Bi Bim Bap

Tuesday night was all about catching up with the Lovebirds who have now become Mr and Mrs.  After drinks in the Pillar of Hercules we popped two doors down to Bi Bim Bap on Greek Street East http://bibimbapuk.com/index.html.  It's a strange name and one that I can never remember and I've called it Bim Bam Bop, Bam Bi Bap and many other variations.  It's an informal place with no pretensions.  We weren't sure what to chose but a friendly waiter advised us to share 3 starters and so we chose: prawn katsu, pork and vegtaable mandoo and kimchi pancake, served with Korean pickles.  All were delicious and just the right amount. We chose individual mains which are served in a hot stone bowl and had beef booi-go-gi and unadventurously named, spicy pork.  They were all very good and at around £6-7 for the main dish (which didn't need expensive side orders) and beers all round, it was very good value.  We're all off on travels next year and so decided to meet up before we jet off so if anyone knows of a Cambodian restaurant which serves South American wine, let me know. 

Prego, Prego!

Lunch today was Il Sciliano on Dean Street East http://www.il-siciliano.co.uk/.  It's a rather old fashioned restaurant with mint green starched tablecloths.  It looks as though it's been there for years.  The welcome was warm and friendly but the constant prego, prego became mildly irritating by the end of the meal.  I chose a starter size portion of spaghetti Alla Sciliano (tomato sauce with aubergines) which considering the actual size of the dish was good value for £6.  However, the small glass of white wine for £5 was pricey and with a £2.50 cover charge (for bread, butter in packets and five olives) and a £2.50 espresso, the bill was soon bumped up.  Main meals were all around £10 to £15, so it's not a cheap option and to be honest I can't imagine the type of person I would take to it.  

On my way there I noticed that Geisya also on Dean Street appeared to have  closed down.  I have to say Japanese isn't my favourite and so I'm not too disappointed to cross it off.

And whilst I'm in crossing off mode, I'm going to eliminate Ronnie Scott's (Frith Street West) on the basis that it's a club and because I have been before although I admit it was a long time ago!

A bit of class!

The Suffolk Redhead was down for a day of girly Christmas shopping and so a nice lunch was called for. We headed to Arbutus on Frith Street West http://www.arbutusrestaurant.co.uk/ - one of the best remaining places on the list.  At 1.15pm it was very busy and remained so right through, so beware, bookings are necessary.  We decided on starters and puddings only.  Our pork porchetta (very thinly sliced pork) with apple puree and pecorino was ab fab and with rustic bread, nice and filling. The sweet-toothed Redhead opted for clafoutis of william pears and vanilla ice cream whilst I chose two types of cheese.  The service was efficient but unpretentious and the waitress described the cheese board easily and without notes.  We were left in charge of our own wine, a Torrentes Chakana Mendoza from Argentina chosen to get me in the mood for our 2011 trip to South America. All in all, a superb lunch and one that would be worth repeating.

Friday evening was more austere as the TP was taking me out.  We opted for the £10 pre-theatre meal at Yming a chinese on Greek Street West -http://www.yming.co.uk/.  For starters we chose hot, fattening sesame prawn toasts and crispy wun tuns followed by empress beef and Mr Edward's pork and a traditional dessert of lychees.  We skipped tea and finished our wine.  I was amazed at how busy it became. When we said we'd not booked, we were offered a table for two which we would have to vacate within an hour.  When we said we didn't want to be rushed, we were given a really nice table for four in a window.  People who came in after us with reservations were given small tables for two beside walls and in corners.  It must be Chinese logic! 

Clearing the sinuses!

Having been let down by a colleague protesting too much work, I decided to cheer myself up with lunch in Nandos at Frith Street East http://www.nandos.co.uk/fammenu/FEM/Menu.html.  I'd only been to a Nandos once and a long time ago after I'd been indoor sky diving in Milton Keynes!  So I said I've never been before and was led thorugh the process: choose at the table, order at the bar and the food will be delivered in 10 minutes.  I opted for a simple chicken breast fillet wrap at £6.45 and medium sized glass of Sauv.  As I had a slight snuffle, I thought the extra hot peri peri sauce might clear my sinuses!  It was all very delicious and the customer service was outstanding.  A chap next to me was presented with a chicken leg when he ordered a breast, but the manager dealt with it really well by saying he'd bring him along a chicken breast as well as he was sure he looked hungry.  With service like that, who could complain!  

A quick totopos!

Lunch time was wet and windy and so I didn't venture far.  I was lured by the Bay of Bengal (Greek Street East) and their three course set menu for £5.50 which I was told was lentil soup and chicken curry with rice.  The soup was reasonably spicy but quite thin with a huge chunk of lemon floating in it which gave it an unusual, but not dreadful taste.  The chicken curry was again, fairly spicy and had four chunks of very tender chicken in a rich sauce and was actually very good.  No mention was made of the third course and so I nursed my £2.35 glass of wine to see if anything was offered, but it wasn't.  When I asked for the bill no mention was made of why I was leaving without having my pud. Normally I'd have caused a fuss but to be honest I didn't really want a dessert and I thought if I asked, I'd have to eat it!

In the evening, The Lady and I had been invited to a 'Private View' at the Contemporary Applied Arts Gallery and we weren't sure whether there would be wine and canapes (but hoping there weren't as liberal as our previous trip there when The Lady lost all her loyalty cards in the back of a cab and another friend fell asleep on the train and went five stops past hers).  Anyway I digress . . . .  We decided that a quick glass of wine and totopos would be just the thing beforehand and so we met in Las Iguanas on Dean Street East http://www.iguanas.co.uk/las-iguanas-london-soho.asp.  The lady treated to the wine and I bought the totpos and and spiral fries.  The evening's main event had lots of lovely things that we couldn't afford but at least we had a free glass of fizz!  

Back to Pizza Express . . .

 . . . but this time, I resisted the Pizza.  My best lunch chum had recovered from his man flu and so we headed to the Pizza Express branch on Dean Street East.  This is much bigger than the one on Greek Street (and has the jazz element), but the service was just as good.  I went for a new pasta dish 'Piccante' which being a lover of spicy food, caught my eye with the description: Not for the faint hearted - Cavatappi pasta with pepperoni, hot spiced beef with green peppers, mozzarella, mushrooms and onions in a creamy tomato and béchamel sauce finished with parsley, oregano, grana padano and rocket.  It was absolutely delicous but I've now had enough of Pizza Express for a while!

Italian and Spanish at the end of the week

As my best lunch chum let me down at short notice, 'The Pensioner (TP)' stood in as a late replacement.  As it was pouring down we headed for the nearest place, Pizza Express on Greek Street East.  It's quite a small restaurant but the service was friendly and excellent (I was mystery dining the night before, and still in critique mode).  In view of TP's reduced income we shared my favourite pizza (American Hot) but managed to find enough pennies to pay for a bottle of wine.

That evening saw me with TP and A. Guest in El Cantara a Spanish and Moroccan tapas place on Frith Street West http://www.elcantara.co.uk/.  TP treated us to champagne which we sipped with hoummus and bread.  We then opted for the 4 tapas for £18.95 and chose harissa bread, pollo al ajillo, merguez briwat and zaalouk.  We opted for the cheapest wine, Moroccan Guerrouane Blanc, reasonably priced at £15.50.  To sum it up: it improved as the evening progressed.  The night was long, leisurely and jolly with A. Guest regaling us with her views on Strictly Come Dancing which I have refused to watch after Arlene was sacked.  She did a mean impression of Bruno talking to Scott but horrified us with how many times she votes each week! We also reminisced about when we met the gorgeous Brendan and she not only asked him a question but also got his autograph because I wasn't brave enough. An excellent finish to the week and much better than getting wet at a bonfire.

Normal service is resumed!

Yes, I know it's been a long time since my last post (as many of you have pointed out, well one person in particular!).  However, when I started this blog who would have thought that RM would become a pensioner and that we'd celebrate by spending a wonderfully, luxurious fortnight in Egypt. 

Although I've failed my original aim of completing my challenge before the end of October, I'm still going to be in Soho until the end of the year, so my revised aim is to finish by Christmas. 

On the first day back from our holiday, the 'house husband' refused to cook and so we started off with drinks in The Montagu Pyke  
http://www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk/home/pubs/the-montagu-pyke.  I'd seen the very uninspiring entrance on Greek Street East and thought it looked a bit dodgy.  But on walking through the narrow bar, it opened up into a huge bar with its main entrance on Charing Cross Road.   Although I've never been a fan of Wetherspoons (mainly because it always brings to mind old men drinking 99p pints of bitter all afternoon), it really changed my mind.  Because of their no music policy, cheap drinks and reasonable sharing platters it makes an ideal place for after work get togethers.  Our bottle of Villa Maria New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc was just over £13 and it was absolutely delicious (probably more so after two weeks of drinking Egyptian wine appropriately named: Pharaoh, Obelisk and Omar Khayyam).

We then went more up market to Marco Pierre White's L'Escargot just across the road:  http://www.lescargotrestaurant.co.uk/.  We chose the pre-theatre two course meal for £15 and had a glass of champagne to celebrate the publication of the Christmas edition of the Boots Health and Beauty Magazine (if you have no idea what I'm talking about, buy a copy for £1 and check out page 42).  I then had mushroom veloute served in a rather large portion.  I was interested that even Marco uses a doily on the plate (I remember painting them as a child).  RM chose a more appropriately sized starter of chicken terrine.  We shared main courses of pork with red cabbage, potato and a port jus and gnocchi with a tomato sauce, Parmesan and rocket. Both were well presented and delicious, but after two weeks of simple Egyptian meals, they seemed very heavy and rich and I wouldn't have wanted to sit through a two hour play after it.

To complete a hat trick we nipped back across Greek Street, to a very lively Zebrano http://www.zebrano.uk.com/greekSt/index.asp.  We hit happy hour (before 8pm) where a very helpful Matt told us that we could have two drinks for the price of one.  Therefore our double gin and tonics were only £6.75. Although it wasn't my sort of place (too much loud music and people far too young), it finished our evening off very well.