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 […]
Cafe East – This used to be our favourite Vietnamese in London for twelve years
Previously located in Deptford, near London’s Greenwich neighbourhood, the family-owned and -operated restaurant moved to Surrey Keys, in 2008. Ever since then we were regular visitors. It is just twelve minutes’ walk from Bermondsey Jubilee line tube station. Quite a few of our friends are ethnic Vietnamese, and Café East was their go-to destination. Thus it became our go-to destination for Vietnamese food, too, often joining our friends, but equally on our own. Over the past dozen years we must have visited at least once per year on average. I remember how my first visit with Ms B was a true revelation. Up until then I had never had outrageously brilliant Vietnamese food, only ever very good Vietnamese food. Then, over the years, we kept on coming back, and each and every time the food had gotten just a tiny tad less impressive. From a clear 5 out of 5 […]
Brunch in Style at the newly-opened Chez Antoinette, Victoria
Last weekend Ms B & I enjoyed a late brunch at the newly-opened Chez Antoinette in Victoria. Their mothership in Covent Garden, opened 5 years ago, ranks roughly 200 out of 20,000 London restaurants on Tripadvisor, with a Certificate of Excellence thrown in on top, and their new restaurant is ranking even higher. We never rely mainly on Tripadvisor, but it is the most popular platform and it gave some assurance that nearly all other reviews we found were also excellent. Co-owner Aurelia Noel-Delclos had lived in the Big Smoke for half a decade when she says she got homesick and decided to re-create her happy Lyon childhood home in her new home town. All dishes served are based on her grandmother Antoinette’s recipes or at the very least inspired by her cooking. Together with her husband Jean-Baptiste ‘JB’ Noel she now runs both restaurants and we were lucky to […]
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 […]
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 […]