ECC Chinatown

by John Gregory-Smith

Celebrate the 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens’ birth on Tuesday 7th February with an exclusive three-day Dickensian-style tribute at the ECC Chinatown – featuring 1850′s inspired cocktails, yummy Goddard Pies and not so 1850’s music from a selection of DJ’s.

From Tuesday 7^th February, the actual day of Dickens’ birth, to the Thursday 9^th February, guests can sip on a Scotch based cocktail: the Pickwick Club Cocktail or an immensely popular hot gin punch in 19^th century England: the Bleak House Punch or yet even better warm up with a hot gin punch: the Oliver’s Twist cocktail.

London ECC Chinatown; Dickens’ 200^th anniversary party; 7^th February – 9^th February 6pm-3am; 13A Gerrard Street London, there is £5 cover charge after 11pm; experimentalcocktailclublondon.com

To make a reservation, please email: reservation@chinatownecc.com

Gü Passion Soufflés

by John Gregory-Smith

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and as if by magic, enter the new Gü Passion Soufflés – perfect for a little Valentines day treat!

The new Gü Passion Soufflés contain layers of soft peaked double cream combined with Maracuya passion fruit. All you have to do is place the ramekins on a tray and heat in the oven for 18 minutes – not bad really!

Gü Passion Soufflés available at Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Tesco stores nationwide At just £3.59 (RRP)

www.gupuds.com or www.facebook.com/GuUK.

Masterchef Tim Anderson for Oral B

We love our food but we don’t like what it can do to our teeth and now we are all (hopefully) going to live into a ripe old age our gnashers have a longer way to go. Red wine, spicy foods, fruit juices – it’s all against us in terms of protecting our tooth enamel. Knowing this Oral-B the makers of Pro-Expert toothpaste, decided to take us all along for a cooking session with Tim Anderson, winner of Masterchef, to teach us some enamel friendly recipes that have inspired us to get cooking. So we went along to The Cookery School, Little Portland Street, London where we were put through amateur chef paces.

First on the list of delights was sashimi which included a lot of exotic ingredients (all to be found at your local oriental supermarket) and was really easy to make. No cooking, just slicing and chopping and truly divine in flavour. The beautiful fish anchors the texture in your mouth with a dash of passion fruit and a cold nutty blast of seaweed. Here’s the recipe in case you want to give it a go.

Sashimi With Passion Fruit Foam and Wasabi Tsuyu Granita (serves 3) 

Sashimi

Ingredients - For the sashimi Ingredients: 300g sashimi grade tuna, mackarel, or other oily fish – yellowtail is recommended as it’s fatty and buttery in winter. Scale and fillet the fish. Try and get it done at the fishmongers. To keep the sheen effect of the fish don’t saw it. Sharp slice through. Trim into a solid rectangle. Cover with cling film and keep cool.

For the seaweed salad Ingredients: 10g dried kaiso (sea vegetable) salad, 10g hijiki (a dark-coloured grassy seaweed which is nutty and chocolatey, savoury but not salty). Soak the seaweeds in warm water for 30 minutes, until tender. Drain and reserve the seaweed water.

For the passion fruit foam The foam doesn’t have any texture or add wetness so it doesn’t intrude on the texture of the dish. Ingredients: 1 passion fruit, 30ml water, 2g lecithin, 0.25g xanthan gum (all natural ingredients!) Mix all the ingredients with a hand blender. Pass through a fine sieve and reserve.

For the wasabi granita Ingredients: 30 ml shoyu, 8g wasabi powder, 5ml rice vinegar, 5ml mirin, 5 dashi no moto powder, some ice. Granita is a fancy slush. Blitz all ingredients together in a food processor into a chunky slush. Keep frozen until ready to plate up.

To serve Slice the fish into 1cm thick strips. Place a mound of seaweed salad in the center of the bowl, and arrange the fish on top. Spoon some granita on top of the fish. Whip the foam mixture with a hand blender until frothy, and add 3-4 small spoonfuls of foam around the plate. Place a small sprig of dill sticking out of each bit of foam.

Our second and spectacular dish was a Hen’s Nest of Tea-stained Egg, Leek Bhaji Nest and Chana Masala Puree. A show-stopper of a dish…

Hen’s Nest of Tea-stained Egg, Leek Bhaji Nest and Chana Masala Puree

Everyone left with big smiles and no small thanks to Oral-B Pro-Expert who made it all happen. Their All-Around antibacterial and fluoride toothpaste has taken twenty years to develop and has only just been made available in the UK. They describe it as ‘teflon for teeth’ as it coats the teeth before and helps after staining food and drinks. The biggest challenge as we live longer is enamel erosion not cavities and we have a problem with plaque, gum disease, sensitivity, caries, staining and tartar – and let’s face it we all like to avoid the dentist as much as possible. Anything too acidic will rot teeth and the experts at Oral-B advise regular rinsing with water after food and using a mouthwash regularly. Of course they have their own,  Oral-B Anti-Plaque Alcohol-free Mouth Rinse which is not too strong and widely available.

The Savoy Grill

by John Gregory-Smith

Fancy a bit of vintage dining? Well, this January gin brand Bombay Sapphire and The Savoy Hotel have teamed up to bring you a glamorous 1920’s, vintage inspired eight-course menu and cocktail pairing, showcased at the Bombay Sapphire Chef’s Table at the Savoy Grill restaurant.

Head Chef Andy Cook has created a vintage ‘Rich and Poor’ themed menu, reflecting the transitional period between the two classes and economies that existed during the 1920’s. The menu will be complimented by 1920s themed Bombay Sapphire cocktails created specially by Head Mixologist Sam Carter.

You can expect food for the rich, including rock oysters served with a

Bombay Sapphire Aviation Fizz and roasted rack of veal served with a Bombay Sapphire Gin Cobbler and food for the poor, including Fish stew and Welsh rarebit.

The 1920s eight-course menu costs £150 per person (A maximum of eight guests per seating). Available from January – March 2012. Bookings made via The Savoy Grill restaurant.

www.gordonramsay.com/thesavoygrill

saf Express

by John Gregory-Smith

The award winning Saf has just opened Saf Express on the Fifth Floor of Harvey Nichols London. Saf is committed to providing a healthy lifestyle using predominantly plant based ingredients and also specialises in raw food, which is prepared below 48˚C to preserve optimum flavour and nutrition.

Saf Express will provide balanced meal combinations that are tailored to provide specific health benefits, such as weight loss, detox and immune boost.

www.harveynichols.com

Léon de Bruxelles

by John Gregory-Smith

This week saw the opening of one Léon de Bruxelles in Covent Garden, the first international branch of one of Belgium’s oldest and best loved restaurants, Chez Léon, which is famed for its exceptional moules frites and hearty Flemish classics.

Léon de Bruxelles will be keeping things simple, serving different varieties of mussel, from the classic Marinière to the more unusual Ardennaise, with white wine, crème fraiche, smoked bacon and mushrooms and Au gratin with a trio of cheeses. They also have a choice of Flemish Classsics, like Carbonnade of beer braised beef with frites and fillet or entrecôte steak.

Léon de Bruxelles is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

www.leon-de-bruxelles.co.uk

Cadbury's Thumbs Up

by John Gregory-Smith

To celebrate reaching a massive one million fans on its Facebook, Cadbury Dairy Milk have built a giant ‘thumbs-up’ sculpture of the Facebook symbol, using no less than one million chunks of chocolate.

The sculpture was made using 25,000 Dairy Milk bars and stands over three meters tall. Yummy!!!

www.facebook.com/cadburydairymilk

Chinese New Year - Year of the Dragon

by John Gregory-Smith

Happy Chinese New Year everyone!

Today is the start of the Year of the Dragon, a symbol of good fortune and intense power! A traditional feast is always prepared to celebrate the occasion.

At the moment we are spoilt for choice with fantastic Chinese restaurants to visit. Yauatcha recently topped a favorites poll (on Qyke) and the Hakkasan brand is going from strength to strength. Even London’s China Town is having a revival, with Empress of Sichuan and Leong’s Legends doing fantastic food.

Manchurian Legends

Manchurian Legends, which opened in Chinatown last year, is a favourite of mine. It serves firey hot Dongbei food – which is a region in the north East corner of China, consisting of three provinces. Its harsh conditions mean the food is hearty, rustic and very spicy! Be sure to check out the wonderfully hot lamb skewers and the stir-fried bean curd with pork and chilli pepper.

www.manchurianlegends.com

Dim Sum at Royal China Queens Way

Dim sum at Royal China Queens Way is a classic. I love it. It’s so popular that on the weekend there is always a queue of people patiently meercating to see into the restaurant and the delicious steamy delights that await them inside. It’s well worth it as the dim sum is delicate and light. The scallop dumplings are some of the best I have ever had.

www2.royalchinagroup.biz

Archer Street Ground Level

I discovered Archer Street cocktail bar last year and knew it would be just the place to take team BATD for our Christmas party, they had no idea what to expect and by 11pm they were dancing on the tables, so I think they liked it!

Archer Street is tucked away in South Soho, on a road you probably wouldn’t really know unless you know Buco di Lupo, the fantastic Italian restaurant which is just opposite. Their new deli and gelateria is also just next door, so now you have a new street to explore. It is really hard to find a nice bar in Soho, no really it is!  I like to sit down, I like to be able to speak and hear the people I am out with and  yes I know I am getting old, thanks.

Archer Street have the friendliest most welcoming staff, make incredible cocktails, in a relaxed and lovely atmosphere, oh and they have singing barmen and women. Really what’s not to love?

Archer Street Lower Ground Level

There are two main floors to Archer Street; a smart and buzzing lounge upstairs (with decor we’d quite like in our living room please) and a slightly larger bar area downstairs that can get quite busy and turn into a dance floor, would be great for larger parties. Whatever the size of your party though, you’re bound to have a great evening here – especially if you stay late enough to witness the bar staff mic-up and give some fabulous renditions of pop/rock/theatre classics between DJ sets. The guy and girl that sang at our Christmas ‘do’ were AMAZING.

I have been reluctant to write about this bar, because I like it exactly as it is, so if you head down there, be friendly and I’ll see you there. Archer Street Wine Bar, don’t go changing, we love you just the way you are.

www.archerstreet.co.uk

3-5 Archer Street,
South Soho
W1D7AP

ohso chocolate

by John Gregory Smith

Harvey Nichols have just launched ohso – a probiotic chocolate bar, made from 53% Belgian chocolate and clinically proven to be three times more effective at delivering your daily probiotics than a yoghurt drink, and at only 72 calories they’re also less calorific.

Available exclusively at Harvey Nichols Foodmarkets nationwide, priced at £3.95 for a pack of 7.

www.harveynichols.com