| Autumn Menus |
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It’s that time of year when London’s seasonally changing menus look particularly inviting. For restaurateurs oozing with inspiration, October and November are months that yield rich pickings and huge diversity of both fresh and imported produce.
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| Contemporary Chutneys Bite Back |
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London's sophisticated restaurants and culinary circles have seen an impressive recent comeback in Chutney reflecting that seen in posh eateries, around the world. Celebrity chefs are chattering about their new and exciting chutney recipes, and foodies wo |
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| London’s Dining Scene Sets The Pace |
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It’s official: London restaurants rank amongst the finest in the world!
According to the recently published annual findings of the Zagat Report 2005, “…(London) is one of the top two, three or four cities – it is hard to say which – for restaurants”
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| Vietnamese Experience |
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There's more to Vietnamese cooking than noodles, noodles and more noodles. A quick recce of some of London 's fine Vietnamese restaurants will soon set the record straight and have you drooling over the fascinating array of different dishes, flavours, tex |
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| Master Chefs |
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When entering a restaurant, there's nothing more reassuring than to glimpse a Master Chef certificate mounted in a prominent position on the dining room wall. It is, indeed, a title worth savouring.
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| The Rosé Revolution |
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UK sales of rosé, or pink wine, as it is more fashionably known, have jumped by an impressive 28 percent over the past twelve months. Forecasts, too, are also looking rosy, with projected sales of around 35 million litres anticipated by the end of the yea |
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| Fritto Misto |
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There's nothing new about fritto misto – you know, those irresistible and devilishly moreish, battered lite-bites that invariably disappear off the plate with indecent haste. The term “fritto misto” translates roughly as “deep-fried, mixed collation” and |
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| Best of British |
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Billed as “a national celebration of regional food and drink”, this year’s British Food Fortnight (18th September to 3rd October, 2004) aims to put the “Ooo back into food”.
More specifically, the celebration hopes to raise awareness among young people |
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| London restaurants focus on fish |
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An all year-round favourite on London’s pub and restaurant menus, fish has never been more popular. From seafood starters to main course creations, fish for an increasing number of diners is the number one choice.
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| More Mediterranean, please! |
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The health-giving benefits of a balanced Mediterranean diet are well documented - from lowering the risk of developing cancer to keeping obesity and rheumatoid arthritis at bay.
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| Mood food on the menu |
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The intriguing relationship between mood and food was established thousands of years ago when early scientists first identified that the food we eat can alter the chemistry of our brains.
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| Serious Salads |
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Always a popular summertime menu option, there is something intriguingly different about this season’s salads. The take-it-or-leave-it garnish-type stuff has apparently been ousted by something altogether more substantial, sophisticated - bigger, better a |
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| Beer and a Bite |
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Moves are afoot to shed the back bar image of best bitter, once and for all.Take for example, the “froth” of publicity surrounding this year’s Great British Beer Festival to be held at the Olympia Exhibition Centre, Trumpeted as “a beer drinker’s paradise |
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| Dining with kids in the city? A different approach |
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It’s the height of the school holidays and parental nerves are beginning to fray. Trips, visits, meals out – a schedule of child-centred zap-pow that doesn’t come cheap. And, unless money is no object, forays into London, in particular, can drain more tha |
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| Cooking up a treat - Japanese style |
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The forthcoming Japan Food & Drink Festival to be held on August 7th 2004 at Maeda Gakuen, Queens Drive Playing Fields, Queen Drive, London, W3 OHT is a must for all lovers of Japanese cuisine. Some of London’s top Japanese chefs will be on hand to demons |
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| Cool Summertime Drinks |
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Capture the scene: a light, warm evening; the sun setting over London’s spectacular horizon. The pace is slowing. It’s time to chill after a hard day’s graft or just trudging around London’s tourist trail; time to relax with colleagues, friends or fellow |
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| Greek Experience |
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Anyone who has whiled away the hours in a traditional taverna, off the beaten track in Greece, will take no persuasion.
Greek hospitality, simple, freshly cooked food, served with pride, the local wine being topped up religiously, a genuine welcome – th |
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| Wine Tasting at the Hampton Court Flower Show |
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This year’s Flower Show at Hampton Court Palace, East Molesey, Surrey (6th – 11th July 2004) offers visitors the opportunity to indulge in a little wine tasting, with a floral theme.
The Flower Show’s Festival of Roses, consisting of at least sixteen di |
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| In defence of the sandwich |
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The great British favourite, the sandwich, has recently come in for a bit of a lambasting.
According to a BBC News report, researchers have found that some shop-bought sandwiches contain half, and in some cases two thirds, the recommended daily salt int |
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| Flab-fighting foods |
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O.K., let’s face it, most of using London Restaurants could do with a bit of body sculpting if we hope to squeeze into this season’s ‘skimpies’. Trouble is, we don’t want to put our lives on hold as we navigate our way through the latest miracle diets and |
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| Father’s Day celebrations |
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What better way to celebrate Father’s Day than to treat the long-suffering fathers in your life to a slap-up meal, American-style? You just can’t go wrong with American cuisine; it offers huge diversity, from sophistication to blatant comfort food.
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| Dine alfresco - put the fun back into food! |
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The 21st June, Mid-summer’s Day is fast approaching and most of us can’t wait to indulge in a bit of outdoor wining and dining.
Experts on global warming, on the other hand, are less enthusiastic. They are concerned that we’re heading for yet another al |
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| Taste For Tapas |
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The Tapas trend is here to stay.
From humble beginnings this simple, “no frills”, culinary concept has truly caught on in sophisticated bars and Spanish-style eateries, around the globe; and London’s lively bar and dining scene is no exception.
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| Spice up your health with a curry |
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It’s time to set the record straight about the oft-maligned traditional Indian curry.
If you thought that curries, and spicy foods in general, weren’t exactly high up the list of healthy mealtime options, then you’re in for a pleasant surprise! A welter |
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| Takeaway Lifestyle |
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We are a nation of takeaway lovers, but that’s just the tip of the doner kebab.
According to NSO (National Statistics Online), “the UK's home of official statistics” that monitors “Britain's economy, population and society at national and local level”, |
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| Raise a glass to fine English wines! |
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It’s English Wine Week, 29th May – 6th June 2004; and there’s a great deal to celebrate, when vineyards around the country open their “cellar” doors to the public for free wine tasting sessions. Their aim, of course, is to raise public awareness of the re |
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| Chocolate is good for you – too good to be true? |
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Chocolate is good for body and soul; now that’s nothing new.
According to the German chemist, Baron Justus von Liebig, (1803-1873): “Chocolate is a perfect food, as wholesome as it is delicious, a beneficent restorer of exhausted power…”. These are senti |
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| North African Flavours |
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We all have our favourite foods and styles of cooking; and we all tend to stick to the tried and tested when booking a table at our favourite restaurant.But, if you’re looking for something completely different, few cuisines can compare with the exotic fl |
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| St George’s Day – cause for celebration |
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English cooking has come a long way.
Gone are the days when the population’s palate never ventured above the culinary parapet of all things bland, boring and singularly lacking in imagination. Now, the burning question is: Are those diehards who cling pr |
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| Organic food and wine – the way forward |
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Today’s discerning diners want to enjoy a meal that has been prepared using only carefully sourced, quality, ingredients, including local organically grown produce. They are demanding nothing but the best. Dishes that merely look good and taste good are n |
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| St Patrick’s Day – Food For Thought |
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Rumour has it that those champions of conviviality, the Irish, are gearing up for a bumper round of celebrations, this year.Renowned, worldwide for their sporting prowess on the rugby field, they are equally famous in more erudite circles, for their liter |
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| Food & Drink To Combat Stress |
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Are you stressed out? Are you running on empty? Do you skip meals simply because you never seem to have enough hours in the day to sit down and refuel? If you’ve answered yes to all three questions, the chances are you’re already trapped in a vicious circ |
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| Fine Food At Affordable Prices |
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It’s the same old story, every year. The first hints of spring are on the horizon, yet many of us are still reeling, financially, from the pounding that our credit cards took over Christmas and New Year. We also have to contend with the inevitable flurry |
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| St David’s Day Delights |
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There’s more to Welsh cooking than cockles, laverbread and cawl. In fact, the Welsh can boast a fine culinary heritage, with recipes to whet the appetite of even the most discerning of worldly palates.March 1st, St. David’s Day, is just round the corner a |
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| Sexy food - For Valentine's |
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OK, it’s that time of year, with Valentine’s Day fast approaching, when thoughts turn to love and to sexy food, when finding the perfect restaurant for a romantic diner-à-deux becomes top priority. Nothing new? Well, maybe…
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| Comfort cuisine |
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As the first few weeks of the New Year draw to a close, the foodie fraternity is beginning to rebel. Those self-imposed healthy eating regimes that so recently, seemed like a good idea have somehow lost their flavour. The notion, embraced with such optimi |
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| Champagne: Is this bubbly worth the extra? |
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With so many quality sparkling white (and even red) wines competing for our discerning palates, the time is ripe to review the question “What’s so special about genuine champagne?”
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| London’s Sushi Scene |
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Since taking the London dining scene by storm, over a decade ago, Japanese sushi and sashimi restaurants have never looked back. The mystique surrounding this popular form of Japanese cuisine has been unfurled, leaving the British diners baying for more. |
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| Vegetarian food – a fresh take |
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When the Vegetarian Society was first established, way back in 1847, no one could have predicted the widespread popularity of modern day vegetarianism and veganism. From tentative beginnings, the veggie scene in the UK and worldwide has changed beyond rec |
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| Wine: a global passion |
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“Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance” - wise words, indeed, from Benjamin Franklin.
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| Table Manners |
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Dining etiquette rules are made to be broken, or so it would appear, judging by a straw poll of London’s fine dining establishments, both traditional and avant-garde. Enter any modern restaurant, nowadays, even those renowned for their top-drawer formalit |
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| Festive Cheer |
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Remember, many years ago, when the annual Christmas bash, with its bland, predictable menus and boring booze filled the reluctant partygoers with foreboding; when the discerning palate was forced into exile for the duration of the silly season? Such ritua |
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| International Wine Challenge |
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The wine testing results are in – the sediment has had time to settle. And, as 2003 draws to a close, it is highly gratifying to report that The International Wine Challenge, promoted as the “world’s biggest blind tasting” of quality wines from around the |
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| Dining Alone |
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Dining alone, in London, has at last come of age. Today’s restaurateurs are bending over backwards to court lone diners who now comprise a huge chunk of the eating-out market |
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| Guilt Free |
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There’s just too much cheery advice around, nowadays, about what not to eat when dining out on a diet; a great deal of it, irritatingly sanctimonious. And, as for those dreary suggestions and less than heartfelt reassurances that yes, a salad without dres |
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| Dining Demographics |
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This may come as a bit of a surprise, but a recent survey, in the Wall Street Journal, revealed that people living in the United Kingdom are leading the world when it comes to enjoying themselves, with a whopping 32 percent of British bons viveurs expendi |
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| Restaurants Ruction |
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Only in recent years has our favourite global institution - the restaurant - come under academic scrutiny; and erudite feathers are flying, regarding the origins of the first modern restaurant...
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| Haute Cuisine |
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The French term "haute cuisine" used to describe elaborate, skilfully prepared food. It is now part of the English language. Its assimilation, however, into the gastronomic vocabulary of the British public, has been a gradual and tentative affair, spannin |
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| London Cafe Culture |
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The ambience, the buzz, the broad appeal across all age groups and ethnicities, the relaxed social interaction, the seductive food and drinks' menus: these are just some of the heady ingredients that make up London's thriving café culture. |
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| Why Lunch? |
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Attitudes - they are a changing among the lunching fraternity; and that also goes for the rest of the population who enjoy going out for a bite to eat at lunch-time..
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| London Chain Restaurants |
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Often synonymous with predictable, nondescript nosh, London's chain restaurants are at last fighting back. They merit a fresh look and those diners, sufficiently open-minded to explore what the "chains" have to offer, are in for a few pleasant surprises |
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| Fine Dining |
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There's a lot more to fine dining in London than meets the eye.
Of course, you can leaf through the pages of the current Michelin Guide as a starting point. Nothing wrong with that - and the chances are you won't be disappointed |
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| British Dining Culture |
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Britain is currently witnessing a resurgence of interest in the pleasures of food. The British dining culture is buoyant! "Everyday dining" is fast becoming part of the social fabric of British life.
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| Passion for Puddings |
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London's pudding lovers have, at last, come out of the closet - and who can blame them!In recent years, the temptation has been mounting, with quality restaurants vying with each other to win the affections of diners with a penchant for puddings.
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| Pairing Food and Wine |
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Pairing food and wine - new directions.The very thought of matching food with the "right wine" no longer strikes fear into the hearts of modern diners. Today, we're more open-minded, knowledgeable and flexible; we have, indeed, seen through the emperor's |
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| Restaurant Menu Psychology |
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Fascinating research has revealed that there's much more to compiling a menu than meets the eye. The objectives are complex.
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| Global Cuisine |
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For sheer diversity, quality and imaginative culinary input, London is arguably the gastronomic capital of modern, global cuisine.Such high acclaim has, in turn, proved self-perpetuating, attracting a bevy of talented chefs and restaurateurs to the heart |
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| New Restaurants |
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The days when London restaurants opened their doors on the strength of just a whimsical vision are a thing of the past. Today's ruthlessly competitive climate has put paid to that. |
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| Modern Chef |
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Historically, the British public has never had much truck for "those who cook" for a living. Our more enlightened counterparts, however, across the Channel, have always revered the professionalism of their top chefs and awarded them accordingly. |
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| Gastro Giggle |
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What can be better than dining out and having fun? Rosalie Garrett uncovers the restaurants to amaze, amuse and guarantee a good giggle.
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| Quality Fare |
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At the recent World Gourmet Summit, held in Singapore (March 30th - April 12th 2003), the Swiss Master Chef, Roland Jöhri of Talvo restaurant, St. Moritz, was keen to emphasise that "food should taste the way it's been grown; natural and fresh".
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| Michelin Magic |
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The word 'Michelin' has been known to make grown men cry in both elation and desperation, but what is Michelin, what is its mysterious power and where can you go to devour the delights of a Michelin rated restaurant, Rosalie Garrett reveals.
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| Best of British |
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If you are visiting London or indeed if you are a native, it is imperative for you to sample some of the local delicacies. Britain is steeped in tradition none more so than in its traditional dishes. |
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| A Fine Price |
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Just because the meal at your chosen restaurants won't break your bank balance does not mean that the food is terrible! Just because you are not dining in one of London's most expensive | |
