This weekend I was mostly...

[venta]

A whole host of reviews from the last few days:

Domingo's is a Tapas bar on the main street running through Northfields in London. I have an inherent distrust of places whose names are written in neon letters outside, and I should have listened to me.

The food wasn't nasty as such, merely a bit uninteresting. The chorizo in wine sauce managed to have that strange attribute (common to microwave curries) of being spicy without actually having any flavour. The other dishes were pleasant enough, but nothing I couldn't have made myself at home... The only exception being battered artichoke hearts (sorry triskellian) which were well done, but... to be honest, I don't really think artichokes respond well to battering. You can see their point.

(The menu just said "artichokes valenciana" on it - should this have warned me there'd be batter involved ?)


Saturday night was Cathy's birthday, so we went along to Back to Basics, which is on Foley St, W1. And serves many, many fish. I had gilt head bream with hummus, an unlikely combination which seemed to convince the other people who ate it, but left me a bit unsure. Still, the fish was lovely, and the portions generous.

They also do bread with flavoured butter, which is to be highly recommended. They're slightly alarming colours, but fresh bread and red pepper butter is spectacularly nice.

And then we went to a bar, which pretended to be normal at first. Until trips made by various party members to the toilets revealed the following:

There was an attendant in the Gents', there to hand out towels and generally loom. Not that odd, but unexpected in your average bar.
In the Ladies' there was a couple of small video screens, which I intially took to be showing the bar outside. In fact, they were linked to cameras pointed at the sinks in the Gents'.
There were no corresponding screens in the Gents'.

Now is it just me, or is that bloody odd ? Relaying this to a couple of people, it seems this bar (Mash) used its cameras a selling-point when it first opened. Just.... eh?

The Oxford Gourmet Kitchen is a relatively new take-away in Oxford, as far as I know, so we thought it ought to be tried. Reasonably cheap, and very generous portions. It does an intermittent selection of oriental stuff... I ordered udon noodles with soup and seafood - completely forgetting that udon noodles are the fat, flaccid kind that I'm not fond of. They were surprisingly nice, though, and the seafood was really, really good for a cheap takeaway. Soup's a little on the insipid side though.

They do a mean crispy duck, too.


And once our reserves were worn down by aromatic duck, Andy made Jez and I watch LadyHawke. Which is one of those films were you are around 2.5 seconds into the title sequence, and every pixel is screaming at you "I'm a film that was made in the mid 80s"

I'm a bit undecided about the film. It's got an interesting cast - Rutger Hauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, and an almost unbearably young and precocious Matthew Broderick. And it has some nice moments. It has the capacity to either be a lot of fun, or downright awful; it hovered perilously between the two, and I'm not quite sure which side I'm coming down on.

And last night was supposed to be constructive, but I fell into a bottle of red wine early on, dragged Frances with me, and we never quite got round to doing anything. And we lounged about, and chatted, and it was all very pleasant.

I made one of those meals where you collect everything edible in the fridge, and wonder what to make out of it. The answer turned out to be a mushroom and cashew nut pilaf (surprisingly nice) and some braised vegetables in red wine sauce (moderately indifferent). And no, before anyone asks, the cashew nuts and red wine weren't really in the firdge at all. Nor was the rice.

However, I was reminded by davefish last night that the worst reaction my cooking has ever received was a cry of "what is that thing, for the love of God someone please kill it", so I'm counting the cooking of something merely indifferent as an evolutionary step forward.

We also have...

A designated hero of the week. No clear victor this time - some people have done some difficult and brave things, but I'm not sure they've necessarily been heroic. So I've decided to count the small things, and nominate failmaster for sending me something which really made me laugh.

Oh and you - yes, you - any more of that and I'll be creating the post of Designated Villain of the Week. You have been warned.

And finally...

It's that time of year again when the sun starts to make my hair go blondish, and I dye it some stupid colour in self-defence. So... suggestions, please, for an interesting colour which can be achieved on brown hair (see icon if you don't know what colour my hair is!) without recourse to bleach. Probably temporary, as it'd take forever and a bit to grow out.

I'm guessing it's going to be in the red-auburn-purple region, so any suggestions for particular dyes which work well would be welcome...

Comments

[wimble.livejournal.com]

What's wrong with blonde?

Except you might get mistaken for Samantha ;-)

[venta.livejournal.com]

It's inherently permanent, which I'm reluctant to do.

And I get mistaken for Samantha anyway. No idea why...

[wimble.livejournal.com]

I was thinking of just sun-bleaching, rather than chemical. How permenant is it? Don't you just get darker again at some point? (It's a genuine question: sunlight isn't really something that affects me. I don't even tan.)

[venta.livejournal.com]

Ah. Right.

I'm not really sure how permanent it is. I don't keep track all that well. I only object because it makes my hair go streaky-blonde, and looks like I've been doing home-highlights rather badly.

I'm not that bothered really. It's just a good excuse to go a funny colour :)

[onebyone.livejournal.com]

sunlight isn't really something that affects me

It typically doesn't unless you actually go out in it.

Phht!

[wimble.livejournal.com]

Even then. I generally go pinkish around the edges, and fade back to my normal pallid self a day or two later.

[floralaetifica.livejournal.com]

The chorizo in wine sauce managed to have that strange attribute (common to microwave curries) of being spicy without actually having any flavour.

This is how all spicy food tastes to me. It just hurts. Including black pepper, which Daniel swears has a flavour of its own, but all I can taste is pain.

[lathany.livejournal.com]

Oooh ! I've finally spotted someone else who doesn't like black pepper.

[venta.livejournal.com]

And Samantha, too.

Makes cooking difficult - I put pepper in everything reflexively if not restrained :(

[floralaetifica.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's evil! People throw it indiscriminately into everything, because they think noone could possibly find it too spicy. It's especially lavish in ready meals, especially the healthy eating variety which I would never buy but Daniel sometimes does. They seem to think it's a substitute for actual flavour ('No lard? Bung some pepper in, they'll never notice.')

Me too! Me too!

[nevecat.livejournal.com]

Not keen either - a bit in cooking is copable with, but it's foul when added copiously or -worse- added at table, when the ground pepper somehow manages to make *everything* smell/taste of pepper (I suspect becuase some stays in the air)

Interestingly, peppered steaks and things are nice - I think that might be because green pepper*corns* are used, and they're cooked in a way that makes the taste more gentle?

Oh, and black pepper *oil* (aromotherapy) is wonderful for sprains and bruises, not least because it's non-floral.

It's just black pepper in food that's horrid :)

And me

[leathellin.livejournal.com]

Tastes nasty.I'm sure it's just added to make things look speckled as well.

Re: And me

[lathany.livejournal.com]

That's four already.

It's starting to look as though my perceptions of the food-loving norm have been ever-so-slightly coloured by living with bateleur.

I'll use this as an opportunity to diss chillies as well (although, for some reason, I can eat sweet chilli sauce - probably my sweet tooth kicking in).

Re: And me

[leathellin.livejournal.com]

Chillies are just poisonous. I definitely agree there.

Re: And me

[triskellian]

Nope, you're all weird - pepper is yummy.

Oh, c'mon, the rest of you normal, pepper-lovin' types, back me up here?

;-)

(Oh, and belated apologies to lathany if I've ever over-peppered anything I've cooked for you. I do tend to use a lot of it. OTOH, I don't use salt at all, which I expect you'd all think was strange ;-)

Re: And me

[venta.livejournal.com]

Pepper good, salt bad.

Broadly speaking :)

Re: And me

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

Excuuuuse me !

I never put pepper in anything I cook !

The fact I bury my own food in the stuff isn't any of your business !

[leathellin.livejournal.com]

1) Udon noodles are lovely.
2) At least you can dye your hair some colour without bleach. Have you considered darker rather than redder?
3) I have a leg of lamb eating my freezer space - did you want a seasonally inappropriate dinner at some point?

[venta.livejournal.com]

1) Udon noodles are lovely.

Hmm. I'm not convinced.

2) At least you can dye your hair some colour without bleach. Have you considered darker rather than redder?

Nah, I'll look like a bloody goth.

3) I have a leg of lamb eating my freezer space - did you want a seasonally inappropriate dinner at some point?

See comment in email last week - I'm still not sure quite what I'm up to in the near future. I'll let you know when I do :)

Re:

[leathellin.livejournal.com]

Darker does not have to mean black, at least not in your case.
I shall await your call.

[condign.livejournal.com]

For once you and I agree on Japanese food. Udon noodles are the work of the devil.

[kneeshooter]

I'm a bit undecided about the film. It's got an interesting cast - Rutger Hauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, and an almost unbearably young and precocious Matthew Broderick. And it has some nice moments. It has the capacity to either be a lot of fun, or downright awful; it hovered perilously between the two, and I'm not quite sure which side I'm coming down on.

I know exactly what you mean. I find with most Rutger Hauer films of that age the best thing to do is to switch your brain completely almost completely off and find an aspect to watch closely - other than the plot - like Michelle Pfeiffer's hair, Matthew Broderick or in the case of Flesh and Blood the castle.

[venta.livejournal.com]

I think I've only seen Blade Runner and Split Second (http://us.imdb.com/Title?0105459) with him in...

Split Second I love, though it does have one of the worst endings in modern cinema. Blade Runner disappointed me, by being too much like Split Second[*], and missing all the bits I liked out of the book...

I was impressed though that in Ladyhawke - a film of uncertain historial period (not to mention confused architecture and puzzled climate :) - Michelle Pfeiffer still managed to have spectacularly 80s hair.

[*] yes, yes, I know, but I saw them the other way round, OK ?

Re:

[kneeshooter]

One of my soon-to-be-tenants is a big Rutger Hauer fan - so has many slowly-degrading 80s videos.

Flesh and Blood is worth looking out for (to waste a couple of hours away in low-concentration amusement) - I don't think I've ever seen it on the TV but you might see a video of it for £2.99 somewhere, or find a roleplayer with a big-sword-fetish who has it on the back of their shelves.

[smiorgan.livejournal.com]

Salute of the Jugger!

Re:

[kneeshooter]

Not seen that one but it looks amusing. David Webb Peoples - the writer/director I seem to remember having something to do with Blade Runner

*off to IMDB*

Yep - credited on the Blade Runner screenplay though I seem to remember the writing of that movie involved a number of people having a go.

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

Salute of the Jugger is one of my all time favourite hugely cheesy movies.

Even better than 'Beastmaster' for raw cheesing power !

[kneeshooter]

The Beastmaster is ace - though mainly due to the ferrets. Clearly this is time for a "bless the provider that is the 'net" moment...

Kodo and Podo are actually portrayed by many different ferrets. Most ferrets look similar, so it's not obvious when we use a different one. They're also temperamental about following the script, so having more than one on hand is important.

They're not the most ferocious creatures on BeastMaster, but they cause more than their share of trouble on the set. Jackson Raine (Tao) was so used to them misbehaving that he told us this story.

"My favorite animal scene moment was with the ferrets. In 'The Golden Phoenix,' Tao wakes up to find that Dar is gone, and he has been left with the ferrets. We were shooting a wide shot and I stood up and looked around with one of the ferrets just dangling motionless in my hand by my thigh. I remember thinking this must look amusing and if the rest of the scene went to plan (with the ferrets running off at the end after I tell them "Fetch. No, no. That's not right. Find!"), that this would be a magic moment. So, we get to the end of the scene. Everything was running beautifully. I set the ferret down, said the line and... Magic! They both run in opposite directions and I was left standing there. Speechless. I couldn't believe it worked out so well."

"Most of my unusual animal experiences have been with the ferrets. They have tried to attack a wombat in its cage, a tiger, Daniel and I -- and that was all in one day. They are, by far, the strangest animals I have worked with."

Tried to attack ... a tiger !!!!!

Hair dye

[triskellian]

I think I'm contractually obliged to post on the subject of red hair dye ;-)

The ones I'm currently using the most are Schwartzkopf (I've no idea how to spell that. I'm tempted to throw a few more random consonants into the mix in the hope of improving it) - they have three levels of dye: temporary (wash-in-wash-out), semi (fades in about three-four weeks, less chance of bright colours) and permanent (grows out, but also fades if it's a bright colour), and they mostly come in the same colours, which is surprisingly rare.

OTOH if what you want is a bright colour, and I'm guessing you want semi-permanent rather than permanent, you're probably going to have to use something like Stargazer, cos the 'mainstream' dye brands tend not to do exciting colours in semi. That leaves you with less choice of shades - there's one red, one purple, etc.

Anyway. Coming up any second now is the one piece of useful practical information you may have been previously unaware of, in the whole post: Wilkinson's in Templars Square have a large range of hair dye, including lots of silly colours, and brands you won't see in regular chemists, as well as all the common ones, and they're cheaper than anywhere else. See? It was worth wading through the waffle ;-)

Re: Hair dye

[lathany.livejournal.com]

I think I'm contractually obliged to post on the subject of red hair dye ;-)

I suggest you sort out a sponsorship deal. After all, your icon appears on verlaine's friends list - so clearly must be seen my millions.

Re: Hair dye

[triskellian]

<giggle> good plan!

[smiorgan.livejournal.com]

Mash? As in Mash beer? Had some of that in Nottingham, it's very nice. The bar was an awful lot nicer than the one described in the link tho

[venta.livejournal.com]

Aye, they had mash beer. Though it was more lager, really.

Nice lager, though. And (I think) £2 a bottle, which isn't too painful for the middle of London.

[beckyc.livejournal.com]

Well, what are you doing in the sun if you don't want it to go blond? Wear a hat? Cover your hair in sun cream? Don't go outside?

I gather than mud or gravy is a really good thing to try to dye your hair with.