Debbie does Dining

Wallet of shame

Every now and again I empty my wallet of receipts. I don't know about you, but I find them shockingly revealing of a lifestyle I didn't know I had …

I present the following without comment or expurgation. I haven't taken non-food receipts out of the list - there weren't any.

New Orleans Foodyssey III: Breakfast

Below is the third best breakfast I've ever had in my life. What is it, and what are the other 2? Read on, baby …

New Orleans Foodyssey II: Creole and Cajun

Tired of the winter? Actually I'm not, and as it's my blog we're playing it my way. So here's some comfort food with warming spice as we enter chapter II of Debbie's Deep South food porn marathon …

New Orleans Foodyssey I: The sandwich

New Orleans is the home of two of the world's great sandwiches. Warning: the following images may make you hungry.

Awkward interval: Barbican food hall

The Barbican centre - a City cultural mecca and architectural mess - has always been a bit crap for food. I can’t see why this should be the case, but like Tube overcrowding and the inevitability of death, it’s something one comes to accept.

However, the times they are a-changin' – as nobody who has ever played at the Barbican would say – and the tired old Waterside restaurant, with its overtones of French service station cum staff canteen, has been revamped into a ‘food hall’.

Korea advice: BiBimBap, Soho

Simple, healthy, involving, unusual, spicy, comforting, cheap, quick. No, NOT a bread/beansprout/fondue/offal/jalapeno/carrot drivethru order. But bibimbap, Korea's national dish and real bit of alright.

Milk and honey: Gelupo, Soho

There are few great gelaterias in London - and it's one of senseless situations that can make the sensitive soul very sad and a bit angry. I'm not going to listen to all your arguments about 'oh, but that's cause it's cold here' - because we actually eat ice cream quite a lot, and there's no reason why it should mostly be BAD ice cream.

I dream of unagi: Tokyo Diner, Chinatown

What that makes Tokyo Diner stand out (apart from the small matter of great, cheap food) is its fair attitude to both people and fish. On each table are two notices. Notice 1 says that extra rice is available on request, at no extra cost. Notice 2 states that the restaurant does not serve tuna, and explains why (because it's endangered and they can't find a really sustainable source). I LIKE Tokyo Diner.

Then there's the tips. They don't want them. It's not traditional in Japan, so they're not interested. If you tip them, they'll give the money to charity. Amongst the shysters and swindlers of the West End, it's a breath of fresh air.

Solid favourite: Katzenjammers, London Bridge

I just love German food. No, I do. Not more than once a month, obviously - how die Deutsche manage on a solid diet of the stuff is beyond me (solid being the operative word). A shocked acquaintance of mine recently returned from a single week's holiday there some 10lb worse off. Just goes to show.

However, if you're a fan of protein and carbs (and if you're not, this may not be the blog for you …), it's a dream on a stick. Sausages. Dumplings. Enormous cakes, and icing sugar. Dense breads, and braised meats. Even the names impress, like a parade of big-bosomed Wagnerians in battle garb. Kaiserschmarrn. Germknodel. Obazda.

Launch of Shaka Zulu

DDD + Mr DDD on Wednesday attended the launch of Shaka Zulu, the multi-million pound South African super-restaurant in Camden's Stables Market - as did HM King Goodwill Zwelithini of Zululand. Read on for a first report on the venture …

Monday: A giant statue is wheeled past our dinner table at nearby Yum Cha