Delight in Daylesford: Organic Farmshop & Cafés in London

Back to London for our final UK installment introducing Daylesford Organic Cafe.

Before diving straight into our experience in their Farm Store and Café in London, I’d like to begin with a bit of background story for how I came to know Daylesford first.

Daylesford is a farm in the Cotswolds that has pushed organic farming and very cleverly expanded into several lateral industries. I was initially recommended Daylesford for their cozy cottages as “a proper taste of pretty English villages in the Cotswolds”. I was told, “Everything is so well done there from food to rooms and they have a gorgeous spa too!” I had tried booking a few nights in one of their 5 cottages as a post-wedding retreat – a “mini-moon” if you will, but it turns out Daylesford is already a popular winter get-away as all their cottages were fully booked more than 3 months in advance!

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Peel’s Restaurant: Majestic Manor with a Michelin Star

In the Forests of Arden, lies the magnificent Hampton Manor

Next up in the UK Foodie’s Restaurant Tour is the Michelin-starred Peel’s Restaurant. Located in Hampton Manor, in Hampton-in-Arden, this restaurant is probably one of the most beautiful settings you can imagine. (Full Disclosure: Hampton Manor was my wedding venue!)

About a 5-10 minute drive from Birmingham international airport, this is a beautifully restored manor house. The gardens, the house itself, everything feels like Downton Abbey (which also happens to be my favorite show)! The current owners took over operations a few years ago and have worked wonders with their renovations. A family story that began in a 400 year old pub, three generations of the Hill family have been shaping this estate’s future since 1986.

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Dinner by Heston Blumenthal: Brilliant Historic British Gastronomy

Next up on my UK Restaurant Hit List is Dinner by Heston Blumenthal.

Heston is the legend behind The Fat Duck, which was crowned the #1 restaurant in the world in 2005. Dinner by Heston is part of his growing empire and is based in the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Knightsbridge, just down the road from the famous Harrods luxury department store.

The concept behind Dinner is one that Heston came up with because of the notorious reputation of English cuisine. He decided that it was an undue reputation and went back into old English recipe books set to prove that British gastronomy could compete with the best of them.

Opened in 2011, Dinner gained its first Michelin star within a year, with the second star in 2014. The restaurant is now headed by the former head chef of The Fat Duck, Ashley Palmer-Watts. Heston was the 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient from the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.

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St. John Restaurant (London, UK): Nose to Tail Eating

Specializing in Nose to Tail Eating with a Devotion to Offal

Over the holidays, I made my way to the UK and while I know LDS is mainly focused on Beijing, I wanted to highlight a couple of restaurants I went to that I think are worth going to if you find yourself in London.

Number 1 on my list for London is St. John Restaurant & Bar. 

Opened in 1994 on St John Street in Smithfield, London by Fergus Henderson, this down-to-earth English restaurant gets credit for bringing back the popularity of offal dishes, making this gem one of the most important British restaurants of its generation. This is one to remember if you ever hear a Chinese colleague tell you that Westerners don’t eat organ meat/other weird bits of animals because the whole ethic behind St. John is nose to tail dining!

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Hooray for Hulu: All-Day Casual Dining by The TRB Group

SAY HELLO TO HULU! 

Of all the openings in the F&B scene this year, this is one of the most highly anticipated! Ignace Leclair, owner and founder of the TRB Hospitality Group, has created a new concept for the casual dining market called Hulu.

Smack bang in the middle of Taikoo Li South’s 3rd floor (by Hatsune, Saigon Mama, and Café Flo), Hulu is set to make a big splash, given the pedigree of the masterminds behind it.

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Transit: Classy Sichuan in Sanlitun

Transit Re-Opens with a Gorgeous New Design

At the top of my list of go-to places for upscale Chinese dining, Transit 渡金湖 has made a name for itself over the years for its quality Sichuan fare in a contemporary space and luxurious decor. While the decor is polished and pretty (a far cry from your hole-in-the-wall Sichuan digs), the fiery Sichuan fare here is legit.

First started in 2002, the original location at Gongti is no more and while it is still in the same space at Taikoo Li North Village, Transit has undergone another renovation over the past half year.  And if you thought the space was gorgeous before, the new design has taken Transit up another notch.

Taking inspiration from the old mansions along the ancient tea and salt routes of Southwestern China, there is a profound elegance in the combination of traditional Chinese patterns, marble table tops, sleek and dark fittings with shiny gold trims.

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Ringing in 2018: BJ FOoDiEs Charity Dinner @ARCADE

2018 GOALS: Treat Yourself to THIS!

Welcome 2018!  New Year, New YOU!

It’s time to make our New Year’s Resolutions. While some people may start their year off my hitting the gym hard, I always think it’s better to think long term and find ways that we can incorporate sustainable practices into our lives to promote health and happiness. And beyond thinking about our own personal goals, we can also take active steps to do our part to make the world a better place.

And that’s where BJ FOoDiEs comes in – an organization that promotes a strong community of people in Beijing bonded by their shared love for food and philanthropy.

For their first charity dinner of 2018, the BJ FOoDiEs crew is hosting at new ARCADE by Hatchery in Guomao to guarantee a fantastic menu to fill our bellies and a bunch of crazy fun games to keep us entertained for hours on end.

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Punjabi: Contemporary Indian Cuisine

A Pretty Spread of Punjabi’s New Presentation Style

One of the surprising things for me about coming to China was discovering that I love Indian food. I didn’t eat it growing up, as my parents just cooked Chinese food every day but I have grown to really appreciate a good curry during my years in Beijing and I have to give props to Gireesh Chowdhury, founder of Punjabi Indian restaurant on Lucky Street (across from Solana Shopping Center on Chaoyang West Road) for taking my curry obsession to the next level.

While I’ve been a loyal customer for years, I’m really excited for all the recent new developments. Gireesh has given the entire menu an overhaul and the result really goes to show that Punjabi is not your average Indian restaurant. Constantly making improvements and taking on a more contemporary presentation style with some pretty innovative recipes, Punjabi is on a league of its own when it comes to Indian cuisine in Beijing.

To do this new menu justice, we have been back four times over the course of a couple of weeks, each time to try out a smorgasbord of the new dishes. There are some on here that you definitely won’t see at other Indian restaurants around town and I also must say I love the sleek and stylish presentation!

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