Starbucks red cups

I know that it is winter and christmas is just round the corner when your local starbucks start serving your favourite beverage in a red paper cup rather than the usual white-not-very-exciting looking cups. Since I discovered the joy of Chai tea latte with Soya milk (Grande - always a Grande for me!!! Tall is just too little and Venti is like way OTT), Starbucks is always frequented when I need that quick fix of sugar rush... For those of you who is not familiar with Chai tea latte , it is actually spiced sweet tea... A waft of cinnamon, and nutmeg will fill your nostrils when you lift the cup to your lips to have that first sip. Suddenly you will feel a myriad of different tastes bursting in your mouth... First, the sweetness of the drink will hit you, then the warmth of the all the different spices as the liquid slowly glides down your esophagus and into your tummy - In the cold, it gives you a superficial feeling of as if you're in front of an open log fire. I was in Starbucks again today getting my usual but today I thought why not throw in a white chocolate and strawberry muffin to go with it. This is my favourite muffin, beats your usual double chocolate or the all time favourite - blueberry...

Another favourite in starbucks will be the tuna melt panini - the crispy well toasted bread with melted cheese oozing out is pure heaven. Since I'm on a roll on the subject of food, last Sunday a friend of mine and I went for a late lunch at The Wolseley (the restaurant that is co found by The Ivy's then owner before being sold off). The ambience and most importantly the food is superb. Since we both decided that we'd both have a light lunch, we skipped starters and went straight for the main course. Both of us ordered the moules mariniere et frites - mussels cooked in cream sauce with fries. The plump juicy mussels was so soft that it literally falls apart in your mouth. The creamy sauce was perfect dipping partner for the skinny chips. I personally love chunky chips (with lots of vinegar till they get all soggy and limpy!!!) to their skinny counterpart but for this dish, skinny chips is the perfect accompaniment!! This dish brings back memories of having the exact same thing in Chez Leon in Paris... To which I must book myself a weekend getaway in Paris... Chez Leon for the gorgeous different types of mussels and Chez Omar for that amazing north african delights outside of Morocco or Tunisia- so I've been told!!! Then off to Gallerie LaFayette and Champs Elysees for a quick retail therapy... And that my friend will be 2006 to look forward to. I digress for a bit there... Since I was rushing off to watch a play at 4pm ("As you desire me" with Kristin Scott Thomas & Bob Hoskins), there wasn't any time to sample the delectable selections of puddings to complete our meal... Next time maybe!

After the play finished, a few of us went to Souk Bazaar - a North African Restaurant on Charing Cross Road to round the evening off. The joint is a bit off-beat for my liking. You have to descent a rather narrow staircase before being greeted with a piece of heavy rug hanging in the doorway (we later found out that the rug just keep the draught out) to get to the restaurant. Inside, narrow low tables and chairs adorned the whole space(or the lack of it). Dim lightings, the mismatched tables and chairs, desert music softly playing in the background, heavily French accented waiting staffs, makes you feel like you're in a souk somewhere in Marakech...The whole ambience compliments the theme that the restaurant carries. Amongst us we ordered chicken tagine with olives and preserved lime, lamb tagine with prunes and almond and lamb tagine with vegetables and fresh herbs. All tagine dishes were served with cous-cous. Tagine is a dish that is slowly cooked in an earthenware dish - this dish traditionally invariably uses mutton and vegetables as the prime ingredients but it is quite common now to find the mutton being replaced with lamb (it cuts down the cooking time!!!), chicken or even fish. In my opinion, the most tasty would be the lamb with prune and almond. The sweetness of the prune really complimented the richness of the lamb. The almond flakes on the other hand, just gives the whole dish a bit of texture to an otherwise really tender, melt in your mouth meat and fruit combo. There are just so many places to eat in London - with each offering different kinds of culinary delights. When the food is that good, combined with the beautiful and ingenious ambience of the restaurant - it feels like you're being transported to a different place altogether!

So, you see - there are so many little treasures out there when discovered we will always hold dear to our hearts. It also gives us another reason as to why we love the place where we live and what makes it the way that it is.