Sexy Fish | London

A new trendy Asian seafood restaurant in Mayfair that I checked out last night. Love the name of this restaurant so I made my reservation 1 month ago already to save a spot for a Friday night. The place feels very glamorous and on all the walls are sexy fish to admire made by Damien Hirst, Frank Gehry and Michael Roberts. Apparently the bar holds one of the world’s biggest Japanese whisky collections that I did not try but other cocktails are quite spectacular as well (especially how they are presented!)
My date noted that place has quite a high ‘voetbalvrouwen gehalte‘ which I guess was quite true. Sorry for the none Dutch amongst you. However, if  you have something to celebrate and would like to celebrate in style, I guess this is a great place to go. The crispy duck salad is not as good as the one at Hakkasan but still very good and the Sesame Seed Sea Brass is to die for.  Berkeley Square House, Berkeley Square W1J 6BR | Tube: Green Park | Website | open noon to 2am | ££££ | +442037642000

Ocha | Amsterdam

Really tasty Thai food! A very simple and tiny restaurant run by 2 Thai ladies just off the Nieuwmarkt in the city centre of Amsterdam. It’s small but there is a high turnover of people as you can’t order alcohol and the food comes when ready – so good chances of getting a table. I wouldn’t recommend going here on a first date or for a romantic night out, but it’s perfect for a quick weeknight dinner. It reminds me of unpretentious and really good Vietnamese places I used to go to in London. We had the spring rolls, green chicken curry and beef vegetables with oyster sauce between the 2 of us and I can’t wait to go back and taste the rest of the menu soon. Binnen Bantammerstraat 1 | Metro: Nieuwmarkt | €

Terpentijn | Amsterdam

One of my favourites go-to’s in Amsterdam at the moment. I’m pretty sure it’s because there is a restaurant part upstairs and a really great bar area downstairs. I always love it when you find a place you can start and end at the bar, and you don’t feel you have to leave anytime soon because everyone has gone home or elsewhere. They also tend to have some some really good tunes downstairs that are perfect for Friday or Saturday nights, lots of ‘hitjes’! I must say I liked the french-asian food, especially the starters, but I wasn’t blown away by the main courses. I’m going back soon to check out their new menu (main courses and cocktails!). Rokin 103 | Tram: Spui/Rokin | Tel: +31(0)20 333 0014 | Website | €€€

Royal China | Bayswater, London

In case you are looking for an alternative to a Sunday Roast with a group of friends, I would highly recommend going for Dim Sum at Royal China. The place has apparently been here forever and is not fancy at all. It’s essentially an old-school retro Chinese with lots gold and black decor with great food. From gyoza’s, buns and dumplings to peking duck pancakes. They offer everything you wish for if you love Chinese dim sum. We would recommend going with a group of 4-5 so you can get one of the smaller tables. We were sat at a really large round one for 10 people and we couldn’t really connect with each other at the other side of the table. Royal China doesn’t take reservations so you might have to wait for your table but it goes relatively quick. Aside from the standard prawn & coriander dumplings and roast pork buns etc, you should also try the sautéed chili tofu ! 13 Queensway | Tube: Queensway | Tel: 020 7221 2535 | Website | ££