BUSABA, CONVENT GARDEN, LONDON

I've been coming here for 10 years... well not this one but the first and original Busaba on Wardour Street and my my hasn't it changed? It's become a chain (open in Brighton if you are reading this Mr. Busaba) and the portions have got smaller which is a shame. As far as fusion Thai goes it's not bad at all, I just keep coming back. Some of my favourite dishes include the Green chicken curry, which depending on who is cooking for the day is just perfect, spicy hot, lots of coconut and stunning chargrilled chicken, a winner with coconut rice. Other awesome dishes include the Ginger beef (I like to ask for it rare) with Thai pepper spring onion and chill AND just don't go there without having the famous Thai calamari with ginger and peppercorn, alittle bit of heaven in your mouth. OoooOOo if you go to their website they even reveal some of recipes and you can have a go at home recreating some of your favourites.

NAMO, VICTORIA PARK VILLAGE, LONDON

Ok ok, I know this is possibly the worse photo yet... BUT I had to let you know how rocking this squid and mango salad is. It came with chargrilled squid (you can also choose chicken) which was so zesty and smoked, it practically melted in my mouth. Tossed in a salad with fresh rocket, warm vegetables, toasted crispy cashews nuts and grilled mango was the way this dish rolled. This local restaurant is a firm favourite of mine and expect it to pop up from time to time.

PEMBURY TAVERN, HACKNEY, LONDON

If you go to the website of this pub you would probably run a mile without looking back, plus my photo doesn't sell it. Nothing new about the concept, pizza in a pub. But hey it was great pizza and very cheap. I went with the parma ham and rocket salad pizza on a lovely doughy base and it was perfect washed down with a cold beer. The place was full to the bream with locals, on their laptops (of course) waiting for their pizza's and that is a dead giveaway in my book on a good local (which happens to sell good pizza).

HARRY'S, HOVE, BRIGHTON

This place has been here for over 20 years, so they must be doing something right. It serves good home cooking and with a British twist. To start I had a wonderful butternut squash soup with lots of cracked pepper, I was then craving a steak with skinny fries and that is what I got! The 'minute' steak was cooked to perfection and with a dollop of ketchup (sue me) it went down a treat. Gotta love a simple British gaff.

HAPPY KITCHEN, LONDON FIELDS, LONDON

On a grey drizzly morning, I swung by the railway arches in London Fields to this little gem. With the East London Line rumbling over your head, it felt exactly how a rustic organic cafe should feel. Now 'organic' is the key word here, along with 'healthy', 'gluten free', 'sugar free' and 'hearty'. I, of course opted for the naughtiest thing I could find on the menu, this being their weekend pancakes. The 'fruity' option consisted of apple compote, yought, bananas, raspberries, granola and a super food berry who's name fails me. Yes it was lovely if you wanna eat uber healthy, but I need something with alittle more va-va-voom for breakfast (especially on the weekend). The caffè latte was pretty perfect though.

BOHO MEXICA, SPITALFIELDS, LONDON

It was my birthday and I was craving something Mexican, so 9 of us decamped to a pre-booked table and bantered about what each of us was having and why. After agreeing we started with various cocktails, Mexican beers and shared the amazing Tacos. Wow what a selection, sautéed Scottish beef with habanero onions, pork marinated with chiles and grilled pineapple, sautéed sea bass and shredded chicken breast cooked in a roast tomato and chipotle chile sauce. Dribbling yet? You should be, they were just awesome and I would have eaten them for my main course all by myself. I was also tempted to try the 'Caldo Tlapeño' a smoky chicken broth with avocado and chipotle to you and me, it was perfect, smoky hot and spiced with lots of paprika and a rich puréed thang going on.

You'd think that would be enough, but hey it was my birthday and the portions aren't super big.. Main dishes included sautéed calamari and baby octopus with chipotle chile and onions and grilled Paillard pork marinated for 24 hours in a mix of chiles, served with a black bean puree, rice and sweet plantains. As you can see alot of words, but quite frankly there are ALOT of flavours and few words would not do it justice.