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breakfast

Food

Farmacy

May 23, 2016

1 Comments

Brunch! The most basic habitat of a basic girl. Unsurprisingly, I love finding new brunch places, so when my friend invited me to Farmacy (not to be confused with Damien Hirst’s Notting Hill restaurant, Pharmacy, which closed in 2003) in Notting Hill on Sunday, I was intrigued. Is it brunch at a former pharmacy location, clever marketing for farm fresh food, or are we just going to go get the morning after pill and a green juice?

Turns out, it was just a good name. This tasty vegetarian spot on the corner of Westbourne Grove opened in late April. I do wonder why they haven’t branded themselves as fully vegan as there’s only one item on the menu that isn’t, and it’s only because it contains an optional egg. Normally, I roll my eyes at vegan places or those that proclaim themselves to be, gluten, dairy and meat free because, not only does it have the potential to bring the most annoying people in the world together, what do they serve? Usually, very expensive carrot sticks. However, I was pleased to see Farmacy has plenty of (still expensive) options and it was all very flavourful.

We ordered a bunch of stuff to share, which I recommend in order to try the large variety they offer. Farmacy has everything from pasta and pizza to ‘earth bowls’ (think quinoa and veggies) and ‘syringes’ containing cannabis oil, which I sadly didn’t try. But, I’m glad the pharmaceutical theme found it’s way into the menu without being creepy.

Opened by Camilla Al-Fayad, the daughter of former Harrods owner Mohamed Al–Fayed, Farmacy is, according to their web site, “not just another food and beverage play. It’s a game changing lifestyle brand. A positive lifestyle choice which connects people to source, self and community through healthy and holistic eating”. I don’t know what that means, but they have plant-based burgers and nachos that are ‘healthy’. Even the coffee came with a vegan twist, only offered with almond milk and coconut sugar. Because everything coconut is healthy, right?

Many of the ingredients had quotes around them, which made me wonder what was actually in it. Not enough to ask, mind you. I didn’t want to be the ravenous carnivore at the table and offend anyone. Although, delicious, it did make me think twice while digging into the ‘sour cream’ on my nachos.

The nachos were really tasty, if a little sparse to share and low on toppings. Insiders tip: dip the remaining tortilla chips in a side of hummus.

The hummus! No exaggeration, it was probably the best I’ve ever had. It came plain, so, had we not ordered the mixed potato sticks (more on that on a second), I’m not entirely sure how we were supposed to eat it.

So, what made me giggle the most was ordering the mixed potato sticks with aoli. I knew some quinoa and beetroot wasn’t going to fill me up, so I was looking for a heavy carb fix and the mixed potato sticks was my contribution to the group order. Then it arrived….

Chips. I’d ordered chips. Sniffing out the only unhealthy thing on the menu is pretty much the most me thing I could have done at a healthy vegan restaurant. They were good.

We ordered 3 earth bowls: the green eggs bowl (which actually came with a single egg) reminded me of Dr Seuss which is why I suggested it. It contained kale, broccoli, avocado and a poached egg. From my understanding, they ran out of eggs as I heard someone else was unable to order it so I’m not sure if it was supposed to come with just one.

The middle east bowl (above) was probably my favourite. The baba ganoush was fantastic, although I’m not sure exactly what an ‘activated seed’ is.

Which also brings me to the ‘activated quinoa’ in the macro bowl. I couldn’t tell the difference between the macro bowl quinoa and the green eggs bowl quinoa, which was apparently not activated.

What to wear: I came from Yoga (that basic lyfe) so my hair looked like ass and I was wearing ripped jeans. But to be fair, a lot of people in there looked like they’d come straight from yoga.

I’m definitely going to make my way back to this place. Be warned though, it’s quite pricy (£20/girl for brunch with no booze) and there is a bit of a wait list. We put our names down and went to have a juice for 40 minutes while we waited, so I recommend making a reservation. It’s surprisingly good for a veggie/vegan haunt. If they can figure out eggs benedict like The Good Life Eatery has (more about that here) and combine that with the nacho offering, Farmacy would be my new favourite healthy brunch place!

Farmacy

74 Westbourne Grove

London

W2 5SH

020 7221 0705

farmacylondon.com

Food, Travel

The Basic Girl’s Guide To : Tokyo Food

May 10, 2016

Stephanie

4 Comments

I had such an amazeballs time in Tokyo that I had to split the posts up into all the fun you can have (which you can read here) and this one: FOOD!!!! Tokyo is arguably one of the biggest foodie capitals in the world. Since 2009, it has had the most 3 Michelin starred restaurants in the world. Side note: If you don’t know what a Michelin star restaurant is (I had no clue for ages), my eating at a fancy restaurant guide is here. Anyway, in the land of sushi and teppanyaki, I was bound to eat myself into a coma. Below is a detailed guide to a gluttonous trip. Enjoy my Basic Girl’s Guide to: Tokyo Food!

First and foremost, I would recommend downloading Waygo. It’s a translation app for Japanese, Korean and Chinese characters to English and this really helped when pictures weren’t available. Although not always accurate, it was sometimes overly descriptive. Case in point, uni, which is essentially sea guts, comes up as blow ones nose. When our dish arrived, it looked exactly like someone had blown their nose into some rice.

Sushi – Tsukiji Fish Market

We went here straight off the plane while we waited for our hotel room. You can’t actually get into the market anymore as a tourist, but don’t worry, there’s plenty of gross fish heads for you to see in the surrounding area. There are hundreds of little sushi restaurants/stands around the market, all with fantastic fresh fish.

Our friend knew of a place just around the corner from the main entrance and I’d like to tell you exactly where it was, but it was literally a maze. We went up some stairs and through a back door somewhere… then, surprise, amazing sushi!

But you really can’t go wrong. These are the experts and once you eat sushi at this market, everything else will taste sub-par.

There are also lots of little stands with ‘try me’ baskets. I have no idea what was in them, but it tasted like fish jerky. http://www.tsukiji-market.or.jp/tukiji_e.htm

The Kill Bill Restaurant (Gonpachi)

This place was really yummy. They have a set menu for lunch as well as a la carte. I really liked the shrimp tempura dish, especially if you are as hung-over as I was from Karaoke the night before. It’s a pretty lively atmosphere and we went during Sakura, so I’m not sure if the cherry blossoms are always there, but they were a lovely touch. http://www.gonpachi.jp/nishiazabu/?lang=en

Those little white things on the salad are little fishies. I tried one and then scraped the rest off because they were really fish-y.

Korean BBQ – Yoroniku Yakiniku

Oddly enough, if you ask locals, they will say some of the best restaurants in Japan are Korean BBQ. Basically, you get a whole bunch of meat and cook it on a little grill in the middle of your table. Try not to be deterred by the meat selection. I was persuaded to try beef tongue and it was actually pretty tender.

https://savorjapan.com/0006044267/

Convenience stores

I didn’t actually eat at one of these because we had so little time, nobody was willing to risk a bad meal out of a 7/11. But I WISH I had. They have everything in weird colourful packaging and I imagine the ramen is out of this world. If you are strapped for cash and a little peckish, definitely give this a shot. They also have little cans of sake which I did try and it was very very tasty.

Starbucks

It wouldn’t be a basic girl’s guide without a sampling of the Japanese Starbucks. I’m as basic as it gets, so I just had a skinny vanilla latte. However, I was really impressed with their special offerings. Apricot honey soy frappuccino? If it wasn’t 20 million calories, yes please!

Commune 246

Near Harajuku, Commune 246 is this cute little outdoor market/food truck place where you can get different kinds of food from all over. We had the most delicious schnitzel burgers, my favourite being the avocado. They also have fantastic coffee and events throughout the year. http://commune246.com

Brunch/Breakfast at the Intercontinental

Most days we were so jet lagged that we woke up and went straight to lunch, but, it was my birthday so I insisted we have breakfast somewhere and that somewhere turned out to be the lobby cafe/restaurant at the hotel. They had absolutely everything, from friend rice, to dim sum to hash browns and hummus. But the best was the bacon. Oh my word. It was crispy and PERFECTLY straight! I had so many pieces, I was waiting for the wait staff to come over and tell me I’d exceeded my personal quota. The cost was ¥3400, or around $30 USD. http://www.anaintercontinental-tokyo.jp

Teppanyaki

So, this is my brother’s favourite kind of food. Like, we were in Portugal for his birthday and he found a Teppanyaki restaurant to celebrate in. So I was insanely excited to try one in Tokyo. Apparently one of the best ones you can go to is in the ANA intercontinental, but I insisted on going to the rabbit café when the reservation was available. Instead, we went to Teppan Bambina. It was ok, but there wasn’t really a show which is what I was most excited about. You really can’t go wrong when it comes to beef in Japan. They care about the quality of their beef almost as much as their fish, so always order the wagyu when you can.

The one you should go to: http://www.anaintercontinental-tokyo.jp/e/rest/akasaka.html

The ok one: http://teppan-bambina.com/en/

My advice? Come to Japan hungry! You might just have to trust the process though, because this is the real deal and the Japanese don’t bend to appease western cultures. Use that as an opportunity to expand your palette! Do you have any Tokyo food suggestions? Comment below!

Food

Jackson + Rye

November 2, 2015

Stephanie

Jackson + Rye is great American style diner in the heart of Soho. Now, having been someone who actually lived in America, this is not what an American diner is like in any way shape or form. But I do appreciate their effort and to be honest, Jackson + Rye is nicer than most diners in America. I’ve been there a few times before for a weekday lunch (actually with Harry Style’s sister. She looks exactly like him… or really, he looks exactly like her.)

Anyway, this time I went for a Saturday brunch and was pleasantly surprised with how friendly and efficient the staff was. We had a film to be at and let them know at the beginning and they kept that in mind the entire time and the food came out promptly. Unfortunately, there was major construction going on next door, so it was almost impossible to hold a conversation, but that wasn’t the fault of Jackson + Rye.

I had the Avocados Eggs benedict and had no idea what to expect. What came was really good and perfect for anyone on a low carb, high fat diet. Poached eggs sat on top of the avocado along with (the requested) crispy bacon. It also came with potatoes and bread, but it was so filling I hardly touched them. Side note, the coffee was great as well.

They get fairly busy, so I recommend a reservation or try for one of the few walk-in seats available, which was what we did at around 10am.

56 Wardour Street, London W1

0207437 8338

Food

The Good Life Eatery

October 8, 2015

Stephanie

1 Comments

First off, it should be called the F%$king Great Life Eatery because that’s how good the eggs benedict is. I went to meet my friend right before my wedding for a catch up breakfast and my only requirement was healthy. In my world, healthy is any food that doesn’t contain cookies or cake, so our options were pretty open. I’d been dying to go to The Good Life Eatery for a while but heard there were lines and I couldn’t be bothered to fight a yummy mummy after her yoga class with an insatiable need to get her chia seed on.

It was raining, elbows were thrown but eventually I got somewhere near the front of the line and ordered their skinny royale. If I’m honest I expected it to taste like cardboard because that’s how most health food tastes to me. I picked the real bread (gluten free is code word for filled with plastic and shit I can’t pronounce) and we sat at the counter near the doorway, which my friend was passively aggressively guarding with her life.

Imagine my surprise when this plate of deliciousness showed up.

I don’t know what’s skinny about it because this was probably one of the best eggs benedict/royale I have ever had in my entire life. If it will put less junk in my trunk I vote we permanently change the standard recipe to this (eggs, smoked salmon, yogurt and saffron sauce mmmmmmm).

Although they have a vast selection, I didn’t have a smoothie. I’m just not into avocado, vanilla and almond milk mixed together. I’d like to keep my yummy benedict down thankyouverymuch.

Then I went back a few weeks later with another set of girl friends for our first (of hopefully many) breakfast club at noon (One of us had yoga. It obviously wasn’t me). Imagine my horror when I was told that they don’t serve eggs after 11:30am because eggs aren’t for the afternoon. Whoever decided this is missing out on LIFE. Anyway, after the shock wore off I ordered their chicken club which was also delicious, but not to the epic level their royale was.

I was also hung-over as f%$k so I asked the staff if they had anything that would cure it and they pointed me in the direction of a delicious juice called Melrose sunset. The food arrived promptly and we chatted as a weirdo sat at the spare seat at our table and devoured a huge and incredible looking piece of red velvet cake.

I highly recommend The Goof Life Eatery but politely request that you contact me before you go so you can save me a place in line.

The Good Life Eatery

www.goodlifeeatery.com

59 Sloane Avenue

London SW3 3DH UK

Food

Iddu

March 16, 2015

Stephanie

So, award for weirdest name for a restaurant in South Ken goes to… Iddu. This is a fairly new spot on what is becoming a great little street near South Kensington Tube. Before, all that was there was a Fitness First and an overpriced dry cleaners. But, with Iddu’s parent The South Kensington Club opening soon next door, this is set to be a new high traffic area for the Chelsea set in the know.

I stopped by in the morning and the place was crammed. Yummy mummies and coffee meetings were in full swing but the man near the till took the time to speak to me. I was there to make a lunch reservation but apparently there wasn’t one needed. When I asked him to see a lunch menu, he told me there wouldn’t be one until 11am. Iddu is a Sicilian cafe and they decide their menu moments before lunch depending on what’s fresh and available that day.

Fast forward to lunch and things have calmed down. There are empty tables and I finally get to see the much anticipated lunch menu. To be honest it was a bit of a disappointment. I was hoping for some pasta or a fantastic salad and both those things seemed to be lacking. They did have a delicious sounding pesto chicken panini which I added mozzarella to while my friend had the prosciutto on gluten free bread.

On the whole my panini was pretty good. The ingredients were what did it. Grilled chicken, mozzarella, rocket and flavorful pesto on crispy focaccia… mmmm! Simple and it was less than £7 so I felt it was good value for money. Especially since it also came with a small side of salad.

Overall the service was nice, if a little slow. I think this is the place to be for breakfast or coffee so will definitely try it again as it’s still early days.

Iddu
44 Harrington Road, London SW7
020 7589 1991

Food

The Diner

June 2, 2013

Stephanie

My boyfriend and I had been looking forward to The Diner since Black and Blue shut down. We were hoping a great new restaurant would open and prayed it was one that didn’t only cater towards tourists, like most restaurants on Gloucester Road. It got to the point that when we saw the sign go up, my boyfriend went and asked the builders outside when it would open.

Then it finally did, and hungover one Saturday we were ready.. only to find it closed. Apparently it hadn’t opened properly yet. Take 2, the boy had golf and my head hurt from a long night before at Brompton Club and Bodos Schloss. So I ventured out on my own.

First visit:

The staff were very nice and sat me at a table near the window. I didn’t really notice the decor or the atmosphere because I was in a corner. But, at the same time that worked for me, as I didn’t feel like being stared at while I inhaled my brunch alone. I obviously ordered the Eggs Benedict and toyed with the possibility of also ordering a corn dog, because I love me some corn dog, but thought that was a bit much.

They were super quick to take my OJ order and brought that straight away but unfortunately took their time coming back to take my food order, so eventually I flagged someone down. She took it, and my food arrived fairly promptly but unfortunately they didn’t bring cutlery. So I waited for that as well. It was pretty delicious but the bacon was a bit chewy for my tastes and the hollandaise was a little too buttery and not quite tangy enough. Also, be careful with the pepper. It’s super fine and in a container with large holes so I basically ended up dumping it all over my meal. I’m a big fan of pepper, but it kind of ruined things for me.

Visit 2:

The very next day my boyfriend wanted to go, so there we found ourselves again. We were sat at at a middle booth so I could admire what they did for decor. My favourite part are the walls which look like they were put together from old gymnasium floors, love it!

I ordered the Eggs Benedict again, but this time asked for extra crispy bacon, which I got and I highly recommend they serve the dish like that as a staple. The hollandaise was also better this time, with the right amount of tang. I also used the pepper more cautiously so all in all, this was a much better Benedict. It was £7.

I wanted a root beer, but was told that the kitchen staff drank the last of it the night before and were in very big trouble. Can’t hold it against them though, root beer is pretty awesome. My boyfriend ordered a cherry coke instead and I drank half of it. It was yummy.

We also ordered the wings which were a bit of a disappointment. They were kind of breaded and deep friend and not spicy. They should work on those, and until they do, I wouldn’t order them.

My boyfriend ordered the Grab burger which was USDA beef. Don’t order any of those burgers on the menu because he said they tasted like a frozen patty. I imagine the other hamburgers are better as it says on the menu that they are hand ground scottish beef which are made daily. Next time we will probably go for that option. He also said the bun was too bready which looking at it I’d have to agree with.

One thing I found distracting was one of the waitresses was wearing booty shorts and a backless t-shirt. She was basically naked and it felt awkward because it was 2 o’clock on a Sunday afternoon and there were children in the restaurant. It would have been more appropriate if it were Saturday night. Her outfit just seemed weird and I feel like staff’s clothing shouldn’t be the stand out thing you remember from a restaurant.

Overall, this is probably one of the better dining choices on that part of Gloucester road (but keeping in mind, it’s competition are a steakhouse and italian place geared towards tourists and a Burger King). I am pretty keen to try other things on the menu, they had a toasted cornbread with eggs that sounded delicious, and of course the hot dogs.

Another suggestion would be to change the shakes a little. I was going to order the oreo one until I read the description and it doesn’t look like there are actually oreos in it, but nutella and chocolate instead. I don’t like nutella. They should make a regular oreo shake and I would eat it every day.

In total we ordered: Margarita (pretty small), Cherry Coke, Orange Juice, Grab Burger, Wings and an Eggs Benedict and it was £35. Service isn’t included which is kind of nice as I find it annoying when restaurants add it automatically. We left £5.70 tip which is more than the usual 12.5% added. Other restaurants, take note.

I would recommend a try if you are in the area, but I wouldn’t necessarily venture out to eat there. They have other locations around London as well.

To book:

Web: www.goodlifediner.com

Address: 105 Gloucester Road, SW7

Phone: 02072447666

Food

Bubbledogs

March 20, 2013

Stephanie

My love of hot dogs is well documented, mainly here, and I have been looking forward to this post for a very long time.

I tried to get a reservation at Bubbledogs for a group of us in November, but they didn’t have anything till February. In February I called again and they didn’t have anything until the end of March, which so happened to coincide with my early birthday get together. So I booked for 10 girls, two of which couldn’t make it last minute.

We went down the street to the Charlotte Street hotel for drinks first which I always love. The room is big enough so you don’t feel claustrophobic and has a great crowd. house white wine was £8/glass though so beware.

Then we moved to the main event! We were shown to our table(s) near the back right away. They asked if they could seat another two with us, which I awkwardly said no to because it was my birthday party and it would have been like having two complete strangers hanging out with us.

Then came the exploration of the menu. They (as advertised) have loads of champers and hot dogs to choose from which posed a very serious problem for me. We wanted to order our champagne first, because it was taking ages for hot dog decisions, but the waiter was nowhere to be seen. In fact, it took over half an hour for us to get our champagne.

Le Menu

So, by the time the waiter came around, I basically didn’t decide. I ordered the Horny dog (corn dog) and the Breakie.

All of my favorite things together!

Turns out, getting everything you’ve ever wanted all at once isn’t as awesome as it sounds. I love breakfast food and I love hot dogs so in theory i should love a breakfast hot dog. In truth, the idea of it is far better than the execution. For all the dogs you have a choice of beef, pork or veggie and I decided on beef for all of mine because I felt a pork hot dog wrapped in more pork was a bit much. But because there is so much going on in this one you couldn’t really taste anything individually. Like putting all your favorite paint colors together and getting a brown sludge. Not my favorite Don’t get me wrong though, I still ate the whole thing.

Horny dog (that’s what she said)

Horny dog was really really good. Corn dogs are just a regular dog, covered in corn meal batter and deep fried. even tastier than it sounds because the salty dog and sweet corn go great together. I have mine with both mustard (it’s American mustard!) and ketchup. If I had one criticism, it would be that it wasn’t quite crispy enough on the outside. for corn dogs, there is about a 3 min window from out of the deep fryer that they need to be served in order to keep the crispyness. We did not make that window.

All dressed up

My friends ordered a variety of things (veggie and pork as well). Here are pictures of those things. The girls all seemed very pleased with their meals.

Jose (avocado, salsa, sour cream, jalapenos)

New Yorker

Mine again (getting acquainted with the champagne washing them down)

You can also order tater tots which are these little hasbrown-y things I used to eat almost daily as a kid. They are awesome.

Tots

So all in all, The service wasn’t amazing, but we did have a very good time.

Hot Dog Massive

I would recommend booking a group of 6 or more, otherwise you’ll be waiting in line for a few hours. Their phones are only open for reservations 9:30am – 11am Tuesday to Saturday. Not the most convenient but you can also book through this email: info@bubbledogs.co.uk. Not instant, but they do get back to you relatively soon.

B-room

One other cool thing was that the bathroom walls are papered with posh restaurant menus like Nobu, Hedon (DON’T order the pigeon there… it comes with FEET attached), Noma and the fancy NY restaurant Per Se. I asked the waiter about it and apparently it’s places the head chef has liked or worked at. In fact he once worked at Per Se. Now he makes posh hot dogs. I would prefer the latter as well.

Bubbledogs

Where: 70 Charlotte Street, London W1T 4QG

Website: www.bubbledogs.co.uk

Phone: 0207 637 7770

What to wear: See above photo. It’s pretty low key, we were going out after.

Cost: Dogs are about £7, with champagne for all of us to have a dog (I had 2 dogs) and share tots and sweet potato fries was about £22 each.

Stephanie Wahlstrom

Hey! Cute top! Flattery gets you everywhere, right? Seriously, though, I like what you've got going on over there. Anyway, my name is Stephanie and I am a Canadian writer living in London. I like to eat, travel and make people laugh. The Accidental Socialite is the name of my debut novel and this blog where you'll find tales of my mishaps and far too many references to bacon. Enjoy!