NOPI

Nopi Night & Day

Clean, Crisp White & Antique Gold

Apron Attendant

Golden Brass Table Skirting

Bringing The Goody Bag Straight To Your Table

The little round golden circle

The Interior Hub At Dusk

Flowering Bloom

The beautiful Extra White Beer

Minimal but perfectly formed

Spiced Gurnard wrapped in banana leaf, pineapple sambal

Some sort of Crazy delicious

Caramel and roasted peanut ice cream, mini tub of chocolate sauce

#16 Sweet Sixteen

Small And Perfectly Formed

When our fun loving friends Deb + Nico took us out to 'New Flavour' halfway down Dominion road in Auckland, we knew their taste buds were more than halfway polished.

The Mutton Birds - Halfway Down Dominion Road

So confident where we, of their on-the-pulse recommendations, when they suggested we check out Otollenghi's NOPI - when back in London time - we made a beeline for Yotam's hive.

Far out. What a cosseting, elegant, welcome-back into London's urban plateau, Nopi provided; with a sense of refined tranquility, sheltered from the hurly burly central hub district of the "big smoke". Inside the cleverly pitched interior, with pristine white painted brick and tiled walls, spacious opaque marble flooring, minimal art and pendulant golden-glow brass fixtures, it converged to feel like a modernists backdrop of Versailles. The golden circle brand insignia is a clever touch and pops up in various subtle guises.

Sitting up at the stunning bar counter was a treat for the senses and the bar service was just as it should be, intuitively knowing when to butt in and when to pour. We sampled a delicious extra white beer, 'Vedett' with slice of lemon and to follow a dreamy bottle of aromatic French mountain alps wine from the cellar. 

The venue is well represented with all levels of entendant staff eager to please and fulfil the essence of going out for dinner. The menu changes frequently as validated by the lovely printed press style dinner menu card, each one updated daily. The Nopi cuisine is a sort of high brow intellectual tapas touching on Moroccan, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and Asian influences. It tastes and looks particularly brilliant.... in a how do they think up these innovative ideas, kind of way.

The plates arrive intermittently with just the right level of frequency. Conversation flows easily with the savvy waiters. A plate of Cauliflower, chilli and coconut fritters with lime yoghurt, knocked knees with Golden and red beet, quince and caramelised macadamias. Spiced gurnard wrapped in banana leaf, pineapple sambal could have washed up tidal alongside the Seared prawns , tomato butter, fennel, olives and Pernod. Baloo would have a field day feeding these bear necessities to the man-cub Mowgli.

Seared lamb cannon, celeriac and barberry salad, with green chilli sauce was served fresh on the heels of Pork belly, caramelised Nashi pear, grape mustard jus. Nopi informally recommends 3 dishes per person and you certainly will feel embarrassingly stuffed on 'crazy delicious' if you are happy to oblige. For pud we shared a Caramel, and Roasted Peanut Ice Cream with Tub of Chocolate Sauce. With a description like that, there is no need to dither on about how good it was. Just a contented nod is sufficient. Especially when accompanied by a glass of dessert wine from Chateau du Levant, Sauternes. Perfect....

Award winning food is all about the ambience, taste, texture, smell and aesthetic presentation. Nopi covers all the bases and is somewhere you really do want to go back to. It's price point sets it out - for most of the crowd - as an occasional treat dinner and even if you gulp, it is worth every penny.

If your not staying in to play Jenga, pop down to Nopi, you won't be disappointed.

http://www.nopi-restaurant.com/

JIN KICHI

A Peak Inside The Wonderful World Of Jin Kichi

Adrenalin Rush

Turning Over The Sizzling Eye Candy

Yebisu 330ml.  A Perfect Bottle Of Beer.

Here Comes The Cavalry. 

The Famous Five - Gyoza Dumpling 

Robin Hood Arrows

The Ballerina Dancing Bonito Flakes

The World's Best Avocado and Prawn Tempura Fritter

Simply Yum.

Hand Made Washing Up Japanese Style.

#15 Young and Keen

Me Wa Kuchi Hodo Ni Mono O Li.

Who in their right mind cares about the Rugby World Cup when there's an edible egg shaped ball of Hamachi Sushi roll to chase ?

Step forward Jin Kichi, an old faithful and ever present on the burgeoning Japanese circuit of Eateries in London. With a well heeled reputation as an authentic Tokyo experience, JK has the good sense to retain its position as a word-of-mouth secret, with its humble and simple Izakaya bar foundations. 

Enter through the keyhole and the attentive staff provide the traditional Japanese restaurant welcome cheer "Irrashaimase". You notice the Itamae-chef holding forte at the centrally staged charcoal grill plate, neatly built on simple masonry bricks. This mesmerising stage sets the tone for the hand crafted character of authentic Japanese cuisine and showcases the art of Sumiyaki, the grill skewered speciality delicacies, this establishment is known for.

Being seated at the grill bar counter, feels just like Tokyo, with a perfectly formed utility space and bright pendent paper globe lanterns with their Japanese tattoo calligraphy. With the addition of delightful toothpick ceramic holders, these provide a welcome contrary view to the theory that everything beautiful, is BIG in Japan.


Conveniently with seating at an attractive blue-formica bar counter top, or little sets of wooden table and chairs, theres no need to remove your shoes, to perform the traditional Padmasana Lotus pose on a Tatami mat. You could instead focus such artful meditation and poise, upon the challenging task of securing a table booking in this hugely popular venue.

The food at JK stimulates the senses and leaves you  drooling and shrieking for more. There are so many highlights you may need an art director to help edit the footage. The homemade gyoza pork dumplings with spicy sauce are reason enough to queue outside, but even they could be considered token fillers amidst the other jaw dropping delights. 

And there is no better jaw dropping scene than a plate of the grilled 'Salmon Jaw with Salt', Richard Drefyfuss eat your heart out; while a Jin Kichi highlight is watching Bonito flakes dance a pirouette on top of the grilled aubergine, like miniature ballerinas swaying and swirling in unison in death defying slow motion.

On this visit we fell head-over-heels in love with...

• Yakitori Skewer with Shiso Leaf
• Ebi Yaki Grilled Jumbo Prawn
• Mixed Prawn and Vegetable Tempura Fritter
• Yellow Tail Tuna with Avocado Roll Inside Out with Black Sesame
• Salmon with Avocado Roll Inside Out.
• Grilled Aubergine and Bonito Flakes
• Gyoza Grilled Dumplings

On your way out, don't forget to bow and smile and say "Okanio O Onegaishimasu", as you discreetly unbutton your waistband. And if you can still find room to fit in this mouthful .... 'Sumiyaki-Robatayaki-Izakaya-Yakitori' style bar restaurant, then this little goldmine is certainly the one for you.

*Remember when booking in advance to pop in to the nearby Holly Bush pub for a pre Sumiyaki drink.

http://www.jinkichi.com

SOS

Salad Prep

The Full Monty

Wicked Waiheke Coastline Wine 

Farmhouse Fayre Sticky Toffee Pudding

Toblerone Summit Glaciers

#14  Valentines Day


Summer Of Salad


"Hey don't falter, when your with me it's always summer." 


There are few meals that define summer quite like a Nicoise salad. It certainly is summers Mint Royale feature and this writers favourite place to tuck in to a summer salad is nestled at home, relaxing on the couch of life. The best part of a Nicoise is there are no fixed rules, allowing for inner creativity and a chance to paint a little landscape to suit your mood.


Here we opted for these Nicoise essentials : Cherry Tomatoes, New season Potatoes, Radish, Avocado, Green Beans, Boiled Egg, Anchovies, Black Olives, Pistachios, Pine Nuts, Olive Oil, Himalayan Salt. 


Accompanied by a beaute bottle of Man O War from their micro climate vineyard on New Zealand's Waiheke Island.


For pudding, a contest was declared and in the corner in the rose pink shorts....
'Piping Hot Farmhouse Fayre Sticky Toffee Pudding with Local favourite Marine Ices ice cream'
and in the pale blue shorts....
'Toblerone Chunks Ascending Ice cream Glacier Scoops'.
And as the ring master might say, by unanimous decision the judges declared this pudding contest..... 
ABSO  LOOT- LEEEEEEEEEEE
KNOCKOUT.


www.marineices.co.uk
www.farmhousefare.co.uk
www.toblerone.com
www.manowarvineyards.co.nz

SWISS COTTAGE POOL RESTAURANT

The view from Swiss Cottage Swimming Pool Restaurant

# 13 Unlucky For Some


There's Nothing Going On But The Juice.

Now then, now then ladies and gents, this may, or may not, float your boat, but if you enjoy your favourite tipple accompanied by flowing water.....

pop down to the Swiss Cottage Pools Restaurant


I am sailing,
I am sailing
Home again, 
Across the seas
I am sailing, stormy waters,
To be near you 
To be free....... from msg, additives, E numbers and other naughty manmade chemicals.


http://www.chegworthvalley.com


The best of natures juices. 

CHEZ NOUS

Full Moon Menu

It dosen't get any better than this

Regular patron snug in his natural habitat

The Beaker of Ribena

A Peak inside Nirvana

Avocado and Prawns with buttered triangles

Grilled Trout with Salad and Chips

The Birthday girls let rip

#12  One Dozen


A Place to Call Home

Some girls are bigger than others, some days are better than others, sometimes your instinct is to recoil from life's harsher edges and simply feel cosseted, fed and watered by a friendly face. A place where you can be left quietly to ponder life's intricate meandering web of ups and downs.

The development of Comfort Food is a testament to those such days and there are few locations in London that could compete with Chez Nous in a Comfort Relay Race.This snug cafe restaurant is one of a kind, proudly a family run business and fantastically not part of any chain, it retains the idiosyncratic charm to seduce and cosset.Opening early in the morning till late at night, it covers the traditional breakfast hangover to a twilight cheese toastie.

Supporting a local community with a fascinating cross section of the social demographic of Belsize Park, Chez Nous is frequented by builders, actresses, community workers, artists, accountants, hippies, vagrants and vicars. It certainly is a local institution, a haven for regular faces and sometimes for those less fortunate, who pop in gratefully to discreetly receive free food, for their daily nourishment. It is a place with a heart and a soul and though the young female staff seem to change frequently, a common thread runs through their smiling, courteous happy spirit, which radiates in their service. 

Educated travellers drop by and freely pass on their tips while some other patrons mentor and counsel over a cup of tea, safe in the bosom of Chez Nous.The layout is intriguing too with a single long bench seat and tables facing across the room to the adjoining customers. This gives a sense of being part of a life stage or tv documentary, while the ambience is so relaxing this never feels intrusive.

The decor and use of materials may not appear at first glance to be anything to write home about, but dont be fooled. This is the beauty of Chez Nous, it dosen't need to try too hard, because it is true to itself and has over the years, moulded into a snug, homely, non precious intimate form of existence.

The menu is extensive and perfect. It reeks of comfort food. The food is nothing but homely and comes in a generous proportion, cleverly avoiding life's tricky decisions by coming with both salad and chips. The plates are served with the perfect just-what-you-need condiments on hand. 

In the 21st century it is evident we as consumers have learned from America and an overly spoiled economy to be more demanding and exacting. Chez Nous knows how to counter this excessive expectancy and helps you to understand that sometimes, the little things in life that usually go unnoticed, are actually more important than the seemingly bigger self important things.

There can be no better testament to Chez Nous than  finishing this blog and by mentioning these observations :

• an elderly customer given a doggy bag in a plain white plastic handle carrier to take home, with a little cake for pudding enclosed inside a polystyrene beaker. 
• a patron depositing ice cubes with her fingers into her beaker of wine.
• the maitre d' serving a surprise birthday cake with pretty candles lit up and wrapped in pink ribbon, to a table of four excitable ladies.

http://www.thank-the-lord-chez-nous-has-not-got-a-website.com