Chai Latte: De Karmeliet

this time i went to belgium on eurostar which i love so much for the convenience, we decided to drop by bruges for a day. bruges was truly beautiful and very romantic and what better way to conclude a short lovely break by enjoying exceptional cuisine worth a special journey. for that we headed to De Karmeliet. We gave ourselves a treat and went to one of only two restaurants in Belgium with three michelin stars. VA VA VOOM. i'll let the pictures do all the talking (albeit taken unprofessionally by my unsteady hands). Also i have to add that because we were in Bruges only for one night and it was autumn that we didn't think to bring anything formal. Nonetheless, they relaxed their rule and tucked us in a corner in our own room away from all the fancy mancy guests which was turned out rather nicely in our favour. also the website doesn't give away how amazing the food. so you can only but try to find out.


OMG my pictures do not do them justice at all. Anyway 1st up: the appetizer (this wasn't part of the menu and guess what : they were FREE. you can only expect the best at such a great restaurant. left to right - we cant remember. don't blame us it wasn't in the menu. simplistically it was salmon with dressing, gazpacho with mussels (loved it) , scramble eggs with caviar.









Now began our adventure : Menu D'automne

Tuna Fish "Blue Fin" in a crush of peanuts, stuffed cuttlefish, juice of parsley, smoked oil.

The tuna fish was amazing. somewhat like sashimi in the centre. and I dunno why but the crushed peanuts went so well with it. my first little orgasm started right there. The blackish strip in the middle was made from squid ink. Did i already say that the tuna fish was delicious?

Roasted French Scallops, Carrot Juice with Tapioca, Ginger and Coconut, Sot-L'Y-Laisse and gooseliver

The foam is made from carrot which though to my partner made the dish aesthetically pleasing , to me it was interesting. ok more like weird. like tadpole eggs and breath. Anyhow, despite that this was my favourite out of all the courses. I love scallops and the carrot, ginger and coconut really brought out its flavour that now i love scallops even more. the sauce was really light. ahmazing. ahmazing. ok at this point my partner saw THE main chef going upstairs, presumably to the toilets. we were too shy to ask for a picture and only after going to the website that our food had been personally prepared by his ahmazing hands. we at least thats what we tell ourselves because besides us, there were only two other groups of people. and we were the first to get served food. HA. so there.

Brill with a crust of Almonds, thin omelette with grey shrimps from Zeebruges, Cauliflower with tarragon

Initially only the Brill excited me as I abhor cauliflower and I'm mildly allergic to shrimp. Nonetheless, the brill didn't disappoint and I love the nutty direction that this chef is heading towards!













Dessert, dessert, dessert, dessert, dessert, dessert, dessert, dessert, dessert, dessert and more dessert

dessert really blew us away. first they presented us with a nice assortment or cakes and chocolate which we thought was all. After that came these 4 little bombshells which were all extremely refreshing (except the choc one) and ended our meal on a nice note. my favourite was the green tea sorbet in the bottom right with mint and rum which to me was my little mojito. perfect for the autumn.

all in all the service was great and not at all snotty. and i heard that they serve great wine too.

fiveeeeeeeeeeeeee POPcorns.

Mrs K

So here we are in London (Chai and myself that is) and we're walking around shops that sell porn DVD's and everything and we find this awesomely cute sweet shop which we just had to go into. As i recall, or rather as google helps me recall....it's located @ 57a Brewer St., W1F 9UL (020 7734 6633) & they're open (Mon.-Thurs., 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Fri. & Sat., 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sun., 11 a.m.-4 p.m.)

Once u step into the store, u automatically feel like ur back in the 50s or smthin. not like i wld know, cos i'm too young to know (but just old enough to be fabulous). The shop is really tiny, i think it can only fit about 3-4 customers at any one time. The variety of sweets is almost overwhelming, in a good way of course, and needless to say the biggest problem is deciding which sweets to get.

That's lovely Mrs Kibble herself!
u automatically assumed that the white lady was Mrs Kibble didn't u?
Well She's not. Mrs Kibble is not even in the picture, that was just a test for all of u out there in internet blog land.

You basically pick out the jars with the sweets u like and carry them over to the counter and tell them how many of each u wld like to buy. The minimum amount per jar is 4 sweets. which is a nice,low number.
I know what ur thinking though...small space+possible kids+lots of heavy glass jars = disaster.

This place is definitely worth a visit though. The sweets don't cost that much and the one's we tried tasted pretty good. But it's not about the price, or even about the candy, it's about being a kid in a candy store right?

chai latte doesn't know whats going on

when are we going on the field trip my crumb and choc?

today i watched macbeth (an adaptation to be more precise) at the regent's park open air theatre. i never realised it was there. its hidden inside inside. and i mean inside. the ambience is fantastico. an inch too chilly. and i'm honest enough to admit my lack of culture to say that i don't entirely get the stuff will writes. but all in all. it was pretty damn good. the bleeding head of macbeth was well beyond scary. go during the summer. or you can go during the winter and get your partner to hug you tight tight. although i'm not sure if there are shows throughout the year. the area is lovely. greener than the frog who croaks persistently outside your window at night + all the peas that give u incontinence combined.

cheerio

this week in London

- harajuku boy, princess and hippy check out Asakusa japanese restaurant at Mornington Crescent.

- Dover Street Market field trip!

Stay tuned.

Also, coming up- new and improved contributor's profiles.

Chai latte speaks: once upon a time

As the rest of the team deliberate over our new blog name ( i think we're down to the final four), i shall attempt to introduce myself, albeit briefly as my plane is arriving in exactly 53 minutes. (although potentially i could blog on the plane but i usually get distracted by the menu, i think tonight i'll be having lamb)

i just realised, as this is my first time blogging..my 'virgin' attempt if one prefers, I don't actually know what I'm supposed to type.

and wtf. there are slideshows on this site. the crumb and cabbage are obviously trying to outshine me here. but its alright. i have confidence.

therefore, until enlightenment, i'll go say goodbye to my pony (i'll miss you chloe) and kisses for mom and dad before i blog again. and the next time i do, it'll dictate the start of the amazing chronicles of my new life.

chau chicas

The Crumb speaks: Foot and mouth what?

Seated at Marylebone establishment Villandry last night over stimulating conversation and tap water, I guess I must have been overexcited to see they served steak tartare and promptly ordered it as my main course. Raw food is a weakness of mine, gross as it sounds. My dish arrived in all its raw glory, delicately spiced with capers, onions and the welcome twang of worcestershire sauce.

While happily stuffing my mouth, my dinner companion and best friend in the UK -we also went to college in the states together- (who leaves London for bloody good tomorrow, hence the treat to mask our despondence.. we're really tesco sandwiches girls) remarked innocently, "I love that you don't care about the foot and mouth outbreak, you know, the culling cows and all that."

Suddenly my tartare didn't look so appetising anymore- let this not scare you. Eating beef during these dangerous times is fine, if, you know, you cook it. But like a valiant soldier, I chowed down the whole slab. If you must know, it was very very tasty. Though at the back of my mind, I half expected to start having fits and foaming at the mouth.

I give it a week (max) to work its way through my system. Then we'll see. It's a bit like waiting to die isn't it? Oh but for the love of food!

Verdict: I still think the Koreans do the best tartare, complete with sweet fresh apple/pear strips and a raw egg in a soy sauce and sesame oil marinade. But for a western palate, Villandry does a mean one.

Other spoils of the night:
- Atlantic prawns served with lemon and aioli
- Fettucine with roasted aubergine in a light sundried tomato sauce
- Sticky toffee pudding with sour cream (a strangely delightful combination)

Villandry also has a great organic market/food store, and a cafe that serves pretty good scones. 170 Great Portland Street, London W1W 5QB.

The Cabbage's little black book

This August the Cabbage is very much into...

Eating: Cupcakes from The Hummingbird Bakery along Portobello Road.
Surfing: the internet for hand painted silk+denim bustiers.
Savoring: Lazy weekday afternoons spent lolling around in London's wonderful parks (see the pretty view of the Tower of London + Tower Bridge!)
Reading: the final installation of Harry Potter while rolling around in said parks.
Lusting: The Leica D-lux.
Listening: Say Hello by the wonderful Rosie Thomas. If you love music that makes you weak in the knees, this is the girl for you (see !tashed for all the latest and greatest on the indie music scene)

Livre noir de la petite miette!

Eating: Anything orange/mandarin-infused, usually chocolate, but from duck (Joy King Lau's orange duck slices) to Thornton's Seville to cookies (Ben's Cookies Chocolate-Orange) to ice cream (Green & Black's organic Chocolate-Orange)
Wearing: Plimsolls / White converses with anything. Suits, shorts, skinnies, cocktail dresses.
Drinking: 2-for-1 mojitos at Guanabara (£3 each and so many flavours!)
Walking: Regents Park in the early evening
Randoming: Pastel coloured eggs at Fresh 'n' Wild in Camden
Place-ing: Brighton beach, complete with sunshine, pebbles, candy floss and the yummiest kebabs. and man-tits man on the beach!
Reading: A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
Listening (to): George Michael. I really like George Michael. I WANT YOUR SEX! woot

The Cabbage in Paris

Not quite, but this is as close as you'll get this side of the channel.
Ladurée at Harrod's. But more importantly: the coolest photo slideshow function ever.

(And it has a widget for mac!)

The Crumb speaks: Upcoming attractions

Am very much wanting to take the bus to Paris. £45 return, 8 hours. Leave London at midnight, reach Paris at dawn. And only for the Saturday flea markets flea markets flea markets. Back on the bus at 11, hit London by 6am the day after. I think there's also a morbid curiosity of how far my halting french can take me (all 60 hours of it learnt last summer) involved. The question is, in the next 2 weekends, or in October? :)

Marché aux Puces, Porte de Cligancourt.

Also, stay tuned for September post called The Crumb Takes On Tokyo. 5 days, 4 nights. harajuku, retail concepts from mars, sashimi, amongst the many wonderful things that Japan is. I'll fill this in with photos later, and my list of places to visit.

Daikanyama indy shopping district