Kimchee Korean restaurant - Gluten Free menu



Dolsot Bibimbap

I recently spotted Kimchee on High Holborn while looking for a place to eat in the area.
I've head that Korean food is good for gluten-free eating as they use rice wraps and rice noodles.
The menu looked very tasty, but as I wanted to be sure, I got in touch with them by email to find out my options.
They were very attentive and sent me their separate gluten free menu, brilliant!
The restaurant is nicely decorated, all dark wood and indirect lighting, very welcoming, with very friendly staff.

Kim Seaweed

It is quite a large restaurant, and we were lucky to get there around 7pm, as it was completely packed by 8pm with a good mix of Korean and non Korean customers.

I tried two starters:
+ Kimchee, layers of pickled Chinese cabbage with garlic and chilli. It was fantastic for me, a pickle lover
+ Kim, thin sheets of seaweed, very nice too

As main course I had Dolsot Bibimbap, Tofu served in a sizzling stone pot, with sticky rice, vegetables and egg, that you mix together at the table. It arrives with a side sauce, though I cannot remember what was in it. I love the mix of flavours and the fact that the food stays hot in the pot while you eat, so even if you are a slow eater your food is always warm for you.
There was someone nearby eating one of the barbacue dishes (served with lettuce wraps) that looked delicious too, I'll have to go back ;)
The price is also very reasonable, under £10 for main dishes and around £3 for sides and small dishes. I'd recommend it!

Kimchee
71 High Holborn, London WC1V 6EA
Tel: 020 7430 0956
http://www.kimchee.uk.com/

Marks and Spencer new Gluten Free products

 A few new gluten free products have appeared on Marks and Spencer shelves!

A very tasty looking Chocolate Birthday cake and some more bread varieties, ciabattas and baguettes.
They all look worth tasting, so one to try soon.

There are also a good amount of gluten free choices in their food to order section for when you need to entertain:
http://www.marksandspencer.com/l/food-and-wine/food-to-order/solutions-for-everybody/gluten-free

Udis Plain Bagels Gluten Free

I've wanted to try these Udis bagels for a while, but although I've had an eye out for them, I couldn't find them in any of my local stores. Finally I found them in Tesco last week.

They are actually very nice bagels, there are four in a pack and cost £2.30. They say they'll keep for 2 days, but I've had them in the fridge for around a week and they are still good to eat. I love them toasted with some tuna mayo.  There are two more varieties, cinamon and raisins and savoury (with a hint of onion), all at the same price.
Ingredients: Water, Tapioca Starch, Rice Flour, Potato Starch, Rapeseed Oil, Egg White Powder, Resistant Corn Starch, Sugar, Glucose Syrup, Humectant (Glycerine), Thickeners (Hydroxypropyl Methyl Cellulose, Xanthan Gum, Locust Bean Gum), Yeast, Pea Protein Isolate, Sugar Beet Fibre, Salt, Preservative (Calcium Propionate).

Coffee and walnut Cake - Cake Angels Gluten Free recipe

Another fantastic cake made at home following the recipe in Cake Angels by Julia Thomas.

It is one of my favourite cakes! The sponge is so light and airy that it melts in your mouth. Every time I've baked it it has been loved by gluten and non gluten eaters.

Like all gluten free cakes, it is always at it best on the day of baking, but it'll last in an airtight container for quite a few days, and it doesn't really loose much flavour.

I normally switch from normal coffee to decaffeinated, but I forgot this time, so after eating a piece in the afternoon, it took me a while to fall asleep zzz

Konditor & Cook Gluten Free choices

Layered noisette cake (left) and Choc Hazelnut cake (right) both GF
 

At Konditor and Cook they have lots of delicious cakes and small bites to tempt anyone, even us gluten free eaters.

I was very impressed recently when I tried the gluten free Almond St Clements cake and had promised myself to go back to test some of the other gluten free temptations ;)




A slice of the gorgeous cakes above
 

 

 

 

This time I even had a bit of banter with the lovely lady behind the counter at the  Waterloo branch, who let me take some photos, and was very informative, even though it was a Sunday afternoon, very near closing time.

Thanks for your patience!!!

So, what tempted me?
I got a slice of the two gluten free cakes I hadn't tried yet:

* Chocolate Hazelnut cake (£24 for a full cake, approx £3 for a slice)


Add caption

Ingredients: Dark Chocolate, Crushed Hazelnuts, Butter, Soft Brown Sugar, Polenta, Organic Eggs, Milk, Cocoa Powder, Cream, Splash of Rum
This cake was delicious, in a chocolate lover kind of way, a great cake if you like your dark chocolate.

* Layered noisette cake (£28 for a full cake, approx £3 per slice)
Ingredients: Sugar, Light Brown Sugar, Hazelnuts, Dark Chocolate, Polenta, Organic Eggs, Butter, Mascarpone, Giandujia Chocolate, Vanilla Pods, Splash of Rum
This cake was by far my favourite, also chocolatey but lighter than the other one and so nutty!

I didn't get any of the Mount Hazelnut small bites, which I reserve for future visits.

With cakes this delicious they should have an emergency line!

Konditor and Cook
http://www.konditorandcook.com/
Waterloo branch:
22 Cornwall Road,  London,  SE1 8TW

Pizza da vinci Take away Gluten free pizza

 

Gluten Free Da Vinci pizza

I recently discovered Pizza da Vinci in Battersea and decided to try them.
They make pizzas with or without gluten and they deliver them to you if you live in an SW or SE postcode plus a couple of W ones.

I ordered a da Vinci (just add £1 for gluten free) and my friend the Bella Ragazza.

On their website they give you an estimate on when the pizza will arrive, and ours was very much on time (aprox 40 mins).



Bella Ragazza Pizza (with gluten)

The gluten free one was in a different box, and the delivery man pointed it out for me.

The dough is quite thin, which I liked, my only critisism would be the edge which was a bit dry in both pizzas.

Overall the toppings were quite nice, and they have lots of choices on their website. They also have other things like salads and desserts (a couple of gluten free ones), so overall I would recommend it ;)

Pizza da Vinci
http://pizzadavinci.co.uk/
103D Lavender Hill, Battersea, London, SW11 5QL
Phone: 02072234000

British Museum - Great Court Restaurant Afternoon Tea (or Mrs Crimbles special?)

I wanted to visit the Vikings exhibition at the British Museum and I was wondering if I would be able to eat anything gluten free there.

Gluten free afternoon tea

Standard afternoon tea
 

I was looking at the eating options and the Great Court Restaurant under the roof canopy looked like a fantastic location.
In order to avoid disappointment, I emailed them to ask about their gluten-free options for lunch and for afternoon tea.
They mentioned that they always have some gluten-free option on their regular lunch menu and that they could provide an afternoon tea with 24 hours notice.

That was brilliant news! Even though I couldn't get tickets for the Vikings in the end, I was so looking forward to the Gluten Free afternoon Tea that I booked it anyway.

It was quite busy on Easter Sunday, but I didn't mind too much. 
We were shown to our table and soon some lovely china arrived.

We had the usual choice of teas and I mentioned again my pre-booked gluten free afternoon tea.


Gluten free sandwiches

First we got some very nice sandwiches, and, although mine were on gluten-free bread, the filling was the same as in the regular afternoon tea, very nice fillings, very enjoyable.
I was soooooo looking forward to my scones and cakes.

Here is when I got the "treats" and we couldn't do anything other than laugh.
Where were my scones?
Can you spot your Mrs Crimbles favourites?
Is that a Sainsbury's brownie?
I couldn't identify the cherry bakewell tart, but it looked like it was just out of a packet, maybe Waitrose free from?
A bit of effort went on with the fairy cake, as it was "iced" with some whipped cream, and I got one macaroon of the ones available in the regular afternoon tea.

I suppose at least my companion enjoyed her treats, she said the scones were delicious.
It would have been so easy to make it worth it, even without much cooking, they could have served some of Waitrose's free from scones or some scones made with Helen's ready mix. They could have got some gluten free cakes from Konditor and Cook and dusted some icing sugar, or they could have added a selection of macaroons from Paul's.

I suppose as I could guess where all of it came from I was able to tuck in knowing I would not get sick. Not recommended unless you are a Mrs Crimbles fan.