Author: Sarah Kemp

Chinese New Year at Chinese Cricket Club

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Last week on Tuesday night I left work and cycled down to the Chinese Cricket Club in the Crowne Plaza hotel where I met my dad. We were there to try the four course menu, which has been specially created to celebrate Chinese New Year. The menu celebrates the Year of the Horse and consisted of Sichuan specialities. We were greeted with a Chinese Cricket Club fizz cocktail upon arrival, which piqued our interest as it was bright green and apple flavoured and  through the course of the evening tried a range of dim sum and traditional dishes. The four course menu consists of a range of dishes and we had Prawn Har Gao, a steamed Pork bun and vegetable spring rolls to start, which were your typical Chinese dishes. We enjoyed a quarter of crispy aromatic Duck with lettuce wrap and trimmings for the middle course, although some bits of meat were a bit dry – there also wasn’t quite enough sauce for the amount of meat and lettuce wraps we were provided. It …

Hotel Pont Royal, Paris

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I felt very lucky on my birthday last year – lucky to have a friend so lovely that she bought me a return ticket to Paris on the Eurostar. We decided to go in late January for a couple of nights, which gave us a lot to look forward to following the December Christmas celebrations. We stayed at Hotel Pont Royal for the first night and moved up north closer to the station for the second. We caught the early Eurostar train from King’s Cross and three hours later arrived at the hotel where we checked in and dropped our bags off before heading straight out to wander around the streets of Paris. While we were waiting to check in, we glanced up and saw pictures on the wall of famous American intellectuals, who back in their heyday made Hotel Pont Royal their Paris home. The cocktail bar was a thing of beauty – dark and lavish and we learned it was one of the leading cocktail bars in Paris from the 1920s and frequented …

Recipe: Beetroot, Carrot, Apple, Spinach, Kale and Ginger Juice

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Yesterday morning I decided to put two things to good use – my juicer and that bag of veg I bought when I was spaced out in the greengrocers at the weekend. I walked around the shop five times, basket in hand, hastily placing random fruit and veg in a neat pile. I am quite happy with my selection, though, as I was able to make a really delicious juice before work. Beetroot, carrot, apple, spinach, kale and ginger juice  Ingredients (enough for one) 2 small bulbs of raw beetroot, root chopped off Handful of curly kale Handful of spinach 3 medium sized carrots One apple 1 inch ginger, peeled Method Simply juice everything and enjoy straight away. There’s something so satisfying about creating a delicious and healthy homemade juice. I didn’t eat anything after this until lunch time, which I regretted as I was starving by 11am, but at least I was safe in the knowledge that I had fed my body with nutrients! In the future, I’ll supplement it with something equally as …

Recipe: Bavette Steak with Chimichurri

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I can’t tell you how much I am loving living down the road from a Ginger Pig butcher, particularly as my weekend walks around Victoria Park are ending with a trip to pick up a steak for dinner. Although I adore fillet steak, I prefer to cook bavette, not just because it never fails on the flavour stakes (pun intended), but because it’s also ridiculously cheap. A steak for one costs a mere £3.50. What I also love about steak is that it is super easy to cook. All I did was pan fry it for 2 ½ minutes on each side, dressed it with a homemade chimichurri and a mound of leafy salad. Bavette Steak with Chimichurri  Ingredients 100ml red wine vinegar 50ml extra virgin olive oil Large handful of parsley, finely chopped 1 garlic clove, crushed Pinch of chilli flakes 1 Bavette steak Salt and pepper to season 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (for frying) Method Start by taking the steak out of the fridge half an hour before you want to cook …

Recipe: Homemade Hummus with Aubergine Salad and Halloumi

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There is something so satisfying about making your own hummus. I also adore the Moroccan tomato salad that I learned to make on my trip to Marrakech a couple of years ago and can’t get enough of grilled halloumi. Put it all together and you get a delicious brunch dish. Hummus with Aubergine Salad and Halloumi Ingredients For the hummus 2 tbsp lemon juice 1 tin chickpeas 2 garlic cloves, crushed 2 tsp ground cumin 180g tahini 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 tsp paprika (plus a bit extra for dusting) Salt (to season) For the aubergine 1 whole aubergine, cubed 1 x good quality tin of plum tomatoes 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp turmeric Salt and pepper to season Big glug of rapeseed or olive oil, for frying Method 1. Make the hummus. Place all ingredients in a food processor and whizz until smooth. Season or add more lemon juice if need be. 2. Heat a big glug of oil in a pan and fry aubergine for 10 minutes, or until soft. 3. Add …