FM Mangal, Camberwell

I've never been much good at Turkish food. Every single time I've been to an ocakbasi, without fail, I've stuffed myself silly on mezze, filling up on hummous and taramasalta, those grilled breads shovelling various dips and paste until I'm too full for my main course. The grilled meats take a back seat while I forlornly pick at them, willing my digestive system to hurry up and do it's thing. 

The same was almost true of when I visited FM Mangal, in Camberwell. A favourite of the critics, I'd heard much of the grilled onions in magic sauce (top photo). We managed to refrain from over-ordering, probably much down to Cherry who had been before. She carefully guided me towards one shared starter and a shared main. I was doubtful - are we sure we don't want more? - she was confident, and I am pleased I took heed. 

Those grilled onions, complimentary at the beginning of the meal, were indeed magic. Charred and slightly bitter, they bathed in a sweet and sour sauce that was pink from pomegranate. Thin breads dusted with spice and glistening with fat were excellent dunkers. 

Grilled aubergines were slathered with a spicy tomato sauce. Falling apart with tenderness, they were a good example of a well-treated aubergine. Our mixed grill main had tiny little lamb ribs, succulent chicken wings, a chop and a kofte or two. The rice, plump with butter finished us off. 

We both walked away with change from a £20, after a couple shots of Amaretto-like liqueur on the house; the straight-forward but smiling waitresses waved us off into the night. It's not going to win any Michelin stars, but I'm pretty damn pleased to have a local that serves me a magic sauce - and no, they won't give you the recipe. 

FM Mangal
54 Camberwell Church Street
London SE5 8QZ 

020 7701 6677

Asian Red Cabbage Slaw

I gained half a stone in Toronto. I KNOW. I could hardly believe it either; what with the burgers, the all-you-can-eat sushi, poutine and deep fried pickles. Upon my return, a health drive was top of the agenda and I started off with making a batch of red cabbage slaw. 

I've found it hard to decipher where it's from so let's just call it Asian, though with the mint, lime and coriander I would crudely lump it in the Vietnamese category. This isn't a claggy, mayonnaise laden affair - those have a place in my heart too, usually when I don't resemble a fattened goose - but instead it's dressed with citrus, making it tangy, crunchy and lively. Served with salmon steamed with ginger, I felt pretty healthy and smug after eating it.

Asian Red Cabbage Slaw

Serves 4 as a side

1/2 a red cabbage
3 carrots
2 spring onions
2 inches ginger, minced
1 red birds eye chilli
1 lime
3 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp white sugar
1 handful of mint
1 handful of coriander
1 tsp sesame oil

In a large mixing bowl, add the soy sauce to the juice of the lime, the chopped up chilli, minced ginger, vinegar and sugar. Mix well. 

Halve the red cabbage and remove the tough white core. Shred finely and add to the big bowl. Julienne the carrots (I have a nifty peeler that does this) and shred the spring onion. Add to the cabbage with the finely chopped mint and coriander. Toss well with the dressing and add the sesame oil, and toss again. Use your hands for this, it's easier. Leave to stand for 5 minutes before serving. It keeps well in the fridge for a couple of days.

Eating in Toronto, Canada

I spent just over a week in Canada - mainly Toronto, with a countryside jaunt to Penetanguishene. Yes, I can't pronounce that either. Toronto was perfect for sightseeing (EATING) with 25 degrees and sunshine every day. We wandered around happily, devouring bags of pickle-flavoured Doritos and bacon chipotle popcorn, willing our digestive systems to do its thing so that we could stuff another meal in. Here's some of the things that made me fat. 

Upon our arrival we headed for Chinatown where we witnessed a spring roll eating competition. Two of the three competitors managed a pitiful 4 in 6 minutes. We heckled, and then headed for Mother's Dumplings. Well-flavoured with thin skins and decent crisp bottoms, the pork and prawn potstickers came as 10 priced at around £5 (top picture). Siu long bao, those broth-filled dumplings that are so hard to get good were listed as 'juicy pork buns' on the menu. Left to cool down for as long as we could bear, I caved in and delicately grabbed one, with only mild burnage from the exploding dumpling. It's a real skill, judging and being able to wait until the dumplings are of temperate heat. The dumpling skins were just the right thickness to hold their contents, and the broth was appropriately porky and full of ginger flavour. 

We were staying in Koreatown so a lunch there was inevitable. It was a particularly hot day which prompted me to order the Naengmyeon in an empty Korea House - buckwheat noodles, served in an icy cold noodle soup. The soup even had ice floating in it, so cold it was. The noodles had a great chewiness to them and I was pleased the waitress had come with scissors to cut them into manageable lengths as I was victim of the noodle flap. Garnished with half a boiled egg and a seriously chewy, dry piece of beef, this was a vinegary dish; the slices of radish are pickled, and it was served with a bottle of vinegar on the side so that you can add more to your taste. Refreshing, though I found the one-flavourness of it all a bit dull by the end of it. But no matter, as little dishes (provided FREE, as it should be - you hear, London?) of banchan - two types of kimchi, some seasoned bean sprouts, seasoned seaweed and a totally awesome potato marinated in something salty and sweet - broke up the monotony. I have no idea whether this is the best place to eat in K-Town, but my friend's stew and a noodle dish were pretty good too. 

Banh Mi Boys was recommended to me by the lovely Shayma and happily it turned out to be almost next door to where we had arranged to go boozing that evening. It was meant to be. Inside, you park a friend at one of 10 or so seats while you go and place your order and wait for the food. The menu reads well, with a selection of banh mi, Korean-style tacos and steamed baos. I went for a classic lemongrass-grilled pork banh mi - a bargain at £3.50ish - with a side of kimchi fries. The banh mi was excellent, properly airy and light baguette with intenselyporky pork that was juicy from its marinade. Pickled carrot and daikon was in abundance and provided a crunchy contrast to the meat. Kimchi fries were thin skin-on chips topped with pulled pork, kimchi, spring onion and mayo; despite its name, the kimchi seemed an ingredient too far but they were still hoovered up quick smart.

Speaking of chips, we couldn't very well go to Canada without trying poutine, could we? Chips topped with gravy and cheese curds was never going to sound massively appealing, but they were awesome drunk food, and I imagine it would also be awesome hangover food. Poutini's House of Poutine serves only that, with standing room to enjoy your gravy-drenched chips interspersed with squeaky curds. We went for the classic, while my friend went for 'the works' - topped with bacon, sour cream and chives. I'm surprised he didn't die of a heart attack then and there. Compared to another poutine we had (at Holy Chuck), the gravy was more peppery but had decent beef flavour. 

It was at Holy Chuck that we had awesomely beefy burgers. The only day it rained, we took shelter by stuffing our faces with them, poutine and bacon panko-crusted deep fried pickles. The menu (PDF alert!) is massive and daunting as well as slightly terrifying (check out the Go Chuck Yourself) but I finally decided on the Big Bad Wolf. At around £6, it was two patties fried in 'ball park mustard' and topped with caramelised onions and cheese. Cooked medium as standard, it was so juicy and beefy the juices ran down my hands almost to the elbow. The deep fried pickles, thick cut and served with a spicy mayo were glorious. The poutine was addictive. I'm drooling a little, recalling this meal actually. 

La Carnita was recommended to us and we popped by for a taco snack before our dinner plans. Once a street van and now a permanent fixture, La Carnita was opened by a couple of chaps from a digital design agency. We sat outside so I can't comment much about the decor, but the tacos were far from authentic Mexican street food; instead they were presented prettily, with modern takes on them such as using apple and mango as part of the toppings. We were big fans of the ox tongue tostada (back left) and the battered fish taco was greaseless and light. I wish we'd gone back for a more thorough work out of the menu. For a more traditional take on tacos, we liked El Trompo on Kensington Market. Good margaritas too.

A trip to St Lawrence Market saw us eating three lunches. We started off with a Canadian speciality; peameal bacon. More like a ham steak these were half an inch thick and crusted with corneal. It was like an awesome ham sandwich. 

Downstairs, we couldn't resist the meatball godfather. Holy god. In a soft bun, firstly breaded and deep fried aubergine slices covered the base of the bun. 3 meatballs, sliced in half and topped with red sauce went on top of that. Another slice of aubergine followed, with hot peppers (which were really freaking hot) softened with onions and mushrooms. More red sauce. Then the lid. It was bigger than my face. 

Back at ground floor level, Buster's Sea Cove offers various fish in sandwich format or to serve it with salad, fries or rice, mostly under a tenner depending on what type of fish you  choose. We opted for a sandwich - beautifully fried fish with tartare sauce and a little salad in thin, crisp bread. We also got grilled calamari that was dressed in a garlicky, lemon and parsley sauce. The squid took on the flavours of the charcoal grill, and was tender and smoky. The slaw was thankfully mayonnaise-free, and I was only sad we couldn't fit in a portion of fries as they looked like the skin-on, crispy, curly version. Who doesn't love curly fries? (Don't say you. Then we couldn't be friends.) Be warned; the market isn't open on Sundays or Mondays.

And finally, I had to indulge in my guilty pleasure. McDonald's fillet o' fish. But in Toronto they have DOUBLE fillet o' fish! Double deliciousness. Don't judge me. 

Duck & Waffle

If you follow the people I do on Twitter, you'll have heard an awful lot about Duck & Waffle. An awful lot indeed. It almost put me off going, so much were people wanging on about it, and then I realised that it must be quite good to generate such a buzz, and I should stop being so grumpy. 

My vertiginous friend and I gingerly stepped into the glass-walled lift that would take us up the 39 floors of The Heron Tower in Bishopsgate, to deposit us in the bar area. Orange-dressed women wafted us up a curved flight of orange stairs, as we stared agape at the view. Hello, London.

The restaurant itself was smaller than I imagined, with a open kitchen where you might want to watch the chefs at work. I'm unsure as to why you would, with the view before you; the three of us were mesmerised by it. Later, when it became dark, the fireworks of the Paralympics Opening Ceremony were visible. 

The head chef, Dan Doherty, was previously of The Old Brewery in Greenwich and we've long chatted over Twitter, though never actually met. He kindly sent us some crispy pigs' ears (£4), spiced with barbecue flavours and served in a paper bag with a wax seal. These were chewy and salty, nicely spicy, sometimes crunchy. They were seriously addictive, and possibly better than tooth-shattering pork scratchings. Maybe. 

We'd given this burrata, served with pickled pink onions, capers and leaves (£9) a good poke by the time this picture had been taken and it spilled its contents all over the place. The bland creaminess paired with the sharp, peppery salad was a delight, and I wished we'd ordered some bread. 

An oozy Scotch egg was jazzed up with using smoked haddock (£6) instead of pork, and served with a curried mayonnaise. This was pleasant enough but a bit on the salty side with a slightly chewy crust and I wondered whether anything really could beat pork wrapped around an egg. 

Bacon-wrapped dates with dandelion salad (£7) was a flavour bomb. The dates were actually stuffed with a spiced sausage before being wrapped in bacon, so it was pure meatiness with some background sweetness. I really enjoyed this - it needed the bitter dandelion salad to help you along the richness - and you couldn't really eat more than one.

Mussels & clams with 'nduja and fennel broth (£10) was served with the house bread. Puffy and soft, we alternated between using this for the burrata and the shellfish juices, and it soaked them up like a dream. The mussels were small and sweet, the broth meaty and moreish. I wished more of the clams were open. Octopus braised with chorizo (£11) was smoky and tender, a generous portion.

Ahh the eponymous dish, the duck & waffle (£13). It sounds awful on paper; confit duck leg? Egg? Waffle and maple syrup...? But actually it was freaking delicious. The more mustardy maple syrup I drenched on it the better it was. It's a sharing dish, due to its richness (3 of us shared it) but what a dish it is, and well worthy to be the star of the show. 

Desserts for me are usually an 'oh fine, if everyone else is', and it is not often I get excited about them. However, the torrejas with maple caramel apples (£7) was ordered for us to share and glad I am we did too as it was one of my favourite dishes of the night. The torrejas was a brioche-like French toast type thing, soaking up the maple apple juices. It smelled amazing, and tasted as such with the ice cream tempering the sweetness of it all. 

Service was friendly and attentive throughout, and the room was nicely buzzing without being too noisy. There was a good mix of couples and friends dining with no sign of the braying suits that SushiSamba a couple floors below is reportedly plagued by. I loved Duck & Waffle quite a lot and we all tripped out of the elevator headed homeward and grinning. 

In the interests of full clarity, the kitchen were very generous and we were unexpectedly sent a few complimentary dishes. We paid for the rest. My full Flickr set of the meal is here. 

Duck & Waffle

Heron Tower
110 Bishopsgate
London EC2

Tel: 0203 640 7310

Dak Doritang - Korean Chicken Stew

I was after something simple and homely, something I could stick on the stove so that I could flop on the couch and gaze inanely at the TV. I wanted something vivid with a variety of textures and I wanted something meaty. I knew I was being picky but a quick Google search told me that Korean was the way to go. 

Usually a winter dish, Dak Doritang (spicy simmered chicken stew) has many variations and recipes, but all I found include chicken and potatoes. And then served over rice. Double carbing! I was sold.

This recipe is an amalgamation of lots I found over the internet, and having never been to Korea or tried this dish in a Korean restaurant, I have no idea whether it is 'authentic' or not. It is delicious though, and given how simple it was to put together and the short ingredients list, it is set to be a staple. The sweetness of the sauce tempers the heat of the chilli, making it tongue-tingling but not excruciating. Well, not for me anyway; my housemate broke a sweat so if you're not very tolerant perhaps dial down the chilli powder a bit. It's not the most attractive of dishes - stews, I find rarely are - but more a giant bowl to bury your face in. 

I used dark chicken meat on the bone which I think is very important; given that you're using a water base rather than stock you need to get maximum flavour given the relatively short simmering time, and the bones help do this. Also, it's more fun eating meat off the bone. I kept the skin on the chicken, adding more flavour and texture and I understand that flabby chicken skin isn't high on everyone's favourites list, but personally I love it. Remove it if it gives you the wibbles.

Dak Doritang

Serves 4

For the sauce: 2 tbsp Gochujang (get this at your local Asian supermarket)
3 tbsp coarse Korean chilli powder (this stuff is not blow-your-face-off but gives it the red colour so if you use a different chilli powder be careful with quantities)
5 cloves of garlic, minced
2" piece of ginger, minced
3 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp white sugar
1 tbsp rice wine (Shaoxing)
2 tbsp ketchup (yes really)
60ml water

4 large chicken thighs - get your butcher to chop each into 4 for you, or get your cleaver out.
2 medium white onions, chopped into 6
2 carrots, chopped roughly
6 new potatoes, sliced in half (so they're bite-sized)
A handful of green beans - any greenery you have, really
4 spring onions, sliced diagonally 

Bring a pan of water to the boil and drop the chicken pieces in. Simmer for two minutes, drain and rinse the pan and the chicken thoroughly. 

Meanwhile, combine the sauce ingredients and add the chicken, tossing well. Place back in the pan and bring to the simmer. Add the potatoes and the onions and simmer for 10 minutes with the lid on, then add the onions and simmer for another 20 mins lid on, tossing all the ingredients in the sauce well. If it's looking a little dry, add more water but this is supposed to be nice and thick. Remove the lid, stir and add the greenery and simmer for another 15 minutes, gently. Serve over steamed white rice with the sliced spring onions garnishing each dish. 

Slider Bar, Soho

I couldn't help it. I am completely obsessed with the burgers from Lucky Chip and I'm not the only one. My friends now get burger cravings, and we wind each other up with just a mention of their Daryl Hannah (a fillet-o'-fish version) and the chilli cheese fries. As soon as Slider Bar, Lucky Chip's new Soho outpost, was mentioned, we had to go. To me, sliders are mini burgers so that means I get to eat lots of different flavoured burgers right? Good. So I apologise, this is based all on Slider Bar's opening night, something I'm still debating about whether it's a fair thing to do or not as surely they're still settling in? But hey, if they're taking my money...

Just like at The Sebright Arms, they've collaborated with an existing space to serve the food there, and in this instance it's The Player Bar. A nondescript door just off Wardour Street, the main vein of Soho, blink and you'll miss the little sign proclaiming its presence. Downstairs, the room is big and blue-lit - it was a cocktail bar after all. 

The menu is split off into starters, sliders with chips and desserts. We zoned straight in to the chicken bucket for two (£9). Fried chicken, cheese croquettes, creamed corn and chicken gravy. It was too much for me to move on from. A tray arrived with a small tub of well fried, juicy chicken. The coating was nicely crunchy, the chicken beneath juicy and flavoursome. We squirted the chicken gravy over pieces and scoffed them quick smart. The cheese croquettes were vehicles for the creamed sweetcorn - and oh, that creamed sweetcorn. It was smooth, sweet, corny glory in a pot. I frantically flagged down a waitress for a fork, a spoon - anything, now that I was out of cheese vehicles. 

That chicken starter made me only hungrier for my sliders. The menu format offers two sliders with chips for £12.50, but our waiter conspiratorially told us we could add an extra slider for £4 or so, so we got 3 sliders to share between us. Our favourite, the fillet o' fish (top background slider) was a perfect mini version of the Daryl Hannah. The double cheeseburger had two patties fused with melted cheese; cooked perfectly to medium - impressive given it's diminutive size - and these were messily good. Our last, the Club was also a two pattied beast with lettuce, onion and tomato; much like a mini Big Mac I suppose. I was in a slider heaven. A moment of confusion occured when I dipped a chip into a little pot of white stuff, thinking it was mayonnaise. I was slightly startled to find that it was some sort of fizzy lemon sherbet foam. Okay, perhaps it's that McDonald's fries dipped in vanilla ice cream kind of thing? (Come on - we've all done it.) I carried on dipping confidently until when asked, one of the servers told us it was a palate cleanser. That would explain the popping candy. I felt quite silly. 

Having shared our sliders though, we figured that meant we could fit one last dish in, and we went back to the starters and ordered the fish n' chips (£7.50). It was the lure of the 'fish skin crisps' in the description. The dish was made up of a log of hake, enclosed in a delicate greaseless batter arrived, perfectly fried and crispy. A seared scallop was perched atop crushed peas, flavoured well with a mint oil. The fish skin crisps looked alarmingly salted, but a dab of that salt revealed it was in fact powdered malt vinegar. We gazed at each other in wonderment, pleased as punch that we'd decided to order it. It was excellent, and so refined and clever that it actually seemed incongruous for the burger place I thought it was. Still, there is a very smart person in the kitchen - and someone incredibly good at deep-frying too. 

We skipped dessert (ice cream burgers), something I won't be doing next time. A small part of me wished the menu format wasn't so rigid - for example it would be nice if you could go and order 5 sliders and skip the (admittedly good) chips or something, but there doesn't seem to be that option. Still, I can't wait to go back already. 

The Slider Bar at The Player 
8 Broadwick Street 
London W1F 8HN

The Begging Bowl, Peckham

The Begging Bowl in Peckham has just opened, on the site that was formerly a short-lived pizza place and before that, a fairly well regarded cafe. Tucked in the back streets of the 'posh' side of Peckham, Bellenden (stop sniggering), we visited as a group of nine to attempt to try most of the menu. No reservations taken, a small line snaked out of the restaurant; it was looking popular already, less than a week into service. Inside was packed and noisy and we squidged onto a bench to tackle the task of ordering. Happily, we managed to utter the words we all dream of - 'we'll have one of everything'. The menu is split into 'Slight Dishes £4.50', 'Light Dishes £7.50' and 'Robust Dishes £9.50', with sticky rice and steamed rice included.

Deep fried salmon with sour fruits and chilli (top picture) came from the light dishes, and for £7.50 seemed a little on the small side. Perhaps it is the plate they used, as a smaller plate might have made it seem better value. Nevertheless, it was pretty delicious - tender chunks of flaky salmon was mixed with shallots and lots of citrus and herbs, with a good chilli kick to it. 

Betel leaves came 5 to a plate and was topped with nuts, palm sugar and pomelo. This was one of my favourites of the night, and I wondered whether the chap I saw buying £50's worth of betel leaves from the local Oriental supermarket last week was doing so for this dish. They were the perfect little mouthful of grassiness, sour, sweet and savoury. I had something very similar in Nahm in Bangkok except these were a little less weird.

 
Thai fishcakes were less favoured; their characteristic traditional bounciness that comes from pounding the fish until elastic was missing, and instead these were fluffier and with a more potatoey texture. Lime leaves were mixed in with each nugget giving them a nice fragrance though.

Coconut and galangal soup with chicken and mushrooms (so, tom kha gai?) came in a tureen and was beautifully fragrant and flavoursome, the galangal coming out strong. Tom Yum soup with prawns was less successful; it needed stronger flavours of that sour, savoury, spicy balance.

Of the robust dishes, the curry with pork shoulder and ginger impressed the most. The pork was juicy, the gravy heavily spiked with coconut. I wished for a little bit more chilli heat. 

Green curry was made with rabbit instead of the ubiquitous chicken, but if I'm honest I probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference. The addition of both apple and pea aubergines were a nice touch though, and it had a pleasant nose-clearing kick. Another main I was impressed with was a grilled bream smeared with a red curry paste and served wrapped up in the banana leaves it was grilled in. 

The only disappointing dish was the grilled sirloin steak served with chilli sauce, cucumber and some herbs. The beef wasn't particularly beefy and I was unsure of how to tackle it - a bite of steak and a bite of cucumber? A dunk in each sauce? Wrapped in basil? It seemed least balanced of the robust dishes and was lacking in something. 

Otherwise, I was pretty impressed with The Begging Bowl. Although I could have done with some more chilli in most of the dishes, the balance of flavours so prized in Thai food was mostly there. I think they're pretty brave in eschewing the noodles of Thailand - everyone loves a pad Thai, no? - but maybe that is yet to come. 

The waiting staff could have been overwhelmed by the amount of people eating but instead they were calm, sweet and friendly, and we had a good chat when they asked us for feedback on the dishes we'd had. Given it was the opening week I can only imagine it'll get better; I don't know anywhere locally that does decent Thai food so I'll definitely be back. 

The Begging Bowl 

168 Bellenden Road

Peckham

SE15 4BW

No reservations