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I was fortunate to be invited to go to Stax Diner last week. Stax has recently opened in Kingly Court off Carnaby Street and was opened by Bea Vo. Bea has opened this place to be an all day place. I went as I was tempted by the Stax Burger.  bloomin' onion Very interesting take on the onion rings here. The light batter and onion formed like a flower break in your mouth with a gentle crisp. It looks delightful and is recommended for about 2 people which I think is ideal. Works as a side and as a starter.  The Big Stax- beef bacon? This was an interesting burger to say the list. The options are a normal cheeseburger, a bacon burger, a bacon and cheese burger, a caramelised onion burger. OR just get the whole lot in the 'Big Stax' burger. So I did. The burger was nice, but the strange topping of glazed beef bacon just didn't do it for me. I like my bacon but beef bacon and especially its texture just didn't add anything to a beef burger. Besides that the burger went down quickly and was a messy affair, just not my favourite. I will be back to Stax Diner to try their signature chicken and waffles, the atmosphere was friendly and jovial and staff really helpful too. I think for first time burgers always stick to the simple option; that is the true test of a burger. Thanks Bea. 
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Curry night changed to a Thursday and we visited Potli in Hammersmith, or Chiswick. For this review my curry club friends have helped to give a different perspective. They will also explain why I haven't. Here goes: Sherwin: So a weird curry club this time around as the night started with a few extra members and ended with 3. Some of the party, well actually 1 was off to see some magic. The rest of us, minus 2 (one late and the other didn't even notify us that they weren't coming) stayed to see if Potli had magic. Potli was the name and its location was Chiswick. Not Hammersmith as others would make you believe. The first thing ordered was a Kingfisher. Unfortunately no Cobra or Tiger...I think. Due to our crazy numbers the initial starter order was mixed grill and .... Samosas. The Samosas were nice and came with a nice tomato based lentil sauce, yummy. You could really taste the dough but it wasn't as oily as your usual samosa. The mixed grill came with 2 shish kebabs, 1 lamb chop, 1 half chicken tikka, some pieces of chicken and some fish. All were good and cooked well but were all lacking a bit of flavour, seasoning and/or spice. And with the weird numbers no one had a full tastings. With that fiasco over and our party size then reduced mains were ordered. We went simple-ish and ordered one butter chicken, one rice, two garlic naans and a new dish suggested by me...lamb coconut fry. Because I don't want to leave you in suspense, I will start with the lamb coconut fry. This was a winner, sweet with the coconut and very well cooked lamb. The dish was quote dry but with some garlic naan went down a treat. Onto the butter chicken and another winner. Creamy with a nice familiar taste. As always we couldn't finish the food but this time I blame the alcohol and suspense of watching the footy. (England were playing that night). All in all good food, however and this is a big however...very expensive for what it was. Remember I said this was in Chiswick not Hammersmith and the prices proved it to be. Kapil: After a long day at work I was really looking forward to meeting up with my friends and catching up over a good curry. Upon arrival I was greeted by a member of staff at the door dressed in a traditional Indian outfit. The restaurant had a good vibe however it was clear we would be the noisiest customers. The food was well presented. The mixed grill although small in portion size was full of taste, chicken on the bone was particularly tender. For mains we ordered the butter chicken and lamb coconut fry. The butter chicken was flavoursome however the star was the lamb coconut fry. Such an unusual dish packed with a strange combination of spices while delivering a punch at the end. Overall, a good restaurant however a little steep at £35 per head. Good stuff from both. Many thanks Overview: Good but expensive Indian in Hammersmith... or Chiswick Address: 319-321, King Street, Hammersmith, London, W6 9NH Phone: 020 8741 4328/ 020 8741 5321 I've wanted to try and make pizza for a while and have a go at some dough and all that it entails. Kneading, rising, dusting etc. My dad has made it a few times and he has kept on improving. Inspired by my father and homeslice too I went for it. The dough making was complicated. I looked at many different recipes and then just went for Delia. It was okay and after a few sticky goes and adding more flour I finally had my dough. I left it for a few hours covered and it rose. I was already proud. From here it was easy. Lay the base down and put in the tomato sauce. Hint: passata, basil and garlic. Lots of seasoning and you are good to go.  Dough and sauce. It doesn't look like much, but I blame my photography skills. The problem I have is that I haven't got a wood fired oven and cannot reach the temperatures of 300 degrees Celsius plus. So in it went and after about 10-15 it was ready.  Margherita. Colours if the Italian flag (Iran) I made two.  Parma Ham and Rocket After the first round of matches, we've had 46 goals scored in 16 games, 6 penalties, 49 yellow cards and 1 red card. All in all, I would say it has been a great start. The nerves from all teams were slightly evident, however there has been a freedom in play from most teams; even Iran.
My predictions from last week about the tournament overall don't seem to have gone too well. Spain had a shocker after a good opening 30 minutes. After that they imploded, but if history repeats itself from 2010, then they can still win the tournament. Spain do have the players and the quality but should they lose tonight then it will all be over. England on the other hand can still lose tonight and potentially qualify. Although England lost it was great to see a better performance. England still lack the quality needed to control situations better, but the emergence of Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge on the international stage can provide inspiration to the other players. With the right final ball, England can cause teams trouble and I do hope they can get through the group stage. From my predictions, I have only had 3 correct scores from 17 games. That is 17.6%, not so good. I take some solace from the fact that there have been some surprising results. 5-1 Netherlands, 3-1 Costa Rica, 2-1 USA!!! What is going on? I will continue going for my score predictions and am aiming for at least 33%. Tonight my predictions are: Cameroon 0 - 2 Croatia Spain 2 - 0 Chile Netherlands 3 -1 Australia Not many other people have decided to take part in the #worldcuppredictor and I am not shocked by this outcome. Let us enjoy the World Cup and hope the average of 2.9 goals a game continues. Every four years the whole world gets excited and united for the Football World Cup. Every four years all English football fans get overly excited and optimistic about their chances. They say their is a sense if calm in the camp, however the warm up matches have not shown this. After watching three games, England look the same as they have done since 1990, a team of individuals and not a group playing for each other and the manager.
Who will win the World Cup? My overall prediction for the World Cup has changed a few times and even now with less than a week away I am undecided. If I had to choose I would go for Spain. They are the current champions and rightly so; the confederations cup last year was a lesson which I think they will overcome. The pressure is on Brazil for this World Cup and this I feel may lead to issues in the knock out stages. How will England do? Timing is vital, as is skill. Although England haven't been playing well yet it doesn't matter, if we can perform at the right occasions starting against Italy on the 14 June then anything can happen. Greece in 2004 is a great example, where victory can come in any shape or form. Some examples now would be the form of Sterling just before the World Cup and also the form of Rooney. This topic is brought up most frequently as in a few years time he will be England's leading goal scorer and even now is our best player (just in bad touch at the moment). However, a goal against Italy and things can change very quickly. Pressure and positivity have such contrasting affects on players that it can make or break them. With all this I think a quarter-final place for England would be success. Surprise package? I hope it will be Iran, but I doubt it. I think France may shock a few people and do quite well, also Chile too. Being in South America is a huge advantage for a few teams and the way they played against England and with Alexis Sanchez in a free role I think he will thrive. In a negative aspect, I feel that Holland may let people and themselves down in a tough group and that Ivory Coast will also struggle. |
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