Abeno Okonomi-yaki restaurant, Museum Street in London

One of the perks of living in London is all the free museums and exhibitions. My favourite has to be the British Museum with it's futuristic ceiling juxtaposing the Greek revivalist facade and artifacts from all over the world. I spent a lot of time here when I was studying for my Masters' at SOAS, so it feels almost homely to me. If you are visiting the British Museum, then I have to recommend Abeno Okonomi-yaki, a Japanese restaurant close by, on Museum Street, for it's delicious Okonomi-yaki of course (a Japanese pimped-up omelette), cooked right there on your table by the friendly waitresses.

And if you fancy trying something quite strange and full of goodness, then natto might just be your thing. It's sticky texture puts some people off but I couldn't get enough of the stuff. When I crave something like that, I always conclude that my body must be needing it, especially when it's something that's usually absent from my diet. Natto is full of probiotics, something that I've found to cure most things in my life (this is just my opinion). Some say it's the secret of longevity in Japan, but above all it's a great little side dish to your Okonomi-yaki, complementing it perfectly!

Hoxton 100, probably the best place to eat in East London

Hoxton 100 the best restaurant in Shoreditch? With all the up-market restaurants in east London these days that's a big claim. I'll explain my reasoning point-by-point.

1. I can't actually pick a favourite dish. Every single dish we ordered was superb.

2. They have an amazing early-bird offer that includes Saturdays and means you get 5 sharing dishes for £30, and it's enough food for a satisfying meal. We were both full.

3. Happy hour with amazing cocktails at the same time - winning.

4. Friendly service and a relaxed atmosphere. Un-pretentious.

5. I can't wait to go back there.

So this is why Hoxton 100 is  my new favourite Shoreditch spot and if your rating system is anything like mine, then you should check it out.

La Bodega Negra, Soho, London

Life changes suddenly. Just a month ago I was waking up some time before midday, working at a lazy pace for a couple of hours on whatever I felt like working on and mostly had no idea which day of the week it was. Now I wake up at 7, commute to Paddington and have no time to do my laundry. I'm tired and a little stressed, yet I'm enjoying the change of pace. Many people are frightened of change, but for some reason I enjoy it. Even when it's crazy, scary, destabilising change, there is still a part of me that thrives on it. So now that I'm working flat out I'm predictably going out much more, consuming more.  I can even go to places like La Bodega Negra on a Monday night if I feel like it...

With a cancellation policy of £25 per head if we fail to cancel by 5pm, this is not somewhere I'd go when strapped for cash. I thought this was a bit harsh and off-putting until my friend pointed out that since it looks like a sex shop from the outside, people aren't just going to drop in. Nevertheless, for somewhere so well hidden and so early in the week, it was heaving. This also explained the slightly unattentive service and lack of the tap water I asked for. The sexy waitress explained later that they weren't expecting so many people and were short-staffed, so I'll give them a break.

The food was absolutely delicious. We had a few different tacos, corn salad, beans, guacamole and quesadilla. I have two favourites: soft shell crab tacos and and the massive, crunchy corn salad. I can't fault my spiced pear margarita either. The atmosphere was great - buzzing yet romantic, full of life, glamorous. Kind of what I like to imagine Mexico itself feels like. We all paid under £40 per head with drinks, which is less than I was expecting after the scary cancellation policy.

Andina in Shoreditch, London

I take pleasure in the passage of time. Some people lament loosing their youth and feel like their best years are behind them in their 30s - I'm the polar opposite of that. There is nothing I miss about being younger. I prefer my body now,  know how to handle my personality better (I can be a handful at times) and feel much calmer and wiser. That weird, empty void that used to torture me when I was younger now feels like a warm, cosy hiding place, and I have finally struck a balance between being open to new friendships and an appreciation of the old ones. While new people bring excitement and adventure, there's an easiness that comes into friendships with time, which is very relaxing. Anton, who I came to Andina with a dew days ago, is one of these old friends

The restaurant was great, when we finally got in - we were on the waiting list for about 2 hours. It could have been a result of being ravenously hungry and therefore grumpy, but one woman at the front of house seemed annoyingly passive aggressive. However, all the other staff made up for this, as did the food. Having worked in restaurants I also know that she could have just been having "one of those nights", so let's give her the benefit of doubt. The food was amazing! I've never been to Peru, so I can't say whether it was authentic or not, but the produce was great quality and the flavours interesting, yet not over-complicated. We ate corn cakes, spicy ceviches, lamb and cassava chips washed down with Pisco sours and Peruvian beer. The bill came to £55, which felt very reasonable. In the future, I would always book ahead

Dokebi Korean restaurant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

I've fallen in love with Williamsburg. It's incredibly hip but also open and friendly: the perfect combination. If you plan on hanging out here then I would recommend this Korean restaurant on Grand Street for a cheap, healthy and delicious meal... Dokebi

You may know what my reviews are like by now: short and sweet. So here's the lowdown: we ate Korean tacos, lots of pickles, salad and miso soup on the side and the BiBimBahp you see up there. The rib taco was the best out of the tacos, the fish one I wouldn't bother ordering again. Cat mixed the BiBimBahp up with the chilli sauce like you're supposed to and I washed it down with Korean rice wine - my new favourite drink (now, where do I get this in the UK...?) It all came to $17 each including the tip, so about £12. I think dinner may be a bit more expensive, as weekday lunches in NYC tend to be really cheap

Anchor & Hope in Waterloo

The table at Anchor & Hope looked as if it was set for a Medieval feast - figs with parma ham, slices of what I believe was wild boar with grapes, cod roe and my favourite - chicken liver and fois gras parfais. This was followed by that fish down there, sticky rabbit ribs and runner beans with almonds (another favourite)

And yet this is the only photo I have. And it wasn't even taken by me, as mine was too dark (I really need a new camera). I've read crazily mixed reviews of this place. The funniest one I read was the guy who talked about waiting for an hour for a table and approached "a senior-looking member of staff who was idling his time away talking to a cluster of peasants about some table they were waiting for... Amazingly, I was IGNORED until he had finished his conversation", he signed his hilarious review "a regular" and gave the place the full 5 stars. The thing is, even if you know someone who works here, you always have to wait for a table. So just have a pint or two and enjoy your (presumably lovely) company until they are ready to sit you. If this is going to stress you out, then don't come here. But you will be missing out because the food is fantastic and very reasonably priced, and the place is just a bit special. Not in a pretentious way, like some random person who you bump into on the street and starts a monologue on a Chekov play they happen to be working on, but in that real, confident way where the quality speaks for itself and needs no gimmicks

Menemen at the Z Cafe, Kingsland Road

...Is the best brunch I've ever eaten. No that's a lie, Eggs Benedicte and a Bloody Mary somewhere in New York is probably my favourite ever, but this comes a close second

It's a combination of eggs, tomatoes, sausage, feta and peppers. The description said there was spinach in there, but the taste was definitely that of sorrel, which I adore. Sitting outside and people watching with LT was really fun too. I may have said that it was the best thing he's ever shown me. Don't think he took that as a compliment

Boho Mexicana, Spitalfields

While we're on the subject of going out, here's a great little place in east London. I came here with a few international girlfriends last week to eat dinner, drink Blueberry Mojitos and discuss life. It made me think about how much I love interesting women. By interesting I don't mean mysterious, hyperactive, weird or aloof - I sometimes think that these qualities disguise the fact that someone isn't particularly interesting. I mean people with a strong sense of themselves, who grow and develop like characters in a good book. Women who can be both kind and supportive, yet at the same time challenge my way of seeing the world. They're priceless and always I try to keep people like that in my world, because with them you will never be lost for long

Boho Mexicana was a lot of fun. The Blueberry Mojitos were criminally more-ish. I would not, however, recommend what I had to eat - the tamal de frijol bean thing. Unlike my company, it was lacking in something... Magda had a delicious, spicy baby squid dish (up there) that she shared with me - she'd made the best choice. The leche cake our charming Venezuelan waiter suggested did not disappoint. Price-wise I would put it in the medium bracket - aprox £35-45 with cocktails. The atmosphere is fun and fabulous, ideal for a girlie get-together, though probably not terribly romantic, what with the flirtatious south-American waiters and all

Pizarro in Bermondsey Street, another great restaurant in London Bridge

I've told you about Jose on Bermondsey Street in London Bridge, which I love. Jose is teeny tiny, so the same people opened another restaurant about 5 months ago, just down the road. It's called Pizarro and we went there yesterday, because waiting 45min for a table in a room the size of my living room (which isn't big) with lots of people constantly trying to get past, isn't much fun. We had to wait for a table at Pizarro too, but there is room to stand and have a drink here

We drank those lovely wines down there. The first one was smooth and oily almost, the second really flavoursome and flowery. Both were beautiful and reasonably priced

The menu here is more like a normal restuarant menu with starters and main courses - I guess they wanted a point of difference between the two restaurants. But we still ate it tapas-style by ordering three starters and one main course between us, and asking for it all as it came - that's whenever the chef chose to make it. It's a nice, relaxed way to eat, and cook too I presume, as the chef doesn't have to worry about timings

To be completely fair, as we always try to be in our family, my brother, myself and my dad all chose one starter, then we agreed on the larger dish together. We then proceeded to have a lengthy argument about vodka. We ate prawns with razor clams (that's it up there half eaten, testimony to how tasty it was), cod tongue, lamb's tongue (I think, it may have been calf's) and pig's cheek. I have no idea what the cod tongue actually was, as I presume that cod fish don't have tongues, and if they did they would be the size of pine nuts, and not the large slices of tender fish we had. Perhaps it means gills... I do recall having this thought process at another time, and it did have a positive conclusion, yet I forget what it was... but whatever we ate, it was delicious. All of it. I highly recommend coming here if you're ever in the area. The bill for three people came to just under £100. The vodka argument was resolved with the promise of a blind vodka tasting. A set of rules has been agreed, as was the place and the date - late September, Eastbourne. Watch this space

Classic with a twist in Lanzarote - a restaurant recommendation

Having read my last blog post, a friend said that if they were Lanzarote they would feel hurt, which made me feel sad for the poor, bleak little island. The truth is that I had a brilliant holiday with my family, it's just the landscape was not to my taste. The holiday itself was a gift - swimming in the sea every day, working hard on that vitamin D deficiency, playing tennis, hiking across the barren hills, eating lots of fruit, vegetables and fish. All of this before starting the new job that I've been waiting for. Spring has brought me gifts, and I'm feeling very lucky and happy right now

One of the highlights of the Lanzarote trip was dinner here - El Mirador at the edge of the Marina in Playa Blanca. You could easily come here just for the views and atmosphere. Then it turns out that the food is world-class and you have yourself the perfect couple of hours watching the sun set over the sea while trying all sorts of delicious morsels. Here, you get classic dishes cooked with plenty of imagination. For example, black pudding with apple came in sweet dumpling form, sprinkled with icing sugar. Next to it are the cod balls, also tasty but not any competition for the black pudding dumplings, which are one of those dishes I will remember for the rest of my life. I'm not exaggerating

Another stand-out dish - my mum's prawn and mushroom risotto had an interesting flavour to it, which I guessed to be orange blossom water. I have no idea if my guess was correct or not, as the English speaking waiter was nowhere to be seen at this point, so I couldn't ask

The restaurant focuses on tapas and rice dishes, so it's not typical Canarian food. We weren't given the red and green mojo sauces for example, which are a staple everywhere you go around these parts. And no shriveled potatoes either (I'm not being unkind, that's really what they're called). It's not a cheap place, as you can imagine, but neither is it incredibly expensive (a meal for four with tip and drinks came to 135 Euros). The family who own this place hail from Barcelona, so you can imagine the style - sophisticated and slightly avante-garde. Not my kind of island but definitely my kind of restaurant

Brunch at the Hoxton Hotel

...Is a really good idea

My mate Mike's girlfriend organized a surprise birthday brunch for him last weekend and we had a brilliant afternoon

There are three brunch options - an English one, a continental one and a massive one. We had the continental, with the addition of waffles (which brought it up to £17 per head plus drinks). Another one of  Louise's amazing ideas. I wish she was my girlfriend

We washed down the pastries, fruit salad, bagels and waffles with Bloody Mary's and Prosecco. The birthday boy had a Porn Star Martini. Of course

Gourmet San on Bethnal Green Road

Ok, there is no way I can spin this to make it seem like a part of my detox. But in my defense, when someone invites you to dinner at Gourmet San, you don't refuse

Especially if they're one of your best friends and a Hong Kong national, who knows exactly what to order. Not that this is HK cuisine, this is Sichuan and there is nothing else like this in the whole of London

The menu is extensive, so you need reliable tip offs. My favourite thing on the menu, and perhaps my  favourite Chinese dish of all time even, is thousand year eggs with tofu. Don't worry they're not really that old. But they are green

We also had lamb with cumin, Japanese tofu with prawns and some greens (Chinese broccoli with scallion I believe it was), all washed down with tea. See, no alcohol, no pudding, so I haven't veered too far off-course 

I can't tell you how much it cost as it was a treat, but Gourmet San isn't expensive. It's a dispensable paper tablecloths and super quick service kind of a place, with fantastic authentic Sichuan food. Perfect for a mid-week catch up with your mates

My birthday cake

I've had a lot of crap birthdays. It may be something to do with my birthday being so close to Christmas (21st December)... But this year I decided to have a fabulous one instead. I started celebrating on Friday 16th and felt like it was my birthday until Thursday 22nd. I celebrated across three countries and with about 50 different people in total. This is the cake I had for breakfast in a small castle near Poznan

It was light and fluffy with dark chocolate topping and a blueberry filling - beautiful. And this is the delicious venison I ate while celebrating in a restaurant in Holland - "De Woord" near Wintersveik (I recommend highly at this time of year, when they have the "Wild" menu i.e. game season)

And that's me, my mum and my favourite auntie up there, in her converted farmhouse in The Netherlands. She's just beaten breast cancer and is looking fabulous!

I've had a lot of time to think in the last few days, travelling across Europe. While reading my present from Ruby - "Icons of Fashion: 20th Century" - one thing in particular has stood out and inspired me, which I promised myself that I'd keep in mind while writing my cookbook, although I think you can apply it to anything creative:

"It is very important to preserve traditions and culture. The idea is not... to make sweeping changes, but to be careful not to do things in the same way"

.("Comme de Garcons" founder Rei Kawakubo)

Buen Ayre on Broadway Market

I can be such a bad friend sometimes. When I have a guest visiting me, I use it as an excuse to do stuff that I really want to do. Instead of trying to find out where my friend wants to go for dinner, what they really feel like eating on their rare trip to London, I give the impression that I'm asking, whilst making sure that the place I want to go seems by far the best option. And after a few months living with the resolution to limit my meat intake, I was dying to go to Buen Ayre on Broadway Market. I've never been here, you see, because you can rarely get a table if you pop in - it's very popular. And now I know why. The meat. And the wine

I completely forgot about this beauty from the Gougenheim Winery. A couple of years ago this was my favourite wine - all the memories came flooding back as if I'd just sat down to a meal with someone who had once meant everything to me but I hadn't thought of for a long time. Which actually happened later on this weekend, but that's another story. However, while revisiting old relationships isn't usually the cleverest idea (I should know, I've done it enough times), going back to old wines is precisely the opposite

We shared the marinated ox tongue to start, with a side salad, and we both followed it by the smaller of the sirloin steaks. There's not much to say about that, because it was perfect. And we all know exactly what that tastes like. If you don't, then you'd better get yourself to Buen Ayre pronto! The staff are really friendly too, flirty without being obnoxious or sleazy. It was weirdly smoky when we went in, due to the indoor grill but they managed to sort that out pretty quickly. Pricewise, I'd say it's kind of average, £35 per head including wine

Jose in London Bridge

I have walked past here a few times now and always wanted to go in and sample the tasty-looking tapas - it looks just like a typical little restaurant you'd find in Barcelona. In fact, it is one. Except that it's in London Bridge. It's new and a real find, I haven't had jamon this good outside of Spain. My favourite dish was a shocker, as I would never, ever order baby potatoes with chicken. But it was the first time I'd tried romesco sauce, and it was a true revelation (it's the photo with my hand in it).

Other stuff was good too. Though Petey pointed out that the hake up there with the morcilla would have tasted better with the vegetable ratatouille-type stuff just above it, whereas the duck egg would have been better suited to the black pudding. He was right, of course. The joys of going to dinner with a chef... Actually, it was fantastic for me, because before our other friend, Tish, joined us, we managed to talk food for about two hours, and there's little I love more than talking food. Yet I always feel a bit guilty when I realise other people are not as interested as me in some cheese or cookbook I've been going on about for twenty minutes. But Petey is

And there's Tishy leaving the join in a typically dramatic fashion. The whole meal, for three, with plenty of wine was about £80. And there's a great cocktail bar just down the road, if you don't want your night to end here, but unfortunately I can't recall the name

Koya on Frith Street

I was going to say that if you're a patient person, then Koya is the best place to eat a cheap meal in Soho. But I'm one of the most impatient people I know and I still loved it, so that doesn't really work. I guess some things are just worth the wait

So as long as you have the time to queue for a table, then wait to get served, then wait for your food, then this is the best place for a cheap meal in Soho. Two of us ate cold udon with warm duck, one of us a butter bean and clam stew. Everything was delicious, to the point where the conversation completely ceased as we ate. We were also very hungry by that point (I may have said I'll eat my own arm if we don't get our food soon). Yet, as soon as we left, there was regret - we should have stayed for longer and sampled more...

Instead, we went to see Melancholia at the Prince Charles cinema. It was packed so we sat in the front row. Massive mistake - the film is shot on a hand held camera. Within half an hour I was wondering whether the food had any hidden milk products in it. Half an hour after that, the woman sitting next to me took her smelly trainers off, which was the last straw for me. I lent over to Harriett and said that I'm going to have to leave as I feel so sick. She felt exactly the same, as did Hannah -we had all been suffering in silence. For one brief moment we wondered whether it was the food, but that's practically impossible - it tasted fresher and healthier than anything I'd eaten in a long time. We'll be going back to double check shortly. Probably for a weekend lunch though, in the hope that the wait will be at least a bit shorter

Germain in Paris

I had another one of my impromptu Paris trips this week, to see an old friend, and would like to recommend a restaurant (which was recommended to us) even though it is a little on the pricey side. The whole of Paris appears to be a bit on that side lately...

Having dinner here felt like having a dinner inside a David Lynch film. Although, someone has subsequently told me that there is an actual David Lynch restaurant in Paris. So I must check that one out next time and compare. Not that I'm a massive fan of Lynch, I just love "Wild at Heart" really, which probably reveals how terribly un-avant-garde I am

I had a delicious steak tartare and the best fries ever. I'm not normally a fan of fries but the French appear have a way with them. The bread and butter weren't to be sniffed at either. And the salmon "bio" that Cat ordered and shared with me, was melt-in-your-mouth gorgeousness. Two main courses and two drinks each set us back just over 90 Euros. But you could easily spend that in Paris somewhere where the service is slow and snooty, and the food not as good. The waiter here was lovely on the other hand

You may have guessed that it's in Saint Germain, which was really fun and buzzy this time of year - everyone sitting outside drinking and smoking, just like this hipstamatic view from the restaurant

Paris, je t'aime