haruki

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Easiest to hardest (ish): Puy lentil chilli http://underthewarminglamp.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/vegetarian-chili-with-puy-lentils.html Aubergine parmigiana http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/aubergine-parmigiana-melanzane-alla-parmigiana Mushroom / goats cheese Tartlet http://www.womanandhome.com/recipes/293585/mushroom-goat-s-cheese-and-tarragon-tartlets Paneer / roast veg tikka + dhal http://redchillycurry.com/tandoori-paneer-tikkapaneer-tikka-kababs/ Beer-battered halloumi with minted peas, homemade wedges http://www.peachtreesandbumblebees.com/2011/10/03/beer-battered-halloumi/ If anyone wants a challenge I'll post a recipe from Terre a Terre, best veggie restaurant in the world (maybe).

... opposite ED station, with the child seat on the back. You know who you are. I don't suppose you'll read this, but if you do, I agree with the man you were in a fracas with, you are a disgrace. When facing somebody who has correctly pointed out that you shouldn't be on the pavement, the appropriate response is not to make baby noises and threaten to hit them. Your behaviour was embarrassing and I'm just sorry I wasn't ten seconds quicker so you could have faced someone your own size. Obligatory PS - I know not all cyclists do this, but this moron did.

But as far as I've heard, they're not proposing to close the half moon. Although they do want to add some upstairs flats.

It's not that close, but you could try homebase in Penge. They've got trees from ?10 too, and a better range than Sainsburys had. I've got a really nice one, 3ft+ which was ?20.

Anyway, back to the flying pig, I went along last night and have mixed views. On the plus side, had some great wheat beer from Germany I'd previously not heard of. On the down side the full menu (as advertised on the FB page) was not on. In particular two of the veggie options were missing, halving my choices (I know, I know, it's called the flying pig, what do I expect?!). Apparently full menu will be on in next week. Food was good though, and served quickly. I'm also not convinced by the decor/layout in the back half of the place. Hard to pinpoint why, but it looks like they aren't finished decorating yet anyway. Plus it was really hot back there. But overall it's a big improvement on locale.

Not quite so local (Waterloo) but konditor and cook's magic cakes are amazing. Have used them a few times for custom cakes and they were great. http://pinterest.com/KonditorandCook/magic-cakes/

It wasn't the police, it was the UK border agency.

I was on the 176 the other day and the heaters were on too. Some well-meaning guy went down to tell the driver, and although I couldn't hear everything he said it went along the lines of I used to drive one of these, why are the heaters on? ... Driver mutters ... What on earth are you doing?! .... Driver mutters .... That's the windscreen wiper! .... Driver mutters ... I give up! Heating stayed on

I doubt that the "quality" of a restaurant plays any part in whether or not it is granted permission. Even if it did, I fail to see how a chain restaurant would lead to better quality. I can't think of any chain restaurants that are better than independents, particularly the Mediterranean ones. As for all the half-empty restaurants on LL, maybe if we didn't have 10 or so Indian restaurants it wouldn't be the case!

The one time I ate in duck egg cafe put me off for good. It was like eating in a creche. The noise from the play area was ridiculous! But that's fine, as there are many other places without play areas. I don't have kids, but my perception has never been that there is a lack of kid-friendly venues. This is particularly so during the week. From your blog it looks like you went to the Actress and the Bishop. There's often no room for people without buggies at the weekend, so I don't know what the pubs could really do to be more accommodating. I'd have thought the Herne or the Plough would have more space.

I'm a vegetarian, and though I agree with some of the above (goats cheese) I'm inclined to disagree overall. The UK is by far the easiest place to be a vegetarian that I've ever been, from obvious things like the breadth of veggie-friendly food, to subtle things like food labelling. In ED specifically, we're spoilt for choice: 6+ cafes, for breakfasty stuff Who-knows-how-many Indian restaurants 3 Italians 2 Turkish 2 Thai Burger place All of them have a good vegetarian selection. Now, I'm not saying they're good, but that's a whole other issue. Even looking at pubs you've got the Bishop which does a great veggie range, including a good Sunday roast option. It seems the problem really comes with places like the Palmerston and Franklin's, who by virtue of their smaller menus have less choice. It's usually not vegetable lasagne or risotto though, so I don't mind so much. At least they put the menu online so if you don't like it you don't have to go!

When I was walking down LL at the time of said helicopter, there were police cars blocking the ends of several streets. Presume they were looking for someone.

This is a bit of an odd thread even for the EDF, and I've taken the bait, but never mind: It's no secret that major food manufacturers are still using battery eggs, and for anyone who actually cares it's pretty easy to avoid them. Co-op, M&S and Waitrose only use free range eggs in their own brand ranges. Other supermarkets/manufacturers have made commitments to cut back their use or phase them out altogether (e.g. Hellmans switched to free range recently). So I regularly enjoy a wide range of cake thanks very much!

Well clearly you need to stop by the Manneken Pis, even if he is one of the world's most anti-climactic tourist attractions. I'm also a fan of the Atomium, which is pretty easy to get to on the metro. And for drinking, the Delirium village got rave reviews from my sister recently. It's a collection of bars, each specialising in a different drink: beer, absinthe, rum etc!

Haven't quite figured out how to insert links yet, but it looks like Tulse Hill & Dulwich Hockey Club are having an event on Saturday the 3rd. Does anyone know if Dulwich sports club are running an event this year? The link above is from 2011. I agree it would be nice to find a local event, queuing for hours at the larger events round london isn't much fun.

Reading this thread (and others on the forum) anyone would think the hound of the baskervilles was loose in south london. While I completely agree that agressive dogs should be kept under control and on the lead, it's completely impractical to suggest that dog owners ought to ask everyone they meet if it's okay for their dog to approach strangers. It's also worth getting some perspective here. Although dog bites are on the rise, they're still far from being prevalent. The NHS usefully collates hospital admission statistics, and looking at the under 15s (people seem most concerned about kids here) dog bites/attacks fall at number 28 on the list for 2010-11 (1422 incidents). As a comparison, falls from playground equipment is at number 2 (8149 incidents) and kicking/scratching/bites from people is at 22 (1822 incidents). Given that people are clearly more dangerous than dogs, perhaps we should be asking permission of everyone we meet in the park if it is okay to walk near them?