A little bit of sun…

Hellooo, it’s been a while since I posted and today’s post is brief and quite impromptu. I went to meet two of my dear friends over the weekend for a long overdue catch up in the sun.

Brunch was on the agenda but what I discovered, may just be my new favourite place for summer and something I had to tell you about!

Presenting… St.Katherine Docks… okay this place isn’t new. I’ve been before too but brunch at Dokke Living Room was!

Dokke serves up brunch with British produce but with an Asian Twist. Coupled with stunning views of the docks (book a seat on the terrace if possible) this is a place not to be missed.

We arrived around 1pm and chose the bottomless version and had our glasses regularly topped up with prosecco. We quickly ordered from their menu and chatted in the midst of their laid back living room decor…I obviously had one eye (okay maybe both eyes) on their mouthwatering selection of cakes.

Whilst we waited for our food we were pleasantly greeted with the waiter and a palette cleanser… a bud of a schezwan flower and something which, once consumed, will alleviate your taste buds ready for the dishes you are about to consume. Eagerly we all ate it – and there was a huge difference in what I expected and what I actually felt. I expected a taste of spice and heat but what I experienced was a buzz and a tingling sensation. It was unreal and albeit slightly confusing. Words cannot describe this sensation. The tingling wears off and immediately your taste buds are heightened.

Schezwan bud

Our food had arrived. Between us we had ordered the cloud egg (a fluffy savoury meringue-esq dish with avocado and chorizo), volcano egg (yes charcoal is used!) and an edamame frittata. The result? Simply fantastic. These dishes were different to what I’ve had at a brunch before and the Asian twists just seemed to highlight the produce in every way possible.

Cloud Egg

The menu here changes daily but if flavours are anything to go by, I will definitely be returning to sample what else can be cooked up at this eatery! Overall, a great brunch in the sun!

Pasta Evangelists

When I started cooking, one of the first things I learnt to make was pasta. A hearty dish which satisfied my taste buds (hello, it has cheese!). Fast forward many years and it’s still one of my favourite dishes to prepare. Although, now I sometimes try and be a bit more elaborate with different sauces and types of pasta itself, there are still variations I keep discovering.

And what better way to discover these than with Pasta Evangelists, a company which delivers fresh artisan pasta straight to your door.

Brunch at Bombay Brasserie

Happy New Year!!! 2017 was a great year for food and I cannot wait to see what 2018 has in store.

With that in mind – I hope it’s more brunch! Brunch, an elaborate late morning ritual dedicated to social gatherings with delicious staples such as pancakes, eggs and mimosas. And whilst I wouldn’t have my weekend any other way… I must make a confession – stepping out of my comfort zone for brunch isn’t really my thing. The staples are called just that for a reason.

But 2017 was a year to try different things, after all this blog started then! So when I was invited to come for brunch at Bombay Brasserie (BB), I metaphorically jumped at it.

Box’d Fresh

I arrived home last Friday exhausted from the week and not in the mood to create an elaborate meal – but as always, in the mood to eat one! Luckily for me I had a box of goodies from Box’d Fresh to create, as they say, a quick and easy meal of the food I’ll love. *dramatic pause* Challenge accepted. (Barney voice).

Box’d Fresh was established in 2016 and is a food subscription service which sends you fresh quality produce along with recipe cards to make meals. I had seen ads of this company along with its peers many times but never thought to try as I always assumed the recipes weren’t for me. However, my mind changed when I started this little dinner journey.

I received ingredients for two meals; 1) Toad in a hole and 2) Monkfish kebabs with Mediterranean quinoa. I opted for the latter and began sifting through the ingredients – to my surprise, they had provided everything – including vegetables, herbs and spices. All I was required to have was oil, salt and pepper (all of which are household staples). One thing I would note is that it may be easier to have the containers labelled to prevent opening/sampling (occasionally smelling) different things to ensure they were a part of the correct meal!

Once I had everything set I began to cook – the recipe was broken down in to 8 steps; each being straightforward to follow. However, my first hurdle was encountered at step 1 when I couldn’t soak the wooden skewers as I didn’t have them. Not a vital part of the process as I knew simply grilling the chunks of monkfish would also suffice.

And then, within 30 mins, my meal was done. It looked great but I was skeptical due to not being able to add my own flair to the dish. Don’t get me wrong, I could have easily done this and so can you if you opt for the service but I just wanted to try the recipe as is to get a taste for the recipes they provide instead.

Verdict? The dish was great! Full of flavour – one that I would definitely cook again on my own and enough to convince me to use Box’d Fresh again in the future.

This post was in partnership with Box’d Fresh.

August Favourites

Happy September! And welcome to the second addition of monthly favourites. August – a month of sun, fun and food; while the sun may have been lacking, the notorious amounts of food meant the fun never stopped. Last month I have loved…

Ice cream at Hotel Chocolat

In my world Thursday has become synonymous with ice cream, and over August I have been eating the vanilla bean whippy at Hotel Chocolat. Available in a cone or cup (I’ve obviously had both 😉) topped with one of their four sauces! …LOVE the hazelnut and salted caramel 😋

Salted caramel sauce

The Ugly Dumpling

Ugly Dumpling was probably my favourite eat this month. The restaurant may be tiny but their food is definitely mighty. I cannot tell you how in love I am with their broccoli and almond salad! It was something which I didn’t think much about when ordering, but proved to be the perfect accompaniment. The dumplings, of course, were great and I would recommend: Prawn & Chive, Smoked Mackerel and Mushroom & Cheese. I also tried the Haloumi and Courgette one but for some reason the haloumi just didn’t gel with the dumpling. Ps. Their aubergine tempura is also delish!! 

Prawn & chive dumplings

Haloumi and courgette dumplings

Aubergine tempura

Salad bar at Manicomio 

The city is full of exciting places to eat and Manicomio is no exception. As it was lunch time, a colleague of mine had told me to try the salad box here which to quote is ‘so good’. And he was right! They have a variety of salads on offer which are more exciting than your usual. I opted for a mixture between Salmon Nicoise and Chicken Milanese! Needless to say it was great and I can’t wait to go back to sample more things.

July Favourites

Happy August!! Wow August…how have we surpassed so much of the year already I’ll never know. Does anybody else feel this way? Everyone I’ve spoken to, be it family, friends or work colleagues, all agree that 2017 has flown by so far! But that’s enough about that, today I’m here to talk you guys about JULY! Whilst discussing new additions to the blog, my good friend Shriya had the idea to do monthly favourites! I fell in love with the thought, a usual feature of the beauty world but no reason why it cannot be adapted to the culinary space. So from now on, at the beginning of every month I’ll be doing a monthly favourites piece. (I know you’re as excited as I am…if not more😉). These could be whole restaurants or even certain dishes – there are no limitations. Well, except that I’ll only post about 3-5 things…I don’t want to do a food overload – though as I type this I’m struggling to see the bad side in that….
Anyways, without further ado, I present to you ….JULY FAVOURITES!!

Manitoba Tigella

Guess who’s back…back again…Kinna’s back…tell a friend…

Not just your friends! Tell your family, partners, colleagues and enemies! Because I’m back after my short break ready to take London’s culinary scene by storm!

Last week I had the opportunity to visit Manitoba Tigella. Based near Tottenham Court Road, this Italian restaurant is serving up some unique and rather unfamiliar delicacies.

A modern eating space sprawled across two floors, this light restaurant is fresh and inviting – a seemingly great place to catch up with friends.

Cattle & Co.

With the temperature rising and the days getting longer, it can only mean one thing! Summer is coming!! And nothing says summer like a quintessential BBQ!

In my (humble) opinion, the best BBQ’s contain three things; alcohol, great company and even better food! Whilst the formers are easy to organise, often delicious food takes time and articulate planning to execute.

But there’s no need to despair, as situated in the hotspot of Kings Cross lies Cattle & Co. a restaurant which brings a new meaning to the word barbecue.

Mestizo

It’s been a little while since I last posted and I will apologise! It has been a hectic couple of weeks! But I’m hoping that the built up anticipation of a new review will prove to be fruitful. Nevertheless, I am here, prepped and ready to put pen to paper (well technically fingers to keyboard 😉) and fill you in on a new firm favourite of mine!

Today I want to talk to you guys about Mexican food! Mexican cuisine is one of my favourites, from soft tortillas to delicately spiced meats to fresh guacamole! I simply cannot get enough. Regardless of this desire, I always felt as if I had to suffer. Finding an authentic Mexican restaurant here in London would be somewhat of a struggle. All I would ever see are conspicuous high street chains which simply lacked originality and pizzazz.

And then I went to Mestizo…

Dum London

I have a penchant for eating Indian cuisine. In fact, I often find that I have withdrawal symptoms or start to feel sick if I don’t eat it for 3/4 days. Crazy, I know! But I feel that my body is just accustomed to the deliciousness that is Indian food. With this in mind, it’s no surprise that I also love going to Indian restaurants. I mean I wouldn’t want to deprive myself now would I? 😉

Located in the ever-popular Wardour Street, Soho is Dum London a new Indian restaurant, as the name suggests, specialising in biryani. Biryani is a crowd-favourite of India and beyond, notoriously known as a feast of marinated meat (usually lamb or chicken) sandwiched between layers of basmati rice, blended together with vegetables and an array of spices. The cooking pot is sealed with dough and cooked on ‘dum’ (steamed over coals) to really bring out the flavour.