The Guardian - Life & Style • Jan. 19, 2026, 4:31 p.m.

Moreish teatime treats that melt in the mouth… go on, you deserve it If I were to rank my top biscuits of all time, Viennese fingers would sit firmly in my top three. There’s not too much going on: just a good, buttery crumb, melt-in-the-mouth texture and chocolate-dipped ends, which are a must.

While they’re pretty straightforward to make, issues often arise when it’s time to pipe the dough, and it can be tricky to strike a balance between a consistency that has enough butter but still holds its shape once baked. I find that the addition of a little milk helps make it more pipeable, as does using a large, open-star nozzle to avoid cramped hands and burst piping bags.

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The Guardian - Life & Style • Jan. 19, 2026, 4:31 p.m.

Pandan leaf brings fragrant southern Asian sweetness to a mix of rice gin, white vermouth and green chartreuse At Bun House Disco , we’re all about bringing the vibrancy of late-night 1980s Hong Kong to Shoreditch, east London, and paying homage to a time when the island came alive after dark. In that same spirit, our cocktail list nods to the classics, but also features all sorts of Chinese and Asian ingredients and spices.

Serves 1 Linus Leung, Bun House Disco , London E2 Continue reading...

The Guardian - Life & Style • Jan. 19, 2026, 4:31 p.m.

A warming, scoop-it-up tomato and egg dish a bit like shakshuka, but the zippy lemony yoghurt and harissa give away its Turkish roots I am not the type of person to say, “These eggs will change your life”, but these eggs changed my life, so they may also make a sizeable dent in yours. The recipe is based on (but not authentic to) the Turkish dish menemen .

There is much to love about these eggs, not least how magnificently delicious they are and how fun it is to scoop them up with hot flatbread. On a practical note, meanwhile, they can be eaten at any mealtime and, if not finished, reheated later.

Which, if you love eggs and leftovers as much as I do, is a (small) dream come true. Continue reading...

The Guardian - Life & Style • Jan. 19, 2026, 4:31 p.m.

A Michelin-adjacent bistro with white tablecloths, red-trousered guests and a chunky wine list In a room packed with fancy types just off Sloane Square in London, I am eating a £52 plate of dover sole and chips while Status Quo’s Rockin’ All Over the World blasts cheerfully through the room. The chips are very nice, all crunchingly crisp and yieldingly fluffy in all the right places.

All 12 of them were perfect, in fact, stood aloft in their silver serving vessel. “A-giddy-up and giddy-up and get awaaaay,” sings Francis Rossi as I perch on a velvet, pale mustard banquette that’s clearly so very expensive that I shudder every time my greasy paws so much as skim close to touching it.

Clare Smyth , of three Michelin-starred Core fame, is letting her hair down with this new project, Corenucopia , where she’s cooking a less pricey, more comfort food-focused menu.

The Guardian - Life & Style • Jan. 19, 2026, 4:31 p.m.

Discover the joys of creamy soy bean curd in this spicy Sichuan dish that comes together in minutes Mapo tofu is a Chengdu favourite typical of the “spicy generosity” of Sichuan food, Fuchsia Dunlop explains, though it’s perhaps better not translated as “pock-marked old woman’s tofu”. It may even convert you to the joys of tofu itself, should you still be on the fence about the stuff, because its creamy softness is the perfect foil for the intensely savoury, tingly seasoning involved here.

It’s also ready in mere minutes. Prep 10 min Cook 7 min Serves 2 Continue reading...

The Guardian - Life & Style • Jan. 19, 2026, 4:31 p.m.

A hearty seafood stew of haddock, leeks and barley, and an almost indecently rich and comforting cheesy rarebit For me, the best winter cooking is about comfort, warmth and connection – food that feels familiar, yet still tells a story. I’ve always been drawn to dishes that celebrate simple, honest ingredients and local tradition, and these two recipes are inspired by that spirit, and by a childhood spent doing lots of fishing in Wales.

The seafood cawl is a lighter, coastal take on the Welsh classic, while the rarebit is rich and nostalgic. Both are designed to be cooked slowly and shared generously, and an ode to home kitchens, good produce and quiet moments around the table.

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The Guardian - Life & Style • Jan. 19, 2026, 4:31 p.m.

Our reviewer loved this wake-up light more than any other he’s tested – it’s even knocked his previous best sunrise alarm off the top spot • Read the full ranking in our sunrise alarm clock test Since I first tested sunrise alarm clocks last winter, I’ve come to suspect that there’s no such thing as getting up on the wrong side of bed. What we ought to be worried about is waking up on the wrong side of dawn.

During summer (and other times of the year, for late risers), the sunrise begins to rouse us before we wake up. The brain kicks into gear and sends signals to initiate all sorts of bodily processes, from metabolism to hormone release, which helps us to feel ready for the day.

It’s a fundament of our circadian rhythm – and we miss out on it whenever we wake before it gets light. Continue reading...

The Guardian - Life & Style • Jan. 19, 2026, 4:31 p.m.

New year pick-me-ups; hand cream to soothe dry, chapped skin; and the best clothes to buy secondhand • Don’t get the Filter delivered to your inbox? Sign up here Damp weather, grey skies, days that don’t seem to be getting any longer and the return to normality after the new year motivation boost: it’s no wonder some of us feel a bit flat in January.

To lift our spirits, we asked you for your favourite pick-me-ups, and rounded up some from us at the Filter too. From umbrellas that give you a glow-up to microdosing nature, here are your tried-and-tested ways to beat the January blues.

The Guardian - Life & Style • Jan. 19, 2026, 4:31 p.m.

From luxury Simba and Otty mattresses to brilliant budget buys, here’s what we recommend – and how to know if you’ve found a good deal • The best mattresses for back pain • The best mattress toppers, tested A good mattress improves your sleep, say mattress makers – and they would, wouldn’t they? But they’re right.

The older I get, the more I know it. When I was 20, I could sleep anywhere: a friend’s floor, a filthy sofa – even a phone box one night.

These days, I won’t get a single one of 40 winks if I’m not lying on a decent mattress. Comfy but firm, cosy but breathable, and with loads of cool spots for my feet.

The Guardian - Life & Style • Jan. 19, 2026, 4:31 p.m.

He had youth, energy, a tiny purr and could jump 7ft in the air. I always knew when he was about to do it, because he would stare at me intensely before launching himself towards the ceiling My animals play a big, crazy role in my life.

I grew up with cats when I was a little kid but my love of black cats began when I moved from New York to LA in 1996 and found four feral black cats in my back yard. Almost immediately, two female cats got knocked up and had two litters at the same time.

Suddenly, we had 13 black cats, the most I’d ever cared for at once. I’ve been an artist all my life and during the early 2000s my career really started to take off.

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