How to make rabbit, bacon and cider pie (Canteen: Great British Food)

In celebration of Easter I became a bunny boiler. Quite literally. I decided to test out the new cookbook, Canteen: Great British Food, by cooking the recipe for rabbit, bacon and cider pie. The cookbook includes what are billed as Canteen's "signature dishes" and promises 120 British recipes. The book itself is fairly plain and no nonsense looking with a simple brown cover and stark, simple photographs inside. There is a whole chapter devoted to pies and another to stews. There is also quite a handy section at the back which gives you the details as to how to make basics like stock, mayonnaise and custard from scratch. If you want a closer look at the book you can flick through it here.

Sage, Thyme and Bay leaves for the pie

I tested out two recipes from the book and the first, pork belly with apples was a bit of a failure. The pork belly itself was tasty enough but following the books instructions did not result in crispy, golden crackling. I prefer my usual method of drying and salting the crackling rather than the method prescribed by the cookbook which is just to crank up the oven at the end and place the crackling under the grill. I fared much better with the rabbit, bacon and cider pie. Although baking the pie did require me to come face to face with a little bunny. Although skinned and gutted he still had his little head and paws and this recipe should probably be avoided by the squeamish or those with a particular attachment to Easter bunnies. If you like Canteen's back to basics style food then this is a good cookbook for you but be careful about the recipes that you choose as I have had mixed results. Best wishes for a lovely Easter break.

The rabbit, vegetables and herbs ready to go in the oven

Ingredients

1 rabbit (the cookbook specifies wild but I could only get my hands on farmed)

1 onion, diced

100g celeraic, diced

1 carrot, diced

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 sprig of fresh sage

1 sprig of fresh thyme

1 sprig of fresh rosemary

2 bay leaves

200ml meat stock

200ml cider

Salt and pepper to season

Filling

20g butter

100g dry cure streaky bacon, cut into strips

150g leaks, diced

15g plain white flour

20g fresh parsley

700g puff pastry

1 egg, beaten

The finished pie

1. Preheat the oven to 150C. Season the rabbit inside and out, then place in a casserole dish.

2. Add the onion, celeraic, carrot, garlic, thyme, rosemary, sage, bay leaves, stock, cider and season. Cover and bake for 1 hour.

3. Lift out the rabbit and set aside. Pour the liquid and vegetables into a sieve set over a bowl to strain the liquid. Discard the herb stalks. Reserve the liquid and vegetables separately.

4. Pick the meat off the rabbit, discarding the skin and bones.

5. Melt the butter in a saucepan and fry the bacon for 4-5 minutes until browned then add the leaks and sweat for 5 minutes until soft, finally add the flour and cook for 2 minutes.

6. Add the reserved cooking liquid, mixing in well then add the reserved vegetables and rabbit meat. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

7. Add the parsley, stir and remove from the heat. Allow to cool completely.

8. Butter the inside of a 28-30cm pie dish that is at least 8cm deep.

9. Roll out the pastry on a well floured board (flour your rolling pin as well to make it easier) to at thickness of 3 mm. Cut out a piece of pastry which is large enough to line the base of the dish and the sides with room for some overhang. Place in the dish leaving the edges hanging over the sides. Brush the overhand with a little of the beaten egg.

10. Fill with the cold pie filling and cut a piece of pastry for the lid. Lay this over the filling and pinch the edges of the lid to the edges of the pastry lining of the dish to seal them together. Trim off the extra pastry with a knife.

11. Cut three or four 1cm slits in the lid to allow steam to escape during baking. Brush the lid with the egg glaze and bake for 35-45 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and the filling is bubbling around the edges. Serve.

Links

For Easter cooking that doesn't involve bunnies try this recipe for best-ever hot cross buns or you can read my review of Canteen.

Gourmet Chick received a complimentary copy of the book to review.

Naked Japan

Head over to Melbourne: Hot or Not for my guest post on Naked Japan in Melbourne, Australia. These gyoza ($6 for 5) looked the goods with their skin straining to accomodate the filling of mince, cabbage, ginger and onion. Just the thing to whet your appetite for the rest of the post...

Essentials

Details: 99 Victoria Avenue, Albert Park, Vic, Australia (Ph +61 3 9686 8199)

Damage: Reasonable

5/10

Links

Check out my post on my top ten restaurants in Melbourne or for a taste of Melbourne style food in London try Lantana cafe.

The Lanesborough

"There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea": Henry James

The cake stand in all it's glory

With copious amounts of pomp and ceremony, afternoon tea at The Lanesborough is an event to be savoured. While Henry James' suggests one hour is sufficient, yesterday I managed a leisurely two hour afternoon tea session with Mathilde's Cuisine, Greedy Diva and Food for Think. We nibbled and nattered to our hearts content at The Lanesborough, one of those swanky Knightsbridge hotels that no-one you know could ever afford to stay at. What you can do though, is soak up a bit of the ritzy atmosphere by indulging in afternoon tea. The afternoon tea is held in the main dining room which looks a little like I imagine Buckingham palace does. The room is an opulent large atrium filled with white linen clad tables and plush sofas while in the background a pianist tinkles away.

Goats cheese and red onion quiches

Afternoon tea at The Lanesborough costs £35 and includes a two hour session of basically as much as you can eat and as much tea as you can drink. In the interests of being able to sample the whole afternoon tea menu (and let's face it, get our moneys worth) we had all skipped lunch and so were absolutely starving by the time we arrived at the hotel. Luckily we were presented immediately with a fabulous pre-afternoon tea amuse bouche of a shot glass containing a creamy cheese cake topped with berries.

The sandwich tier

The Lanesborough takes the tea part of afternoon tea seriously. It has it's own tea sommelier, Karl Kessab, and was awarded the UK Tea Council's 'Award of Excellence' last year and 'London's best afternoon tea' the year before. I couldn't spot the sommelier on our visit but our waiter was very knowledgeable about the tea menu and I ended up choosing the silver tip tea which is a white tea made from the first spring buds. It had a really light and refreshing taste and I could have sat and drank it all day. The service generally was both cosseting and indulgent. As you would expect from a five star hotel the tea was served in gleaming sterling silver tea pots and there were no less than three choices of sugar to add to the tea. That's the kind of place The Lanesborough is.

Scone filled with jam and cream

Aside from the tea, the main event was of course the heavily laden cake stand arriving. Firstly, goats cheese and red onion quiches which were superb little mouthfuls. Then the sandwich tier which included the obligatory cucumber sandwiches, sandwiches filled with chicken and sun dried tomato paste and egg filled brioche rolls. While the sandwich fillings were varied and satisfying some of the bread on the sandwiches could have been fresher. However, I had no such complaints about the scones which were fluffy and fresh and served with some of the best strawberry jam I have ever tasted (along with clotted cream and lemon curd). Best of all the scones just kept on coming and we managed to demolish almost two servings. The next tier was filled with friands: a death by chocolate style chocolate friand, a dense carrot cake and nut friand and a friand with a tart lemon flavour. Finally, at the top of the stand teetered delicate confectionery creations including a truly exquisite meringue and gingernut confection and a slice made with a cream cheese filling and fruity topping.

The friand tier

Two hours and several tiers of cake and scones later we had enjoyed a truly decadent afternoon. Just around the corner from Buckingham palace, the Lanesborough is a great place to savour a quintessentially British experience. We left the hotel feeling like we were pampered princesses. In any event, we were princesses who would not need to eat anything for dinner.

The sweet tier

Essentials

Details: Hyde Park Corner, Knightsbridge SW1X 7TA (Ph 020 7259 5599) Tube: Hyde Park Corner. Afternoon tea is served daily at 4, 4.30 and 5 - plump for the 4pm sitting so that you can linger longer.

Damage: Budget breaking

8/10

Links

If you are looking for afternoon tea in London, Sketch also does a great afternoon tea in surroundings that are more quirky than ritzy, for a cheaper option try Betty Blythe in Brooks Green.

How to make potato rostis with smoked salmon

I've been feeling sorry for myself this weekend as I have a cold so I have cancelled all social activities and bunkered down at home. This has meant that I have been cooking elaborate meals in the hope of reviving my flagging appetite. What could be more self indulgent than a breakfast of smoked salmon? I decided that the perfect accompaniment would be my own recipe for potato rostis. These take a little bit of effort but are well worth the time. The trick is to make sure that the potato mixture is dry so that it sticks together and to ensure that you don't make the rostis too large so that they are difficult to turn in the pan. Other than that, the potato rostis are really quite straight forward and were just the thing to cheer me up. If these taste good to me with a cold, imagine how much better they will taste to you.

Ingredients

2 large potatoes (300g in total) - I only had small potatoes which take a bit more work to peel

30g butter, melted

30ml olive oil

Salt and pepper to season

100g smoked salmon.

Flat leaf parsley

1 tsp wholegrain mustard

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp white wine vinegar

Grating the potatoes

1. Peel and grate the potatoes and pat with paper towel to try and get the mixture as dry as possible. Mix in a bowl with the butter, salt and pepper.

The potato mixture

2. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat.

3. Spoon 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of the mixture into the pan and form into a round, flat shape. Turn the rosti once you can see the pan side browning and cook until the rosti is golden on both sides. Drain on paper towel.

4. Repeat step 3 with the remaining mixture you should be able to make 4 to 5 rostis. If you cook the rostis together be careful not to over crowd the pan.

5. Serve by putting two of the rostis on each plate and topping with smoked salmon.

6. Mix the mustard, lemon juice and white wine vinegar together and drizzle over the top. Garnish with the parsley.

Serves 2.

Note: If you are wondering why the salmon in the picture looks a little anemic that is because I got it from Daylesford Organic who apparently feed their salmon prawn shells amongst other things which gives it the pale pink colour.

Links

If you liked reading this you might be interested in another great breakfast recipe for banana and ricotta hotcakes. If you would prefer someone else to cook your brunch try The Albion.

Empress of Sichuan

Going out for Sichuan is the new going out for a curry in London. It's just the thing to do after you have had a few drinks and want to enjoy some seriously spicy food to wash them down. So, the question is where to go? Empress of Sichuan is a relative newcomer to London's burgeoning Sichuan restaurant scene. The restaurant is located in the heart of Chinatown and looks a step above most of the surrounding restaurants, yes there menus are in plastic sleeves but there is also white linen on the tables, moody lighting and a wine collection displayed in racks near the door.

Kung pao chicken

I visited Empress of Sichuan with three other foodie friends, American in London, Laissez Fare and Martin. American in London had eaten at Empress of Sichuan previously (you can read her review here) and had been impressed so was keen for a return visit. We arrived on a rainy night with no booking at almost 10pm at night (and yes after a few drinks as well) but the staff were still happy to accomodate us. The menu is extensive and divided into cold entrees, poultry, seafood, vegetables, meat, noodles and special Sichuan hot pots. We needed food to soak up alcohol though so we turned to the kung pao chicken (£10.50). It is hot, hot, hot with big flakes of dried chilli and Sichuan pepper scattered throughout. Wham! As soon as I bite into it I get that cool mouth feel of Sichuan pepper that is so addictive. American in London is critical of inclusion of cashews in the dish rather than peanuts but as a cashew fan I can't complain.

Ma po tofu

Ma po tofu (£7.50) is packed with more of the ubiquitous chilli nestled amongst the cubes of tofu and minced pork. The tofu has a lovely silken texture as it swims in thick chilli sauce. Minced pork also adds flavour to the twice fried green beans (£8.50) which are very moreish but lacking the delicious dryness of those on offer at Bar Shu. For lovers of fatty pork (and who isn't?) Empress of Sichaun's dong po pigs joint (£13.80) is a real treat. The meat is pulled by the waitress of the bone at your table and the chunks of tender pork are real melt in the mouth material. This is one of the restaurants signature dishes and I like the large, share with your friends serving style but I think the dish itself could do with a bit more chilli given that it is a Sichuan restaurant.

Twice fried beans

That said, Empress of Sichuan is a great mid range restaurant, striking a nice balance between the surrounding cheap and cheerful Chinese restaurants and high end restaurants such as Hakkasan. Our bill came to £15 each (admittedly with hardly any alcohol) which is great value for this part of London. When I am craving a Sichuan fix I am glad to know that there is another option in town to sate my addiction.

Dong pao pork joint

Essentials

Details: 6 Lisle street, China Town, WC2H 7BG (Ph 0207 734 8128) Tube: Leicester Square

Damage: Reasonable

7/10

Links

If you liked reading this you may be interested in Bar Shu which is a nearby Sichuan restaurant and Chilli Cool another Sichuan restaurant in Kings Cross.

Kandy (Gourmet Chick in Sri Lanka)

Kandy Muslim Hotel

Sri Lankan cuisine is criminally underrated. I can only compare it to Indian food but with more seafood and more spices. Sri Lankan food is hot, hot, hot. One of the hottest meals we had during our time in Sri Lanka was at the tiny locals restaurant in Kandy, Kandy Muslim Hotel. Our guide Padmah tried to warn us when we suggested lunch at Kandy Muslim Hotel that it "was not a restaurant for tourists". Perfect. Sure enough we were the only non-locals in the place and attracted much good natured attention. The restaurant is fairly scruffy with communal tables and well worn plastic menus. At the front of the restaurant in a little booth a chef stands expertly twirling and twisting dough into roti.

Roti making

We started by ordering a plate of the roti (R 60) which was paper thin and light. Copying our table mates, we washed our hands before the meal using the jug of water and bowl at the table and then ate our meal with our right hand. Cutlery isn't generally used in Sri Lanka which takes some getting used to but is quite fun once you get the hang of it. The chicken curry (R 180) comprises a small leg of chicken, dahl and a huge platter of rice reflecting the value of protein in Sir Lanka. The curry is so hot it is almost unbearable, a meal for real curry masochists. Less spicy is the chicken biryani (R 140) where flakes of chicken are scattered amongst rice and quarters of boiled egg.

Curry and condiments

The no frills nature of Kandy Muslim Hotel only added to its appeal. We had a really exciting and interesting meal there for a ridiculously cheap price. Our waiter was incredibly friendly and took time out from his busy afternoon to spend a good amount of time discussing the ins and outs of Ricky Pontings career with MTV boyfriend. A real gem of a place.

Details: Dalada Vidiya, Kandy, Sri Lanka.

Damage: Such a bargain even my mother would approve. The equivalent of £3 for lunch for two.

9/10

Helga's Folly

Perched high above the hills of Kandy, Helga's Folly has some of the most madcap and eccentric decor you will ever see. The folly is a famous boutique hotel and restaurant although I fear it has seen better days and is looking rather faded. I was glad we were staying elsewhere. The walls are chock full with golden statues of Buddah, Indonesian shadow puppets and deers head fight for position on the walls. It was lucky there was lots to look at as service was creakingly show and we waited over an hour for lunch.

The dining room at Helga's Folly

The only option we were given for lunch was a set three course lunch for USD$20 a person. This was more than we really wanted to eat for lunch, but we weren't given any choice. To begin we were served coconut soup in a coconut shell. This was the highlight, creamy with a hint of ginger. From the mains, the tuna and potato fish cakes were the size of small footballs and laced with hot green chillis. I could not even finish one as the chilli hit was masking the stodgy, monotonous taste. A better option was the chicken with sweet potato which featured a generous serve of chicken served with rice and chunks of sweet potato. Still, these unexciting mains were a let down after the delicious soup starter. The whole meal took so long to arrive that we did not have time to stay for dessert (although we were still charged full price for the lunch). Helga's folly is worth a visit just to see the faded grandeur but it is probably best to just stop for a drink rather than a meal.

Fish cakes

Details: Off Mahamaya Mawatha, Kandy, Sri Lanka (Ph +94 814 474 314)

Damage: Budget breaking

5/10

Kandy House

The exterior of Kandy House

While in Kandy, we stayed at the Kandy House, a beautiful old Walawwa which I highly recommend. Dinner was served under the cover of the old verandah surrounded by flickering lanterns in the jungle garden. One night of our stay the chefs cooked a variety of curries for R 2750 (the equivalent of £15 a head). Our table was piled high with a fiery beef curry, a milder, almost creamy cuttle fish curry and a sweet and sour vegetable dish of brinjal moju. Next up came a, so hot it brings tears to your eyes, breadfruit curry along with a beetroot curry, pol sambol and papadams. To finish a fabulously rich mango kulfi studded with nuts. The price of the curries was pretty steep when compared to Kandy Muslim House but given the spectacular setting and atmosphere it was a price that we were happy to pay.

Mango kulfi

Details: Amunugama, Gunnepana, Kandy, Sri Lanka (Ph +94 81 492 1394). People who are not guests at Kandy House dine there by calling ahead to book.

Damage: Pricey

8/1o

Tips for Travellers

We stayed at Kandy House which is a boutique hotel housed in an old Walawwa about 20 minutes outside of Kandy. The setting is fantastic, right in the middle of paddy fields and jungle and the house has been restored with beautifully to house only 8 rooms. There is also a fantastic infinity pool that you will never want to leave. It was pricey but luxurious at USD$195 a night.

While in Kandy walk around the lake, visit the brilliantly named Temple of the Sacred Tooth and check out the Kandy botanic gardens.

Links

If you liked reading this you might be interested in the cooking course we did in Sri Lanka near Galle.

At The Heads: Gourmet Chick on the Surf Coast

Sometimes the food doesn't matter that much. When the sky is a perfect cornflower blue and the sun is shining and you are sitting in a restaurant built in an old beach box on the edge of the water. At The Heads in Barwon Heads has to be one of the most picture perfect locations to dine at. So perfect in fact that it was used as a location for the Australian TV series Seachange. The stunning views mean that At The Heads doesn't have to try too hard with its food to keep the tables full. Everything tastes better when you are eating it watching the waves lap against the pier, sunbakers outside the caravan park and fisherman navigating the shallow waters in their tinnies.

Entrance to the restaurant

Mum took me to At The Heads for a lunch time treat. How old do you have to be before your Mum stops treating you? I guess it never stops. The restaurant itself is fairly simple, taking advantage of those show stopping views with timber tables and chairs and big picture windows lining the walls. In the summer time they open up the doors leading out onto the ocean so that a sea breeze blows through. Given the location, the menu focuses mainly on seafood but the chef has not left any bases uncovered and all the crowd pleasers are also there like pizza, chicken parma, lamb shank and steak.

Dips and bread to share

To begin, dips and bread ($20 for a sharing for two) arrive on a big wooden serving platter. The bread is a crunchy foccacia flecked with herbs and served oven hot. There is a little confusion as to what the dips are as the menu listed a carrot dip and none of these dips seem to be carrot, however it turns out we have beetroot, eggplant and a zucchini dip instead. The eggplant dip is the pick of the bunch with a lovely creamy texture. I was looking forward to that carrot dip.

King George Whiting

The chicken caesar salad ($18) comprises a big bowl of crisp cos lettuce leaves with grilled chicken, boiled egg, bacon, croutons and a creamy dressing. Anchovies aren't included which is actually the historically correct way to make a caesar salad (even if the chicken addition is perhaps not quite so authentic). A plump, pearly fillet of King George Whiting ($20) is coated in a thick batter and served with chunky chips, salad and a pot of mayonnaise. The batter could be crisper but the fish is fresh and flavoursome.

There are no food fireworks here but when you walk away from At The Heads what you will remember is the stunning location and the pure enjoyment of wiling away an hour or so in the sunshine over a meal.

View Gourmet Chick Victoria in a larger map

Essentials

Details: Jetty Road, Barwon Heads, Australia (Ph +61 3 5254 1277)

Damage: Reasonable

7/10

Links

If you liked reading this you might be interested in some other lovely lunches in nearby Melbourne at The Royal Saxon and Mama's Boy.

How to make coconut pancakes (Cooking course in Sri Lanka)

My tan is already starting to fade but luckily on my honeymoon in Sri Lanka I did a cooking course so I do have a type of memento in the form of some great Sri Lankan recipes. The course was with the lovely Karuna at Sonja's Health Food Restaurant at Unawatuna which is 10 minutes outside of Galle. Sonja herself moved on quite a few years ago and Karuna now uses the restaurant exclusively for cooking classes which involve a tour of the Galle markets to buy provisions and then an afternoon spent whipping up curries. The course is not super organised (there are no written recipes and I had to scribble them down myself) and the restaurant itself is quite ramshackle but Karuna is a great teacher with an infectious laugh. Another bonus is that you get to do everything yourself, rather than just watching Karuna, although she does lend a helping hand particularly when you feel like your arm is about to fall off from grating so much coconut.

Galle market tour with Karuna

The curries that we made were some of the best I had during my time in Sri Lanka, but first to start the day we made some coconut pancakes to snack on. We made the pancakes using fresh coconut which is sometimes hard to get your hands on (and even harder to crack open) so I have adapted Karuna's recipe below and included substitutions for dessicated coconut.

Grating the fresh coconut

Ingredients

1 coconut or 250g dessicated coconut

200g plain flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp tumeric powder

1 1/2 cups water

1 cup treacle

1/2 tsp coconut oil (use vegetable oil if no coconut oil available)

2 limes

Cooking the coconut and treacle mix

1. Half the coconut and grate the coconut flesh (you will need one of these, grate the coconut by turning the handle and pressing the flesh into the grinder) or use dessicated coconut instead.

2. Add 1 cup of water and the treacle to a frying pan on high heat and then mix in the coconut and then stir to reduce the mixture until all the moisture has been removed. This will take around 10 minutes. Set aside once cooked.

3. Mix the flour, salt, tumeric and 1/2 a cup of water until smooth to form the pancake mix.

Cooking the pancake mix

4. Add the coconut oil to a small frying pan and once sizzling pour in a thin coating of pancake mix to form one pancake. Once the pancake starts to bubble and moves easily in the pan, flip the pancake so that it is cooked on both sides.

5. Remove the pancake from the pan and place a large spoonful of the coconut mix at one side of the pancake, squeeze some fresh lime on top and then roll the pancake up, tucking in the ends like a burrito.

Pancake prior to rolling

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for the remaining pancake mix taking care to clean the pan between pancakes.

7. Serve the coconut pancakes with fresh lime wedges to squeeze on top.

Details

Essentials: Karuna's cooking course, Sonjas Health Food Restaurant, Beach road, Unawatatuna, Sri Lanka (Ph +91 77 961 5310)

Damage: 3000 Rs (roughly £17) which includes a market tour and all your ingredients.

Tips for travellers

We stayed in nearby Galle (15 minutes away in a tuk-tuk) at the stunning Galle Fort Hotel which is a boutique hotel in a lovingly restored old merchants home. Each room is filled with antique and huge beds with beautiful white linen. The rooms face onto a central courtyard which has a terrace for a restaurant and a swimming pool. Rooms from USD$140 a night.

Links

If you liked reading this you might be interested in reading about other cooking courses you can do on your travels like La Maison Arabe school in Morocco or Cook'n with Class in Paris.

Bloody French (revisited)

When I first visited Bloody French in September 2008 I said that... Bloody French in Notting Hill prides itself on being French. So there is tap water, there is bread at no charge and best of all there is no "discretionary" service charge. I get so annoyed with the London discretionary 12.5% service charge. It is not discretionary at all, and by being a set amount it gives no encouragement to give excellent or even just good service. So I am so happy when I go somewhere that lets you choose your own tip. Why don't more places do this?

Lamb shank

The other good thing about Bloody French is that a couple of week nights it is BYO. What a treat to bring your own wine. MTV boyfriend and I had been before on a weekend and had a lovely meal at which we resolved there and then to come back on a BYO weeknight. So off we went last night with our "House Guest" Sully clutching a bottle of very nice French red. The decor is fairly nice, plain with large windows facing onto Westbourne grove and solid wooden tables with place mats made from photocopies of Le Monde. So far, so good. The first disappointment of the night was the fact that of all the weeknights Bloody French is BYO, Wednesday is not one of them. So our nice bottle sat in the bag and we ordered a not half as good bottle of French red, Torraine Gamay (£18). If you go there, I wouldn't order the Torraine Gamay. On our revist we got the right night for BYO (Sunday to Tuesday) so enjoyed a great bottle of Pfeiffer Shiraz which was a Christmas present.

All was not lost, they still had the tap water and the bread. The bread was good - super fresh baguette and generously refilled three (!) times. None of the entrees really grabbed us (and we had eaten way too much bread) so we went straight to mains. The choices were all French bistro staples: Sully opted for the lamb shank, MTV boyfriend (predictably) the steak and I ordered the lemon sole. Of these three, the lamb shank was probably the pick of the bunch it was slow braised and served with mashed potato and spinach. "Bloody good!" Sully said. MTV boyfriend's steak was not such a success. He thought it was a little chewy and it was served with french fries which MTV boyfriend had been quite excited about. Comically, the french fries comprised only 6 french fries artistically arranged in a geometrical pattern on a side plate. MTV boyfriend was devastated. My lemon sole in a brown butter sauce was fairly bland and sauceless. The grilled vegetables it was served with were good, however the spinach had not been washed prior to steaming and so was still gritty.

Boeuf bourguinon

On our revisit MTV boyfriend ordered the lamb shank ($14.50), still on the menu but now served with rice and a tiny pot of roasted potatoes and vegetables. I thought the lamb shank could have been slow cooked a little further as the meat was not really falling off the bone but the rich, glossy sauce was adequate compensation. The boeuf bourguinon ($12.90) was hearty stuff that didn't try to dazzle with a nicely judged sauce and tender slow cooked chunks of beef nestled amongst shallots and lardons.

Bloody French redeemed itself somewhat with dessert. MTV boyfriend had the creme brulee as he cannot go past creme brulee on a menu. He could tell that it had been reheated but thought it was still decent enough. On our revisit, what a surprise, MTV boyfriend ordered the creme brulee again ($6). It had a thick caramel topping and perfect creamy interior but disappointingly it was served completely cold so it was clear that the top had not been caramalised immediately before serving.

Creme brulee

I went for the chocolate pudding as I also find that hard to resist on a menu. It was divine. A crispy cake like exterior, and rich gooey chocolate spilling from the centre. Bloody French has so much going for it, however the general quality of the food was not fantastic on this visit (with the exception of Sully's lamb shank and my dessert). We still gave them a good tip and felt much better for doing so given that we had a choice in the matter. Let that be a lesson to all the "discretionary" service charge places. If you go on one of the BYO nights, Bloody French is great value for money, our total bill came to £35. I think the food has improved since our last visit although don't come expecting culinary fireworks.

Essentials

Details: 149 Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill W11 2RS Ph: 0207 727 7770 (Tube: Notting Hill Gate)

Damage: Pricey

6/10

Links

If you liked reading this you might be interested in reviews of other French restaurants in London: Coq d'argent and Galvin Bistrot de Luxe.

Mama's Boy

I arrived back in London last night after a fantastic wedding and honeymoon. I am a little sad it is all over but it is nice to be home and MTV boyfriend (I just can't bring myself to call him MTV husband it sort of sounds silly) and I have been flicking through photos and talking about our trip. As always a big part of our travels was all the eating and drinking and I still have a few great places to tell you about in Melbourne before I can even begin on Sri Lanka. One of those is Mama's Boy, a new cafe that has opened in Melbourne's CBD at the top end of Collins Street.

Blackboard listing recipes

I met up with my friends Joyce, Ev and Dan for lunch there. You can read Joyce's review of our lunch here. The first thing to say about Mama's Boy is that it is tiny. I had read reviews of it online but had not appreciated just how small the cafe is. There are a handful of small marble topped tables inside and a little outdoor seating on the table as well. They make good use of the space though and the little shopfront is enlivened by the cool chalkboard listing recipes on the back wall. There is a stand full of complimentary newspapers and magazines making this a good place to eat solo and the cafe also seems to do a roaring takeaway trade in baguettes and sandwiches to go.

Vietnamese chicken salad

Breakfast runs until 11.30 (which is an early cut off for Melbourne) at which stage the lunch menu swings into action. It offers the same baguettes and sandwiches to eat in along with quesadillas, toasties ($8.50), salads and one or two hot dishes which change daily. The sandwiches are mammoth in size and the roasted pumpkin sandwich ($8) came on thick toasted multigrain bread oozing roasted pumpkin puree. In fact every dish we ordered seemed to be sized for giants. The dish that said it all was the Vietnamese chicken salad ($9.50). The huge bowl was chock full of bean sprouts, wombok, shredded chicken, grated carrot, coriander, mint and topped with crispy shallots. It had a great citrus dressing on that added a bit of definition to the jumble of ingredients. It was a sensational lunch and a ridiculously large serving, I pride myself on the size of my appetite but I could only get through half of the salad.

Vegetarian salad

The vegetarian salad ($9.50) was equally huge in size and comprised a bowful of fresh spinach leaves mixed with toasted pinenuts, pumpkin and a balsamic dressing. The hot dish on offer was a Mussaman curry ($13) which was served with a rich, creamy curry sauce coating tender chicken pieces and flecked with specks of red hot chilli.

Chicken curry

The coffee on offer at Mama's Boy is Vittoria and my latte ($2.80) was spot on (although lets face it, this is Melbourne's CBD so generally the coffee is pretty good). If I lived in Melbourne I would certainly be back but I think I may take a friend and order the Vietnamese Chicken salad to share.

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Essentials

Details: 13 Little Collins Street, Melbourne CBD, 3000, Australia (Ph +61 3 9662 2166)

Damage: Such a bargain even my mother would approve

7/10

Links

If you liked reading this you might be interested in my review of another great Melbourne lunch spot, Three Bags Full. In London for a quick lunch (and good coffee) in the main business area try Dose.

Vi'em Cafe

Londoners (myself included) love to extoll the virtues of the Vietnamese restaurants in Kingsland road. However, the delights of Kingsland road pale in comparison when compared with the wall to wall Vietnamese restaurants that line Victoria street in Melbourne, Australia. Having travelled in Vietnam I can honestly say that the Vietnamese food you can get on Victoria street is just as good as the food I ate there, albeit more expensive. That's not to say Victoria street is expensive, it is one of the cheapest places in Melbourne to eat particularly given that every restaurant is BYO.

Some Melburnians like going back to a tried and true favourite on Victoria street time and time again however I prefer to have a go at one of the restaurants I have never tried before (there are so many Vietnamese restaurants on Victoria street that it would take serious cash, time and appetite to make it to them all - although a journalist from The Age did attempt this feat). So I was delighted when my friend Jo said that she had found a new favourite that had opened in the time I had been in London, Vi'em.

Rare beef salad

The great thing about Vi'em is that it looks pretty similar to the restaurants in Vietnam. It has got a big outdoor seating area under a verandah, a TV blaring, a shrine and even a water feature. Jamie Durie eat your heart out. It's certainly not stylish but the authenticity of the decor gave me hope about the authenticity of the food. Service is smiles all round and we are quickly provided with water and a thermos full of tea to sip at while we select from the laminated menu. If we wanted to bring our own wine or beer a corkage charge of $4.50 was required. We decide to share the rare beef salad ($18.50) a monster of a serving size bursting at the seams with tender pink slivers of beef, hot red chillis, lashings of coriander and heaps of bean sprouts. The interplay between the different flavours makes this dish real party-in-the-mouth territory.

Stuffed squid

We also share the stuffed squid ($12.50) which is tightly packed with a mixture of minced prawns and pork and served with a sweet chilli dipping sauce. Unfortunately the squid itself has been overcooked and so has taken on a hard rubbery texture. Still, I would go back to Vi'em on the strength of the rare beef salad and the smiling waiting staff alone. Given the bustle of the Vietnamese supermarkets, the myriad of restaurants and the community feel of the road visitors to Melbourne can't go to too far wrong simply by turning up to Victoria street and randomly picking whichever restaurant they turn too first.

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Essentials

Details: 345 Victoria Street, Richmond, Australia 3121 (Ph +61 3 9421 5227)

Damage: Such a bargain even my mother would approve

7/10

Links

If you liked reading this you might be interested in my review of the nearby cafe Three Bags Full in Abbostford. For Londoners looking to replicate the Victoria street experience your best bet is Kingsland road - try Viet Grill.

Gills Diner

You never know what is going to be down a laneway in Melbourne. It could be a cool new bar, an art installation, or down Gills alley just off little Collins street, Gills Diner. A sign saying 'Gills Diner: Bread and Wine' points the way and reminded me of St John's Bread and Wine in London. The sign suggests a simple, pared back focus and a no frills aesthetic. The buzzing eatery has a cafe section at the front and then a larger room at the rear which is the restaurant proper. The look is industrial chic with big wooden tables surrounded by the type of wooden and metal chairs that I used to sit on at school. I kept on expecting my old English teacher to emerge from the kitchen. We were a table of ten so we got a table to ourselves but smaller groups share tables. Frosted glass windows with metal trim separate the kitchen from the restaurant. Arriving at 8pm we were surprised to find the restaurant was half empty but by about 10pm it was completely full, Gills Diners patrons must be a bunch of night owls.

Laneway sign pointing the way to Gills Diner

There is no written menu so you order from a blackboard on the back wall or choose from the specials reeled off by the waiters suggesting a menu which is changed regularly. Head chef Kyle Doody's food is rustic and hearty and there was lots on the blackboard that tempted. A great way to try out the menu is to order the antipasto selection which is actually a serving of three of the entrees for $32. Of these entrees the herb encrusted lamb cutlet was on the difficult side to share but was perfectly juicy and pink inside its crisp crust. It was a winner of a dish which left us fighting over who got to gnaw at the bone. Also good was a shallow dish of salt cod salad which looked as pretty as picture with a rainbow of colours scattered with squares of dry cod. Was it a dessert or was it an entree? I wasn't quite sure what the zucchini and blue cheese pannacotta was but it was creamy and rich and that is what counts in my books.

Salt cod salad

The pick of the mains was the marinara ($30) which was a simple dish containing generous chunks of salmon and shellfish and an added kick of chilli. It wasn't anything different or fancy just good, honest food. The roasted duck makes a regular appearance on the menu and it impressed with its blush pink meat and crisp, dark skin splayed on a bed bitter radachhio ($29). The only let down was the raviolo of pork and tarragon ($27) which was served in a clear broth. I misread the menu as ravioli (multiple) instead of raviolo (singular) so found myself with one huge raviolo surrounded by broth rather than the host of merrily bobbing ravioli I had been anticipating. Unfortunately the raviolo itself was a little on the bland side and needed a bit more seasoning to lift it up a notch.

Herb crusted lamb cutlet

Like the rest of the food on offer, the desserts at Gills Diner were simple and comforting. An Eton mess style offering of strawberries, cream and meringue was light and airy. I am still dreaming about Gills churros which were served fresh, sugary and piping hot with a pot of chocolate to dip them in. The wine list was small but interesting with lots of unusual producers and beer drinkers were not neglected with a range of boutique ales on offer.

Duck

Gills Diner is a fashionable looking restaurant with a palpably buzzing atmosphere but it is saved from being too cool by the friendly and down to earth waiting staff who carefully explained dishes to us. Our waiter even helpfully rushed through the meal of a friend who arrived and ordered at a later stage than everyone else so that all our meals arrived at the same time. The staff were happy for us to linger over our drinks until we were the last ones in the restaurant at almost midnight.

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Essentials

Details: 360 Little Collins Street, Melbourne CBD, Australia (Ph +61 3 9670 7214).

Damage: Pricey

8/10

Links

If you liked reading this you might be interested in my post on my top ten restaurants in Melbourne (I think I might have to update it to include Gills) or in my review of St John Restaurant in London, a very different restaurant but perhaps a source of inspiration for the ethos at Gills Diner.