Eating in General

So I've been eating out a fair bit recently. My first was trip to Golden Union for fish and chips, I had Rock Fish and Chips but actually I didn't much like it. The fish was mushy and the chips were not lovely and soft in the middle.

I then went to a Cheese Festival with some friends in Camden. I had some Halloumi Fries from Oli Baba's and then Spinach Mac and Cheese from Mac to the Future. Both were absolutely delicious. I had a huge craving for Mac and Cheese and this definitely hit the spot.

I then went to Kati Roll Company, I had an Unda Aloo Roll, which was very good. Although they managed to give my vegetarian friend a chicken roll rather than a veggie one and they weren't exactly apologetic about it.

After that we went to Bubblewrap. I had Vanilla Ice Cream, Strawberries, Oreo Pieces and Salted Caramel Sauce. This was seriously one of the best things I've eaten in a long time! Yum!

Then I met a friend at Dirty Bones. We both had The Mac Daddy - burger, pulled short rib, mac and cheese, burnt onions and barbecue sauce with Skinny Fries. It was so so so good. I can't remember what the cocktail was but that was yummy too. I also had a Peanut Butter Cookie Cup for afters and that was really good.

Then I went to Made in Italy. Three of us ordered pizza and it came as one giant long pizza. It was very cool! My section had Mozzarella, Wild Broccoli, Fennel Sausage and Chilli. Followed by Ferrero Roche Cake. The pizza was scrummy and the cake was ok.

I met my Mum and Sister at Shoryu. I had the Kotteri Hakata Tonkotsu Ramen and then we had Tempura Prawns and Fried and Grilled Aubergine. The broth was very meaty and tasty. Not as good as Bone Daddies but pretty good.

Just before I went on holiday I had a takeaway from Brioche Burger. I had the Oh My Cod Burger and Monkey Fries, both were yummy and I will definitely try them again.

More Eats

More eating! I've been up to quite a bit of eating recently. I had two weeks off work for the Easter holidays and I tried some of the places on my list!

The first was Broadway Market, which I've been meaning to go to for ages. I really went to pick up a shoulder of lamb for Easter Sunday but I couldn't help but by a few other things!

The first was a Shrimpster Burger from The Shrimpy stall. It was grilled shrimp, pickled cucumber and samphire and boy was it good.

I also got a veggie scotch egg from Scotch n Tails, which was interesting.

I had a S'mores Brownie from Eat 'n' Mess, it was incredible. They also do a peanut butter cookie sandwich which I am definitely going to try next time I go back!

I then took a trip to Rinkoff's Bakery and got an Apple and Caramel Crodough and a Creme Egg Brownie, I had to get something Eastery! I was a bit disappointed by the Crodough but the Creme Egg Brownie was so so good. It is in a bit of funny place in the middle of a council estate but definitely worth a visit!

I also took a visit to Whitecross Street Market. I went for a Pork Banh Mi from the Banh Mi stall on the market, it was so good and really similar to those I ate in Vietnam. My sister had a halloumi gozleme wrap and I have been dreaming about that ever since so next time I'm going to have that!

I took a trip to Paris for a day to see an exhibition at the Louvre and we stopped at Cafe de Paris for lunch. I went for the stereotypical and I don't care! I had a Croque St Honore, which is Croque Madame but with Tomato and it was good.

I took my Mum to Lao Cafe for dinner one evening, we had a couple of salads, Tum Lao which was a papaya salad, Soop Nor Mai a bamboo shoot salad, chargrilled pork skewers, herbal northern sausage and brown sticky rice. All were really lovely and you can choose how spicy you want to salads. The Sausage however was way too hot for both of us!

On the way home we stopped at Bridget's Bakery. I couldn't tell you what they were but they were delicious!

We also went back to the German Gymnasium, this time I had the Puszta Pan; courgette, tomato, paprika, goat's cheese and egg. It was so so good. Now I just have to go back and try the German Power Breakfast!

We also went on a Beekeeping Course at the Geffrye Museum run by Barnes and Webb. The course was really good, we even got to dress up in the full suit, and we got a slice of honey cake to keep us going!

Next is a Dig-It Mushroom burger from Patty & Bun with the Chips with Chicken Skin Mayo and Chicken Salt. Again yummy! We also tried a Pink Mojito and that was delicious too.

Now to this weekend. On Saturday I met a friend and we went to Ghetto Grillz. I had an LA Chick Bagel - chicken thighs with a green herb and lime zest pesto, rocket and aioli, my friend had a Veggie Reuben. We also shared a portion of Sweet Potato Fried Avo Royale - sweet potato fries with avocado, sriracha and garlic mayo, heaven! The whole thing was complete heaven!

For pudding we went to Cookies and Scream a vegan bakery. I had a cookies ice cream sandwich, i went with oatmeal and raisin and double chocolate chip cookies. I also ordered a piece of Beelzebub pie which I took home, this was AMAZING! Normally I shy away from vegan food, and yes the ice cream wasn't as creamy as normal ice cream but the rest was fantastic!

On Bank Holiday Monday I went for tacos at the Corazon Taqueria with a couple of friends. We had Totopos with Guacamole and Salsa, Carne Asada Tacos, Carnitas Tacos, Butternut Squash and Mushroom Tacos and we also got some rice and bean thrown in! I also had a Pomegranate and Hibiscus Margarita. All of it was delicious, really yummy.

I came back via Crumbs and Doilies and had a piece of Jammie Dodger cake, really really good. I also tried a White Chocolate and Black Sesame Mini Cupcake, Yum!

More London Eats

So I thought I'd share some more London eats with you. I love going out to eat and over the last few weeks I've been out a few times to try some new places.

The first was On The Bab in Covent Garden. This is a Korean restaurant and it serves the best fried chicken I think I have ever eaten! We had the Sweet Spicy Fried Chicken and it was heavenly. We also had the Beef Bulgogi Bao, which were ok, but no better than Bao and we also tried the Veggie Bibimbap, which was very disappointing. But I would go back just for the fried chicken!

I also checked out Yard Sale Pizza, a new pizza place in Walthamstow. We went for an 18 inch The Aubgerine to share, which had garlic roasted aubergine, parmesan and basil leaves on it, it was scrumptious and it definitely proves my theory, the bigger the pizza, the better it is! They also have branches in Clapton and Finsbury Park.

In other Walthamstow eats, I also finally tried out Buhler & Co, a vegetarian restaurant.  I went for Sunday lunch with some friends and tried their Vege Fry Up - Fried Upma (a kind of potato cake), Fried Egg, Paneer, Chard, Tomato, Kusundi (which was a bit like ketchup) and a paratha. It was awesomely good and really filling. But I did manage to squeeze in some Chocolate Guinness Cake for pudding!

I then went to Androuet in Spitalfields Market for Wine and Cheese. We shared one of the set menus, which included a Moitie, Moitie fondue, Raclette over boiled potatoes with cornichons, a Charcuterie Plate and a Carafe of House Wine. It was absolutely delicious and I will definitely have to go back to try the toasted baguettes. We also had pudding and went for the French Toaste and Chocolate Mousse, yummy! 

I also had a day out in Kent and found myself in Hildenborough trying out Cafe 1809, the cafe owned by Dame Kelly Holmes. The menu was really interesting and even the things that didn't sound particularly healthy were healthified. I went for a Final Kick - a Roasted Chicken, Mango, Chilli and Coriander Salsa and Chilli Jam Wrap, which came in a whole meal wrap and with pop chips and salad. It was quite spicy and not all the mango was ripe, but a nice combination. 

For Mother's Day we made my Mum Afternoon Tea in my garden. There were Salmon sandwiches and chicken and sorrel sandwiches on homemade bread, crab and leek tarts, cheese and pesto cheese straws and cheese scones. Plus fruit scones, macarons, mini pavlovas and ginger cake, all washed down with prosecco. It was a sumptuous feast!

I also finally got to Roti King, a Malaysian by Euston Station that I have been wanting to try for ages.   We went for Nasi Goreng, Sayur Campur or stir fry veg and a Spinach and Cheese stuffed Roti. The roti was the star and I really want to go back to try their roti with dhal and a sweet one. The place is tiny and we had to queue a little to get in but it was worth it!

Last Friday night I went for a last minute meal in Cottons, Notting Hill Gate. They serve Caribbean food, and I was underwhelmed! I don't eat Caribbean food very often as I'm frightened of the chilli! So I went for Brown Stew Chicken, which was served with rice, coleslaw and a dumpling. It was ok, mildly spicy but just not very interesting and the meat had too many bones for my liking.

Following a hospital appointment last Monday morning, my Mum and I went to the German Gymnasium for breakfast/brunch and oh my goodness it was good! The lunch and dinner menus are quite pricey but brunch is very reasonable. I had the Black Forest Bake and it was proper comfort food. We will definitely be popping back as there are so many other things I want to try!

And lastly...I took a trip to Borough Market on Saturday and bought my lunch from Ethiopian Flavours. I went for the vegetarian combo, which was rice with three veggie dishes: yellow split peas, green beans and carrots and cabbage and carrots. Absolutely delicious.

Eating Out - Northumberland Edition

So I spent last weekend in Warkworth with my Mum. We had some delicious eats in our short time there. The first is a Chocolate and Almond Croissant and the most heavenly dark chocolate Hot Chocolate from Cabosse in Warkworth. The Chocolate Almond Croissant is also out of this world, flaky, almondy, chocolatey, just perfect. So perfect, that in the space of 4 days I had 2!

We went of to Amble for dinner on Friday night. We went to The Old Boat House in the harbour for one of the best meals I have had in the North East. We started with Scallops, Belly Pork with Sweetcorn Puree, which was really tasty and a lovely combination of flavours.

For main course I had Stonebass with Lentils, Mushrooms, Samphire and Chorizo. It was exquisite, really very tasty and again a really interesting mix of flavours and textures.

My Mum had Red Mullet with Crab Risotto, the risotto was so full of crab.

For pudding I went for the Passionfruit Tart with Caramelised Bananas and Ice Cream. This was also yummy.

We went back to Cabosse for lunch on Sunday. I went for a Northumberland Nettle Quiche, which came with a Green Salad, Beetroot Salad and Tikka Relish. The texture of the custard was just so smooth and I loved the different salads.

We also went shopping in Amble and to the fish shop on the main street. We had a selection of smoked and cooked fish. We went for baked herring, roll mop, smoked salmon, prawns, smoked kipper pate and crab. It was a delicious selection of local seafood. We also had a red pepper salad, green salad and coleslaw.

More Eating! Isle of Wight Edition

So over the last couple of weeks I have been to my parents for my Father's 70th birthday, to the Isle of Wight and to Northumberland. This post will be a celebration of the birthday and the Isle of Wight.

My Father selected the menu for his 70th and we had all his favourites. 30 people came for lunch and we had caterers in to do the food. We started with Prawn Cocktail and Avocado, followed by Beef Wellington with new potatoes and veg and then Eaton Mess. It was delicious and the day was beautiful so we had drinks in the garden to start with.

On our way to the Isle of Wight we spent the night in London and went for dinner at my sister's flat. She made Mary Berry's Chicken and Bacon Lattice Pie followed by Peach Cobbler,  both were absolutely delicious.

Then we got to the Isle of Wight. I went with my Mum, cousin and my sister popped in for the weekend. We rented a beautiful National Trust cottage at St Helen's on the Isle of Wight.

It was about a 10 mins walk from the village of St Helens and a 5 minute walk from the beach. There were 3 decent restaurants all within walking distance. The first we tried was Ganders in St Helens, I went for the Bouillabaisse. It was absolutely delicious and I got a whole red mullet fillet, a whole salmon fillet and a large mussel in a really flavourful tomato sauce.

We went to The Garlic Farm. They often have a stall at Alexandra Palace Farmers Market and so I have had bits and pieces from them before. I bought some toasted garlic mayonnaise and some black garlic. There was also some Black Garlic and Chocolate Ice Cream on offer and I had to try it. It was lovely, liquoricey and chocolatey.

We then went to Baywatch on the Beach, which was right on the beach at St Helens. I had fish pie with a side salad and it was really good and full of fish.

My Mum had Garlic Prawns and Chips that I'm told that too was really good. She had it twice during the week!

We spent a day at Osborne House, Queen Victoria's summer residence and now run by English Heritage. We had lunch in the Terrace Restaurant and I went for Sweet Potato with Spicy Lentil and Chickpea Stew. That too was very good, gently spicy and felt lovely and healthy too.

We went out to Baywatch on the Beach for Breakfast one morning and I went for the Sunshine Breakfast - basically a full English. It was much needed and I loved the inclusion of the fried cherry tomatoes, which are one of my most favourite things.

On our last night we went to Dan's Kitchen in St Helens. My main course was a Chicken Burger, which was decent, but it was the dessert which was really special. Chocolate and Honeycomb Mousse with Marshmallow, White Chocolate Ice Cream and Salted Caramel and Honeycomb Sauce. It was out of this world. Rich and velvety and crunchy with the honeycomb. 

I'll be back in a couple of days with the delights of Northumberland.