lamb chops and cook books: World Foodie Helen Yuet Ling Pang
This week, le cool’s publishing editor, Chloe McCloskey meets up with retired food blogger Helen Yuet Ling Pang – the brains and tastebuds behind World Foodie Guide.
I love World Foodie Guide. The main reason being that I love dim sum and Helen, the author of this excellently executed food blog, is a connoisseur of the Cantonese brunch custom. Her guide to dim sum in London is a great resource for anyone interested in exploring the Capital’s offering of this very special fare. But if dim sum ain’t your chicken wing (or foot), there is plenty of great stuff to read through from restaurants in London to recipes and travelogues.
Helen suggests we meet at Dishoom in St Martin’s Lane and we catch up over lamb chops, pau bhaji and the Bombay cafe’s heavenly black dahl. She quit the blog in December 2009 because it had kinda taken over her life. Since giving it up, she has stopped cooking meat at home; in fact, her vegetarian husband does all the cooking. She’s self-published a book on eating in Japan and is happily continuing her career as a film examiner for the BBFC.
To our absolute pleasure, Helen has put together her top ten London activities, complete with matching meals. Check it after the jump.
10 Favourite London Things:
1. Browsing in Daunt Books (excellent for travel books) and Skandium (for Scandinavian interior design products) on Marylebone High Street, then eating fish and chips at The Golden Hind on Marylebone Lane
2. Going for a long walk on Hampstead Heath, followed by lunch at Jinkichi, a small Japanese restaurant specialising in grilled skewers (kushiyaki)
3. Watching a film at our little office cinema in Soho Square every Thursday evening, then a quick dinner – Koya, Koba, Barrafina, HK Diner – and ice cream at Gelupo (my favourite is ricotta, coffee & honey ice cream)
4. Leisurely weekend dim sum with family at our favourite Chinese restaurant Princess Garden in Mayfair
5. Shopping at Liberty because it’s not noisy or hectic & it’s easy to find things. The regular sales for loyalty card holders are fantastic and I like to buy small presents for people
6. Grabbing a quick lunch at Fernandez & Wells on St Anne’s Court, 2 minutes from my office – soups, stews & salads are all delicious, with a pasteis de nata or brownie for an afternoon snack
7. Early dinner at Ottolenghi then a play at the Almeida Theatre, Upper St (I like sitting in the middle of the A row up in the Circle)
8. Wandering in the ‘secret’ Chelsea Physic Garden, London’s oldest botanic garden (they even make their own honey, which is for sale)
9. Taking visitors to Sir John Soane’s Museum, Lincoln’s Inn Fields, and watching their reactions to the organised chaos inside
10. Browsing through Books for Cooks in Notting Hill and having lunch in the tiny cafe (the menu changes daily as recipes are tested); I like attending cookery lessons upstairs and looking through cookery books
NB
Koya – udon-ya – hot or cold udon but onsen tamago is essential
Koba – Korean restaurant – kimchi bibimbap & BBQ (bulgogi & kalbi)
Barrafina – Spanish tapas bar – seafood specials & lamb chops are particularly succulent
HK Diner – Cantonese casual diner – for roast duck ho fun noodle soup
