Our New Favourite Chinese in Town: Murger Han Restaurant, London

A couple of weeks ago, Ellie & I got invited by Murger Han Mayfair, to try their food. This is my review. Murger Han, ‘London’s first authentic Xi’an restaurant’ (their slogan), operates at three other locations in London: one in the City near London Bridge, one at Euston, and one at Elephant & Castle. CUISINE FROM “NORTHWEST” CHINA AT MURGER HAN RESTAURANT, LONDON Xi’an is the capital of Shaanxi Province in central China. Interestingly, most Chinese think of it as Northwest China, even though strictly speaking, it is closer to the Southeast than the Northwest of China. Presumably this is because the cultural, economic, and political elites in China – apart from Beijing, Chongqing, and a few other cities – live mainly in the Southeast of the country in a bulging triangle vaguely between Qingdao in the Northeast, Chengdu in the Northwest, and Hainan Island in the South.   The […]

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Rabbit Stew with Sweet Potatoes and Mushrooms – A Recipe

I’ve recently tried my hand at rabbit stew. The outcome was so good I thought, heck, why not share the recipe. It’s pretty standard with no added chocolate, goat cheese, samphire, parsnip ice cream, or other weird stuff. On a few occasions in the past I’ve been told that I’m a decent cook. Compared with most passably passionate amateur cooks, who usually have a ton more talent, I’m pretty rubbish. One of the reasons I post recipes here on Berkeley Square Barbarian, is to get some ideas out there. You’ve never cooked rabbit stew? Well, now might be as good as any time to get started. This was my first time.   By all means, do shop around, google other recipes. I’ve achieved all I wanted to achieve if a few of you readers out there get thinking about trying out new stuff.   INGREDIENTS (2 persons)   Whole, skinned, […]

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Ye Olde Mitre, Holborn – London’s best-hidden pub and a gem of a boozer

The Barbarians are always in for a good challenge. So when fellow travel blogger David from Stray with David recently visited town and suggested we should meet up for a couple of quick pints at London’s best-hidden pub, we turned it into a competition who would find it first. We literally bumped into each other at the signposted entrance to the tiny alleyway off Hatton Garden and called it a draw. Apparently the entrance at the other end of the alley is much harder to find. Half way through the passage the path widens and opens to the sky, letting a healthy amount of light in, and there it is: the beautiful, award-winning, top-ranking, famous Ye Olde Mitre with its oak-panelled ground floor façade and dark leaded stained-glass windows. Even though the only thing that remains from its initial existence today is a single corner stone, the pub traces its […]

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Serious Seafood in Southampton: Soleto

During our recent visit to the New Forest we took the train to Southampton and hired a car from there to get to our final destination near Brockenhurst. On our way back we stopped for dinner at Soleto, Southampton’s top location for seafood, an Italian restaurant ranking #14 out of 639 on Tripadvisor, and proud holder of a Certificate of Excellence. The owner, who also happens to be the chef, greeted us upon arrival, gave us some recommendations and cheered us up with some anecdotes from his life. We decided to go for the mussels (£9.50), a mixed salad (£3.50), and the “Fish Medley” (£24.95).   Both dishes arrived fairly quickly and we tucked in. The mussels were among the nicest ones we’ve had in a while, really lovely sauce too. The seafood platter was equally delightful. I particularly liked the squid and the cod, both of which had near-perfect […]

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Pimlico’s Delizie D’Italia – Great Spot for Brunch

We used to live in Pimlico (near the beautiful Vincent Square, on the other side of Vauxhall Bridge Road), and we always loved Delizie d’Italia, a tiny Italian delicatessen with a small amount of indoor and outdoor seating. It isn’t located in the best part of Pimlico, right on Lupus Street, opposite the notorious Churchill Gardens estate. But the area has gone a long way and is perfectly safe during day time. A lot of great places have opened in the area during the past decade, including, for example a vintage clothes store frequented by A-listers. The famous 1930s neo-Georgian Dolphin Square apartment complex is only a stone’s throw away. A fabulous Michelin-starred restaurant is just half a mile away towards Victoria station (our review here). From Pimlico tube station Delizie is less than five minutes’ walk.   The quality of the service very much depends on the mood of […]

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