Tag Archives: Drink
Le Vie della Zagara: Sicily’s Beautiful Blood Oranges
The three varietals of Sicilian blood oranges include the deeply crimson Moro, the Tarocco (a great all rounder and Italy’s most popular orange), and the sweet and succulent Sanguinello. During my time travelling Le Vie della Zagara, I got a taste of all three blood oranges (and more – keep reading!) while visiting two places involved in the production of aranchia rossa: the lavish San Giorgio Estate with its upscale luxury Aranjaya villa and the more pragmatic but nonetheless impressive processing facilities of Pannitteri & C. Both are located in the eastern area of Sicily within the province of Catania and bestowed with jaw-dropper views of smoking and snow-capped Mount Etna. Continue reading
Le Vie della Zagara: Balanced and Scenic Ribera
The world’s only orange with PDO certification (protected designation of origin, DOP in Italian) grows in Ribera, Sicily. Belonging to the family of yellow navel oranges, it’s not all that different in appearance to any run of the mill orange you’re apt to come across at any supermarket anywhere in the world. But bite into a Ribera or drink some of its juice and what sets it apart becomes clear. It’s a juicy fruit with a balanced ratio of sugars and acids – not too sweet or tart – with a firm and smooth flesh and no seeds. Continue reading
Le Vie della Zagara: Ciaculli and its Anti-Mafia Mandarins
First stop on Le Vie della Zagara was the Palermo suburb of Ciaculli, home of the juicy Mandarino Tardivo di Ciacualli, where land once owned by the Mafia has been confiscated and converted into citrus groves by the locally run Consorzio il Tardivo di Ciaculli. Continue reading
The Ultimate Foodie Safari in Sabi Sabi (City AM)
The streets of Mayfair may seem a world away from the remote South African bush, but for discerning gourmet travellers the metaphorical – if not physical – distance between the two has just become smaller. A new initiative at Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve invites some of the world’s top chefs into the kitchen at the area’s renowned Earth Lodge. The partnership was launched in February, with Michelin-starred Eric Chavot making the inaugural visit, taking a week-long break from his eponymous Mayfair brasserie (at The Westbury on Conduit Street) to share his experience with the cooks at Earth Lodge. Continue reading
Win a Variety Pack of Jaz & Jul’s Origin Mixture Drinking Chocolate
Award winning independent chocolate makers, Jaz & Jul’s, are launching a new Origin range of drinking chocolates. Featuring three single-origin dark hot chocolates made with cacao grown in a different region (Madagascar, Peru, Brazil) for a collection of subtle yet indulgent flavours. Keen to find out how to get a sneaky peek taste ahead of all the other choco-fiends? Keep reading, my cocoa loving friends. Continue reading
Taking it Easy with an Overnight Spa Break in Bath
Easter week, Kemey and I made a quick overnight trip to Bath for a bit of rest and relaxation with a dash of history and scaled down but nonetheless urban ease. Both of us had been to Bath before but ages ago and not together. We had so much fun during our brief stay in this compact and attractive city. It’s a great place for couples and super easy to get to from London. Of course, more time to explore Bath and the bucolic countryside nearby would have been ideal, but our overnight visit proved to be an amply replenishing pause before having to head back to the London grind. Continue reading
Sponsored Cocktail Recipe: The Last Word
In comparison to many other drinks, cocktails are mainly drinks for connoisseurs. When you go to a bar or a pub, first things that you have in mind is beer, wine or whiskey. Only a handful of people are willing … Continue reading
‘Hot & Chilli’ Coffee Break with Rosana McPhee (espressoCrazy)
Ready for a quick cuppa friendly food blogger advice? Then kick back, relax and enjoy the latest instalment of my Coffee Break series of interviews. This time round, I’m finding out about Brazilian food and learning a few tips for cooking with coffee from Hot & Chilli blogger, Rosana McPhee, a Brazilian expat keen to share Latin kitchen expertise with the wider world. Continue reading
Meaty New “Bunsmiths” BBQ Menu at Sebright Arms: Oh Hell Yes!
Pub grub never looked so mouthwateringly mountainous! A new (not pop-up) menu at Sebright Arms pub off Hackney Road brings some of the finest “low and slow BBQ cooked meat served fresh and fast in delicious buns” to the table to be washed down with something sudsy from one of London’s more carefully considered lists of craft and quality beers. Continue reading
Lunch at The Pig
Oozing with ye olde English shabby chic charm without coming across as twee, the look and feel of this “restaurant with rooms” very much did it for me. I could have staged a “you-can’t-make-me-leave” sit-in at the hotel’s ultra cosy lobby bar; I got a mini recharge from my brief amble through the kitchen garden and surrounding grounds; I would have loved to try a post-lunch treatment at the spa across the pond in the garden or maybe an expert-led forage in the forest for wild mushrooms.
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That Hungry Chef Supper Club
I don’t attend all that many supper clubs and can recall more mediocre or actually disastrous experiences at them than list any exemplary clubs doing anything all that interesting. However, I still love the concept and when it works it’s a wonderful way to dine. So, it is with pleasure that I recommend the delicious and convivial dining on offer by That Hungry Chef. Continue reading
Preview: Bompas & Parr Dine with the Dead and Toast with a Human Skull
Over my years writing about the London dining scene one thing’s proved a certain constant: any email landing in my inbox from the jellymongering of Bompas & Parr is a must-read missive. The latest announcement of foodie frivolity (this time with a slightly darkened tinge) is no exception with an invitation to “a magnificent feasting occasion offering guests the ultimate tribute to departed Londoners in a spectacular environment.” Continue reading
Win a Box of Wine from The Grape Club
I have recently tried and would love to recommend to you The Grape Club,– an online London-based subscription service that sends an assortment of four bottles of wine in a sturdy and easily transportable box to its members every month. There’s no membership fee, just a month payment of £45, which covers all the costs of having the club deliver a quartet of smartly selected quality quaffs directly to your door. Keep reading for more grape news about this new service as well as details about the chance to win a selection of four wines from The Grape Club. Continue reading
Say Bom Dia to a Brazilian Breakfast at Carioca Brixton!
Brixton’s Market Row favourite, Carioca (formerly Prima Donna), has introduced a new selection of Brazilian style breakfast dishes to its daytime menu. Served from 10am to 4pm every day, the new brekkie items are freshly prepared in house with locally sourced ingredients and free range eggs by Brazilian head chef Lucy and her team. I had a more than ample taste last Sunday and found everything I tried to be expressly tudo bem. Continue reading
Yelp x tikichris: Morning Espresso Event at Bar Termini
The espresso masterclass will be held Sunday 19 April from 10.30am, and numbers for the class will be low (ten or under). During it, we’ll learn how to roast, pour, and create the perfect espresso. There will be some (so amazing you won’t believe it) pastries to enjoy as well as some other surprises … maybe even some cocktails if it hits after noon and we’re feeling saucy. Continue reading
Win a Night Out in Notting Hill with Yelp and Bubbleology
Check out this chance for you and a guest to attend an exclusive “After Dark” tasting hosted by Yelp at Bubbleology in Notting Hill on Friday 27 March . Continue reading
On Safari with Chef Chavot (Great British Chefs)
Do you know what’s better than going on safari at one of South Africa’s most luxurious private game reserves? Going on safari at one of South Africa’s most luxurious private game reserves. Then heading back to the reserve’s award winning … Continue reading
Good Stuff #39
Good stuff and lots of it! Here’s the low down on some fine things to see, sip or savour – all of which I’ve recently come across and thought were worth sharing with you. Enjoy. Ceru This Levantine pop-up located … Continue reading
Perfect Pies + Great Gins at Punch Tavern, Fleet Street
Not my first (or last) time to dine at Punch, I recently paid a visit to see if this 118 year old Fleet Street mainstay lived up to the 2014 Great Taste awards it had won for its pies. I can vouch for the cauliflower cheese pie (£11) and the steak and Doom Bar Ale pie (£13) – both served with ample and satisfying mash, veg and gravy. Puds are ace here too – love the sticky toffee pudding (£4.50).
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Bah Bah Persian Pop-up at The King & Co
For those of you who don’t know, “bah bah” is what Persians say when something is especially appetising; it’s the equivalent of “mmm” or “yummy” and a very apt name for the food at The King & Co’s latest pop-up residency. Continue reading
Breakfast at Fish & Chips by Des McDonald, Old Broad Street
One of the better breakfasts I’ve had recently was at Fish & Chips by Des McDonald (the newer location near Liverpool Street, not the one nearer Angel). I loved the look and feel of the place – a sort of idealised and spiffed up caff with a gorgeous centrepiece bar, rather austere but not at the sake of comfort. The food was delish. And the top ups for my cuppa – a filter brew a la Ozone Coffee – never ceased flowing until I was ready to leave. Win? Big time. I hope to be back soon (if only for a cup of joe to go) and am happy to recommend the place to anybody seeking somewhere in the City for a quick brekkie bite or early morning meeting. Continue reading
Sunday Lunch at the Crown and Two Chairmen, Soho
My lunch at the Crown was ace, and I loved the upstairs dining space, which was all but empty at 1.30pm (things picked up considerably by 2.30 though with hardly a free seat in the house). Highlights? To begin with service was efficient and friendly, seating was comfy, and I got a kick out of spotting a couple of celebrities out the window walking down street (if making a reservation, ask for a table by the window looking down on Dean Street). Continue reading
Glam Rock Afternoon Tea at the K West Hotel
The new Glam Rock Afternoon Tea at the K West Hotel is an effortless combination of two seemingly diverse British delicacies: Ziggy Stardust and Finger Sandwiches. Continue reading
Le Menar: Modern Approach to North African and Middle Eastern Cuisine
It’s nice being pleasantly surprised, right? And that’s just what I was during a recent dinner at newly relaunched Le Menar restaurant in Fitzrovia. It wasn’t that I had been expecting any sort of substandard meal; I just didn’t realise Head Chef Vernon Samuels’ “modern approach” to North African and Middle Eastern cuisine was going to be so inspired, thoughtfully prepared and intriguingly tasteful. Continue reading
Big Night Out at Balans, Westfield London
Balans is on a mission to revamp its eateries with its Westfield London outlet being the first to receive a spruce up. An invitation to drop by for a look and meal at its updated “Soho Society” digs resulted in a tasty night out for Kemey and me – made all the more pleasant by outstandingly prompt service. Continue reading
Sabi Sabi Earth Lodge Added to National Geographic’s Top List of Lodges (OneTravel)
I’m just back from a few days of luxury safari at Earth Lodge in the Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve in South Africa. Yes, I was only there for a four nights. To be sure, I would have been delighted … Continue reading
Sabi Sabi Safari
Making eye contact with a lion metres away from my seat in a topless Land Cruiser … lounging in a private plunge pool in the buff while smoking a Cuban and staring off into the unfenced and utterly vast savannah … losing track of how many rhinos and elephants I’d seen in the span of a couple of hours … having a multi course feast prepared by a Michelin starred chef and paired with some of the best South African wines available … getting one to most relaxing massages I’ve had in too long awhile … Sabi Sabi turned me into a blathering mess of wow. Continue reading










