The Sugar Bar

Pâte à Choux

If there’s one movie that has made my year, it was Johnny Depp’s Alice in Wonderland. And if there’s one fairytale that has made my life, (apart from Little Mermaid), it was Alice in Wonderland. My childhood copy was well-thumbed, with ugly scribbles on some pages and dirty fingermarks on illustrations of the White Rabbit. Go onto my Facebook profile page (actually maybe don’t), and my little blurb mentions the White Rabbit. I love my rabbits. I love ‘em white. I’m in search of my White Rabbit, my Easter Bunny, my white fluffa-monster.

And I have a crush on me Madhatter (Johnny or no). It has even been said that I sometimes resemble him, of course only when I have my mad teashades on! When my Mama first read me the story of Alice, the tea party was my favourite bit. And then came the broom-dog and magic mushroom-eating bit later. Eyes wide with wonder, I desperately wanted to sit with the Madhatter and have tea with talking animals. I wanted a bow in my hair, to wear Alice’s pretty blue dress, to touch and admire the tea sets, teapots, sugar cubes and everything to do with afternoon tea! Something about teapots, teacups and saucers that from a childhood adoration has developed into pure obsession. I am not the only obsessed one here. The most obvious tea-manic being Lady Gaga. You gotta love her for that I suppose.

Cupcakes were so It (and still are). Then was the advent of the Macaron craze. I hear on the grapevine that whoopie pies are next. But that’s that. Different story ya know? Afternoon tea is big. The whole shebang is a wicked affair. The culture of afternoon tea-ing is so decadently fashionable, madly delicious, lustriously insane – I want to frolick in clotted cream and expensive bubbly all day. And bloody good I’ve finally met other tea-obsessed folks. Convincing them to come out and splash some cash on that is easy peasy business.

Charlotte – this looked a bit different from the last time I had it. The green matcha mousse layer was missing..not too sure about that actually?!

Sketch has certainly got to be my favourite afternoon tea spot in London. This would be the third time I’m blogging about it actually but good things have to be shared and talked about! And that is what I did. This time round, I brought two Sketch-virgins with me for a tea date and I’m glad to say they thoroughly enjoyed it. Unfortunately, one of them is just leaving London for good to return home to Canada. Nevertheless, she was glad to spend one of her last days in London in the eclectically gorgeous Sketch (and erm…to have pee-ed in those dinosaur egg toilets).

Sketch is an affordable luxury for those of you slightly conscious of the price tag. But really, what sets Sketch apart for me is its art funky decor and awesome staff who never shy away from a bit of banter. It’s the epitome of a Madhatter tea party amidst random bits of pop art, gothic or Victorian furniture and vintage cutlery, with menus slipped into old hardcover books. This place oozes creativity and a randomness that’ll send your head spinning…in a good way. If you want to frolick in sugar high, kinda like being at a carnival and sitting in spinning tea cups til you’re woozy but elegant dignity in tact, this is the place for YOU.

A Pink Paradise

Careful though, this place will make you want to start collecting vintage silverware and Royal Dalton tea sets!

The afternoon tea craze taking over the world! Or my world at least.

my heart twist at the sight of these earrings

cute hanging teapot lights at Liberty’s

Photo from UcityGuides.com

The past month I’ve not only been busy but I’ve been considering the future of this blog. Should I give it a major facelift, should I redesign and reconceptualize everything seeing as this was really a brainchild of a teenager, should I scrap it completely or should I leave it to age in a corner with only some good photographs to keep for memory’s sake? I’m not sure yet where that’ll take me but once the decision is out, I’d be sure to post back here and let you all know. I’m at the crossroads.

One half of the hungry crew

Anyhows, last weekend Mowie organised a dinner for us hungry ghosts, including Suyin, Panu and Bruce, at Catty’s recommendation. I’d been told the ordering here was high-tech, you could play with your tables (literally) and the food was impressive. I mean, this is heaven’s playground for food geeks! The food was lush, the music being played in the restaurant groovy and chic, and the ambiance completely otherworldly. And as a first-timer to Inamo, you could be sure that I was reduced to a wide-eyed child, going back to basics to my 5 senses to explore the wonders of the world – Inamo’s world. I was utterly and completely in awe of anything that moved, on my table, that is.

The world is your oyster. The table is your iPad, or menu. Ie. You touch your table. There’s a little circular touchpad on the bottom right for you to maneuver through the menu of starters, main dishes, side dishes and dessert, drinks menu or other fun things like a map of the surrounding area, games, spy camera that stalks the chefs in the kitchen. Be careful not to get carried away with changing the ‘ambiance’ or settings of your table, or desktop (now I’m getting confused with restaurant dining or computer speak). Yes I kid you not, you can change the background of your table: send it to outerspace, to the rocky deserts or lotus gardens. Mad! Can’t decide? Your table’s got the ‘random shuffle’ function too. Some of the images are a bit neon or psychedelic but I suppose having your face lit up a ghostly cyan can be pretty fun whilst you chomp down on a Thai Green Curry or sumfin. Some people are into that.

It’s trippy and really fun. Only problem is that you might get way too engrossed with the damn table and forget you’re actually dining with others. You can play Battleship with your dining mate across the table, however. So that’s got my thumbs up. Although I’m shit at Battleship and got called a coward by Bruce for backing out in less than a second.

You know menus without pictures really put people off? And then there are those menus with ridiculous out-of-this-world very deceptive pictures that look nothing like the real deal when it gets dished out from the kitchen? Inamo shows you the image of your meal, when you hover over the option via your touchpad, and screens it onto the round plate-looking placemat set in front of you. So, it looks real, it looks like its there. It’s virtual menu. It’s virtual dining. OMG it makes me want to eat the table.

Well enough said. Here’s some of the food we ate. The dessert’s the pretty part and very impressive from what I tasted!

Truffle Marbled Beef

Black Cod with Spicy Miso

Berkshire Pork Neck with Apple Confit & Chocolate Sauce

Pandan Macaron, Yuzu White Chocolate Mousse with Lemongrass & Coconut Sorbet & Milk Chocolate Sauce

Vanilla Crème Brûlée

I would have taken more pics but the table’s a straight rectangle so getting across to the other side isn’t quite that easy. And with all the distractions offered from my table, why on earth would I be hanging on to the camera?! The meal was truly enjoyable and this futuristic way of dining a great experience. I would definitely go back here again and ban myself from the ‘games’ section.

Oh. And one more thing, if you’re a compulsive online shopper who loves sending truckloads of goodies into your online shopping basket with one click, practice restraint at Inamo. It’s easy to get carried away and click ‘ORDER’.

inamo restaurant
134-136 Wardour Street
Soho
London W1F 8ZP
Tel. for reservations: 020 7851 7051

I think I was born to be a pescetarian. I love my seafood, especially shellfishes and octopus. Say ‘oct-’ and I go nuts even before you can continue with ‘-topus’. Any other seafood enthusiasts in the house?

But sometimes a meatfest is just what you need. And with a particular friend I know and adore, meatfests are compulsory affairs. So when she decided to come riding down the mountain, trotting over from York with little more than an unending appetite, I remembered when Catty first introduced Goodman to me and how I impressed I was with it. Lunch at Goodman’s was truly necessary and just perfect for meatfest friend. In fact, not going would’ve been criminal.

I wanted a burger so there wasn’t much hmm-haaing over the menu. My friend V went for the set lunch menu which is very affordable and probably one of the most affordable ones I’ve come across. I’m going to let the pictures (courtesy of V and her wicked camera) do the talking.

V’s fish soup starter

So maybe Goodman’s not just for those red meat carnivores. This was extremely delicious served with flat croutons and garlic-will-blow-your-mind aioli.

Roast lamb with creamed spinach and potatoes

And of course…the Goodman burger.

There are many great (and more comprehensive) reviews of Goodman on the webosphere so I won’t really go into it. The pictures speak for themselves and all I’ve to say is, people go here to be fed properly. And I mean properly. You can simply judge by the generous servings that are nothing but quality quality quality. The burger patty is crazy good that it doesn’t even need the slightest drop of condiment. Good meat, good food and oh yes, that fish soup starter? Fucking amazing (excuse my French, I couldn’t think of any other modifier).

And so that’s how today’s story ends. Although it’s simply the beginning to more trips to Mayfair just for Goodman I reckon. Happy days.

Goodman Restaurant
26 Maddox Street
London
W1S 1QH

http://www.goodmanrestaurants.com