1. In the Hindi language “Bas” means aroma and Mati means “full of”

2. Basmati is only grown in the Northern Indian states of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and parts of western Uttar Pradesh, Jammar and Kashmir

3. Only one crop of Basmati rice can be grown per year

4. 2.2 million tonnes of Basmati is exported to 100 countries every year

5. Basmati is unique in it’s characteristics of being exceptionally long and slender

6. The average volume expansion of Basmati rice is 3.5mm

7. The minimum cooked rice length is 12mm

8. Basmati rice is gluten free

9. Basmati rice is sodium, cholesterol and fat free

10. As well as boiled and steamed Basmati can also be ground for use in cooking. Take a look at a simple recipe for Chawal-E-Zohara here.

Simple Instructions for putting meat in belly.

1. Go to Harrods
2. Stand at Butcher’s block and demand meat
3. Decide on cut
4. Decide on price or size
5. Decide on cooking
6. Sit at counter
7. Watch steak cook
8. Slice, sauce, swallow
9. Meat is in belly

Sides and wine are optional, we recommend the triple-cooked fries, creamed spinach and a bottle of the Barbera del Piemonte 2010.

neon verdict: Go! Go! Go!
No frills, no waiters, no perusing menus, no amuse bouche, no starters, not even any bread. This is all about the meat. A butchers block waiting for your cut that hangs behind the head of the butcher/Chef. The only distraction from the 21-day dry-aged Aberdeen Angus beef are the shoppers peering over your shoulder at your plate. Get a table around the side or keep your Laguiole knife brandished high.

Montezumaʼs Real Chocolate Club is the ʻchocolate by postʼ concept from the award-winning British firm.

For £19.99 the recipient will find 600g of chocolate on their doorstep, literally, thanks to their letterbox friendly packaging.

In each box there are 3 different flavoured bars plus 3 individual sets of truffles that are often new creations that recipients will be the first to taste.

Expect truffle flavours like Eton Mess, apple crumble and milk chocolate and dark chocolate lemon meringue and bars in interesting combos of milk chocolate with salted peanuts and butterscotch, treacle tart milk chocolate and dark chocolate with orange and whole hazelnuts.

You can sign yourself or someone else up for one delivery or as many as you like for a one-off payment, alternatively you can choose the ‘rolling’ option where the chocolates just keep on coming… and it might just keep slipping your mind to cancel it…..

Nicholson’s historic pubs have been serving real ale since 1873 and have put together the ‘Seven Ales Of Christmas’ range.

Each of Nicholson’s 80 pubs nationwide deliver the ultimate ale experience with Cask Marque accreditation and fully trained experienced Cask Masters. Find your local and work your way through this festive list.

I Can’t Believe It’s Not Rudolf (4.8% – White Horse Brewery) – A fiery red beer with caramel and biscuit overtones, complimented with a mulled candid peel and citrus from the mountain of Willamette hops.

Elf Indulgence (5.5% – Cropton Brewery) – Developed from a complex blend of seven different English Malts and four different additions of English noble hops, its deep roasted flavours provide a surprising hint of coffee. The ale also provides a subtle aroma of spice and fruit.

Nollaig Mohr Brew (4.5% – Kelburn Brewery) – The smooth reddish coloured ale provides a hint of spice with a satisfying floral aftertaste.

Auld Saint Nic (4.3% – Rudgate Brewery) – The chestnut coloured bitter provides a full malt flavour and balanced bitterness with complex fruit and a slightly spicy nose. The main grist is pearl malt with oats rather than wheat to aid the creamier head retention and crystal malt and a touch of roast barley provides a rounded nutty flavour.

Gold, Frankincense and Moor (4.8% – Moor Beer Company) – An un-traditional addition to the collection, this exotic tasting beer is fit for a king. The spicy character is complemented with just the right balance of smoked malt, and is unfined to retain all the goodness and produce a beautiful opacity with its full flavours.

Ho Ho Soho (5.1% – Brentwood Brewing Company) – This smooth, rich and dark ale is full of spicy notes and a hint of citrus and orange.

St. Nich’s Tipple (4.3% – Itchen Valley) – Otherwise known as Santa’s gift to himself! A unique and luxurious brew displays an alluring red hue when held up to the light. Lingering hints of orange and cherry sweetness are balanced nicely by the punchy Admiral and Stirling hops, providing a sharp, fresh and fruity seasonal choice.

With places such as Allpress, Prufrock and Penny University it is all about the beans but for those who like to eat just as much St ALi is a rare combo of the two.

St.ALi is in the tardis space that used to be Dust nightclub. The interior has retained an industrial feel but benefited from some polishing up and customers can sit on the ground floor tables, the circular coffee bar, or the quieter upstairs.

The menu is served all day so if you fancy a breakfast at 5pm of House-braised Beans on Sourdough Toast with Salted Ricotta, Lemon, Mint and Truffled Mascarpone (£6.35) you know where to go.

Lunch serves similarly interesting food such as the vegetarian Caramelised Sweet Potato Tart with Snow Pea Shoots and Herb Salad (£6.35) followed by desserts like Chocolate Jelly or homemade cakes.

St.ALi’s roastery dominates the back of the ground floor behind the coffee bar. The aroma from the roasted beans is amazing at all times of the day and if you get there at the right time you can watch the roastery in action (no doubt they would be very happy to explain the process). The beans vary from day to day according to which are good at the time and this reflects in the taste; our lattes were so good we had two in succession.

Neon Rating: Go! Go!
Finally somewhere with really good coffee and really good food. We’ll go back with a group of friends and make use of the huge wooden table upstairs for a long boozy brunch.

Thank you to Cherie City for the photo.

We recently tried a brand new chunky granola breakfast cereal called FUEL which was created to give people a boost in the morning.

It may not have quite the wake up call of caffeine and taurine based drinks but we can vouch that they achieve a pretty reasonable boost through their guarana and vitamin packed cereal, ideal for the morning after all these Christmas parties which are beginning to creep up on us.

The cereal comes in two varieties; ‘Fruit Loaded’ with cranberries, redcurrants, apple, peach and strawberry and ‘Chocolate Chunks’ with pieces of 70% cocoa dark chocolate. Both were really tasty with big chunks of granola, fruit and chocolate that absorbed just the right amount of milk without going soggy.

Here’s their sporty looking website and if you spot it in the supermarket give it a go.

Where
La Brasserie
272 Brompton Road, SW3 2AW
0207 581 3098

What
Rossmore rock oysters (Jersey) – £25 for 12
The plump bivalves were well shucked perfect for mopping up with the delicious sourdough. They came with lemon, shallot vinegar, tabasco and worcestershire sauce.

***

Steak Tartare – £19.90
This was our favourite main because it epitomised what La Brasserie is good for; hearty classic simple French dishes. The portion was large and came with an order of tasty thin crispy frites. The tartare itself was well seasoned and the soft minced steak contrasted well against the slight crunch of the gherkins and onions.

Hamburger Holstein – £16.90
A classic Holstein is a super savoury combo of meat, anchovy and caper laced with the smoothness of egg yolk. This egg was cooked perfectly but unfortunately the anchovy and capers were hidden on one corner of the burger and lost in the huge weight of the meat. The whole dish did not seem to work together maybe because the meat itself was dry despite using chopped steak which you would expect to be moist when cooked medium. The dish also came with a basket of frites.

Drink
Tap water – free
3 glasses of Champagne – £11.50 each
2 glasses of Fleurie – £7.50 each

Atmosphere
We visited at 8pm on a Tuesday evening and the place was packed, full of locals and a good mix of clientele. The dining room itself is classic brasserie with mirrors, arty French posters, a shiny brass bar and big open glass frontage with tables on the street. The black and white clad waiters were attentive, formal and knowledgeable about the menu and wine. We began with some drinks at the bar (independently called Pierre’s) and then moved to the dining area which added some occasion to the evening.

Offers
Monday Nights – £38.50 for Chateaubriand with frites and Béarnaise sauce for two
Pierre’s Bar – cocktails are 2-4-1 between 5-7pm every day, Sunday nights £6 each between 7-11pm

Verdict
GO!
This is a neighbourhood restaurant for people popping in for supper without much occasion but popular as such so you are guaranteed an atmosphere. The food is good if you order simply and don’t want anything too elaborate, while the kitchen is skilled you have to choose wisely as too many ingredients let it down as with our Steak Holstein proving 3 ingredients too much. We would return on a Monday for the Chateaubriand offer.

Neon were guests of La Brasserie

An estimated 1% of the UK population suffers from gluten intolerance and The British Medical Journal (Feb 09) suggests that as little as 25% of individuals with coeliac disease are diagnosed so making voluntary gluten-free choices may be worthwhile.

The ex-City worker founder of b-tempted eats gluten-free by choice and has created a range of bakery items. Neon tried the Bites in two flavours, White Chocolate, Lemon and Cashew and Dark Chocolate and Hazlenut. Although not particularly sweet nor moist both were examples of a tasty handmade product sensitive to health made in interesting flavours; a combination not often found and worth choosing next time you want to pick up a something sweet.

b-tempted can be found in Fortnum and Mason, Harrods and Whole Foods Market, Parsons Green, Islington and Sloane Square.

Bites as pictured are £2.50 rrp.

Paul Hollywood’s face is familiar thanks to BBC2’s hit series ‘The Great British Bake-Off‘ yet he has built a reputation as one of the best artisan bakers in the UK having worked as Head Baker in hotels including Cliveden and The Dorchester.

To try some of Hollywood’s breads go to the Boulangerie and Pattiserie in Harrods where the Paul Hollywood Artisan Bread Company supplies the store with original and exclusive varieties.

Harrods new Boulangerie and Patisserie has moved to a different part of the store with ranges combined and condensed to one area to make shopping easier. Half of their products are freshly made in-house every day and the other half is provided by lines from suppliers such as Royal wedding cake baker Fiona Cairns, Little Venice, Lola’s Cupcakes and multi-award winning chocolatier William Curley.

Paul Hollywood’s exclusive line includes knobbly Olive Sticks (£1.50) made from white bread laced with chunky fresh green olives that are a perfect dinner party purchase, a pungent Truffle Ficelle (£1.25) divine with mushroom pâté and Cheddar and Apple Sourdough (£2.95) delicious on it’s own.

Hollywood’s original line of breads include an amazing Stilton and Walnut bread (£2.95) made with Colston Basset and packed with walnuts, delicious toasted, with the crust letting way to dense soft dough and pockets of oozing cheese.

Where
@Siam
48 Frith Street, W1D 4SF
0207 494 4511

What
Ruam Mittr (mixed appetizer plate for 2) – £13.95
This came with corn fritters, chicken satay, pomelo and prawn salad, spring rolls and a Dokk Jokk basket (a flower shaped mould used with sweet and savoury batter).
The star on the plate were the corn fritters with red curry batter and an aromatic syrup; a moreish combination of crispness with the chew from the corn and sweetness from the syrup.
The satay was excellent and a refined version of skewers with gloopy sauce. These were generous portions of moist marinated breast with an almost dry satay coating.
The spring rolls and Dokk Jokk basket were not as impressive. The rolls were long and thin and more like breadsticks so the sparse filling was lost and the basket was more of the same fried flavour.
The pomelo salad with prawns was a welcome cleanser from the fried foods served in bite-size lettuce leaves and a delicious and fresh combination of sweet and sour.
Overall it was a generous starter with a interesting mix of dishes at a reasonable price.

Goong Mayonnaise (prawn tempura with mayo) – £6.95
What made this dish stand apart from other prawn tempura was the Thai touch of a sweet honey glaze. The honey cut through the mayonnaise and balanced the salt in the batter making this simple touch definitely worth trying.

Gang Phed Pad Yang (duck red curry) – £11.95
The red curry was very mild and the addition of lychees, pineapple and grapes took the spice down even further. The result was very tender slices of duck breast in a creamy fruity sauce. The sauce was delicious soaked up in the rice but if you do not like overly fruity curry do avoid however for a delicate take on a duck dish this worked well.

Poo Nim Kra Taem Prik Thai (soft shell crab) – £10.95
The soft shell crab was big and spiky and crunchy and coated in a lip-tingling garlic and zingy pepper sauce with refreshing garnish slices of starfruit. Although the portion was big we still fought for the last piece.

Salad Goong Lai Suea (tiger prawn salad) – £12.95
The huge tiger prawns were the main course favourite. Slashed and grilled they were upturned and drizzled with a Thai pesto sauce; a delicious punchy green citrus dressing.

Steamed Jasmine Rice – £2.50
A generous portion of hot fluffy steaming rice.

Drink
Prosecco – £25.95
Tap water – free

Atmosphere
We visited at 9pm on Saturday and being right in the middle of Soho it was as busy and buzzing as you would expect. The crowds were mainly groups with some big tables sharing lots of dishes. The dining room decor is a modern Thai mix of purple, brown and gold with minimal fixtures, fittings and crockery. It is as bright as the Soho lights outside which is slightly intense but suits the atmosphere in and out of the restaurant. The service is very good with lots of staff and the layout of the room means you would never struggle on catching someones eye.

Offers
Lunch menu for £8.95
Pre-theatre menu for £12.96
Current Toptable offer of 25% off food bill

Verdict
GO! GO!
A great option for eating some interesting and modern Thai dishes and we would definitely return to try more of the unusual menu options. Large portions and dishes suited for sharing means this can be an affordable option in the west end where you are guaranteed greater quality than the majority of nearby Chinatown.

Neon were guests of @Siam