Chocolate Festival

Only one more day...
Southbank Centre Chocolate Festival

Brownies, cakes, muffins, tiramisu, cookies, chocolate mousse, cupcakes, hot chocolate...chocolate, chocolate, chocolate!
Need I say more?

Cookies

White, milk and dark chocolate with berries

....more cookies....

the new favourite: salted caramel chocolate

white chocolate red velvet cake

salted caramel cupcakes

or rather oreo?

paul.a.young chocolate

whoopie pies

cherry & salted caramel eton mess mini shots

broooowwwnnniiies

amaretto and coffee tiramisu 

nomnom 

Guest post - The most wonderful time of the year

Well, Christmas comes closer and closer. And it’s snowing outside (in Munich anyway), the fire in the fireplace is burning and we listen to Christmas and winter songs on the radio. I love this season! I love baking cookies, I love strolling over the Christmas markets and I love watching Christmas movies. Yeah, this is the most wonderful time of the year! Oh, I forgot something: I love planning our dinner for Christmas. So this year I decided not to present a roasted duck as usually, but to cook an Asian Menu: Maybe Tom Yum Goong Soup as our starter, homemade spring rolls, an Indian Curry with Naan bread and Coconut Panna Cotta with Mango Pulp. My daughter and my son love Asian food as well - hot and spicy. And they die for Coconut Panna Cotta. So they always ask me to cook it for them. They will be very surprised to get it on Christmas evening. But....pssst.... don’t tell them.... it’s a secret...

And now I tell you my secret:

Coconut Panna Cotta with Mango Sauce

4    Sheets   gelatin
200  ml       coconut milk
250  ml       heavy cream
40   g        sugar   
1             vanilla pod, split lengthways, seeds scraped out

For the sauce

200  ml       mango pulp
1    tsp      lime zest
1    tbsp     lime juice
3    tbsp     coconut flakes

1. Heat the cream and coconut milk, add the sugar and a lengthwise sliced vanilla bean (and the scraped out vanilla seeds). Let it simmer for about 10 minutes and stir every now and then. Remove from the heat.

2. Then remove vanilla pod.

Meanwhile soak the sheets of gelatin in cold water (for about 10 min). Take the sheets out, and put them in add it to the cream/coconut mixture and stir thoroughly until fully combined.

Chill for at least 5 hours, better over night.

4. Mix mango pulp, lime juice and zests.

Brown lightly coconut flakes in anon-stick frying pan.

5. To unmold the panna cotta, briefly dip the form in hot water and carefully flip it over on a plate. Decorate with mango sauce.

Enjoy!

Kirsten 

www.tabletalks.de 

www.secret-supper-club.com

Christmas Chocolate-almond-cinnamon biscuits

Christmas reindeer biscuit in a Biscuit Pocket Mug

I had to bake some Christmas biscuits, just to use the cute mug once. The biscuits are delicious, not too sweet... perfect for Christmas. And they taste even more delicious with some milk to dip in...

Here is the recipe

Lots of chocolate....ready to eat....or better to bake, cook and then eat...

I used a lot of different Christmas biscuit cutters: Angels, snowmen, Christmas trees and and and

The chocolatey biscuits...waiting to be tasted!

 Biscuit pocket mug (Urban Outfitters UK)

Best cheap eats

What I love about London's restaurants and cafés is the variety. Do you feel like eating Indian? Or maybe Indonesian? Latvian? Or rather Japanese? London has it all!

Every kind of cuisine, super chic haute-cuisine restaurants but also budget places. London's budget places show that low price does not mean low quality...to the contrary!

Of course outside of London's center there are a lot of cheap eats and good offers, but I know some places in the heart of London, where you can have drinks, main course and dessert for around £15.

Italian
Pizzeria Icco

Most people who don't know Icco and the pizza there would probably walk past this place. It looks like a American canteen, not chic at all, but curde with bright lights. But you forget about that after your first bite of pizza.

One of the best pizzas I've ever eaten in London, during lunch time it's always full of business men and students. But don't worry the service is quick and friendly.

You will have your Italian pizza after a couple of minutes starting from £ 3.50 (take-away). The Cappuccino is perfectly Italian!
         

Thai : Thai metro

I love this place, it's exactly opposite of Roka but less fancy. Simple interior, small and authentic. Friendly service and best quality. The currys here are amazing, but also the starters and noodle dishes are delicious. Almost all main courses offer a choice between duck, beef, chicken, tofu or prawns....




















....and they don't serve you three poor prawns, or some slices of duck, but a generous full plate.

Same for the starters, instead of three slices of spare ribs we got a whole plate full of spare ribs with tasty sauce. Starters are around  £ 4 and main courses are  £ 6.50

Lebanese

Comptoir Libanais

This is a really delicious Lebanese food chain. One is located in Marylebone, one Soho and another one South Kensington. They have a large range of food, falafel, wraps, mousaka, halloumi steak and more. I can recommend the chicken taouk wrap, the chicken is really tasty and soft.

       

                     

Prices for main courses are around £ 8. The interior is a lovely mix of colorful designs and Lebanese details.

...to be continued....

Addresses:

Thai Metro

38 Charlotte Street, Fitzrovia
London W1T 2NN

Icco

46 Goodge Street, Fitzrovia
London W1T 4LU

Comptoir Libanais 

65 Wigmore Street, Marylebone
London W1U 1JT

1-5 Exhibtion Road, South Kensington
London E20 2HE

59 Broadwick Street, Soho
London W1F 9QH

Pierre Victoire

This French place is brilliant, a absolut gem. Pierre Victoire is a small and cosy restaurant in Soho, perfect for a cosy winter night when it's getting cold outside.

The food is delicious and well priced, the wide choice of food includes French food and Mediterranean delicacies, like Italian Pasta and also Lebanese dainties. The atmosphere is nice, a perfect place for a dinner with friends but also for a romantic date. Make sure you make a booking! For lunch and early dinner they have a two course set menu for only ₤9 / ₤12.90.

Address:

5 Dean Street, Soho

London W1D 3RQ

As a starter we had a maze platter to share, with stuffed wine leaves, hummus, tatziki, falafel, eggplant salad, crostini and olives....excellent!

The starter goes perfectly with the smooth red wine

The Rib-Eye steak with mashed potatoes and beans

And a lovely salad with chicken, dried tomatoes, potatoes and an amazing mustard dressing

The steak was perfectly tender and the sauce delicious....oh boy...I want to eat that again.

And even the espresso macchiato was perfect...all Italian...

Circus of Soho

Chris Bracey lights Soho. The famous neon artist opened his Pop-Up gallery in London. After working with film, music and fashion icons like Tim Burton (Gotham City), Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood or David Lachapell his art pieces can now be viewed and bought in his current exhibition "Circus of Soho".

Bracey's art pieces which are usually bought by celebrities as Kate Moss, Jude Law or Elton John and start at £400.

Chris Bracey's exhibtion

Circus of Soho

at 27 Beak Street

runs until 15th January 2015

Visit his website 

the world-famous Marylin Monroe

His cult pieces are created by hand and encompass sculptures, old movie props, vintage and new neon signs.

bubbledogs

Bubbledogs, nomen est omen: Champagne meets hotdog! This new concept works...people are queuing to get a hotdog here. The crowd outside the restaurant during the weekend is unbelievable, I thought a new night club openend when I walked past there. I came back another day to see if it is really worth queuing...First of all the interior is lovely. Brick walls, ancient stools, big wood tables and a nice Champagne bar, reminded me of those hip cafés in NewYork. Everything with a touch of coolness.

They have a wide range of hotdogs..."José" with avocado, the "Trishna Dog" with mint and coriander or another one with bacon and caramelized lettuce. It takes quite a while to decide which one to take, you can choose between 13 gourmet hotdogs!

Champagne starts at £6 a glas, which is a good price considering that the hotdog (£6 - £8) is more expensive than the Champagne.

The " Buffalo Dog" was really good and the service was super friendly, probably the queu is too long and the prices are too high to go there regularly. But is definitely worth trying!

"Buffalo Dog" served in a red plastic basket with Champagne 

hip interior

Fancy some Champagne?

The gourmet hotdogs

Address: 
70 Charlotte Street
W1T 4QG London