Punjab House - No Frills Curry in Balham

The Holy Cow spoils us. They aren’t just a take-away-service. They deliver tandooris of comfort and joy that have got us all hooked like smack fuelled mackerel. Whenever our moods are low the HC lifts us up like a whack of valium.

But we’ve begun to worry that we might be exhibiting signs of addiction such as “borrowing curry money” and having our supplier on speed dial. So we decided to go cold turkey on the Holy Cow for a week or so and experiment with some of the local curry dealers in Balham.

No sooner than we ditched the good stuff than we found ourselves in the Punjab House. If Holy Cow is Selfridges, then Punjab House is a cash and carry on the outskirts of Watford. Their imaginative tinsel decorations stay up all year round, the restaurant is typically empty and the lighting would make a prison look like an artist’s studio. But the main selling point is their dramatic closure for a "rodent infestation" at the beginning of last year.

Alex and I were oblivious to the health inspector’s damning report when we visited. (This could explain the owner’s deep suspicion of a posh chap taking photos in his deserted restaurant!)

The food is served from a small canteen by a very quiet lady. We thought it would have been rude not to sample all of the dishes, so we smiled at the lovely lady with ladle and got stuck in.

The food was surprisingly good. Richly spiced. Distinctly flavoured. And deliberately simple. They all looked muddy and boring, but tasted fresh and alive. We particularly liked the thought that had gone into the names of the dishes.



“Chicken with ginger” was light, boisterously spiced and generously chickened.



“Lamb with ginger” was identical, but for the tender chunks of meat that studded the sauce. It was one of the better lamb curries I’ve had for some time in a frugal, authentic sort of way.



“Chicken on the bone” was impressive. My lips smarted from a burst of chilli heat, almost before the sauce had made contact. But the heat was as transient as the chicken was tender. It brought back a painful memory of a friend’s mother who always asked the Nepalese takeaway for her chicken Madras to be made with breast meat only. (No. No. No.)



“Mixed vegetable curry with chickpeas” was a rich and filling spicy vegetable stew that puts most vegetable curries to shame. It was almost identical to the tin foil tub of veggie curry we bought on the train from Ernakulam to Goa and brought back a flood of memories that revolved around dodgy massages, tea plantations and awesome food.



“Lamb with spinach” looked like the slimy green moss you get on the rocks that pop their heads up above the tide on the beech. Luckily, it tasted great. Mildly spiced, but deeply flavoured.

But the best was still to come. As we chatted to the owner about the fact that he doesn’t care where his produce comes from and thanked him for a memorable supper he asked us to clear our plates away with an aggressive waft of the hand. Feeling stumped, we diligently scuttled back to our table, stacked our plates, wiped the table with a napkin and delivered the plates back to the counter. We then left in a fit of giggles with a bizarre new addiction to Punjab House.

Punjab House isn’t for the faint hearted. Their hygiene track record is far from squeaky clean and their manners are hilariously bad. But they make a very decent curry for hardly any money at all. So if you are looking for a back alley curry fix in Balham, Punjab House is the den for you.

Balham - Comings and Goings

New restaurants and foodie ventures are popping up around Balham like zits after a bath in engine oil. It's only adding to the much derided claims that Balham is becoming the new Notting Hill. What more would you expect from an area that is the birthplace of Ainsley Harriot.

Following the recent opening of Light of Gurkha, Balham has now been blessed with a new Italian restaurant called Locale which "offers comfortable dining in an intimate atmosphere with a warm feel." It looks pretty decent and can be found a short walk to the south of Balham station.



Nearby, the Blue Pumpkin has closed. Boo.



But, wipe away that tear, because "The French Cafe" is taking its place...



Almost without us realising it, Meze has appeared opposite Paddyfield with initial reports suggesting it's "pretty good".



But most excitingly, Chadwick's has moved locations so that it can be closer to Cowie's house. We've become big fans of their meat, in particular their lamb and chicken. Their new site, opposite Waitrose, is far more spacious allowing them to exhibit their amazing carcasses in a special cabinet at the back which I had to be forcibly dragged away from!



Well done Balham. We're looking forward to seeing what happens next. In an ideal world an awesome coffee shop/bakers/deli would open next to Holy Cow... fingers crossed. Just so long as it's not an Ainsley Harriot noodle bar.

Light of Gurkha, Balham

We're spoilt in Balham by the Holy Cow. Their curries come up trumps time and time again. I often make the short walk to pick up our food just so I can see the chefs in action as they knock out hundreds of dishes a night. Their lamb achari never fails to wow me. The only problem is, you can't eat in.

And that's where the Light of Gurkha comes in. It has taken up where Nanglo left off. The site has been given a fabulous makeover and is now bedecked with pink upholstery and dark wood that make it seem more like a Virgin Atlantic departures lounge rather than a Nepalese curry house. They have copied the smoking area from the Clarence next door to great effect. It gives the space at the back a purpose. A lot of care (and money) has been invested in bringing this restaurant back to life. And it has worked.

Feeling ravenous after Cowie's triathlon (supporting is hard work too!) we didn't hold back. Tandoori chicken and lamb chops were fantastic starters. The meat was juicy in the middle and crusted with charred spices on the outside. It has inspired us to give them a go in our clay oven. Maybe if we ask them nicely they will give us the recipe...

Cowie's chicken saag was delicious. The iron in the spinach seemed pretty appropriate given Cowie's athletic exertions earlier in the day. A smokey aubergine dish was just as good and has been earmarked for future consumption.

I decided to benchmark their lamb achari against the Holy Cow's where the slow cooked shoulder meat yields and melts like lamby butter. Here, the achari was sharper with a flavour that is very similar to the lime pickle you load onto your popadom. This is far from surprising, given that the dish is based on "achar" which is a way of pickling vegetables in oil. I'm in no position to say whether the Light of Gurkha or the Holy Cow serves a more authentic lamb achari. My hunch is that the Light of Gurkha might be more true to its roots because it has a punchier taste profile than the more rounded version from across the road. They are both good. They are both different. And if push came to shove I'd side with the Holy Cow.

Spiced pumpkin had the potential to be fabulous, but could have done with being cooked until the flesh was more tender and the flavour had a chance to explore its potential.

The service was excellent. We'd heard that they had a few problems with their first batch of staff, but these teething problems seemed to be ironed out now. Whilst it wasn't packed, the people around us were all murmuring contentedly about how impressed they were with the food. I've got a feeling The Light of Gurkha is going to become our regular curry house and am excited about them guiding me through the world of Nepalese food.

The Light of Gurkha,
88 Balham High Road,
SW12 9AG,
02086734160

The Avalon

Nearly. So very nearly. But not quite.

Being the proud Balhamites that we are, we greeted the glitzy arrival of The Avalon to the hungry shores of Balham with great expectations. Having witnessed at first hand what the triumvirate of owners (Tom Peake, Mark Reynolds and Nick Fox) can do with a disgusting wreck like the Stonhouse we were keen to see what they would do with a much more salubrious starting point.

To date The Avalon has been reviewed favourably by the London Restaurant Review , The Metro and The London Paper, as you will see on their site. But with less enthusiasm by The Independent and The Telegraph which understandably you won't see on their site. All reviewers had visited with high hopes but had left feeling frustrated. Our experience didn't buck this trend.

We took advantage of their 50% offer through TopTable, just as we had with The Stonhouse, and visited on a bleak mid February Monday, expecting to be some of the only diners. We used to know The George well. It was the sort of pub you slip into for a spot of sport watching or to win their pub quiz. But not much more. It was badly decorated and tired. The Avalon, in contrast, is dazzling and smartly tiled by a designer with a keen eye. But once you see through the smoke and mirrors of the Lawrence Llewelyn-Bowen effect you suddenly remember you are sat in the far corner where you used to get smashed in the pub quiz. Whilst the walls and ceiling are lovely, the budget clearly hadn't stretched to the floor which has been covered in a textured lino. But fuck the literal highs and lows of the decor. We were here for their half priced food!

By sheer chance we were seated next door to Cowie's wonderful sister, Victoria, who was on an impromptu night out with two of her friends. This brilliantly gave us a sample of 5 meals rather than 2 to base our review on.

Things started well. Cowie's venison carpaccio was a work of genius. Deep purple and richly gamey. It was a stunning dish that we are keen to copy at home. It had Cowie beaming with joy as she realsed I was wallowing in a pit of food envy.

My crab and chili linguine wasn't as good. It arrived, redolent with potential. But the kitchen had decided not to season it. And not to bother with a squeeze of lemon either. I had a word with the waitress who very swiftly brought me a lemon so I could rectify things. With the acidic lift of the lemon and some salt and pepper the dish became a joy. But this isn't how to do things! I suggested my tweaks to the waitress who took them on board and pointed out that we were the first group to try their new menu.

Steaks are a speciality of the Avalon. Or so they claim. But I've heard mixed reviews about them. Some say they are phenomenal. But a number of friends in the area have been so disappointed they've had them knocked off their bill. So my decision was easy. My medium rare rib eye steak was more medium well than rare. But in fairness it was a fantastic piece of meat that just needed less cooking and more seasoning. However, it played second fiddle to the most divine bernaise sauce I've ever had the honour of dipping a piece of marbled steak into. Smooth, glossy, slightly sharp and spiked with tarragon, it was worthy of the Saatchi Gallery as a work of art.

The chips were excellent. Thin and crispy. Another excellent medium for the bernaise sauce that sat there looking at me. Inviting me to lick it out and ask for another. Less good was the spinach. It took us a while to work out what was wrong with it. And then I realised because I've done the same thing myself. The water had boiled dry which made it taste slightly acrid. Not good.

Cowie was delighted with her sea bass that had been roasted with fennel and tomatoes. It smelled gorgeous and flaked away just as it should. This was yet another example of the heights that The Avalon's Kitchen is capable of.

Mulling over our meal with our chums on on our right and adding in the nuggets we picked up from the disgruntled strangers to our we were slightly underwhelmed. It was a very mixed bag. Cowie had enjoyed two exceptionally good courses. I had almost exploded with joy at the bernaise sauce, but was riddled with irritation at the number of basic errors that we'd encountered. Victoria's table had done worse than us. Their steak had been flabby and overcooked. And the waitress had forced them to have extra mashed potato with a lamb shank that already came with mash. Worse still, the bananas in the banana crumble were still hard. The table to our left felt aggrieved that you have to order extra vegetables, but this, whilst annoying, is pretty standard these days.

Allowing for the fact that this was a brand new menu and was half price it was still not quite up to scratch. With Marez Loukal (previously of Chez Bruce and Quaglino's) at the helm, the food shouldn't be punctuated with the sort of schoolboy errors we encountered.

That said we will be back. But we'll probably wait until they have ironed their glitches out. Or, if they decide to send out some special offer vouchers to the good people of Balham we'll be there to give it another bash. The Avalon is capable of great things, so we are looking forward to it maturing into a restaurant to make Balham proud. After-all, with bernaise sauce as pornographic as this, it's going to be hard not to return every night!

Dish Dash - Slap Dash

I dearly wanted Quantum of Solace to be incredible. But it wasn't. It was merely a poor man's Chinatown with Daniel Craig and Judy Dench left to carry what turned out to be a pretty flimsy film. It's always a shame when high expectations aren't met. It's like pricking a balloon. One moment you're riding high, hoping for the best. The next it's burst and your realise that your expectations were artificially high in the first place.

We love Balham to bits. Gazette, Paddfield, Tagine, The BBC, Harrisons, The Exhbit, Cattle Grid, The Fat Deli, Trinity Stores, Holy Cow, etc. are all brilliant in their own ways. We're regulars at all of them but for some reason had never been to Dish Dash. It's Balham's answer to Persian food and has been talked of quite highly by a number of close friends. So on a bleak january evening we pottered along to check it out.

Despite being almost empty at prime time on Wednesday the staff were friendly and very helpful throughout. We were guided through the menu and ordered a collection of starters including an excellent hot aubergine paste, some perfectly cooked squid rings and hummous accompanied by a tower of village bread that looked like a witches hat! The aubergine was terrific - smoky, earthy and extremely moreish, reminding us of our trip to Korfez in Istanbul. The squid was amazing. Top marks for that one and the hummous was hummous. At this stage we were feeling excited about our kebabs. It's a bit like when you watch the opening sequence to a Bond film. It always gets you all revved up and you hope the rest of the film lives up to it.

Sadly, things went downhill rather rapidly. My lamb shish was criminally overcooked. I don't want to be rude but it was terrible. And just to show that it wasn't a fluke, they nuked Cowie's delicate fish kebab as well! Whoops! It was a real shame. I rarely get to eat kebabs so I was very disappointed. I've since spoken to a few people who have had similar experiences. If only they had told me in advance. Surely kebabs are not that hard to cook?

Our advice would be to go along for a nice glass of wine and some fantastic meze dishes and then save yourself for a kebab at the Kebab Kitchen if you are still feeling peckish.

Balham Closures

It's very sad to see more restaurants and cafes perish in Balham. The latest victims are Nanglo...



and Brew...



In the past we've seen Tabaq become Brasserie James and Raviolo metamrphose into Cattle Grid. So let's hope that the latest closures act as the springboard for another restaurant's success. Having said that I am sure that the first few months of next year are going to be hell for anyone running an average restaurant.

Fingers crossed we're in for another brilliant restaurant for Balham!

Breakfast at Gazette in Balham

We're both big fans of Gazette. We've had many great experiences and forgive them their French brusqueness. We're lucky to have such a fun brasserie near by.

I have long been a fan of blackboards. I love the palimpsest effect that chalk leaves on the board. So when I found that Gazette now has slate table tops and little mugs of chalk I got very excited. For the rest of the review see below in black board format.



Our waitress recommended les ouef en cocotte which arrived in a cast iron saucepan with cherry tomato compote (I almost wrote compost) and dried basil. Fantastically generous portion of 3 eggs. It was so much fun digging into a saucepan. I guess this use of eclectic, rustic serving vessels is Gazette's trademark.

Cowie loved her madeline's. She always does. Drenched in honey they are stunningly hot and fresh. Springy and naughty.

It's pretty rare that I enjoy bills... but this one was great. It was as if the policeman from 'Allo 'Allo had written it - with our freshly squeezed orange juice reading as freshly squizzed. Genius.



Gazette have a policy of offering reviewers a free drink... so we left them with some Paunch graffiti so they would remember our free drink for next time!

Holy Cow - best Indian take away ever!

Balham just keeps getting better! I had assumed I had already written about how awesome the Holy Cow is on the road from Clapham South to Balham. But I hadn't.

It's our regular haunt. Our rock to lean on in hard times. Their curries are fantastic. Made with actual meat. Shock horror. And with real spices. And by proper people.

Rather than wait for the deliveryman... I normally walk over a few minutes before my curry is ready so I can watch the kitchen at work. It's a very satisfying sight. Full of burly men from India and Pakistan adding ladlefulls of spices to frying pans of simmering chicken, lamb or fish. Everything is cooked to order by a small battalion of expert chefs. What's more Mr Achariat (not quite right) who appears as a line drawing in the menu can be seen bossing his kitchen... shouting at his comrades and expertly cooking my Lamb Achari in record time.

My regular choice is their spiciest lamb option - number 31 if I remember rightly. It falls apart with the touch of a fork like a good lamb shank should. This is by far the best take away curry business I have ever come across.

Cattle Grid, Balham

Balham is going from strength to strength. Whilst claims that Balham is the new Notting Hill might be a little bit premature... the area is definitely on the rise.

Aside from Gazette and at a push the Devonshire, you will struggle to find a decent steak in Balham. Until now.

It has filled the slightly awkward boots left by Raviolo - which didn't last very long. When you walk out of Balham station you are greeted with the sight of a large statue of a cow which makes you think you are in Milton Keynes... hardly the centre of the bovine universe.

Cattle Grid is essentially a steak version of the Gourmet Burget Kitchen. No table service. Utilitarian look and feel. Short new world wine list packed with bold reds. You get a choice of steaks - rib eye, sirloin or T bone, supplemented by two variations on piggy ribs or a burger. I admire the fact that the menu is so bare. I hate the way that some restaurants offer a billion options - Starbuck's is currently boasting that they have 80,000 different combinations of coffee. Fuck off and just give me a good espresso. Oh hang on... you can't.

... but I think I'd like to see some different cuts on the menu. Maybe a feather steak, or a hanger steak... or possibly a little bit of rump. Maybe, they'll do this once they've established themselves.

We ordered 2 rib eye steaks - medium rare. One arrived perfectly cooked but the other one was grey through the middle. Possibly we should have sent it back. The chips were good and we were delighted with the watercress salad. My bernaise sauce was a bit stingy - but then again I do regard steak eating as an excuse to eat bernaise sauce!

One of us had a very substantial burger which looked good. But strangely we weren't permitted to request how it was cooked. They insist on serving it medium well which is a bit odd. I love a juicy burger... but a meaty, cloying burger is less fun.

Our bottle of Argie Malbec was good value and was a perfect match for the steak... as it always is. And at well under £20 it was good value.

But the star of the show was without question the onion rings. Soft, sweet onions hid beneath a crisp, light batter. Stunning... if a little bit naughty.

We couldn't resist baked cheese cake which was served with very vanillery ice cream. Tremendous. We were really impressed.

Cattle Grid isn't the finished article. But it is an improvement on Raviolo... and will we're very pleased to have a steak restaurant in Balham. But the key question is... will we go back? I won't actively avoid it... but I reckon the steak is better at Gazette and Bodeans... plus they offer dishes that Cowie would like to tuck into too. So I have a feeling that I will return at some point... but it won't be a regular occurence. If you are going to concentrate just on serving steak... it has to knock your socks off.

Ly Ly Canteen

For some reason they have changed Ly Bar which was good into Ly Ly Canteen which is bad. Don't ask me why. Gone are the steamed sea bass, pork in a clay pot and dark mood lighting. In are imitation Wagamamma dishes, benches and bright lights.

We shared a bland salmon ramen which we doused in chiili... and were slightly more impressed by the salmon kichup manis with rice which was perfectly cooked but lacking in flavour.

The couple on the table next to us complained that their food had arrived too quickly... the implication being that the food is just popped in a micro-wave.

Our starters were actually quite decent. The sticky ribs were really good. The meat fell away from the bone. But the sauce was so hot that Cowie burnt her mouth with her first bite! Microwaved perhaps? It's actually dangerous to serve food, especially sugary sauces this hot. I remember McDonald's were once sued for serving coffee so hot it burnt a woman's lap. Maybe Cowie could sue for having her taste buds nailed! The dip should at the very least come with a government health warning.

We're disappointed Ly Bar has gone... and now looking forward to exploring the rest of Balham's restaurants. Cattle Grid and Dish Dash to be precise.

Rick Stein at Harrisons

It's not every school night you get to meet Rick Stein! We whizzed down to Balham in a nick of time to find Rick sat at a low round table, slightly awkwardly making small talk and signing books. After a brief chat with the publicist about Rick's forthcoming TV series and book called Coast to Coast Victoria and I siddled over for a chat.

Our chat was derailed pretty quickly when both pieces of infomration the publicist had told us turned out to be emphatically wrong! There is no TV series. And the book is about his travels around the world and not just the UK.

Perturbed by the sudden end to our conversation... I grabbed a conversational topic from nowhere and landed up asking Rick Stein whether he had ever cooked a fish meringue!!! As it turned out he was really interested in the idea and I explained that it's like baking fish in salt. Essentially you stuff a whole fish such as a sea bass with fennel, lemon and other goodies... and then pour over 6 or 7 whipped egg whites. Pop it in the oven for enough time to cook it and then serve your gobsmacked guests the most moist fish you'll come across. I first read about it a really cool book called "The Daily Italian" by one of Jamie Oliver's proteges.

So look out for this badger featuring on Rick's menu sometime soon!

We broke off from the book signing and settled in for dinner. Ignoring the special offer that had drawn us in the first place... we loved our raw salmon with soy, ginger and chillie. Although it may have been a bit feisty for some. But the star of the show was the liver and bacon... Having never had liver and bacon before I was twitching with excitement when it arrived and became increasingly anxious as I saw it drying out on the pass. But I needn't have worried because it was blissfully awesome. Soft and moist. Meaty and slightly charred. The mash was brilliant and the pancetta and onion rings didn't let it down either. I feel like a smack addict. I'm now gagging for the next hit.

Having had a few OK experiences at Harrison's we are now big fans - keen to pop in for dinner more often.

Brasserie James

Brasserie James is springing up like a phoenix from Tabaq's flames in Clapham South. Good luck to them! It's yet another indication that the Balham / Clapham South area is the place to be. Someone recently referred to Balham as the new Fulham. Well at least they end in the same 3 letters.

What with the recent opening of Gazette (which is ace) and the closure of Raviolo... Balham's rise to culinary utopia is well on track.

It would be nice if there was some sort of local blogger initiative like they have at Gazette to help the launch of Brasserie James.

The Exhibit

I was very fortunate to win a cinema for the night in Balham. I clicked on the button on The Exhibit's website and some how managed to bag myself a night at a very swanky cinema on Cowie's doorstep.

We walk past The Exhibit most weekends when we inevitably pop into Sainsbury's 5 times because we keep forgetting things, or Cowie runs out of grapes! It's a very smart, imposing building with a magnetic quality that makes you want to investigate. That's what got us hooked. I've never really wanted to watch the films they screen. But the beauty about having a cinema all to yourself is that you get to choose the film.

At first this really exciting. Then it becomes scary. Finding a film that 24 people are all going to like and not have seen is almost impossible. So do you opt for an old classic that everyone has seen and can recite all the lines like Top Gun, Gladiator etc. Or do you go for a newish release that most won't have seen and will look great on the big screen?

We went for the latter and watch American Gangster. It was one of the toughest choices I've ever made. Made tougher by the sheer idiocy of Blockbuster. Despite having a live membership in Nottingham they wouldn't let me hire a video in Balham. They could try but I'd have had to have known the post code for the Blockbuster on Lenton Boulevard... unlikely. So sir. Do you have proof of your address such as a utility bill? Of course not! Do you? Madness. Somehow I managed to emerge 15 minutes later clutching a copy of the DVD but my temper was rubbed raw. No wonder Love Film is doing so well.

The Exhibit has got a great bar with very friendly bar staff. The crowd is very cool without being pretentious. And it is supposed to be great in summer when they open out their terrace.

Unfortunately we were too late on a Sunday night for food so we just had olives and nuts whilst watching our film and sipping our beers. Bliss on a Sunday evening. It would make a great place for a party as there are quite a few bars in the building. As we left we stumbled into a stand up comedy night and somehow managed to emerge un-teased which was the only disappointment to the evening!

We're all delighted to have discovered such a cool haunt and are super keen to return.

Raviolo. GONE.

A sad day for Balham. Raviolo has closed down. This is to add to the dramatic closure recently of Tabaq.

We'd been to Raviolo once and aimed to return. But looking back at it we weren't blown away by it and the concept was perhaps too niche for Balham.

Whilst Tabaq and Raviolo have closed, Gazette, a Cuban place, Clover Brown and the Fat Delicatessen have opened. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away as someone once may or may not have once said.

Balham is in an exciting state of flux. Ever since Waitrose opened it's been excitement ever since.

Gazette comes to Balham

Back in October, we reviewed the Gazette restaurant in Battersea. A lovely, comforting French brasserie serving delicious French classics. So I was delighted when I discovered they had opened an identical eatery, right on our door step in Balham.

It has been open since March and it hasn't taken the locals long to recognise this is abit of winner. It might be half the size of its sister in Battersea, but it certainly makes up for it in personality.

On Saturday night, Browny and I rolled up at 9pm to see if they had a spare table. We fancied some no nonsense French grub and cosy romantic environment, and we certainly got it. It had a lovely relaxed atmosphere, music burbling along in the back ground and the modest space has been fitted out in sympathetic and romantic style.

Having guzzled a bowl of young green olives we tucked into our starters. I always find very hard to resist Moules whenever I see them on a menu, and these were fantastic. Huge plump juicy mussels and a liquor busting with ummph and flavour. Browny decided he was in need of a protein fix and opted for the beef tar tar. It arrived on a slab of wood with all its trimmings including the compulsory cracked egg on top. It was fabulous. The meat (false fillet) was tender, fresh, tasty and very meaty.. the portion was also absolutely vast!

Then came along our belated bread basket. And unfortunately for me it was fresh out of the oven and smelt heavenly. I simply couldn't keep my paws out and for someone who isn't supposed to eat wheat, I should have known better!

My flaky, roasted fillet of cod was a delight. Cooked to perfection and complimented by a root veggie combo, it ticked every box for me. Browny went for piglet. Well, I say piglet, it was actually a mere rib of a piglet which as you can imagine, isn't very substantial! But none the less it was beautifully moist and tender.

A few cheeky bowls of sumptuous ice cream with a Madeline each polished off a cracking supper. Feeling thoroughly satisfied and verging on the stuffed boundary, we woddled home and flopped into bed.

The only criticism was from my big sister, who must be one of the toughest food critics I know. If she gives something praise... my God it must be sublime! On her recent visit to Gazette she wasn't very enthusiastic about her squid risotto... But Browny and I couldn't help think this was a somewhat odd choice in a French restaurant! But having since gone back for Sunday brunch, she has not got a bad word to say about the place.

Balham should count its lucky stars that such a super little restaurant has found its way over to SW12.

Browny here: But better still they've got Wifi and if you write a review and send it to their email address they give you a free drink! Now if that isn't good blogger relations I don't know what is!

Further good news is that they are mid revamp of their basement which will feature a private dining area for 10/12 and an amazing wine cave. Bravo.

Sorry Sight of Tabaq Closing Down

Tabaq, the Pakistani restaurant that proudly displayed its numerous awards on its front door has closed down. It was the pride of Clapham South and is now gone. It's a very sorry sight.

The pictures say it all really.











If anyone wants a tandori oven, tapestry, carpet or a random selection of professional catering equipment call them on 07750968768.

Coffee at Glow, Clapham South

In need of a coffee and a chance to get out of the wind we nipped into Glow near Clapham South station. On a Sunday morning it was buzzing with 20 somethings catching up with their social lives - Macbooks out, Newspapers spread, gossip even more so.

Whilst Cowie was chatting on the phone I decided to nip inside and take a seat at their bar. Whilst enjoying a very robust coffee I was impressed by the quality of their backbar and the amount of Courvoisier they sell. The Australian girl behind the bar was good fun. Constantly making smoothies from sachets of frozen fruit she kept on giving me little samples! They were so busy she had to multi task by managing the bar, taking orders, blending smoothies, entertaining me and phone up all her contacts to see if they would be willing to come in immediately to help out with the Sunday rush.

I absorbed the Observer supplements, another coffee and some sample smoothies and left thinking that Glow is awesome. The breakfasts and brunches look brilliant, the staff are really friendly and efficient. They've got wifi and the right newspaper. The perfect place on a Sunday? Or any day of the week perhaps.

Clapham Farmers' Market Supper

Cowie and I made the most of our Sunday back in London by heading off to the Clapham Farmers' Market in Clapham South. Just off the very smart Abbeville Road it opens every Sunday in a school playground. It's our local market and tends to do fantastic veg, good apple juice, tasty sausages, brilliant bread and some wacky cheeses. Apart from one occassion when I bought 3 venison shanks we haven't really been that impressed by the meat.




We pottered around sampling bits and pieces. The goat cheese stall is brilliant. As is the buffalo milk stall. If I'd had some more cash on me I'd have bought some bufallo milk yoghurt. Maybe next time.

My coins were instead spent on a punnet of craggy looking artichokes, leeks, shallots and mushrooms. All for under a fiver. We beetled home and browned some chicken thighs before tossing in some bacon, shallots, leek and mushrooms which all took on a fantastic sheen. Before going off to play squash I added a cup full of rehydrated wild mushrooms and the liquor, some vegetable stock and a third of a bottle of red wine, some butter beans and a tin of tomatoes. Into the oven went some beetroot segments and some chopped artichokes to roast.

We came back to the house smelling of glory. The chicken had simmered its way to victory and the artichokes and beetroot had become soft, caremlised and deeply flavoured.

Although it may not look fantastic it was sensational. Rich, deep, flavoursome, moreish and not too expensive. Just what we needed after a frantic game of squash and a week eating cheese!

Balham Bowls Club

After getting smacked in the eye playing squash with Cowie, the best course of action seemed to be a trip to the local boozer. We'd driven past The Balham Bowls Club several times on our little missions to Waitrose and I've wanting to go there ever since.

It's essentially a converted bowling club with all the paraphanalia that I imagine goes with a bowling club house, including a sign saying "All visitors must report to the secretary's office". It whets your appetite and makes you wonder whether you're actually allowed in!




I loved this picture from Verity Leigh's Flickr collection because it's got a bowling ball with my initials on it.

The BBC, as it's known to the locals, is full of nooks and crannies, retro furnishings and reminders that it used to be a bowling club! We settled into a comfy corner booth and supped on a gorgeous pint of Timmy Taylors for me and a vintage looking gin and tonic for Cowie.

I've fallen in love with the place and can't wait to go back for more than just one, solitary pint!

Ly Bar in Balham

After a hard morning playing hockey on an icy pitch what better way to spend the afternoon than to tuck into Heston Blumenthal's latest book and read about how to cook the perfect Peking duck. Half an hour later and I was gagging for a pancake, some crispy skinned duck, a few shards of spring onion and cucumber and lashings of hoi sin sauce.



The lengths Heston went to were outrageous. Blowing air into a well chosen duck with a drinks straw or bellows and a bizarre range of cooking processes all seemed a bittoo much! So Cowie and I popped out to find a decent Chinese restaurant in Balham. Life's too easy sometimes!

We'd walked past Ly Bar quite a few times and had never had any inclination to pay them a visit. From the outside it looks like a newly painted glizty bar with a seedy underbelly. But inside it's great. A touch of contemporary, oriental style. Laquered screens and a very discrete waterfall made us feel like someone was reading our minds and giving us exactly what we wanted!



Cowie reigned me back from ordering a half peking duck, which was a good thing! Instead the two of us shared a quarter of a quacker with a range of pancakes and lettuce leaves. Having got really excited about haivng the perfect duck with pancakes, I guess I had set myself up for a bit of disappointment! Don't get me wrong we devoured our duck and needed several reloads of hoi sin sauce... but I think we were stretching our imagination too far to think the Ly Bar was going to be up to Heston's exacting stadnards. Heston's main technical problem when cooking crispy duck was that creating duck with crispy skin and keep the felsh moist is about as easy as some of Zeno's paradoxes. If you want crispy skin you get dry flesh. And if you want juicy meat the skin is normally flabby. Ly Bar's duck was a bit tasteless and dry, but a good dollop of sauce sorted that out!



Picture from Xiaming on Flikr

Our main courses were really very good. Cowie's whole steamed sea bass with soy sauce, ginger and spring onion was moist and delicious. The only draw back being the fact that it was given a laparotomy at the table by someone who didn't know what they were doing. We felt very sorry for our waitress who continually apologised and explained that she had only ever done one before! Someone needs to train the staff up a bit. Disecting an expensive fish in front of a paying customer has to be done well. It's these kind of touches that make eating at places like Sheeky's so special.

My BBQ stewed pork belly arrived in a beautiful clay pot and tasted delicious. Slightly spicy, gooey and deeply porky. Just what I like. And then it got even better when I discovered some really slippery mushrooms that seemed like pieces of cartilige! Yummy. And very different what you get at your average local Chinese restaurant.

So, the food was good, if unspectacular. A cut above most Chinese restaurants. But the staff need some training and they need to read Heston's book to get a bit closer to serving the perfect duck!