Kopapa - Fusion for Sharing in Seven Dials

If you like the concept of sharing food (some people really don't , remember Joey Tribiani ;)) you will really like Kopapa 'the home of the most exciting and innovative fusion food in Seven Dials' (near Covent Garden). It is an all-day café, bar and restaurant serving breakfasts and weekend brunches together with a lunch and dinner menu featuring small plates, sharing dishes, main courses and desserts. 

I love sharing small plates, it allows you to taste everything and makes the dining experience much more of a joint experience. The only thing I don't share is dessert ;) I'm of the chocolate-caramel type and if there is too much fruit in my dessert I just consider it less of a treat, it's just too healthy :), it's just not sinful enough. 

We made it very easy for ourselves, we were a party of four and basically ordered all the small plates on the menu with the exception of the Miso sweetcorn and the Tempura spicy dhal inari pocket, and the addition of the salmon salad and two bread baskets. And of course dessert after - not for sharing :)

I find fusion food exciting! It usually means that you will get served combinations you have never had before, or get to taste ingredients you have never even heard of!  And as Kopapa is a sister restaurant of The Providores - which I love - I was expecting good things!

I think it was quite unanimous at the table that the squid was the best dish! The salmon salad was amazing too as were the scallops. We had ordered the Buffalo mozzarella with tomato salad, mint & black vinegar Medjool dates   as well, but that was a bit disappointing due to lack of flavouring, it wasn't seasoned to our taste and lacked some kind of vinaigrette or marinade. Dessert wise I could definitely recommend you the peanut butter parfait with Original Beans 75% Piura Criollo chocolate delice, sea salt caramel & chocolate crumble - it was presented beautifully and tasted like a pimped-out super deluxe snickers :)

Bread basket for 2

The bowl of squid was amazing! Deep-fried sesame & Urfa chilli salted squid, sumac mayonnaise   

The salmon salad

Pomegranate glazed lamb breast with Turkish yoghurt   

Spring rolls of slow roasted tom yum pork, coriander & wombok with lime mayonnaise 

Queenie scallops, sweet chilli sauce & crème fraîche (left) and Warm individual potato & caramelised onion tortilla with black olive & feta dressing    (right)  

Slow-cooked venison

Hansen & Lydersen smoked salmon cone with goat’s curd & tomato 

Peanut butter parfait with Original Beans 75% Piura Criollo chocolate delice, sea salt caramel & chocolate crumble

Two scoops of sorbet

Kopapa Café and Restaurant
32-34 Monmouth Street 
Seven Dials, Covent Garden 
London
WC2H 9HA

Be a Good Egg this Easter!

For the Lindt Big Egg Hunt in support of the charity Action for Children, a 101 giant Easter Eggs were hidden in cities throughout the UK,  and I found a couple in Covent Garden! I took pictures of my favourite ones and looked up the artists on the Big Egg Hunt website. You can bid on one of the artworks and support the charity on the website: http://www.thebigegghunt.co.uk/eggs

My Favourites

Hello Cheeky

Hattie Stewart is a London-based illustrator originally from Colchester, Essex. A self-professed 'professional doodler', her playful style extends itself through art and fashion, working with designers such as House Of Holland, Marc By Marc Jacobs and Adidas. Recently her notoriety has increased due to her project 'Doodle-Bombing', where she draws over the covers of influential fashion publications such as Vogue and i:D. Hattie has recently completed a new project doodling on 14 vintage Playboy magazines.This was approved by Playboy who shared the project on their facebook page. Her current work involves more high-end collaborations.

Dieter-Norbert

Chinese-German artist Peter Ibruegger is best known for his product design range of moustache mugs, sugar bowl hats and bow tie mugs which are being sold in exclusive boutiques in more than 30 countries. 

His extended practice is focused on drawings and deals with questions of identity and desire.

Smiley Stop

Jack Brindley is an emerging young artist living and working in London. Currently studying Painting at the Royal College of Art, Jack’s body of work spans painting, sculpture, photography and print. Interested in the construction of visual and verbal languages, his work explores how expression is generated in relation to its position in society and culture.

His group exhibitions in 2012 included ‘Bloomberg New Contemporaries’, ICA London and Liverpool, and ‘Dromology’, South Square Gallery, Bradford. In 2011 he was awarded a residency by the Architectural Foundation at the South Kilburn Studios

Untitled

Cassie Howard makes paintings that examine the interaction of people within society. She is interested in the role the artist has in directing the viewer.

Cassie’s subjects are people. The figures are sometimes paired with separate paintings of public objects such as park benches, sheds, and rows of trees. The people and objects are always presented within a white space devoid of any surrounding context. The viewers bring their own history to imagine what is missing

SS Eggterprise

Chris Martin spends much of his working day deleting emails from misguided Coldplay fans, but any remaining time is spent tongue to cheek and crayons in hand. Chris also has a vicarious fascination with notions of friendship and love, things he is yet to experience thanks to his unwavering dedication to his art.

His fledgling, yet already impressive career, has seen him work for many major clients, as well as somehow managing to pick up a D&AD Yellow Pencil along the way

Also cool

A Frugal Meal

Charlie Billingham studied Fine Art and History of Art in Edinburgh and then continued his studies in Fine Art at the Royal Academy Schools. His work involves painting and printmaking, as well as making installations which use these disciplines and combine them with objects. Much of his recent work has used sections of late eighteenth and early nineteenth-century etchings by James Gillray and George Cruikshank. Charlie’s work has been exhibited and collected both nationally and internationally.

Because this is the one I wanted to unwrap the most :)

Lindor

For more than 165 years, the Swiss Master Chocolatiers from Lindt have dedicated themselves to crafting the finest chocolate. Their dedication, passion and skill have led to the creation of the exquisite Gold Bunny and Lindor truffles, amongst many other delightful chocolate experiences. Lindt believes in the magic of families and is proud to join Action for Children in The Big Egg Hunt as Headline Sponsor. This egg is a creative representation of our irresistible Lindor truffle filled egg, the perfect blissful Easter treat - sampled throughout the events

All the content about the artists is from the Lindt Big Egg Hunt website, 

photos here are taken by me.

Sake No Hana - Japanese foodie heaven in London

You might have noticed that I really enjoy Asian food and last Friday I got a nice treat from my fiance when we went to now one of my favourite restaurants: Sake No Hana near St. James Park in London. 

(a new favourite in the category 'for special occasions' :) as it is quite a pricey restaurant) 

The interior of the restaurant was designed by the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma who choose to use a lot of light coloured wood which gives the space a warm feel and blonde golden hue.

We started out with a white miso with wild mushroom and red miso soup with asari clams, followed by mirin marinated black cod with chili miso, Chilean sea bass with miso in toban and sliced rib of beef with vegetables, tofu and shiitake mushrooms which was cooked at our table. We choose rice and spinach as side dishes.

All of the food was absolutely delicious, but the beef especially was a dish where both of us just could not get enough from. The taste of the beef that was brought to our table in thin slices - carpaccio style was cooked in front of  us in a hot pot that contained vegetables, tofu and mushrooms as well as a large shot of a marinade based on soy sauce. Absolutely stunning!

Interior by Kengo Kuma

Open kitchen where all the chefs greet you in Japanese when you come in, at least I suspect they  said something like hello or welcome because I don't understand a word of Japanese :)

Love this warm and natural interior! 

Red Miso Soup and White Miso Soup

Top: the Chilean Sea Bass, Bottom: the Black Cod

Wooooo, the beef is being cooked at our table!

Smelling the deliciousness in the making...

Definitely one of the best things I have eaten in a long time! It tasted amazing!

My handsome fiance riding the escalator down from the restaurant as a Boris Johnson look-a-like ;) (for those that wouldn't know him, Boris Johnson is the mayor of London)

Form more information on Sake No Hana
visit http://sakenohana.com/london/

L' Eto Caffe: Afternoon Indulgence In London

What to choose, what to choose, I want it allllll - the cheesecake, the chocolate truffles, the tiramisu yum yum yuuuum - this was racing through my mind when I passed by L'Eto Caffe in Belgravia. 

And even though you can have an amazing healthy lunch there as well, I was most attracted by the 'caffe' for an afternoon cappuccino and dessert - oh I know cappuccino only for breakfast according to Italians, well forgive me this sacrilege ;) 
I guess I should go for a breakfast there and drink the cappuccino then ;) 

http://letocaffe.co.uk/

Brunch at 202 in Notting Hill

I'm a big fan of the Sunday brunch. It is the perfect moment to catch up with friends and hear about their weeks, or Friday and Saturday night escapades.

For a relaxed brunch with the uber-hip crowd in Notting Hill (always a fantastic spot to do some people watching - by this I mean look at their outfits, love the style there), I would recommend you to try 202 on Westbourne Grove .

Mix of concept store and restaurant, it offers a cool collection from clothes, accessories and books to home decoration items. The food in the restaurant is delicious in its simplicity and will leave your taste-buds very content. With personal favourites Eggs Benedict with Parma ham, Warm goat cheese salad with proscuitto, figs and toasted pistachios and Prawn liguini with chili and tomato.

Topshop - The Importance of Being Kate

In 2007, the fast-fashion chain Topshop began its four-year long design collaboration with top model Kate Moss. The collaboration was inspired by Kate Moss’ unique sense of style. The Autumn – Winter 2010 collection was Kate Moss’ 14^th for Topshop and her last. Reportedly Moss decided to end the lucrative partnership because of other commitments.

Notice hottest model of the moment Cara Delevingne in this AW 2010 campaign video!

But it seems that Sir Philip Green (Owner of the fashion retail group Arcadia with brands such as Topshop, Miss Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins) has found himself a new fashion muse, a new Kate, Kate Bosworth. 

The affair started in the winter of 2012 when Kate Bosworth was the face of Topshop's first ever Christmas campaign and fashion film directed by her fiance Michael Polish. She performs the song Winter Wonderland standing on a piano in a fabulous concert hall - a scene inspired by Michelle Pfeifer's piano scene in the film The Fabulous Baker Boys.

Now, Kate Bosworth has taken over Topshop's 2013 Spring-Summer Magazine which she guest edited with her fiance. In the editorial 'A Real Heart Breaker', the lovely actress poses in outfits styled by herself and she is photographed by her fiance Michael Polish. 

For now, she is not designing her own line for the brand, but it wouldn't surprise me if we can expect something to be announced in the coming year...

Coke Light - Marc Jacobs

Remember the article I wrote a while ago about the pimping of the Coke Light cans by Marc Jacobs? Well the advertising machine is coming to full swing with big adverts on those famous London double-deckers and a competition to win a Marc Jacobs bag!