Good Eats in London

jill is sick - and i don't mean in the head.

here i am down with a respiratory infection - i can't smell therefore anything i put in my mouth tastes like paper or glue. yet, i still can't help think about food and i relish getting better so food again tastes like it should. which brings me to the thought at how amazing water is - water is probably the only thing that tastes the way it does whether you are sick or not.

because i intended this to be a blog about my obsession with food, and i have the time lounging about in my flat and i am tired of sleeping my flu away, i have decided to chronicle the places i like to eat at in london.

let me qualify - i don't believe in being an utter snob about food. i detest and pretty much think that those who think food is only about 3 star michelin dining are nothing but pretentious twats who don't really know what good food is all about, and use 'knowledge' of michelin star dining as a crutch for a terribly pretentious and insecure ego.

i have only one way of describing good food and that is YUMMY. food is either yummy or not. michelin star dining can be pretty and NOT yummy. ideally michelin star dining is both pretty and pretty uber YUMMY.

hotdogs with loads of fried onions driping in mayonnaise and ketchup from a cart at 3am in piccadilly circus after 5 cocktails may not necessarily be pretty but oh boy isn't it YUMMY!

i think yummy food is defined by your own experience and taste buds. what is yummy to me may not be yummy to you which is why i find the job of being a food critic strange. what makes someone qualified to say the food is yummy or not specially when what is yummy to one isn't necessarily yummy to another?

even chefs you know - their style of cooking food and use of seasoning and cooking techniques vary so greatly. some i find their food yummy and some i find ugh.....some are literally physically yummy as in the case of james martin and jun tanaka but that is another story altogether of course.

i tried opening my list of reservations i had made in the past three years on this restaurant booking site i've been using but i realized, better to just list down what i remember from memory. the bottom line is what you remember from memory as being good is what will stay with you as being good. its not necessarily a list of the places i like to eat in - mostly it is a list of the things i like to eat and therefore highly recommend you try.

STRADA - reliably good italian chain but i only eat four things there on the menu: linguine ala pescatore, the panna cotta with berries, tiramisu and the polenta con funghi. i always miss the peaches with mascarpone.

Gerrard's - on gerrard street in soho. my hands down FAVORITE chinese place in london where the food looks, smells and tastes like you're eating somewhere in hongkong (the highest praise i can think of!). my menu favorites are the salted fish fried rice, crispy beef strips, chicken feet, lobster dumplings, crispy duck (the poor man's version to peking duck), steamed egg custard buns and the mango-grapefruit sago pudding! my insides are quivering as i write this.

Carluccios - i like only two things on their menu: the lasagne and the florentine chocolate served in an espresso cup. i once went there and drank 5 cups of the florentine chocolate much to the amusement of the waiter.

Pret's carrot cake - well the old one which was a rectangular bar. i went there yesterday and it changed into a square bar with the icing now topped with poppy seeds and the new one is no good. i still include this in memoriam of what was a good convenience carrot cake.

Millie's Cookies. The only thing i won't eat is the white chocolate raspberry cookie because i don't like white chocolate and i don't understand the concept of mixing it with raspberries. NO.
My favorites are oatmeal raisin cookies, toffee pecan cookies, banoffee cookies and the milk chocolate chunk cookies. they do cookies american style - properly chewy and not crispy, loaded with butter and sugar in the dough which leads to cookie heaven.

Borough Market - OMFG. let's see...paella with chorizo from the store near the staircase when you come from the london bridge tube station on the side of the southwark cathedral (they also sell sangria and pimms by the pitcher). then the grilled cheese sandwich with onion pickles on poilane and the raclette potatoes from the cart either near brindisa or the one beside the greek desserts stands near the wall of the southward cathedral. the pistachio turkish delights from the well...turkish delight stand. the oysters on a half shell right in front of the market. the takeaway prosecco in plastic champagne flutes. all the olive varieties, some ham and salami from brindisa and cheese which i suggest you buy together with a baguette at the bread stalls then a bottle of wine which you share with friends while sitting in the southwark cathedral courtyard. if figs are in season, buy some and eat them with some really salty cheese and wafer thin slices of prosciutto and some shiraz or merlot maybe. then take home some of the ricotta squash ravioli which you can cook and serve with some sage butter, a roast chicken from roast and white wine.

If you have money to burn, want to impress someone, feeling posh, want to treat yourself (or any and all of the above) the 2 places i go are:
Galvin at the Windows at the Hilton Hotel in Mayfair. It's on the 27th floor with sweeping views of London so whatever the weather or time of day may be, you can be sure of great ambience. the food is reliably good although i wouldn't crow about it and i cannot remember anything outstanding as of yet. they also have a good selection of cocktails at the bar so you can turn up early for your reservation and enjoy a few drinks and the view. they don't demand you get dressed up and the service is always friendly and unpretentious.

Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester. the food is AMAZING. nuff said. a bit stuffy ambience though and the french waiters are very serious. this is not casual dining - it's get dressed properly dining. if you want to try it out but not ready to fork out £200 per head, go there for their lunch menu which i think remains at 3 courses for only £38 - plus wine, coffee with dessert, a bottle of water and service that should be around £60-70 per head. trust me for the quality of the food - THAT price is very good.

i am still trying to find the best place for ribs done american style. there are no good filipino restaurants in london. the best place to get that kind of food is at mine. and you have to wait for me to invite you.