by Cedric | Mar 28, 2018 | Food and Drink
Firstly, a caveat, Sabai Sabai is not particularly high. The restaurant can be found, humorously, 69 metres above sea level. But that is as high as it goes, there are no stairs (unless you want to go to the toilets downstairs). I was merely searching for an alliterative title which conveyed the quality of their consumables.
Now, to business. Sabai Sabai has always been a solid choice for lunch in Leamington. They have a lunch menu: two courses for £10.95. Or £12.95 if you go for one of the more luxurious mains. The portion sizes are correct, making it perfect for students.
Being house mother; I often need to interweave my plan with the needs of my children. One such child, Bhaskar, 16 years my senior, needed to view some houses. I combined our final visit with a much needed catch up with another friend: Sattish. We ate and were merry.
For our starters we ate the chicken satay skewers (Kanom Pang Na Gai). This is always a winning dish. The flavours are wonderfully well imbued that I believe the dish was marinated overnight. The sweet & sour sauce paired well. I’m a fan of the explosively cut carrot.
The Squid Tempura (Pla Muek Tempura) was a little salty for me. But I don’t often eat sea fish, so maybe my perspective is skewed.
My spring rolls (Poh Pia Jay) were a treat, though I found the sauce more appetising than the rolls. Perhaps a bit more salt would allay my concerns.
I was too occupied devouring my own main dish to photograph everyone else’s. And that is the sign of a good restaurant, I think. Ped Pad Prik Pow, an alliterative masterpiece made with roasted duck; peppers; rice and everything nice. Simply superb dish. The duck was cooked to perfection, as was the rice. Fluffy but not too sweet. the bamboo shoots were just crunchy enough.
My friends had the Thai herb curry (Pad Kra Prao) and chicken in garlic & pepper sauce (Kra Tiem Prik Thai) and assured me they were both delicious. Bhaskar looked particularly ecstatic.
In all, Sabai Sabai is a restaurant where one will invariably find quality and value. Family owned and service with a smile. This is the place to come when you want a filling lunch but don’t want to spend over £13, as is often the case.
Make sure you take time to look at the selection of drinks available. They are beautifully arranged and feature some bottles in exotic shapes.
Equally, the waiting section (pictured above) and full-wall-fountain behind the stairs are impressive and tastefully arranged.
by Cedric | Mar 20, 2018 | Food and Drink
When I started this blog, I looked to find and laud these rare gems you find. The kind of places that make you whisper “wow” under your breath.
Stoke Bakery is one such place. Secluded in West Coventry, far away from civilisation, my favourite of the two Stoke Bakeries in town opens its doors.
The first question anyone should ask themselves in a new city, aside from where they are going to sleep, is: “where do the locals eat?”. The answer for Coventry is Stoke Bakery. The majority of the clientele each time I have visited have been local contractors and fabricators. The ladies behind the counter operate like a well-oiled machine, executing orders from customers with efficiency and grace.
When you order a sandwich from the deli, you know you’re in for a treat. My flatmate and I were out house hunting, ergo my last visit encompassed a quick visit before moving onto the next property. A sandwich within a sandwich (of house viewings). Sandwichception. I need more sleep.
We had cheddar and chive; chicken tikka and tandory chicken sandwiches. One and a half each: £8 in total. Phenomenal quality and value for money. Making your own bread from scratch reduces production costs dramatically. I make all of my own at home, using flour sourced from A Di Maria and Son. Honestly, these are really super sandwiches. Better than anything you’d be able to buy in town. Homemade bread; fresh fillings made daily; made-to-measure cakes. This bakery is a winner.
by Cedric | Mar 12, 2018 | Food and Drink, General, Goods and Services
One’s Erasmus year rarely includes a lot of studying. There comes a time where one must focus. Sometimes (all the time), the stale air in the library and the three floors of internal suffering and panic don’t make for helpful revision. So I sought out a place with a calm and jovial atmosphere, away from all the dread of Roma Tre library.
It just so happens, not 100 metres from the university, there is a little cafe called Le Storie.
I found it and was amazed. Stefania Stefanini runs the place. Her inimitable charm and grace are a staple of Le Storie. Over the year(s) she has become a dear friend. I went to see her in my brief trip to Rome recently. Le Storie remains a breath of fresh air in the unkempt Quartiere San Paolo.
I spent countless hours of my erasmus here reading; writing; and socialising. Le Storie is friendly and warm. Stefania also stocks a litany of progressive literature as well as all the course books you could ever need. The coffee there is of great quality, unlike the sludge they serve here in England. I must thank my friend Edorado for gifting me a vintage Bialetti.
In all, this is the place to go for a peaceful solution to your mounting workload. Fresh food in ample portions, relaxed atmosphere and excellent coffee. This is the place to escape your university woes for a few hours.
Lest we forget, it is also one of the more beautifully put together cafes in the San Paolo area. A testament to Stefania’s excellent taste.
When you go, make sure to tell Stefania: “Cedric says ti voglio bene!”
by Cedric | Mar 9, 2018 | Food and Drink, General
Something dawned on me when I was Rome recently. There are two periods in my life: before Loffredo and after.
Loffredo’s Pizzeria, run by Gennaro and Gina, is the garden of Eden. Their Boscaiola (sausage meat; provola afumicata) is the forbidden fruit. It opens your eyes. By the second bite, you are self conscious. You’re awake.
In a way it’s unfair because when you fly home, no pizza will ever be the same. The standard has been set and will rarely be reached or overcome. Moving from the metaphorical to the physical – Loffredo’s is far from the city centre. It’s near the end of the A line (Anagnina) but it is well worth the journey. A small restaurant with maybe 40 seats, you’ll fight to get a place. The queue is always around the block with good reason.
Additionally, this is the only restaurant in the world where the owner comes out to the people queuing round the block with a bowl of zeppoline (I won’t spoil the surprise but these are the best things in the world). Gennaro comes out of the kitchen with hot zeppoline and feeds waiting customers. If that isn’t stellar service I don’t know what is.
Described by Air France as having a “generously bulging crust“, the pizza here is truly a marvel. Traditionally, the best pizzas in the world come from Naples. Specifically they come from four Pizza Houses in Naples: Gino e Sorbillo; Dal Presidente; Da Michele e Starita. I suggest you take the time to go to Naples and sample each one in turn. Gennaro’s Neapolitan pizza is second to none in Rome. I was a patron of this pizzeria during my year in Rome. I would go once a week at least and bring my friends. To this day when I come across anyone going to Rome or indeed in Rome, I send them to Loffredo.
If you’re looking for a warm friendly atmosphere with excellent food at dramatically low cost, go to Loffredo.
My last supper in Rome took place there. June 29th 2017. The end of my erasmus year. I spoke with my friends about where we should go for this momentous occasion. Loffredo got a unanimous vote. I will never forget when Gennaro pulled out his acoustic guitar and played “No Cedric No Cry”. An improvement, in my opinion, on the original 1974 Bob Marley and the Wailers classic. Every meal at Loffredo is a treasured memory. If you take anything away from this blog, let it be to eat here.
You will neither regret, nor forget it.
by Cedric | Mar 5, 2018 | Food and Drink
Situated under Garbatella Bridge, this is one of the nicest restaurants I have been to in the Garbetella San Paolo area. Such was my dismay at the general choice in the area that I came to this restaurant with low expectations.
These were exceeded from the moment I walked down the stairs leading to the entrance. This secluded restaurant was really quite a surprise.
You can’t see it, but the table stand is in the shape of a bunch of wheat. That was the first thing I noticed. This restaurant is far enough away from the big tourist attractions and has a delightful decor for such a small place.
My friends Livia and Marco arrived for dinner. We were three spritzes in before the starter arrived. I realised patience would be a necessary virtue at La Maisonette.
I ordered the Aqua Cotta Toscana, which was divine but didn’t photograph well on account of it being brown mushroom soup. One must remember not to judge a book by its cover, especially in cooking. Though, arguably, restaurants have a greater responsibility to present food in an appealing way.
Pictured is Livia’s Tartare de boeuf with barbecue sauce, Ravigote sauce, and sweet paprika. I’m not usually a fan of tartare but this one was a delight.
After an extraordinarily long time, the mains arrived. Thankfully we had ordered a bottle of wine, the only punctual part of the evening, so the wait wasn’t empty. My Larded pork neck, cornmeal mush creme and chanterelle mushrooms was cooked to perfection and superbly flavoursome. I had just eaten at Maccheroni for lunch so I wasn’t ready for mammoth portions. Thankfully these were, as Livia timelessly put it: “fashionably sized potions”.
Meanwhile, Marco ate the Mezze maniche Mancini with Mangalica cheek lard and Amatrice DOP pecorino. The look on his face told me he was thoroughly enjoying it.
The funny thing about La Maisonette is that the food tastes fantastic and is prepared carefully and lovingly, but I cannot comprehend why it takes so long to come to the table. There can’t be more than 50 seats in the whole place. We were one of three tables that evening. This is reminiscent of when I ate at the Naf Beach Hotel in Mtwara Tanzania: one hour to bring me a burger and some fries. I surmised that they then, as La Maisonette does now, went to find a cow to execute before preparing the burger. That’s the only logical deduction for how it takes so long to prepare a meal.
The final inconceivably long wait was somewhat justifiable. La Maisonette has run out of ingredients to make the lemon curd gateau you see before you. This was irritating but fully understandable, having taken one bite of it I knew instantly why it had been ordered by so many people.
Marco and I shared the ricotta and pear pie. Of all the dishes at La Maisonette, this one was the true capolavoro. I’m afraid it was eaten so voraciously that it did not survive for photos. You will have to wander the streets of Garbatella in bemused wonderment at the thought of what this pie could look like.
We ended the evening on a positive and optimally sweet note.
I recommend this restaurant to those living in the vicinity of Roma Tre University. If you’re tired of substandard nutrition at the campus “coffee” shop and its equally disappointing surrounding lunch places, go to La Maisonette.
Failing that, try Ilios; Pappafó or Le Storie.
You can also find La Maisonette Ristrot on The Fork and get 50% off in March!
by Cedric | Feb 24, 2018 | Food and Drink
I’ll paint a picture for you, my friend. We find ourselves at Casa Batlló, the result of a total restoration in 1904, by Gaudí, of an old conventional house built in 1877. A crippling hunger strikes. My stomach overpowers me. I must eat or face the consequences. A quick peruse of TripAdvisor reveals we are within 1km of En Diagonal. The reviews are overwhelmingly positive. I intend to follow that trend.
You could easily walk past it, but it is not a restaurant to be missed. No bigger than my bedroom (kitchen included), En Diagonal was set to surprise us in ways we could not have imagined.
If you’re lucky, you’ll get a table. Once seated we were brought the menu and gasped at the low prices proposed. We did what any sane frivolous person would do and ordered almost everything on the menu. And this time we took an abundance of pictures. Here are some to start us off, an amuse yeux, if you will.
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I shall try to use less sensational language than in the previous post.
The wine-cooked chorizo tasted phenomenal. It was just the right texture. I feared it would be too tender but it was perfect. You want chorizo to resist your chewing. That way, defeating it feels like a victory.
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Next, featuring my dearest’s elegant hands, the garlic butter mushrooms. This is the sort of dish which you have already decided to eat and will continue to eat regardless of how many times you frequent the restaurant, or how many options there are on the menu. Deliciously crunchy, rich and innovative. I’ve never considered just slicing the garlic in the middle (at the back of the plate) and cooking it with mushrooms. What a lot of time I have saved coming to this restaurant.
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I was unsure about pimientos del padre. We had been given one with a foie gras and beef carpaccio canapé at Agua Barcelona two nights before. What I didn’t know was that there are in fact no seeds in these peppers. The salt adorning this dish feels deeply encrusted within the soft skin peppers themselves. Top notch dish.
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Patatas bravas are always showstopping. These were no exception.
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Though we felt as though we were about to burst, we thought it best to order even more food. This time we decided on the ham, and chicken croquettes. They must have had some sort of bechamel (white roux and milk sauce) in them because they were so light yet so filling. It goes without saying that the Iberico ham tasted superb.
I like restaurants where you are served on slates, the dishes keep their heat more effectively and you feel as pretentious as you sound, when eating. Maybe that’s just me.
This place is special. En Diagonal is exclusive; distinctive and honest. You enter and you know you’re in for a treat. The food speaks for itself, it’s high quality is undeniable.
I really recommend it.
