Revisiting Haz - as good as it was the first time

Recently, I revisited Haz St Paul's twice in quick succession, following my first visit in which I really enjoyed the food.

There's a nice modern setting in there, and there's a really good atmosphere. The place is busy, but not cramped - just right in my opinion.

The menu has lots of good choices on there and that sometimes means I don't know what to get - not necessarily a bad problem to have. 

So when I went for a team lunch, I chose for the mixed meze - perfect for when you're a bit indecisive.

Mixed meze

I went to Haz again on a separate day for dinner. I opted for the lamb tagine, which had beautifully soft and moist meat that tore apart really easily. The vegetables and sauce were well favoured too. Lovely.

Lamb tagine

The girlfriend opted for the (meat) mousakka. While the presentation perhaps wasn't great, I'm told it tasted awesome, which is the main thing!

Mousakka

With reasonable prices, good portion sizes and tasty good, I'll be sure to go again!

Nearest Tube: St Paul's

Pilpel: fantastic falafel and houmous bar in London

I don't usually post entries about my fast food lunch, but this time I've made an exception.  A colleague, JC (not the one from N'Sync), recently took me to a falafel and houmous bar called Pilpel, located in the St Paul's area in London.

I was promised two things:

1. A tasty lunch.
2. Large portion.

Living up to this promise, I got both.  I ordered the houmous and aubergine - deep filled with falafel, salad and chilli inside a soft wholemeal pita. Sometimes, falafel can be a bit dry, but Pilpel's falafel was tasty, crispy and not dry in the middle.

It wasn't practical to take this apart to show the inside, but there was lots of salad, falafel, aubergine and houmous...

Sadly, there is no banana to show scale, but it was pretty chunky and I was definitely full by the end!

If you're in the area and you like this kind of food, check out the menu and head in - you won't be disappointed.  There are three other units at Spitalfields, Spitalfields Market and Fleet Street.

Closest Tube: St Paul's
Address: Unit 5, Queens Head Passage, Paternoster Square, London, EC4M 7DZ

Juicy lamb tagine from Haz - Turkish restaurant in St Paul's, City of London

I really enjoyed the food at Haz, a Turkish restaurant next to St Paul's in the City of London. While it didn't 100 per cent remind me of the time I went to Turkey, I certainly walked away knowing I had a tasty meal and a full stomach.

I opted for the £11.95 two-course lunch menu, choosing the humus (or should that be hummus?) and lamb tagine. The humus was OK, but the lamb was very good, with the meat soft, juicy and well-seasoned. The dish came with seasoned rice, potatoes and vegetables, so it was very filling!

My colleague went for shish kofte (grilled mince lamb on skewer). It looked sufficiently tasty enough for me to take a picture of it! Might get this next time.

Another close-up of the lamb tagine...

Nearest Tube: St Paul's
Address: 34 Foster Lane, St Paul's London, EC2V 6HD