Food crawl at Seven Dials Market, London

Street food has been taking the storm in UK for years now like the Borough Market.
Enter Seven Dials Market which is a spacious modern foodhall which equips independent businesses with permanent fixtures while there is a comfortable hall for people dine in.

There are two floors, the street level one features a Monty's deli, club Mexicana and The cheese bar with the world's first cheese conveyor belt restaurant.

On the lower ground floor you have pasta, Asian food etc.

To summarize, depending on how successful the restaurants are, you might find restaurants coming and going quite fast just like other food courts/halls.

During covid, it was frustrating trying to dine there because you had to scan a code.

However, you can go in as you please now but not the same for boxpark which still needs a code.

The only thing I dislike about food courts and halls is the noise.

The latter restaurants appealed to me so I dined there for dumplings, Mumbai Toast and pandan puff.

My first stop was yum buns because the dumplings looked good.

There were so many dumplings choices so I went for the mushroom as not places have it and the fact that it was drizzled with chive oil.

At first, it smelled like garlic baguette but it actually tasted really nice especially with all that mushroom in it.

Next stop was NaanStop express for the mumbai toast which was a bit disappointing because I found it a bit bland but the cheese was amazing.

The Dahi Vada would have been a better choice.

Third stop was ong ong buns for the pandan puff because I simply love pandan.

As I was full, I had that at home.

[Review] East 22 - East London Pie and Mash in Eastbourne

I was really chuffed that there is a pie and mash shop in Eastbourne, it has been here since 2012 according to comments on the web.
It was formerly known as Seaside Pie and Mash but it changed owners at some point hence the new name East 22.

When you go inside, you are greeted with the typical pie and mash 19th Century style dark wood tables, the green tiles reminded me of Cockney's in Croydon.

On the walls, it had pictures of other notable pie and mash restaurants which surprised me because Pie and Mash shops are quite competitive so I like the way the owner appreciates pie and mash just like me.

On the menu, you will find the signature pie and mash as well as jellied eels.

Other options available are sausages and mash, haddock and parsley sauce as well as British desserts like sticky toffee but it would be good if they serve tea as well.

As I haven't tried any pie mash vegetarian pie yet, decided to try it here as they have it which is made with Quorn mince.
Additionally I requested for some jelly from the jellied eels because I just love it.

Tea came first which was served in a customized East 22 mug.
On the table were the usual condiments, vinegar etc.

The parsley liquor was thick and comforting.

Moving on the Quorn mince pie, it was delicious as the quorn mince had this meaty marmite taste.
Adding vinegar to it made it appetizing.

Last but not least was the jelly, it was different to the other ones I have tried.
The jelly was not as clear as the others but it was stronger in taste as you could taste the cloves, pepper and salt.

To summarize, I am definitely coming back again for the quorn mince pie which I will try with gravy next time.

East 22 ( Seaside Pie and Mash)
22 Seaside Road
Eastbourne

https://bit.ly/2EG54UU

[Review] Breakfast at Farmlands Cafe

I don't know this area well but for greasy fry ups, the choices on google map were Farmlands Cafe, Cafe Willingdon and The Triangle Cafe.

Decided to try Farmlands Cafe because they had wifi.

According to google they close at 14:30 which is not up to date but luckily I was still able to get my breakfast when I got there.

The staff were friendly and the options were good, you can swap items on the breakfast like for like.

The breakfast was satisfying on a cold day finished with tea.

Also overheard that this cafe has been here for around 15 years but the owners changed earlier in Feb 2019.

[Review] Flawless Breakfast at Beatty Cafe

I don't know how long Beatty Cafe has been in Eastbourne but I am chuffed it is there.
If my friend from school hadn't told me I would have totally missed this gem.
Unfortunately the location is not in the centre of town so if you don't drive I don't know how you would get here.

Before I went, looked it up and the photos were promising so I just couldn't wait to go.

Went on the weekend with friends and the cafe was almost packed, there were queues while we were indulging on our breakfasts.

The breakfast sets include tea or coffee with a good few choices which make it hard to decide as all of them were good.

In the end I went for the Rise and Shine which had Bubble, egg, sausage, bacon, toast, tinned tomatoes and black pudding.

As a greasy fry up, you would expect it to be oily but there was not a drop of oil to be found so it was super impressive.

Every element in the breakfast was so damn good especially the bubble because it tasted like the one I had in London by Mr Gs in Stepney Green.
I liked the way the bubble was shaped into a rectangle with pieces of cabbage within the mashed potato.

The black pudding was also tasty unlike some other brands which look like a black pudding but lack flavour and the pork sausages they served were good quality in the sense that there was not much chewy bits found in the sausage.
The tinned tomatoes were comforting because they tasted like the ones at school!

Pancakes don't captivate me as much as their breakfast but I love the choices they offer like cherry pancakes and Hawaiian pancakes.

Overall it was so delicious that I regretted not getting the bigger breakfast which I will next time.

Beatty Cafe:
Beatty Road, BN23 6DG
Eastbourne

[Review] The Electric Cafe and its electrifying fry ups

If I had not taken the bus I would not have spotted this must try place for breakfast.
The Electric Cafe has this old charm as it has been here since the 1920s when it used to be called The Electric Rooms.

Went here another day purposely to try their fry ups.
I took the train to Tulse Hill as it would be quicker than the bus but went the wrong way after I got out the station which took me some time getting there.
Finally got there and was greeted by a really friendly guy behind the counter.

As you can imagine, an English breakfast is everything so it took me a while to decide what to order.
In the end, I had mushrooms, beans, black pudding, egg, bacon, chips and bubble.
Normally I don't order chips but the chips here are hand cut.

The breakfast was just flawless especially the fried egg which was silky, every element was good.
It turns out that they use St Nichols Baked beans which are smaller in size and not as sweet as the other brands so I loved it.

Close up of Bubble:

The decor at The Electric Cafe will take you back in time and I love the window veils at the front.

Strangely, this is a much raved about fry up featured on most London guides yet there are not many reviews on this cafe.
Overall, this place is a must go if you are in the area with friendly service.

[Review] Pieminister

Pieminister was on my list to go because of the way they present their pies.
It is pie served on top of mash with gravy, optional minted peas, cheese and crispy onions.

They started off making pies in Bristol and they are so popular that they have joints all over the place with a few in London.

Expect to find queues at the Farringdon Branch on Leather Lane.

As it was December, decisions were hard because they had Festive pies as well as the regular choices so I was spoilt for choice.

All the pies, mash, minted peas and gravy can be seen behind the cabinet.

In the end I ordered the Mistle Moo Pie (beef steak, port and bacon) and opted for Mothership which is pie, mash, minted mushy peas, Cheddar and shallots.
To my disappointment, they did not serve tea although they had water to offer but the tap for the water was severely broken and no staff were free to help so I had ask a diner for assistance.

The pie was just as good as expected, there were chunks of beef inside the pie in rich port gravy.
The cheddar, shallots and gravy all went well together so I can't wait to come back and try their other vegetable pies as they have some creative pies like the Heidi, Saag pie-neer and Kevin.

Pieminister:
https://pieminister.co.uk/