The Bard down by the Wagamama on the South Bank.

Look! Site redesign! Mobile-friendly! Magazine slider! Can you believe it? Do you know how hard I worked on this? TOO HARD. But I was worried Google was penalizing me because of my lack of mobile-friendliness. So it had to happen.

So there’s uh more goddamned ads to pay for all of it. Don’t hate me. I’m just experimenting. Some will disappear soon.

How is everyone? I have so much to tell you! I went to Cambodia! And Malaysia! And Vietnam! I heart Cambodia. More to come on all that shortly I hope once I get my act together. (Hah.)

Here’s where I’ve been eating in London lately…forgive me for staying close but it’s been an intense few months and I’m all about efficiency these days.

Fish taco FTW

Breddos, Clerkenwell: I’m trying to remember what used to be in this little place on Goswell Road. God knows I walked by it practically every day for 5.5 years. But my mind is blank. I like Breddos. I like the vibe, the design, and the music. (REALLY liked the music. Old school. New school. Does Breddos have a Spotify playlist because I want it.) I like the chirpy staff. I’m not quite sure my chilaquiles qualified as chilaquiles but the dish was still somewhat snacky. The baja fish tacos were what I was there for anyhow and I had one and I enjoyed it. You know what I also like about Breddos? The PLATES. Guys, they look like tacos. I see what you’ve done there, Breddos! Also, the loo is very nice. The Verdict: Try it. You’ll probably like it.

Panzo, Clerkenwell: You get a pizza and you get a pizza and you get a pizza! Panzo is all about the individually sized pizzas but I still think I could have split mine. The dough was particularly chewy — my TMJ started acting up again. Certainly not the lightness I expected after both Naples and Panzo’s own claims of lightness because of the double-cooked dough. The price was right though…£8.50 for a very generous pizza for one, in my opinion. Also pleasing, the decor. Someone has been spending a lot of time on Pinterest lately. (Pink, copper, wood, cacti. All very 2016.) The Verdict: A good casual lunch option if you are in the neighborhood and need a party-pleaser.

Luca, Clerkenwell (See what I mean about staying close? Don’t judge.): So I walked into Luca and told the guy behind the bar about my last time at Porto, the place that used to be where Luca is. “I came in and sat down at the bar and then no one ever talked to me after that,” I say. “Well, let’s hope that won’t happen to you here at Luca,” the guy behind the bar says. Can you guess where this is going? I order my salad and pasta (it was fine) and he never spoke to me again.  The Verdict: I’ll probably try this again and TEST THEM.  Luca has also been spending a lot of time on Pinterest, just fyi.

The Lamb, Bloomsbury: This place was a trip. There were some well-dressed patrons seated here and there — locals, I presume — who were all jollily over-served and chatting with anyone and everyone who would listen. I had the Toad in the Hole, mainly because I wanted potatoes and I just like to say “Toad in the Hole.” It was fine. It was pub food. I enjoyed it. Anyone would. The loo was unmemorable. The Verdict: Your friends who are visiting will love it here.

Tagliolini with monk’s beard and anchovy sauce. I was hoping for a bit more anchovy. But still very good.

Burro e Salvia, Shoreditch: I think I kinda fell in love, guys. Small. Simple. Communal table in the back. Friendly staff who don’t hesitate to offer their opinion. Al dente (like real al dente) pasta. Oddly spacious loo for a place in Shoreditch. The only bummer? I DRANK A NATURAL WINE. I really have come to the conclusion that while I do find biodynamic wines oddly compelling (moonlight, anyone?), natural wines are just a little too funky for me. Go on, try to sway me in the comments. The Verdict: Yes.

Quality Chop House, Clerkenwell: I haven’t been here since like 2005? 2006? But still when I think “Quality Chop House,” I think “uncomfortable chairs.” They use those church pew things. So I tried to suggest we not get one of those church pew tables. But we still got one. My cousin was visiting from Florida and said, “That was place was weird” and he was referring both to the seating and the food. He had mince on toast for dinner, so I can see why he would think that. (To give my cousin’s culinary tastes some context, I took him to St. John and he refused to eat there because he said it looked like an asylum for the mentally ill.) My plump sardines at QCH were delicious though and everyone loves the place these days so I’d gladly go again. As long as we don’t have to sit in those pews.  The Verdict: Go but don’t take your out-of-town guests here.

There’s more…somewhere…I’ll get there eventually…

The post Where I’ve Been Eating in London Lately, Winter 2017 Edition first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Today was my second visit but I sat in the same exact spot as my first visit: at a stool by the window, watching Wardour Street walk by. How do all these people fit into Londontown? I do not understand.

I like the decor of Viet Food. They’ve taken it very seriously. I like the tile entrance and the vintage-industrial feel of the loos. I also really, really like the pulsating electronic music.

I also like the very reasonable prices on the menu, although I wonder sometimes how Chinatown restaurants will survive, the way rent prices are going. I would honestly pay a few quid extra if it meant the Chinatown survives. (Please Boris, protect it.)

Chicken Curry

For today’s lunch, I ordered the seafood balls — exactly what you’d think they’d be — and the Vietnamese chicken curry. The seafood balls were super, super hot and while they were good, I had higher expectations. (I did sort of fall in love with the tiny little jar for the sauce that came on the side though.) The chicken curry was great and I would gladly have this again. The curry is more subtle than Thai curries. If I were a better home cook, I’d know why. My guess is that the Vietnamese version has more lime and more lemongrass.

The Verdict: I like Viet Food. I like the decor, the service is okay, and I like the prices. I haven’t eaten at enough of the world’s Vietnamese restaurants to make a fair comparison, but I’d recommend a visit if you, like me, love Vietnamese food.

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The post Viet Food, Chinatown first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

I stayed a couple of nights at the Waldorf Hilton in London the other week…another Hotwire via Expedia bargain. I got the hotel for $275.83 a night all in on Expedia, booking it again as an “unnamed hotel” and not knowing what I’d get until I got it. The hotel’s list price on the day I booked was $336.61. On the day I moved in, the price had gone up to $396 a night. So using that figure, I saved 30.35%. Not bad. I’m happy with that. I also saved even more because the hotel charges for wifi. I couldn’t get it to work, so they gave me complimentary access for my entire stay. SCORE.

What I liked…

• I liked this hotel’s location…right on Aldwych, so a short walk to Holborn tube and just a generally good area in general for restaurants and walking around and public transport.
• My room had been very recently renovated, which was really nice. The bathroom was brand-spanking new and very pretty. I would like the bathroom in my house to look like this.
• The towels were great. Nice and new and long. I like a good bath sheet.
• I needed to print a few tour vouchers and rather than charging me for printouts, they printed everything for me for free.
• John the piano guy in the bar who works most afternoon seems like a lovely guy.

What I didn’t like…

• I ordered room service one night and my stir fry was pretty terrible. Super greasy.
• I asked for a bucket of ice when I first got to the hotel — my ankle injury from November is still plaguing me and I wanted to ice it down — and the front desk said they’d send it right up. They never sent it up. When I asked hours later, the guy at the front desk said something lame like “I was going to do it but then I got distracted and I forgot.” (At least he was honest, I guess.)
• I wanted a Diet Coke from the minibar one afternoon. There wasn’t a bottle opener in the room. I called the front desk and then said they would send one right up. You can guess what never arrived.
• The safe was a bit low. (The safe sat on top of the minibar.) Safes at this level make me nervous after  I left my camera lens in Singapore last month.
• The room was pretty small. I’m okay with a small room, but I think I would go crazy if I stayed here more than a few days and if I was sharing this room with someone else.

Would I stay here again? Hmmm…I’m not sure there’s anything compelling me to return. But if I could get another good value like I got on Hotwire, I’d do it. It’s a nice hotel in a very good location.

The post The Waldorf Hilton London first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Ah, The Dean Street Townhouse. I loved you so much during my first and only other visit in 2011. You were clean and neat and perky and cozy. I told anyone and everyone who was going to London that they should stay with you.

Fast forward two years…the carpet is stained, the bed dips, the tile grout is rotted (or missing entirely) and it’s 4 p.m. on a Saturday and you still have not cleaned my room. You give me free flip-flops, BUT THEY ARE FOR TWO LEFT FEET. You are nice, you apologize, you buy me a glass of wine. You tell me that you are going to replace the carpet after I leave. I use ALL OF THE COWSHED in the shower, but I am still not satisfied. You are not the same hotel. And I don’t want to stay here again. Ok, thanks, bye.

The post The Dean Street Townhouse Revisited, London first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Verdict: You should go here. Have the salmon. (Seriously, I never say that. This is amazing.)

The post Lima, London first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

I’m going to keep this short and sweet. This bowl of ramen at Bone Daddies in Soho in London is one of the most delicious things I’ve EVER eaten. And I don’t normally like ramen. Also, those eggs? PERFECTION. Ramen MAGIC. Crazy ramen magic. The broth!! I could drink that for the rest of my life and die happily.

The only bad part was the music. Not a heavy metal fan, this one.

The Verdict: GO. Now.

The post Bone Daddies, London first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Date of Last Visit:  Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

The Victim: Reiko

The Damage: £35 each

The Background: You might remember that I was in Cardiff towards the end of November. At some point, after the Australia-Wales Rugby Match, we ended up in a random Malaysian restaurant. (Never wrote about it, sorry!) I was with Craig and his wife Leanne. Craig leaves to go to the men's room and Leanne and I are sitting chatting. I make a comment about the people waving Australian flags in the restaurant. (Craig and Leanne are from Downunder.) Leanne follows my gaze and yells, "Oh my God! That's my cousin!

Yes, she ran into her cousin Taman at a random Malaysian restaurant in Cardiff. He was with his girlfriend Reiko, and we all got to chatting over the rest of our meals.

I told Reiko about my blog and my trip to Tokyo in 2008 and she pronounced herself a willing victim for any meal. So it was that we found ourselves at Itadaki Zen in King's Cross on a Wednesday night in January. This was Reiko's choice, and I was intrigued. It's a vegetarian Japanese restaurant, and I'd never heard of it. Never. I like never hearing about places.

But then of course, the week before we're supposed to go to Itadaki Zen, what happens? Time Out runs this review. I was kinda bummed. Mainly because I wanted to go someplace I knew NOTHING about. But I couldn't not read Guy Diamond's review.

The Entrance: Itadaki Zen is all light wood and quiet. They had an architect in from Japan who designed the space, and apparently, he thought people would never eat in groups of three or four because he built this huge mega-wide bar down the side of the room. Not so good. I was glad it was just me and Reiko.

 
The Food: I put Reiko in charge. I don't know what I'm doing. Reiko had the chef brought out so we could all chat. Or, well, that Reiko and the chef could chat because it was all in Japanese. So we started with the vegetable sushi and you know what, I wasn't so impressed. Vegetable sushi is boring. (And high-margin.) Luckily, I snagged the fried tofu bit.

 
The spinach and tofu, on the other hand, I really enjoyed. Dense and savory. I could have had more of this.

 
The beans…I could have passed on these. I'm not exactly sure what they were–soybeans of some sort. But they didn't talk to me. At the end, this was the only dish we didn't finish.

 
So I was worried about the agedashi tofu because Guy Diamond in Time Out said "…mirin and shoyu (soy sauce) broth called tsuyu – should have intense flavours to complement the delicate tofu, but this version disappointingly lacked great depth." But I actually thought this was one of the better examples of agedashi tofu that I've ever had. Normally, I find the broth too watery and lacking flavor, but I thought this one was pretty good.

 
I really liked the spring rolls. A lot. Eons later and I'm still thinking about them. I would tell you more but I've written this post like three times now because Typepad and my computer are not getting along at the moment. So I'm kinda highly annoyed.

 
Then there was the tempura. The carrot and onion mish-mash was pretty fantastic. The rest was good, but would have been better with the tempura dipping sauce I'm used to. (At Itadaki Zen, the tempura is served with just the salt. I don't know enough about dipping sauce vs. salt to comment.) Once this stuff was cold…well, not so great. (In comparison to say, cold fried chicken, which only seems to taste better the next day!)

 
And here's the sesame pudding. I'm a sucker for anything sesame but I can see many people not liking this. But you know what, I don't care what you think. I really liked this. Anything sesame is delicious to me.

The Service: Sweet. Not Japanese. (Just stating some facts.) Very knowledgeable about the food and what they're trying to accomplish. I  like that.

The Area: Sketchy.

The Verdict: I'd seriously go back for those spring rolls. And the carrot and onion tempura. And some sesame pudding. Oh, and some more of that spinach and tofu mixture. Don't be worried about the lack of meat and fish. There's enough choice here to make up for that.

The post Itadaki Zen, Kings Cross first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Chilli Cool
15 Leigh Street
WC1H 9EW

Date of Last Visit: Monday, December 7th

The Victims: Alice, Cara

The Damage: About £20 each

The Background: After dropping a whole lotta change at Kai in Mayfair with Alice and Cara a few months back, we had agreed that our next stop should be a bit more of the cheap-and-cheerful variety. You might know that I like spicy, so when Alice suggested Chilli Cool, there was no answer but "Yes."

The Entrance: There's some slight confusion when I enter. Firstly, Chilli Cool has two doors. The door on the left is for hot pot. The door on the right is for non-hot-pot. I go in the left door. Oops. They send me next door, at which point I give them Alice's name. They don't have a booking for Alice. Ah, I realize. It's under Cara's name. They don't have a booking for Cara either. After some back-and-forth, I figure out that they do have a booking for "Car" and we're sorted.

Alice has let us know that she's running late and has given us permission to order in her absence. She's also given us a list of dishes, which, combined with some tips from Mr. Noodles, creates our order.

We start out with some Kung Pao chicken, which I always love because of the peanuts. (As it turns out, Alice and I are both suckers for peanuts.) This is a nice dish, but the chicken is a bit on the sugary side for me, and it's lacking the wallop of heat that I was hoping for.

My two go-to dishes in most Chinese restaurants are Ma Po Tofu and the garlicky green beans. I'm looking forward to trying both here because I figure they'll be REALLY hot. Chilli Cool, after all, is a Szechuan restaurant. The Ma Po arrives and it does have a little kick to it, but I'm barely fanning myself. Not hot enough!

 
Then there are the green beans, which taste as beautiful as they look. I pretty much polish this dish off on my own towards the end of the meal. (Sorry, ladies.) But again, there's just the tiniest bit of chili here. I want more!

The star of the meal has to be Mr. Noodles' main recommendation of the Szechuan beef. I happily take home all the leftovers and have this for breakfast for the next two days. (Who says you have to have breakfast for breakfast?) There's more chili here, and the dish is just dripping in unctuous goodness. But still…it could have been hotter. I think about my meal at Bar Shu back (admittedly) in 2007–where I couldn't down water fast enough and Chilli Cool comes up, well, cold. Cold. Not hot.

The Service: Sweet.

The Verdict: Cheap and cheerful, for sure. But maybe they were trying to be nice to us or something…I could have used more HEAT.

The post Chilli Cool, King’s Cross first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

The London Review Cakeshop
14-16 Bury Place
WC1A 2JL

Date of Last Visit: Sunday, January 24th 2009

The Victim: Me

The Damage: £5

The Background: I am having a great London day. Manicure, pedicure. Fantastic crepe. Eyebrows taken care of. And now I feel like a slice of cake. So I Google the London Review of Books and find myself at their cakeshop.

I first heard about the London Review of Books via an article in the New York Times all about the actual London Review of Books, the magazine. It was talking about their personals section. Have you read these yet? For those of you too lazy to click the link, let me post a few:

Dear LRB, I have no money. Please run my advert for free. I want a woman who is 38. Let her know I’m really clever and good-looking. Thanks.

Yesterday I was a disgusting spectacle in end-stage alcoholism with a gambling problem and not a hope in the world. Today I am the author of this magnificent life-altering statement of yearning and desire. You are a woman to 55 with plenty of cash and very little self-respect. When you reply to this advert your life will never be the same again. My name is Bernard. Never call me Bernie.

If forced to commit, I’d say I feared geese more than ducks. Man, 47. Fears geese more than ducks.

The Food: After buying myself a few books, I step into the cakeshop. It's a bit cramped, truth be told. But apparently, they have free wi-fi. This seems like a good place for an intellectual date. So go for it, if you're reading this and are intellectual and need a good place for a date. Take him or her here.

So I order myself a decaf and a slice of cheesecake. And wish I had brought my laptop so I could have gotten in some blogging. I have a lot of restaurant reviews to catch up on!

And the cheesecake is the most honestingly refreshing slice of cheesecake I can ever remember having. The biscuit crust! The cake! The mixed berry topping! It is all so perfect that I have to go to the counter and ask where they've procured such a cheesecake.

Apparently, the owner has a friend. Who makes him/her a cheesecake every so often. I wish I had a friend like this. Look at this cake. Just look at it!

The Verdict: Go on an intellectual date here and wow the object of your desire with a slice of cheesecake. Really. Really! This was fantastic.

The post The London Review of Books Cakeshop first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Date of Last Visit: Saturday, 13 July 2008

The Victim: Me

The Damage: £2

The Background: I don’t often post on a Sunday. But I’m pounding the keyboard a little earlier than normal today for two very good reasons…

Firstly, I had my first taste ever of gelato from Coven’t Garden’s Scoop. And I fell head-over-tiramisu-heels in love. £2 for a lovely self-selected concoction of green tea and, well, tiramisu. Good. Unbelievably good. (I also liked how when I went to take a picture, the young girl behind the counter actually HELPED me to take the picture. I was a bit worried she was going to ask me to put the camera away, but no! She helped me get a cleaner shot!)

I was first introduced to Scoop by fellow London food blogger, Silverbrow. And then Jess from Ripe London joined the love-fest. And then I saw Mario on an episode of The Apprentice, and I knew God was trying to tell me something. Go now.

Why You Should Go Out and Buy The Observer
I also wanted to post today because at 7:35 a.m., a time when no decent bakery seems to want to feed me pain au chocolat, I picked up a copy of The Observer. Jay Rayner wrote a great piece on Bloggers & Critics in The Observer Review and there’s a little profile of me. If you pick up the print version, well, I think it’s fair to say I’ve used up by 15 minutes. 

The gist of the piece is whether bloggers pose a threat to traditional media and if the world of criticism is being democratized. One of my favorite quotes in the article is from fellow London food blogger Simon of Dos Hermanos, who says of the pros, "If you’re not entertaining, however informative you are, there’s no reason for you existing"" I also like where Lynne of Dove Gray Reader says, "There’s nothing objective about what I’m doing. It’s about my emotional responses."

So if you are visiting my horribly-named blog for the first time (I think there will be a rebranding exercise in 2008), thanks for stopping by! If you want to know where this particular London food and restaurant blogger came from, you can read more about me on my About page. (And if you’d like to send me an e-mail, you’ll see my address way down at the bottom of the page.) Visit my archives–all the way back to June of 2004–to see how my prose has improved over time. (Thankfully.) I have a page devoted to my 10 favorite London restaurants, and if you have a moment, why not participate in The Leicester Square Challenge, my most popular post to date? Plus, you might enjoy some of my favorite posts.

Because you know I love statistics, I might update this post later in the week with details on the amount of referral traffic I get. So stay tuned, and again, thanks for dropping by.

The post Scoop, and a Hello to Observer Readers first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Date of Last Visit: Tuesday, April 29th

The Damage: £5?

The Victims: Aunt Ursula, Uncle George

I don’t often write about pubs. But I have to mention the Princess Louise in Holborn. This is truly a lovely, lovely pub. If your family appreciates good tilework and molding like mine does, well, you’ll love it forever.

A few days earlier, I had contacted Stonch, over at Stonch’s Beer Blog, and asked him for some pub recommendations for me and my aunt and uncle–some places that they would talk about for days and months afterwards. He gave me three: The Princess Louise, Ye Olde Mitre, and The Lamb on Lamb’s Conduit Street. I had hoped we’d make it to all three, but we were so worn out by our trips to Salisbury,  Bath, and Greenwich, that The Princess Louise was all we got to. That’s okay though, as it was a hugely successful visit and Aunt Ursula and Uncle George haven’t stopped talking about the beer (Samuel Smith’s) and the woodwork since.

The Verdict: Go.

The post Pub: Princess Louise first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.