Burns Night: where to celebrate January’s hottest event in London January 13, 2016 Mr Fogg’s The waiting staff at Mr Fogg’s, a bar themed around the famous fictitious Victorian traveller of the same name in Mayfair, are swapping their military uniforms for kilts. Guests are invited to toast the Scottish bard with a glass of Glenmorangie Original 10yr whisky, sample haggis canapes and enjoy a recital of his [...]
Yum Som restaurant review January 13, 2016 Yum Som 1-6 Leadenhall St, EC3V 1PP WHAT? A recently opened Asian fast food restaurant serving up giant salads, grab and go boxes of meat and tofu noodles, as well as subs, soups, sushi and those neat little rice paper rolls. WHERE? It’s on the corner of Leadenhall Street and Bishopsgate, by everybody’s favourite towering [...]
Join Canada’s Olympians on the elite slopes of Whistler’s January 11, 2016 Blasting through a snowbound forest at 40mph on a skidoo, I feel like I’m on Top Gear. There’s a shower of snow from the machine in front, making it hard to see through ice-encrusted goggles. I overtake on the next straight and, whooping as I accelerate past, find myself ahead of the pack and heading [...]
The Hateful Eight film review: Tarantino has made a maverick masterpiece January 8, 2016 ★★★★★ Dir. Quentin Tarantino Once you look past the numerous news headlines surrounding its release, Quentin Tarantino’s eighth film is one of the filmmaker’s most ambitious to date. Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Samuel L Jackson star in the story of eight strangers in post-Civil War America forced into the same cabin by a [...]
Les Liaisons Dangereuses theatre review: A lightweight interpretation that won’t worry Malkovich January 8, 2016 Donmar Warehouse | ★★★☆☆ John Malkovich's career-defining turn as the Vicomte de Valmont in the film adaptation of Les Liaisons Dangereuses created an archetype for the sexually-charged villain. The film was based on a play by Christopher Hampton (he also wrote the screenplay), and cemented the role as one of the more complex and coveted [...]
Guys & Dolls theatre review: A charming revival of a bona fide classic January 8, 2016 Savoy Theatre | ★★★★☆ The last play to grace the stage of The Savoy was Gypsy, where Imelda Staunton gave a rip-roaring, throat-shredding performance that’s likely to go down in theatre legend. It was always going to be a tough act to follow, but with the Chichester Festival’s revival of Guys and Dolls, we’re safely cosseted [...]
A War film review: An ambiguous, but triumphant, Danish drama January 8, 2016 15 | Dir. Tobias Lindholm ★★★★☆ The many grey areas of modern warfare are examined in this Danish drama, shortlisted for Best Foreign Language film at this year’s Oscars. We follow Commander Claus Pedersen, stationed in Helmand Province, as well as his wife and children carrying on with life back in Denmark. The future of [...]
Food trends 2016: black food, Persian food and cherry bakewell tarts January 6, 2016 Black to snack Bamboo blackened brioche buns, dark ribbons of squid ink pasta and even charcoal-infused water will herald the arrival of what might be this year’s least appetising food trend. In 2016 expect to eat black food, very black food, darker than the howling souls of the damned. Burger King Japan kicked off the [...]
Working Lunch review: Big Easy, Canary Wharf January 6, 2016 Big Easy, Crossrail Place, E14 WHAT? The third – and largest – Big Easy serving “low and slow” meat and seafood cooked in pit rooms that house two tonne US smokers. The sheer size of this venue – to give you an idea, it employs 170 staff – means it also accommodates an American breakfast [...]
Lessons in wine: Use Dry January to brush up on your wine critics and make a tidy profit January 6, 2016 The most important thing to remember is that a wine is subjective. Wine lovers should be guided by the critics, but at the end of the day the only thing that really matters is each individual drinker’s own enjoyment. With the arrival of the internet, it’s never been so easy to learn about and voice [...]