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Empress of Sichuan, Soho, London

There’s a trend to big up Sichuan food right now. It’s all about having the guts to eat tripe, as well as the testosterone taste buds to take on fearsome amounts of chilli and the mouth-numbing effects of the Sichuan pepper itself. But is it actually any good? The Empress impresses us.

The Narrow

Sauterelle

Volupte Lounge

Aubaine, London

Whites

Caponata

Bistro K, London

Kitchen Italia, Covent Garden, London

Mennula, London

The Warrington

The Parlour

Artichoke, Amersham

Jak's, London

Bumpkin London

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Tapas Master Classes at Brindisi

London Tapas restaurants Brindisa launch a programme of unique Spanish Supper Clubs and Master-classes for food lovers.Brindisa Supper Clubs offer customers a one-off dining experience and the opportunity to learn about great Spanish produce. A special menu will be prepared by Chef Partner Jose Pizarro and his team and served with wines to match.

'And it was all yellow' - Profile Soho opens

'And it was all yellow'– Profile Soho is a retro bar • diner • café the colour of a Colman's Mustard pot - yellow against black gloss. This slice of New York nostalgia fuses American charm with modern design for an all-day dining experience. Positioned on Wardour Street and with a new menu for 2010, this 95-cover restaurant serves stateside classics.

Boyd’s Brasserie & Bar launches off Trafalgar Square.

Built in 1887 as part of a 500-room ‘grand hotel’, the elegant and classical space, once named The Marble Hall, again opens its doors to the public having been occupied by the Crown since 1940.

Artist’s Eye on Rough Sleepers

We head for results day for an art competition launched by Artrepublic, online/offline stockists of exclusive prints. From 250 entrants, four finalists competed for exposure via charity, ‘Streetsmart’. But who would win?

The Red Fort back - defending its reputation

Soho’s Indian restaurant, The Red Fort will reopen this February after it was ravaged by the fire that swept through Soho last July, which took 100 fire fighters over 12 hours to get under control. The new menu looks red hot.

Zilli Green to open in February

Food lovers rejoice, on February 14th, Aldo Zilli will open his new vegetarian restaurant, in Soho, an area that is of course a byword for healthy living. Ever since he went on Celebrity Fit Club (next watch out for Celebrity Mingers Club) Aldo's been on a bit of a health kick and has even written a rather good book to help us all get a bit lighter.

Bouchon Breton - Fondue, Raclette firmly on the menu for a month

Can't slope off to the slopes? Then try La Fete Alpine at Le Bouchon Breton instead. The team have devised a range of “Apres Ski” dishes. Each dish is designed to share and comes with a selection of side orders and a choice of drinks and at just £18 per person value worth a yodel about.

Papillon launches posh twist on a Burns Night tradition

Chelsea brasserie Papillon has created its own version of a traditional Burns Night classic – the Chelsea Haggis. The Chelsea Haggis comprises confit pork belly, foie gras, sweetbreads, morels and black truffles served with the finest Limousin beef fillet. It will be accompanied by ratte potato purée and Madeira glazed turnips and is on all week.

Food Lovers Fundraiser for Haiti

Foodepedia launches a charity banquet in aid of the survivors of the Haiti earthquake, which measured 7.0 on the Richter scale...

Tike - two courses under a tenner

Tike Grill and Bar, which opened at the end of last year, in the Lloyds Register Building adjacent to Fenchurch Street station, has just launched a £9.95 express lunch menu. The two-course lunch menu, available Monday to Friday, offers three options of starters and mains, including healthy house speciality grilled meats.

Food

Flying chef landing on Valentine's Day

Enjoy a truly romantic 3 course dinner for two, at home this Valentine's day, with the ‘À la carte Gift Box’from London’s Flying Chef. Couples can indulge in their ideal romantic setting with scented candles, flowers and Barry White on in the background whilst sipping Champagne as the feast is delivered directly to their doorstep.

We heart GAILS valentine cakes

At the risk of sounding sexist, there’s nothing the girls at Foodepedia like to see come through the door more than cakes. Well maybe George Clooney or chocolate, but definitely something sweet. So GAIL’s Bakery get this week’s big cheer for sending round a box of their valentine specials

Unearthed launches two new French snacks

Unearthed has added to its growing range of Continental sharing foods with two new products to complement the existing range.

Sweet Things launch Baby Loaf Cakes

Sweet Things, the award winning Primrose Hill Cakery is launching a new range of Baby Loaf Cakes at Selfridges and Fortnum and Mason. Ideal for two people to share, the Baby Loaf cakes are priced at only £2.95 each.

Drink

The whisky the angels drink

Manager’s Choice is Diageo’s first complete collection of single-cast Scotch whiskies. Aimed at collectors and connoisseurs it’s been chosen over time, and by the expert managers, to represent each of the 27 distilleries authentic whisky signatures. Unique and delicious they make the perfect present for the man who has everything and a special date coming up.

Bring on the Bordeaux wines

We all want to drink responsibly but that doesn't just mean simply not getting hammered. We should all be drinking wines that are local, so as to cut the carbon footprint, and wines that are well priced, to cut the shopping bills. Welcome to Bordeaux.

Yang mei juice - devastatingly good for you

One hour after consuming my promo bottle of Organic Yang mei Juice, I think I may have OD'd on the stuff. My vision seems super sharp, there's a slight pressure behind my temples and I am feeling oddly energised. The keyboard is floating about a centimetre off the desk and there's a buzzing noise inside my ears. All I need now is the bats to descend and it's Fear and Loathing in Carnaby Street.

Fevertree mixers - raise your spirits

Apparently they serve Fevertree mixers at the Fat Duck and El Bulli, so one assumes they must be good. Nothing like a bit of Blue Peter-ish practical testing though is there, so we lined up some Fevertrees against some of the more usual suspects and did a blind (drunk) testing.

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Lime Wood – an impressive country retreat

Lime Wood had the travel, food and business press all a little bit hot under the collar when it opened at the tail-end of last year – the main reason being that it was one of the most interesting projects to launch in a long time. The newly-restored Georgian hotel is set in the deepest depths of the New Forest and looks like it could become the definitive country pile for visiting tourists

Cooking with Kumud Gandhi at the Saffron House

That I can do a mean keema myself made Kumud Gandhi’s Indian spice trail course all the more inviting. The trail began at Paddington, a train through winter snow to the former high-flying banker's large Hertfordshire home.

Tasty chef takeover at Pizza Express

If you were looking for London’s food writers on Monday night, you’d have found most of them in Pizza Express in Greek Street, Soho. They weren’t there because they all suddenly got the munchies for an American Hot, they were there because Francesco Mazzei was.

Bacchus Beside the Riverbanks

We travel to restaurant, Vivat Bacchus to taste award-winning South African liquid sunshine from vines sewn beside the Breede River.

Tea – testing, testing

Having blagged a load of free tea samples, we would have preferred samples of champagne obviously, however we’re not The Telegraph here, we put the kettle on and lined up an impressive array of chipped teapots, brown ringed mugs, cups with the hotels’ names still on them and a small bowl the dog once used. Not very scientific, perhaps, but certainly real world.

Breakfast at The Dean Street Townhouse,London

Oh Pitcher! Oh Piano! O tempora! O mores! Where now the pissed PAs staggering gamely about on stiletto heels? Where the young swordsmen from the suburbs gathered to hunt in packs? And where the office leaving parties swirling out of focus in a haze of cheap white wine? The Pitcher & Piano is now the Dean Street Townhouse in a transformation more fascinating than ‘From Ladette to Lady''

Swine Fever

Douglas Blyde finds the offer of a ringside seat at the tabletop butchery of a Gloucester Old Spot pig at Trinity, Clapham Common, too hard to refuse...

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It's his little place - we talk to Santino Busciglio, chef patron at Mennula

"I always wanted a place like this. I’ve been offered a few places in the past, some were interesting business propositions, but I always felt it was important to only go with the right person and in the right location and at the end of the day this is a chef’s dream, a 40-50 cover restaurant, W1 location in London? It doesn’t get much better than this."

Peter Avis, Babylon's Restaurant Manager - leading a winning team

Peter Avis, Restaurant Manager of Babylon Restaurant, at the Roof Gardens, talks to Alan King about winning two awards in 2009 from the Academy of Food and Wine: UK Restaurant Manager of the Year in June, sponsored by Open Table and The Dalmore Award of Excellence in September. All this on top of Babylon winning Best Restaurant in London at the BT Visit London awards in November 2008.

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Meals in Heels - Jennifer Joyce

Aiming itself quite deftly at the ‘ladies who lunch’ demographic – or, quite possibly, anyone who can’t be arsed with faffing about – the premise here is that all the dishes can be made ahead of time. Then, when the moment comes, it’s simply a case of pimp my [salted caramel sauce] profiteroles, slip on the heels, and away we go.

Antony Makes It Easy - Antony Worrall Thompson

Once, children, there was but one cookery programme on the TV and it was called, rather unimaginatively, Food and Drink. Presided over by Queen Jilly Goolden and a couple of other queens too, it ended in 2000 and was lost to the mists of time. Today it all looks rather quaint, like footage of pre Second World War sporting events.

The 100 Foods You Should Be Eating - Glen Matten

Chirpily written packed full of useful information, clearly explained, and with 100 tempting recipes, this unassuming book can hold its own with the glossy fantasies we’re more used to seeing. It has practicality at its heart and it wants to help you look after yours. What’s not to like about that?

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Persian Braised Celery, Herb and Beef Stew (Khoreshteh Karafs)

This week my stress levels have kicked in to an all time high and not only am I craving comfort food, but also need the kind of dish that can be made in a large batch and eaten for a few days. Who on earth has time to cook every night when your workload is beyond hectic?

Pasta con Salsiccia

A recipe from Ponti's Italian Kitchen - a tasty and hearty sauce for your pasta.

Tandoori salmon with a fresh tomato and coriander chutney

It is week 3 of my healthy eating recipe series and I am pleased to say I have been sticking to eating sensibly (can I just say that I count good quality chocolate as ‘sensible’) and have been getting creative in the kitchen again to bring you something tasty, easy and incredibly healthy.

Chicken Soup

Cooking chicken soup can be an all day affair but by beginning with chicken broth and a rotisserie chicken from the market, I had a full flavored, body-and-soul warming soup ready in less than an hour. Here’s how I did it:

Rare Beef with Asian Crunchy Salad

With the spirit of a New Year detox in mind, here is my next offering to you proving to you that making healthy yet delicious meals, needn’t be a laborious task. I love this dish, the salad is zest, crunchy and bursting with flavour.