12.12.08: Out to Mango room

Her char-grilled pork loin overwhelmed by a jerk of a sauce

To celebrate His bro's birthday, He, She, and His mum and bro convened at the Caribbean- infused Mango room restaurant in Camden. She had the char-grilled pork loin with jerk sauce, while He settled for char-grilled chicken, also with jerk sauce . A plate of mixed leaf salad and two bowls of rice 'n' peas showed their support.

His char-grilled chicken steps into a puddle of jerk

SHE SAYS: Once the din from the Annual Convention of Rip-Roarin' Restaurant Shouters and Hooters died down (upon their departure), I rather enjoyed my sweet and mildly smokey pork plate. The pork was a bit fatty, and the sauce thinner and more sugary than I would prefer, but t was altogether satisfying. The rice and peas were v dry and unappetising, but I put a few down my neck for filler. The salad was a tangy, garlicky surprise, and the bro and I concurred it was one of the best things on the table.

The peas resting in their desert of rice

HE SAYS: Usually this place is a little more low-key in atmosphere, but, being the staff xmas party season, it was brimming with office workers determined to have a good time. This translates to drinking as much as possible and generally trying to be the most loud and obnoxious person in the place. Thus, this was not a good start to our meal.

After a half-hour wait for the table I had booked, We were finally seated. Since We have been to this place a couple of times before, We knew what to expect foodwise and what to order. The jerk sauce in my opinion is pretty good, not too-too shweet and has a subtle hot kick to it. The chicken was tender and not at all dry, unlike the rice and peas, which were a desert of sandy blandness. The salad was a surprising high point, more yummy then a plain mixed leaf salad would have you believe. Must've been the special sauce.

The green salad makes its presence felt

The rowdy tables of drunk revellers left halfway through Our meal, so things ended up on a high note, or perhaps a quiet one at least. Everyone seemed rather satisfied with the meal, which acted as a rehearsal dinner for Our Xmas Day truncated-family festivities.

07.12.08: Fusion broth with fruity salad

Just the ticket for a sniffly Sunday: He pulled together the fusion broth with dry-grilled chicken, rice noodles, and Chinese greens. Salad of tomato, watercress, pear, pomegranate and avo looked on.

HE SAYS: The broth was a little on the spicy side (I think some stray shreds of chili got in the pot as it was cookin'). Good thing it had loads of ginger which made it still fragrant and light. I especially enjoyed the addition of the baby corn, which added a crunchy element to each mouthful. The salad was a shweet affair, maybe too shweet. An experiment with salad fixin' combinations gone too far, perhaps?

SHE SAYS: The chicken was perfecto, but the broth was way too spicy for a fragile throat - I normally prize this dish for its mild nourishment. Still pretty good and I did spoon up my fair share. Could be I was just in a sickie mood all-round, but the salad seemed a bit damp with too many ingredients (not a fan of pear and tomato mixin').

06.11.08: Home cookin' w/relations, NYC, NY

His aunt 'n' uncle have given us ample houseroom in NYC quite a few times now, in their lovely upper east side doorman building. And if that weren't enough, they agreed to feed us, too. A very welcome spread of roast chicken and veg (turnips, blue potatoes, sweet potatoes and shallots, a heaping emerald pile of steamed spinach, and a salad of leaves and radishes (how did they know?) out a homey finishing touch to our holiday dinner adventures. (Dessert of strawberries and blueberries baked up with touches of cream and brown sugar didn't go amiss, either.) It's been a treat most of the time, but We are rarin' to get back in Our own kitchen!

HE SAYS: Simple home goodness was on the menu for tonite. You can't beat a freshly roasted organic chicken, and with the veggie medley I was satisfied enough. Add in a green salad and a glass or two of wine and it made a cosy end to a great trip.

SHE SAYS: Properly nourishing and tasty, with perfectly seasoned chicken and naked spinach - it was the most welcome kind of plain, soothing and filling. Note to Self: blue potatoes are extra-sweet, how innaresting. Many thanks to his NYC relatives for giving us yet another excellent welcome and comfy hospitality.

The Dinner4deux vacation diary: proof we took notes and didn't make it up off the top of our heads when we got back

03.11.08: Pinches Tacos w/guest, Los Angeles, CA

Her spicy pork, nopales, and pollo mole taco plate

Our dear, longtime pal Martin guided us safely to this smashing taqueria he described as 'humble but good'. Accurate, but let Us intensify that second bit: fresh, delicious, well-balanced, and very well-priced.

SHE SAYS: My combination plate of three tacos - nopales (cactus), spicy pork, and pollo mole (chicken) - accompanied by rice and tortilla chips plus pinto bnz, was by far the best Mexican fare of the trip. The firm, juicy cactus, well seasoned and slightly crispy pork chunks, and, above all, the deeply savoury chocolatey mole all had me wanting more, if only I wasn't pushing my waistband limit already. The mole esp showcased the chocolate as it should be in a mole sauce: not sweet, or vinegary, or overly tangy, just richly approaching bitter with a hint of cinnamon for flavour equilibrium. And no wonder, given that it's a family recipe unchanged for 114 years, according to the PR on their website.

The pinto bnz did their best to match all the other goodness going on with a rib-sticking creaminess and a satisfying measure of salt. We shared a Coke since it came in a bottle (seems nicer somehow). And the company of our Mexifood sherpa completed the feeling of good, lively nourishment and pleasure.

His shrimp burrito

HE SAYS: I felt like we redeemed our last Los Angeles Mexican experience with the meal we had this evening. I ordered the shrimp burrito first, which was packed with fresh big ones. The portion was not giant, but manageable. I espescially enjoyed the zestiness of the salsa, which I applied generously like hot sauce.

After scoffing the burrito I couldn't help but order my own mole chicken taco after tasting a little of Hers. The mole sauce was how it should be: a savoury base with subtle sweetness. The chicken was shredded and tender, and the salsa added fresh herby heat. It was great to have fantastic food while we caught up with an old friend before having a few drinks at a bar a few blocks away.

Martin's pork and pollo tacos

19.10.08: Out to Nando's

A leisurely stroll over the bridge led us to that temple of fast but not noxious food, Nando's. Above you see her typical order of the quarter chicken with two sides: coleslaw and grilled corn...

...while he opted for the half-chicken with chips and Spanish rice. Truth be told, He went and got an extra piece later on!

SHE SAYS: Nothing new to report here, it's that grilled flavour swabbed with some heat from the piri-piri sauce, plus the crispy sweetness of corn dabbed with some butter to help it slide down the chute. Coleslaw was not overly sweet, as I feared it might be, and wasn't too drowned in mayo. Decent filler, cheap and cheerful.

HE SAYS: Chicken n' chips was what I was hankering for and that's what I got. This place is basic no nonsense, no fuss, just fowl fulfilling fun. I especially enjoyed glugging the peri-peri sauce over the entire contents of my plate (I'm a hot and She a medium as far as heat goes in that dept). I found my corn to be too sweet but I was expecting it. Unfortunately there are no other sides that take my fancy so I'm left with no option but to go for it and sprinkle on some salt to try and stem the sugar rush.

03.10.08: Out to Fanoos

We meant to go back sooner since our first trip to Fanoos was so homey and pleasant, but maybe we were just waiting for the cold weather to come back so we could bask in the toastiness of the shopfront tiled clay oven that bakes the incomparable sesame flatbread.

We could hardly wait for the Kashk o Bademjan, or aubergine puree with yoghurt, to arrive before tearing in (She's guilty of tearing at corners), but when it did we slathered it up right.

And we couldn't resist ordering the garlic butter variety, too.

Mixed grill for two: skewers of chicken, lamb fillet, and minced lamb plus whole grilled tomatoes, lettuce, red onion slices and lemon. (We did go swimming before dinner and had worked up an appetite!)

Accompaniments: saffron rice, plain rice, little pats of butter for the rice, cosy sand-coloured walls sporting brick arches and tile mosaics, candlelight atmosphere, and an accidental gift of baba ganoush. (We thought it must come with the platter, and She stuck a fork in it just as the manager came to shift it to another table - 'Ah, well, on the house, on the house!')

HE SAYS: Glad we came back , I thoroughly enjoyed this festival of grilled meats. All were tender and juicy with no added sauces or marinades needed apart from a squirt of lemon to bring out the flavour. The Kashk o Bademjan with a very deep smoky taste was fantastic with the bread. The garlic bread was thin, crispy and tasty but perhaps not needed as we had not yet seen the size of the main dish before ordering. It was nice to accidentally receive an order of baba ganoush and although I've tasted better, I slathered it on my bread thickly and it succeeded in hitting the spot. Overall, a cozy, intimate Friday night dining experience.

SHE SAYS: Thoroughly enjoyable on all counts, and it was mildly thrilling to do something a little different on a Friday nite. The sesame bread put me in mind of a thin, perfectly crafted NY pizza base, only with divine sesame flavour instead of sauce and cheese. I didn't think it was possible, but the creamy, subtle sweet-tang of the kashk made it even more delectable. If I lived around here I'd be big as a house b/c I'd come in all the time to sneak this hot bread 'n' Persian spread. The garlic version was fab, too, but only took the flavour factor up a small notch.

The grilled meats were mostly tender and charcoaly, though the lamb fillet was a little dry. No matter: adding some lettuce bits and roasted tomato to those bites made them more than passable. The mince was seasoned like your average hamburger, not hugely impressive, but perfectly fine. Our serendipitous baba ganoush hit the wrong note for me, way too smokey. I'd have the chicken kebab next time, with two servings of plain sesame bread (to share, of course; what kind of piggy do you think I am?) - and mebbe even two servings of kashk.

27.09.08: Leftover soup and open-faced bagels

After being generously plied with an excellent pork-roast lunch by friends in the afternoon, we had little energy or appetite for full-on evening dining, so splitting the one bowl of leftover fusion broth and topping up with an avo-tomato bagel half seemed just the ticket. He added another bagel half with Marmite and a slice of mature cheddar just to be sure late-nite hunger pangs would not interrupt a dreamy sleep.

HE SAYS: With ma belly half full this assortment of tastes managed to fill in the blanks of dinner with opposing flavas and textures. It was nice to have a second helping of the great soup from earlier this week and the avo and marmite bagel combo helped tip the balance of washing up vs. taste and satisfaction strongly in the latter's camp.

SHE SAYS: Just enough, and nourishing. I think I've said this before, but this soup is not the kind of thing that improves with a nite or two in the fridge - the flavours and consistency are too delicate to develop much. Still good, and with the highly-prized quality of being a heat-n-eat option. Plus, avocado on toast with a bit of salt has been my idea of perfect food since 1993 - and the addition of some rich cherry toms only gilds the lily.

25.09.08: Fusion broth with grilled chicken

She cooked up the fancy chicken noodle soup from The Naked Chef, complete with bok choi, rice noodles (and some bean thread ones, too, since the rice noodle supply was low), dry-grilled chicken breasts, and copious ginger slices - remembering, this time, the final dash of lime juice. Nigella's wasab lime dressing stood by to pep up a mildly indulgent salad of radish, mixed olives, avo, and leaves.

HE SAYS: The ginger in this nice hot and fragrant soup certainly helped clear my sinuses while the fantastic grilled chicken hit the spot. The bean thread noodles were just as tasty as their rice counterparts and the added lime managed to add a fresh tanginess to the bowl. The wasabi dressing delivered its usual punch to the salad, poured over the delish radishes and olive mix.

SHE SAYS: Dry-grilling skinless chicken breasts is, I now believe, the only way to cook them. The bbq-fire aroma alone is worth it. This time I turned down the heat after browning both sides, added a small amount of water (whoa, steam!), and covered it to cook the chicken thru instead of high-heating them into near-petrification. Miscalculated the amount of soy sauce I added to each bowl at the end, overwhelming the light and faintly tangy broth with briny intensity, but it wasn't quite ruined, and leftovers will remain nicely balanced. Salad was moreish with the double-whammy of olives and avo, plus the wasabi coating - no one can say we don't get our good monounsaturated fats!

02.08.08: Out to Nando's

Um. We were hungry. And so our Sat evening stroll to Nando's ended with the whole-chicken feast, including two grilled corn portions and large chips. Bwaaak!

HE SAYS: It's the fast food that's a little better then the average chicken joint and if you're hungry it will fill you up and not make you feel sick afterwards. The chicken was spicy and I enjoyed splattering my chips with malt vinegar and dunking them into the extra peri-peri sauce on hand. The corn although nice was suspiciously sweet, do they glaze it with sugar water before grilling? Will have to ask next time.

SHE SAYS: I don't think I ate much more than my usual order, but I did manage enough to feel like I offset the walk to and from. Roasty corn went first, then a few perfectly crispy and pillowy chips. Chicken was tender and nicely charcoaled, as always, though the white meat does get a bit dry and required dipping in peri-peri sauce, which I find too vinegary. All in all, a good Sat. nite stuffin'.

11.06.08: Jerk chicken stew, take two

It's so nice, we had to have it twice: He sauced up some chicken breasts with the M&S jerk spice, baked it all with some callaloo, and spooned the silky results over a mix of basmati brown, red camargue, and wild rice. The 'Italian-style salad with herbs' plus Sweetfire beetroot nodded its approval nearby.

SHE SAYS: Tasty and simple - what's not to like? The M&S jerk paste is very mild, but nice with the generous allspice. A dabbadoo of Crystal brought out its wild side, and made for one satisfying midweek meal. That salad is so wrong, though! I'm not sure which herb it is - possibly chervil - but it is nasty and metallic! Methinks this was partly the cause of last nite's poor artichoke performance. Sweetfire beetroot did it's best to offset, but eeww.

HE SAYS: This one-pot chicken stew is easy on the tastebuds as well as the washin' up. Adding the callaloo to the mix about 20 mins before serving seems to be the best solution to avoid it drying up and soaking up too much liquid. I also added a splash of the hot sauce for good measure, mon. The salad like she said was nastee, some herb or other in the bowl tasted like fish or summat; I carefully picked out the beetroot to at least salvage what I could.

10.05.08: Out to Won Kei

This Won Kei visit was a duty call of sorts, as we were introducing a friend to its delightfully cheap culinary charms, which for Our part meant lemon chicken (His) and mushroom chicken (Hers) over hearty helpings of white rice. We ordered the Chinese greens, but they never made it to the table, more's the pity.

HE SAYS: I was eager to have a hearty lemon Pledge chicken dish to myself. When it arrived I felt a little cheated as the portion was a little smaller then I've previously witnessed. I do harbour some white trash embarrassment over ordering this step-child to the 'sweet n' sour, day-glo orange, deep fried battered prawn ball' dish so common in strip-mall Chinese joints, but it's so good - magic sticky lemony sauce over deep-fried chicken strips, I quickly waved away my shame and dug in and savoured the flava.

SHE SAYS: This is what I order at Won Kei when I'm trying to be a tad virtuous - no deep-frying, for instance - and it's always yumsome, but I found myself pondering the extreme tenderness of the chicken - pondering specifically whether it was a good thing, exactly. But then I decided not to ponder, and just spooned over more of the pepper-oil concoction they set on the table that you can't get anywhere else and that I long for, for days afterwards. The mushrooms are always an impressive mix of wild and mundane, earthy and salty. I missed the gingery greens, but not enough to stay on the table that much longer - white rice is rather filling!

29.04.08: Lemon chicken

Such a tart: He ensured that the reliable lemon chicken graced our plates once more, and found a fitting partner in a leafy salad dotted with radish, little marinated olives, sundried tomatoes and Apetina.

SHE SAYS: Always yummy and kind to the tummy. Got to get the name of those li'l olives, they're mild but moreish.

HE SAYS: The further adventures of Lemony-Chicket. It's always a crowd pleaser around these parts and I was not disappointed by the continuation of this series of fortunate savoury sour-quenching dishes. The maris piper spuds replaced the charlotte variety used in recent versions and held up to their label of Britain's favourite all round 'tater plater. The salad was nice and tangy too, yippee!

26.04.08: Nando's takeaway

His 'n' Hers chicken dinners: He feasted on 1/2 a medium-spice chicken with grilled corn and chips, while she delved into a 1/4 medium-spice chicken with matching grilled corn. Aw!

HE SAYS: Chicken was tender, smoky and still hot when I got it to our plates. The corn was very sweet and makes me suspect they coat it with sugar. Ate too many chips that were just okay, not too greasy but overprocessed and a little tasteless. Overall not a bad solution for fast food.

SHE SAYS: Perfectly satisfying, with tender chicken spiced just right and full of that chargrilled flavour. The corn proved good, juicy filler, and overall I didn't have to feel as guilty or woozy as when I indulge in dat Popeye's famous fried chicken.

09.04.08: Madras Curry with fragrant rice

It seemed like a good idea at the time: She poached some skinless chicken breasts, stirred up the spiced rice from the pork vindaloo recipe and added coconut milk, then mixed in some madras luxury curry sauce. Leftover salad from last nite freshened up with more leaves, a pear and a sprinkling of Apetina.

SHE SAYS: Oy, such a pain that rice recipe is! I forgot that the liquid quantity is a laugh, and that when He last made this recipe He cooked the rice nice and tender in the rice cooker before adding it to the pan of onions and spices. About a quarter of my rice burned black in the pan and had to be scraped away, then it all took for-ev-ah to tenderise. As He noted, the coconut milk just blanded out the madras sauce and didn't get that rice cooked any faster, let me tell ya. It tasted okay and was perfectly wholesome, but all in all was quite the letdown.

HE SAYS: I enjoyed the velvety quality of the curry but it was a little bland due to the inclusion of coconut milk. It's so tempting to add at any chance and you would think that it would work, wouldn't cha? But no, not this time charlie. The fragrant rice was top notch and the chicken equally tasty and juicy. Salad was great with the red grapes and cheese, mmmm.

07.04.08: Caribbean jerk-style chicken stew

He threw together this hot little number while She was out: sauteed onion, callaloo, chicken, and the new M&S jerk spice, baked with chicken stock and coconut milk, and served over brown rice.

SHE SAYS: So glad I got home in time for a hot plate of this spicy stew. The strong allspice and black pepper flavours were mellowed just enough by the spinachy callaloo and coconut milk to make me go mmmmm. The heat lingered pleasantly, never too intense. I liked this type of jerk seasoning better than the sweet Reggae Reggae sauce we normally pour over for baked chicken, and this entire combination is something I could quite happily put away a few more times before stew season ends.

HE SAYS: Was in the mood for some stew - was tempted by some other, Indian sauces, but realised we're having Indian nite rather soon (stay tuned). Was an easy recipe to put together; the callaloo was a new and tasty discovery, and the sauce, when blended with the onions, was very moreish. A surprising success, given that I improvised it all when I went to the store.

25.02.08: Jerk chicken, rice 'n' peas, and greens

A hearty plate: Chicken marinated in and baked with Reggae Reggae sauce, smokey greens with ho-made harissa stirred in, and mild, coconutty rice 'n' peas made with red beans. Combined the remains of last nite's salad with spinach, cucumber, and radishes for a touch of cool and fresh (forgot to take the pic!).

SHE SAYS: Hit the spot. Harissa is the perfect last-minute add-on for the boiled greens, all minty and garlicky. Looking forward to having leftover creamy rice 'n' peas tomorrow at lunch.

HE SAYS: I like me some of that Jamaican jerk chicken! Rice 'n' peas again were tasty. Can you eat too much coconut milk? If it's wrong, I don't wanna be right. I could eat it straight out of the can. The souped-up greens were full of flava-flav, and the salad was kickin' it, too.

30.01.08: Lemon chicken

It's lemon chicken nite! (Plus beetroot and avo salad evening). A 70/30 joint effort from Him and Her, respectively.

HE SAYS: A good version of a regular staple. The lemons were very jammy this time. I added some leftover lemon thyme, which was a nice touch. I particularly like the anya potatoes. One tip that's not in the recipe: blanching the potatoes helps make them fluffy for roasting.

SHE SAYS: Digging the extra jammy lemons this time. Anya potats are some of the best roasters ever (tho' as mentioned before, mediocre fryers). Green bnz were almost crispy, just the way I like 'em in this dish. V. satisfying

15.01.08: Reggae Reggae chicken

Chicken marinated and baked in the Reggae Reggae sauce, with coconutty rice 'n' peas, plus a simple salad with avocado and Sweetfire beetroot.

SHE SAYS: Pretty good. Always like the spicy-sweet sauce. Rice 'n' peas were very tender, but kind of underflavoured. I'll still be happy to take the rest for lunch. Could not stop eating the salad, I love the beetroot.

HE SAYS: Chicken was tasty. The rice 'n' peas had a lot of coconut in them which always makes me happy. The beetroot in the salad was a winner, as always.

08.01.08: Lemon chicken

He put together this great set-it-and-forget-it-style* standby from Real Simple magazine: skin-on chicken breasts with garlicky green beans, lemon slices, and roast anya potatoes (still have some of those left). Slight variation tonite: some leftover butternut squash and sweet potato cubes. On the side: simple salad with avocado.

SHE SAYS: Oo, I'm so full. Anya potatoes much better roasted than fried. Nice juicy chicken, and good crispiness outside. Green beans had good crunch. Interesting discovery: butternut squash tastes good with avo. Who knew?

HE SAYS: A little too much olive oil, I thought. The lemons were okay, but not as jammy as usual. Enjoyed the squash add-on.

*We don't own a s.i.a.f.i. rotisserie. It's just an unbeatable expression for convenience cooking!