Yum-Sa All Thai'd Up

Putney is a place in South West London I haven’t visited in a while. Last month, I was happy to find an invite for a hot new Thai restaurant in Putney in my inbox. With the promise of drinks and nibbles and a chance to discover this new restaurant before the general public... of course I was down for that!

I was greeted by the happy faces from the reception staff and quickly offered a glass of prosecco; having been caught up in heavy traffic - and a downpour of rain - this was absolutely what I needed and it went down rather quickly (another one please).

Waiting staff patrolled the floor, handing out Thai nibbles and, if you had some questions for the chef, there he was cooking up a storm in the open kitchen, happy to answer anything thrown at him.

The food was a mixture of classic Thai cuisine, meat, fish and vegetarian options, all in perfectly bite size portions and a fusion of new fancy ingredients. My favourite Thai bites were crab dum yum (delicious firm crabmeat, served in a squid ink dumpling and topped with bright orange fish roe) and the chicken yum mai (steamed parcels of chicken, glass noodles, pumpkin and wood ear mushrooms).

Roger Narula, the owner of Yum-Sa, proudly opened the restaurant after a long time dream of bringing Thai culture, art and passion to London. With a vast background in the food and drinks industry over in the east, it’s no surprise he’s done well.

With a room full of bloggers, journos and foodies from the area, the flash of cameras and questions were flowing. We were treated to chants from Buddhist Monks, a welcome speech from the new Mayor of Wandsworth (Cllr McDonnell) and the team at Yum-Sa, which came to a touching end with a speech from Mr Narula’s son.

Yum-Sa is a great addition to Putney and with the beautifully decorated restaurant, cosy seating for small and large parties and even a meditation room to relax, I know you’re going to love it.

Yum-Sa is now open and offering a wonderful array of Thai art, culture and of course amazing Thai food, drinks and a glorious cocktail list to pair with each dish. Yum-Sa is located, very conveniently, opposite Putney East Station on Upper Richmond Road.

Yum-Sa food menus start from £6-£9 for starters and £12-£25 for mains, desserts are from £4.95-£6.95, it’s perfect for dates, parties and special occasions.

I’ll be heading back to Yum-Sa very soon, so hopefully see you there!

Find out more about Yum-Sa on their website, follow them on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

phone: 02033719111
email: info@yum-sa.com

opening times
sunday – thursday 12 pm – 11pm
friday and saturday 12pm – 11:30pm

Unit 1, 3 Plaza Gardens,

88 Upper Richmond Road,

Putney

SW15 2DT

Lot's of love LPD xxx

12 Amazing Things To Do In Tooting Market

There's Lots to do and see in Tooting Market, so to make your journey through a little easier, here's my amazing top tips!

Tooting Market, now not such a hidden gem, but perfectly, constantly buzzing day and night.

As 6am dawns, Tooting Market starts to come alive.The traders arrive and set up their stalls:well, the day traders at least. Tables are wheeled out, along with trolleys full of wonderful, seasonal fruit and veg fresh from The New Covent Garden Market. Displays are set to entice the early morning shoppers.

The mix of old school and trendy new market stalls is the best thing about Tooting Market. It brings back a lovely sense of nostalgia for me as I remember the first job I had selling jewellery and women’s accessories on Allenton Market, in Derby.

All markets have a certain smell and sound.With food from different cultures, and shouts from market traders selling their wares, market culture may have transformed, but some things will never change!

Tooting Market is undergoing more changes: a brand new three storey development is set to open soon (hopefully in January 2018) and bring even more, intriguing hip businesses to our much loved market line-up - Tootingites cannot wait!

To make your next trip to Tooting Market an easy one, I’ve listed my top 12 amazing things to discover, eat, drink and buy!

Hungry...?

Start your morning with a tasty brunch at Brickwood Cafe. Tucked away in the corner, you’ll find cosy tables and benches to share where you can brunch away to your heart’s content and sip on Antipodean style coffee – a long black for me, please!

With lunchtime upon us, it’s time to get your chops around a Shawarma from Meze In The Market. Chicken or Falafel, a large for only £4.50 and big enough to keep you full, way past 5pm.

As the day traders pack away, tables and chairs topped with flowers and candles start to appear. Why not hang out at the coolest burger joint in town – Boom Bap Burger. Famous for flippin’ meats and dropping cool, hip-hop beats, with craft beers to wash down ‘The Notorious P.I.G’ it’s no wonder it’s a favourite of mine.

Are you Feeling Thirsty?

Looking for more of a chilled night, catching up with mates? Then maybe a glass of wine might help. Unwined has been serving up delicious and interesting wines, from all over the world to the thirsty wine lovers of Tooting. 

    They even stock the wonderful Chateau Tooting, a wine produced using locally grown grapes. After a recent feature on ITV News, Chateau Tooting has now sold out and wont be available until mid 2018. Find out more about the wine and The Urban Wine Company here.

With regular wine tastings and a pop-up kitchen changing monthly, Unwined is a very pleasant way to spend an evening.

       If you know Tooting well, then you’ve probably already been to The Secret Bar. The tiny Portuguese style pub serves up a great pint of Sagres and the local favourite, Super Bock, in the proper handled Super Bock pint glasses. The Secret Bar  is open ‘til late on weekends, with a secret exit onto the street, which means you can keep on drinking long after the market is closed. 

  If you’re taking it easy on the booze, attempting Sober November or quite simply not a drinker, then you have to give Get Juiced a go. Fresh juices, smoothies and healthy snacks to keep you happy, now located in the centre of the market and easy to find with a brightly painted juice bar and perfectly placed tropical fruit, to brighten up your day.

You Must... 

If you’re a true music lover, maybe from a slightly older generation, then you’ll totally be into Dr Vinyl. Flick through the neatly categorised records, organised into easily to find genres and all at reasonable prices. If you’re building on your collection then pay the Dr a visit.

As a self-confessed geek, I often find myself delving into the shelves at the Wandle Tree and Nana Neko. Bring out your inner child with comics galore, toys, action figures and computer games and consoles from the 1980s. 

If you love a good rummage, or you’re a fan of knick-knacks and vintage goodies, then delve into the world of pre-loved treasures at The Cabin and My Old Girl and Me. I also can't help but have a nose around Love Art and recently opened Melina's gift shop, perfect for cute Christmas presents.

On Your Shopping List...

Living in London has made me rather tight, well perhaps just skint:I love to budget and when it comes to food for the week, I absolutely love to find a bargain. The fruit and veg stalls at Tooting Market have an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables, a bowl of potatoes for £1, seasonal fruit straight from New Covent Garden Market…you’re really not stuck for choice. 

The old boys at Stannards Butchers also have it covered –well, when it comes to meat. Get your Sunday Roast menu on the cheap, with great bargains on chickens, chops and joints.

Tooting Market hosts a mixed variety of market traders; it’s open 7 days a week and always supports local independent businesses. So, if you only do one thing this week...eat, drink and shop local, keep Tooting thriving and keep your Tooting Market alive.

Find out more about Tooting Market and whats's coming next on their website, follow them on Twitter and Facebook.

Gooce Singles Super Club

Excitement was in the air last Saturday 11^th November 2017, I’d been invited to the first Gooce Singles Supper Club.


At around 7:45pm, me and my friend Angie arrived at a beautiful terraced house in Tooting and greeted at the door by two lovely ladies called Gabi and Luce (Gooce). They took my coat and ushered me through to the front room, which was already buzzing with ladies and gents eagerly chatting and finding out more about their fellow dinner dates for the evening. It seemed that the night was already in full swing, we were handed a rose water fizz cocktail, along with some canapes and tasty nibbles - finally... my nerves began to ease.

 Whilst trying to remember everyone’s name, I moved on to my second fizz cocktail and grabbed the chance to chat to Gabi and Luce about why they decided to open their home to a bunch of single strangers. They told me that after years of cooking and putting on dinner parties for friends and family, along with their love of cooking, why not give a supper club a go and hopefully set up a few dates, with some tasty plates along the way.

We were soon invited through to the dining room, where a beautifully prepared table sat ready for guests, each spot marked with a place name made from super cute scrabble letters. The napkins all had an individual napkin ring, an array of plates, glasses and candles made the table look ready for a fancy feast - amazing attention to detail.

 To start, we were served a goat’s cheese and walnut salad on a bed of rocket leaves, along with delicious home-cooked bread, fresh and still warm from the oven. I particularly enjoyed the goats cheese in this dish, it was so soft, a melt in your mouth kind of tendency and left me wanting more!

Next came a large serving dish of prawns, two on a skewer; these were passed around, along with padron peppers, vegetable paella and many different leafy salads. The prawns... oh the prawns, all cooked to perfection, I had to go back for thirds and I think I had six altogether.

For dessert, a fluffy Greek yogurt ice cream with roasted figs and a crunchy almond praline. This was perfectly sweet, sugary and went together so nicely.

 After a perfectly balanced meal, with attention to pleasing everyone’s taste buds and dietary requirements, a plate of homemade red and fluffy Turkish delight made its way to the table. Gabi and Luce explained to us all that rose water is often used in Indian Desserts, and they wanted to include the local culture in their first Tooting supper club – what a lovely touch.

With the wine still flowing and guests still chatting away, I do believe that the first Gooce Supper Club was a total success.

Unfortunately, on this occasion, I didn’t meet the man of my dreams, but I did make many new friends and I would definitely do it again. The setting was beautiful; the food simply delicious and meeting Gabi and Luce was amazing too – such wonderful inspiring ladies.

Gabi and Luce are now planning more events in Tooting and hope to put on many more singles supper clubs at their gorgeous house, and I wish them every success.

If you’re looking for a wonderful but different way to meet new people and find a possible date, then book your ticket for the next Gooce Singles Supper Club here.

Find out more about Gooce Supper Clubs on their website and follow them on Instagram.

Sugar Push Vintage Dance

Have you always wanted to learn to dance? Well what are you waiting for – Learn to swing dance this winter with Sugar Push Vintage Swing Dance classes.

Get your dancing shoes ready and join the crew at Sugar Push Vintage Dance. With weekly dance classes for beginners and for the more advanced, classes take place in the secret gymnasium room, upstairs at The Antelope in Tooting every Wednesday evening.

If you’ve never swing danced before, then don’t be shy, beginners classes start from 7pm, come alone or bring a partner, either way you’ll always have someone to dance with. The Sugar Push girls (Romayne Etwaroo and Holly France) have many years of swing dancing under their belts, giving people opportunities to improve their Lindy Hop, two steps and even stop those two left feet.

Did you know that the swing Dance era originated in the 1920’s and 30’s over in America, when big bands took over as the pop culture. Swing dance is a broad term to describe a variety of partner dances.

Why not impress your work colleagues at this year’s Christmas party or surprise your loved one, with some super cool swinging moves on the dance floor – you know they’d totally love that!

Find out more about Sugar Push Vintage Dance on Facebook, Instagram and on their website and get ready to book your next swing dance class in South London.

Sugar Push Vintage Dance

Every Wednesday from 7pm

The Antelope

Mitcham Road

SW17 9NG

South and Social - Beer Social

Be More Social!

Living in London really takes its toll, trying to meet up with friends, meeting new people and trying to organise your social calendar, can be really overrun by so many things.

If you’re finding this a problem like me, but love social events, looking for a good night and want to meet like-minded people in your area, then I've some exciting news for you!

South and Social (Rachel Benedict and Jennifer Allen) a new events company, (yes you guessed it... based in South London) are now organising Social events in your neighbourhood to bring people together in a fun, relaxed and easy environment.

In September 2017, they organised a gin-tasting event at The Antelope in Tooting Broadway. The first ‘Gin Social’ was held in the secret shed in The Antelope’s garden and gin lovers were treated to finding out more about Portobello Road Gin and of course drinking plenty of the stuff too.

The next South and Social event will take place at By The Horns Brewery in Summerstown/Tooting on Wednesday November 22^nd 2017, with a beer tasting, a brewery tour and a chance to meet the brewers.

Tickets are now on sale for £15 each and you can get yours here via this link, we’ve heard they’re going fast, so be sure to get yours quick - I've got mine!

Beer lovers rejoice - this one’s for you!

I can’t wait for this one, so see you there on the 22^nd for a beer or three.

Why not enter the social world of South and Social and find out more about them and what they do on their Facebook Page and why not give them a follow on Twitter and Instagram.

Gooce Singles Supper Club

Setting Up Dates With Plates

Are you looking for that special someone? Have you found dating has become more difficult? Are you done with dating apps, fed up with setting up yet another profile and writing a silly bio? 

Are you now ready to meet like-minded people with a passion for food and drink?  - Then I have just the answer!

Gooce, a new singles supper club, (setting up dates with plates) is a new way of bringing people together over drinks and delicious home cooked food, all in the comfort of a beautiful terrace house in Tooting.

Gabi and Luce, two long time friends and housemates, have been dishing up in their dining room for years. After both experiencing the mind numbing game of dating in London, they have now come up with a new concept to help bring 8-10 eligible singles together, all of a similar age, all in one evening and all under one roof.

This genius new singles supper club will take place on Saturday November 11^th at their lovely home on in Tooting. The evening will start from 7:30pm, you will eat from a seasonal set menu and guests are welcome to come alone or with a single friend. You will need to book in advance for this event and tickets are selling fast, so get yours now via this link.

I can’t wait to see what’s next from Gabi and Lucy, find out more about them and what they do on their website and why not give them a follow on Instagram.

Gooce Singles Supper Club

Saturday November 11^th

7:30pm
Tooting SW17 8DA

The Wheatsheaf in Tooting Bec Refurbishment Relaunch

Tooting Bec is on the up - The Wheatsheaf and Imperial Durbar are both under refurbishment, with exciting new function rooms and beer gardens to come. Tonight Friday 8^th September, the Wheatsheaf will reopen and putting on a party to celebrate.

The Wheatsheaf, opposite Tooting Bec tube station, has welcomed many changes and faces over the years. But it’s not always been plain sailing. In 2015, after a long battle and many campaigns residents, along with local MPs celebrated a win against greedy landlords and saved the pub from being turned into yet another Tesco Express.

Tonight, from 6pm, head over to The Wheatsheaf in Tooting Bec to discover a private dining room, (suitable for 30 people), a new lounge room with an open fireplace (accommodating 40 people) and a larger room with a bar (and concertina doors that open into the private dining room). All three function rooms are available for private hire.

The much missed beer garden has also had a makeover. It’s been decked out with new furniture, a fresh paint job and lot’s of leafy planting. The main dining room has now become an extension of the bar, (if you’re just drinking, you’ll be welcome to hang out in there). The chefs have been working hard and have created a new food menu, a mix of pub classics and seasonal specials – available to sample for free this evening.

The re-launch party will feature DJs all night and brewery give aways. After being closed for the last week, I’m sure the regulars will be scratching at the doors.

The Wheatsheaf in Tooting Bec will welcome back it’s regulars and anyone from the local area is invited to pop by and discover the new-look Wheatsheaf pub.

I’ll see you at the bar.

Find out more about The Wheatsheaf Pub on their website, follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The Wheatsheaf

2 Upper Tooting Road

Tooting 

SW17 7PG

Milk Teeth – Tooting Broadway

'

With all the hype Tooting Broadway has received, it’s no wonder another business has popped up on Mitcham Road

Juliet’s Afro Superstore has been taken over by MilkTeeth, a new antipodean coffee shop that also serves hip brunches, smoothies and delicious homemade cakes.

Being a coffee lover and brunch fan, it didn’t take me long to pop by; I wanted to find out if we have another cool place to hang out in Tooting. 

Milk Teeth is the big sister of Milk in Balham, a popular cafe with hour-long queues every weekend.

The decor looks modish with stripped back, exposed brick walls, long wooden benches, a mish-mash of tables and chairs suitable for kids and the yummy mummy clan. With a plethora of brown and beige, the jugs of water filled with fresh, bright green sprigs of mint, bring a pleasant contrast to each table.  

I take my coffee black, no sugar. I enjoy the full flavour of the bean and I wasn’t disappointed by Milk Teeth Tooting Broadway. It was served in a proper cup, rather than a mug or paper cup. The coffee beans are supplied by The Barn, a specialty coffee roastery in Berlin. 

Today's coffee beans were from Kayon Mountain, Ethiopia and as the guys at Milk Teeth take their coffee seriously, you're even supplied with a card explaining the bean you're drinking - such a nice touch. 

I also ordered a smoothie: my choice was the Polly, a zingy blend of coconut, mango and lemon verbena (a fresh herb similar to mint, but with lemon flavours) served in a mini milk bottle. A fresh and healthy treat - just what I needed. 

The menu has all the brunching favourites... eggs, mushrooms, bacon and (of course) smashed 'avo' on sourdough toast. Feeling adventurous, I thought I’d give the Sweet Maria a go. Sweetcorn fritters served with 'krispy' halloumi, avocado, kasundi, lime and I even added a poached egg to the mix. I heard on the grapevine that these were the best things since sliced bread... and boy... Yep!

Everything about this dish made me incredibly happy: the flavour, the freshness, the touch of spice, the portion size and the way it arrived to my table, neatly presented on a silver platter (even my poached egg arrived on a separate mini silver tray).

If you’re a brunch fan, you have to check out Milk Teeth Tooting Broadway. It's more spacious than Milk in Balham, but I’d recommend going before it gets too popular. No one wants to queue for brunch - especially me.

Find out more about Milk on their crazy, but awesome website or follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Milk Teeth Tooting Broadway is a new hip brunch spot - I'll be back again soon

110 Mitcham Road

Tooting

London

SW17 9NG

Lots of love LPD XXX

Weber Grill Academy At The Jolly Gardeners - Earlsfield

Last month, I spent another Friday lunch time out of the office, this time out on The Jolly Gardeners terrace for the Weber Grill Academy School and a chance to learn how to cook the perfect alfresco feast - fit for all my family and friends.

Weber BBQ’s, originally from Australia have created the perfect cooking courses for anyone, at any BBQ-ing level, how to use the garden as an extended part of the kitchen. The Weber Grill Academy offer different cooking courses throughout the year, all over the UK. But The Jolly Gardeners Pub in Earlsfield is the only place you can book onto a course in London.

I attened the Weber Essentials course, which started with all attendees prepping all six dishes on the menu, then shown how to correctly light two gas BBQ’s, two charcoal BBQ’s and how to check when they are at the correct cooking temperature.

When all the BBQ’s were almost at temperature, we then started preparing the first course – a sourdough pizza... that’s right... a pizza on a BBQ - who knew! We rolled out the sourdough base by hand, added the tomato sauce, cheese and toppings. A pizza stone and paddle are recommended for easy cooking, easy removal from the grill and to make sure you serve a decent looking pizza to your hungry guests.

Also on the menu was a beer can chicken, with a BBQ spicy rub (this was amazing), a vegetable risotto, a beautiful pork loin with sides of broccoli and baked sweet potatoes and a delicious Salsa Verde. 

We even learnt how to cook soft, melt in the middle chocolate pots, the perfect way to finish off that Sunday family feast. The best thing about the course, is that you get to eat all the food you’ve just cooked – my advice is to definetely arrive hungry!

The Weber Grill Academy is a great way to learn how to cook all the essentials, learn new skills on your BBQ and most importantly show off in front of friends and family.

Book your course now for the next Weber Grill Academy at The Jolly Gardeners Pub in Earlsfield, You won’t be disappointed and you will definitely learn how to cook delicious BBQ food with ease.

Find out about the next Weber Gill Academy course and how to book on to it via this link.

The Jolly Gardeners - Earlsfield

London - SW18 4EA 

Dating On-Wine

Are you looking for a more relaxed way to date and meet like minded people with ease? Then Dating On-Wine is the event for you.

On Monday July 24th you'll get the chance to do just that. A lovely lady, called Emma Chandler is hosting a an event at Unwined in Tooting Market, with proceeds from the event being donated to the charity CHILD.

CHILD is an international development charity that works towards education for children all over the world. Their motto is 'we do what works' by supporting local communities and partnering up with other charities that work with children. They work hard to ensure that children go to school happy and healthy. You can find out more about the charity on their website here.

The ladies tickets have now all sold out, but there's still a few gents tickets available which you can purchase via this link.

So come on gents - get your tickets now! They'll be speed dating and you'll definitely meet lot's of lovely ladies and you'll have 6 different wines to taste and chat about, whilst you date.

Sounds like a perfect evening to me.

Dating On-Wine 
Unwined 
Tooting Market

Event starts at 7:30pm

Tickets cost £20 which includes 6 different glasses of wine and a complimentary glass of wine at the end of the evening.

Find out more on Facebook and Twitter

The Summer South London Beer Festival

The Second South London Beer Festival is back with the summer addition, this Sunday 23rd July, at the Tooting Tram & Social - Tooting Broadway 12-6pm.

In March 2017, my first South London Beer Festival took place at the Tooting Tram & Social in Tooting Broadway.
As you know, i'm totally in love with South London and I'm always looking for ways to help promote businesses and the things I love most about my favourite areas.

The first festival was a huge success and saw over 400 people turn up and enjoy some new local beers and taste some local tasty street food and with the help of everyone involved, I managed to raise over £800 for the MS Society Uk.

The next South London Beer Festival will take place this Sunday July 23^rd, again at the Tooting Tram & Social, from 12-6pm and looks set to be another busy event - with some new breweries and lot’s of summer craft beers and cider to quench your thirst.

We see the return of local Tooting Brewery By The Horns, Villages from Deptford, Anspach & Hobday from Bermondsey, Canopy Beer Co based in Herne Hill. They’ll be a craft beer and cider lounge supported by local craft beer shop and bar Craft Tooting and some delightful craft ciders brought to you from Pilango Cider, the little shop and bar, also based in Broadway Market,Tooting. 

We’ll also see some new faces at this festival! Roaring Four Brewing based in Earlsfield and The Cronx Brewery based in Croydon.

They’ll be some tasty street food available throughout the day, to keep your powering on. We see the return of The Chilli Man UK, a local lad, selling meat and veggie chilli and why not take up his chilli challenge - washed down with a shot of tequila.

I'm delighted to announce that Eat Wandsworth will be involved with the next South London Beer Festival, the Wandsworth based charity, foodie, drinkie web and social sites, who will be dishing up their special homemade Eat Wandsworth curries and will be donating proceeds made on the day to the nominated charity. 

Why not sign up for a SLICE Card, the card that gets you great deals in local restaurants, bars and businesses. Find out more about Eat Wandsworth and the SLICE Card project here.

I'm very happy to announce that proceeds made from The Summer South London Beer Festival will be donated to the local St George’sHospital Charity, a charity that is close to all our hearts in the borough of Wandsworth. I'm sure you've been at St George's Hospital at some point - well I have and I've only ever seen time, hard work and attention to those who need it. 

Their selfless efforts to save people's lives and work so hard definitely needs our support. Find out more about what St George's Hospital Charity does and how they support our community and people in the UK here.

Tickets are just £2 each and still on sale now, via this link, get them quick as they are going fast!

There will be live music throughout the day and DJ’s to finish off the night. 

The beer festival will finish at 6pm, but the Tram welcomes you to stay and enjoy more music and their retro video games evening, which will carry on until midnight.

The Summer South London Beer Festival

12-6pm

Tooting Tram & Social

Tooting Broadway

SW17 9NA

Tickets £2

Watch out for me tonight, I'll be around London handing out special VIP FREE invites to The South London Beer Festival.

I would love to have you all there and help me to support local South London Breweries, brewers and St George's Hospital Charity.

Love to you all.

LPD XXX