Restaurant review: Tandoor Chop House, the Strand, central London

Tandoor Chop House has been on my to-try list since forever. I'm a massive fan of Dishoom and I had heard it was pretty similar. Offering more of a 'street food' Indian food option rather than the bog standard curries you get in a British curry house. I love those curries as much as the next person but I love the more authentic Indian dishes even more.

My birthday proved to be the perfect excuse to try it out and I booked it for lunch on my day off. Hannah and Sarah had been a few weeks before so I already had a good idea of what I was going to order. Tucked down by Trafalgar Square, the menu is meant for sharing so we order four dishes between us. Two mains, two sides and a naan bread.

First up was the House Tandoor Chicken. Devilishly tender, full of flavour and incredibly Moorish, this was my favourite dish. In fact, I can't stop thinking about how juicy the meat was and wishing I could recreate it at home. Now I wouldn't normally opt for a vegetarian main course but I'd heard great things about the whole tandoor roasted cauliflower. Perfectly charred around the edges, it has a drizzle of a coriander chutney, crunchy roasted chickpeas and pomegranate jewels to add a much welcomed sweetness to the dish. The gunpowder fries had a great kick to them and the black dahl was deliciously rich. Whilst the bone marrow naan was cooked well, I feel like it could have had a bit more flavour it it. But it was great dipped into the dahl.

It was well worth the wait to visit Tandoor Chop House. I'd go back in a heartbeat and I'm dying to try everything else on the menu. I just wish we took the plunge and ordered the lamb chops. Next time for sure!

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A foodie trip to Cardiff

A few weeks ago we took a road trip down to Cardiff to celebrate Gem and Martyn's wedding. We stayed the night at Hannah and Steve's in south London before heading across the country. Wales is a good three hours away from us, so as with taking any type of road trip it's essential to make sure your car is up to the challenge. No one ever likes breaking down hours from home! Make sure you keep your car up to date and in good shape by getting it regularly checked. Use companies such as Ossett Tyre House offer car servicing in Dewsbury if you need a little help. 

Despite visiting for the weekend, we probably only had a full day in Cardiff so decided to do what we do best. Eat, eat and eat some more. Take a look at all the places we stuffed our faces in and take some notes for when you make a trip to the Welsh capital. You don't want to miss out!

Brød
I knew as soon as it was decided we week sharing a house with Hannah and Steve, a Scandi-inspired trip to somewhere would be involved. This time it was a breakfast trip to the Danish bakery Brød. This cosy coffee shop offers an incredible selection of pastries and cakes alongside delicious savoury options which include meatball paninis, loaves of bread and mini pizzas. The cafe has a great atmosphere and the staff are very friendly, more than willing to to talk you through the menu. It's a little way out of the city centre but it's well worth the trip.

Got Beef
This small but perfectly formed burger restaurant features an open kitchen where you can see the chefs work their magic. It's not the best burger in the world - so spoilt in London - but it's a good solid choice.  I opted for the Soprano. A tasty concoction consisting of a juicy beef patty, smoked streaky bacon, Monterey Jack cheese, spicy jalepeno mayo and chunks of chorizo sausage. As you can imagine, it went down a treat!

The Potted Pig
Gem's wedding wasn't until 5 so we wanted a good substantial meal to keep us going - and stop us from becoming lightweights when we started on the prosecco. The roasts at The Potted Pig had come highly recommended. I'm not a huge roast dinner fan - take my British passport away immediately - but this one was amazing. Located in a former bank vault underneath the city, they offer an amazing set menu on a Sunday which includes two courses for £15. The pork belly was heavenly and I'm still dreaming about the cauliflower cheese now.

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Updated: my new five favourite places to eat in London

Mien Tay
I've mentioned time and time again that Vietnamese is one of my favourite cuisines and Mien Tay is up there as my top place to eat it in London.  The food always tastes so fresh, it's great value for the capital and the menu is so varied. Definitely opt for the chicken clay pot curry and you won't be disappointed. The lighter vermicelli noodles are great if you don't want a heavy meal.

Dishoom
I've mentioned this before but thought I'd mentioned it again as they're opening a new branch in west London this autumn. Even more locations for you to enjoy the food! I tell everyone they absolutely need to try the bacon naan if it's the last thing they do. I never knew something so simple could be so tasty! If you go for dinner make sure you pump for the delicious black dal and moreish lamb chops.

Franco Manca
Pizza is my jam and Franco Manca is the king of pizza. Bold claim I know but true. I never opt for anything other than number 4. A tantalising combination of salty home-cured Gloucester Old Spot Ham, creamy mozzarella, buffalo ricotta, soft wild mushrooms and juicy tomatoes on a chewy, sourdough base.

Chic N Sours
Korean Fried Chicken would be my last meal on earth and Chic n Sours does a cracking version. Just the right amount of heat, addictive sauce and unbelievably tender chicken. The hot Szechuan crispy aubergine, K-Pop chicken burger and addictive house fry are also well worth ordering. In fact make sure you go multiple times so you can try everything on the menu.

Honey & Co
For a mere £16.50 Honey & Co offers a fantastic brunch option. The whole table has to order but you get so much food. The table can enjoy a selection of meze, breads, olives, pickles, cereals, yogurt, fresh fruit and homemade jam. Then everyone gets to choose their own main meal to enjoy. I opted for the green Shakshuka with two Cornish eggs.

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How to create the perfect antipasti

As I mentioned in my Shakshuka post, Tracklements challenged me to put together two recipes. This one is my second one! It may be bit of a cheat to call it a recipe as it's so simple but who can go wrong with an Antipasti? The chilli jam tastes delicious alongside the gooey camembert and fresh crusty bread. It's always the condiments in my opinion that make a cracking spread. The chilli jam, olive oil and balsamic vinegar all play their part. Picky dinners are my favourite type of dinner, the best kind to enjoy sitting in front of the telly catching up on your current boxset. It reminds me of the festive season where you spend the whole month of December eaten buffet food.

Here I have a selection of cured meats (chorizo always goes so well with cheese I find!), juicy sundries tomatoes, pickled stuffed vine leaves, crusty bread and the star of the show - a gooey camembert. Stick it in the oven for around 20 minutes to ensure it's melted all the way through. Add some rosemary or some garlic if you fancy jazzing it up a bit more.

What's your favourite antipasti selection? As always please do show me a picture on Twitter if you end up making it!

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Recipe: Shakshuka

Brunch is one of my favourite meals of the day. In fact I'd eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Tracklements got in touch with me to see if I wanted to collaborate on a couple of recipes with one of them being a brunch recipe. I immediately thought of creating a variation of a simple Shaksuka dish. There are so many different recipes out there but this is my favourite way of doing it. Ideally you would want running eggs but runny eggs are not my speciality but it tastes just as good like this. I promise!

Serves 2

Ingredients
2 tsp olive oil
2 cans of chopped tomatoes
4 eggs
1 green pepper, diced
1 yellow pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 pack of feta
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp of Tracklements fresh chilli jam*
Slices of crusty bread

Method
1. Heat the oil in a skillet pan before frying the onions on a medium heat until they are a golden brown colour. Then add the peppers. Fry until soft.

2.  Throw in the garlic, cumin and the fresh chill jam and cook for another couple of minutes.

3. Pour in both tins of chopped tomatoes, turn down the heat and let it cook for around 20 minutes. Try the sauce and add a teaspoon of sugar if you think it needs sweetening up.

4.  Make four wells in the picture before cracking an egg in each hole and seasoning lightly. Pop them under the grill for around 10 minutes until the eggs are cooked with a runny yolk.

5. Sprinkle the feta over the top and serves with lots of crusty bread.

As always, please do let me know if you make then and tweet me to show me the pictures!

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Restaurant review: Caravan, Kings Cross, north London

Located in Kings Cross' Granary Square - fast becoming my favourite place in London for dinner-, Caravan is housed within an old Victorian grain store. Giving off cool industrial vibe, the restaurant offers sharing plates of good, wholesome food with a great terrace out the front. I'd only been for breakfast but as we were in the area, we decided it was time to check out the full menu for an early dinner. What a great early dinner it was!

We opted for a pizza and three sharing plates which was more than enough to leave us feeling satisfied. So for the sharing plates? We pumped for wonderfully creamy jamon and smoked san simon croquettes with a slightly garlicky saffron mayo, a fresh Burmese chicken salad with ribbons of carrots and beansprouts topped with coriander and roasted cashews before finishing off with a warm Jersey Royal potatoes, watercress and pine nuts topped with a soft boiled egg. But the star of the show was the delicious chewy pizza topped with spicy ndjuda sausage, wilted spinach and sprinkling of chilli power.

All the dishes we tried were spot on and I think the £50 we paid for the meal - including a beer and cider - was great value for the quality of the food. It's a great place to go for an early weekend dinner, the atmosphere is buzzing and although the service was a little slow, the servers were very pleasant. I can't wait to go back and try even more of the menu soon.

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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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