Where to eat in London

If you know a few of the places on this list I hope you will agree that ‘cheap eats’, or in other words gorging on (usually large quantities of) maximum flavour delicious food, while possibly bringing one’s own booze, is something London does extremely well.  It is something I like to do as frequently as possible!

So I hope you enjoy this list, six years in the making.  Let me know if you think any others should be on there.

Ryo, 84 Brewer Street, near Piccadilly Circus (no website)

Perfect for a lunch while shopping nearby or en route to a meeting if you are as obsessed as I am.  Mix soy sauce, Japanese vinegar and chilli oil to dip gyoza into.  Have a massive chicken katsu curry or a ramen.

Hammersmith Café, 1 Studland Street, Hammersmith (no website)

Recommended by Jonny Haughton, original chef of the Havelock Tavern (long gone now).  Superb Thai food.  Byo.  Recommend the massuman curry.

My Old Place, 88-90 Middlesex Street, near Liverpool St tube (www.oldplace.co.uk) 

Incredible Chinese food.  Massive portions.  Noisy atmosphere and a mixed smell of barbeque and hot oil.

Get the Foccacia, Crown Passage, St James, and 23 Bride Lane, Ludgate Circus (www.getthefocaccia.com)

I used to work nearby and would go here pretty much every day.  Lovely pasta, risotto and focaccia.

The Japan Centre, 14-16 Lower Regent Street (www.japancentre.com)

I would go here when I didn’t go to the one above.  Sushi, Japanese dim sum, miso soup etc.  Get the sweetcorn fritters if they have them. 

Lahore Kebab House, 2-10 Umberston Street (off Commercial Road a 10min walk from Aldgate East) (http://www.lahore-kebabhouse.com/)

Everyone knows this one!  Famously good.

The Beiteddine Express, 19 Clarges St, Mayfair (http://beiteddineexpressmayfair.co.uk)

Now we are talking.  Follow the flowing clouds of charcoal smoke up the street and ask for a chicken shawarma.  Comes in a wrap with garlic sauce, tomatoes and gherkins.  O yes.

The Empress Indian, 141 Leman Street, nearest tube Tower Hill (www.empressindian.co.uk)

I haven’t actually been here, however it comes highly recommended by the former private secretary to a certain former communities minister, who certainly likes to eat.  Best thing, I am told, is to order a curried leg of lamb two days in advance.

Sofra, 36 Tavistock Street, Covent Garden (among others) (www.sofra.co.uk)

Having now lived through three incarnations of the Sofra Turkish ‘healthy meal’, I have seen it change a little, but it is still absolutely lovely.  They now do it for just one person though, which, while entrepreneurial, results in a slightly stingy portion.  Go with three friends, order 4x healthy meals and 2x bottles of house red and you are laughing.  (healthy meal: http://www.sofra.co.uk/menus/coventgarden_healthy.htm?keepThis=true&TB_iframe=true&width=825&height=600)

The Perseverance, Shroton Street, Marylebone (http://www.perseverancepub.co.uk/)

A slight outlier on this list being a sit-down European food venue but definitely worth knowing about.  A very short walk from Marylebone tube, with a daily changing menu and wines by carafe.  Highlights have included a suckling pig belly piece with macaroni cheese, and a fresh strawberry jelly with clotted cream ice cream.

Two favourite takeaway options:

Xiong Mao (www.xiong-mao.co.uk) 

Very superior Chinese takeaway company delivering to a range of postcodes.  Have the softshell crab.  Avoid the token Thai section of the menu.

Lily Road Tandoori (http://lilytandoori.com)

Best Indian takeaway place I know in London.  Only deliver to Fulham though.  That really was back in the day!

Top 10 Tips for Christmas Cooking

Well the fish gratin went down well with you!  One thing though, if you are going to cook something from the blog, always go to the website not the email sent out, as I sometimes tweak recipes slightly after posting.

Top 10 Tips For Christmas Cooking

1.  To cook brussels sprouts boil them in a very large quantity of heavily salted water until tender, cutting the base of the stems off first, and halving them if very large.  This rids them of their strong flavour, which frankly is very neccessary, and was often done to cabbages in the past, before adding them to pot au feus for example.  Drain and add back to the pan with a knob of butter, salt and pepper, and stir over a low heat briefly to drive off water.  You keep their nice round shape this way and they will taste good.

2. The only way to tell when potatos are boiled enough to be roasted is with a small sharp knife.  If they are the size of a golf ball you want 1cm cooked around the outside but the inside still hard.  Toss in a colander to roughen and season well before roasting.

3. Make a dark chicken stock in advance to help boost the gravy, if you are cooking a turkey or game bird.  Just roast some chicken wings or carcasses, and separately roast a big tray of stock vegetables, turning both over until well browned.  Deglaze with a generous amount of white wine then assemble in a stockpot for a lengthy simmer.  Salt only lightly and don't add peppercorns until the last half hour.  Reduce.  See roast chicken blog post for a fuller discussion.  Handy to have for leftovers as well.

4. Laying bacon on a roasting bird is pointless.  Too salty, ruins the crisp skin and doesn't acheive anything.

5. Wrapping chipolatas in streaky bacon is debateable.  Can be hard to make them stay on the sausages, and removing the skin first, which does help it stick, can be a fiddle.  Alternative is to just roll up the bacon and fix with a cocktail stick.

6. Brining a turkey for a day before cooking will add flavour and succulence.  Dry the bird thoroughly before roasting, wrapped in a tea towel overnight potentially.

7. A starter before Christmas dinner is strictly optional, for purposes of seconds.

8. Brandy butter can be a bit greasy with Christmas pudding.  A nice alternative is a bechemal sweeted with sugar and with whisky, rum or cognac added.

9. The sweetness in cranberry sauce can kill delicate fine wines such as Burgundies, that would otherwise be perfect with a roast turkey.  Maybe only have a little bit.

10. Cut the core out of quartered parsnips to make nicer to eat.

11. Afterthought: Try not to be a food Nazi (note to self).