One more recommendation: check out this series from the Guardian newspaper about budget eats in London:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2011/mar/11/central-london-restaurants-budget-eats
so far they've done the centre, East and West London, but also check out the related blog entry for the people's recommendations.
Staying there I might be tempted to go into the Euston Tap: http://www.eustontap.com/
and not leave!
If you go to Borough Market, look up the Rake and The Wheatsheaf - both great pubs nearby. If you visit Covent Garden I like the Porterhouse http://www.porterhousebrewco.com/coventgarden.html
I like Chilli Cool, but be warned, there's a lot of offal. Its good and cheap though. Another favourite near King's Cross (not so cheap) is the tiny Sushi of Shiori: http://www.sushiofshiori.co.uk/index.html
For Englishness, I'd go to Canteen: http://www.canteen.co.uk or if you can scrape up the dosh, one of Fergus Henderson's St. John restaurants. Possibly slightly more affordable is the Hix Oyster and Chop House: http://www.hixoysterandchophouse.co.uk/
For a great budget curry, I like Tayyabs: http://www.tayyabs.co.uk/
But also Dishoom for a different kind of curry experience: http://dishoom.com/
Other budget favourites are the Vietnamese Cay Tre: http://www.vietnamesekitchen.co.uk/
and Chinatown http://www.chinatownlondon.org/ is always worth a visit
(I like Rasa Sayang which is Malaysian and the Leong's Legends for dim sum).
One thing you should look out for is early evening offers at more expensive restaurants. One of the best meals I've had this year was a "pre-theatre" special at Hawksmoor http://www.thehawksmoor.co.uk/index.php They also do one of London's best burgers.
My favourite brand of fish sauce changed from a shaker cap where you had to use a fair amount of force to get a teaspoonful out, to a spout. Made the same mistake 3 or 4 times and ended up salty, fishy dinners.
My first thought on hearing this was that it would be a fridge cake, a bit like this one:
http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/530155
I'd prefer one made with Hobnobs, like your picture, or digestives to Rich Tea biscuits.
After a few uncomfortable experiences I now try to bring this up before we've all finished eating - split equally or pay your way? Even if we're splitting the bill, sometimes I'll ask for two separate tabs, one for drinks and the other for food, so that drivers / non-drinkers don't get stiffed.
If I know we're a big party, I try to bring cash too, as I don't think its fair to ask them to process half a dozen card transactions for one check. If its not a huge bill, quite often one person will put the bill on a card and take cash from the rest.
Homemade in a cafe to denote a product that could easily be bought in but has been made in-house e.g. cake or soup.
Really, that well stocked commercial kitchen right behind you and you got up this morning and made those muffins in your house? Did your dog help?
I went to Mestizo near Euston the other week and it was probably the best Mexican I've had in London, and more than just tacos and burritos (pozole, for example). On the expensive side, though.
Its just me and my honey tonight and we're having an early dinner of ribeye steak then salty nibbles later on - cashew nuts, olives, and crackers with the last of the Christmas cheddar and stilton.
I've a bottle of tawny port to breach and he's having some Belgian beer.
What about a pea risotto? or artichoke, if you can get it?
I just had crab on toast for breakfast. Mmmm.
I'm going to go with Michael Pollan's rules - and think about portion sizes at every meal.
I eat a good balanced diet, just rather too much of it!
I would love a Kitchen Aid mixer. I have hinted that a spice grinder would be welcome. I would also like Nigel Slater's new books about fruit and vegetables - Tender volumes 1 and 2.
You know what's good in this? Chestnuts mmmm!
I used to be a bit of a whisky snob, definitely preferring a single malt. The brand that changed my mind was "Jon, Mark and Robbo" whisky. Easy drinking with fun names like "The Smoky Peaty One" and "The Rich Spicy One" - my favourite.
Pulled pork. I'd had it on holiday in the States but never had as much as a sniff of a recipe at home in the UK. Going to try and make carnitas next!
My favourite topping is caramelised onions - as brown and gooey as you can get. I also like dukkah, an Egyptian spice blend with toasted seeds, finely chopped nuts, coriander and cumin.
One off store? Are you sure you don't want to do an apron too?
I made a Malaysian beef curry with fresh coconut.
Opening and preparing the coconut was fun, and the flavour of the curry was fantastic, unfortunately the beef was a bit tough - even after more than 2 hours simmering time. Have to get me a pressure cooker for those chemy emergencies!
We had some (tinned) lychees and (fresh) mango for dessert.
I'm surprised that no-one has mentioned a beer batter for fish.
I dredge the fish in seasoned flour then dip in a batter made from a mixture of 1/3 cornflour and 2/3 plain flour (for the crunch), a pinch of salt, teaspoon of vinegar and make it up to the thickness of heavy cream with a good English beer.
Visiting Goa, India a few years ago and all curried out I happened upon a fantastic French restaurant. I'll remember the steak with bone marrow sauce for the rest of my life.
I'm exploring regional Chinese food - both at home and eating out. I can't get enough Sichuan pepper!
Nigel Slater posted a recipe for ginger beer last weekend that seemed quite easy:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/jul/11/nigel-slater-classic-ginger-beer-recipe
apple sauce?
satay?
a creamy sauce, maybe with mushrooms and / or mustard?
Kenji, how would you clean your wok after making a dish like this? I usually transfer to a pan when I'm making a sticky sauce as I don't want to ruin the seasoning and start over!
Its Mother's Day here in the UK on Sunday, and my darling's Mum is invited to dinner with her husband (so its just the four of us). I've been scouring my cookbooks and I'm out of ideas! I'd really like a meal that hints at springtime, as I'm fed up of stews and roasts.
Two dietary restrictions in the family - one diner is allergic to dairy (cows only) and another is diabetic - and whilst it is well-controlled, I'd rather not overdo the sugar.
It doesn't matter what you call them. Scallions, spring onions, green onions—the skinny guys with green shoots start looking really good when spring is springing. Fluffy spring lettuce and asparagus are also harbingers of the season, but those onions deserve just as much glory. More
Spätzle serves as a great accompaniment to rich stews, but here it gets to stand more on its own. This herb spätzle is tossed with speck, peas and buttered bread crumbs to make a main dish that is hearty, but not heavy. More
I'm in the UK, and this is a publicity stunt by the Royal Society of Chemistry. Less enjoyable than a couple of years ago, when they whipped up discussion in the press about the perfect Yorkshire pudding - that wasn't a bad recipe if you like very big stiff Yorkshires. I prefer mine to be a bit softer.
http://www.rsc.org/aboutus/news/pressreleases/2008/perfectyorkshire.asp