THE LION AND LOBSTER, BRIGHTON

It's been a while hasn't it?... 2013 I'm expecting big things from you food-wise. Let's continue on our little food journey and it begins here at one of my ALL time favorite pubs. The Lion and Lobster. Whenever I have friends down from London this is the place I take them, a tardis of a pub.. little rooms leading off even more litte rooms, a bonus if you wanna hide and drink (and eat). There is a beautiful dining room on the top floor which has a hint of a 'luxury Victorian dining room' touch about it.

Most Brightonian's can be found here on a Sunday sampling the winner roast dinners (there will be a separate post dedicated to this) but I had the pub menu today. Now it's worth mentioning this pub gets busy, crazy busy, so if you want to make a night of it you'll need to book a table, but hey that's a sign of a good pub isn't it? Anyone who knows me well will tell you how much I love a pub fish and chips and this one ticked all the boxes fresh fish, beautifully cooked chips and a nice dollop of mushy peas. They have an extensive menu, from stone-baked pizza, lovely home-made soups with fresh bread, and all the English classics. Winner. Every. Time.

THE HAMPTON ARMS, BRIGHTON

This was one of the BEST pub roasts I have ever had. It puts London pubs to shame. I bow down to you oh ye wonderful rib of beef. Now I'm trying to cut down on my intake of red meat for 2012... However when this came floating past me in the pub that went out of the window. The beef I can honestly say was flawless and I asked for it rare and rare is what I got. It came served with roasted onions, a carrot purée and roast sweet potatoes, creamy leeks, along with normal roasties, sweet beetroot AND stewed red wine cabbage! Incredible. Makes moving back to Brighton worthwhile let me tell you. OOOoooo I finished with bread and butter pudding with custard and a raspberry jus type sauce. Gotta love a good pudding after a roast. Ahem I walked home!

WICK, HACKNEY WICK, LONDON

You know when you just crave a 'proper fry-up' none of this fusion fry-up with herbs nonsense? Yep the number 1 on the menu board was just the ticket for my craving. As far as greasy spoons goes this one was great. £4.30 later and this arrived, the extra treat of hash browns was welcome and the cuppa of builders perfect, in all perfection on a plate.

LE TROIS GARCONS, SHOREDITCH, LONDON

Having spent 3 weeks in France you'd have thought I might be over French cuisine for a while. However Groupon presented itself with a 6 course taster menu for 2 for £60 hurrah! I just couldn't resist. Obviously. And so off we went to the world of eccentric with a capital E, this enchanting place complete with stuffed animals including the infamous stuffed giraffe wearing a tiara and the chain-smoking monkey hovering over you. I couldn't make this up even if I tried, I half expected Poirot to jump out from behind a curtain or something, just brilliant.

Now let's get to the food. Barely at our table and a bowl of steaming freshly baked bread arrived followed by our amuse bouche of pumpkin soup with shaved parmesan. Then came foie gras served on brioche crusts, followed by pan seared cod and for me the winner next course of rare venison steak, served on poached pears with a beetroot and pear purée and a sticky potato cake with stewed venison on the side. It was sublime. The textures were all there and a joy to behold. Then came a chocolate flan followed by coffee and out of this world petit fours! I would totally recommend this place and you have to go just for the experience. Needless to say I didn't eat for the next two days.

VIET GRILL, SHOREDITCH, LONDON

Guess where I went for dinner last night? Yet another Vietnamese (shock horror).. on.. yes you've guessed it Kingsland Road home to all things Vietnamese and great. I have pretty much tried all the places on that street over the years and decided on something new and pretty. Viet Grill is probably one of the more smarter ones and I've always been a tad put off by that. So in we rolled and we were pretty much all blown away with the choice on the menu, so much good stuff on there, by that I mean choices like Ginger Roast duck, Coconut Red sea prawns, Lobster curry (hello!), Saigon pork belly.. I could go on, but I will stop there at saying I went with the Spicy Pho with chicken (whaa? I was cold) with the house platter of prawn summer rolls, dumplings and other nibbles. We will definitely be stopping by again and next time I will WILL try that Lobster curry..

PHAM SUSHI, BARBICAN, LONDON

So I debated with my soul as to whether to put this photo up or not. I was so sad that I couldn't get a better photo for you, but I blame those pesky lights and the two beers I had before. BUT I just had to tell you how good it was. After walking around for an hour looking for sushi restaurants in East London (they all close in the city on the weekend) I remembered a friend telling me this one was worth trying. To start I had the soft shell crab sushi roll and for my main my favourite friend Mr.Bento (box) with beef teriyaki and the usual suspects miso soup, pickle and rice. I opted to have more sushi with 6 pieces of salmon cut roll. I asked for my beef to be cooked rare and it melted in my mouth like butter... incredible. I'm so going back and this time I promise I'll take a better photo. Forgive me.

TARO, SOHO, LONDON

I'll be the first to confess to being a bit of a Ramen snob, but how good does this one look uh? It wasn't that bad either I must confess. Soon after sitting down it didn't take long for the soup to arrive, a steaming bowl of fresh of noodles served in chicken broth with teriyaki chicken which was sticky and flavorsome just as nature intended, let's not forget the dried seaweed, kamaboko, green onions too. I do love a bit of value and for £6.70 it was bang on the nose. As lovely as it is, I wouldn't take Japanese vistors here, it's just a simple, quick, cheap and decent Japanese restaurant which won't break your wallet.