Hi! Sorry it has been so long since my last post. If I'm honest I don't have good excuses! My cooking has been a bit repetitive and boring and not worth posting. I did make a gluten free sponge cake but I was not happy enough with it to post the results although the recipients seem to enjoy it a lot (I have a feeling that my taste buds are a bit out of whack with this pregnancy lark as I felt like I could taste salt but my boyfriend said it was fine). I definitely want to experiment a bit more with gluten free- partly because there was an amazing deal for rice flour at the supermarket!
Anyway, my birthday was the Sunday just gone. We decided to invite a few friends (there were nearly 20 of us!) to 222 in West Kensington for the buffet lunch. I was the only vegan, there was one vegetarian and the rest were omnivores (including two who are not big on vegetables at all!). I had never been there before but had heard good things. I also chose it because it is super cheap (£7.50 for all you can eat!) so that if people really didn't like it they didn't waste much money, plus with the buffet style they could pick and choose what they wanted.
I was a little nervous when we first got there that many people might not like it but everyone loaded up their plates first time and dug in and most went back for seconds (and thirds in the case of my boyfriend)! There were too many delicious things for me to remember them all but here are what I can: rice, chickpea curry, stir-fry veg, fried potatoes, some tofu like croquettes (which tasted like quiche), a few different salads, some pasta and some vegan coleslaw. I think the outstanding hit for most people were the croquette things (I really wish I had taken more time to read the signs and actually have a name for these- unfortunately I was too busy enjoying myself to do this or take pictures!!). They were so full of flavour with a lovely crispy outside. I think a lot of people are a bit scared of tofu and think it is tasteless but this definitely changed their minds! I would love to know what is in them and try to recreate them at home. Everything was lovely though (I even saw a few sneaky vegetables on veg haters' plates!). One of my friends has even said we have to go back there sometime because she enjoyed it so much. I would definitely like to check it out in the evening also as they do a menu dinner then (only buffet at lunchtime) and still at very reasonable prices. I also would like to sample some of the desserts (all you can eat left no room!). I spied some cheesecake, gateaux, ice cream and more (not included in all you can eat unfortunately)!
The staff were lovely too, very smiley and friendly. We had been told when we booked that we had to leave by two because there was another big party coming but we never felt pressured to leave. All in all this was a great experience. The buffet lunch was just that- nothing spectacularly presented or extremely innovative but what was there was done very well and was a hit with all. Definitely a great place to go if you are in the area!
Now I said there were two restaurant reviews. This is because part of my birthday present from my boyfriend was a day of surprises on the Saturday. This included painting some mugs in the morning (I had been wanting to do this for ages!), a play in the afternoon and then dinner in the evening. He chose Indian Mischief in East Dulwich.
The menu there is about half vegan (and all vegetarian-certified by the vegetarian society) but we were told that everything except 2 dishes could be made vegan (well all of them could but two had key non-vegan components like paneer). My boyfriend decided to go all vegan on this occasion so we decided to share two starters and two mains. For our starters we chose some rice dumplings and some fried potatoes (both coming with sauces. I don't need to tell you what fried potatoes taste like but they were done very well, not too oily and the spicy sauces complimented them well (these were right up my boyfriend's street). The dumplings themselves are quite plain but they are meant to be as you pour the sauce over it and there was also a spicy sauce and a coconut puree to dip them in. The dumplings are quite spongy so they soak up the sauce which gives it the flavour. These were something I had eaten when I went to India a few years ago and the taste was so authentic that it took me right back! You could tell this was real Indian cooking and not the British version. For the main course we had a Paper Masala Dosa and the Saturday special (there were specials everyday and I can't remember the name of this one!) which was a mung bean curry with rice, paratha and a small tomato, cucumber and onion salad. I had chosen the Masala Dosa once again because it was something I had eaten in India and was one of my favourite things out there. If you haven't had one before it is a very thin crispy pancake with a filling of a spicy potato mixture and served with sauces to dip in it. Again the taste was exactly how I remembered- very true to actual Indian cuisine and both of us loved it. The curry was also delicious. Not spicy but full of flavour. The rice was cooked with some spices in which really perked it up (especially as my boyfriend is not at all keen on plain rice). The paratha were delicious (Indian flat bread) and great to dip into the curry- we both decided to look up a recipe and try and make these! We didn't manage desert (and I actually didn't check to see the suitability for vegans) but JP had 2 beers and I had a lime soda. The bill in total came to an amazing £30!
Once again the staff here were lovely. We were served by a father and son who both chatted to us for a while and told us about the food. They absolutely made the place- it was such a lovely relaxed atmosphere. At first when we arrived there were only 2 other customers but this was quite early. Soon after we were joined by a big party (a stag party) of about 20 people which was nice to fill the place a bit better.
All in all I would definitely come back here. The food is authentic Indian rather than the British Indian we tend to get here. It was much less greasy and oily and even the fried food felt healthier! For £30 getting drinks, 2 starters and 2 mains is fantastic! Especially when you are a student!
Apologies for the lack of photos but you will just have to visit these places yourself to see how great the food is!!!
