Perfect dinner date spots

(+ tragic date stories), Clos Maggiore, blueberry lemon muffin loaf

Food news of the week:

Aragawa, one of Tokyo’s most prestigious kobe beef spots, has come to London (think: only the juiciest, healthily-marbled cuts). They do other things like slow smoke salmon in their own kiln, in case you want to try something different. Will return with a review; menu is spenny though! Next, a huge shoutout to one my my favourite bakeries of all time Layla, and their strawberry chamomile pastry. Such a unique, delicate flavour combination. Finally, weekly/regular dinner dates are important, so check out my recommendations for the best romantic date night spots below in my review section.

Science of the week:

What’s the meaning of life? From a science perspective, in a way, life likely emerged not from any inherent meaning but as a result of the universe's abundance of free energy. This energy drove the chemical reactions (mostly carbon + hydrogen) that eventually led to the formation of living organisms like us and what we have today.

Insight of the week:

I've had many sad and funny dates, and my romantic history is a mix of both, which entertains me to this day. I have no regrets and find great joy in reminiscing. I’m almost inspired to create a section dedicated to these stories, since they might bring as much laughter to you as they do to me. For instance, I once got all dressed up for a date at a restaurant, only to find a phone left at the reception. It turns out, my date didn’t even want to eat out; he simply wanted me to take pictures of myself in my outfit using that phone before he retrieved it later. Strange. At first, I was annoyed about wasting my time, but then I laughed. The receptionist, confused at first, eventually shared my amusement. She felt angry on my behalf and insisted I stay, so I enjoyed a nice solo dinner at a discount. Life’s surprises can be met with negativity, or humour and an open heart. The latter can get you better surprises.

Recipe of the week:

This blueberry lemon muffin loaf was inspired by this gorgeous recipe. I’ve been following Deb for years and her recipes are both reliable and fun. This is the perfect mix of tang and sweet (though not too sweet), with a well-sugared top, aka the best bit!

Blueberry lemon muffin loaf (serves 8 people, makes one standard 9x5-inch loaf)

Ingredients

113g (half a cup) salted butter (just a preference, I like the added salt but you can use unsalted too)

1/2 cup (100g) white caster sugar

1/4 cup (50g) light brown sugar

2 cups (250g) flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

100ml yoghurt

2 eggs

4-5 tbsp demerara sugar (for the topping)

zest and juice of a lemon

1 cup fresh blueberries

Directions

If your butter isn’t soft, pop it in a microwave-safe bowl and heat on medium-high for 30 seconds or until soft, but not totally melted. Partially melted is fine. Preheat your oven to 170C, fan on, and line or grease a standard 9x5-inch loaf pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the soft butter and sugar well until light and fluffy, around 2 minutes at least. Then add the eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice and yoghurt and mix well. In a separate large bowl, briefly mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and blueberries. Doing this will ensure that the blueberries remain evenly scattered throughout the batter and don’t all sink to the bottom. Add this dry mix to the wet and mix everything gently together until you have no more floury streaks, with a rubber spatula. The batter should be quite thick but drop off easily from a wooden spoon with a good flick of the wrist.

Bake in the preheated oven for 55-60 minutes. Insert a wooden skewer into the middle at the 55 minute mark– if it comes out dry you can take it out, if not, leave in there for another 5-10 minutes or until the skewer comes out perfectly dry. Leave the loaf to cool for 10 minutes in the tin before tipping it out, slicing and serving. Perfect with double cream or yoghurt and more berries, fresh or frozen, on top.

Restaurant of the week:

Am I as picky about food as I am about men? Only time will tell. Before I get to the restaurant bit, thought I’d list out a few dinner date faves.

For romantic dinner dates, I recommend these spots which I split into casual and more fancy spots. May need to do a part 2:

Casual:

• Duck Soup. Dearest

  Zoe Suen
  (and you need to subscribe to her fun and bright newsletter Floss if you haven’t already) introduced me to this spot years ago and I have been going back infrequently ever since– book early so you get a chance to try a cosy candlelit date with fresh bread and seasonal specials..