What's Up Cupcake- Whitstable

Isn't it enough that those lucky enough to live in Whitstable on the North Kent Coast have the delights of the fish market, Oyster house and Wheelers on the high street, along with a gloriously pebbly beach and the sort of ozone rich sea air that makes us Londoners green with envy? Well now they have a brand new cupcake bakery slap bang in the middle of Harbour Street!

http://www.whatsupcupcake.com/

As the website says:

"Sarah's Cupcakes are made with all natural ingredients, no artificial flavours, colours or preservatives, only free range eggs & the freshest fruit. Each special ingredient is hand picked for freshness & checked for its quality. The original vanilla cupcakes are quite simply; butter, eggs, flour & sugar, with a dash of pure Mexican vanilla extract. Variations on this recipe include the addition of fresh bananas, passion fruit, lemons or strawberries, pure cocoa, Oreo Cookies, ginger, coconut, and so on to incorporate only the finest ingredients."

I'm sorry but it just isn't fair! This new bakery sound wonderful and I am planning my next jaunt to Whitstable with a glint in my eye and the intent to sample quite a few!


Update- September 12th....I was lucky enough to sample one of the cupcakes from this delightful little shop- I chose the passionfruit on a vanilla sponge and the frosting was glorious- the slight sharpness of the passionfruit cutting through the sweetness of the light frosting. The cake itself had a great flavour- the only comment being that it was quite dense- perhaps I am used to a slightly lighter cake. Having said that, excellent value at £1.50 as even I couldn't manage more than one! R had a chocolate fudge one and declared it delicious even though he agreed with me about the denseness of the actual cake! Would love the opportunity to sample a few more flavours!

Update 2- October 10, 2009 Having spent another weekend in Whitstable I sent my other half off to buy 4 cupcakes- 2 more of the passionfruit, a chocolate fudge and another chocolate confection that he couldn't remember the name of! There is much to applaud about the packaging- the four soft and yet toothsome beauties came ensconsed in their own cardboard box tied up with three lengths of superfine ribbon- pale pistachio green, baby pink and chocolate brown! For those of us seduced by the drama and beauty of a cardboard box and froo froo packing I was in 7th heaven! Would make a truly wonderful hostess gift as well!

As the evenings get darker....

is it always the case that thoughts turn towards more comforting warm foods like sausages and root mash? Surely, the very early beginnings of September should be continuing to feed into the ideal image of perhaps an Indian summer with sun warmed patios beckoning to be spread with exotic salads, crusty breads and platters of Italian meats and cheeses? And yet, with the dark clouds above London and a hint of autumn in the air, my oven is harbouring a dish of outdoor reared pork sausages and a jug ready for onion rich gravy...

A London Summer

What is it about London, that even when it is raining torrentially in the midst of what was meant to be a Barbecue summer there is something so satisfying about being holed up in a wine bar in the West End with a couple of bottles of rose and good company, that just makes everything feel right with the world?

Mexican- La Perla

A recent trip to La Perla Mexican bar and restaurant in Maiden Lane Covent Garden was a sojourn into the wonderful world of frozen margueritas -made with decent tequila and blended with ice and lime to a wonderfully alcoholic smoothy slushy consistency, these lethally intoxicating drinks were all to easy to slide down!

La Perla delivered on being able to seat 8 of us without having pre-booked- and although not in the league of Wahaca with regards to originality, the food was good. Free bowls of tortilla chips accompanied a searingly hot but tasty salsa and the jalapeno poppers were crisply fried, hot and delicious!

Fajitas for two was a mountainous portion that would have easily served 3-4 when served up with the accompanying bowl of refried beans, copious soft flour tortillas and the holy grail of Mexican accompaniments- sour cream, salsa, and guacamole!

Would definitely return with a group- especially when the pitchers of margueritas are available in the Happy Hour!

One O One Restaurant Knightsbridge

Had a wonderful lunch at One O One today with S, M and Mum! One O One is a seafood and fish restaurant in the Sheraton Tower hotel next door to Harvey Nichols. Pascal Proyart is the talented chef there from Northern France and the food is always, without fail, simply sublime.

I have listed their current lunch menu below. If you book on their website you can get three plates, a glass of house wine, coffee and petits fours for £19.00

http://www.oneoonerestaurant.com/

BUSINESS LUNCH MENU:

Norwegian Red King Crab & Tomato, Gazpacho Jelly
Jabugo Ham, Onzen Quail Egg
This dish was simply delicious- light, fresh, and the tomato gazpacho jelly was chilled and pure essence of tomato!

Pan-Roasted Scallop with Chicken-Tiger Prawn Ballotine
New Carrot Purée, Vanilla Emulsion & Citrus

Steamed White Halibut with Ginger & Spring Onions
Seafood Coconut Broth, Sautéed Pak Choy & Peppers

Organic Salmon Confit with Pan-Fried Duck Foie Gras
Fricassées of Summer Beans & Truffle, Ruby Port Jus
The salmon was delicious- beautifully cooked and the sliced truffle atop the dish lent it a wonderfully fragrant edge!

Roasted Spring Lamb Fillet with Olive & Rosemary Jus
English Asparagus, Gnocchi & Parmesan

Cheese of the Day, Oak Leaf Salad with Walnut Dressing
Quince Jelly, Toasted Hazelnut & Raisin Bread

Warm Strawberries Fricassées with Cracked Black Peppercorn
Minted Ice Cream & Almond Tuile
The minted ice cream was light and fragrant, and the strawberries were warm, head with pepper- unusual and very different- scrummy though!

I have written many reviews of my many meals at One O One on http://www.london-eating.co.uk/ - so do please read the reviews and more importantly- BOOK AND EAT HERE!

Wahaca Updated...

So we got to Wahaca and miracle of miracles there was no queue! This must have been a weeknight miracle! S got there at 5.20 and got us a table- but even when I arrived 20 minutes late (courtesy of gridlock on Oxford Street!) there was still no queue! When we left at around 7 there was a long queue snaking up the stairs but I definitely think Wahaca is worth it!

Two cocktails- a tequila mojito and a tequila Moscow mule- both lengthy, cool and boozy and plenty of food only came to £42.00 and when you consider the amount of food we had and the excellent quality well Wahaca is a true central London gem!

My top notch three mini tacos from the street food section were absolutely delicious- well cooked steak with just the right amount of char and a chipotle salsa was the perfect foil to the rich meat.

The Quesadillas- toasted flour tortillas oozing with melted cheese and served with the house salsas came with their homemade black beans and mozzarella and cheddar cheeses. These were very rich and a little on the bland side but the home made salsas helped perk them up!

S thought the highlight of the evening was the MSC shrimp ceviche-two crisp tortillas, piled high with MSC shrimp ceviche with lime juice and habanero chilli, served on a bed of round
lettuce and crisp, corn tortilla. These were hot hot hot courtesy of the habanero chili's but the ceviche was fresh and zingy and a true flavour explosion!

The one disappointment of the evening was their tostada of the season-Seasonal Devon crab, MSC shrimp,avocado & chili salsa. The 2 corn tortillas wrapped around the crab and shrimp filling then deep fried and served with crema found their flavour obliterated by the deep frying and we couldn't taste either crab or shrimp- one to avoid in the future for sure.

In an effort to be good we then shared a large Summer Fuerza salad- the interesting mix of
Marinated beetroot, home-pickled hibiscus flowers, cucumber, avocado, radish, totopos, fried ancho, mint and salad leaves and quinoa (a protein rich grain) all tossed in their homemade
hibiscus dressing was quite delicious and a perfect counterbalance to the other richer dishes.

Side orders of sublime home made guacamole, hand fried tortilla chips and black beans rounded off the meal and we had no room for dessert although the menu offers quite a few delicious options.

I think Wahaca has the ability to become a nationwide chain = the prices are fair, the service was snappy and friendly and the dishes were for the most part top notch! I urge you all to go!

http://www.wahaca.co.uk/

Wahaca

Am off to Wahaca tomorrow for street food Mexican style, Margueritas and Hibiscus syrup cocktails! Cannot wait! Update coming soon!

Levant, Wigmore Street

On Thursday I went to Levant for dinner with two friends. This is one of my favourite Lebanese restaurants, just off of st Christopher's Place near Oxford Street, London.

You descend into a subterranean Middle-Eastern palace, down tiled steps strewn with rose petals and lit with moroccan metal filigree lamps...the restaurant itself is darkly lit and each table has a candle in the centre...some of the tables for two have beaten metalwork tops and are just beautiful. If you are in a large group ask for one of the two areas which has a u shaped seating arrangement around a low slung table, with loads of cushions and dark lamps...totally atmospheric and great fun to sit low to the floor!

You must try the Bahr cocktail...a heady combination of lychee liqeur, vanilla vodka, vanilla liquer and fresh mint...its heavenly- and we certainly imbibed a cocktail or two!

We stuck to a wide variety of mezze and with a 50% offer courtesy of http://www.toptable.com/ we were pleasantly surprised by a very cheap bill at the end of the evening!

The mezze were served with puffed up pitta bread balls hot from the oven... and we sampled the following:

--Velvety smooth Hummus -that intoxicating blend of Chickpea puree, tahina, lemon juice & pine nuts.

--Smoky Baba ghannuge-Grilled aubergine dip made with tahina & lemon juice came studded with pomegranate seeds, the pink jewels accompanying a flourish of flat leaf parsley. This dish is I think of their strongest- mellow aubergine, hint of smoke and the refreshing crunch of the pomegranate seeds! Yum!

--Makale samak or deep fried baby squid served alongside a coconut & chilli sauce were delicate fronds of squid with a very light batter and were totally delicious! And second serving of these were soon ordered!

--Crisp round Falafel -Chickpea patties served with tahini & garlic yoghurt sauce were light and crisp to the bite

--Batata harra -Spicy sautéed potatoes with red pepper, fresh coriander, garlic & chilli were toothsome and soft, with a generous flavouring of garlic and coriander.

--Fattoush Salad- a glorious concoction of Parsley, mint, cherry tomatoes, radishes, cucumber, spring onion, olive oil with crispy bread & sumac acted as a refreshing counterpoint to some of the richer dishes and was served beautifully on a wonderful glazed pottery plate...

Levant is a great place for a meal for two or even better for larger groups- our service was fantastic, warm, friendly and efficient whilst not being over bearing. Go back? You try and stop me!