meemalee

A year ago today, my grandfather passed away. I was gearing up to write an anniversary tribute post about what a wonderful man he was and what an amazing life he'd led. But two days ago, my grandmother suddenly died. I guess all I want to say right now is, I really miss them both.

My first meme ! I have no idea how to pronounce the word! Seriously though, Dennis K of A Radiused Corner - My Internet Bento Box threw down the gauntlet to me to come up with my 10 favourite food photos - that is to say, photos pertaining to food that I have taken with my own fair hands. And I'm so over-excited that it's only taken me a week to come up with my top ten (unlike Dennis w ho took a year ... heh). So in no particular order we have: Sadly, I need to dash as I have a plane to catch to Osaka! In the meantime, see if you can work out where these were taken and what they're of (it's like sudoku but better). I'll provide full caption on my return. Back in two weeks, love you all ...

"Just one Cornetto, Give it to me, Delicious ice cream from Italy" Many moons ago, I thought the pink, white and brown of a Neapolitan block was the height of ice cream sophistication. "Gelato" was just something Homer Simpson would squeal; I had only the vaguest notion of what it was. Thankfully, these days the Gelato Revolution is in full swing, and the recent hot weather has given me excuses to indulge in offerings from both Gelato Mio and Alba Gold . The first has branches in Charing Cross and Holland Park, the second mainly supplies restaurants but also has its own little shop in Acton. GELATO MIO Here I went for Bacio (hazelnut and chocolate gelato) and Fior Di Latte (pure milk gelato) in a sugar cone. Hubby had Cioccolato (chocolate) and Caffe (coffee) in a paper cup. The Bacio was rich and deeply chocolatey with lots of whole hazelnuts embedded within. The Fior Di Latte was something I'd wanted to try for a while - pure milk ice cream - and it was as ...

Regrets, I have a few. And one of them is that I only managed to haul my ass over to Colindale three times before the mighty Oriental City was felled by developers. Our affair was brief but intense. For instance, I immediately fell for Utsuwa No Yakata , the wondrous Japanese porcelain purveyor. The vast Oriental City supermarket was the stuff of dreams - Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Indonesian, Malaysian, Korean, Indian, Vietnamese, fresh, frozen and dried - you name it, they had it. I even managed to get fresh mentaiko there. I adored the Durian Centre with its durian shaped menus (even if it was never blimming open), the shonky Sanrio Shop, the tiny Japanese household goods shop, and the crummy little Sega Arcade. But ye gods, it was truly love at first sight when my eyes fell upon the Oriental City Food Court . From roti canai to ramen , via dimsum and som tam , through to pho and sushi, all washed down with fruity smoothies and ice kachang , every Asian and Oriental cuis...

Vive la Revolution! Giles and Sue are about to experience the 10 most tumultuous years in French history - 1785 to 1795. It was also the age of discovery with the arrival of electricity and hot air balloons (more on that later). Our Supersizers will be living as King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette in Vaux-le-Vicomte , the alleged inspiration for the Palace of Versailles . Their chef for the week is Mickael Weiss, head chef at the Coq D'Argent or as I like to call it The Money Chicken and which hilariously has the address of One Poultry. Michael's kitchen or l'office de la bouche is stuffed with supplies as gluttony is very much the order of the day, although 90% of the French population at the time lived on bread and soup. No white bread for them though - it was thought that aristocrats could only digest the finest, fluffiest white bread whilst the peasants were only allowed the coarsest brown. Michael's preparing only dishes from Massialot 's Cuisinier Ro...