Dim T[errible]

Sorry its been so long since the last post, but I really haven't done anything very bloggable recently. Lots of visit to the library and rain-dodging on the sofa.

Last weekend my boyfriend mentioned how much he was craving Dim Sum. He spent a while in Asia and LOVES Asian food. More of a Europhile, it isn't a cuisine I tend to get craving for...(bratwurst und bretzlen tend to be my cravings of choice) But I'd happened to walk passed a pretty looking restaurant earlier in the week fittingly named Dim T so I thought it would be a fun Sunday Brunch for us.

 

It started off strong. The decor was clean and modern, it was light and airy and there were plenty of free tables and it was quiet - all good brunching qualities. On the tables were little teapots of soy sauce and little white pots of chilli, along with napkins and chopsticks. I started with a cocktail and Rob had a pot of tea (clearly forgetting the most important rule that the only drinks allow at brunch are alcoholic ones). I had the raspberry and ginger cocktail and it was so delicious. It tasted like melted ice lolly but in the best way possible. I thoroughly recommend it. They bought glasses of tap water to the table too, unasked for, which was nice.

I left the ordering to Rob as I am a Dim Sum novice - placing my food order in someone elses hand is NOT something that comes easy to me. I knows what I likes and I do not like to be food-envious. For a restaurant perputing to specialise in Dim Sum the menu was EXTREMELY limited. Maybe about 10 options? Then a whole other two sides of non-Dim Sum dishes. This did not please me. There was no great explanation of what each dish was, so it was an exercise in blind faith. The restaurant was slowly filling up and we were getting slightly anxious about time (we had a date with beer and Man City at 2) but felt sure that, as Dim Sum is known to be such a speedy meal, we would make it in time for kick off.

The dishes are served by waiting staff who steam the dishes in the restaurant. And when they eventually came they were SUCH a disappointment.

The top picture is of the spinach dish. I am a huge spinach fan, in all its forms, but this was disgusting. The outer casing was thick and slimey and the inside was bland and sloppy. None of these are things you want food to be. They looked like slugs and they did not taste any better than they looked. We had to spit it out. All of the dishes, with the exception of the pork buns, were cased in thick, slimey goo and were really not nice to eat. We were both expecting a variety of types of Dim Sum, but we were wrong. The pork buns were good - the cloud buns were soft and fluffy and the pork was tender and well flavoured. If there had been more like this, it would have been an enjoyable meal. Alas it was not the case and I left feeling ill. It was the worst meal I've had in a long time.

The redeeming features were the decor and the cocktails. Maybe if we'd ordered from the mains section then we would have had a different experience, but if a restaurant calls itself Dim T, then you expect their Dim Sum selection to be their USP, not their other dishes. This has really put me off Dim Sum AND letting other people order for me.

BBQ Brunch.

Giving myself the aim of exploring new pockets of London, I planned on spending Saturday in undiscovered territories. The reality was, starving hungry and very impatient, my boyfriend and I ended up in Soho, just about the most familiar part of London to me. However, we did go somewhere new to us - Bodeans. I shall admit that I am indeed very late to the game here, they've been open for almost 12 years and have branches in Tower Hill, Fulham etc. Having worked in a memphis BBQ restaurant in Camden for a year and being an avid carnivore, my knowledge of smoked meat is quite extensive and I must say, Bodeans does a very good job.

The screens showing the football certainly made this little one very happy. We were seated straight away, which I wasn't expecting, given the time of day and the restaurants reputation as serving some of the best BBQ in London. It seems small but there is a downstairs too so capacity is decent. We started with coffee (a must for brunch!), then had pulled pork, 1/4 chicken and ribs with sweet potato fries and a side of the diablo chicken wings, slightly less brunch-y.

The pulled pork, ribs and chicken were all excellently cooked, super smokey and not at all fatty. the sweet potato fries were also really fresh and managed to be both crispy on the outside and fluffy in the centre. But all of these were outshadowed by the A-MAZING chicken wings. And this is from a girl who doesn't even like meat on the bone. The sauce (which we were twice warned was incredibly spicy) had the most delicious lime undertones and, yes it was spicy, but was not overpowered by heat. In fact, it wasn't as spicy as we were expecting and the heat definitely hits you after. The ranch dressing it came with was good, but these babies were just perfect as they were. Portion sizes are fantastic and we both rolled out onto the streets, to murmer about the chicken wings for the whole afternoon.

Rugby in the Rain.

London's been pretty grey and miserable this week, but I've certainly not been either of those. Grab a sturdy umbrella and some waterproof footwear and I will take you to the park.

On Wednesday, looking for any excuse for a bit of day drinking, we all waded through Regents Park to watch our friends play rugby. To say it was a great game would imply I understood it all, but fortunately I had some knowledgable advisers on the sidelines with me to tell me when to cheer and when to boo.

London, you cheeky cat..

So I was sort of dreading coming back because Christmas had been SO nice, but when I woke up yesterday and looked out of my window London was at her most sunny and glorious best. In one short day she made me once more a sucker for her amazing transport links, her beautiful architecture and bustling atmosphere. I'm not sure how long it's going to last, but right now, I'm truly proud to call her home! Just look at her...

New Year, New Blog.

This seasons festivities have kept me from doing any fun London-based activities as I've been with family for a couple of weeks. So I thought I'd take inspiration from Victoria at LilyLovesLola and share with you 5 things that are making me smile right now.

First: This delicious pea and chorizo soup I had for lunchies with a slab of my mum's amazing beer bread. I'm determined to learn how she makes it before I head back to London!

Second: There is something about sitting inside drinking endless mugs of green tea (I'm trying to force a love of the stuff on myself this year; not really succeeding so far, I'm craving some PG tips) whilst listening and watching the rain that I find SO calming.

Third: Home is great and all, but I am missing the freedom and choice that London brings. I'm going back in a week and I am really excited - even if the next couple of months are going to be very stressful.

Fourth: Having a dog to walk again, albeit only temporarily. I don't know about you but I always feel a bit stupid if I just "go for a walk". I like to have a .point or a reason to a walk. And this little monkey is a perfect reason!

Fifth: My beautiful new camera!! I've bored my entire family by constantly making them pose for me this Christmas. I love the detatchable flash and all the different shooting modes. Even for a total photography novice like myself, the photos come out beautifully.

My apologies for the wonky photos in this post. I'm a complete beginner at this and was feeling quite proud of even attempting to edit code, but I am stumped at how to make it all look neat and pretty.