meg-made it to Union Street Cafe (review)

This past weekend was an unseasonably unplanned weekend for us, and so we took advantage of a family weekend and did lots of fun "London" things together. 

One of these was an exquisite lunch at Gordon Ramsays' Union Street Cafe in Borough. 

It was in such a different locale to the other two we've been to so far (Bread Street Kitchen and Maze Grill) but the Union Street Cafe has such a Melbourne charm to it that we just adored. 

Books for Cooks: My mecca in Notting Hill

How is it that hairdressers know everything?! Its fantastic! 

I usually don't find myself terribly chatty when I'm at the hairdresser (its such a rare time to be alone and quiet, so I'd much rather just be for a while), but my last hairdresser, well he was a foodie. 

And so we chatted. A lot. 

He told me about so many great foodie things to do in London, one of which was to visit Books for Cooks in Notting Hill. 

It doesn't really need any further clarification, its a bookshop filled with cookbooks, and cookbooks alone. 

A Wonderful World of Wusthof (Wusthof knives review)

Investing in a set of good kitchen knives has always been on our "must buy" list, which was always ranking below other essentials, without knowing just how valuable they could be!

With the amount of cooking I do, I really can't believe how long I've waited to have some good knives.

We spent months and months researching knives, because we wanted to make sure we were getting the absolute best we could afford and getting the right knives for us. 

Through a combination of gifts from family and our Christmas presents to each other, we finally put together the perfect set of knives.

meg-made it to Bake-a-Boo (review)

Bake-A-Boo. The name just works doesn't it?! 

Combining youthful mystery with the promise of gluten free sweet bakes, Bake-A-Boo is not only cute by name, but it is cute by decor (and delicious in nature)!

meg-made it to The Spaniard's Inn Hampstead (review)

The Spaniard's Inn is one of those iconic British pubs that you picture when you think of rolling green hills in the English countryside. But this one, is in London, between Highgate and Hampstead in fact. And we just love it. 

It is one of London's oldest pubs and literary greats like Keats and Dickens are thought to have penned some important works whilst having a pint at the Spaniards. Dotted throughout the Spaniards Inn are publications that are suspected to be written within its very walls, such as The Pickwick Times, Ode to a Nightingdale and Dracula.

It was built in 1585 and to this day has retained much of its architecture and charm (including the odd charming gentleman clientele). I love the low ceilings, it is the warmest pub in the world on a cold winter's day in London!

If you're hoping to pop in for lunch on the weekend, you're going to be disappointed, it will be heaving!! But if you are in the slightly off-peak times, it is one of our favourite places to spend a few quiet hours. 

There are little nooks and tables everywhere in the main dining section by the fireplace, and a massive beer garden out the back (which, has cover, heating and fairy lights, perfect for a whole hoard of kids to run around and play while you tuck into some food). 

The food is seasonal British classics with a modern influence. We are partial to their Sunday Roasts and my Husband swears by the fish and chips, which are more lightly battered than most other pubs.

But I seem to always order the burger! Which, looks delicious in both forms: the regular order, and the bun-free option. And a side note, the mustard mayo is a killer, it's divine!

And we love their alcohol selections - they have some great Australian wines (Yering for example, which is where we were married); and they serve real ales and always have a fun variety on tap.

If you find yourself with an afternoon free in London, go for a wander around the Heath and then stroll up to the Spaniards Inn and while away the hours, in good company of some brilliant minds. 

Psst!! If you are looking for a little more meg-made, I'd LOVE for you to follow along!

meg-made it to SonnMatten Zermatt (review)

If you ever find yourself lucky enough to be going to Zermatt, please take me with you! Zermatt in Switzerland is one of the most picturesque ski resorts in Europe the World, and I was lucky enough to spend a (much too short) week there for my 30th Birthday earlier last month. 

We'd never been to the Alps and were so excited to be up high in the clean, crisp, country air. We had researched going to Zermatt for years and years, and finally, this February it was our time to go. It is a wee bit difficult to get to (from door to door it was a taxi, train, plane, two trains and another taxi, all up 8 hours from London) but totally worth the beautiful hassle that it was. 

The train trips up the mountains were outrageously beautiful and we had more than enough space for Madeleine to play and cause a raucous. We arrived and got ourselves set up, poured a drink, chilled with snow (of course) and found ourselves settling in very quickly to life in Switzerland.

When going through my photos to choose some for this post it was too hard to only select 10 or so, so I'm going to ask for a free pass for an indulgent second post of our time in Zermatt?? I know I'm not a travel blog, and I promise I won't pretend to be, but when you find something this beautiful, it would be selfish not to share right?! This way I can focus on the review of SonnMatten without overloading you with a thousand photos of the Matterhorn!!

We were staying in a sweet little chalet on the Northern end of Zermatt, in the little village of Winklematten. It isn't in the touristy town centre and is closer to the slopes. Win win. But quite possibly the biggest win was that we were just 2 minutes walk from SonnMatten, the gorgeous Swiss restaurant/bar/hotel that we had a very surprising evening meal at.

We snow-boot-walked up for what we were expecting to be a quick and casual bite to eat, but ended up having the most ridiculously delicious and enjoyable 4 course feast. When we saw the menu we just assumed we would choose one of the options, but instead, SonnMatten does a set 4 course dinner, and that is all.

There were blankets and sheepskins outside if you were brave enough to huddle around the heaters, but we (thankfully) had a baby to consider, so went inside. But not before having a giggle at the pet hospitality on our way!

As you arrive, you are served a complimentary meat and bread plate, and this night was a house-cured smokey bacon and a crusty white loaf. I didn't have the bread but the bacon was yummy, and for a hungry little toddler this was perfect (the period between ordering and waiting for a meal to arrive is a significant portion of a one year old's life, it can be very testing!!).

The menu all sounded great, and whilst 59CHF (60USD) was a little more than we were expecting to  each spend for dinner, at the end of the meal we would have gladly paid it again!!

Appetiser: Cream of mushroom soup or mixed salad, we got one of each

Entree: Pasta in a light zucchini sauce with fresh basil (which, when I looked sad, the waitress said "shall I do yours gluten free mam?", yes, that shall do nicely thank you!)

Mains: Fillet of beef in a rosemary sauce, with sweet potato mash and roasted vegetables

Dessert: Panna Cotta with marinated forrest berries

We got settled into our OWN DINING ROOM, which just so happened to be the wine room too. Coincidence?

And had a glass of bubbles!

Oh and do you remember the plate of bread and bacon? Well apparently that little grating on top is not parmesan cheese, but is in fact grated fresh horseradish!! I was taking a photo of Madeleine without paying attention until THIS face appeared...oops!

Horseradish crisis over, with a slightly less-trusting Maddie, our appetisers arrived. We shared both and they both were absolutely divine. I wish the waitress could tell me in English what the salad dressing was, because I would love to be able to replicate this one. And I don't say that about too many salads!!

It was the first time we'd had cream of mushroom soup, and we both really enjoyed it. Although it was quite rich, so we were a little bit pleased to be sharing such a huge portion!

In preparation for our entrees, this fun piece of machinery was placed between us. We had WAY too much parmesan, it was just too much fun freshly grind/grating it ourselves! Had it of been a regular stand grater we would have been far more civilised!

This was my portion of gluten free pasta ( did I mention that we rolled ourselves back home we were so full?!). It was so fresh and simple, but the flavour was phenomenal. I've made plenty of zucchini pasta in my day, but the simple addition of basil (and butter I'd say) took a humble pasta to a new level! And Maddie LOVED it!!!

Aye aye aye, half way.

So then our main arrived. We were expecting a tiny piece of beef, but alas, we were proven wrong again! We hadn't had any meat for days, so were kind of excited and devoured every last morsel. It's not the best photo (only had my phone on me) but it gives you an idea of what absolute little piggies we were!!!

After loosening our belts a little, we thankfully had a little breather before our dessert arrived. I've never made a Panna Cotta before so was excited to be reminded of its glory. Of all the many options that could have been on offer, to have a gluten-free and chocolate-free dessert served filled me with an enormous amount of joy!

These were at least a regular sized portion, and whilst I said I would only have half of mine, I lied, I had the whole thing. And I may or may not have put a finger in to scoop some off the side. You decide!

And so to leave you with the perfect summary of our meal at SonnMatten...

.

Psst!! If you are looking for a little more meg-made, I'd LOVE for you to follow along!

meg-made it to The Royal Horseguards Hotel for (a GF) Afternoon Tea

Dear Meg, 

Would you like to attend a lavish afternoon tea at The Royal Horseguards Hotel London with a group of lovely blogging ladies and be treated to an afternoon of champagne and gluten free delights???

Gee... let me hesitate one moment before responding..... Heck Yes!!!

The Royal Horseguards Hotel Afternoon Tea GF meg-made

It was a no-brainer! My kiwi friend Emma introduced me to Selena, who arranged a group of lovely blogging ladies to all meet for High Tea at the Royal Horsegaurds Hotel on a particularly lovely London Sunday afternoon (if you live in London, you'll know which one, there haven't been many to choose from lately!!). 

Located in a particularly "London" part of town, Thames-adjacent and in the neighbourhood of Westminster and Horseguard Parade, the Royal Horseguard Hotel is in a highly sought after locale. 

The Royal Horseguards Hotel Afternoon Tea GF meg-made

Being gluten intolerant has kind of made me hesitant to attend High Teas, because in general they aren't terribly gluten friendly. Well, thanks to Chef Ben Purton at the Royal Horseguards Hotel, not only am I no longer not hesitating, I am going to be jumping in with both feet!

The Royal Horseguards Hotel welcomed us warmly (and pretty much by name, or twitter handle!!) and had arranged the private terrace room just for us, with a menu specific to our #LDNBloggersTea!

Most High Tea's don't actually place much importance on the actual Tea, but after we finished our delightful glass of champagne, it was all about the tea! We had a few to choose from (I was craving some classic Earl Grey but Sarah next to me had actual pink tea... herbal pomegranate).

But I have to take some time to talk about the scones for a bit. Have you ever tried gluten free scones?? I had not. The idea of a fluffy and light scone made dense and heavy with gluten free products did not appeal to me one bit. But somehow Chef Ben managed to make the impossible possible - a light and fluffy gluten free scone! The raisins helped to keep them nice and moist and they tasted so similar to a regular scone I would never have known it wasn't! 

And because I was a little bit impressed, we talked about them for a while... which inevitably lead to the discussion about whether you put your cream or jam on the scone first... It wasn't until coming to England that I really knew there were regionally distinct ways of cream & jamming your scones, but it seems I favour the Cornish Tea with my jam on first (all those years of being served a Devonshire Tea back home and I've been making a mockery of it... apparently!). It does crack me up that this is not my first discussion about this too! Oh England! 

When our desserts came around, us gluten-intolerants had a special little arrangement of treats. I can't eat chocolate so donated mine to the groups' cake stands, and devoured my rice pudding and passionfruit-brulee.... or whatever on earth it was that was so divine. I've only just discovered that I like passionfruit, thankfully or I would have missed out on something special here. I really have no idea what it was, but I loved every spoonful! 

I had such a lovely time meeting and chatting to some new friends and enjoying some iconically British activities. And in typical British fashion the weather was the number one talking point... but seriously, look at this day (and view from our private terrace... I mean....)

I can't recommend the Royal Horseguards Hotel enough! If you're not fortunate enough to be born an heiress, spending an afternoon and being treated like royalty is a pretty nice back up! Thanks to Selena for arranging, Chef Ben for such delightful treats that even GFers can enjoy, and to The Royal Horseguards Hotel for hosting such a lovely afternoon! 

Psst!! If you are looking for a little more meg-made, I'd LOVE for you to follow along!