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July 28th, 2012
 Tonkotsu Ramen (11) @ Tonkotsu Category: Budget (£) 
Japanese noodles have finally arrived in London. Apart from the established and highly praised Koya which opened a couple of years ago and serves home-made udon (their walnut miso udon has made it on the top 100 dishes in London list) , two new ramen bars were launched in the last few months. There is Ittenbari in Brewer Street, which was brought to London by the Japanese owner of a ramen bar in Osaka, and now also Tonkotsu. Â Behind Tonkotsu are the guys that are responsible for Tsuru, a small chain of excellent and cheap London sushi bars that also do great chicken katsu. Read more... (900 words, 12 images, estimated 3:36 mins reading time)
February 22nd, 2012  Matcha Crème Brulée @The London Foodie Supperclub, 30-35 pounds per head, BYO  
I admittedly got a bit tired of supperclubs of late. Â However, when I learned that the lovely Luiz aka The London Foodie had ditched his high flying city career to devote himself fully to cooking, nothing could hold me back.
Luiz spent a few months last autumn in Japan to deepen his already profound understanding of Japanese cuisine. Â In London, he found a mentor in Reiko, the lady who does wonderful Japanese cooking classes in London and also has her own cook book. Read more... (866 words, 16 images, estimated 3:28 mins reading time)
September 22nd, 2011 Category: Bistro+ (££-£££)
I cannot believe that it took me so long to finally eat at Sushi of Shiori! This Japanese eatery has been on my to do list for the better part of 2 years and when I think of all the amazing sushi that I have missed by not trying it earlier…
Sushi of Shiori serves among the best, if not the best, sushi I have ever had in London, particularly considering the value for money equation. Here everything is about quality of the food without the fuss: nothing of the sedate indulgence of Umu, Zuma‘s upscale party atmosphere or Nobu‘s elitism and patronizing staff.
The place really doesn’t look like much from the outside and no one would expect a sophisticated sushi bar behind this facade in a little side street somewhere around Euston Station. Stepping through the door, you enter a tiny room with 2 tables, each with 2 seats (you might be able to fit another chair if you are slim) and 3 more seat at the sushi counter where you can watch the master in action. The head chef and owner has worked for the Michelin starred Umu before setting up his own little family venture with his lovely wife taking good care of the patrons.
 The Master at Work @Sushi of Shiori I will not go too much into detail about each of the single nigiri that I have tried, most of which were of extraordinary quality. A very good option for Sushi of Shiori newbies is the Shiori Platter which for £19.50 for 8 pieces of nigiri and 3 hosomaki is incredible value for money. The sushi master probably got sick of observing people drowning his little works of art with the rice side in salty soy sauce thereby masking the subtle taste of the different toppings. So we are explained to use the little brush to brush only little soy sauce on the fish side of the nigiri.
 Sushi Platter @Sushi of Shiori
July 8th, 2011 Category: Le Budget
When we are talking very decent and cheap food options in Soho, Taro is very high up on my list. I have been going there for years when fancying some quick Japanese fix. Not exactly the place you would go for a romantic dinner, but great for shopping break or pre-theatre food. If I would work somewhere close to Taro, you would find me there all the time in my lunch breaks.
Taro is not an expensive place to start with but incredible value for money are the lunch deals. One wouldn’t think that you can get a drink, a miso soup AND a bento box for below 7 pounds anywhere in London, let alone in the middle of tourist-ridden Soho. On my last visit I tried the chicken teryaki box (6.90) and I thoroughly enjoyed both the miso soup and the chicken.
 Read more... (324 words, 7 images, estimated 1:18 mins reading time)
May 3rd, 2011 Category: Le Brasserie (£££+)
Zuma is a restaurant for special occasions. It is part of a small world wide chain with subsidiaries in Hong kong, Istanbul, Miami and Dubai. You might be able to get away with a semi-affordable bill when ordering carefully, but in the end you will want to splash out. Zuma invites to decadence and gluttony, and at this night, for my birthday, I was part of it.
In London, Zuma is located in a very ugly building not far from Knightsbridge tube station and doesn’t look like much from the outside. When you enter it however, you feel like you have stepped into a night club or into one of these bars I never go to because I refuse to pay 15 pounds for a cocktail and I usually don’t confirm with the dress code.
Surrounded by the young, rich and stylish I was glad I had dressed up for this special occasion feeling like a real Chelsea girl, wearing something rather short together with very high heels in the form of my almost virgin golden Sergio Rossi stilettos. Sipping my Saffron and Poppy Seed Martini (10.50) I was waiting to be spoiled.
I really liked Zuma, in fact I liked it about 1 million times more than the only other posh Japanese restaurant I have been to in London, Nobu Berkley Square.
LIKE
- Lovely staff: Even though we didn’t have a reservation the lovely people at the counter found us a place at the sushi bar within 10 minutes. Friendly and forthcoming they had nothing in common with the pretentious waiters at Nobu.
- The menu: I liked the fact that in addition to some astronomically priced dishes they do have a good selection of dishes costing less than 10 pounds.
- The wine: There are also quite some wines for under 20 pounds, which allows you to maybe order a couple of dishes more…
- The food (see below) was sublime. I loved the fresh and exquisite ingredients, the exotic and well-balanced sauces and the inventive take on Japanese food without losing the traditional touch.
DISLIKE
- I really wanted some cold sake to go with my Japanese delicacies, but they were out of the two cheapest sakes! (19£ and 29£ respectively for 300 ml). We did not go with the next expensive one (40£) but had wine instead. Wanted sake though!
Read more... (769 words, 14 images, estimated 3:05 mins reading time)
December 9th, 2010 Category: Le Budget (£ ) Read more... (245 words, 5 images, estimated 59 secs reading time)
September 19th, 2010 Kyoshi Sushi must be the smallest place I have ever eaten at but also the most charming and cute one. It is too small to be even called a restaurant actually. We found it on Chowhound and it was apparently featured on the Antony Bourdain’s No Reservation programme on US TV (which I have to be honest have not heard of before). And you can look at it here (starts at 1:00 min)
 Read more... (360 words, 6 images, estimated 1:26 mins reading time)
September 12th, 2010 Luckily Kyoto has been spared from air raids during the 2nd world war due to its historical value and has remained one of the world’s most culturally rich cities harbouring 17 Unesco World Heritage sites, more than 1600 Buddhist temples and over 400 ShintÅ shrines. Can I just start by saying – I did not visit all of them. In fact I did not visit very many at all which was not due to a lack of interest but rather to the heatwave which happened to visit Japan at the same time as me. The heat was especially bad in Kyoto and one could not stay outside for very long (longer than 30 seconds) without being completely soaked and close to fainting. Read more... (952 words, 18 images, estimated 3:48 mins reading time)
July 19th, 2010 Category: Bistro
I stumbled over Sa Sa Sushi close to Angel tube station in search for a quick pre-theatre bite.
Successful pre-theatre dinners are dictated by a different set of rules: I might compromise on atmosphere for fastness but am obviously not prepared to compromise on quality. Read more... (330 words, 2 images, estimated 1:19 mins reading time)
July 13th, 2010 Category: Le Budget
Tsuru Sushi is a little gem and I really wonder how I survived so long without it. My enthusiasm is attributable to several factors: (1) good food (2), so close to London Bridge (this is where I work), (3) possibly the friendliest and most charming service I have had in a long time and (4) it is already cheap but even cheaper when you have a Taste London Card (which I have and which gives me 50% off  ). Read more... (440 words, 3 images, estimated 1:46 mins reading time)
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