Browsing Tag:

seafood

Food, Uncategorized

Chicama

January 11, 2017

Chicima, located in World’s End, Chelsea, is the little sister to Peruvian powerhouse Pachamama. Peruvian food has been super popular lately and having been to Pachcmama, Chotto Matte and Coya as well as actually going to Peru last year, I can say the Peruvian food in London is second to none.

Chicama is really good, as long as you like seafood and veggies. You aren’t coming here for variety, but the options they do have are delicious. I went with my friend Michelle because she’d been raving about it for weeks. We went on a Monday so the vibe wasn’t amazing, but she assured me that later in the week, it has a cool atmosphere.

It’s tapas style so we shared several starters and then a main fish, and honestly, we probably didn’t need the fish. The starter portions are really decent. We began with the tapioca marshmallows, which were good, but I didn’t love the texture (I’ve always hated tapioca).

However, next up were the courgette and cornmeal beignets and I highly recommend them. Sooooo tasty and the sauces were on point.

We moved on to the ceviche, which is classic Peruvian. The salmon could have been a main meal on it’s own as it included quinoa. It was really good and I definitely ate more than my fair share.

The tuna wasn’t so much ceviche (i.e, not chunks with onion) but thin slices topped with jalapeno and accompaniments. It was also really good and not too fishy which is usually my main complaint with ceviche.

They do a really good job with veggies because it’s basically all they serve. The roasted cauliflower was a highlight for me. It’s the vegetable du jour so I do feel it’s been played out a little, but the addition of almonds and a yogurt sauce was tasty.

The other vegetable I would say is a must is the aubergine. Again, this has been done a lot but the miso sauce was really good.

By the time we got to the fish we were stuffed, but honestly, it was nothing to write home about. However, the sides were fantastic. Michelle was obsessed with the black rice, which was good, but she kind of hyped it up too much.

The charred sweet potato was also really good but I could barely have a bite after all the food.

Chicama has the potential to be a great light dinner with the girls if you don’t over order. But, on the same note, if you’re looking for something hearty, this isn’t the place for you either.

What to wear: I was dripping in fur because it was cold and I was being dramatic.

Chicama
383 King’s Road
SW10 0LP,
London

020 3874 2000

Food

Sexy Fish London

November 8, 2016

Stephanie

Sexy Fish. Not two things you usually associate with each other, but when you have a look at the amazing interior, I can see why they chose the name. I’m not usually into hype and there’s been no shortage for Sexy Fish but the Japanese restaurant pretty much lives up to it.

And yes, I know it’s annoying to have to book a month ahead of time. I actually had a reservation when Sexy Fish first opened but had to cancel. However, this Saturday, we just walked right in and sat at one of the high tables near the bar for lunch. TIP! You can also go by 6pm during the week before all the hedge funds let out and try to get a seat at the bar and you’d probably do well.

Anyway, the atmosphere and service were fantastic. This restaurant has style. From the paper fish lighting, to the art deco feel and the oldies music playing, walking into Sexy Fish immediately made me forget all the passive aggressive honking going on outside.

We ordered a range of food from their menu and, although primarily a Japanese fish restaurant, there are items on the menu for picky eaters including chicken salad and sticky pork ribs.

BEWARE: this restaurant is not cheap. In fact, it’s really expensive, but we knew that going in. So, now that that’s out of the way, onto the food!

We started with the Wagyu and Truffle Gunkan which, at £7/piece, you really need to savor. It was absolutely delicious though and easily my favorite dish we had.

The Yellowtail Sashimi was good but unremarkable, as was the sushi. Great quality fish, but there wasn’t anything that special about it.

The prawn gyoza was crazy hot. Might want to let it sit for a few minutes before you tuck in or risk burning off all of your taste buds.

The salt and pepper squid was pretty good. I loved the sauce, but the lime it was served with was super dry.

I highly recommend the beef skewers. They came with some asparagus and were very tender. Had we known that, we may not have ordered the extra asparagus, which was tasty, but essentially just grilled asparagus.

If cost isn’t an issue, I recommend giving Sexy Fish a shot. The food is tasty, although some of it isn’t necessarily anything special. That opinion may be clouded by the fact that we have so many amazing Japanese restaurants in London (you can check out my review of Roka here).

What to wear: Something chic, although I showed up in jeans and flats after a Friday night out and they still let me in.

What you’ll see: Lots of mermaid boobs, and if you go at the right time, a celebutante pretending to eat.

Sexy Fish

1-4 Berkeley Square,
Mayfair, London
W1J 6BR

020 37642000

www.sexyfish.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

World’s End Market

March 13, 2015

Stephanie

World’s End Market, despite its name and the feeling of many Chelsea residents is not at the end of the world, just the end of Chelsea. When I first moved to London, I actually lived across the street so walking to Worlds End Market was not only a fond trip down memory lane, it also reminded me there is an amazing Oxfam near by.

When I arrived at the restaurant Wednesday during lunch, it was fairly empty but that just meant I had my choice of seat. So I nestled into the corner near a window and spied the staff kitted out in grey shirts and burgundy braces. The whole place felt a kind of hipster/Hoxton, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing when everything else nearby is so Sloaney.

After two seconds into looking at the menu I knew what I wanted. Buffalo mozzarella with artichoke and pesto to start and the truffle burger as a main. I tend to have menu blackout when I see cheese and truffle so I really couldn’t even tell you what else looked good. But here is a picture of the menu anyway.

My starter arrived just as I noticed the music was sounding a little too W lounge for my tastes, and almost as soon as I thought of it, the music changed to the song from Romeo and Juliet where Claire Danes and Leo start flirting so all was forgiven. I probably would have preferred burrata to mozzarella but it was still fantastic without being too filling.

I asked for my burger to be medium well and that was my bad. It came cooked like a brick. I probably should have stuck with the suggested medium. The burger had a delicious bun and actually only used truffle oil slightly disappointing if I’m honest. But, 80% of taste is smell, right? I found the caramelized onions to be too much and far too sweet with the brioche that it mostly drowned out any truffle or mushroom taste that was left. However, I was pretty stoked that it came with both fries and salad.

That was, until I had a fry. On a scale of 1 – Fresh McDonalds fries I’m going to have to give these a 4. They looked fresh cut but were lip and fairly soggy. The ketchup was essentially marinara sauce. Heinz and crispy fries are an absolute must if you’re going to serve a burger so World’s End Market, get on it.

After my meal I had a little walk around to get a better look at the seafood. Then just about crapped myself when the lobster I was taking a picture of walked towards me. The seafood is fresh, I’ll give them that.

Overall, World’s End Market is a nice addition to a relatively forgotten part of Chelsea. I’m not sure I would go out of my way to dine there again, but if they sort out the fries, I may give them another chance.

What to wear: It’s fairly casual, I had on jeans, Marc Jacobs flats and a white t-shirt.
Address: 459 Kings road, London SW10 0LR
Phone:020 7352 2150
To book: http://www.theworldsendmarket.com

Food

The Big Easy

March 6, 2013

Stephanie

The one thing I crave the most from home is BBQ. In Canada, we had a barbeque if it wasn’t torrential rain or a blizzard. For real, in the winter we just dig a path through the snow and put on a pair of boots to flip the meat.

London has a few options, but on the most part, they are imitations of what English people think BBQ is. But it’s not all bad. I’ve been to the big easy several times. The Big Easy has great waffles and good deals on lobster. You’ll also never walk out hungry.

On my last visit, it was a lazy hangover Sunday and I wanted boneless chicken wings, which are essentially chicken tenders tossed in hot sauce. It’s not as weird as it sounds a fairly widely available in the US. So, knowing I was being a massive pain in the ass and they weren’t on the (huge) menu, I ordered them anyway. Bless him, the waiter tried to understand what I wanted and did try hard. To be honest what he brought was close enough anyway, which was tenders, a massive bowl of hot sauce and the blue cheese dressing. It was delicious (and only £6.95)!

But I also ordered the mac and cheese (£3.45). It wasn’t delicious because the thing is; it was more like mac and cheese soup. The cheese was a bit too salty and there probably needed to be 50% less cheese and, if I’m really picky, I prefer my mac and cheese baked.

My boyfriend ordered the lobster roll (£9.95). Whatever you do, don’t do that. What came was a non toasted brioche roll filled with everything except lobster and the piece of lobster was laid on top to prove there was some in there. Far, far too much mayo was involved in the whole thing.

The Big Easy ‘Lobster Roll’

What a lobster roll is supposed to look like from Burger and Lobster (to be fair this one is twice as much as the one above).

Even though service can be very slow, they have fairly decent margaritas, prices are reasonable (for Kings Road) and the atmosphere is good, so The Big Easy is a fun time. But whatever you do, don’t judge American BBQ and crab shacks by their standards, it’s nothing like the real thing.

The Big Easy

Address: 332-334 Kings Road, Chelsea, London, SW3 5UR

Website: www.bigeasy.co.uk

Phone: 020 7352 4071

What to wear: To be honest, I threw on jeans and brushed my hair after a night out. But I also saw someone from the made in Chelsea crowd in full hair and make up (it was a dude).

Food

Burger and Lobster

April 25, 2012

Stephanie

2 Comments

After seeing it on several sites/magazines, one drizzly Tuesday my girlfriends and I decided to take the plunge and try Burger and Lobster.

First things first, send one person from your party as early as humanly possible to put down your name. My friend Malin managed to put our name down at 6:30. Undeterred by the projected 2 hour wait time we headed to Hakkasan in Mayfair where I had the Hakka cocktail which not only came in a beautiful bamboo shaped glass, it also provided a decent buzz for the wait.

Venue: Hakkasan
Location: Hakkasan Mayfair, 17 Bruton Street, London, W1J 6QB
Cost: £11.50 for a cocktail
Look out for: tables full of cute men in suits on business dinners

After an hour at the bar in Hakkasan we moved on to meet the other two ladies in our party at Babble (59 Berkley Square). Where I had a £4.50 Vodka soda and was asked to have my picture taken with a random woman in the loos. We left shortly after that.

At 8:30 we were called by the manager Alex and told to make our way to Burger and Lobster. When we arrived there was a further 45 minute wait but we had the reasonably priced house wine (A Sangiovese red) and got drunker while leering at the table of gorgeous men in the booth by the window.

When we finally sat down at 9:15, a lovely Irish girl took our order which was made simple because you have 3 choices: Burger (with or without cheese and bacon), Grilled Lobster with butter or garlic and lemon butter, or a Lobster Roll. All come with chips and a salad. I thought about having the burger (all prime cuts of meat, buns made in house) but Malin insisted that “Nobody goes to Burger and Lobster to have a burger, we could have just gone to Byron.” Fair point.

Now, I’ve been to Maine and had several Lobster rolls, so I was willing to give this one a shot and compare it directly. There are no words to describe how good this was except to say it went from this:

To this:

In like, 14 minutes.

The rest of the girls had grilled lobster which was equally as mouth watering and the main point of conversation. This was my favorite piece:

Kim (who is new to eating lobster): “How do you know which part to eat?”
Cat (Canadian and eats loads of Lobster): “Just put it in your mouth and if it tastes good swallow.”
Me (clearly raised in a barn): “That’s what he said.”

We followed on with dessert and again there were only two choices: Bailey’s mousse (as Kim said to the witness: “You had me at Bailey’s”) with salted caramel or vanilla cheesecake. We ordered both, and both were amazeballs.

Vanilla Cheesecake

When we finished we asked the waitress to send over Alex, the manager and gushed for a solid 10 min abut the food. He offered to take us downstairs and see the kitchen and the brothers and sisters of the Nova Scotian lobsters we just ate.

He totally looks Canadian, right?

So to recap:

Venue: Burger and Lobster
Location: 29 Clarges street, Mayfair London W1J 7EF
Cost: £35/each for four girls with wine and dessert.
What to wear: Something sexy and stretchy. I had a food baby well into the next day. They also provide chic bibs we all wore.
Look out for: Cute Welsh rugby players who will walk you to the tube and invite you all out for more drinks.
Verdict: I never thought I’d say this, but Burger and Lobster is worth the 3 hour wait.

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!