When you get invited to sample the menu at a new restaurant, you sort of expect to try a few things that define the restaurant and make up your mind based on that. Generally, they’re the most interesting things on the menu anyway but you will almost always walk away more than satisfied. On this occasion, Qin Xie was invited to sample the new menu at Namaaste Kitchen – a restaurant so new, even finding its website on Google had been a struggle. But they do have one, it’s at www.namaastekitchen.co.uk.

Anita Pati goes into the lions’ den at the intimate, oak-panelled offices of the Spectator magazine as a host of Dalmore whisky to drink from the last known bottle of Dalmore Sirius, a 1951-vintage single malt whisky with a retail selling price of £20,000 per bottle. Apparently there were only ever 12 bottles of the Sirius in the world, all of which sold out in four days

Salve your social conscience by savouring some Thorntons Chocolate. Every bar of their new Limited Edition Chocolate Block made from Haiti cocoa beans bought means 91p heading towards Haiti and the Save the Children educational programme there.

Colourful character and legendary Italian Chef Aldo Zilli took to center stage to promote his new favourite gadget, the InSinkErator. Here are the recipes he shared with us.

It can all get very cozy and almost personal when you stay at a hotel for a few days over Christmas. Particularly a hotel with a damned good bar and restaurant. So it was for me and the husband this year at the Hoxton Hotel in Shoreditch. This place is definitely worth considering for a relaxing Christmas or other special occasion.

The Christmas season is definitely upon us with snow descending across the country and the opening of advent calendars. To ease us into the party season, Laurent-Perrier held a little class on the art of entertaining. Qin Xie was there to enjoy a little champagne and take notes.

The Bougie Macaron & Tea shop in Covent Garden, is recently opened and primed to capitalise on the latest trends of afternoon tea and desserts in whacky hues. Wednesday night’s official launch provided an opportunity to see if macarons are worthy of all the hype and to judge whether the café on Russell Street is likely to become a success

The trouble with Marmite marketing started when they handed over the concept, and a large sum of money no doubt, to the Social Media marketers, the ones who sit around sockless in Hoxton, talk a lot of impenetrable jargon about Web 2 and attempt to grow beards before the hormones are ready to oblige.

The Big Game? Anita Pati dons pith helmet and loads her 12 bore to go on Safari in, errr, well in Clerkenwell actually. She bags us a nice Vietnamese style slow-cooked pork recipe from The Modern Pantry

Jose told us about some of his favourite dishes, and spoke fondly about those family recipes that, however hard he tries, he doesn’t quite get them to taste like his mother made. I think that goes for all of us.