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April 28th, 2011 Category: Bistro (££) 
Sometimes it happens that, when you have finished writing a post, you press a wrong button and everything is lost. (why does the auto-save only work when you don’t need it I wonder…). This happened to me with my truly excellent Bocca Di Lupo post and I am writing it now again with significantly less enthusiasm I have to say.
Despite my computer disability Bocca di Lupo deserves to be written up. I wanted to go there so many times already but never managed to get a table. This time however the queue in front of Spuntino was too long, so we moved on to Bocca Di Lupo located in a little Soho side street. After 20 odd minutes that we spent sipping prosecco and people watching we were finally seated at the bar.
I like the atmosphere at Bocca Di Lupo very much. It is stylish and down to earth at the same time, the patrons being a good looking mixed crowd of post-theatre and pre-party diners. From the people at the reception to the waiting staff, everyone was very friendly, attentive and forthcoming.
As the name already promises, Bocca di Lupo serves Italian food. I thought I would know or at least be able to translate most Italian dishes but when looking at the menu I realised that I had still a lot to learn. There were quite a few dishes I had never heard of and had not the faintest idea what they could possibly consist of. Provenance is a big issue as it is also stated in the menu from which Italian region the respective dish originates from,
I do really like the fact that you can order small and large portions of most dishes which makes the food at Bocca di Lupo ideal for sharing (or not sharing for that matter). It is not exactly cheap and some of the dishes (see below) are bordering on seriously overpriced, but there are enough dishes under 10 pounds to choose from that you can get away with a non-bank breaking bill when ordering carefully. Read more... (742 words, 8 images, estimated 2:58 mins reading time)
April 25th, 2011 Category: Bistro (££)  For me there is no better Sunday lunch than dim sum. I like the sitting together and sharing. In addition after a week(end) full of gluttony, it is a healthy option, particularly when you manage to stay off the fried stuff. When asking trusted foodies about their favourite dim sum place, Phoenix Palace is popping up again and again. As this year is my year of the dumpling, it was about time to visit Phoenix Palace located in a little side street just off of Baker Street to test their vast variety of dim sum. When we went to Phoenix Palace on a sunny Sunday afternoon, the place was packed. I would estimate that at least half to two thirds of the patrons were Chinese, which promised authenticity and quality. I rather liked the Chinese decor and style of Phoenix Palace, and it is not as stuffy and claustrophic as for example the famous (but in my opinion overrated) dim sum joint Royal China.
Interesting were the Cold Tossed Baby Octopus (3.80) which came in a chili and lemon sauce. Half of the table hated it; the other half really liked it. I was part of the latter and really enjoyed the chilled pieces of tender octopus with the flavoursome sauce, spicy but not overwhelmingly so.  On the insipid side were the Noodles with Spicy Hot Meat Sauce, Sichuan Style (6) – they were not spicy at all and for me there were no Sichuan flavours detectable at all unfortunately. I would not order these again. 
My favourites were the steamed Wasabi Prawn Dumplings (3.80) – thin and translucent dough filled with plump and tender prawns followed by a fierce wasabi kick. A definite must have! Read more... (665 words, 11 images, estimated 2:40 mins reading time)
April 18th, 2011 NB: This is a product review and I got the product for free.
IÂ love getting presents. Even if I know it’s not really a present as such but is sent by some marketing person wanting me to do a product review. Doesn’t matter! There is still the juvenile excitement when the parcel arrives and the pleasure of unwrapping.
Thank you, marketing people from Hotel Chocolate for sending me a free The Serious Dark Fix – An Egg for the Dark Chocolate Lover (£24) . How did they know that I love dark chocolate?!? (ok they asked me before, just as well as I would not have been very thrilled with milk chocolate I tell you that much!).
Basically, in my ‘I got a present’ frenzy, I had unwrapped and eaten half of the egg before I could take any pictures. Will I ever be asked to do a product review again I wonder?
But here it is, an egg of beautiful thick dark chocolate filled with an array of different pralines.
 Read more... (426 words, 4 images, estimated 1:42 mins reading time)
April 17th, 2011 This is a little guest post I wrote for MouthLondon.
‘How can you afford to eat out that often?’ People who read my restaurant blog frequently ask me. I have to admit, I love food and eating out is my favourite pastime, but it can get very expensive. Ever since I started my own restaurant blog last April, the frequency of my restaurant visits have increased exponentially (but now I can call it research!) And believe me, as a consequence I have explored every way of eating the best food in London on a PhD student’s salary. Read more... (817 words, 2 images, estimated 3:16 mins reading time)
April 16th, 2011 Category: Bistro  (££)
How much you know about the Chinese province Hunan, or to be more specific, Hunanese cuisine? I assume very little, as it was the case also for me until I recently dined at the Hunan restaurant Ba Shan in Soho.
Ba Shan which is conveniently located in the midst of Soho, is surprisingly inviting and decorative for a Chinese restaurant. It is part of a restaurant family with its bigger sister Bar Shu just across the road and its little brother Baozi Inn some roads down both serving delightful Sichuan food. Read more... (723 words, 11 images, estimated 2:54 mins reading time)
April 14th, 2011 Category: Bistro (££)
(rating will follow after I have eaten there)
I am a bad Austrian. After one year and about 130 posts, I have not blogged about a single Austrian restaurant/cafe in London. I have been wanting to go to Bistro Delicat in Battersea forever, but somehow it just never happened. The other noteworthy Austrian etablissement in London is Kipferl. A little cafe just behind the Barbican it has achieved some critical acclaim for its cakes and coffee. Now, while walking through the Antiques Market in Camden Passage last weekend, I stumbled upon a second Kipferl.
What is ‘Kipferl‘ you might wonder, after you probably have unsuccessfully tried to pronounce it. A Kipferl is a very Austrian thing, it is something to eat and it’s all about the crescent shape. Read more... (587 words, 11 images, estimated 2:21 mins reading time)
April 10th, 2011 Category: Bistro+ (££ – £££)
I usually miss new restaurant openings and go there about 2 years after everyone else. But not this time, mind you! There are two current bloggers’ favourites, Spuntino (related to Polpo and Polpetto) and Ottolenghi’s chic sister NOPI. Spuntino I’ll probably visit in 2013, but Hooray! I have made it to NOPI and I am so glad I did. Read more... (930 words, 9 images, estimated 3:43 mins reading time)
April 8th, 2011 My Dear Blog,
When you were born a year and a day ago today, I did not know how much pleasure and happiness you would bring upon my life. You have grown a lot, little blog, 127 posts tall and I am glad you managed to find some friends (as I recall, your first days were very lonely, your only friend being my mother) reflected in the 431 comments you have received. Read more... (290 words, 1 image, estimated 1:10 mins reading time)
April 6th, 2011 What is happening to my restaurant blog? I have started to write about bars and now even about pubs! I really feel though that I should give The Nag’s Head in Belgravia, a short walk from Knightbsridge tube station, a mention, because I have spent some time in this area desperately searching for a drinking hole which is neither extremely posh and expensive nor a tourist trap. Read more... (352 words, 2 images, estimated 1:24 mins reading time)
April 5th, 2011 Category: Bistro
You really don’t have to leave London, in fact you don’t even have to leave work, for international cultural and culinary exchange. I learned more than I ever thought I wanted to know about Neapolitan cuisine as, for the past 4 years I have worked in the midst of Little Napoli. I know now how a perfect pizza has to look and taste like (with Naples being the cradle of pizza) and I have also learned about Friarielli, a green vegetable from the same family as broccoli (only much better in my opinion) which grows on the hills around Naples. Read more... (561 words, 6 images, estimated 2:15 mins reading time)
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