[Review] The Mac Factory in Putney

Mac and Cheese is a comfort food in the US while we also have mac and cheese in the English cuisine.
There is a debate whether it is English or American.

Anyway, The Mac Factory unites the Brits and the American foodies together as well as mac and cheese lovers.

I attempted to go to TMF at Camden however it was closed but in a way it was good because there is now a new branch at Putney where you get to dine in and prices are cheaper than Camden because of the location.

TMF Putney is on the corner of Putney Exchange mall, it is bright yellow and trendy for the area.
I think TMF would also do well if they had a shop in Brighton.

Mac and Cheese being made:

The menu offers slightly more than the Camden branch with hotdogs, pulled pork buns and their specialty Mac and Cheese.

All Mac and Cheese pots are topped with classic blend of mature cheddar, mozzarella and their signature thyme and Parmesan crumble.
There are six choices for Mac and Cheese, the basic Mac and Cheese pot or modernized Mac and Cheese topped with different toppings as shown on the menu.

Basic Mac and Cheese:

I went for the La Med Babe which has baby Mozzarella, Basil and semi dried tomato.

Overall, it was a nice pot of Mac and Cheese which was quite filling and the crispy bits balances the heaviness of the mac and cheese.
The toppings complement it nicely and glams up the mac and cheese which is obviously why they are a success as you can have Mac and Cheese Italian style, with truffle, with chorizo etc.

Let's see if they will have any Vegan Mac and Cheese for Veganuary which could be a challenge but other places do offer it.

The Mac Factory Putney:
72 Putney High Street

The Mac Factory Camden:

A wasted visit to Sam's Cook

Went there especially to try the noodles in milky broth.

When I got there, I couldn't quite find the handle to the door so they opened it for me.

The decor was plain and simple.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Drinks:
The macaroni came with drinks, but it was the Chinese range, so just took a few sips because I don't drink Chinese style drinks.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Macaroni with egg white, organic tofu and tofu puffs:


I was really annoyed with this because it was meant to come in pure white pork bone broth but it was not white at all.
Anyway I asked them why it was not white and he asked the kitchen and told me that it was sold out.
I wish they had told me when I ordered because it wasted my time and effort to dine there when I could have gone elsewhere.
However I should be grateful that they served me patiently because I was the last customer.
Apart from the broth, the other elements such as tofu, egg white, sweetcorn were quite nice and healthy.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Address:

SAM'S COOK (Jordan)

Shop 3B, Fortune Terrace, 4-10 Tak Shing Steet, Jordan

New dishes at Spade by Lassana

Spade by Lassana (Mong Kok)

Previous came here for tea and discovered new items on the menu which I wanted to try but couldnt because I had a tasting afterwards.
Luckily I got a chance to try these new dishes thanks to Spade by Lassana.


The new menu offers:
Macaroni and shrimp in lobster sauce
Black truffle macaroni
Mini black and white burgers
Braised ox tail in red wine sauce
Lasagne
Buccatini in Carbonara sauce

As a Westerner, my picks would definitely be the Lasagne but as it was a tasting I decided to try the other options which you can't try elsewhere such as the macaroni and burgers.
I would have tried the buccatini but I don't like Carbonara sauce, if it was a different sauce I would have tried it.

Heres what we tried:
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Cream of tomato soup:

The tomato soup was really tangy and not so creamy with a reasonable consistency.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Macaroni and shrimp in lobster sauce:

I was really looking forward to this and the macaroni was done just right, not too soft or hard, but the lobster sauce was not strong enough.
When I reached the bottom, the lobster taste was stronger so perhaps it should be mixed thoroughly before you eat it because the sauce goes to the bottom.
The prawns are freshly cooked there.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Black truffle macaroni:

This was macaroni in creamy truffle sauce with diced gammon ham.
It was too creamy for my liking but the truffle was nice and strong.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Black and white burgers:

The black burger was a charcoal bun paired with crabmeat patty.
The patty was really soft and it had strong bell pepper taste.

The white burger was paired with a beef patty which was outshone by the crab because there was nothing striking about the beef.
Perhaps, they could have used truffle or beef patty made with Wagyu, or a put a small slice of steak in it.

Although I liked the crab one, it is bound to be popular because people are going to order it because of the cute presentation.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Braised ox tail in red wine sauce:

The ox tail was quite nice but not very satisfying as a meal because the toasted baguette slices were not substantial enough.
[Perhaps it would be sufficient for "normal" girls]
It would be great if it was served with buccatini or a side of rice.
The ox tail was soft and braised in rich gravy but there were still some fat attached which turns you off.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Cakes galore:

There were more cakes to choose from such as green tea roll, earl grey chiffon cake, lemon tart etc.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Cookies and cream waffle:

The waffle was done just right, soft on the inside with a crispy exterior.
There were cubes of black sesame cakes topped on it which were grey, but the black sesame taste was not strong enough to taste it.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Chocolate fondant cake:

The fondant cake was paired with chocolate icecream.
A must for chocolate lovers, but I would prefer a choice of icecream.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Anyway, I shall be back for the lasagne!

Consistency test @ 牛魔王清湯腩咖哩專門店

Came here again for their stir fried macaroni which is only served during afternoon tea.
It tasted nice last time so I ordered it again.

The staff were more efficient this time because this shop has been opened for quite a few months.
The items were entered correctly on the bill.

 

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Stir fried macaroni with luncheon meat:

 

When it arrived it looked darker than last time, the macaroni was much wetter because there was more sauce.
The taste was much stronger this time and I could evidently taste Maggie sauce.
The onions were not sliced properly but the portion was bigger than last time.
The luncheon meat was a bit disappointing because some of it was rancid and some of it came from a new can.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Barley and ginger drink:

 

This tasted as good as my first visit, however there was a piece of lemon which was not there last time.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
I hope next time they can be consistent.

Cantopop popped before I could submit this review

Initially I had a really long review for this but since I did not re-save my draft after thirty days I lost my draft.

Although a lot of people did not like this place, I loved this place!
I felt that this restaurant had great potential and if it opened overseas it would do great there.
Pity my review could not have been submitted earlier.

Before this place opened they had so many advertisements, even trams were plastered by Cantopop, I loved the vibrant design and it reminded me of the 1960s era.

I hardly ever eat at Cha Chaan Tengs (Chinese cafes) because the food is oily.

 

I was attracted to this place because they used Western concepts in their cooking, and not faking Western food when it is actually Chinese.
As well as that they do not use MSG and their vegetables are sourced from known organic suppliers in the New Territories.
It was great to see this sort of food being taken to the next level.

They had so many fun items such as home made macaroni, beef jerky, sweet potato leaves, fermented beancurd and honey on toast!!!
Some of the items on the menu take you back in time too such as "Disco sweet and sour pork with rice".

Inside the restaurant it was so modern too and the plates were memorable.

 

 

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Homemade macaroni with beef jerky

 

 

When it came, it was so colourfully presented, there was purple cabbage which contrasted the dark brown macaroni.
The taste of the stir fried macaroni was amazing, there was rich black beans and thai basil taste.
Since the macaroni was homemade, it was slightly squashed at the ends.
I liked it the way they called the beef as "beef jerky". It sounds so American and basically beef jerky is the snack dried beef.
The greens they picked were tender ones too!

 

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Fried egg, Sous vide cooked BBQ pork and rice

 

I loved the sous vide pork, it was slow cooked and extremely soft and tender.
This is probably why the Hong Kongers did not like it because they were probably expecting the usual roast pork and not for that price.
Anyway I liked it and it was fat free.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Cantopop Bomb (Scotch egg)

 

I was surprised to see this on the menu, but on the menu there was so many other surprises and many other items I would like to try such as the Sweet potato leaves, fermented beancurd with honey on toast.
Anyway, the scotch egg was an egg encased in their homemade luncheon meat and covered in breadcrumbs.
The homemade luncheon meat was really soft and not that salty.
The egg yolk was runny which makes it better than an authentic scotch egg.

 

 

For the sauce it was tomato sauce, not ketchup but home made sauce with pieces of tomato in it, and I loved that as well because it was not too sweet.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★