The Modern Pantry

On beautiful sunny days in the capital,  there is nothing better than sitting down for a spot of brunch. Luckily for me, I'm not the only person who thinks that and so, on Saturday, the troops rallied around and we headed to The Modern Pantry in Clerkenwell for a catch up and some excellent food.

I'd never been before, but my two friends Frankie and Rebecca had recommended it and so I was rather excited to see what it was like.

After pouring over the pretty extensive menu, we eventually managed to settle on our orders. 

The moment our dishes arrived, I started getting food envy. Not because mine didn't look great (it really did!) but because everything else looked equally tasty... 

I'd gone for a passionfruit and turmeric smoothy (a brilliant combination as it turns out!) with coconut and cassava waffles, served with a pineapple and thyme salsa, salted peanut brittle and a coconut yoghurt. Cassava, as I later found out, is a root vegetable which if not prepared right, produces cyanide! Luckily however, I managed to survive long enough to enjoy my dish- the combination of flavours was unusual but definitely worked!  

Once we'd polished off our food, we moved on to drinks... Gin iced tea to be precise! 

The menu was full of interesting foods, some of which I hadn't even heard of before which just made me wish I could have had a chance to sample everything. I know sooner or later I will be returning to The Modern Pantry, even if it's just to find out what a tamarillo tastes like! 

Mr Punch's Birthday and VE Day Celebrations

On Sunday, a slightly crazy yet very British event took place in Covent Garden. Puppeteers from all over the country gathered in the small church gardens of St Paul's to put on one heck of a show in celebration of over 300 years of Punch and Judy. 

Stalls vied for space amongst the puppet theatres which lined the church’s garden, wall to striped wall, each a different design and promising a show throughout the day.

As the little garden filled with people, a marching band got ready to parade around the surrounding streets, while all the puppeteers (and a couple of Morris Men) flooded behind them, holding puppets aloft as they marched along.

 The fair kicked off once the 12 o’clock puppeteers church service (a rather jolly affair, complete with a sermon from a man on stilts dressed as Punch) came to a close. I settled down on a small patch of grass as the first puppet show started.

I don’t know if you remember from childhood, but the classic stories of bad Mr Punch tends to go pretty much the same way, no matter where you see a show. He’s either throwing the baby down the stairs while Judy isn’t looking, bonking policemen on the head or having his sausages stolen by a rather snappy crocodile, all while the audience cries ‘Oh yes you did!’ at regular intervals in response to Punch’s squeaky denials of any wrong doing. What hadn’t quite registered when I was little though was just how liberal all the puppets were with whacking each other with sticks, frying pans and the like. Despite this senseless violence however, the show had adults and children roaring with laughter!

Throughout the early afternoon, I happily watched show after show. It was fascinating to see the variety of puppets, theatres and story telling styles which brought this classic form of entertainment to life. What became very apparent rather quickly was just how passionate each and every puppeteer was about their show. Groups of them could be seen huddled together (they were easily spottable in their rather eccentric clothing) all around, swapping performance tips and trade secrets.

After a number of shows (and getting my face painted) I thought it was time to move on. I grabbed a quick Snog (of the frozen variety!) and pottered off towards Trafalgar Square.

Here, the 70^th anniversary of VE day celebrations (the celebration of the end of WWII) were still in full swing. A Palace guard band in their bear fur hats and red jackets were playing on a stage in front of the National Gallery while members of the public lounged in stripped deck chairs in the sun. I stopped to listen before heading on down the Mall towards Queenie’s house, Buckingham Palace.

The Mall was lined with billowing British flags, and on the grass, a number of army vehicles were on display including an incredibly fragile looking hurricane plane! More band music could be heard drifting through the air. An official celebratory event had just finished in a marquee and veterans were walking out to claps and cheers from a waiting crowd. Green Park (the park surrounding the palace) was alive with people out celebrating (and also with some rather interesting wildlife).

I finished my day with a catch up with my friend Sarah in the little café next to the boating lake in Hyde Park. We sat overlooking the lake as the sun started to lower in the sky and the ducks fought with pigeons over crusts of bread. There really is something just perfect about London when the weather warms up- the city and its inhabitants simply come alive in the sunshine. All in all, I’d had a fabulously British day. But hey, in the famous words of Mr Punch, ‘That’s the way to do it!’

Greenwich

This weekend, my Mum and I took a little detour out of the hustle and bustle of central London and instead, hopped over the river to Greenwich.

When I was little, Mum had taken Lu and I here before to see the Cutty Sark, but I have to admit I remembered very little of this trip. This time however, we were just visiting to see what the area was like- recently I have been flat hunting and so trying to get to know some different areas to our normal stomping grounds!

We visited the beautiful grounds of the Old Royal Navel College, popping inside some of the buildings to see the stunning wall paintings and intricate carvings.

Outside, we sat on the grass, listening to a band who were practicing somewhere in the college, their music drifting out of an open window.

Then, like any Brit who feels the slightest hint of sunshine, we headed for ice cream!

We walked away from the Navel College towards the Queen's House. Some of the views we encountered from here were just simply incredible!

It's always great discovering a new area. In a city as large and varied as London, I love how there's always something completely new and different just around the corner...

The Inner Circle: The Club Upstairs at L'Escargot

At the end of March I received a mysterious sounding invitation inviting me to an event hosted by ‘The Inner Circle’. Intrigued, I read on and discovered The Inner Circle was an exclusive and high end dating service for single professionals, which, for three nights only, was taking over the new Soho private members club ‘The Upstairs Club at L’Escargot’, and turning it into a dedicated ‘singles bar’. Now, L’Escargot is a bit of an establishment in itself. As one of the oldest and most revered (not to mention, in my experience, very tasty!) French restaurants in London, this venue definitely aroused my interest in the event. But, since I am happily coupled off with my lovely boyfriend, I decided I would just have to send my little sister Lulu, accompanied by my friend Sarah instead to check out what was going on! So, off they went armed with a camera, to see if they could discover what The Inner Circle was all about.

A few days later, I had a chance to sit down and ask Lulu all about the event. So, with no further ado, let me introduce Lulu, my bubbly, self-confident, 21 year old sister. She’s currently at uni studying Economics and Philosophy and has her job in the city already lined up for when she finishes! Here’s what she had to say on her experience of being part of The Inner Circle…

“The first thing that hit me when entering The Upstairs Club at L’Escargot was the heat. It was stuffy and warm and despite having spent quite some time getting ready, I found myself stripping off many of my layers. The second thing that hit me was the number of people. It seemed everyone had had the exact same idea- our invites had said the event started at 8pm so, in the interests of being fashionably late (and not the only person at the party) we’d all arrived for 9pm. The third (and much more interesting) thing that struck me was how much I liked the décor. The Upstairs Club felt decadent but also modern. For example, there was one small room with red velvet walls which felt almost seedy. But not in a seedy seedy way. It was a cool seedy. Old age glamour, maybe? The main room had a big glass atrium which was just simply very pretty and quite a contrast to the velvet room.

Upon arriving (and since we were ‘press’- thank you big sister!), Sarah and I were presented with a bottle of Prosecco. Then, we went for a wander around the venue.

There were three main rooms in which to mingle. The Inner Circle had definitely chosen a brilliant venue to force people to talk. One room was tiny, three of the walls lined with sofas. You were practically knee to knee with other guests and so it would have been impossible (and definitely rude!) not to introduce yourself. Corridors between rooms were not the widest, lending more opportunities to bump into people and introduce yourself. The Inner Circle had also come up with a clever little ploy to incentivise conversation- if you and a friend managed to both pair up with another person and then all got a photo taken together, then you would be rewarded with a bottle of Prosecco! (Oh, and apparently a photographer from Tatler was there!)

The event was definitely lively. In one corner of the main room, a saxophonist and a DJ played, although I thought it was a shame that they were not made more of a focal point as, tucked away in the corner of the room as they were, it made it quite hard to get up close to the music. Everyone there seemed happy and comfortable, and, a credit to The Inner Circle’s screening policy I’m sure, well dressed and rather good looking. I was definitely having a pleasant time.

The evening The Inner Circle put on at The Upstairs Club was definitely an enjoyable one. I felt that one of its big pluses was that the crowd were definitely well chosen. Pretty much everyone was between 25 and 35, which, although maybe a little old for me personally, lent its self perfectly to its target audience of young professionals. More than that, (although this may have been all that Prosecco’s fault,) everyone I spoke to was interesting and outgoing.

Beyond this, as I previously mentioned, L’Escargot’s new club certainly was a good venue. The maze of comfortable little rooms and narrow corridors meant that bumping into people was easy and intimate. If I had arrived to the event on my own, I wouldn’t have been uncomfortable as sooner or later, I would have started chatting to someone! However, arriving as a pair was definitely ideal as you could easily walk around together without being too intimidating to approach! 

There were however a couple of drawbacks which I feel I should mention. As I said, the heat initially was pretty unbearable when the rooms were at their busiest, which seemed a shame after so much effort had been put into getting ready! Luckily however, as the room calmed down, it got cooler. Additionally, I noticed that the cloakroom appeared to be somewhat unguarded and open to anyone on the occasions I attempted to put in my bag. In the end, concerned for my belongings, I opted to carry them around for the evening! There also didn’t seem to be any games or activities (which had been mentioned on the invite) going on. It may be possible that I missed them since there were so many people and since I left at about 11, but if they started any later then that would have been a bit of a shame as a fair few people would have missed them.

All in all, I had a very enjoyable time exploring The Upstairs Club with The Inner Circle. Next time however, I’ll be sure to bring a smaller bag and a fan!”

The Cocktail Trading Company

Last Friday, I *finally* got a chance to go to a bar that I have been very keen to visit ever since I first heard about it opening- The Cocktail Trading Co. Now, I’d tried to go to the Cocktail Trading Co. twice previously but, first time I made the mistake of not standing in the (at the time, rather short) queue, and the second time I just got there far too late- the queue was out the door! However, this time, luck was on my side!

In a tiny basement pretty much bang opposite Liberty, down a narrow, slightly rickety staircase The Cocktail Trading Co resides with its truly remarkable menu.

It comes in a tiny book and each cocktail listed is accompanied by a detailed illustration of what to expect. I looked through it slightly incredulously- some of the drinks just looked impossibly fabulous!

I started with a ‘Sauvignon Private Ryan,’ which, consisting of sherry and apple brandy, turned out to be totally and utterly delicious. It came dressed with some micro basil, mint and another purple herb I didn’t recognise, as well as a surprising sprinkle of a kind of fruit a fibre mix and a pair of smoking matchsticks!

My friend Immy went for a Tu-Whit-Tu-Whoo-Woo which tuned out to be a bubbly concoction in an owl tumbler, garnished with a healthy dose of candyfloss…

James tried a Scouts Honour, which much to our delight, came with a skewer of toasted marshmallows which were melted in front of us by a chatty (and rather entertaining) barman. Not only that, there was a small flat tin stuck in the ice on top. I won’t tell you what was inside as it would ruin the surprise, but it had us giggling into our cocktails to say the least!

Unable to avoid the lure of that little illustrated menu (and of course, because the company was too much fun to leave) we decided it was perhaps time for seconds.

After much umm-ing and ahh-ing I finally settled on a ‘Welcome to Kentucky, have a nice day.’  This rather extravagantly named tipple turned out to be more of an alcoholic meal than a simple drink as piled on top was a hearty handful of dried, flavoured noodles, dusted with icing sugar!? Somehow, this worked pretty well and I happily munched my way through my drink.

Immy’s second drink was a Violet Fizz which came (I guess kinda unsurprisingly by this point) in a rather tasteful shade of lavender. The top was decorated with more mystery herb, broken meringue and an edible flower! These drinks were seeming more and more edible works of art and I almost felt guilty as I dismantled them to slurp them up!

Needless to say, I really enjoyed my experience at the Cocktail Trading Company. The staff were wonderful (thank you for the extra marshmallows!) and the drinks really quite special (and not too expensive at £9 each!) – the whole experience was definitely worth the wait! So if you find yourself near Oxford Circus, definitely go and if there’s a queue, just wait- this bar is most definitely worth it!