Life Lately: Spreadsheets have been created, Lonely Planets bought and I’m browsing blogs in full planning mode for our trip to South America. It may not be until next May but I’m getting excited already! One reason why I was so keen to visit Peru is down to my obsession for the native cuisine; I absolutely adore the trend for Peruvian and Nikkei food in London. Some of my favourite restaurants being Ceviche, Lima, Chotto Matte and UNI, all places that I highly recommend to check out. Luiz Hara, author of The London Foodie blog, very kindly sent me his new book to further whet my appetite for Peruvian food. 
Luiz was raised by his Nikkei family in Sao Paulo, Brazil and moved to the UK at the age of 19. He gave up a successful career in banking to train as a chef and is now the founder of the highly popular London Foodie’s Supper Club where he serves Japanese, Nikkei and French food. He also hosts Japanese and Nikkei cookery classes and events details of which are listed on his website.
His new book Nikkei Cuisine – Japanese food the South American Way has just been published by Jacqui Small and is an absolutely stunning collection of recipes.
The recipes encourage cooks to create a menu that uses a whole range of flavours and cookery methods and there is a selection of traditional home-style food alongside creations from top Nikkei restaurants.
The book is informative with the history of dishes and ingredients as well as snapshots of Luiz’s life and stunning photography by Lisa Linder. A great purchase for someone who is passionate about South American food.
Don’t hate me but I’m starting to think about Christmas a lot lately; I’ve even started to carefully collate my Christmas wish list inspired by the events I’ve been to recently…
Checking out the hampers at The Harrods Christmas Showcase made me lust after a hamper called ‘The Decadence’ containing a magnum of champagne and the very best food and wine that can be found at the hallowed halls of Harrods.
Popping into the ‘Once in Blue Moon’ exhibition at Sotheby’s for a preview of their upcoming Autumn sale made me lust after this tiara…
And the star of the showcase the 12.03-carat Blue Moon Diamond ring.
I was also given a show around of the gorgeous Beaumont Hotel, and I decided Mr Silver could take me there for a staycation. Located in Mayfair and decorated in stunning Art Deco style, The Beaumont is the first hotel from Corbin & King, the restauranteurs behind The Wolseley, Fischer’s, The Delaunay and other popular London venues. The hotel’s restaurant, The Colony Grill Room looks gorgeous and I think I might have to take my parents there next time they’re in London.
Anyway…I’m only joking Mr S doesn’t really have to get me all this stuff…just one thing (please let it be the tiara…. ;))
Restaurants of the Month: I really took my healthy eating seriously in October and you probably noticed I was featuring a lot less afternoon teas and tasting menus, and more healthy brunches. I was determined to get in shape for my trip to St Lucia and I’m certainly feeling better about myself after two month of calorie counting and exercise. Brunching highlights have been 202 Restaurant with Mr S, Bourne and Hollingsworth with my fellow blog addicts and recently Kopapa in Covent Garden.
At Kopapa I saw Aftab for the first time in ages, got to know Em from Catch 52 and met Katie from What’s Katie Doing and May from Red Velvet London. I realised I couldn’t blog about it as nearly everyone had the same dish, Kopapa’s famous Turkish Eggs! But I thought I’d include a photo of the dish so that you can see what the fuss is about. Other restaurant highlights this month have been checking out gorgeous Blixen in Spitalfields, Pizza East in Portobello and the delicious sunshiny food at NOPI. We celebrated Mr Silver’s birthday in style with a big sushi feast at Zuma, setting the bar high for my birthday celebrations for the
whole
first weekend of November.
Travels: As I publish this post I’m sunning myself in St Lucia, drinking rum cocktails and staring at a gorgeous view of the Pitons. There will be lots of posts about my island adventures on the blog next month.
In October I rounded off my Bali travel tales with a review of The Hanging Gardens Ubud and the amazing pool, my stay at the beautiful design hotel, Alila Uluwatu plus dinner at The Bulgari and my favourite places for cocktails in Bali. Also be sure to check out my top ten guides to Ubud and to the South Bali area, I hope that they give you inspiration for future trips.
After I get back from St Lucia, November and December will be pretty quiet on the travel front but I’m planning a romantic trip to Paris for January. Please let me know if you have any hidden gems that you suggest I pay a visit to in the French capital.
Blog Love : I loved reading about Elle Croft’s adventures in Singapore as I’d just returned myself. Jayne from Girl Tweets World paid a visit to Uluru which reminded me of my magical trip there three years ago… and I loved reading about Lauren adventures in Marrakesh and Croatia. For a different perspective on luxury accommodations and restaurants in Bali, check out Suze’s series of posts on the beautiful Indonesian island.
This month I also attended a brilliant talk by Michael from Symmetry Breakfast held by the Ladies in Blogging. If you’re not already following this fantastic Instagram account you must! I love the beautiful photos and the creativity that goes into preparing each shot.
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