Bank holiday treat - Spuntino

There has been a lot of good press written about Spuntino since its opening so naturally, we have been wanting to try it out.  The one snag is that they are one of the growing numbers of restos in this town who refuse to take reservations so the trick is either go and eat at a "dead" time or be prepared to queue. Since we didn't particularly fancy doing the latter, we decided to go for early dinner on a Sunday of a bank holiday and lo and behold! no need to queue :)

Spuntino is actually located in the heart of Soho and we were quite surprised when we finally found it as its down a street where we would walk down frequently but have never noticed it until now - I guess thats the vibe the owners wanted to achieve. The set-up is bar seating with a shortish menu and most of the dishes have been created to share/nibble (along with no reservations, "tapas" style is also gripping the big smoke, grr!) Overall, the meal wasn't bad but I struggled a little with the "too cool for school" vibe......glad we went to try though!

Knob creek whisky - JD's siblings have been known to chuckle at the name!

Truffled egg on toast - not much to look at but surprisingly tasty!

Shoestring fries - yum! So good I had to order 2 portions!

Squid with chickpeas and rocket - one of my favourite dishes of the night! Simple, fresh and tasty!

Sliders - mini burgers but apparently, the bun should not be so thick, it should be just a wrap to keep all the filling in place?? 

Lettuce and lentils

Steak and eggs

homemade brekkie.....then out for lunch!

Drop scones with "fridge" jam

Chirashi sushi/udon set from Kiraku

Chipotle cheddar scones

I've been meaning to try making these scones for a while now (recipe taken from a book I got for Chrimbo called "Baked") but alas, chipotle powder is not the easiest of ingredients to come by. Luckily, I managed to get hold of some thanks to a fleeting visit to Borough Market et voilà!! They turned out OK and were happily munched on by JD - perhaps next time, I might reduce the salt levels a touch.....

Burrito craze hits London town - Daddy Donkey

I had heard a lot about Daddy Donkey through the interweb and press with many claiming that DD's burritos were the best in the whole of London. JD and I had previously tried to hit the (in)famous food truck last winter but were met with a deserted Leather Lane on a Saturday despite a response from DD via Twitter saying that they would be around.....mmmmm?

Fast forward to May 2011 and I decided to try once again on a market day (Friday) this time.  I even made a conscious effort to arrive after the lunchtime rush (1:30pm?) and was still met with a long-ish queue!! I plumped for the Daddy D with steak and extra guacamole - my burrito felt like a brick on presentation and it was a good feed too :)

My only criticism is that I wish that burritos on this side of the Atlantic could be rolled more tightly - my Daddy D collapsed into a messy heap towards the end and had I not used my paper bag as a makeshift napkin, my jeans would've looked like burrito roadkill! :)

Ay, Dios mio!!!! What a queue :(

Cute drinks truck "al lado"

Yum - a good feed! :)

Mayday! Mayday! Burrito down!

Blast from the past - tarte Bourdaloue

I have no idea why but every time I feel an urge to bake something, I inevitably turn the tarts chapter in my recipe book from school. It was the first things we learnt to make and I always assume they are therefore the easiest but on reflection, they aren't really. What I do know is that they always look impressive and with the right recipe, taste pretty good too :)

The last time I attempted tarte Bourdaloue was over 2 years ago so it was really a case of dusting off the cobwebs on the ol' grey cells on how to make this one......the most challenging part being remembering how to get that fancy patisserie edge on the tart.

I also remembered at the time, I really wasn't a fan of the creme d'amande in the tart but tasting it again this time around, it really wasn't that bad......maybe chef put in too generous a slug of rum in class? ;)

Anyhoo, overall I was pretty happy with how it turned out - bon app (with a hint of nostalgia)!

Red velvet cake roses

Having fun with a new piping tip, how sad am l??!!

Note to self - natural food colouring sucks!!

Posh fish and chips - Geales

 

For our monthly special dinner, JD and I decided to try out Geales, a posh fish and chip resto that I had spotted in a fish and chip review by Alain Ducasse in the Eurostar magazine at the beginning of the year. To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect since good and reasonably priced fish restos here in the big smoke are few and far between. We were not disappointed and had a most pleasant meal - lovely food and on the whole, not bad service. My only downer was that out table was right at the top of the staircase and next to the toilet - prolly best to request that we don't sit at that table if we go back :)

My starter of prawns with aioli - big enough specimens but not very sweet (a bit unfair to compare to Bentley's langoustines!)

Main of deep fried cod - lovely batter and amazing fish

Sides of mushy peas, spinach and chips - the chips were a bit measly, we hadn't even taken any from the bowl when this pic was taken!

Surprisingly yummy lemon meringue pie - crunchy and thin pastry, tangy lemon curd with a "just hold" consistency and smooth meringue, yum! :)