What The Tube Map Looks Like During The Strikes

Posted on February 6, 2014 by Frostie

Can’t get to the office? Can’t get anywhere at all and need to work? Chris Ward has visited coffee shops in London and worked out of each of them in his quest to get ‘out of office’.

Chris Ward is author of no.1 best selling book ‘Out of Office’ How To Live An Awesome Life Without An Office Job!

Chris Ward has visited every single one of these coffee shops, and believes it’s time for a re-think on how the working week is viewed.

Here is an excellent coffee-shop based London tube map

www.workwhereyoulike.com

What do you think?

Fashion Meets Food As Yauatcha & Harvey Nichols Team Up for Chinese New Year

Posted on February 4, 2014 by Frostie

This February sees a unique twist on Chinese New Year with an exclusive collaboration between Michelin-starred Chinese dim sum teahouse Yauatcha, by the internationally acclaimed Hakkasan group, and global luxury fashion destination Harvey Nichols. Renowned for their fantastical and elaborate store windows, the Harvey Nichols visual display team have designed a spectacular one-off window display, to be exhibited at Yauatcha in Soho from 20^th January to 10^th February.

Inspired by the Chinese tradition of spreading luck by gifting friends and family red envelopes containing money, Yauatcha and Harvey Nichols designed the display to capture the essence and ethos of Chinese New Year, the most auspicious date in the Chinese calendar. As 2014 is the Year of the Horse, the creation focuses around a large red origami-style Perspex horse jumping into the front window, with a flowing mane and tail brought to life with almost 1,000 bright red folded envelopes, hand made by luxury paper merchant GFSmith. The window display will extend back into the restaurant, with red paper envelopes flying from the horse and forming patterns in the air above and around guests. Smaller origami horses will also appear along the front and side windows.

Throughout the collaboration each guest at Yauatcha will receive a red envelope containing vouchers for fashion and beauty treats, along with a bespoke Chinese New Year cocktail created by the Yauatcha and Harvey Nichols bar managers and available at the Fifth Floor Bar. During the campaign eight special golden tickets will be given to guests at random, containing lavish prizes such as meals and cocktail masterclasses at Yauatcha and makeovers at Harvey Nichols.

In addition, Hakkasan group’s Executive Pastry Chef Graham Hornigold has created bespoke macarons and petits gateaux, which will be added to the existing array of award-winning desserts, macarons and handmade chocolates. The limited edition flavours include:

Red Macarons depicting the Chinese character for the Year of the Horse, filled with mandarin ganache and mandarin pâte de fruit. Mandarins are traditionally given at Chinese New Year, and symbolise luck and fortune.

Red Petits Gateaux in the shape of a traditional Chinese New Year lantern, depicting the Chinese character for the Year of the Horse. A jasmine mousse filled with a honey panna cotta centre, with caramelised mandarins and sesame brittle. The mandarins symbolise luck and fortune, the sesame seeds fertility.

Price: Macarons – £1.60 each, £9 per 6 pieces, £18 per 12 pieces. Petits gateaux – £5.90 (retail), £8.50 (a la carte).

Guests at Yauatcha on the afternoon of Sunday 2^nd February will view the spectacle of the traditional Chinese dragon dance, with the raucous theatrical procession of the dragon visiting every table with its colourful and noisy celebratory performance.

Dating Party At The Top Of The Shard

Posted on January 31, 2014 by Frostie

If you are single and looking to meet someone, we have found a rather cool dating party. It’s the ultimate ice breaker night 800ft above London at The View from The Shard 48 hours before Valentine’s Day – will you find Mr or Miss Right just in time? Even if you don’t, you will have an incredible night with lively London singles.

Reaching new heights of dating, DoingSomething.co.uk in partnership with The View from The Shard have announced the arrival of the World’s Highest Urban Ice Bar and the first ever dating party on Levels 69 and 72 of Western Europe’s tallest building – an exclusive one-night only event on Wednesday 12 February with a bespoke built ice bar and an igloo for singletons to snuggle up in.

Watch the sun set over panoramic views of the London skyline from the cosy 5ft tall, two tonne igloo created by internationally renowned ice artist Percy Salazar – decked out for comfort with blankets. Ice artist to the stars, Percy has previously worked on ice sculptures for the Queen, Stella McCartney and Lawrence Dallaglio.

The spectacular 360 degree views take in London’s most famous landmarks for up to 40 miles, including the Olympic Stadium and Canary Wharf to the east, Hampstead Heath and Alexandra Palace to the north, Buckingham Palace, the London Eye and Wembley Stadium to the west, and Crystal Palace to the south.

To keep the party alight, there will be live sets from London’s hottest DJs Nick Decosemo (Editor of Mixmag), Luke Brancaccio (Founder of hip new West London house label City Seven), Le SoSo (dance stage curator for Cornish boutique festival Leopallooza) who will all be playing cool dance grooves. And Goldbars and Lexicon (For the Love of Mic: the rap club night with a sense of fun) who will be spinning ice cold classics for people to warm up to including: Ice Ice Baby (Vanilla Ice), Cold as Ice (MOP) and It Was A Good Day (Ice Cube).

Naturally, waiters wearing penguin suits are on hand to provide perfectly chilled cinnamon flavoured Smirnoff Gold cocktails served on arrival at the World’s Highest Urban Ice Bar. Taking singletons to new heights, a choice of themed Smirnoff Gold drinks with real edible gold flakes will also be available at the first ever ice-breaking dating party on Level 72, including the ‘Iced Gold’ and ‘Cloud 72’ cocktails.

As if this wasn’t enough the first 200 guests will receive complimentary sorbetto and gelato courtesy of Snowflake Luxury Gelato. There are two artisan gelatos for guests to choose from including Hazelnut and the Valentine’s Special, Blind Date and Honey Gelato. Alternatively try a sumptuous sorbetto, flavours include Raspberry, Mango and Passionfruit and the award-winning Extra Dark Chocolate.

Daters will witness a new Guinness World Record on the night as the one-night only ice bar will become the World’s Highest Urban Ice Bar.

BOOKING INFORMATION

Wednesday 12 February – 8:00-11:00pm

Tickets priced at £35 for singles. Or just £30 each if you buy a pair for you and your Wingman/Wingwoman.

Includes access to The View from The Shard’s viewing platforms on Levels 69 and 72 (worth £30) throughout the night, an after party, and one month’s subscription to DoingSomething.co.uk (worth £29).

Honest Burgers Restaurant Review

Posted on January 30, 2014 by Catherine Balavage

My first thought of Honest Burgers’ new restaurant in King’s Cross? How much it feels like being on a boat – all thanks to the shape of the building and the big windows. It’s cosy, with brilliant views for people-watching. Inside, it is stylish – stripped back, but not bare. The place is packed with a variety of people, girlfriends catching up, couples, and, of course, people just wanting a good burger. It is busy, buzzing and feels like the place to be.

The staff are helpful and passionate about the place. Always a good sign. We order a rose, the Plumpton Estate Rose, England, and a Hawaiian ale, the Kona Big Wave Golden Ale. The rose comes in a normal glass, which I thought was a great touch. Even better; the beer comes in a mini tankard. It’s pretty cool. The rose is a wonderful colour with perfect balance. The ale comes in an ice-cold glass and is clean, light and refreshing with a great flavour. Later, my coke comes in the can with a straw. It is all these little touches that make Honest Burgers great, and I haven’t even gotten to the food yet….<

I order a Tribute and my colleague orders a chicken burger. The chicken is free-range and comes with lettuce, tomato and mustard mayonnaise. The chicken is succulent and fresh, the mustard mayo is delicious and not too overpowering. My colleague described the bun as ‘crispy tasty’ and declared the burger ‘amazing’.

The Tribute is Ginger Pig Dry Aged Beef, cooked medium-rare (pink in the middle – one of the reasons it tastes so damn good) with bacon, American cheese, burger sauce, French’s mustard, pickles, onion and lettuce. Phew. It is, quite simply, the best burger I have ever had in my life. Fresh ingredients, great ingredients. Everything really works and I haven’t even gotten to the chips yet.

Each burger comes with a huge serving of house chips. A serving of what are, frankly, the best chips EVER. I am told a lot of effort was put into making sure that the burgers and the chips were equally as good, and they really have managed to pull it off. The chips are perfectly cooked and dusted with rosemary salt. They are full of flavour, well seasoned and a beautiful, crispy texture. Just writing this makes me dream of them.

Honest Burgers is expanding all the time, with the King’s Cross branch opening as recently as December 12th. I really hope they continue to grow, because frankly, everyone needs an Honest Burgers near them. They really don’t compare to any other burger restaurant I have ever been to. The best burgers and the best chips in town, along with a good selection of drinks.

I will definitely be back.

Honest was started by foodie entrepreneurs, Dorian Waite and Tom Barton,fresh out of uni in 2011 and has grown from an outside catering company to five incredibly successful restaurants in just two years. Honest isn’t simply a fad or a knee-jerk reaction to a consumer trend either, Honest champions the use of great British produce and stands by its name – everything from the food to the decor is completely stripped back and honest. The only thing to go into the burgers is beef, salt and pepper. That’s it.

With Honest’s Kings Cross restaurant situated just seconds away from the huge catchment area of Kings Cross station, and their largest site to date, it’s clear they have big plans.

Having just secured a £1 million investment from Santander, Honest are looking to expand throughout 2014 and into 2015. Currently London-based, Honest hopes to move past the M25, south into Brighton, or north to Manchester or Leeds.

The Honest website can be found here www.honestburgers.co.uk.

HONEST BURGERS KINGS CROSS

251 PENTONVILLE ROAD,
LONDON N1 9NG
+44 (0)20 3302 3452

Simple Flower Arranging: Step-By-Step Designs & Techniques Book Review

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Frostie

Although this is in the wedding section the book works well for every day and every occasion. Simple Flower Arranging: Step-By-Step Designs & Techniques by Mark Welford & Stephen Wicks is a money-saving book, but also one with hours of funfor the creative and people who love flowers. Written by ex-Royal Ballet dancers and the owners of the award-winning destination florist Bloomsbury Flowers in Covent Garden, Mark Welford & Stephen Wicks have written a book to let blooming florists make amazing arrangements.

The book guides you through designs and techniques. There are over 60 different projects and the book teaches you to bring the professional touch to your arrangements. There are a lot of insider tips and it is very easy to read and understand.

The book also lets you take things around the home and use them to create great arrangements. The getting started section leaves you with a lot of knowledge; going through colour palette, vases, flower shapes, foliage and basic equipment. There is also chapters on maintence and tips.

The pictures and illustrations in the book are not only beautiful, but also make it easy to follow, along with the step-by-step guide. This is a very good book which allows you to make beautiful arrangements for every occasion.

Simple Flower Arranging is available here

The Refinery | Restaurant Review

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Catherine Balavage

The Refinery is a good-looking restaurant in Southwark. It has a great vibe, lots of buzz and a sophisticated decor. We reviewed it on a Saturday and it was absolutely heaving.

Upon being handed the menu thinks get difficult, there is just so much to choose from. The menu is good and varied, something to suit every taste; from salads, to steaks to burgers. We notice on the special menu that there is some salmon and sea bass, the waitress (who is lovely and helpful) informs us that the fish is fresh, they get it from the market in the morning. I also spot a Negroni on the specials menu and immediately order it. Negroni’s are more bitter than my usual taste but I have a soft spot for them.

After much umming and ahing we finally decide on what to eat thanks to the waitress. We have prawn lollipops and a Mediterranean flatbread sharing platter to start. As you can see, presentation is impressive. The prawn lollipops in particular look great. The lollipops are amazing, perfect prawns in perfect batter. They come with an amazing sauce which also has just enough kick.

The Mediterranean flatbread is pitta bread, roast vegetables; peppers, aubergine and courgette- all great, two dips, both stunning. The homemade hummus has ruined me. I just don’t want to eat the supermarket stuff anymore. The baby ganoush is also superb.

We ordered some Strawberry Lemonade. It was delicious and fresh.

For our main we have the Pan-Fried Salmon which comes with stir-fried vegetables and teriyaki sauce, and the Cote De Boeuf Steak. All the steaks come with onion rings, chips, roast tomato and flat mushroom. To say it is a generous portion would be a vast understatement. I am so full after eating it that I have a coke float for dessert. More of which later.

The steak is amazing, well cooked and tender. I ordered it with a great peppercorn sauce. The tomato is roasted, I love roast tomato and the chips and mushroom are just as good. The onion rings are not greasy and are fried well. This was a very good choice; excellent meal.

The Pan-Fried Salmon is delicious; tender with stir-cooked vegetables and a wonderful teriyaki sauce. A great, Asian-influenced, meal. The fish is very fresh and the meal works beautifully.

A Porn Star Martini: great cocktail that comes with a prosecco chaser.

A Prince Charming. Another great cocktail. This one was fun and sweet.

A classic Negroni. The cocktails at the Refinery are of a very high standard, and they don’t skimp on the alcohol.

The brownie is very good. Warm and wonderfully chocolatey. It comes with ice-cream.

The Lemonade, the strawberry comes on the side. It is fun watching it become red.

For dessert I had a coke float as I was so full. This is a coke float with a difference: it has rum and sherry in it. They don’t skimp on their alcohol at the Refinery. There is no watering down of cocktails. The coke float is amazing and different. Very imaginative.

The Refinery is a brilliant restaurant. Definitely go and have a meal there. You won’t regret it.

Rolling Stones Only Contemporary Portrait Series Released in London

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Frostie

Michael Donald has been selected by Ronnie Wood to do new portraits of The Rolling Stones, the only series of contemporary portraits of the whole band to ever be released, to be displayed at Castle Fine Art from 7th Feb – 2nd March.

Half of the series was shot in Stagroves, the house Mick owned in 1971 where the band started to record Exile on Main Street. Ronnie was shot in London and Keith in New York. There are some fascinating stories to be told from the shoot.