Spicy Basil

Haven't there been some surprises and possibly shocks as the World Cup teams take their first group matches. The ball that got away in England v USA, the poor Ozzie socceroos getting a beating against Germany, a pathetic own goal by Denmark. Though refreshingly some ground-breaking victories for two Asian teams, South Korea and Japan.

And speaking of Asia, one place that doesn't produce a shock is cheap and cheerful Spicy Basil on Kilburn High Street. Our local Thai, all ingredients are fresh and stir-fried with great fervour in view of the punters. You get that intoxicating allure of Thai smells upon walking in; lemongrass, chilli, Thai basil, garlic and fish sauce. High-pitched waitresses sit you down promptly and the menu is easy to get through. It's mainly Green, Red, Yellow Thai curries, Spicy stir-fries, and the evergreen Pad Thai. Just decide on Chicken, Pork, Beef, Prawns or Vegetarian. The room is smoky, crowded, filled with cheesy decor and the token plastic flower on each table. I love it.

Spicy Chicken: basically a stir fry including chicken, red peppers, basil, onion, garlic, pepper and a black sauce I just couldn't crack. I'm guessing a mixture of oyster, fish sauce and stock. There was an underlying barbequed sweetness that was so addictive.

Beef Pad Thai: just as you can expect. Nutty, sweet, tangy and lightly spicy. I love those bouncy noodles that leave a red oily mark on your plate as you slurp them down.

Just a quick entry this time, I'm finding it an exciting challenge to both cover restaurants and watch football games, sometimes simultaneously! Spicy Basil is one of my personal local favourites given it's price, reliability and endearing Thai custom. For 2 main courses and a drink each, a total bill of £11.60 is a clear win! Takeaways and deliveries too.

Soy milk is not just for vegetarians! 

Donna Margherita

Woot woot! Have you caught World Cup fever?

I feel rather sorry for the England team at the moment, after the poor slippery-handed goalkeeper conceded THAT goal.  Still early days though, and apparently the winning team in '66 also drew in their debut match. Come on England!

Whilst down in Clapham for England's first match, we decided to honour Fabio Cappello in a visit to Donna Margherita, an authentic Napoletan pizzeria which received a 5 star rating from Time Out. Having been to Naples in April, I felt empowered by my experience and more qualified to pass judgement. Me, opinionated? Nooooo.

About fifteen minutes walk from Clapham Junction station, it's not on the main strip where most restaurants are in the area. Rustic and welcoming, there are some slightly cheesy touches, such as a food display covered in pizza bases that make you chuckle. Waiters are smiley, welcoming and attentive. The menu is typically Italian, starting with Antipasti, Pasta, Meat, Fish leading into the pizzas.

Pizza Gay: Yes you heard it right. There's also a Pizza Lesbica. Not entirely sure why, is it to promote PC-ness? Diversity? It's a diverse pizza alright. It's actually one pizza with 2 "flavours". One half was almost a plain margherita with anchovies, the other was scattered with rocket, cherry tomatoes, parma ham and giant parmesan shavings. Lush and fragrant from the basil leaves dotted around, these signature Italian tastes are always comforting.

Pizza Prosciutto e Funghi: Ham and Mushrooms to you and me. I was confused on this one, isn't prosciutto thin slivers of ham? We got a kinda english ham here, but maybe that's what it was meant to be. I would have preferred for both bases to be more cracker-like and smoky.

Handmade Seafood Pasta: now this was the business. Nothing really beats seafood juices from prawns, mussels, squid and clams mixing into garlic and tomatoes. This pasta was reminiscent of Puglia, heavier and irregular but nicely al dente. Excellent flavours and possibly one of the better pastas I've tried in London.

Whilst the pasta dish was very enjoyable, I felt slightly underwhelmed by the pizzas and the hype it had been given. Our meal was a bit like the England team, the raw ingredients, the spirit, the flashes of inspiration. It just needs the extra umph to drive those goals firmly and precisely home. But because we see that innate potential we're not wiping it off the list just yet. 2 bottles of wine, 2 pizzas, 1 pasta and a salad was a very doable £25 per head.

Giant Robot

Have I told you there is a little tapas trend going on here in London? Not just the regular stuff though, tapas that has morphed past just little plates of fried potatoes, integrates and introduces different cuisines and reflects how Londoners have changed in their approach to food. It's now much more acceptable to share food, and welcome in the communal fun. Unlike the days when everyone used to order their own and be dying inside with food envy or begrudge someone else for asking if they could try the dish you raved on about. London has embraced family style sharing with pizazz!

London is also unafraid of fusing the previously unfused, re-wrapping in hip packaging. Giant Robot in media-loving hangout Clerkenwell is one such example of this new gastro iteration. Enter the former location of Match bar, it has New York kitch-y retro semi-diner decor. They hadn't put up a cocktail menu when we visited, so offered to make-up any cocktail on request. I think this is a nice touch bars are beginning to do more of.

Notice the funky space-age ceiling!

At first glance it's Italian food served tapas style (sound familiar?). Then upon closer inspection, it's American Italian food served tapas style. Ooohhh, the Hungry Female gets excited with these little discoveries. The hint was in the meatballs and the Baked Alaska dessert. Baked Alaska! I believe these were very respectable in the Eighties. 

The menu resembles one you'd get in a diner. There are Small and Big versions of certain dishes in case you want to behave or super-size it.

First up, a selection of Crostini: basically various roasted vegetables arranged rustically over crostini bread. They were like little kisses from the mediterranean. Some had bits of rocket (or arugula if you were from Nu Yawk) for a peppery kick.

Walnut, Roquefort and Chicory Salad: Yummy, classic and with the perfect vinegary tang. These wonderful ingredients must come from Smithfield's market.

King Prawns: I struggled to get my head around this dish. No complaints what-so-ever with the taste - they were meaty, juicy, garlicky and finger licking fabulous. But at £14.90 a plate they are effectively a fiver each! The thrifty Asian in me perked up it's head as I dipped the prawn back in it's juices and finished it off. Nice, but extravagant.

Butternut Squash Tortellini with Broccoli, Artichoke and Parmesan Shavings: All those words hit my marketing buttons on the head. One of my favourite dishes, I'm a complete sucker for dumpling shaped objects. The butternut squash filling had nuttiness and a hint of nutmeg, and was so aromatic amongst the vegetables.

Giant sausage, served with pancetta, lentils and green pesto: an awesome dish. The sausage was rather German in it's density and powerful, heavy meatiness. I was reminded very much of Mark Hix's Wild Boar Bacon in the uber pancetta beneath. Another favourite dish.

A selection of Beef, Pork and Chicken meatballs: these were really fun, and came with a choice of sauces. We chose spicy tomato for the Beef and Pork and Cream, Parmesan and Truffle Oil for the Chicken. This was tomato sauce you could dip anything into and the meatballs were the proper homemade ones. I wasn't entirely convinced by the white sauce though, I didn't get my usually heady hit of truffle?!

Mackerel with Samphire: I'd been wanting to try Samphire for ages and finally have! They call it Poor Man's Asparagus which is an apt description, and coming from the sea-bed it's inherent saltiness pairs well with fish. Again served with loads of garlic, the samphire lent texture and crunch to the oily mackerel. The dish is usually Sardines, but apparently they couldn't get them that day.

Finocchiona with Rye Bread: With a name like Pinocchio's lost sister, it's one that sparks conversation. A salami style meat, served with pecorino and has a real pepper hit. Has a lovely oily glaze and goes so well with the nutty rye.

Baked Alaska: *drum roll please*! The show stealer, the grand finale, the winner of the food beauty parade! Everyone loves a bit of theatre at the dinner table. Legend has it that Delmonico's restaurant in New York's financial district was the birthplace of this flamboyant delight. Giant Robot's version is nicely updated with a fruity panetone base, and orange liqueur as perhaps a nod to its Italian inspiration. I love how much attention it gets as alcohol is poured over and it flames in bright blue. Delicious. It's light, a mixture of varying softnesses, and creates the perfect crusty case when the meringue on top has burnt off.

A real must try! It's great when places don't take themselves seriously and still put in every effort into food and service. Our waiters were extremely helpful and knowledgeable about the dishes, just chilled out happy people. There are several dishes which aren't bang for your buck, though on the whole it's not bad value for money. Given that we had 3 cocktails, 1 excellent bottle of Montepulciano, 11 dishes and lots of entertainment, I won't yet complain at £40 a head for 3 people. Hurray for global tapas!

Donzoko

Donzoko has been around for yonks on Kingly Street, just off Carnaby Street, and it still does the trick. Service is efficient and sweet, and we stayed right up till closing time that evening without one dirty look.

A traditional Japanese menu without the modern specials, I managed to try some different dishes I wouldn't have otherwise ventured into if it hadn't been for some suggestion by Japanese-loving friend J.

Completely spoilt by my first taste of scallop sashimi at Pham Sushi, I was panting like a desperate puppy whilst scanning the menu at Donzoko. It arrived amongst the other lovely, delicate and slippery raw fish pieces, and was still as sweet as in my first memory.

Tuna Sashimi with Sticky Soya Beans: Little soya beans created cheesy "strings" as we lifted them away from the sashimi. Sweet and savoury in taste, their texture reminded me of the film that goes around seeds in okra. I know that can freak some people out but you have to live dangerously, right?

Grilled Aubergine with Miso Paste: The aubergine skin was slightly caramelised and tore apart perfectly from the mushy and smoky flesh.

Beef Teriyaki: Fantastic flavour but the danger with sizzling dishes is that they can over-sizzle! A little more rawness on the inside would have been better.

Unfiltered Sake: Remember that Sake Tasting at Tsuru? No unfiltered sake mentioned there, so we'd uncovered yet another find. Liquid in the bottles have 2 separate cloudy and clear layers, which are jiggled in front of you to mix and served at room temperature. Delicious, refreshing and suitably Ying to the hot food Yang.

Agedashi Dofu: superbly done. Each tofu piece was coated with feather light crunch, sat in a light salty sauce. I think it was chopped tomato underneath the seaweed that mixed into the broth.

Assorted Tempura: Nice variety of King Prawns, sweet potato, aubergine and turnip. Light batter, without being greasy. It properly comes with that little mound of grated turnip that dissolves into the accompanying sauce. 

My one find and recommendation is the sake alone! What a boozer. I would highly recommend all the I dishes that I tried, they were all well cooked and tasty, unlike some bland places that claim to be authentic. For about 8 dishes, 2 bottles of sakes, 2 bottles of beer, between 3, it came to about £38 each. Not the cheapest but quality stuff indeed.