Paratha Inn opens in Croydon!

Paratha Inn has finally opened!!
I have been eyeing on this joint earlier this year which was supposed to open around April but unfortunately we all had to wait due to Covid.
Paratha Inn opened recently so I just couldn't wait to check it out.
They specialize in Paratha rolls which are basically like wraps but using Paratha just like Frankie Rolls and Kati Rolls in Central London.

On the menu there are so many rolls to choose from but it was really hard to choose because they all seemed good.
According to the staff the Malai Boti Roll is the best seller and everything is made fresh, expect more meat to salad ratio in the filling.
For me, I have probably locked my choices down to the egg shami roll, peri peri chicken roll, paneer roll, chicken tikka roll and masala chips.

I couldn't make up my mind, I got the Kashmiri Pink Chai (Noon Tea).
The traditional Kashmiri tea is made with gunpowder tea, milk and baking soda which makes it pink because of the chlorophyl in tea reacting with bicarbonate of soda).
At Paratha Inn, they do not use baking soda.

When the Kashmiri Pink Chai came, it pretty pink contrasted by the green crushed pistachio nuts.
The taste was milky, sweet and delicate and with every sip there were some crushed pistachio nuts that give it some depth.

Also had the Doodh Pati Chai which tasted like Horlicks at first then the aftertaste was like Hong Kong style milk tea so Hongkongers will definitely like it.

Both the Kasmiri Pink tea and Doodh Pati Chai are mild and not spiced so they are not as strong as the masala Chai.

Since the Malai Boti roll is their popular pick, I had that with masala chips and chicken tikka rice.

The roll was creamy and delicious with big chunks of tender white meat while the paratha wrap was soft and light.

Next I had the Masala Chips, another favourite of mine as a carbs person. Each chip was fully covered in sauce and the spring onions worked like magic giving the spiced chips some grassy freshness.

For mains, the chicken tikka rice was really filling, there was so many chunks of chicken in it and the rice was fluffy.
I found the rice quite fiery with a strong cardamon fragrance so if you can't take the heat you might want to ask for it less spicy.

Photos at Paratha Inn:

Address:
244 High Street Croydon CR0 1NF

Video:
https://youtu.be/S9APFHX5Dgc

Photos before the opening!

[Restaurant Review] Surrey Cafe Croydon

Went to Surrey Cafe twice because I really enjoyed the food.
I am always trying different places for English Breakfast to see how they are.

As well as Breakfast, they have burgers, Pukka Pies and other homemade dishes.
The staff here are wonderful and friendly.

On the first visit, just had a sausage and egg.
When it came, it was egg and bacon, although it was not what I ordered, the bacon was trimmed and looked good.

But anyway, the sausage and egg I had was perfect so came back again for more because I found out that they use my favourite St Nicholas Baked Beans which are more savoury in taste.

A few days later, I was back for the breakfast.
As you can imagine, it was very hard to make up my mind so had the Set 1 Breakfasts which includes beans, sausage, egg, bacon and 2 slices of toast with tea.

The buttered toast was so good because it was buttered with real butter and having two slices was very satisfying. In a way I regretted not getting the bigger breakfast which comes with bubble.

Also went with a friend and he had Tuna Salad:

Revisited and had the bubble and also some roast potatoes.

The bubble was the best I've had compared to other greasy spoons because it was non greasy.

As for the roasties, they were a bit pricey but then I didn't check the price before randomly ordering something that was not on the menu!

I knew it was a bit fishy when I got a separate mug of gravy.

Surrey Cafe Croydon:
35 Surrey Street

Bookmark us on Zomato

Don's Cafe Croydon

Tried Don's Cafe a while ago for breakfast so I'll have to dig up the some photos.

[Restaurant Review] New Padella at Shoreditch

After getting addicted to pasta at Padella, I was delighted to learn that there was going to be a second branch in Shoreditch which finally opened on the 13th of February 2019.

As it was new, decided to try it as soon as possible so went there on a weekday for late lunch.
Padella offers affordable and tasty pastas which changed the scene in London.
They started off at London Bridge next to the Borough market where you will find endless queues of people going there.

Since there is a new branch at Shoreditch, I went and tried it two weeks after opening on a weekday lunch and we were seated within 10 minutes.

The layout of this place is on one floor with seating by the open kitchen, main dining area and another bar table by the other side.

The menu is much the same with the signature gnocci, pici caci e pepi and the parpadelle.

Sparkling water and Still water are complimentary.

As a fan of pastas, ordered the gnocchi, pici and tagliarini.

Started with the gnocchi with nutmeg butter which was a good start.
This has to be my ultimate favourite because each piece of gnocchi is soft and pillowy with a delicious taste of potatoes complimented by the nutmeg.

Next was the Pici cacio and pepe which looks like Udon smothered in delicious black peppery butter sauce.
Each strand is al dente with a firm texture to it.

Last but not least was the Tagliarini with dry chili and garlic.
It was good but I prefer the other one they did with Anchovy butter at Padella, London Bridge.
Still a good option for vegetarians.

Will definitely be back when they change the menu.

Padella Shoreditch
1 Phipp Street

Previous visits to Padella:

Stracci and Parpadelle at Padella - London Bridge:
https://supersupergirl-dining.blogspot.com/2020/02/review-second-visit-to-padella.html
Gnocchi and Anchovy Butter Tagliarini:
https://supersupergirl-dining.blogspot.com/2020/01/review-possibly-best-pasta-at-padella.html

[Restaurant Review] #IKEA £1 #Breakfast

IKEA's breakfast for a pound was so successful last year that they are doing it again this year until 27th March 2019.
The 6 item breakfast includes: 1 sausage, 1 bacon, 1 omelette, 1 hash brown, baked beans and half a grilled tomato.
Vegetarian option includes: 1 vegetarian sausage, 1 hash brown, 1 omelette, baked beans, mushrooms and ½ grilled tomato.

Croydon IKEA was the nearest branch so went there.
It was 10am and there was a long queue already.

As I wanted to try the vegetarian sausage, I decided to order the vegetarian option for £1 since the sausage itself is 60p, so you might as well pay 40p extra for the 6 items.
To summarize, it was a really good deal and the omelette was fluffy and better than I expected.
However the vegetarian sausage was a bit disappointing as I found it a bit too sweet for my liking.

All was good but the cashier could have been friendlier as it was my first time using the FAMILY CARD so I didn't know the cost of the TEA would be taken off after swiping the code but she kept telling me to scan the barcode at the till without explaining.