Bi Bim Bap, Soho, London

I'm going to defend this place against myself.  The evening, and I guess week, started with me wanting Lobster, and that didn't become reality because Burger & Lobster was far too busy, so I couldn't get in. We went with my friends recommendation and headed for Bi Bim Bap, on Greek Street in Soho.

The company I had with me was fantastic, in my Lithuanian family, and the food was actually quite good.  For those that don't know, Bi Bim Bap is a signature Korean dish, where they serve you a hot stone bowl with rice, vegetables, and your choice of meat, essentially you get to cook it yourself and you get a hot meal that lasts.

I went for some Fillet Beef, and actually only cooked half of it, because raw Fillet is just lovely.  Anyway, the only downside to this place was that there wasn't all that much spice, but the food was actually quite good, and very reasonably priced for Soho, and it's a bit of fun to have a nice hot bowl cooking your food away with you. (Tip: Keep stirring, burnt rice isn't nice!).

I'm not sure I'll go out of my way to go back, but if I need somewhere quick to eat, I won't say no at this place. 

Should you want a preview, the menus below!

ducksoup, Soho, London

I've been here a couple of times now, and I have to say it doesn't let down.  A new menu every day, lovely close restaurant with bubbly music and exceptional wine selections.

The menu contained some beef, duck, and then some bizarre bean dishes and other chicken mixes.  The bean dish was very very nice, while the duck I felt was extremely nice, however my party felt it was perhaps a little salty.

This place wouldn't class as somewhere cheap to eat, but it's definitely a place to go if you're looking for something different, great food, atmosphere and some really well chosen wines.  They also offer a very nice lager on tap that I can't remember the name of, but it's very smooth.

Their site is here, with postings of the menus for each day.  Below is the menu for when I went last.

pingpong dimsum, Soho, London

I'll start by saying that i've been here before, and haven't written about it because the service wasn't so great, but that could partially be down to that we were in a rush and they were very busy.

This time though, it was completely different, polite staff, with good flexibility.

With that out of the way, let's talk food, and cocktails!  At the time we went, there was a Mojito special, and I have a special preference for Kumquat Mojitos, which made this a very good day indeed, as it was strong, and extremely nice.

The method of eating dimsum for me is one of my favoured, with the ability to order plenty of dishes and just share them around, eating only the ones you like (in this instance, they were all good!).

It's not overly expensive, and there's a great little atmosphere, so if you're ever around one (there's three in London), i'd recommend popping in and having a look.

Their site is over here.

Sopparo Teppanyaki, Liverpool Rd, Manchester

Anyone that knows me knows that I love a bit of fanfare around my food, and Teppanyaki is one of those meals that delivers exquisitely on that!

This was actually my birthday meal with a nice group of 26 attending in the middle of the day, so we had two tables and two chefs stirring up a fuss for us all, with a great variety of food on offer, I went for something simple because I didn't have a chance to properly look at the menu, but luckily the two guys next to me had Lobster & Beef Fillet, and Chateaubriand.

I have to say both my starter (with copious amounts of Wasabi), and my main was beautiful, but the Lobster and Chateaubriand were exceptional, and something that i'll be looking forward to going back and eating.

As it was quite early in the day we were pretty much the only people in there, and as such the service was top notch, never waiting for more drinks or if we'd missed ordering bits of food.

If you haven't been to one of these places, then I highly recommend that oyu head down to one, there's plenty around in Chester, Liverpool, Leeds, etc.  Manchester has a plethora of them around.

This specific one can be found here.

BLACKHOUSE: The Grill on the Alley, Ridgefield, Manchester

I went to watch Kings of Leon the other day, and after being refused the opportunity of going to one of my personal favorites in Australasia, we ended up trying out one of the two Blackhouse restaurants in Manchester.

The reason I went? Google told me there was a Lobster Tank! In actual fact there's a fishtank with a lobster on some ice in front of it.

As you've probably guessed, I had Lobster, which came with some fries, and while the Lobster wasn't amazing (seemed a bit tight), the fries were actually amazing, extremely soft inside, and crispy and flavoursome on the outside.  My mate had the 'posh burger', and she liked it very much, and the bit I tried was actually really good.

I was advised to have a steak, but I couldn't bring myself not to have the Lobster.  If I end up going again, i'm likely to try a steak!

The place is actually quite nice inside, and the service was really good, happy to have a joke and a laugh while still making sure they ensured they weren't too attentive, but appropriately near if we needed anything.

You can find them here...

Bonnie Gull, Foley St, London

It's been a while since I actually went to Bonnie Gull, and i'd spent all day (if not week!) looking forward to the shellfish I so hotly anticipated.  Unfortunately (or fortunately) the menu is based on what's been available at the time, and at that time, there was no shellfish on offer.

What then perplexed me more, was that when I walked past the other day there was a guy sitting outside eating a lobster. Not happy.

Either way, the place is really nice, the picture below was taken quite late at night but articulates nicely how quaint the place is.

The food isn't cheap, but the wine menu is great, and the food was actually top notch, the oysters were smooth, the fish was delicate, and i'd definitely recommend it as somewhere to go.

You can find them here.

Scandinavian Kitchen, Titchfield St, London

I'm trying very quickly to go through all the Swedish shops/cafes in London, and it's going pretty well!

I managed to convince a colleague to pop in here on our way between Oxford Circus and Euston (why use the Tube when there's cafes around?).

I've been in before, but only for a quick hot chocolate, so I figured this time i'd plump for some open sandwiches and another hot chocolate (as well as topping up on some Herring).

Having lived in Sweden for 6 years and being back many times since, I'm very happy to note that the sandwiches were fantastic, one beetroot, and the other meatball, and the hot chocolate is authentic Swedish O'boy.

If you're anywhere near this and need a snack for lunch, head in, and if you don't end up buying something from the amazing shop at the back, you're making a big mistake.

Their website is pretty informative, too.