gyoza were really good, I could have eaten double the amount easily. The sauce they came with was tasty as well. I couldn't tell exactly what it was but it looked like soy sauce but had a sweeter taste.

The sushi was all really nice. I got the maki rolls with tempura sweet potato and avocado which were delicious, lots of black sesame which I love. The other ones were with inari and egg. I don't like egg sushi because I think they always make the egg weird and sweet which was the case here as well, I don't think I would get those ones again. The inari was delicious as always though. It came with soy sauce and ginger as well, although no wasabi. Not that I mind because I don't eat it but other people might be disappointed.
 
The katsu curry was maybe my favourite thing. It had some fried patties of pumpkin which had been coated in panko, and then a Japanese curry sauce over that which had what seemed like sweet potato and more pumpkin in chunks. It was super delicious and a bit spicy but in a good way, it was also super filling. I love the crispiness of the fried pumpkin patty with the smoothness of the sauce. I even ate some rice because the sauce was so good and I don't usually like rice (when it isn't in sushi).

The only thing which wasn't great was the vegetarian ramen. It was quite bland and filled with overcooked noodles. Also the only vegetables were mushrooms which I am not such a fan of, and seaweed which is not my favourite. It did have a good amount of tofu and it was still nice, just not as good as everything else.

Quentin and I have already said that we will get it again with all the same things, except to get more sushi and no ramen. Overall it was a really good dinner for a reasonable price (I think it was £20 altogether) and I was happy afterwards. I will give them a 3.5 because the ramen wasn't great and they delivered it an hour early. They will get a higher score next time if they deliver at the right time!

Mexican Lasange??

Mmmm Lasange

Quentin's brother Seamus came to stay with us for a few days last week so I had three people to cook for instead of two, which ended up being pretty lucky actually because this meal turned out kind of giant!

I had bought some random Mexican like things (chilli beans, corn tortillas etc.) so I thought I would make something Mexican. But I didn't know what exactly. I started with this packet of 'taco mix' which I found in the supermarket and got because it seemed interesting and had some soy mince in it. You just add the packet to 600mil of water and simmer for about 15 minutes while stirring.

So I had that cooking and I also started a pan with onions, red and green peppers and some mushrooms cooking since they needed using up. When the mince mixture was almost ready I added a can of chilli beans, and the vegetables. I also chucked in a bit of salt and pepper, paprika and some cayenne. I got a new spice rack recently which is awesome, it has all of the things that I want.

I cooked that a bit more and then decided I would make some kind of a bake so I put a layer of corn tortillas down into a greased oven tray, covered that with some of the mince/bean/vege mix, put down another layer of tortillas, another layer of beans and another layer of tortillas.

I had some chopped tomatoes with chilli and peppers in the cupboard so I spread about half the box over the top of everything (come to think of it, I may have put a box of tomatoes in the bean mix as well) and then chucked some cheese on top.

I put it in the oven to bake for some amount of time which may have been about 20 minutes and then served it with some salad, guacamole (I didn't make my own this time but next time I totally will) and tomatillo salsa. Usually I find tomatillo salsa mild but this one secretly had jalapenos in it (ok so I didn't read the ingredients) and was preeetty spicy. A little was ok though.

It was a really good dinner actually, and we ended up having it again the next night, I just baked it again with extra cheese and tomato on top, and served it with salad and some sliced grilled potatoes. It may even have been better the second night actually, since the flavours had developed. Anyway it was super tasty but not really good for two people, more for if you are having a few people over I think.