missiecindz.com | Missie Cindz

Life’s too short for sheets of procrastinating!

The FIRST winner of my #MissieNotebookGiveaway is: Jane Stammer (twitter: @tippletails)! Congratulations :) I will be picking another winner this time next month…. Because BIG IDEAS start from pen to paper! The video in twitter link below shows you how I literally picked the winner’s name out of the wok…

June’s #MissieNotebookGiveaway winner revealed on twitter & the blog. Thanks to all who told me what they w… https://t.co/DCNzQdbzFM

June 3, 2013 6:14 am via Vine – Make a SceneReplyRetweetFavorite

@missiecindz

Cindy Cheung

For those who didn’t know, I am giving away a year of my own branded notebooks. To enter, simply pop over to the blog post: Win your own Missie Cindz notebook and then leave a comment under that blog post telling me as a kid what you wanted to be. People who have already commented will be re-entered each month for a chance of winning their own personalised notebook (I will hand write and illustrate something on your first page :)

One winner will be chosen at random on the 3rd of each month and will be contacted by email, and announced on the blog and twitter! The competition giveaway began on 04/05/2013 and ends 03/05/2014 ~ this competition is open to international readers. I will cover all postage costs.

{Photos by Cindy Cheung}

You are invited to attend Missie Cindz’s 'Happy Hour' PudInn Club on Saturday 22nd June in the Rutland Arms

Tickets for #MissiesPudInn are on sale Monday 3rd June! Limited spaces and usually fly out within hours.

You can pop into the Rutland Arms on Brown ST, Sheffield to pick up tickets from 12noon, OR email me to reserve tickets.

It makes me smile, knowing that there’s still SO MUCH interest and support for PudInn club ~ at first I was worried with me relocating to London I’d have to ditch my PudInn events. But there’s still LOTS of interest :) Even though, I’ve experienced a lot of changes in the past few months, I’m still passionate about doing my bit for the Sheffield food scene and community (I always said to my friends, you can take me out of Sheffield but you can’t take the Sheffieldian outta me!)

I look forward to see/meeting new and regular PudInn diners in a few weeks. I (along with the five chefs/bakers) can’t wait to dish up wholesome servings of happy treats for you.

Have a great new week all! Hope it’s full of sweet new discoveries worth remembering – Missie Cindz

{Photo of Missie’s PudInn tickets, designed and illustrated by Cindy Cheung}

Someone recently asked me what’s my favourite thing to eat. I find that to be a really hard question to answer.

Do I pick savoury? {a good Sunday roast with all the trimmings}. Do I pick sweet? {I’d say apple crumble and custard, Victoria Made cakes, rice pudding with a dollop of strawberry jam, but then there’s also ice cream too! ~ oh dear, that’s FOUR!}, or do I pick a type of cuisine? {Japanese and Chinese was my instinct but I do adore Italian food too – that’s three!)….

There are so many amazing foods for all different types foods, and then, there’s also bread. From brioche to Italian loaves to whole wheat rolls to naan, I love it all ~ I couldn’t possibly choose one type! Even baking bread seems magical!

Eating is one of life’s greatest joys, so to answer the question. Why limit yourself? ~ What would you say? What’s your one favourite food?

(It’s really hard to pick just one, right?)

{Photo sources (from top to bottom): Victoria Made cakes photos by Jess Petrie Photography / Photos by Cindy Cheung – Fish and Chips at Holmes on Bakers St, London / Nonnas Italian, Sheffield / sharing sushi at Sushi Express, Sheffield / own-made meaty pie from The Broadfield Ale House, Sheffield}

Hidden little Gem….

I love a good food market, and what I’ve found about London is that there’s a myriad of bright and fantastic food markets in the city.

I have recently discovered Maltby Street Market, located behind Tower Bridge Road, where the different vendors are tucked away in the characteristic railway arches. I discovered this place after a recommendation from @Clerkenwell_Boy – and I’m so pleased I went! The place is a foodies heaven, with a number of food stalls and eateries basically cobbled together and tucked away under railway arches behind Tower Bridge road, not far from Bermondsey.

It’s a market with a more personable touch with the stall holders more than happy to stop and talk about their produce. There’s a very ad hoc and ‘honest’ feel, with a less touristy environment (unlike Borough and Spitafields). The produce on offer is a mix between British country style food. With a deli, gin house – I loved the look of Little Bird which serves its very own London gin; French bakery and homemade cakes, freshly baked Portuguese tarts to delight and amuse. Um, hello cured meats and cheeses! It’s the perfect place for picking up some pantry staples or to craft your very own charcuterie and cheese plate.

Nigel Slater described the place perfectly in the Observer… “I have often dreamed of finding a perfect place to do my food shopping. A place far from the strip-light nightmare of the supermarket; somewhere that offers the best of a farmers’ market with a taste of something from further afield. A slightly secret and hidden place, where supply goes with the ebb and flow of the seasons, where there is a constantly evolving group of traders bringing things to tempt and delight.” – I couldn’t agree more with Nigel.

Finally, you really can’t leave without a warm drink and a little sweet snack. Kill two birds with one stone, yes? (that’s what I did :). You must visit the tasteful French bakery, Comptoir Gourmand ~ their pastries and tarts looked absolutely incredible! (and very reasonably priced too).

Maltby Street Market is a wonderful place to hang out on a Saturday.  Go on, peek through all the artisanal delights but without the pushy crowd – Missie Cindz

Maltby Street, Bermondsey, London, SE1 3PA | Nearest tube: London Bridge or Bermondsey | Twitter: @MaltbyStMkt

{Photos by Cindy Cheung and Baz Chan}

Some everyday creative inspiration…

1st January was the beginning of a personal 365 handwritten notes challenge, and I called this my #Cindy365Notes, where every day I will write a page of notes in my Missie Cindz notebook, and actually put my written notes into ACTION! A big thank you to those who have been following my progress and for your encouraging words. It’s been amazing how a simple notebook has completely changed my way of approaching work, business and life – and I’m not even half way through the year (book) yet!

You can follow my progress here on Pinterest or via Instagram here under the tag #Cindy365Notes

Please feel free to share this post and my challenge with your friends if you like what I am doing – we all could do with some good notes of encouragement to get things done.

Finally, make YOUR STORY count, EVERYONE has a personal story to tell! Have a great new week…~ Cindz x

Street Kitchen Hot Dog Sampling at The Miller

Lovely branding from Partizan, a small microbrewery in London

The other night I was invited to an amazing gourmet hot dog preview from London-based Street Kitchen at The Miller pub in Bermondsey ~ good job I had a serious hankering for hot dogs. The menu was specially devised to introduce the residency of Street Kitchen at The Miller and I found myself in hot dog heaven, rolling around on a soft bun shaped cloud featuring gourmet ingredients sourced directly from UK farms with a selection of seasonal salads and slaws.

The tasting session menu included three signature hot dogs: The American Pitbull ~ smoked pork sausage with ‘chapel down’ red wine onions, ketchup, sweet mustard dressing and pickled cucumber, the Boston Hound ~ smoked sausage with slow braised belly pork, red cabbage slaw, celeriac remoulade and barbeque sauce, and the Basque Terrier ~ smoked pork sausage with a spicy chorizo salsa, avocado, jalapeno and pickled red onions.

My favourite was the Basque Terrier with its mix of spicy and tangy all housed in that soft bun. I found the Boston Hound a little too sweet for a hot dog but the belly pork was —um, out of this world, the ‘nibbling’ crackling added a nice crunch. I didn’t get to try the the American Pitbull as they’d ran out. As a finishing touch, I also got to try artisan ice lollies by Ice Kitchen (it was great to meet you Cesar and to hear the passion for your products) and a glimpse of the new exhibition of Pure Evil artwork.

The Miller also have some really great beers in from Partizan (twitter: @PartizanBrewing), a small microbrewery in London. I love the branding, the graphic design on the bottles were impressive, oozing a tasteful touch of Scandinavian art illustrated by the talented illustrator Alec Doherty, who I’ve been a fan of his work for a long time.

London made hot dogs and local beers – I'm loving summer already!

London Street Food Haven
Needless to say, my belly seemed pretty happy. It’s amazing to me what can be cooked right on the street without the need for a fancy kitchen and equipment (Street Kitchen cook from a a vintage trailer). Street food is really big in London and has become probably one of my favourite kinds of foods this year because the people who make it focus on one thing, and usually do it really well. We didn’t have very many street food vendors in Sheffield – and the food movement was just kicking off, but I am a huge fan of food trucks and look forward to discovering more places to eat in London!

People will always want delicious fast food and Street Kitchen’s collaboration with The Miller will make it good for you as well as just good tasting. The new hot dogs launch at The Miller on Thursday 16th May. On a non-foodie note, the bright red tees the staff wear are pretty awesome ~ with a rotated K as its logo but also acts as a table with the words “Street Kitchen’ sat on the top. Where can I get one in my size, please? — Missie Cindz :)

The Miller | 96 Snowsfields | London Bridge | London SE1 3SS

{photos by Oliver Denton – and thanks Oli for the company, I had so much fun discovering the London food scene and sharing hot dogs}