Din Tai Fung Covent Garden review: Precision-engineering these Taiwanese dumplings comes at the cost of soul March 28, 2019 Eight years of writing restaurant reviews has not yet propelled me to culinary stardom. Nobody has asked me to be a judge on Celebrity Bake Off. Masterchef has never called. But I do have one claim to fame: I star in the staff training video for Taiwanese dumpling sensation Din Tai Fung. It happened in [...]
Working Lunch review: The Baptist Grill in Holborn merges the ecclesiastic with the extravagant March 19, 2019 In spite of, or perhaps because of, recent efforts by developers to rebrand uncool Holborn as happening ‘Midtown’, it’s a district of London one still tends to pass through without stopping to look around. But on one corner of the crossroads outside the Tube station is a boutique hotel worthy of attention. The charismatic L’oscar [...]
Is the proposed ban on TV junk food ads before 9pm just another example of nanny state regulation? March 19, 2019 Is the proposed ban on TV junk food ads before 9pm just another example of nanny state regulation? Daniel Pryor, head of programmes at the Adam Smith Institute, says YES. When the government wants to treat TV ads for fruit juice like soft porn, you know something has gone horribly wrong. There’s no legal definition of [...]
The inside track on the ultimate in slow cooking at Europe’s biggest annual snail festival, l’Aplec del Caragol March 5, 2019 Since its humble beginnings as a small riverside picnic among friends in 1980 to the grand foodie fiesta it is today, l’Aplec del Caragol occurs every May, about 100 miles northwest of Barcelona in the provincial town of Lleida. The party offers townsfolk and visitors alike a chance to enjoy a weekend celebrating one of [...]
Working Lunch: Want to try Simon Rogan’s cooking without traipsing up north? We give the four course Business Lunch at Roganic a try February 27, 2019 Roganic 5-7 Blandford Street, W1U WHAT AND WHERE? Every food enthusiast worth their salted butter will have heard of L’Enclume, Simon Rogan’s two Michelin-starred restaurant in Cumbria. If you want to ascribe to his ultra-seasonal, foraged philosophy without leaving London, you can try and get into Aulis, his eight-seater chef’s table in Soho, but you’ll [...]
DEBATE: Should we slash post-Brexit tariffs on food imports to offer consumers cheaper goods? February 21, 2019 Should we slash post-Brexit tariffs on food imports to offer consumers cheaper goods? Bill Wirtz, policy analyst at the Consumer Choice Center, says YES. Contrary what the protectionists will tell you, tariffs don’t only hurt the country upon which they are imposed. If the government decides to maintain import tariffs on food post-Brexit, it is [...]
Working Lunch: We try the Menu du Jour at Canary Wharf’s glassy staple Plateau February 19, 2019 Plateau Canada Square, E14 WHAT AND WHERE? Plateau is a smart, loosely French restaurant that sits atop the fourth floor of Canada Place, a glass cube filled with office escapees wining and dining their clients during the week. Incredibly, it still overlooks the Canary Wharf ice rink – when is that thing going to close? [...]
Britain’s first all-vegan cheese shop causes a stink as dairy industry demands it changes branding February 19, 2019 First, it was Marks & Spencer’s cauliflower steak. Then it was Gregg’s vegan sausage rolls. Now, just when you thought you had survived Veganuary, there’s chease. Read more: On a roll: Vegan sausage roll sales help Greggs seek higher profits Yes, you read that right – chease. But, no matter how it's spelled, the dairy industry [...]
We’re now in the new lunar year – the Year of the Pig – so get out there and eat dim sum in some of London’s finest restaurants February 5, 2019 1. Din Tai Fung Henrietta St, WC2E 8PT If you’re a dumpling fan, you’ve probably heard of Din Tai Fung, a Taiwanese chain that’s currently taking Covent Garden by storm. It’s known for its magical xiao long bao (steamed pork dumplings). The new British restaurant seats 250 but still expect a queue during busy times. [...]
Our resident chef columnist mixes up a mighty mulligatawny to write home to your mother about February 5, 2019 Have you ever ordered mulligatawny in an Indian restaurant? I did once and wished I hadn’t: they added water to the dahl and poured it into a bowl. Mulligatawny is a staple of the classic British Indian restaurant menu, always there, yet never ordered. Like kedgeree and mango chutney, it is part of the culinary [...]