Cocochan

I always used to walk past this restaurant on my way to Oxford Street. It is located on James Street next to hundred of other restaurants, that is way I never really paid attention to it.

One evening, when it was raining, I didn’t want to go to far for dinner and thought about places nearby. We ended up at Cocochan as it looked welcoming. It stands a bit out compared to the other restaurants in James Street as it is less rustic and more fancy.

The interior is very nice, all in purple/red (depends on the light) and white. Very romantic.

The food was surprisingly good, we had grilled scallops on wasabi avocado and rice, Thai green curry with tiger prawns, sashimi and delicious dessert. The intense colour and flavour of the curry was amazing! Everything is a bit pricy, the scallops are for example ₤18. The cuisine is Thai, Chinese, Japanese and Indian. 

Cocochan

30-40, James Street

W1U 1EU London

edamame 

scallops and green Thai curry

good combi ;)

sashimi platter

coconut and mango parfait

chocolate fondant and vanilla ice cream

Studs and leather

Have you been to ZARA recently? If you want to save your credit card better don’t go, it could end bad for your account. Not because ZARA suddenly changed their prices, just because everything is gorgeous.

But if you are disciplined and not a shopaholic you should definitely stop by. The new collection is based on warm winter colours and amazing fabrics, like leather and silk. Eye-catching are all the studs on almost every item: shoes, bags, trousers, blouses even on gloves. Here are some snapshots...

Check out the ZARA online collection and your closest store.

winter coat with cow leather

high heels, high heels, high heels!!!!!

studded fake pony skin slippers

casual leather boots embellished with studs

stunning but not very handy

the perfect going-out bag:  small but big enough to take your keys, phone, a small wallet and some lipstick with you

Discover Marylebone

Marylebone…is the perfect area to live, shop and stroll up and down the street. 

You can’t be more central, but still you don’t feel the hectic and the noise of Oxford Street. 

It is located right behind Selfridges, and close to Regent's Park. It is a rather small neighbourhood, with small mews, individual cafes and shops.

Marylebone High Street is the main street . With fashion and interior shops like Ash, The White Company, The Conran Shop and Sandro. There is for example Coco Momo, a really cosy café. 

For dinner I usually go to The Providores, very exciting and innovative fusion food.

Fish Works is also recommendable if you like fish. 

Furthermore there is the world famous Le Relais De Venise L'Entrecot and a nice, bit more fancy pub called The Marylebone. 

When you go Marylebone High Street further down, towards Oxford Street the street name changes into James Street. Here are many more good restaurants like the pan-asian Cocochan and a spanish place called La Tasca.

Hidden in a backstreet there is La Fromagarie a traditional old French cheese shop with a café. The atmosphere there is absolutely comfortable with the cheese & food shop. People sit together on a massive dark wooden tables and enjoy delicacies. The cake is delicious, they also serve breakfast in the morning.

So next time when you are around have a look…

Coco Momo

The Marylebone

Ash

The Providores

La Fromagerie, Moxon Street, Marylebone

La Fromagerie

Crayfish and asparagus risotto

This is the recipe for an Italian risotto with crayfish and asparagus.

As a starter I prepared some tomato bruschetta, which I think goes nice with the main course.

The recipe isn’t mine. I was just watching, learning, assisting and left the cooking to the Italian food expert.

serves: 4 hungry people

Ingredients

1 liter of vegetable stock

1 bunch of green fresh asparagus

200 g crayfish

olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

500g risotto rice

2 wine glasses of white wine

50g butter

100 g freshly grated Parmesan cheese

25g fresh leaf parsley salt and pepper

1. First of all heat the stock

2. In a separate pot boil water for the asparagus.Wash the asparagus and if the stalks of the asparagus are thick, peel the bottom 1/2 of each. Cook the asparagus for about 10 minutes in boiling water, add some salt. As soon as the asparagus is cooked, take it out and cut it into mouth bite-size pieces

3. In a separate pan, heat olive oil and butter, add the onions and fry very slowly for about 10 minutes. Add the rice and turn up the heat.

Keep stirring the rice. After some minutes add the white wine and keep stirring.

4. Once the wine has cooked into the rice, add one ladle of hot stock and a pinch of salt. Turn down the heat to a simmer. Keep adding the stock, and stirring. This will take around 15-20 minutes and strong arms. Carry on adding stock until the rice is soft. Add the crayfish and the asparagus.

5. Remove from the heat and add olive oil , Parmesan and cut parsley. Keep stirring the risotto. Place a lid on the pan and allow to sit for at least 2 minutes.

Now it becomes creamy and oozy and is ready to be served.

asparagus, crayfish, parsley and parmesan  

tomatoes, onions, olive oil for the bruschetta 

Cool and Cute Collar Necklace

Collars are a really nice accessory to embellish your outfit. I got this silver collar necklace from a friend this spring and I don't want to miss it anymore.

The bigger and more eye-catching your collar necklace is the less sophisticated the rest of your outfit should be.

To enhance the effect of your collar wear it with a simple shirt or dress and plain colours, no patterns. There is no need for other accessories as big earrings, hair jewellery...that would make your style rather florid.

three beautiful collars, seen at topshop.com

Burger time

Every now and then everybody feels the desire to eat a good burger I guess. But instead of going to a junk-food chain, you should rather try it at home.

There are so many variations of burgers, I made the typical meat burger. If you are a vegetarian, use a veggie burger as an alternative. You can add various things like avocado or bacon. It is the perfect recipe if you have friends over and just put the ingredients in small bowls, so every one can choose what they want on their burger. Ever tried a lobster burger? Or a tuna sashimi-sesame burger? LOVELY!

This recipe is just an inspiration and all you need is:

Burger bread

Beef burgers/Veggie burger

Lettuce

Tomatoes

Cheese

Then just wash the salad and the tomatoes, grill the beef burgers in a pan and let some cheese melting on top of them.  Meanwhile cut the tomatoes into slices.

As soon as the meat is done, open the burger bread and fill it with the lettuce, the cut tomatoes, the meat with cheese and some ketchup. Close the burger and ready is your burger. Enjoy!

raw beef burger, tomatoes, lettuce and cheese

the grilled beef burgers with cheese on top

ready to eat

Some inspirations...

tuna sesame burger ( eaten in NYC)

best lobster burger (eaten in NYC, Brinkleys)

Healthy salad

Salads are always an easy, healthy and quick meal, but sometimes you run out of ideas what ingredients to use. Here is a delicious salad recipe

Things you need for 1-2 people:

1 package of lettuce ( I chose a mixed leaves salad)

2 beetroots

1 pomegranate ( if you don't want a big mess in your kitchen, buy the ready to eat pomegranate cores)

200 g goats cheese

1 ripe Avocado

2 carrots

100 g cocktail tomatoes

honey

oil and vinegar

salt and pepper

fresh rosemary

As I love bread (especially with olive oil) I would recommend to buy some ciabatta or baguette for the salad. Traditional Italian bread is sold at Princi, Wardour Street, Soho (love that place)

1. First of all wash the salad, tomatoes and carrots

2. Peel the carrots and the avocado

3. Stir-fry the rosemary with some olive oil and honey in a pan, then add the goats cheese, you can either put the whole cheese in the pan or cut into thick pieces. Roast gently until the goats cheese is gold brown

4. Meanwhile cut the avocado, the beetroot and the tomatos into bit size pieces and grate the carrots and put them with the pomegranate in a salad bowl

5. Take the golden roasted cheese out of the pan and add it together with the lettuce in the bowl

6. The just add salt pepper and oil and vinegar to taste FINISHED

fresh pomegranate

goat's cheese beetroot salad

Italian bread