Sponsored video: Unrush Your World with Yeni Raki

It was last week that a bunch of us were discussing about doing something fun on a friends birthday and Dabbous in Fitzrovia came up. This friend mentioned she was doing her birthday dinner at Dabbous, a restaurant she had been itching to check out and finally got a table sorted after months of waiting. That was indeed a good birthday gift, we chimed.

Truth be told, that's the first time i heard about Dabbous. It made me read up on Ollie Dabbous, and the Michelin star restaurant that serves some mean Modern European grub. After all this info, we couldnt not check it out, and so we decided to do a few cocktails at the bar before the dinner reservation. The bar was gorgeous, the cocktails innovative and an experience that was cherished.

And as if on cue, I get the opportunity to write about Ollie Dabbous and Yeni Raki here :)

Yeni Raki is an aniseed flavoured spirit native to Turkey, and the campaign 'Unrush Your World' is all about the spirit of slow, highlighting the importance of taking the time to enjoy food. In partnership with Ollie Dabbous, the drink aims to encourage consumers to enjoy the drink with good food and get to know the spirits traditional slow dining culture outside of Turkey. 

Take a look at this very artistic video where the chef explains his approach to food, while he prepares a fabulous dish for the Raki table- clearly depicting the fact that food isn't meant to be rushed and eating isn't meant to be hurried. I warn you though, watching the video when you are hungry is not a good idea!

But you have your chance to enjoy this experience as well. Yeni Raki is hosting a series of slow-dining sessions where top restaurants across the UK capital create bespoke menus of food paired with this anise flavoured drink, to encourage Londoners to unrush their world. So keep a look out, and in the mean time, be satisfied with this delicious video.

For upcoming events and updates follow Yeni Raki on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

This is a sponsored post for Yeni Raki.

Chaiparty (London supper club)

The pretty posters were by Suchi

I'm a little late in posting about the chaiparty we hosted a while back, but as they say, better late than never right? We had this idea brewing (pun intended) in our minds for so long and finally after almost a year we were finally able to execute it. Supper clubs are popping up every second in London and although this idea was on the lines of a supper club, we wanted it to be more of an experience than just the food.

Chaiparty, as the name suggests is all about chai and an excuse to get together and chat, dance, play games and of course enjoy the food. Since it was our first stint with an event like this, we decided to keep it 'by invite' only. On the guest list were food bloggers, media professionals and food enthusiasts who all enthusiastically took part in the festivities. The dress code was Indian and we all dressed up in sarees, skirts, salwars, kurta's and lehengas. It was at my house in South East London and we decorated my tiny apartment with all sorts of Indian-themed paraphernalia and in the process managed to drive our husbands crazy.

The guests were all welcomed in the Indian traditional way with a small aarti, a sort of blessing, and then gifted colourful bangles and bindis. Everyone was sportive and courageous enough to actually wear a saree and even keep it on till the very end. We had a few fun games lined up, like a treasure hunt of sorts where we used twitter and the #chaiparty to give out clues, which we all had fun doing. Then there was the what's in your purse game where we picked out a few random, bizarre things and whoever had the most number f items in their bags won. Believe me, quite a few of them had most of the items :). Then we of course selected the best dressed which was quite hard to pick, considering everyone looked just as gorgeous as the other.

The menu consisted of dishes from all over India, and we gave it a fusion twist, but keeping in tact the traditional flavours. We also gave snazzy names for the dishes, something we are pretty proud of. Take a look at the menu to know what I'm talking about :)

We also had some lovely gifts and goodies sponsored by amazing brands and i cant thank you enough for the support you have shown us. We had Waitrose Wines sending over a case of assorted champagnes and sparkling wines which we put to full use by making the plum and chai bellini. Priscilla, winner of the best dressed also won a Seriously Peachy Dessert wine sponsored by Waitrose, an absolute fav dessert wine perfect with some citric desserts. There was unlimited tea sponsored by Tea India, an upmarket brand of chai which comes in three delicious flavours Masala Chai, Cardamom Chai and Vanilla Chai. They also gave each of our guests a small goody bag with all their teas and recipe cards for some cooking inspiration. Dessert, a very important part of a meal, wouldn't have been complete without Devnaa sponsoring some gorgeous chai truffles that were gobbled up in no time.

The uber cool online gift store Dotcomgiftshop sponsored a pretty tea pot, quite fitting with our theme for the evening, from their Moorish Stoneware collection. Erin has been thoroughly putting it to good use. Two favourite authors of mine Ottlenghi and Madhur Jaffrey were also present that evening in the form of cookbooks, both sponsored by Ebury Publishing, and won by Hayley and Natalie from Wild Card PR. 

This was our first foray into the whole supper club scene in London and we are sure going to have a couple more lined up this year, with the next one in March for Holi. We shall put up details closer to the date but it would be great if you can extend all your support in this new and exciting endeavour of ours. Thanks in advance :)

The #chaiparty team

Carnaby Street Eat Fest

Picture courtesy Sister PR

Carnaby Street is this bustling street lying parallel to Regent Street, and one that is a must visit if you are in London. Its very close to Oxford circus tube station and getting there is really easy. Its got a whole lot of retails outlets and some really cool places to eat, plus bars and clubs as well and the first time i went there i was in awe of what lies behind some of London's main streets- the back alleys are the best way to explore the heart of London.

The Carnaby Street Eat is a free one day International Food Festival with 40 of the area's best restaurants, bars and cafe's taking part. From Hawaiian to Indian to Italian to Japanese there will be the chance to experience the sights, smells and flavours of over 15 international cuisines. Last week, a couple of us food bloggers were invited to a preview show of the Street Eat fest where we got a sneak peak at whats in store on the 20th of July. It was one fun evening where we restaurant hopped till about 11.30 in the night and i think i ate and drank so so much, i thought id be put off both for a really long time. That feeling lasted till 8am the next morning when i woke up with a grumbling stomach.

We started off the evening bonding over Prosecco and smoked salmon at The Wright Brothers. A restaurant that boasts about sourcing some of the best oysters, sustainable fish and finest seafood and bring them to you in the most delicious of ways. I will never forget this restaurant because it was the first time i ever had oysters. After the head chef gave us an introduction to oysters, May of Eat Cook Explore patiently told me how to go about eating it and, i, after much coaxing went ahead and tried it. I must say, it wasn't bad at all. I mean the shallot vinaigrette which i generously doused over the oyster made a lot of difference, but i am a convert and i shall definitely try them again. Head on over there to taste some of their tasty grub, and they'll even show you how to shuck the oysters.

Next stop was the funky Choccywoccydoodah which is like a cake haven. The interior is filled with trippy creations made with chocolate cakes and unique chocolate gifts. They took us to their secret tea room which is done up, like someone said, Alice in Wonderland theme. Very colourful with loads of mismatched furniture and accessories. If you want to enjoy a different sort of afternoon tea, you know where to head to. On the day they will be giving out free chocolate samples and Kiss FM DJ will be spinning the decks.

We then walked back to Shoryu in Kingly Court where we tasted some amazing Japanese yatai style street food. The dumplings and steamed bun with pork and beef were to die for. I would tell you to not miss them this Sunday. They would be serving their signature hirata buns and gyoza's. After downing a sake cocktail we moved over to Whyte & Brown where we got to enjoy some craft beers. I really enjoyed the Honey Beer and the dessert which was a fabulous Exotic Mess with tropical fruits like pineapple, bananas and passion fruit was what hit the spot for me. However, i must admit, that a few spoons down and the sweetness was getting to me. The beer helped and after a quick loo run we moved on to the next restaurant.

By this time we were filled to the gills, at least I was and we still had 3 more restaurants to hit. Off we went to Cha Cha Moon, a Chinese noodle bar where we again had cocktails, dumplings, steamed broccoli (which btw was simply out of this world) and Singapore noodles which most of us packed because we just couldnt eat. A few bloggers had already left by then and I was contemplating on whether to leave or not when Scarlett told me were off to Rum Kitchen to have some more drinks. Well, that did it for me and off i scampered with the rest of the gang to this Caribbean themed restaurant and cocktail bar. We all ordered the same cocktail Rumbustion which I couldn't finish..like for the first time ever, i couldn't finish a cocktail. This evening sure had some firsts for me :) Head on over there to sample delights including roast pumpkin and chickpea curry, saltfish fritter and jerk chicken wings.

Last and final stop was the American diner Stax where we sampled like a gazillion milkshakes all spiked with alcohol. My favourite was the cookies and cream shake which had oreos and whipped cream. I was so high on food by this time i just couldn't eat or drink any more. It was such a fun evening and a very different one from the usual and I enjoyed myself so so much. The fact that it was a small crowd made it even more fun and I went back home with a whole new set of blogger friends.

Picture courtesy Sister PR

Carnaby Street Eat is on the 20th of July from 11am to 6 pm and the weather is promising to be really good so I'm planning to head out there for lunch. There will be live cooking demo's, music and other fun activities- a perfect day out for the young and old alike.

With thanks to Sister PR for inviting me to the event. All opinions are my own and I wasn't paid to do the review.