Restaurant review: The Diner, Camden, north London

I have a lot of nostalgia for The Diner so was delighted to be invited to the launch of the newly refurbished Camden branch. So my BFF and I trotted down after work for a lovely sunny evening on the rooftop terrace, enjoying far too much food and a bit too many cocktails for a Wednesday evening. Confirmed when I work up the next day for work with a bit of a sore head...

So what did we try? EVERYTHING. Highlights included the bacon wrapped crispy tator tots with a delicious jalapeño dip, WTF fries consisting of french fries with shredded tangy BBQ pork, oozing cheese, crispy bacon and topped with a perfectly fried eggs and chilli flakes, boneless southern fried chicken and flavoursome buffalo chicken wings with a creamy blue cheese dip. But my favourite were the tator tots loaded with crumbled blue cheese, beef chilli, lashings of sour cream and chopped spring onions. They were incredible and I really didn't want to share.

The Diner has has a great makeover, the roof terrace really is something special looking out over all the action on the high street. It's in a superb location, just a short walk from Camden Town tube station. The menu is always so consistent and pretty reasonably priced. A great choice if you find yourself in the area for a few drinks. Thanks so much for such a great evening guys!

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Recipe: Thai-inspired red curry meatballs

Wing Yip kindly sent me over a hamper to help celebrate Healthy Eating Week which starts today. Thai-inspired food is always my first choice when I'm looking to lighten up my meals. They're so easy to pack with veggies, low-fat coconut milk makes it still feel naughty and I find the dishes always so filling. The basis of this dish was taken from an old favourite BBC Good Food.

Serves 4

Ingredients
500g of organic lean beef mince
1 small knob of ginger, grated
1 egg
1 tbsp of sunflower oil
1 tbsp Mai Siam Thai red curry paste*
1 can low-fat coconut milk
1 bag of sugar snap peas
1 bag of baby corn
1 red pepper
20g fresh basil plus a little to garnish
Juice of one lime plus one to cut into wedges to serve
1/2 pack of Chinese noodles*

Method
1. Put the mince in a large bowl with the grated ginger, egg and season generously. Mix together well and shape into meatballs. Put to one side.

2. Heat the sunflower oil in a large wok and brown the meatballs for five minutes. Transfer to a plate.

3. In the same pot, add the curry paste, fry for one minute before pouring in the can of coconut milk. Bring to the boil to help create a smooth sauce.

4. Pop all the vegetables in the pan for ten minutes then return the meatballs to the pan. Simmer for around five minutes until the vegetables are cooked and the meatballs are warmed through.

5. Bring a bowl of salted water to bowl before popping in the noodles for two minutes. Drain once cooked.

6.  To serve, squeeze in the lime juice and season with salt and pepper. Tear up the basil leaves before stiring through. Serve over the noodles.

As always I would love to know if you attempt the dish so please do send me a tweet.

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The new spring menu at Cafe Rouge

When Cafe Rouge invited me over to try their new spring set menu, I couldn't say no to them could I? So I gathered my (very) pregnant friend who is now glowing for an early evening dinner to catch up on all the gossip and remark at just how we've managed to have the first baby in our group of friends. It was the perfect remedy for the Monday blues.

I'm a huge fan of fish so I had to plump for mackerel pâtè made with creamy crème fraîche and a hint of spicy horseradish. A side of pickled cucumber and a couple of slices of toasted rye and carraway bread finished the dish off. The portion size was perfect with the two slices of bread being the ideal amount to smoother on a generous layer of pâtè. My friend opted for a salty ham hock, pea and mustard terrine with a shallot and raison chutney paired with a couple of slices of toasted rye and carraway bread. It got her seal of approval from the first bite!

Still with mussels on my mind from my trip to the South of France, I went for the French classic of moules and frites. The creamy white wine sauce was absolutely delicious and perfect for dunking chips. I looked on envious at my friend's double cheese and sundried tomato tart, hoping to sneak a bite! Despite having groaning bellies we both went for dessert, determined to take one for the team. A couple of scoops of salted caramel ice cream for me and a light lemon mousse with a crunchy almond  tuile for her.

Service couldn't have been better and the menu was varied with something for both veggies and meat eaters to tuck into. Available from 12pm until close every day, it can be enjoyed any time of day. It's a great option if you're in the West End and need a quick meal before you pop to see a show. Thank you so much for having us Cafe Rouge!

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Restaurant review: The Hanoi Bike Shop, Glasgow, Scotland

Glasgow is a great foodie city, I don't think you could ever run out of places to eat. Hanoi Bike Shop, the only Vietnamese restaurant in the city, was just a ten minutes stroll from our apartment. Vietnamese is one of my favourite cuisines to eat so I knew we had to squeeze in a trip. Boy am I glad we did as it was glorious! Hanoi Bike Shop offers small sharing places, with the dishes on the menu all as locally sourced as possible and made from scratch.

We opted for some prawn crackers and a creamy peanut butter and chilli sauce to help us pursue the menu. They recommend three to four dishes per person so that's exactly what we ordered. Highlights of the meals included spicy chilli and cauliflower bites, dense sesame seed chicken livers, a flavoursome rich pheasant curry served in a clay pot and sweet honey and crispy salted duck leg. The dishes were so moreish and light with each one just as good as the previous. You really could taste the high quality of the food served with each bite. The portions were a great size for sharing plates - sometimes restaurants can be a little tight when it comes to small plates.

It was all really reasonably priced and service was attentive and informative. It was one of our foodie highlights of the trip and I'll definitely visit again if I ever find myself in the city. It reminded me once again why Vietnamese scores so highly on my tastebuds.

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Restaurant review: Yuu Kitchen, Whitechapel, east London

As soon as I looked online at the menu at Yuu Kitchen I knew I was going to take up their invitation to try their new dishes. It looked delicious! Located on Commercial Road in the East End, the Pacific Rim inspired restaurant specialises in sharing plates. The best kind of restaurant in my opinion because who doesn't like to try and sample everything on the menu?

To help stop our rumbling bellies as we pursued the menu, my BFF and I decided to order some addictive salted edamame beans and crunchy pork chicharron (pork scratchings) to wet our appetite. They were the perfect introduction to the menu and left us craving more. Our stand out items included the moreish sweet & sticky aubergine which left us desperately needing more as soon as it was finished, tender salt and pepper calamari, twice cooked pork belly bao with the perfect accompaniment of BBQ sauce and cucumber pickles and baby back ribs with a decent amount of heat, they just fell off the bone. A deep fried bao filled with creamy pistachio ice cream was such a game changer. It was probably one of the best things I have eaten in a long time. A revelation!

The menu was fun and inventive. It fully deserves its place in the London restaurant scene. We got to sit at the bar which I highly recommend. It was great fun watching the busy chefs work their magic and they were so helpful, answering any questions we had about the food. In fact all the staff couldn't be any more helpful. A Friday night very well spent - thanks so much for having us Yuu Kitchen. We had a blast!

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Recipe: summer fruit drizzle cake

It feels like it's been an age since I've had time to do some baking so I took advantage of some free time on Bank Holiday Monday. It's made me realise how much I've missed locking myself away in the kitchen and just concentrating on the task at hand. I wanted something simple with ingredients I didn't need to do a big shop for. The end result was this delicious summer fruits drizzle cake from Good Food. It came together wonderfully and couldn't be easier to make.

Ingredients
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
175g of strawberries, halved and blueberries
140g granulated sugar
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
175g of Stork baking margarine
175g caster sugar
250g self-raising flour

Method
1. Heat the oven to 180 degrees / 160 degrees fan oven / gas mark 4. Line a loaf tin with parchment paper and grease liberally with butter.

2. Put the butter, caster sugar, flour, vanilla extract and eggs into a large bowl or stand mixer. Beat until pale and creamy. Keep in mind the mixture will be quite thick so don't worry!

3. Scatter 1/3 of the cake mix into the tin then scatter a small handful of fruit evenly. Then pour over another 1/3 of the mixture and repeat the fruit process. Finally pour over the remaining mixture before popping in the oven.

4. Cook for around an hour - pop some tin foil over the top if it starts to go too brown too early.

5. Once cooked, leave it in the tin on the side while you make the drizzle mixture.

6. Put the remaining fruit in a bowl with the lemon juice and sugar. Give it a good stir, slightly mashing up the fruit as you go. It should turn into a pink paste.

7. Pour over the top of the cake and leave it to set in the tin and fully cool down.

8. Once it's all cooled down, cut yourself a slice and tuck in!

I'd really love to know if you attempt this at home so please do drop me a tweet. Happy baking!

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Restaurant review: Firezza, Soho, central London

It seems like I've been eating a lot of pizza lately. Heaven eh? Last week I was invited along to the launch of a new pizza joint in Soho. Firezza decided to open their first sit-down restaurant and throw an insane pizza party to celebrate. Based in Dean Street, the location couldn't be more perfect - right in the heart of London.

They helped to wet our appetites with a selection of delicious bruschetta and endless glasses of prosecco. After we sampled everything on offer we took a seat and waited for the main event.

Served by the metre, the pizza is ideal for sharing. That's if you can bring yourself too - you might not want to after you have your first bite. Starting from £6, there are a variety of different topping on offer. My favourite featured generous lashings of creamy chunks of mozzarella, spicy pepperoni and torn flavoursome basil. Quite often the base can let a pizza down but the thin, chewy base blistered perfectly at the chunky crust. Make sure you try their signature potato and rosemary pizza too. It sounds strange but it works oh so well!

Filled with oozing cream, sprinkled with sweet icing sugar and dipped in chocolate chips, I fell in love with cannoli. It was my first time trying this Sicilian pastry but it won't be the last. They are unbelievably addictive and one of the must-try items on the menu.

Firezza has a lot of competition in London but it certainly lives up there with the best of the pizza joints on offer. It offers great value for money which is something often hard to find in the capital. It's a great place to get a group of friends together over the weekend for a catch up without breaking the bank. Enjoy the good food, craft beer and delicious desserts. Thanks so much for letting me come along - I'll certainly be back guys!

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Restaurant review: Franco Manca, Belsize Park, north London

Pizza is my favourite and Franco Manca is my favourite pizza joint in London. Nothing else comes close for me and I love the fact they now seem to be springing up all over the place. After the first branch opened in Brixton Market in 2008, the brand has gone from strength to strength. I introduced Gem to their delights of the pizza when she popped down to visit London for the day.

So what did I go for? Always the number 4. Salty home-cured Gloucester Old Spot Ham, creamy mozzarella, buffalo ricotta, soft wild mushrooms and juicy tomatoes on a chewy, sourdough base. Crisp on the outside yet soft in the middle, the base is the star attraction of the show. Especially when dipped in the gorgeous chilli oil on offer. Paired with their own brand cider, it was the ideal lunchtime treat.

Franco Manca is always so reasonably priced, always so delicious and the staff are always so attentive. For a cheap eat but without any compromising on taste, it always gets a gold star. Those who say London is an expensive place to eat clearly don't know where to look.

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