Harrods Shouts Out Wedding With Their Window Displays

If there was an official top of the charts list for window displays in the world, Harrods would definitely be ranked high among the top 5. Harrods has always awed not only tourists but also the locals with its array of window displays, each time magnificently fulfilling different themes. 

To commemorate the celebration of Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding on the 29th of this month, Harrods has on a complete suite of windows dedicated to their special occasion. Each and every window has been decorated differently, ranging from past royal wedding memoirs to fashion wedding gowns. The special sprinkle of this limited window display is that Harrods has specially invited some of the top designers ranging from the fashion world, culinary world, fine jewellery and interiors world to produce a wedding cake based on their brand just for this royal event. 

The windows caught me from afar on the bus on the way to the Victoria & Albert Museum which goes to show that they really are something and totally worth hopping off the bus to go marvel at. 

They seem to have not only have caught my eyes but every single person who walks pass the glamorous building. The display is on until the 30th of April so why not go down and feast your eyes on the one-off creativity and then of course sit down for a macaroon or tea at Laduree. 

The plan is flawless. Just try not to get pick-pocketed.

Matthew Williamson

Paul Smith

Clive Christian

Ladro

Ormonde Jayne

Montblanc

Theo Fenwell

Estee Lauder 

Jo Malone

Wedgewood

Temperley

Escada

Missoni Home

Lalique

Richard James

Van Cleef & Arpels

'To Commemorate the marriage of Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton, 29th April 2011' -note the 'MISS', ahem the debate about her being middle class seems to be rather iffy. 

Blessings to the happy couple. Its a fairytale dream come true!

   

Jamie's Italian- A Hidden Trove Behind Westfield

Jamie Oliver is one of the Gods of the kitchen and that is no understatement. He may not be as fancy dancy as Gordon Ramsey or Heston Blumenthal but has been spot lighted as the natural chef. Even though he never seems to wash his hands, his cooking is oh so heavenly delicious and not to mention healthy. 

Out of his 3 restaurants in London, I have only tried two. Those being Fifteen at Old Street and Jamie's Italian at London's "mega store" Westfield. After visiting Barbecoa, 3/3 will be completed but Barbecoa will just have to wait. 

Jamie's Italian at Westfield is sort of hidden all the way at the back of the mall. You would think no one would bother going all the way there but haha nooo, the place is always packed and thats probably only because the place is under the name of Sir Jamie Oliver. Amazing how much a famous name will do to a place huh. Guess thats what branding does. 

Anyhow, Jamie's Italian definitely lives up to its reputation in regard to the standard of food for even though the menu is limited, each and every dish is worth every penny. However, having been there for lunch and dinner on different occasions, I would have to say that the dinner service is much better than the lunch. Simply because during lunchtime, they seem to be rushing everything from throwing out the dishes and swiping pass the tables with waiters butts. Dinnertime has a much calmer ambience hence the food follows suit resulting in a felt 'perfecto' meal. 

Acclaimed to be the 'best' chilled olives with homemade sauce and homemade crackers. I refuse to eat olives so no comment on the olives but everyone at the table said that they were of good quality however as everyone does, the seeds never won favour. Poor seeds.

Baked mushroom with herbs. Extremely light appetizer with organic mushrooms. Favourite part was the crunchy pastry which is delightful when you pick it off from the side of the bowl. 

Platter of different ham, olives, cheese and seasoned carrots. Fave was the sweet cheese with sweet chili marmalade on crackers, sounds weird but oh so tasty! 

Close up :D

Main of lamb with mash potato. Very tender and juicy, dripped sauce complimented the meat well. 

'Posh' chips for they have been oven baked with truffle oil and parma cheese. OOh so rich yet amazingly enough they tasted OHHH so healthy. 

Honestly, I do not recall what this was but I have a feeling my mum ordered it for they look like healthy vegetables. 

Carbonara was of traditional recipe where the yolk of eggs are only used instead of adding cream sauce. Personal preference would be that they use a different type of pasta because I hate udon noodles. 

Truffle pasta-simply BRILLIANT. It looks so light but it taste is so satisfying, it kind of confuses you. Don't worry, its a good thing. 

Tomato baked scallops. The french don't do it well but here at Jamie's they do. Scallops are juicy, the seasoning comes through perfectly and after 4 scallops, you will be screaming for more. 

I'm surprising myself but I can't seem to find my dessert photos at all but once again, their dessert menu is limited to a few cakes and ice cream flavours. The tiramisu is highly recommended for that I can gob down anyday at anytime. The honeycomb ice cream is pretty good for home made ice cream too however the sweet chili chocolate flavour is just weird. But then again, people here in London like weird stuff so hey, why not. 

Jamie's Italian is the place for a light lunch/dinner with the usual groupie of friends just because it has a weird relaxed atmosphere where you would just want to sit there for ages and ages-provided that the sun is out of course. 

Easter Weekend at No.92

Easter just managed to crawl its way into our diaries shocking well most of us. Rushing out to buy coloured eggs was going to happen last minute. Cocomaya to the rescue ! 

K managed to surprise me with the little wonderful treats from the artisan boutique of Cocomaya which I just nomm-ed down today. The empty bag saddens me. Oh well, not welcoming the extra calories. 

Which is why Easter Brunch was at the Notting Hill  Brasserie. Yes, nothing makes sense-because its Easter. Personally I don't believe in Jesus nor understand the connection between God and easter bunnies let alone eggs. Yes yes they probably symbolize rebirth and what not however, how does a bunny have any relation to a higher being? Regardless, I'm talking about the food I gratefully consumed on Sunday, purely for the fact that I could take the day off from work and ahem yes revision. 

Notting Hill Brasserie at No.92 was recommended by K for she and her mama happened to savoy it a few months back. Once I heard live jazz with roast, something did feel good and comforting after confirming the reservation. After trotting down the place in hills, we managed to find the place smartly hidden in an old Georgian building. It was only 11am and they had gas light lamps hanging outside, thought that was pretty cool. +1 point. An attendant came out to greet us and brought us in through a beautiful chic setting where the furniture and interior was classic modern however the architecture was left untouched. Service was professional and even had that air of pride which the French are reknown for.

The food option was either a 2 course meal or 3 course meal. Obviously it was going to be the 3 course. So heres what came out.

My appetizer was asparagus, cress and fried egg which I must say was quite interesting. The yolk hadn't set so it woozed out and went nicely with the lightly soya seasoned greens.   

Foie gras parfait was K's choice which was so smooth and light which made the accompanying bread so so delicious.

Another appetizer was crab which was the least favourite among the three simply because it tasted like Chinese wok cooking. Perhaps it was just because of the crab ingredient. Visually, it doesn't par up either.

Main course was the roast, we had two options-beef or lamb and we all chose lamb. The lamb was sweet and succulent. No complaints. The Yorkshire pudding was JUST crunchy enough which is the way I personally think is how it tastes the best after it hits the gravy.  

The main came with three sides which were these roasted potatoes, green beans and sweet carrots. They were all for sharing between the table though which was abit of a downer. Sharing food is hard :(

Dessert! I opted for the creme brulee which was disappointing. The vanilla ice cream was the only edible thing on the plate otherwise the weird coffee slice left me rather confused while the creme brulee itself did not stand up to its name-literally. It was too soft and pudding liked. Not right. 

K's dessert was much better, chocolate fondant which was hot in the middle and cold outside. With the ice cream combined, the dish was just a sin waiting to be consumed. 

Overall the meal was lovely, the company was perfect and even though there was an additional 2 quid 'entertainment' fee added to the bill (which they state in the menu) for the live music, I think Sunday brunch was celebrated pretty darn well. 

Royal Wedding Gimmicks

The Royal Wedding is just round the corner and everyone (who can) is trying to make it a nationwide gimmick-including Kippling. Couple Monkey keychains ! The pure white one being Kate and the black one well who else but Prince William. Now my only question is why is Prince William black?

 (O.O) 

The only monkey couple of Kate & William MADE IN CHINA. Thats gotta be worth something right? But nope, just a tenner. (Obviously from the scribble mark they've been reduced from 16 quid so they probably aren't selling so well)

The 29th will be chaotic but hope there's sunshine and happy blessings for the Royal Couple!! 

Save Up For Sake No Hana

Sake No Hana is a little secret of a thing tucked away for 2.5 years in the heart of Mayfair. Its quality of food is surprising and pleasing just because it manages to introduce modern ideals to the dishes while staying rooted to the traditional tastes. The place isn't very big and has one hell of an entrance with two escading escalators sky rocketing up to the dining area. There is a chic bar located downstairs with a very mysterious yet welcoming hallway leading to it. The overall interior is a fusion of art deco meets kabuki and bamboo. The ceilings are sky high with supporting glass windows which makes you feel like you've left crudgy London for cosmopolitan New York and that you're on the 31st floor of a skyscraper. With the right company, the food and place makes Sake No Hana my fave Jap in London. 

Passionfruit with calpis 

Scallop with white asparagus 

Beef tataki with sesame sauce 

3 kinds of agedashi tofu

5 pieces of sashimi

Sesame with grilled aubergine

Assorted sushi, salmon skin, sake no hana special and alaskan crab roll

tonkatsu special

Grilled Lamb

Salmon 

Hazelnut Praline with matcha sauce

Chocolate dome with vanilla ice cream and centred caramel, matcha sauce