Review: "Eat Your Way Around the World"

If there's one thing I miss about India [besides family, food, noise, vibrancy and the general palava all over the place] it's the huge American style malls that seem to be cropping up everywhere and the grand food courts they entail. Yes okay, Westfields and a handful of others have cottoned on to the idea (Thurrock's is particularly impressive), but they boast not even a fraction of the variety you find in say the Oberoi or Inorbit malls of Mumbai. Lets face it, deciding what to eat in large groups [read indecisive families] can always be tricky and ultimately result in a compromise. The solution? The Indian food court - buy what you want from wherever you want yet be able to enjoy your respective meals together.

And as we Indians go, we're well accustomed to the 'queue up for your food' system. If you don't believe me, tell me if YOU've ever been to an Indian wedding with table service...? Nahhhh, table service, what's that? We're pretty used to queuing and waiting our turn pushing and shoving to raid a buffet and pile our plates sky high. So I guess it comes as no surprise that as far as the new Jimmy's World Grill in Watford goes... well it's a smashhit success, with my bunch at least. Remember this post? Let's say Jimmy's is the perfectly cross-bred child of Elaichi and the Red Hot World Buffet - countless variety, value for money and best of all, a chocolate fountain! Give it a try if you haven't already, it is Friday after all. 

Happy weekend guys!

SL xx

And then there's gourmet @ gabriel's

So I've been mulling over just how long it feels since I last wrote here with some semblance of regularity and whilst pouring over past posts, it dawned on me that I left you right here, on an incomplete walk along London's Southbank. Now, if Saturday was about the speediest sofa supper one can muster, today is about identifying what is irrefutably Italian in essence - Pizza Margherita at Gourmet Pizza Company. Now, don't get me wrong 'cause I'm all for doughy American crusts, rich Pizza Hut pizza sauce and an overload of melted, oozing cheese (mmmmmm) but it can be nice sometimes to go authentic too. This one, and Franco Manco's have stolen my heart. 
SL. x
Visit Gourmet Pizza Company at 56 Upper Ground, Gabriel's Wharf, London SE1 9PP

'M' for Mangorita

Lads, turn away now this isn't your cuppa t... cup of cocktail. Ha, you wouldn't be caught dead trying a Margherita would you now? But for all the margherita-mad-maidens out there, I have a new one for you. The classic M with a sweet squeeze of mango puree. Now, if you've been here a while you'll know of my huuuuuuge partiality to mangoes. And for a tequila-based tipple, where better to go than Chiquito? Hop on over, it's a Friday - every hour is cocktail hour. 

Happy Friday! 

xx

Chowing Down at Chowki

Have you ever had a craving? Like a real gut-wrenching, tongue-teasing want for something so bad that when you spot what you're after, you have that eye-popping moment of pure lust? Greasy chips, for example, & dirty doner at the end of a night out? Or chocolate on a rainy day? No...? Oh, must just be me then...

Aaaaaaaanyway, the point I'm trying to make is how good it feels when something just hits the spot. And so it happened one cold Christmassy night out on the town. A few tipples later = tipsy time i.e. time to find food. With the wind making your eyes water, what better than spicy Punjabi food so your nose joins the party too? And so in the company of a well-seasoned city worker, off to Chowki (which I've just learnt is relocating, so don't go to the address I was about to give you) it was. Proper dhaba-style bench seating, Bollywood posters, Indian waiters all over - but retro-chic, bright colours encased in tall glass windows, of course. The service was good, choice extensive and the food? Lip-lickingly delicious. We went for the white box option (ha, good luck piecing that together) which was a dal pot, rice pot, naan and a curry of our choice. If you're going to ask which one, search me. Hmmmmm... Could have been something mushroomy now that I'm thinking about it.

7/10, well recommend, visit when it reopens.

xx

Chowki Indian Restaurant, currently relocating.  

Tongue Ticklers at Mamounia

If you've been reading a while, you'll know that I've been pretty much living on Prezzos, Pizzas & Paneer for a long time now (not a complaint, all three come in abundant combinations). Buuuuuuut, as much as Indian and Italian are well up there on my list of loves, what's with cutting out all that Mexico & Morocco have to mete out, all the flavour Greece has to gloat about? Let's not forget Jamaican, Japanese & Chinese, Thai, Turkish & Lebanese. Oh and smashing Spanish, super soups and sharp sushis. Mmmmmmm. 
And so I guess it's just as well that there's been a sudden but very, very, VERY welcome explosion of new restaurants close to where I live. Japanese, check. Tex-Mex, check. Fast food American style, check. But the glittering, sparkling, dazzling jewel in the crown, for when you just can't decide (/feel hungry enough to eat an elephant)? A world food buffet. More on that later though. 
At the moment I'm here to tell you of recent escapades in the Knightsbridge area. Don't you think the best evenings unfold when you hit them without a plan in place? I like to think so. Especially when you end up in a cosy, Christmassy corner you didn't expect to find. Mamounia Lounge, slap bang diagonally opposite Harrods, describes itself as broadly Middle Eastern - one glance at the decor and you'll understand why. It boasts "menus inspired by the tastes, recipes and flavours from the great cuisines of Morocco and Lebanon"... which would be numerous variations of humous, falafel, cous cous, tagine & pitta.
 Considering it's been... an age, at least, since a pitta last passed this pout (and I've never had a tagine before) I'd be hard pushed to say just how good the food was. All I can say, really, is that it was guuuuuuud. And affable, efficient service in a beautiful restaurant. Plus SO many (v)s on the menu!  

It's very rare, as a vegetarian, to be flunked with so many choices that you don't know if you've chosen right - then there was dessert we were too full to deliberate, shisha we were shivering too much to give a shot. But always a next time. 
xx
http://www.mamounialounge.com/knightsbridge/

Seasonal Surfeit

One of the best things about Christmas time, in my opinion, is the ready availability of overly indulgent, rich, luxurious and lip-lickingly delicious food, both in and out. I know there's always something special on the hob/in the fridge around my house (even leftovers are a treat in December!) but should we choose to eat out, many-a-seasonal-special on menus as well. And what with birthday celebrations, Christmas dos, family meals, dinner dates & girly catch-ups, there's a plethora of excuses to overindulge too. 

On the flip side though, one of the worst things about Christmas time is probably the ready availability of overly indulgent, rich, luxurious and lip-lickingly delicious food (!). I've been eating no less than a little piglet (I literally have a muffin top to show for it) and silly as it sounds, I'm quite looking forward to eating slightly more moderately (hey, let's not push it okay?) once the Christmas goodies, and spirit, have run out. Yes, I know how out of character that sounds for me but... a picture paints a thousand words: 

That, in case you're ogling, drooling and curious, is the Gnocchi al Quattro Formaggi I had a few nights ago at a little Italian called Zinco. I.e. hot, fresh, oven baked Gnocchi in a bubbling, creamy four cheese sauce of fontina, mascarpone, mozzarella & parmesan. As if one cheese simply wasn't lavish enough for Christmas. Mmmmmmmmmmm. Look at it. Just look at it. So extravagant (and I daresay, calorific!) I think I'm gaining weight just eyeing it up. 
Word of advice - get in the door before you embark on your post-Christmas detox. It really is one of the better Italians I've had in a long while. 
xx
Zinco, 89-91 High Street, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD17 1LN

Review: Masala Zone, Earls Court

As it turns out, plans to hit Brighton yesterday, the single nicest day of the year so far, pretty much went to pot. Sort of overslept by a good two hours you see. Hmmm. Spirits all but dashed, we were about to give in to despondency and spend the day moping when a light-bulb moment struck. With eyes and ears all over the place (trust me, I have my sources) I'd heard nothing but praise for the Ideal Home Show in Earl's Court. Gadgets, Girly Bits and Good Grub? What's not to like? Armed with an Oyster, an iPhone and (a very lovely) Boyfriend, off I trudged through the tube to spend the day meandering up and down (very, very crowded) aisles flogged with stalls displaying any and every home and lifestyle improvement idea conceivable. As this deserves a post in its own right, I'm going to let the exhibition lie for now and tell you instead about dinner. Food first, as always.

I'd been eyeing up Masala Zone for a while - probably since I'd wandered past their Covent Garden restaurant and seen, to my delight, several hundred Rajasthani rag dolls suspended from the ceiling - so spotting the restaurant as we wandered away from the exhibition was a rather pleasant surprise (especially as I’d planned a birthday meal there last week but failed to deliver - yes, again!). Noted as one of the most popular Indian restaurants around London, it sets itself apart by way of an authentic menu (none of this chicken tikka masala business) coupled with efficient, informed service (very often lacking at Indian food joints) and a visually unique experience. They serve up everything from mouth-watering street-food (tangy savouries eaten at street-side stalls, probably the main form of eating out for the Indian urban populace) to a full-on traditional three course thali - the way Indian families eat at home.

Total masala fiends, we opted for two of the street food style starters and a main of Masala Chili Paneer; tasty, spicy, tangy and an all-round taste-bud-tingling experience. The service surpassed expectation and even better, there was plenty to look at whilst we waited on our food (Masala Zone Earls Court showcases canvases by a female tribal artist from East India). Definitely the place to begin if you’re searching for the real nosh.

xxx

Masala Zone Earls Court, 147 Earls Court Road, London, SW5 9RQ