Hi, kifak, Ça va?

Hallelujah, South London, I shouldn't have doubted you. I had the pleasure of discovering a hidden Lebanese gem in Tooting Bec this weekend. Meza is a delightfully cosy (albeit a bit crammed but that just adds to the experience) little restaurant - with just five tables. We sat at the counter and although a table later opened up, the staff were so friendly and chatty we decided to stick around and watch them cook.

If you plan on visiting - do reserve, unless you want to have a late dinner in true Lebo fashion, tables get available after 10pm and this is what we did. If you need to kill time while waiting for a table there's a charming pub at the corner of the road Wheatsheaf where I was delighted to find wine served in carafes, mellow jazz, and a buzzing crowd.

Everything you order at Meza will be fantastic - I am truly my fathers daughter when it comes to refusing to pick up the menu at a lebanese restaursnt because i know exactly what i want. I particularly recommend the fattoush salad (not on the menu but delicious if you like pomegranates).

The bill came to a reasonable £25 for two (without drinks) - and we even took a doggy bag home! This is definitely going to become one of my regulars.

Yallah, bye!

 

Sustainable taco cafe

Need to tell you about possibly the first authentic Mexican food experience I've had. We stumbled upon this no-fluff restaurant Taqueria while walking around Notting Hill on Saturday evening. Firstly, it was completely packed for 6pm on a Saturday and the decor is very simple - classic posters on the walls, plain white tables, extremely laid back. 

Started off with Bohemia beer (Brazil made me used to having this ICE COLD so I was a little disappointed by the temperature).

For our appetiser/antojitos we opted for a vegetarian dish - Botana - which is refried beans with queso fresco, guacamole, SPICY salsa (just the way I like it), pickled jalapeños and totopos. 

On to Tacos for the main meal. We ordered an assortment to share between the three of us. The waitress was very helpful and gave us recommendations. All the tacos were soft shell, my top favourites were 

1. Pescado - beer battered Alaskan pollack, avocado mash, chipotle mayo, mexican salsa, shredded cabbage
2. Tinga - shredded chicken in spicy chicken chipotle,onion and tomato sauce with sliced avocado
3. and of course, Alambres, which we were told is the more typical choice of taco with grilled skirt steak and capsicums folded into melted cheese

Now I need to rave about the extra/side which I ordered - Planto frito which is sliced and fried plantain. 

This was definitely the favourite part of my meal. Having grown up in exotic West Africa, I grew up on a staple diet of plantain and this is the first time I've had sweet plantain outside of Africa. MUCH recommended for anyone who has a sweet tooth or loves plantain. I would return just for the plantain. 

I'm going to end on this note, filled myself too much on plantain so dessert was out of the question!

Balham by foot

Set out to discover Balham this afternoon. The sun was out so thought we'd stroll around town.

Have discovered two local coffee/tea houses of worth.
1) Bertie and boo is a very busy coffee shop, the decor is adorable. There are school desks for tables (almost put mustache man off to sleep), lots of atmosphere and all the desserts are locally made. I indulged in a lavender and acacia honey cupcake (it had real bits of lavender in it), had bites of the banoffee muffin which was ok. The butterscotch milkshake was absolutely delicious. Only downside was that tea was not brewed (nasty old tea bags). All in all, great cosy atmosphere.

2) Lavish Habit is a cafe boutique. Basically its an accessories/clothing store crossed with a tea house. I bought these adorable gloves for my winter cycle rides. Check out the beautiful stool in here. Very classy place, breakfast looks great. Didn't get the chance to try anything here! Let me know if you have because I'm definitely venturing down here again soon

It's all about discovering London by foot. That's the lesson I learned this weekend.

Off to watch Wuthering Heights now. Tchau!

A cosy gastropub to warm the mood

Is there anything better than that feeling when you discover a cosy-as-hell gastropub, equipped with fireplace, traditional English charm and saliva-inducing food? Places like the Bolingbroke pub remind me, on a cold winters day (I've recently brought myself to accept that its winter by switching from my trench coat to full-on winter coat) why I chose to move to London from sunny old Dubai.

The dining room towards the back of the pub is less noisy than upfront, the glass-roof adds a sense of romance to the mood and contrasts the dark-wood paneled floor. Doesn't it sound delightful - and I haven't even mentioned the fireplace yet.

There's a list of specials on the chalk-board but we decided to stick to the main menu. We started with smoked salmon, lemon and coriander sorbet. A simple appetizer which is carefully prepared to ensure the flavors balance each other. It was a light and fresh start to the meal.

Moving on to the main course, I decided to opt for the Viscount seasonal salad - I was tempted by fried camembert and lemon vinaigrette. Instead of telling you more about my rather dull choice I'm going to focus on the great food choice that mustache-man made - Sea trout with steamed clams, tender-stemmed broccoli and saffron cream sauce. Sadly for him he had to continuously give me bites of his magnificent meal. Cooked to perfection, the sea trout had a crispy layer of skin on the top which was a wonderful compliment to the mussels and broccoli. The best part for me was the saffron cream which the food was swimming in, such a settle yet distinct taste to really bring the entire meal together. I'm definitely ordering this on my next visit.

Time for the pudding menu and boy, oh boy, I'm salivating just thinking about it. To make up for my boring choice of main course we decided to order two desserts. The champion of the night was certainly the Lemon posset with passionfruit and homemade shortbread. If you like sour, tangy treats, you're going to love this as much as I do. The lemon posset itself is delightfully creamy and tastes like fresh lemon, there's a passionfruit drizzling on top which adds sweetness and tanginess. The soft, crumbly, sweet shortbread is the perfect balance.

We also had the chocolate pot with white chocolate sabayon. Chocolate hardly ever gives me a reason to complain so chocolate lovers this is a safe choice.

The bill came out to £50 without any drinks. Not a cheap meal but definitely worth it.

Voila, taking about that has gotten me ready for seconds.

Eat, drink and be scary.

'Tis halloween weekend!


Went for a stroll down St. Johns Hill yesterday and stumbled upon a bar/restaurant that has instantly become a favorite, all hail - Power Keg Diplomacy.   


It seemed like we had walked into a time warp. Colonial-style decor, waiters with top hats and suspenders (and such good service), even a pumpkin carved with a mustache. The only thing missing was a piano man (need to find out if they have a piano night, gosh how amazing would that be). Even the music was set in the '20s. Clearly, I'm not a fan of the new millennium and if you aren't either, head down here instantly. 

Started off with a flute of the sparkling Chardonnay.


Dinner was Roasted Venison Haunch (very tender meat), roasted honey parsnips (made meticulously), pink fir apples and mean time stout sauce. A beautiful mix of flavors.

Followed up by the Sticky Toffee Pudding with butterscotch sauce and vanilla icecream. Not too hot. Not too cold. The toffee slightly burnt to give a much needed crunch.

Love this place. Definitely going back.
London needs more places like this.

Cake of the Carrot Kind.

I’m on a quest to find the best carrot cake out there. If I have one mission in life, this is it. So far, I’ve particularly enjoyed the ones mentioned below but the search must go on...

The Lime Tree Cafe in Dubai Jumeirah. Gloriously moist and fresh. Looks beautiful too. It’s been a while since I’ve bitten into it this one (1.5 years) but it’s so darn good. I bought a whole cake for a friends birthday a few years ago and it had all kinds of alcoholic beverages and insects crawling over it by the next morning. Kind of broke my heart.

Cake Boutique in London. Mustache man bought me half of this cake for my birthday this year. I even ate it in bed, for breakfast the next morning. My only complaint here is that the icing gets too hard if left over night, but it’s AMAZING the day it's bought.

Last week at Brixton village (my favourite place in London at the moment, I’ll need to dedicate an entire post to it soon. The once derelict and dodgy end of Brixton is wriggling out of its caterpillar state and getting all butterfly on us) Sweet Tooth stall we tried the carrot cake which I thought tasted a little funky (no one else agreed with me so do have a try yourself). An impromptu fashion began on while we were stuffing our faces, I’ve attached some photos for no particular reason.

Not a Boozy Lunch

Client meetings can be great times when there's good food involved. Nipped out for a 45 minute lunch around the corner at CIBO sadly my delicious carpaccio with wild rocket and parmigiana was not accompanied with a glass of wine but no complaints! My colleague loved 
the squid filled with crab, breadcrumbs and herbs in a light tomato sauce. 

A no fuss restaurant, recommended if you're in the area but don't go out of your way!

You are my heroin.

If you're a fro yo addict like myself you're going to get obsessed with samba swirl. Delicious low fat treat with fresh ingredients... Or you can opt for more indulgent flavors like red velvet. The flavors change every day so its always a little surprise to visit them. Ill be the person asking to try every flavor twice before making my bowl, annoying i know but so much fun. There are even free doggy treats available, what's not to love?


Visit the Clapham junction branch on northcote road (apparently there's a branch in islington too for north London folk).

I could eat my body weight in sushi.

VERY EXCITED TONIGHT.


Mustache man and I have finally discovered a tiny little authentic japanese restaurant which is surprisingly affordable in Clapham - Sushibar Tokiya.

Sorry, Fujiyama (another favorite japanese joint in south london), but the dragon eel roll at Tokiya has killed it tonight. Prepared with such love and beautifully presented, I've inserted a photo for everyone to drool over. The dragon roll is a concoction of eel, avocado, scallops, cucumber, spicy mayonnaise, a touch of sriracha sauce (for that added kick) and seasoned with watercress and roe. It was the highlight of the meal.

You'll notice the soft shell crab roll in the bottom of the photo, we also tried the prawn tempura roll and chicken gyoza which I'll definitely be ordering next time.


Don't miss the green tea.


What I love most about this joint is the authenticity, the service is impeccable, the decor is simple and the food divine. I'd imagine sushi bars in Tokyo to resemble this place. Afterall, the chef has over 30 years of experience and was trained in Tokyo.

Arigato gozaimasu.