London Moonwalk & a 24 hour cafe in Soho

I'm tired today and I have spent most of the afternoon resting.  My feet are tender and my hips are aching.  The reason for this is because last night I took part in the London Moonwalk.

For those of you who don't know what this is, its 15,000 women (and a few men) power walking either a marathon or a half marathon through the streets of London at night in their bras, to raise money for Breast Cancer causes.

It all starts in Hyde Park where all the walkers congregate in the pink palace.  Here we all make last minute tweaks to our outfits, get a hot meal, do a mass warm up and be entertained by various acts whilst waiting to be called to the start line.

This year I was walking with my very good friend Julie and her daughter Gail.  This would be Julies third year and Gail's first.  For me it was my second year.  Last year Julie and I did the full marathon but decided this year to just do the half marathon.  Its still great fun, a huge challenge, raises lots of money but is slightly less painful that a full 26.2 miles.

Seeing London at night is a fantastic experience, particularly as the sun comes up and there are still no other people about.  Its the first time I have walked past Buckingham Palace and not one single tourist has been there.

So, we completed the half marathon, it took longer than we thought it would (5 hours) but this was due to heavy congestion and long waits at many of the road junctions.  I wore my running watch and when I got home and downloaded the data it told me we burnt 1241 calories, not bad and now onto spending them......

We knew we would finish the walk long before the trains started running out of London so we had a look in advance for a 24 hour cafe in London we good head to once we finished.  I also asked on face book for recommendations.  We decided to head to Balans Cafe in Soho.

Balans is a small place in the heart of Soho right next door to G.A.Y the nightclub so the clientele were interesting to say the least.  When our taxi dropped us of outside we found a bouncer guarding the door but he was really friendly and quickly sorted us out a table for 3 inside.  Unfortunately the table was tiny and squeezed right in the corner with the toilet door behind my chair but frankly by that time I just wanted to sit down in a warm place and drink very strong hot coffee.

The guy on the table next to us was an interesting looking neighbour.....long pink skirt, black corset, leather biker jacket, German army hat, red nail polish and eyelashes to rival Katie Price!!!  I very quickly realised that we were practically the only straight and female people in the place.  I didn't care though, it was a great atmosphere.

The last time we had eaten was just a cake at about 9pm last night so by the time we arrive at Balams we were hungry.  The cafe does a night time menu which includes various breakfast items including steak n eggs, mixed berry bowl, three egg omelette's and full english breakfast.  There was also small plates like duck spring rolls and crab cakes, big plates like Thai green curry and chili con carne, breakfasts as already mentioned and a selection of salads and sandwiches.  And last but not least there were desserts.

To start with I ordered a very strong black coffee for me, a cappuchino for Julie and an apple juice for Gail.  I often find black coffee to bitter but this was perfect.

To eat I ordered the full English breakfast which consisted of a very fat sausage, two slices of really tasty bacon, baked beans, grilled tomato, field mushroom, saute potatoes, a slice of sourdough toast and two eggs and way you like them (I had them poached).  The whole plate of food was really tasty but strangely enough once it was in front of me I lost my appetite.  I didn't touch the eggs or mushroom and left most of the beans and potato.  Gail had the same as me.

Julie ordered the American pancakes with maple syrup and bacon. Three huge pancakes, 2 rashers of bacon and a pot of syrup to pour over yourself arrived.  I don't like bacon a syrup together but I have to say I could of left the bacon and eaten the rest.....yum.

So all in all I would 100% recommend Balans cafe.  If you happen to be in Soho and need to find somewhere to eat during the early hours of the morning, this is the place.  Great food (the eggs Benedict a few tables up looked amazing), great coffee, great service, and really friendly fellow diners made waiting for  a train totally enjoyable.  We did get a few double takes though as we were still dressed in our walking gear and numbers and looked exhausted.

http://www.balans.co.uk/Restaurants_Cafes/Cafe.php
34 Old Compton Street, Soho, London, W1D 4TS 

Sharon x

Lucky Cat, Noodle & Sushi Bar, Maidstone

The Lock meadow entertainment complex in Maidstone is not somewhere we ever venture to unless we happen to be going to see a film.  However last week when I came out of the gym, I needed to go to a cash point and the nearest one happened to be in the complex upstairs.  I’m really glad I did go to this one as I discovered a new Chinese restaurant had opened recently, The Lucky Cat.

Previously there had been a different Chinese restaurant; on of those all you can eat Chinese buffets for a set price.  We had been there a few times long ago and to be honest it was awful. 

So I really didn’t have high expectations from its replacement, in fact I (wrongly) assumed that it was the same restaurant with a new name.

The number one reason we decided to go and check it out was the fact that the menu said it did both sushi and sashimi (raw fish).  Unheard of in Maidstone and Craig’s favourite so off we went.

When the three of us (James came along) arrived on a weeknight, there were just two other tables dining.  The restaurant itself is not much to look at.  Unlaid refectory type tables, wooden floor and bare walls with just a few giant Chinese fans for decoration.  Still it was the food we came for not the decor.

The welcome we got was great.  I assume it was the owner who greeted us and showed us to a table next to the window.  Giant laminated menus were handed over and we were left for a few minutes to decide what we wanted.

There was a huge choice of dishes available including starters, grilled food, noodles, sushi, sashimi, set meals and noodle soups.  Even those who don’t really “do” Chinese should be able to find something they like.  There were lots of familiar dishes on the menu such a spring rolls, chicken chow mien, seaweed and chicken satay.

Since we were there to check out the food we ordered a good variety of dishes between us.  Craig specifically wanted the Sashimi Moriawase (£9.50).  Now to be honest outside of London I expected this to be not all that great.  How wrong I was.  It included octopus, tuna, salmon and sea bass which was all cut into equal size pieces and served spanking fresh.  Craig had absolutely no complaints about the dish.

James and I shared a plate of Kappa Maki (cucumber rolls).  They were quite large pieces and the cucumber again was really fresh.  For only £3 for 6 rolls this was a bargain.  I forgot to take a photo at first and by the time I remembered there were only two pieces left.

We also shared a plate of spicy calamari (£5) which was cooked to perfection.  More often than not they end up like chewy rubber bands but these were soft on the inside and the coating on the outside was crispy.  It was a huge plateful that would have done as the main part of a meal.

The vegetable tempura was the only dish I was a little disappointed in.  It was just a little bit to oily.  The vegetable pieces were a good size and tasted nice though and the dipping sauce added a "freshness" to each mouthful.

Crispy aromatic duck arrived (£7.50).  The same guy who had shown us to our table brought the duck over and shredded the meat at the table.  He then started to make up a pancake for each of us, which I thought was a nice touch but we preferred to do our own so we could suit our own tastes.  The duck meat and accompaniments were fine.

Tori Katsu Curry ((£6.50) turned out to be a huge plateful and included a portion of plain steamed rice.  The sauce was really thick and tasty.

James tucked into a huge plate of Chicken Chow Mein (£6.00) which was made with the thin egg noodles.  He really enjoyed the dish.  I tried some and I am going to order this next time as it was so good.

The very last dish was a plate of Panko honey king prawns (£4).  Craig ate these and liked them.

By this point we were all full to bursting but every dish was good quality both in cooking and ingredients.  We won’t hesitate to return and would defiantly recommend The Lucky Cat to anyone.

They do add a 10% service charge to the bill but would have left a tip if they hadn’t of already added it.

Its great to have The Lucky Cat in Maidstone and it just adds to the other new restaurants we have seen in the last few years.  Maidstone seems to be improving its restaurant offerings so I hope this continues.

Sharon x

My Royal Wedding Survival Kit

I am one of the many thousands of people in this country and around the world who is really looking forward to the royal wedding tomorrow.  Having got married myself only last year the whole wedding thing still excites me.  And to be honest with all the gloom and doom that gets reported on the news from all around the world I think its fantastic to have something happy to celebrate tomorrow.

Anyway, onto the reason for this blog post.  As you may recall my husband is away on a 3 week business / pleasure trip (coming home on Sunday and I cant wait).  He knows how much I have been looking forward to the wedding and to be honest the only good thing about him being away at the moment is that I get to watch the coverage on TV tomorrow for as long as I like.  I told him before he went that I would be getting up and plonking myself on the sofa and I'm not moving until the road sweepers move in to clear up afterwards.

So, while speaking to him on Skype (amazing invention) yesterday I mentioned that I needed to go out and get my self a bottle of the bubbly stuff so I could toast the royal couple.  At this he said to me "do you want a present?"  On his instructions off I went upstairs, in his wardrobe, at the back, behind the shoes to find a box wrapped up in pink paper which I brought back downstairs so he could see me open it via Skype.

Inside was a "Royal Wedding Survival Kit". Inside the box there was union jack bunting, union jack flacks, red & white streamers, tissues, just married balloons, chocolate mini eggs, 2 x packets of crisps, a packet of cookies and a half bottle of Lanson Rose Champagne.

I am so lucky to have such a thoughtful husband.  I know to others it sounds daft but I think its great and now I am all kitted out for a whole mornings worth of watching.  All I need now are my best pajamas.

Thanks Craig, you made my day xxxxxxxxxx

Dinner tonight - Thai Steak Salad

Hubby is away on business at the moment and I promised him that I would eat well while he is away.  I would be more than happy to eat poached egg on toast or toast & bovril but as I promised I have been making an effort.

Tonight I really had a craving for something hot and spicy, and as I love Thai food and steak I decided to make a Thai Steak salad.  This satisfied both my craving for highly flavoured spicy food and a low fat meal. 

So here is the recipe and some photos.

This is some of the spicy dressing ingredients

This is the steak cooking.  Its a rump steak as it has lots of flavour and a nice texture.  I just brush the steak with olive oil and salt & pepper then cook in a searing hot pan until cooked to my liking.  Unfortunately this time I overcooked it.  I like it medium rare but when I took it out of the pan the first time it was still very rare in the centre so I put it back in and accidentally overcooked it!

This is the finished salad.  I have to be honest and say its not as good as it should have been as the ex husband and my son turned up in the middle of cooking so it was all just chucked on a plate. The salad part was literally mixed leaves and cucumber, but I didn't want to have too many other things with the steak.

This was how yummy it was - a clean plate.

6 Tablespoons fish sauce

5 Tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup of red onion finely chopped

1 medium tomato, chopped up into very small pieces

2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 teaspoons brown sugar (or more to taste)

handful fresh coriander, chopped

1 red chili, finely chopped

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.

Brush the steak with a little olive oil and salt & pepper then cook to your liking.

Thinly slice the steak and drop into the dressing for a few minutes to absorb the flavours.

Put the steak on top of a mixed salad with whatever ingredients you like.

Sharon x

Baking with my Niece

I don't get to see my sister and her family to often even though they only live an hour and a half away.  Anyway as its a long weekend we have come down to stay overnight.  I thought it would be nice to spend a bit of quality time with my niece by doing some baking.

I don't normally do baking as I have never been very good at it; give me a casserole to cook any day.  Anyway I didn't think cooking a casserole in this weather would be much fun for an 11 year old so cupcakes it is.

We did 2 different types of cakes - Vanilla Cupcakes from the new Hummingbird Bakery Book, Cakedays and Chocolate Fudge cupcakes from an old BBC Good Food magazine.

Gemma had great fun decorating the cakes with all sorts of pretty bits and now the result is  33 cup cakes to share between 6 of us!!!!! I feel a bit full just thinking about it.

Here are some photos of the results.

Spanish Roast Chicken

We eat a lot of chicken in this house, we all love it.  But I have to be honest it can get a bit boring.  I often buy a whole chicken and roast it to have with vegetables, potatoes and gravy and then strip the carcass for a second meal the next day.  I also nearly always make chicken stock from the carcass and put it in the freezer.

Or I will buy a couple of chicken breasts to make either stir fry, curry or fajitas.

I bought a whole chicken last week but I really fancied a bit of a change so I got on the Internet and searched for a new recipe.  I had a look on Jamie Oliver's website and found a recipe for Spanish Roast Chicken.  It had all the flavours we love, lemons, garlic, choritzo and potatoes.  I wont post the recipe as I'm still not sure if I am allowed to but here is a link instead Spanish-roast-chicken

Above are photos of the chook in all its naked glory ready to go in the oven (and yes that is a lemon up its bum!)

And here is the cooked chook.  It was delicious and I will be using this recipe again.  I have to confess to putting some gravy on it which I don't recommend; why cover up all those beautiful flavours.

Try it, you wont regret it.

Sharon x

Hummingbird Bakery, London

I don't often eat cakes and biscuits however one thing I have a weakness for is cupcakes.  A few years ago I discovered The Hummingbird Bakery.  They have 2 shops in London and they make and sell the most amazing cupcakes, layer cakes and various other goodies.  They are proper American style cupcakes with loads of frosting in great flavours.

Occasionally as a treat my wonderful husband does a little detour when he is up in London to bring me home some cupcakes.  Last week after a night away he arrived home clutching the Hummingbird Bakery paper carrier bag with 4 fantastic cupcakes.

The cupcakes come in these lovely boxes to keep then in one piece.

The top picture shows a double chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting and sprinkles and a carrot cupcake with cream cheese frosting.
The next picture shows my favourite Red Velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting  (See cake post below for an explanation of Red Velvet)

Hummingbird Bakery

Next time you are in London go and check it out you wont be sorry.

Sharon x