New ham hock & chicken pie and Rhubarb custard cake at IKEA

Made a random visit to IKEA and it was a fruitful one because they had some new dishes as well as a new cake.

On offer was chicken schnitzel with katsu curry sauce, ham hock & chicken pie and the new Rhubarb custard cake.

I went straight for the ham hock & chicken pie without hesitating paired with mash and the rhubarb custard cake was a bonus.

To my surprise the pie was actually far better than I anticipated because I usually go at the wrong time when food is not at its best.

The pie pastry was crisp yet light and the ham hock fillings was seriously tasty and creamy.

Again, I was surprised that the mash was good as well because it was not too buttery yet had a balanced potato taste.

Finished with the cake which was a bit too sweet but you could really taste the sweet custard in the filling and the rhubarb compote layer was the star but there was not enough of it.

Eating Mexican food with chopsticks! Birria Ramen in London!!

Eating Mexican food with chopsticks! Birria Ramen in London!!

Birria is a Mexican meat stew (traditionally made with goat meat but these days you can also get beef, lamb or chicken.)

The rich meat broth is simply rich and concentrated served with Lime, Onion, Cilantro to take the taste to the level!

Some bright spark in America invented the Birria ramen which is basically delicious noodles in this tasty broth!

Instead of travelling to the states, I was so lucky to find a place in London that serves it at Birria Taco which is located inside another restaurant.

At Birria Taco, they offer lamb or beef birria ramen so we tried both.

The lamb broth was more concentrated and saltier compared to the beef but according to the staff, both broths were meant to be the same.

The best thing were the noodles, I felt that they couldn't have made a better choice of noodles because they hung the broth well and absorbed the flavours.

They reminded me of curly instant noodles with a flat wavy shape.

Every mouthful was bliss because you got this strong meaty broth along with the spices as if you were eating a taco with delicious hot noodles.

The key to this ramen is also the pickles, radish, onions and cilantro but I felt that more onions and cilantro is needed to give it that full on experience.

I also felt that their onion and cilantro could have been fresher as it was not as flavourful as it should be.

To summarize, I will definitely be returning because £9.50 was definitely worth paying!

Hopefully their lamb and beef broths will be consistent in taste.

The location of this place is hard to find because it is hidden inside this other restaurant which has no windows or a see through front door.

On a side, I got trapped in the toilet because the lock was too high in the corner which made it hard to get out unless you really pry with your fingers, so if you had long nails, you would be screwed.

Rhubarb and Jasmine doughnut from Crosstown

Ended up getting another doughnut from Crosstown because it was Rhubarb and Jasmine.
Again, you have that consistently good doughnut base with chia seeds and then there is that lovely refreshing rhubarb jasmine compote that's not too sweet.
However I would like a bit more tang to the rhubarb and a stronger jasmine floral note.
Overall not bad and worth trying and unsuspectingly vegan.

The Pandan doughnut returns along with the new pandan Lamington at Crosstown doughnuts

My favourite pandan doughnuts are back and this year there is a new pandan lamington so tried it because I have already tried the doughnut.
The lamington is like a moist cake which I found too moist.
It was a bit too sweet for my liking because of the white chocolate coating so I recommend the pandan doughnuts.

Trying the SUBWAY plant patty for Veganuary

Went to Subway randomly for a quick fix.
As it was January there were two veg options: the plant patty and vegan steak by Veg Butcher.
The plant patty looked good with pieces of veg in it so tried that with the cheese mix, spinach leaves and mayonnaise for simplicity.
The first few bites were good because it was hot and I was hungry, however it was rather spicy and I didn't like the chewy meaty texture.
It would have been nice without that artificial stuff and chilli.
I just wish that veg/vegan stuff isn't overloaded with spices and salt to mask the tastelessness because in this case there were pieces of veg in the patty and plenty of salad and sauces at Subway to compliment it.

Christmas spiced duck leg at Tonkotsu

Tonkotsu is a famous ramen chain in London but has never been on my list to go until recently.
I was captivated by the duck leg which brought me there.
Overall, the noodles were similar to those lye noodles (alkaline noodles) and the broth was rather weak even though it was salty enough, it lacked a bone broth flavour.
The duck was quite nice but a bit dry, however I reckon if I dined there when they started serving this Christmas special, then it would have been soft and supple.
It was nice that the ramen was paired with my favourite Swiss chards and I felt that the sesame garnishing was to give it that Asian touch.

UYGHUR style Lamb Hoof Pachaq at Turpan

I am so glad I tried this place for the Lamb Hoof Pachaq.

Initially I thought it was the same as Xinjiang and Uzbek cuisine because of the menu but it turns out Uyghur food is similar.

Anyway, I didn't try the similar items so went for the Lamb hoof because you don't see it elsewhere and I haven't had lamb hoof even though i've had chicken feet, pigs trotters and cow trotters.

The dish was how I expected it to be.

It was soft and gelatinous with a nice heat and spice from the dried chillis and Sichuan peppercorns which makes it similar to Sichuan dry hot pot stir fry.

The menu states 5 pieces, you will find the trotter sliced in half vertically with some bone marrow in them but not much.

Also had it with rice which I thought was going to be plain but they put some sort of milk and butter in it which makes it quite heavy.

Overall the lamb hooves are recommended if you like soft and gelatinous pigs trotters.

It would be good if the hoof had the hair completely removed because I ended up wasting the skin because of it.

The dish also reminded me of these Gurkha pigs trotters KHUTTA KO ACHAAR which are also spicy.

Menu:

Turpan:

Pulled Lamb Shepherds pie at The Horniman At Hays

Just before Christmas I spotted this captivating Shepherd's pie which got my attention because there was a lamb shank bone in the middle so I made a mental note to try.

According to the menu, it is a HAND-PULLED LAMB SHANK SHEPHERD'S PIE with a rich minted gravy topped with herb mash.

Finally tried it on Boxing at The Horniman At Hays where we got a nice and quiet corner.

When, it came, the I had to "erect" the bone to make it look like the product shot as it was lying flat when it came.

The pulled lamb which was soft and tender took the Shepherds pie to the next level but needed a bit more flavour.

The rich minted gravy didn't quite taste minty nor was it rich.

Overall, I really enjoyed it, but some vinegary mint sauce was badly needed so I put loads of vinegar which made it really tasty.

Calarmari:

Calamari can be a hit or miss!

Luckily the calamari was still soft with a chew while the coating was crispy and not too salty despite looking a bit dark in colour.

It tasted nice with the lemon but the sauce was a bit too sweet.

Pictures at The Horniman At Hays