Ain’t No Sandwich When He’s Gone

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The humble sandwich has been filling holes in many a tum for centuries. A meal slapped in between two slices of bread, thought up in the mind of the Earl of Sandwich in 18th Century Kent, has been a popular addition to ones daily menu. Sandwiches can be a cause for debate sending people into a heated rage when asked how best to prepare a bacon sarnie! I myself have read extensive articles on the perfect fish finger sandwich. It is very rare to find a sandwich shop that purely focuses on the gourmet art of sandwich making.

There is the odd café that make doorstop sandwiches which could feed a whole family, if you love a classic filling jam packed into a soft bap or nicely toasted Panini then you should try Scott’s on New Row, good value doorstop sandwiches perfect for that working lunch. If salt beef is your thing then you really need to go to Gaby’s Deli on Charing Cross Road for a salt beef sandwich that will blow your mind, and while you are there you should try Gaby’s legendary falafel wrap. Then there is many a local chain that can fill the hunger craving with a classic ploughman’s or chicken salad. The point I am trying to make is the sandwich, once a fleeting thought of an Earl, is possibly considered one of the most important food products in existence.

The common sandwich is pretty much a world staple and one man has made it his mission to create mind blowing meals that can gently rest in between two slices of his very own home made bread. If you have not heard of a man named Max who owns a sarnie shop on Crouch Hill then what bloody tin cans on string have you been listening to?! Gastronomist Max has taken the art of sandwich making and turned it into a restaurant standard meal, and not just a quick stop at the garage to stuff a ham, cheese and pickle lifeless sandwich into your gob for a quick fix. Winner of Best Cheap Eats at the Observer Food Monthly Awards, Max’s Sandwich shop is one of my favourite places, frequented by my friends and me for a weekend luncheon, and regularly deliverooed on a movie night to feed the troops. I can safely say that Max has changed the humble sarnie into a gastronomic taste bud fighter pilot.

Max’s is not your average Sandwich shop; firstly a glass counter does not greet you with ready-made sandwiches on display. All Sandwiches are made to order, you can take away or have a seat on one of the rustic wooden tables. The décor is quirky yet tasteful and there is certainly a love of ducks here. The staff are great, friendly and very knowledgeable. The Menu lives up to every pun lovers dream, with a list of 4 sandwiches daily.

I suggest you start your meal with the deep fried jalapeno mac ‘n’ cheese balls.

Max’s balls are delicious and if you’re brave enough you should have them with Max’s special hot sauce. My craving for these mac ’n’ cheese balls are strong, I especially like them with a squeeze of sriracha, but be careful these balls are hot, don’t be too greedy otherwise you will burn your tongue, slow and steady wins the race with these balls.

Although there are only 4 sandwiches on the menu daily, I can be the first to put my hands up and say that it can be very difficult choosing which one to have. My advice would be to go in a group of 4, order 1 of each sandwich and share. Or like me just be really indecisive, ask the server what you should order, go with his choice than change your mind 3 seconds later, and frantically get up gesturing at said server, change your order, sit down and have a very long conversation in your head about life choices. Sandwiches arrive to your table neatly wrapped in paper, rip off a piece of kitchen towel, delicately open your precious package, and tuck in.

The sandwich that put Max’s on the North London gastro map is the Ham, Egg & chips. Slow cooked ham hock, a fried egg, shoestring fries, piccalilli and malt vinegar mayo. This childhood meal in a sandwich can only simply be described as genius. The ham hock is cooked to perfection; it’s tender and melts in the mouth. The fried egg adds to the sauce of the piccalilli and malt vinegar mayo, and the shoestring fries add a crunch and texture to the sandwich. The bread is soft and fluffy, yet stands up to the filling, no soggy sandwiches here.

A long time ago I got to eat a sandwich here in direct violation of Penal Code 1.13, Section 9. Chris’ infamous Robocoq. Confit guinea fowl, chicken liver parfait, chicory, sweet potato fries, parsley and pickle salsa. Sometimes I dream of this sandwich, the crunch of the sweet potato fries and salsa resting against the soft moist guinea fowl. It was just a burst of flavours tightly packed into two slices of bread.

Max’s always have a vegetarian choice on offer and these do not disappoint. Just as creative as the meat options, the veggie sandwiches layer flavour and highlight the ingredient of choice. I recently tried The Bhaji Smuggler, carrot bhajis, coriander green chilli and peanut salsa, yoghurt, sweet herbs, pickle, spinach and Bombay mix. The yoghurt and dill lifted the sandwich giving it fresh, clean notes against the pickle and robust flavours of the bhaji. The Bombay mix give it a wonderful crunchy texture and a slight background note of heat, and all perfectly balanced in between Max’s home made bread.

I would like to say that I have tried the puddings on offer, but one thing Max’s does well is fill me up, and that is even with the hangover munchies. I think my stomach will need a lot more training to do a 3-course meal here. One thing you can count on here is walking away satisfied, even after you have paid the bill which comes in the belly of a porcelain duck. This place is great value for money and trust me you will be a frequent visitor.

The thing that really makes Max’s Sandwich shop a cut above the rest is Max himself. He is bubbling with personality, stories and jokes and I think my friends and me really love going to Max’s to actually spend time eating a sandwich and to hear Max’s tales. Legend has it that Agnus is the only patron allowed into the sandwich bar and drink tea when they are not even open. One day I would like to have Agnus status here, ham, egg & chips sandwich in one hand and a warm mac ‘n’ cheese ball in the other.

And all you hipster East Londoners can now try a bit of Max’s sandwiches as he will be taking up residency at Birthdays in Dalston for 6 months from 23^rd May 2017.

Happy dining xx

Definitely Got Thai For That

The traditional London pub, an institution, and when you find a good local you hold onto it for dear life hoping that it doesn’t one day slip into a cocoon and completes metamorphosis into a Wetherspoons. Traditionally pubs are drinking establishments serving snacks such as Mr Porky pork scratching’s, Smiths crisps, KP peanuts and if you were lucky maybe a Fray Bentos steak and kidney pie alongside your warm pint of ale. The rise of the ‘Gastropub’ in the early 90’s saw public houses concentrating on the quality of food, and gave new strength to pub culture and British dining. Pubs are now dishing out Michelin starred quality food, and have been a breeding ground for talented chefs across the country. Not only has food become an important element in determining how one views their local, the rise of craft beer has seen people becoming more aware of beer and food matching, creating a whole new pub culture with people using traditional methods and culinary tastes to create a vast range of beers, appealing to the developing pallet of London’s millennials.

Being a Londoner and also an ex professional pint puller (I was a bar wench for most of my 20’s) knowing the best pubs for friendly meet ups and gossip catch ups is as important as knowing where your local corner shop is for that emergency pint of milk. One of my favourite haunts to visit especially on a cold winters night is The Kings Arms on Roupell Street. A quintessential real ale London pub located on one of the most historic back streets of London.

Roupell street is like walking onto a film set, a picturesque Georgian terrace in the heart of Waterloo. This pub is always bustling, serving constantly changing real ales. I like to order a pint of whatever is on the pumps, and curl up by the fire with a friend and put the world to rights. The little snug round the side of the bar is cosy and instantly gives you a feeling of warmth and homeliness. When one imagines a traditional London pub The Kings Arms perfectly fits that picture of expectation. Owned by The Windmill Tavern Group, this family run pub does not feel like one of those large chain establishments, and brings up feelings of nostalgia to a time where the public house was the meeting place of the community.

In the back room you will find a farmhouse style dining area with a collection of vintage treasures strewn across the walls, and old pans hanging from the ceiling. Here is where you will find Kanchana’s Kitchen, a phenomenal little Thai secret. Now please do not think that The Kings Arms has taken traditional British pub food and put a Thai fusion spin on it. Kanchana’s Kitchen is cooking up traditional Thai food in a very British setting. I love a good Thai, the balance of flavours and freshness of the herbs and spices used has always made my palate zing. When I came across Kanchana’s Kitchen years back, it became one of my go to little spots for my chilli addiction, which I completely need to control.

They serve a mean green curry that is a balance of salty, with a cut of acid and slowly creeping heat from the spices. I would suggest if you are going here to eat you wear elasticated trousers because there is no point even setting foot in the back room if you’re not going to have a minimum of 5 plates of food, just saying. I always like to start with a pre-starter here of Khow Kiep, its sort of the locker room pep talk for my tummy. I like it to be prepared for what’s to come especially when I know it’s going to be a knockout meal. I always like a basket of these Thai-style prawn crackers for the table especially when it is accompanied by sweet chilli, and if you are anything like me and have been saving yourself all day for 10 plates of food, than these take the ravenous feelings down to a manageable level.

For starters I would suggest getting Tod Mun Pla – the spicy fish cakes which are also served with sweet chilli sauce (YES!!) They are small little patties of fish, flavoured with garlic, ginger, lemongrass and chilli and give you all the aromatics of punchy Thai food. I also like the Khanom Pang Na Goong – sesame prawn toast, I always order it whenever I see it on a menu. The first time I went out to the Chinese buffet as a pre-teen, I thought my choice of prawn toast on my plate was rather sophisticated and grown up. Now I order it because I really love prawn toast, and I think I can safely say most people love it. The prawn toast here isn’t too greasy, it’s nice and crisp and actually tastes of prawn.

(Mixed Platter with Chicken Satay, Vegetable Spring rolls, Spicy Thai Fish Cakes, Prawn Rolls and Vegetable Tempura served with sweet chilli and Satay Sauces)

Next it is time to choose your curry, I normally like to order at least 2 of the 3 options on the menu. Also all curries here are served with steamed rice and you can choose from chicken, beef, prawn or vegetable. If you are only going to order two curries one of those two options should be the Gaeng Kiew Wann – The Thai green curry I mentioned before. Cooked with coconut milk, a classic green curry paste with Thai basil leaves, lime leaves and bamboo. This curry has the perfect amount of spice. It’s a low mellow heat that’s not too overpowering. If you are a curry novice and not too fond of spicy food I would recommend ordering this, as it’s a good introduction to a well-rounded flavourful curry. The Gaeng Massamun is a medium spicy red curry this is for those who are number 3/4 on the curry scale and like a good punch of spice. A creeping heat that is cut by background notes of fish sauce follows this punch.

My favourite of the curry dishes is the Gaeng Panang, which is a spicy curry. I have a very serious chilli problem, the hotter the better for me, it is like I almost get a rush from the murmuring and numbness I get on my tongue when I get a good chilli kick in the mouth. The Panang curry is an original Thai Curry cooked in thick Thai gravy with coconut milk, peppers and lime leaves. What I most enjoy about this curry is although it is spicy – the heat does not kill the layers of flavours. Its salty and sweet notes sit on the back of the heat and you also get hints of shrimp paste. I like to get this curry with beef, I feel like it sits in the sauce well and is a strong enough meat to not be overpowered by the bold gravy.

Sometimes at this stage I would normally bow out and get the bill, I’ve pretty much hit my quota of maximum dishes intake for an evening, but sometimes I like the challenge of squeezing in a noodle dish. I am a great believer in always having a Pad Thai for the table, I think you can tell a lot about the quality of a Thai restaurant based on their pad Thai. I like Kanchana’s one, as it’s clean with the perfect amount of crunch from the peanuts, carrot, spring onion and bean sprouts. A good generous squeeze of lime over the top and you would just want to bathe in noodles for a quiet hour. I also really enjoy the Pas See iew here too, thick rice noodles with egg, mixed vegetables and soy sauce. The thick noodles have a really joyful glutinous texture to them, which also take the coating of the sauce beautifully. I really love the saltyness of this dish and I think it is a great accompaniment as a different texture and flavour alongside the curry dishes.

The Gaeng Ped roast duck curry is another good one to try under the house specials section of the menu. Generous chunks of duck cooked in Thai red curry with coconut milk. I enjoy the pop of the cherry tomatoes and sweetness of the pineapple against the spice of the red curry.

There are a couple of dishes I am still yet to try which I am craving for like the Pla Chu Chee, fillet of salmon topped with a red curry sauce with coconut milk and the Pd Gra Prow stir fried chilli, basil, peppers, green beans and onions in fish sauce which you can have with chicken beef or prawns. Kanchana’s serves fantastic food with a real harmony of flavours, the staff are a dream and are pleasant, always with a smile on their faces. What I would say is be prepared to not have your drinks served to you at the table. You need to head to the bar for those, but you will be happy for the small walk as it will give you a chance to move around making more room for food. Also I would highly recommend making a reservation if you want to eat here. If you a going here on a whim and you’re feeling hungry be prepared to wait for up to an hour for a table on a busy day.

The Kings Arms is a great place for just a pint, the atmosphere and quality of ale here is fantastic. This is a great spot for a cosy night nursing an ale and doing the crossword alone. This is a spot for a quiet little one on one gossip with your best friend with a bottle of cold Picpoul De Pinet. The one thing I love most about the Kings Arms is that it is a fabulous spot for a good quality Thai dinner with the girls and a good old cackle and a gossip. If you are visiting London, make it your mission to go and visit The Kings Arms and have some real beer! Also word on the street is the do a pub quiz on a Sunday, anyone interested in getting a team together give me a shout.

This is my spot, this is my favourite place to be in London, just hanging out on Roupell street, if you do happen to visit The Kings Arms maybe you’ll find me there standing outside propped by a windowsill sipping on a pint and watching the world go by.

(Happy girls with full tummies after a big Thai meal at The kings Arms. Night cap courtesy of the Duke Of Sussex, Waterloo)

Happy Dining xx

the beauty in a hamburger bun

Located in the back streets of Vauxhall housed in a shack made of corrugated metal I found the best burger these lips have ever touched. Thinking about it now I can still taste every mind blowing burger meated mouthful. Thank you Dirty Burger I feel that my life long search of finding the perfect burger are over, now you have come into my life.

Dirty Burger http://www.eatdirtyburger.com brought to the streets of London by those very clever boys at Soho House, is a fairly simple set up, but do not let that fool you. What is produced in these small shacks is literally food porn. Located in Kentish Town, Vauxhall and Whitechapel Dirty Burger has become my new go to when ever anyone asks the question, “know anywhere good to grab a burger?”

I have been wanting to go and sample their delights for a while, but have not had the excuse or the opportunity at present. My cousin who is a personal trainer has been on an extremely strict diet for the past two months in order to get himself lean enough for a photo shoot for his website. The deal was once he was done with the photo shoot we would meet up for a burger and a beer to make up for the weeks of behaving. Dirty Burger was the perfect place for the food binge!

There are three burgers to choose from on the menu cheese burger, dirty bacon and a cop out (vegetarian option) and they also had a special chilli burger on yesterday evening too. I went for the dirty bacon, one thing this place is good for is the quality of their ingredients. The bacon was not that crispy pretend bacon you normally get in a burger place, this was thick cut, proper bacon the type of bacon bacon addicts only dream of. The burger itself was succulent and cooked to perfection not too well done and not too rare. I wanted to eat this slowly make friends with this burger, eat it like I have never eaten a burger of this quality before. But like an excited teenage boy I ate too quickly and in a flash my love affair with the dirty bacon was over before I knew it. Thank goodness we ordered crinkle cut fries and onion fries. The crinkle cut fries are no McCains, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside the perfect fries to accompany the perfect burger. If you do go to Dirty Burger EAT THE ONION FRIES they are something else. Not your traditional onion ring, these are like onion battered fries which are then covered in salt and pepper, I will never touch a onion ring again I have been converted to the onion fry.

You can’t book a table at Dirty Burger you just rock up, and you can either take away or sit in. This is a great place for the day after the night before. I would totally recommend going here with friends and if you have a meat loving significant other than take them here and eat the onion fries!!! Now I need to try the Dirty Burger breakfast menu, but I think I need to wait for an encounter of the morning after the night before 😉

Happy dining xx

the Phantom of the tapas is here, with a glass of wine…..

The Opera Tavern on Catherine Street http://www.operatavern.co.uk (opposite Drury lane theatre), used to be a somewhat normal pub. Then someone came along and put some love in it, and has turned it into a fantastic tapas bar! I never ventured inside when it was just a pub as it never really appealed to me, but my friend wanted to take me out for a little food before we went to a work party, and I can only say that my opinion has changed. If I could eat there almost everyday I would.

I left my friend in charge of picking what we were to eat as the Opera Tavern is a frequent dining spot for her. What happened next involved little conversation as I was so preoccupied by the food that talking was not an option and eating and drinking became priority from that point onwards.

Our first plate arrived with an excited squeal from my friend, this had better be one damn good plate of food or our friendship would be over, purely based on bad food judgement alone. Our first sample of what was to follow was a small mountain of Padrón Peppers girdled and generously sprinkled with rock salt. Each pepper tasted better than the last and each bite would either be smokey or salty. I found I was unconsciously reaching for more! good thing the next tapas plate arrived before I finished the whole small mountain of green goodness.

Next to arrive were the courgette flowers stuffed with goats cheese and drizzled with honey. If you happen to go to the Opera Tavern, order this dish and when you eat your courgette save your goats cheese stuffed flower for last! the courgette was tender, and not watery at all. I sometimes find when courgette is over cooked it just tastes of sloppy water, but this courgette tasted like courgette but better. The honey glaze made every bite start really sweet and end with you wanting to go in for another bite. Once I reached the flower, it was stuffed with goats cheese which was distinctive but mild and went perfectly with the honey glaze. I was satisfied by this point if no more food came along, I was quite happy finishing off the bottle San Campio, Terras Gauda Albariño (2012) which was being polished off quite nicely with the flowers stuffed with goats cheese.

The smoked and cured sea trout with beetroot gazpacio and cucumber shimmed it’s way onto the table and it was love at first sight. the sea trout was smoked to perfection and was not too fishy. The earthiness of the beetroot fitted perfectly with the crisp cucumber. this plate was perfection, all aspects of it happily married together. I would eat this everyday and on some rye bread it would be amazing!

But it did not stop there! next to arrive was the confit of old spot pork belly with rosemary scented cannellini beans and the classic tortilla which was cooked in the traditional way and a little runny in the middle. Pork Belly is one of my favourite cuts of meat, and this was cooked perfectly the crackling was so crispy and salty and could almost be mistaken for a favourite pub snack. The meat was falling apart, secretly I did not want to share this plate with my friend but I played nice. Next time I am going to sneak off to the the Opera Tavern alone and order myself a plate of the pork belly confit and spend a long time savouring every taste. The tortilla was cooked perfectly a little runny in the middle and not rubbery at all, which sometimes a tortilla can be accused of being.

The Opera Tavern really know what they are doing when it comes to tapas. This tapas is far far far away from the patatas bravas and Tortilla Española one pictures when offered spanish tapas for dinner. The menu goes above and beyond expectation, its a shame that my stomach could not stretch a little further as every dish on the menu sounds fantastic. The only thing I was upset about was that all five plates left me so satisfied I could not fit anymore food in my belly.

This is a great place for an anniversary dinner as it is a little pricey and not one of your average date places to eat. This is the place you save for someone special who deserves a nice night out. you would not leave the Opera Tavern felling empty, in fact you might rock out with the tummy of a glutton after one sitting. This place just leaves you wanting more I will definitely be visiting again.

Happy dining xx

Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder

If someone said to you I have found what could only be described as the holy grail of Belgium beer in London, you would brush them off with some incoherent sound and tell them to pull the other one. I have indeed found and frequented the holy grail of Belgium beer in London and NO it is not Belgo’s !!!! Please let me introduce you to Lowlander http://www.lowlander.com. Located on Drury Lane this little diamond of a venue can only be described as a fantastical beer cave. The walls are covered in various beer art and the menu of beer is like an encyclopaedia.

The staff are fantastic and their knowledge of beer is tremendous. I recommend if you are stuck at being spoilt for choice than ask your server what they recommend, after asking only a few questions in regards to what your taste is and what type of beer you normally go for, I can only describe the beer that was recommended to me to be the sweet nectar of the beer gods! I would drink any and all of the beers stocked in Lowlander, but I would highly recommend you have a go at drinking a Troubadour. If you still can’t figure out what you want, Lowlander kindly offer a tasting paddle on their menu of three or six 1/3 pints. Even without sampling the food this is where all you beer lovers need to go and just simply have a drink.

Now I can’t visit anywhere that serves food and not try the food, in my eyes that would be a crime unto myself! So browsing the menu I found that Lowlander not only offer a great menu that teams nicely with a pint (venison burger as well as many Belgic favourites) I noticed they had a beer board menu. The beer boards include 3 tasting plates matched to 3 recommend 1/3 pints of draught beer. I have been to a few beer and food matching events and although I am a wine lover at heart, I was quickly converted to how beautifully beer can compliment food (sometimes) a lot better than wine. You have two combinations to choose from a hot board or smoked board.

I went with the hot board, which arrived on my table like a little alter of beer and food deliciousness. Now if I had a completely sober head on my shoulders I would have remembered to note down which beer was with each taster. So you will only have to go and try yourself in order to know the names of the beers. If you are simply happy with a taste description of each tasting, than hold onto your seats. The Belgium beer-battered cod goujon with tartare sauce was light and crispy and not in the slightest bit greasy. The fish in the batter was cooked to perfection and melted in the mouth. The beer combined with the fish which was a blond Belgium beer,  added an extra hint of citrus to the pallet which complimented the goujon and in fact highlighted the taste of the cod more.

The Lowlander-smoked chicken wings with chilli jam were finger licking good, and I did lick my fingers a vast amount in this small plate tasting. I was not prepared to waste a single drop of that chilli jam. The wings were falling off the bone and the chilli jam gave the smokiness a sweet and spicy note which when combined with the pale beer undercut the spiciness to give it a subtle heat rather than one that kills all your tastebuds and leaves you only tasting hot for the rest of your meal.

The Overnight slow-cooked pulled pork with BBQ sauce on its own without the beer tasted like barbecue sampled on a backstreet restaurant in America, with BBQ sauce dripping down your arms with every bit of dignity you ever had is thrown out of the window in order to shovel vast amounts of meat down your gullet in an attempt to savour every taste. The beer (which I believe was a dark Troubador) added caramel and smokiness to the meat which only enhanced the flavour of the pork.

Lowlander is one of those places that needs to be visited muchly and often, anyone who makes it their life mission to sample every beer that Lowlander has on it’s menu would be incredible! I would like to take the burden on myself but my waistline would suffer, and in a vain attempt to look somewhat good I must decline on the mission and only visit for small short bursts of giving into the beer craving.

Ladies if you are in charge of planning a date for you and that special man, take him here, fill him with beer and some pulled pork, and if he is not eternally grateful that you have showed him his new beer mecca and makes you his wife, than he was never meant to be!!

Happy dining xx

you win some, you dim sum

I have an aversion to restaurant chains , there is something quite corporate and sterile about them. the only good thing is that you can always rely on the menu knowing that wherever you are you can always have yourself a katsu curry or that medium spiced chicken and chips you love. When faced by the mysteries of an unknown place or town having one on every corner does not seem quite like a bad thing.

They always prove helpful on social occasions, where drink is mostly required but food is very much needed. This is where the restaurant chain becomes like a reliable buddy, always reasonably priced and bound to have one of your old favourites on the menu.

My friend was passing through London and with only a couple of hours to spare before he had to jump on the train, the only reliable place near Victoria I was willing to jump into quickly for drinks and nibbles was Dim T http://www.dimt.co.uk/index.php. The decor is nice, and it always has a friendly atmosphere. Our waitress was the superwoman of the catering world, manning over 10 tables on her own. For a moment I felt like I was in a real life game of Diner Dash!!

My cocktail was an amazing thirst quencher and the prawn crackers and chilli sauce was the perfect compliment to the fragrant sour tones of my lychee and lemongrass beauty that I was sipping.

I love Dim Sum, they are in fact my perfect type of food, small finger foods full of flavour leaving you with the amazement of how did anyone even manage thinking up that complex flavour combination, and fit it all into one perfectly sized little dumpling.

Whomever that person was they are a genius in my eyes! However Dim T’s dim sum menu is somewhat limited, but sufficient for the event at hand. With 16 dim sum choices to choose from I felt the selection, especially for the vegetarian option, was rather small in comparison to places I have been to previously and considering that the restaurant’s name pushes itself in the dim sum realm, it is a little disappointing that the majority of the menu is focused on noodle and rice dishes.

I was happy with what I ate at Dim T, but if you are a lover of dim sum I suggest you go somewhere like yum cha silk and spice on chalk farm road http://www.yumchasilksandspice.co.uk which has an incredibly vast menu of dim sum and every time I dine there it just seems to taste better and better, but make sure you book a table as it can get very busy especially on the days where it is 50% off all dim sum.

All in all Dim T is a great place for a cocktail, nibble and a social catch up. If you have never had dim sum before than going to Dim T is like a great introduction course. I suggest if you do go to Dim T try something from their noodle and rice part of the menu. It has much more variety and actually sounds quite nice. If I ever happen to dine in Dim T again I think I might just go for the Malaysian butternut squash curry.

Happy dining xx

Yo Ho Ho and a bottle of Rum!!

I took a little trip to The Rum Kitchen on Carnaby Street, which I discovered while having a little shop in town. I instantly had an urge to walk in and try it. Not only is it inviting and makes you feel like you have walked into a Rum Shack by the sea, but the fact that it has the word Rum in the title makes it a place one needs to experience.

The Menu as expected is exactly what you would want from a Rum Kitchen. I had the Jerk Chicken wings, Sticky BBQ Ribs and Saltfish Fritters for starters. I was there with other people I obviously did not consume this elaborate starter on my own. Although challenge accepted it is very possible I would be able to do it.

The Saltfish Fritters are something I would sell my nearest and dearest for, they are amazing and I could quite happily consume them all day and everyday, and the salad with spicy tomato sauce that accompanies it adds the perfect amount of kick and compliments these tiny balls of heaven perfectly. The Jerk chicken wings are the best wings I have ever eaten in a long time. They literally fall off the bone and the Jerk seasoning is a mind blowing taste sensation that everyone should have the pleasure of experiencing. The BBQ ribs where good, I just wish that they were cooked for a little longer, but thats just personal taste as I love meat to fall off the bone, but the BBQ sauce totally made up for it, as that was fantastic and I will hunt high and low to get a recipe so I can reproduce that at home.

For my main meal I had the soft shell crab burger. Words cannot describe how good it was!! The crab was cooked absolutely perfectly, it was softly placed on a squiggly brioche bun bed and kindly covered with a crispy piece of lettuce and smothered in spicy tamarind sauce, ginger aioli and guava-lime relish and generous slices of avocado. Every bit created a new taste sensation and one which I wanted to repeat again and again and again. A huge wave of disappointment surpassed over me when I looked down at my hands and every last morsel of my burger had disappeared into my tummy. It was lucky I had ordered some sides because at this point I was quite ready to order another burger!!

The sweet potato fries where cooked to perfection and had the right amount of crunch yet soft and tasty in the middle and dipped in some scotch bonnet mayo really made me want more. The pineapple chilli slaw and the home made slaw where the perfect cool me downs in an oh so spicy meal.

But you can’t go to the Rum Kitchen and not have one of their incredible cocktails, I highly recommend the Lesser of two Weevils which is Red Stripe and Jamaican ginger beer shandy, spiked with Mount Gay Rum and a dash of lime bitters. Very refreshing and a great thirst quencher and does not taste like your average shandy. If you want a cocktail to blow your mind, I would totally recommend the Zombie it has a lot of alcohol in it but perfectly balanced that you do not feel like you are sticking your straw into a bottle of rum.

I am now making it my personal mission to go back to the Rum Kitchen and try everything on the menu. If you like Caribbean food, a spicy taste explosion and something that makes every taste bud tingle, then this is the place for you. Perfect atmosphere for a friends get together or a party. The service is great and efficient and both waitresses were attentive and friendly and they really complement the atmosphere. My only little bit of niggle would be that the music was a little too loud, but that could come down to my old age.

If you are not in town they also have a place in Notting Hill and if Carnaby street is anything to go by then I would be there in a shot. Check out the website http://therumkitchen.com go eat be merry and make sure you wear elasticated trousers as you will need them.

xx