meemalee

Meemalee on the Good Food Channel website Some nice bits of news to share with you all: Firstly, I've been invited to join the chefs on the Good Food Channel website , so stay tuned to see more of my recipes there.  This is a massive honour - I'm rubbing shoulders with the likes of Michel Roux Jnr and Nigella Lawson, and I've also joined my friend Uyen Luu , the Vietnamese chef, supperclub host, stylist and writer of Leluu . Meemalee on Woman & Home's 100 Best Food Blogs Secondly, I've been picked by Woman & Home magazine as one of their 100 Best Food Blogs .  There are so many other wonderful blogs on the list, so I'm very proud to be there in their International category. Me on Betty Herbert Lastly, I'm delighted to be part of the first Blog Carnival on the marvellous Betty Herbert.com  from author of The 52 Seductions , Betty Herbert - the theme is "Sex, Love and Relationships" ...

Jinkichi is another of those Japanese restaurants for which I have a massive soft spot and like to visit as often as possible. Their speciality is yakitori , and they offer slightly esoteric items such as tori-kawa (chicken skin), suna-gimo (chicken gizzards), gyu-tan (ox tongue), and occasionally, if you're very lucky, nankotsu (chicken cartilage - crunchy heaven). They also have zosui rice soup, as well as tuna natto , salmon jaws, and my beloved Calpico . So not just sanitised sushi and tempura, and more like downtown Tokyo. The food is smashing, but despite being in Hampstead, Jinkichi is far from fancy - you wouldn't expect to see it get into the Michelin Guide any time soon. It has, however, made the Food List. For, tomorrow, the first ever The Food List: Britain’s Top 200 Restaurants will be launched by the Sunday Times , and Jinkichi has made number 71. And the reason Jinkichi is there (above many other more chichi joints) is because this list concentrates pur...

You might remember that the loss of Oriental City in Colindale hit me quite hard . One of the shops I adored was Utsuwa-no-yakata - our own little outpost of the international Japanese laquerware and pottery brand . I signed up to their mailing list with promises that they'd let me know if they ever resurfaced and then ... nothing. This morning I received a letter that Utsuwa is back from today and has rebranded itself as Doki Limited - and a new Japanese bakery called "tetote factory" has come to join them. Their location is Pacific Plaza which was mooted as the new version of Oriental City in Wembley Retail Park - looks like there's life after Colindale yet. UPDATE 07.12.09: Ibzo went on a reconnaissance mission on our behalf and Pacific Plaza looks mighty promising ... UPDATE 17.04.11: Looks like Doki may have closed down - see comments below. UPDATE 22.07.11: Doki reopens next month. Doki Limited Japanese Tableware 020 8903 0235 Open 7 days a week 10.00-18.30 te...

Last month, I raved about Yum Yum Tree Fudge , gorgeous home-made gourmet fudge made by Lily Turner (a cousin of mine). Fab news - I just found out Lily and the Yum Yum Tree Fudge Company are going to be at Taste of London 2009 this month, so you can come try some of her delicious fudge for yourself! Of course Taste of London is the "world’s greatest restaurant festival" and so as well as buying fudge and other goodies, you can also meet super chefs like Michel Roux Jnr , Atul Kochar , Tom Aikens , Theo Randall and Richard Corrigan , and try to eat around as many Michelin star restaurants as possible. Yum Yum Tree Fudge Producers Section PR6 (on entry, turn right and then right again for all the small producers) Taste of London 18-21 June 2009 Regents Park (nearest tube stations Regent's Park and Great Portland Street)

I'm beginning to feel quite sorry for Heston Blumenthal. Bad luck, norovirus, 'fowl' play, whatever the cause, 400 diners have now reported sickness after dining chez Fat Duck . Personally I suspect scamsters may just be leaping onto the band-wagon , as Heston had rather sweetly promised a special Fat Duck experience to the initial 40 diners who were taken ill to make up for their vomity horror. Good luck Heston, hope everything works out for the best and I promise not to be so rude about next week's Feast ...