Louisana style Popeyes finally opened in London today (Nov 20th, 2021) at 9am and the queues were phenomenal with an approximate 2 hour wait!
I like the menu how it is the same as the states and not localized like Hong Kong.
At least we have mac and cheese, biscuits, gravy, sauces and all that as well as milkshakes.
If you have been to Hong Kong, their Popeyes is localized and offers fried chicken and fries to compete with KFC.
In general, fast food in their eyes revolves around French fries, burgers and fried chicken.
To be honest, their palette is on the weird side whereas when Popeyes was at Hong Kong international airport the menu was the real deal just like the KFC at Hong Kong Asia Expo to cater for international visitors whereas the rest of the KFC is localized.
Anyway, without further ado, my friends visited on the first day and finally got their food after a two hour wait.
Mango habanero sauce, ranch, Voodoo sweet chilli
cajun gravy
Scroll to the bottom for pictures of Hong Kong Popeyes:
Popeyes at Hong Kong international airport in 2016 [Status: closed]
Spotted this upcoming shop a few weeks ago which finally opened.
Before they opened, I couldn't quite tell what cuisine it was because you find TAVA in Turkish cuisines as well as Indian.
When I went in the shop, I discovered that it was Indian and the reason they are called The Tava Shop is because they use a tava which is a convex metal griddle used to Vada Pavs etc.
It has been a while since I had Indian Street food and here it won't disappoint with the two chefs both named Pravin who are former hotel chefs.
Initially I wanted to order the Mughalai egg bhurji to compare it with this other place but I had the Gujrati Dabeli and Mumbai Vadapav recommended by the chef.
Both turned out really tasty.
The Mumbai Vadapav is basically a potato dumpling in a pav which is like an English soft roll with green chutney, fried onions and spiced peanuts.
I tried this ages ago elsewhere but I prefer this one because you can taste how clean their TAVA is.
Mumbai Vadapav
The Gujrati Dabeli is highly recommended and similar to the Vadapav but it was like a rainbow of flavours inside with everything sprinkled with delicate finest strands of sev (fried gram flour vermicelli).
The pav itself is pressed like a Ciabatta while the tangy potato filling is so comforting and moreish with the tamarind and onions.
I would say that the Mumbai Vadapav is similar to the Gujrati Dabeli but it has only one dimension with the spices because the Gujrati really steals the show with all the different dimensions.
Also had the Redi Tikki Chaat which was the best I have had, you can taste everything from the potato tikki to the refreshing moreish yoghurt and sweet and sour sauce.
As for some light snacks, I had the desi wings which were fried to perfection.
Finished with Deewani Chai which is similar to tea in Asia which is very milky but infused with spices and not overly sweet.
Deewani Chai
They also had the Mastani milkshake which was amazing because who doesn't love a good creamy milkshake, although I would love to see lassi milkshake would be delish!
Mastani Vanilla milkshake
Will definitely be coming back as there are so many items on the menu to try.
Their Potpurri aka set meals includes a drink and side which will only set you back as little as 7.99 if you have the non meat pav or chicken burger.
As an Indian Street food joint I would love to see items like the Mumbai chilli cheese toast, Lokandwala Frankie rolls and even Rangoli patterns all over the place or even a cool tuktuk for photos.
From sunshine coast of Brighton, Urban Legend branches to East Croydon with their low calorie and low sugar doughnuts.
You will find them in a shipping container that is barbie pink inside just outside the station at Boxpark.
Their colourful doughnuts and fun flavours are for everyone.
All their doughnuts are steamed to cut the fat and they use ingredients found in roots, pears and melons which work as sugars.
To make them colourful, they use safflower and beetroot which are 100% natural.
Currently there are nine flavours: Glazy Days, Berry unbelievable, Bubblegum Burst, Forbidden Forest, Sunny Jim, Belgian Biccie, Monkey's Uncle, Fool's Gold and Choc Party.
All these doughnuts are under 160 calories or less which is the same as a buttered slice of toast and taste fantastic.
My favourites are Fool's gold which is basically caramel and Choc Party.
They have a lovely texture just like traditional doughnuts which have a nice chew like a gentle bagel and you won't find them oily as they are steamed.
Overall, I would definitely recommend these doughnuts and would love to see the pop up in Central London as well.
Their third branch in Clapham Junction is now open!
Grab one iced donut for £1.95, or opt for a box of three (£5.65), six (£9.95), or twelve (£14.95) to share or watch the entire office go dough eyed with two mixed boxes of 12 donuts for just £26.95.
As I was in Clapham Junction, I got some doughnuts again as it was buy 1 get one free during the opening week.
This time I tried the Penny Sweet and White Lie which were really good.
Urban Legend Brighton:
15 Brighton Place, Brighton BN1 1HJ
Urban Legend Croydon:
Unit 69-70, BoxPark, 99 George St, Croydon CR0 1LD
After the success of Heddon Yokocho by Japan Centre which opened on 15 October 2020 located just off Regent Street (Mayfair), they have opened another branch Panton Yokocho near Leicester Square/Piccadilly Circus on 11/11/2021. Just like Heddon Yokocho, the Panton branch is also downtown retro-style inspired by Yokocho 'alleyways’ of Japan.
A few months ago I visited Japan Centre and saw illustrations promoting the new opening but didn't realize it was this restaurant and according to the signage, the opening has been delayed from summer to early Winter.
Before, the visit I had a look at their online menu and their Hakkata ramen was screamingly Ippudo style with the red bowl and same elements.
I dined there on Saturday 13/11/2021 when the Piccadilly/ Leicester Square area was bustling literally like Chinese New Year!
At the entrance there was the best ramen display which moves.
I waited at the entrance queue at 18:50pm to be seated and it took quite a while for someone to serve the group in front. By the time I was served, it was around 7:15.
As it was only me, I was given a choice of window seats or the seats around the pillar so I sat by the pillar.
The restaurant was half full when I was seated and the introductory from the staff explaining the menu was quite detailed and long.
There was 50% off that night so I managed to eat two bowls of ramen, one traditional and the other exclusive to London with a touch of fusion and also offered on the Children's menu.
Overview of the menu: 8 choices of ramen offered of which there are 5 traditional Japanese styles, 1 x house style and 2 Vegan options. Side dishes including Hirata buns, skewers, tofu etc and a kids menu which includes a drink and optional ice cream. The drinks menu was quite comprehensive with sake, beer, Japanese teas, plum wines, shochu and even highballs. The dessert menu was not bad with mochi ice cream, a popular thing here and also cookie dough another popular flavour here. Also the menu items and terminology was similar to Kanada-Ya with items like Paitan (for chicken) and they both had Piri Piri sauce which is a popular spicy sauce in the UK.
For noodles, they served smooth chijire wave & medium thickness and thin, straight hosomen.
While I was dining there, I heard some customers saying that they knew this branch because of the main shop and that the other branch was reviewed by Jay Rayner of The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/dec/20/jay-rayner-restaurant-review-heddon-yokocho-ramen-london
In terms of ramen quality, the Hakata I had was seriously good and similar to Ippudo but not as salty as Ippudo and the pork slices were top notch because they were fresh, soft and did not have that not fresh smell like most in Hong Kong. The egg was also good compared to UK Marugame which was too salty.
Hakata Tonkotsu Ramen
The Napoli was Vegan and inspired by Italian food with ramen in a tomato based broth topped with grilled tomatoes, mushrooms, fresh basil and vegan cheese. It was also nice but I would have preferred Hakata thin style noodles because it hangs the broth better and doesn't have a lye taste.
Vegan Napoli
Obviously this was self paid and by cash but it seems the change given was rounded down as I gave them a 20 pound note.
Note I ordered Vegan Napoli but the bill shows Vegan Miso.
