Thai Silk in Southwark is the latest addition to the Royal China Group, a Chinese restaurant chain that made its name throughout London popularising dim sum. With Thai Silk, the group has diversified, looking to offer a different and a more complete experience for those guests that wish to not only eat, but also to drink and party. The restaurant proper at Thai Silk is a large generous space, big enough to serve about 100 covers. Sitting adjacent to the restaurant is a separate bar which has both indoor and outdoor seating. Here, the cocktail list is long, and on Friday nights there is a DJ in the house – ideal for young party goers. And for an added twist, Thai Silk also houses two private karaoke rooms.

The a la carte menu is your standard run-of-the-mill type stuff. However Thai Silk has also devised a new street food menu. Designed by Head Chef Mr Pornthep Kongha, the idea is to embrace London’s culturally diverse foodie scene. The street food menu is interesting, and includes tempting sweet, salty and spicy dishes include crispy dried pork; steamed fish in lemon sauce; glass noodle salad; deep dried rice salad with minced pork; papaya salad with small crab; Thai sour spare ribs; hot & sour soup with spare ribs; Thai sausages; and minced pork cake. Influenced by Bangkok’s street food scene, the street food dishes are priced from £6.25 and offers a guests a way to line their stomachs before having a dance at the bar.

Website: http://www.thai-silk.co.uk/

When it comes to food, we all know what we like. Some of us have a sweet tooth and love desserts and baked goods. Whereas some of us prefer the taste of savory foods far more. Many of us probably eat too much of the foods we like and not enough of the foods that are good for us. This can leave our weekly meals feeling a little predictable and dull. Why not bring some excitement back to your taste buds and try some vegan products instead. Here are some tasty, fun and exciting products you are bound to love.

The Beast Burger

Instead of sticking to your usual ham or beef burger, why not give the Beast Burger by Beyond Meat a try. This 100% plant protein product is a healthier option that has fewer calories than a meat-based burger. It also boasts a number of benefits from having 23 grams of protein to containing plenty of antioxidants and iron. It is soy-free, gmo-free and gluten-free, which leaves you with a delicious and succulent tasting burger. If you love throwing family BBQ’s in the summer, this product could become a fast favorite. While also keeping everyone fit, lean and healthy. You can find these from most vegan food stores or from online retailers.

Many people don’t realise that Famous Amos Sandwich cookies are in fact vegan. They are an iconic brand that serves flavoursome cookies and baked goods. With flavours such as Vanilla, Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Macaroon, there’s bound to be a flavour that you enjoy. Bought by vegans and non-vegans alike, they are enjoyed by both young and old and make a brilliant snack. They are ideal for movie nights at home or trips to the local park. Or just as a treat after a long day at work.

Alternatively you could try vegan-friendly cookies from Trader Joe’s, Hampton Creek or Nature Valley instead. For Hampton Creek info and Nature Valley info, head to their respective websites to see what products they have on offer.

Cheezy Mac

If you’re trying to cut down on your cheese intake or remove dairy altogether, Daiya’s Cheezy Mac could be a fantastic solution. Daiya produces products that are dairy, lactose and gluten free. But full of calcium and protein. Their Cheezy Mac comes in three different flavors and creates a meal the whole family will enjoy. With it’s creamy, rich flavor, you’ll forget that it’s a substitute for the real thing. It’s convenient, healthy conscious and allergen free, as well as still tasting fantastic. Even if you like to cook your own mac and cheese, there’s no denying the benefits Cheezy Mac has. Daiya also produces other tasty products such as spreadable cheese, pizza, and dressings.

Mac and cheese

Whether you are a fully fledged vegan or just looking for something new, these products are bound to appeal. You never know, they may become your new favorite snack or weekly treat. Look in vegan cookbooks and online to see what other vegan foods are waiting to be discovered.

Note: This post may contain affiliate links.

We attended a butchery class at Jamie Oliver’s Barbecoa at One New Change.

The restaurant has a small section cornered off behind black curtain walls for such events. Dimly lit, with a few tables laid out and a shelved wall filled with a range of whisky bottles, we were drawn to a large table in the centre: a large chopping board, butcher’s knife and bone saw with a spotlight above, literally setting the stage for what was to come.

Whilst we eagerly waited, glasses of prosecco were served and there were portions of crispy pork crackling at each of the tables to whet the appetite. Moroccan spiced lamb puff pastries followed: rich and hearty lamb shoulder, smoked for 14hrs and densely packed into puff pastry. This was tender, flavoursome meat, complemented well by a zingy romesco dipping sauce.

Barbecoa – Lamb puffs

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STARS OF THE LOIRE VALLEY

The Stars of the Loire festival, which runs from 21 September to 25 October, will see Loire Valley Wines as the guests of honour at a range of D&D London restaurants across the capital. Throughout the festival, over a dozen top restaurants and three wine shops across the D&D group will be offering a variety of different Stars of the Loire events. There will also be a number of pop-up events and tastings including special dinners hosted by BBC Saturday Kitchen’s Jane Parkinson; Channel 4’s Four Rooms art dealer Wendy Meakin; and Daily Telegraph wine correspondent Victoria Moore.

New Street Grill, one of the restaurants in the D&D Group, played host to a Loire Valley wine tasting last week, and I was lucky enough to be a guest at this special event. We tried a selection of lovely Loire Valley wines including the following:

1) Vouvray Brut Dilettante, Pierre Breton, Loire Valley, France NV, a sparkling Vouvray,made using the traditional method Champagne method, (i.e.: induced secondary fermentation in bottle, aging, disgorgement and dosage). It is made using minimal sulfur and has a lively and very pure, zesty Chenin Blanc flavour.
2) Savennières ‘Clos du Papillon’, Domaine des Baumard, Loire Valley, France 2007, a spicy, rich and elegant wine with a fruity and floral finish.
3) Chinon ‘Coteau de Noiré’ Philippe Alliet, Loire Valley, France 2011, a complex and refined bottle offering tempting aromas of cherries, blackcurrant, vanilla, and perfumed tobacco.
4) Coteaux du Layon ‘Selection de Grains Nobles’ Philippe Delesvaux, Loire Valley, France (50cl) 2011, a well rounded and spicy wine with hints of ginger, juniper berries and allspice.

All the wines retail at very reasonable prices and deserve some attention. For more details about the Stars of the Loire festival, check out the DandDwine website. Ideal for wine lovers!

LITTLE RED POCKET

There are many restaurants and bars to visit, but the Little Red Pocket cocktail bar in Melbourne, Australia offers the best cocktails the city has and can offer. Quiet, discreet and overlooking Melbourne’s central district, the bar is a gem hidden in the streets of the city. Little Red Pocket serves traditional and Japanese inspired cocktails that are bound to give the feeling of Japan’s national spirits. Their cocktail menu is filled with many different refreshing and tantalizing flavors that aim to bring out the Japanese spirits to its audience.

When it comes to their drinks they have their house favorites or their pride and joy, The Fallen Blossom. This drink is recommended as an introduction to Sake newbies. Their sake is mixed with fresh ingredients that add wonderful flavors to your taste buds unlike most standard drinks. Sake is a strong Japanese alcohol that has been serving the Japanese culture for a long time, it has a very strong flavor and odor so it may seem unattractive to other people, but Little Red Pocket’s touch to the Japanese sake makes it easier for others to enjoy the taste and feel of the drink and tastes great as mentioned before.

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UNCOVER – THE LASTMINUTE RESTAURANT APP

The difficulty with making last minute dinner reservations is that you can spend a lot of time trying to book a restaurant, only to find out that the restaurant has no availability. UNCOVER the lastminute restaurant app helps to get rid of this problem by only showing restaurants with availability on the same or next day.

I found out about UNCOVER through Krista from Passportdelicious.com. Uncover works by curating a highly selective list of cool places. The restaurants on the list then let Uncover know when they have last minute cancellations or no-shows. These pop up on the app allowing you to make your same-day or next-day reservation. Easy.

Uncover – The app

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Last weekend, we were invited by Australian chef Chris Jordan, formerly at the acclaimed Flying Fish & 4fourteen restaurants in Sydney, to his pop up restaurant ‘Tasting Room’. Tasting Room is the first venture by Chris, and with it he intends to bring together a variety of themed dinners that draw inspiration from a mixture of local establishments ranging from chicken shops to cocktail lounges.

Tasting Room is located at Startisans, an indoor food market on Shelton Street in Covent Garden that showcases artisan food producers at lunchtime on weekdays. As his home is a local food market, he intends to use ingredients from nearby farmers’ markets and small businesses. The venue will hold a large communal table where diners are encouraged to bring their own drinks and which will also facilitate a sharing dining experience. Six ‘tasting room’ events with be held a month with regularly changing menus. Future events will look to collaborate with pop-up chefs from Michelin-star backgrounds.

Chris says, “I set up ‘A taste’ to provide a genuine alternative in the London restaurant scene. Now with Tasting Room as a more permanent fixture, I’m trying to demonstrate how inventive Modern British cuisine can be with a real emphasis on local and seasonal ingredients served with an air of fun and excitement. But ultimately it’s all about discovering unexpectedly delicious food in a truly relaxed setting.”

Last weekend’s menu drew upon teas by Yumcha, a teashop with locations around London including Soho. The starter was a ‘Caramel Sweetheart’, cauliflower and scallop, a complex dish consisting of beautifully seared scallops and fresh sweet scallop ceviche. Accompanying the scallop was a lovey cauliflower puree flavoured with ‘Caramel Sweetheart’, a white chocolate and caramel fudge tea, some tasty cauliflower cous cous and shaved cauliflower. The latter two elements completed the dish nicely by adding crunchiness and texture. This was a wonderful, skillfully executed plate of food.

Slow roasted Sufflok lamb shoulder with salt baked turnips, pickled baby turnips, turnip tops and ‘Egyptian Nights’ jelly was next. The lamb was tender and paired well with the jelly which was mint and chamomile.

The Tasting Room – Sufflok lamb shoulder with salt baked turnips, pickled baby turnips, turnip tops and ‘Egyptian Nights’ jelly

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New York City

I love New York City. I use to live there for a couple of years and once this great city gets into your blood, you are totally hooked. It is a constantly changing city, with new bars and restaurants popping up regularly. They say that there are 20,000 restaurants in Manhattan alone, which doesn’t even take into account the restaurants in the other five boroughs. Simply put, you will never be short of a dining option when you are in New York.

So when in New York, how do you decide where to eat? With Housetrip.com’s new food guide you will be able to find the best that there is to offer, especially in The Big Apple. The food section on Housetrip.com is compiled by a team of local food experts who have combed New York far and wide, taking you on a tour of the Big Apple’s most delicious sites. It caters not only to the discerning connoisseur, but also to foodies who are on a budget. With HouseTrip’s New York food guide you will get a taste of what a great melting pot New York is!

Housetrip.com can also help you with your holiday rentals as well, whether you are looking for a villa or an apartment. It also spans many international destinations, so check it out! You won’t be disappointed.

Website: http://Housetrip.com

Written in association with Housetrip.com.