As soon as I read Elizabeth Haigh’s introduction in her debut cookbook Makan: Recipes from the Heart of Singapore by Elizabeth Haigh I was hooked, not least because her story resonated so strongly with me. In a tale that is deeply familiar to me as a fellow child of Asian immigrants, it was only when ... Read more »
Bang Bang Oriental is a shiny, bold South East Asian food court in Colindale, North West London a successor to Oriental City, which closed down almost a decade before. With over 20 vendors to choose from, it can be hard to make a choice so we’re here to help with our top twelve dishes, and more. ... Read more »
2020 is definitely not the year of international travel. That passtime has pretty much ground to a halt, as many of us around the world hunker down at home in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Travel lovers like me, who would usually be booking the next trip, focus instead on dreams of past travels, ... Read more »
Food is a huge part of travel, whether you’re an avid foodie or not. Malaysian food is a game-changer and definitely one of my favourite cuisines in the world. The combination of Malay and Indochinese cuisine, as well as the passion Malaysians have for cooking, results in the creation of most delectable dishes. When travelling ... Read more »
“If you like coconut, you will probably like kaya. Kaya is one of those foods that makes you close your eyes, feel content and be thankful that life is very beautiful.” Kaya is a sweet, thick coconut spread that is popular in Malaysia and Singapore. Thickened with egg, velvety smooth and brown, Kaya has something ... Read more »
This is a really happy day. I’m so thrilled that I’m actually sitting here grinning like a loon as I write this, having just this second got home from Bang Bang Oriental. It opened this weekend and I was there like a shot. Bang Bang Oriental, you see, is the replacement for Oriental City which ... Read more »
‘Burma has some glorious noodle dishes’, says MiMi Aye, explaining her enduring obsession with this ubiquitous but underappreciated ingredient. As a child, MiMi learned to cook Shan and Burmese food from her mother who she describes as ‘a brilliant cook’, and enjoyed many holidays spent visiting family in Burma (also known as Myanmar), learning even ... Read more »
Yes, this is the second Pan Asian restaurant in less than a month, following my visit to Too Too Moo Whetstone at the beginning of the year. Chi Kitchen is located inside Debenhams’ flagship Oxford Street store, though it does have its own external entrance on the corner of Henrietta Place and Marylebone Lane. If ... Read more »
I’m not always complimentary about restaurants that offer more than one cuisine, most typically an array of Pan Asian dishes covering countries across East Asia. Too many of them do none of the dishes justice and the result is disappointment all round. But when a North London restaurant chain invited me to visit the newly ... Read more »
In just a few short years supper clubs have increased in number from a mere handful across the whole of London to many more than I can keep track of; every week I hear excited talk about another one that sounds well worth a visit. The range available is enormous, and I think it’s a ... Read more »
The Place of Onions, in old Lille. After last night’s rainstorm the intense sticky heat has broken and today is cool, breezy, fresh… I love it! A drop of… [more]
We went to Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire at The Void this morning, an amazing VR experience where we got to be Rebel Alliance members going undercover as… [more]