Banh Beo - Hoi An

We were intrigued by this street vendor and couldn't wait to try the dish that she was serving. Crouched down on a tiny chair, this lady was surrounded by tins full of home-made sauces, herbs and pickles. She took a ceramic bowl filled with what looked like a rice jelly, white and slightly wobbly, and covered it with a spoonful of goodies from each of her tins.

Com ga Ba Nga - chicken Rice -Hoi An

Another of Tu's recommendations was a local spot serving chicken rice. This was very different from the touristy spots in the main part of the town, and we were interested to see what the food would be like.

Banh mi - Hoi An

Our lovely food tour guide Tu had sent us some suggestions for food in Hoi An and yet again we were delighted with his recommendations. Our favourite meal without a doubt, was banh mi, a dish that we had become familiar with in London.

Xoi Yen and coffee creme caramel

For tonight's dinner, we decided to try xoi yen, sticky rice topped with all sorts of goodies. We followed the lonely planet's recommendation and saw two restaurants with the same name next to each other. We went for the busy one, where we had to climb two floors to find a table. We squeezed onto tiny plastic stools and looked through a rather faded menu to choose what we wanted. I went for Chinese sausage and BBQ pork belly and Anthony tried his with Chinese sausage and a fried egg. Both were delicious!

Secret coffee and Bun Cha

After a very leisurely start to the day, we decided that we needed to get up and go in search of coffee and lunch. We decided to look for a secret cafe, through a silk shop and up many flights of winding stairs. We found it easily and were delighted with both the view of the lake and the amazing coffee. I really like Vietnamese coffee and this sweet hot black coffee was delicious! Anthony was more adventurous and went for the egg milk coffee, a sweet frothy coffee with a rather custardy flavour.

Bun Bo Nam Bo

With recommendations from Sean and Emma, Tu and the Lonely Planet, we decided to try this amazing dish on our second night in Hanoi. A short walk away from our hotel was a crowded restaurant full of locals with a smattering of tourists holding on to their lonely planet guides. We squeezed in behind a long table and ordered two dishes and two beers.

Pots 'n Pans cooking course

Our cooking courses have often been the highlight of our travels and our cooking course in Hanoi was another fantastic experience.

Cooking courses are a new venture at Pots 'n Pans, a fusion restaurant run by graduates of the KOTO training program, which works with street and disadvantaged youth. We were the first people to try the cookery course and we really enjoyed it. After a short visit to the local market to buy some pandan leaves, we quickly got to work.

Food tour - Hanoi

What better way to start our foodie holiday in Vietnam than with a street food tour of Hanoi! We met our guide Tu at our hotel and set off on a three hour culinary adventure. Our first stop was a tiny family run restaurant down a dark alley where we sampled delicious spicy beef noodles, crabcakes and fishcakes and eel noodles, all washed down with a cold Hanoi beer. It was really nice to sit down with Tu and to ask him our many questions about Vietnamese food, culture and traditions.

Turkish place on Nizami

After 10 weeks of school, the last week was really dragging. So to celebrate hump day (Wednesday to those not in the know) we decided to venture out with Patti and Dave to a Turkish place off Fountain Square that Dave said has just been refurbished.

We arrived just after 6 and Dave was disappointed that the serving area didn't have something that he said looked quite good. But we found a place to sit and had a look at the vast menu. After speaking to a waiter with very good English, we decided to have a wonder around the serving area pointing at what looked good.

Burgerfuel - Dubai

After a few weeks in Baku, we were starting to miss the fundamental things in life. Fresh vegetables, Japanese food and burgers. We were spoilt in London. We had Hawkesmoor. So whilst in Dubai we decided to try and find a burger.

Shaurma No1 - Fuzili

After a heavy night at I can't remember where, we decided that we were going to go and investigate a brand new market for our weekly shops. After 2 markets and no purchases we thought that it was time for lunch. We had heard a few of our friends talk about Shaurma No1 (a very small chain in Baku) so we decided to go for it.

Pencere (Penjere)

Dancing and ANUS! (we might as well say it now because we will be using that term a little later in the post.) This about sums up what Pencere on a friday night. The dancing was interesting and culturally  significant - well, not really. Girls in odd outfits dancing around when the dance floor was free. The food (and beer) however was not bad.

Green Market - near 28May

On a lazy sunday morning - Anthony's mobile bleeps;

"We're going to the 'Green Market' if you guys wanna come with us"

"Of course," we say! And the next thing you know, Dan (Dan the ipad man) and Iryna are taking us on a journey (bus, metro and a walk) to find the 'Green Market'. 

(Anthony was unsure if it was called green due to the fact it sold vegetables or if it was surrounded by a huge green wall!) 

We walked in and were met with all of the sights, sounds and smells of a bustling market. Fruit was sold out of car boots and lorries, whilst some merchants were taking the time to stack their produce (by size) in a neat little tower. 

Butternut Squash Muffins with Lemon Drizzle

Butternut Squash Muffins with Lemon Drizzle

The fruit and vegetables here in Baku are rather more seasonal than in the UK so we are learning to make the most of them while they are available. So yesterday Anthony bought a huge butternut squash - 3.5kg for about £1.50! 

After much time spent researching recipes and looking for the best way to freeze this delicious vegetable, I came across this Jamie Oliver recipe for butternut squash muffins. I particularly like the fact that they were dairy free and therefore suitable for some of my new friends here in Baku. 

Tosca - on the Boulevard

We visited Tosca on a warm Hump Day evening. The Caspian was a bit choppy from the wind that was blowing from the south, so of course we decided to sit outside. 

Kichik Gala Street Tandir - Old City

When you read any of the guides for Baku, the food chapter always has a large section about bread! The bread we have had since we got here has been fantastic but we had not yet tried tandir bread. We decided to make the most of our long Ramadan weekend and headed off to the old city to find a traditional Azeri breakfast.

Araz Cafe - Fountain Square

After going to Araz for FAB (Friday Afternoon Beverage) the week before we decided on a hump day to visit again and try the food that others had been talking about.

Karavansarai - Old City

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Mersin - Nizami St near Fountain Square

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Siam Central - Charlotte Street

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Viajante - Take 2

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The Corner Room - Take 2

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Santa Maria - Ealing

As what would be a final goodbye to Ben (and his very lovely girlfriend Huishan) we decided to find what was supposed to be the best restaurant in Ealing and one of the best Pizza's in London. Seems like they were speaking the truth. 

Afgan Kitchen - Islington

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Bill's Cafe - Islington

We have previously blogged about Bill's, however when we returned for lunch instead of breakfast we decided to write about it again. We went with Anthony's parents as we knew that it would give us a great meal. Although Anthony was desperate for the breakfast again (Mustard Bubble and Squeak!) we got there in time for the Lunch menu. 

Shanghai - Dalston

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Dinner at Dinner - Heston Blumen-fail.

When you speak about the world's most influential chefs, a name that comes up time and time again is Heston Blumenthal. We have all seen his shows, read his books and heard rave reviews about his amazing restaurants. So for Anthony's birthday we decided to go to Dinner at the Mandarin Oriental and taste Heston's cooking for ourselves. 

Roti Chai - London

After somehow staying dry during a short trip out in London, we decided to finally give Roti Chai a try. We were unsure about spending money since we already have an awesome Indian Dhaba near us, but the menu (and our stomachs) drew us in.

Vietnamese Cooking course

I can't think of many better ways of Spending a rainy Saturday afternoon than preparing, cooking and eating a Vietnamese feast. This was an afternoon to remember!

Menu

Red Velvet Cupcakes

A couple of days ago I was on the phone to my sister and I told her that I was busy baking cupcakes. She told me about a program on the food network called DC cupcakes. The recipes from Georgetown Cupcake looked so delicious that for my second batch of cupcakes this week, I decided to try their red velvet cupcakes. 

Viajante Bar - Bethnal Green

After a trip to Corner Room, we decided to have a little sit down and cocktail before walking to Shoreditch.

M decided on a Rosey Posey - of course - light and fruity, tasting of the rose petals included and served in a pretty glass. A decided that asking for a Pina Colada would get him removed from the bar, so asked the Bartender what he recommended. He brought him a version of an Espressotini, called 'Darkness', all kinds of coffee flavored liquors and chocolate bitters. Possible the best drink he had tasted. 

The Corner Room - Bethnal Green

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Pitt Cue Co.

Over the past two weeks we have spent a lot of time looking at different restaurant reviews and lots of other London based food blogs and the one place that seems to come up time and time again is Pitt Cue Co. We decided to make the most of our holiday and head over to Pitt Cue for lunch. 

Hawksmoor

After eating at Hawksmoor Spitalfields last month, we decided one rainy day in Covent Garden to try out the Seven Dials bar for an early dinner. We knew what we wanted, A wanted the Unami Burger, which was currently the 'Third Burger' on their menu and M was going for either the Lobster Roll or the plain Hawksmoor Burger. The decision was made for her as they had no rolls for the Lobster - Burger it was.

Wonders of London: Monkey Shoulder Chocolate Trail

Our Monkey Shoulder tour started at Selfridges. We discovered that they were doing free Whiskey tasting so we tried some. The shot of Whiskey was accompanied by a Niko B chocolate which was stunning. We then sampled a Whiskey cocktail and was told to make our way to Broadwick Street near Carnaby Street for the Easter Egg Trail.

Koo - Ludlow

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The Green Cafe

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Cocktails at The Bar With No Name

We are very fortunate to live extremely close to the outstanding cocktail bar in Colebrooke Row but sadly we do not take advantage of this enough. To celebrate the start of our Easter hols we decided to go for a drink at The Bar With No Name and yet again enjoyed a fantastic selection of cocktails.

El Cantara - Westfield Stratford

After an exhaustive morning shopping at Westfield Stratford, made worse by the fact we couldn't go home just yet as we would have to pay an exorbitant amount in resident permit charges, we decided to have lunch at the shopping center. We had a good look around the Great Eastern food market and were drawn in by the tempting Chorizo sandwich on El Cantara's menu.

Salt Beef at Beigel Bake

Finally it is the Easter Holidays and a chance to eat in some of the many places that have popped up on our radar. Today was a beautiful cold sunny day so we decided to walk to Colombia Flower Market and then headed off to Beigel Bake to sample their famous Salt Beef beigels.

Brown Bread Ice Cream

Brown bread ice cream was one of my favourite desserts as a child. I have vivid memories of mixing the ingredients, putting them into blue ice cream containers and stirring every hours to make sure that the ice cream didn't become too crystallised. We recently bought an ice cream maker so it was an obvious choice for our first experiment. 

Wonders of London - Coming Soon Coffee

As we head towards our last few months in London, I am beginning to think about what I am going to miss most about our beautiful city. One of these is without doubt the wonders that can happen when you are walking along and an unexpected foodie adventure happens as if by magic!

Wonders of London - Bill's Cafe Islington

On a sunny weekend, Anthony always likes to go for a walk. Today we were heading towards the local bookshop when we were stopped in the street and asked if we would like to have a free breakfast. How could we refuse? Before opening to paying customers, Bills Islington was giving the kitchen a chance to test out their menu. We were asked to order different dishes and then rate the experience at the end of our meal.