It's that time of the year ! (part 2)

Ho, ho, ho !

After trying to get you in your kitchen to make a beautiful Christmas dinner let's go out to enjoy the London Christmas spirit!

During this time of the year, every city lights up and gives us the most magical atmosphere possible. In spite of the lack of snow, London surely gives a nice try to the Christmas feel. Have a walk on Oxford street, Carnaby street and of course Covent Garden.

Enjoy Harrod's window display making us feel as little children dreaming about fairy tales, princesses and spells.

But the best place remains Winter Wonderland! Hyde Park transformed in how Santa's city must look like (if he actually lives in Germany). Fancy a roller-coaster ride? Or are you more of a cosy mulled wine drinker? Crêpes? Have you always dreamed about going to Octoberfest?

Winter Wonderland is a funfair mixing everything said above and even more. If you are in the mood of getting an adrenaline shoot, the many many attractions will perfectly suit you. I am sure that you will find the perfect one for you. You can also have a nice ice-skating experience. Or visit the Magical Ice Kingdom.

All this blends with a cute Christmas Market selling all type of ornaments and food!

But the funniest place in Winter Wonderland is definitely the German Chalet! Kind of a replica of the Octoberfest spirit with kitsch live german band playing absolutely every type of music. Think beer and sausages, drunken happy people and friendly faces, loud music and wooden deck.

Having myself done the Octoberfest, I recommend this place to any of you whom would like a bite of it!

In conclusion, if you need some Christmas fun and a lot of mulled wine, go to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park! The best place to be for some holiday fun!

www.hydeparkwinterwonderland.com

 

It's that time of the year ! (part 1)

Ho ho ho, it's Christmas all over London!

First of all, let's talk about the new place-to-be in Notting Hill: JB&M's Private Dinner.

As everybody is going back home for Christmas, JB (my flatmate) and I decided to throw this little dinner party to say each other goodbye and enjoy an experimental home-made meal (we cooked a turkey for the first time in our entire existence) with a few friends.

Christmas is all about sharing a magical moment with people you love. So we did our best to offer a nice menu:

Special thanks to JB for being an incredible cookmate, Gab for being the best Conchita, Niccolo for the Bossa Nova, our guests for showing up and enjoying the meal, the kitchen for surviving the preparation and Mr Locksmith for helping us getting out of the building ;)

Appetizers
Home Made Mulled Wine

Salmon and Chive Rolls

Devils on Horseback

Cherry Tomatoes, Buffalo Mozzarella and Their Friend Basil

Meat Platter

Starter

Autumnal Salad with Honey-Mustard Dressing

(Blue Cheese, Pears, Walnut)

Main Course

Turkey à l'Orange

with

French Beans, Roasted Potatoes, Wild Mushrooms, Buttery Chestnuts and Roasted Peaches

Cheese Platter

Gorgonzola

French Camembert

Goat Cheese

Dessert

Tarte Tatin, Whipped Cream

Throwing a Christmas dinner is a lot of work but most of all, a lot of fun! So I hope this post will inspire you to do the same !
To be honest, we partied the night before and had only 4h sleep... and from 11am we never left the kitchen. So if we managed to do all this in that shape, I am sure that anybody can do it as well!
You'll just need bit of Jazz and a Bossa Nova kitchen utensil jam to get you in the perfect mood!

Merry Christmas to all of you !

Appetizers

Turkey à l'Orange... not ready yet!

Buttery Chestnuts

JB&M, Cooks and Crowns

Still not ready!

Mushroom mix ready to cook!

Dinner ready!

Tarte Tatin JB&M's Style

Kitchen disaster...

Kitchen disaster!

Valentino Exhibition in Somerset House

If you love high couture fashion you will certainly love the Valentino exhibition at Somerset House. Don't worry you still have plenty of time to have a peek, it ends on March 3th 2013.

 

Valentino is one of the most famous faces in the fashion industry. You girls all know how breath taking his dresses are.

This exhibition recounts the history of his most famous models from the 60s till nowadays. Also showing us some techniques used to create some of his incredible pieces of art.

The exhibition is organised by colour, same shades put together. Dresses from different times shown side by side. It is incredible how fashion is cyclic. Some outfits from the 60s are totally wearable today. Cocktail dresses from the 70s would still be a hit nowadays. I think this is how you distinguish a real fashion artist from a random one.

I fell madly in love with some dresses back as I am obsessed with backless dresses. Details were incredible, hand-painted patterns, laces insanely delicate and a wedding veil that could make cry the most insensible soul.

Go have a look if you are into fashion, but I warn you, you will need to restrain your shopping cravings after that...

Greek Street Hidden Pub

By now you should know my passion for hidden places. Being somewhere few people know makes you feel privileged in some way. London is certainly one of the best city for these kind of gems.

Today I'll tell you everything about this mysterious blue door in Greek Street, Soho. Greek street is a nice street in Soho filled with bars and restaurants. But in between of all these restaurants and known places a very common blue door is waiting for you. Behind this traditional door you'll find a classic residential building. Find your way to the basement and you'll arrive in a tiny pub filled with regular customers.

Don't go there if you are craving for nice Champagne and fancy cocktails. This rough place is nothing but completely British with football posters on the ceiling, a big dog guarding the door and an owner who'll wonder who the f*** you are. The place is small, with crappy furniture that makes you feel that you are lost in some small town in the countryside.

I loved it! It has a real unique soul. Come with a bunch of friends for an unpretentious glass of wine, you can easily speak to each others and make friend with the customers. Be yourself, nobody will judge you, even if you are wearing that ugly sweatpants of yours. Have a smoke in the courtyard with your bottled beer and if you are lucky enough some musicians will appear, push the tables in a corner and start playing to make you move in rhythm spilling your drink all over the place.

It is nice once in a while to be surrounded by smiley people in a simple atmosphere. If you are looking for somethig So British, this is the place to be !