What does SOHO stand for?

There is a SOHO in New York which is not, as I initially thought, named after the SOHO in London. Instead is stands for South Of HOuston; Houston being the main street on the northern border of the district.

So it got me thinking. Does SOHO in London stand for anything?

Restaurant Review: Assa

I don't think I had knowingly had Korean food before I went to New York. I visited K-Town a couple of times and had some excellent food. I love the wild array of taster plates that seemed to come with every Korean meal.

Little did I know that London has its own Korea Town centred on St. Giles High Street, just south of the City Point Tower. There is a small strip of rustic cafes serving cheap hearty Korean food.

I went to Assa on Wednesday night with some friends from work who have just moved over from the Singapore office. You certainly wouldn't go for the decor but it gave me heart to be the only white person in the place. We shared BBQ beef, a seafood pancake, chili pork belly and what (I think) are signature Korean dishes; a BiBimBab and on the ubiquitous gas ring in the middle of every Korean table, a chili seafood soup.

We didn't get as many taster plates as I was used to in New York and my Singaporean friends only rated it a 6/10, but for under £10 a head I thought it was pretty good!

Charlton 1 - 2 Sheffield Wednesday

Yesterday I went to The Valley for the first time, to see Charlton play Sheffield Wednesday.

Charlton pleased the home crowd - especially the noisy lady behind me - by taking an early lead. Charlton squandered a great chance to go two up mid way through the first half. Just before the end of the half Wednesday scored twice. A Sheffield Wednesday fan sitting next to us was loudly booed by the home fans as he cheered the away teams goals.

In an open second half, with lots of attacking by Charlton, sadly they didn't get an equaliser.

I was impressed by the stewards who without any fuss and bother, seemed to be going into the stand containing the Sheffield Wednesday fans and removing trouble makers.

Return to Hampstead and North London

When I first moved to London I lived up in the Crouch End, Highgate and East Finchley area for 3 years. I used to enjoy going for a run or walk on Hampstead Heath at the weekend.

I've only been back to the Heath once in the four years since I moved to Brockley and have recently been yearning for another visit. My friend Jess is currently over from Singapore. I decided to take the day off work so that I could show her around North London.

We started with breakfast at Paul in Hampstead, before strolling onto the Heath. Arriving first at the swimming ponds, and then drifted towards Kenwood House, with a spot of tree climbing along the way....


We had some beautiful autumn sunshine. I love the London parks, from lots of parts of the Heath you can't see a single building and all you can hear are the birds singing. All from inside Zone 2

We drifted off the Heath into Tufnell Park and had a drink in the excellent Bull and Last pub. Which I was pleased to see is now serving my favourite Hook Norton beer.

We zipped round on the Northern Line to Chalk Farm from where we walked up Primrose Hill for spectacular views over London which haven't been done justice by my photography!



Our afternoon finished with a drift through Regent's Park to the Landmark Hotel where we had afternoon tea. Cucumber sandwiches, fresh scones and cakes while being serenaded by a harp and string quartet. Delightful.


I can thoroughly recommend taking a random Thursday off work, it breaks up the week nicely!

Restaurant Review: Hawksmoor

Last night I went for dinner at the Hawksmoor with my new flatmate Mike and friends Owen and Claire.

Mike and I last went to the Hawksmoor just over two years ago, when the area north of Spitalfields was waiting to be redeveloped and we had to walk past broken street lights and boarded up buildings to get there. Back then the restaurant had only just started opening in the evenings and weekends, being set up primarily for the corporate lunch market in the nearby City. Last night the area was thriving and we had a drink in the bohemian Commercial Tavern before dinner.

The food was, again, excellent last night. Mike and I started with seared scallops and cured ham, which were perfectly cooked through. For the main event we all went for steaks. Owen had the enormous 600g rib-eye, I had the bone in sirloin and Mike and Claire both had fillet. The steaks came out looking and smelling amazing. Seasoned, tender and slightly smokey. The meat was fantastic and equalled any of the steaks I had eaten in New York. The triple cooked chips were my favourite side dish.

The deserts kept the superb standard going. Owen and Claire both had the ice cream sundaes, Mike had the berries with clotted cream and I had the banana split. A perfect end to the meal.

The focus on high quality ingredients and food, the relaxed yet precise service from people in jeans and t-shirts and the funky atmosphere have all stayed since our visit. However, just like the area, the Hawksmoor has changed to. The menu used to be almost exclusively steaks and ice cream sundaes, and has broadened to appeal to a wider set of palates. They've also nudged their prices up slightly.

New addition to the blog roll: ...it's not shakespearemate!

My good friend Clint has just started his own blog ...it's not shakespearemate!.

I'm looking forward to hearing tales of adventures in Sydney and seeing some of Clint's excellent photography on the blog.

If you are wondering what the photo is all about, that is what you look like if you visit Roots Steakhouse and the Summit diner within a 24 hours period. They were both very good though......

Restaurant Review: The Guildford

On Saturday night I went for dinner at The (or should it be le?) Guildford in Greenwich. Last time I visited the pub, it was your local boozer that also served food. It relaunched itself a while ago as a French gastro pub (admittedly quite a while ago, I just haven't been recently!).

Most of the pub has been given over to dinning tables. If you just wanted a drink you are restricted to a sofa in the corner or the garden. The food felt classically French and all the tables were full creating a good atmosphere. For the main courses we had slow roasted pork belly, grilled sea bass, roast duck and an entrecote steak. All of the dishes came with tasty vegetables and, strangely, fiercy hot plates that radiated heat.

For dessert we shared a tarte aux pommes, chocolant fondant and peach mousse. I love French patisserie and think they do the best desserts in the world.

All in all it was good to (rediscover) another reasonably priced local restaurant.

Leeds Castle

Yesterday I went to Leeds Castle with my friends from work Sandy, Jolene and Jess (pictured below from left to right). An easy drive, I have wanted to visit since I moved to south east London but somehow hadn't quite made it before yesterday.

The moat makes the castle quite distinctive and quirky to enter as you loop down into one of the cellars by the waters edge. The castle has been extensively remodelled by its owners across the ages. Most recently in the 1920 / 30's when the final owners to live in the castle installed a few modern luxuries. In more recent times it has been used for part of the Camp David peace talks and a cabinet meeting by Tony Blair. The interior of the castle itself was a little smaller than I expected, but none the less well worth a visit.

The castle has some extensive landscaped grounds that you are free to wander. We caught the end of a falconry show and there were a number of other events put on daily. We got ourselves lost in the maze and needed help from one of the guides to help find the centre!

At £15 for adults I thought it was quite expensive, but if you gift aid your entry fee then you get a pass valid for a year.