[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:

[Review] Wok 2 Walk customizable noodles

Wok 2 Walk is a popular noodle joint that is available in other countries as well as UK.
There are a lot of branches in Central London that attract lots of customers.

I was attracted to Wok 2 Walk because of the flexibility and choices.
You get to choose your noodle, ingredients and sauce.

Went to the branch on Great Windmill Street because there are a few seats to sit down by the window.
The kitchen looks like a noodle truck.

Sadly the menu has slightly changed and they don't offer Bacon as one of the ingredient choices but the other choices were also good.

The menu:

Basically, you choose a noodle, grains or vegetable mix as your base, then up to four ingredients and then the sauce.
I chose the egg noodles with prawns and mushrooms in a Szechuan Sauce.

The noodles came piping hot in a cute cardboard box just like the Chinese takeouts you get in the US.

Overall, it was quite nice especially the mushroom slices which were semi raw and reminded me of salads while the prawns were bouncy.

The taste of the noodles really depend on the sauce but unfortunately the Szechuan Sauce I chose was too sweet for my liking so I didn't like it.
I would probably have liked it if I had chosen a sauce that was not so sweet so next time I will go for the SEOUL which is soy and ginger.
There are also sachets of soy and chili sauce at the condiments bar if you find the seasoning is not enough.

[Review] Purezza in Brighton

Purezza is the first plant based pizzeria in UK so how could I not pay it a visit.
It is so successful that they have a second branch at Camden.

I was also attracted to Purezza because of their home made rice based mozzarella and other cheeses which they ferment themselves.

They offer a range of vegan sourdough pizzas, gluten free food, salad bowls, raw dishes, pasta and desserts.
I found out about Purezza on TV because they were the only restaurant to show how they make their vegan cheese while other restaurants keep it top secret.

When I got there, we were greeted by a member of staff who asked if it was our first time there as payment is by CARD only.

On the menu, there was mac and cheese, cheese platter as well as their signature pizzas on sourdough, Hemp flour base or gluten free.

As it was Christmas, there was a special menu with Pizza and Calzone.

Initially, I was going to order the cheese board which was cashew based cheese so that I could compare it with this other place I tried.
In the end, we chose the Festive pizza, Lasagna and the Mac and Cheese.

The first dish that came was the Mac and Cheese which was penne pasta in a cheesy sauce that was light topped with some crispy stuff which I didn't really like.

The Festive pizza was butternut squash sauce, mozzarella, porcini mushrooms, crumbled sausage and crunchy red cabbage.
It was stunning when it came especially the red cabbage.
The pizza was just as good as anticipated because the pizza base was soft and fluffy like naan you get in Hong Kong while the mozzarella was light and dreamy.
The only thing I didn't like was the butternut squash sauce which was sweet.

Last but not least was the Lasagna which was creamy bechamel style cheese and a tasty ragu mince.
Unfortunately, there was a strong taste of rosemary in it which we didn't quite agree with.
If it was basil, we might have liked it better.

Purezza Camden:
12 St James Street
Brighton

[Review] Purezza in Camden

[Visited this in Jan 2020, since then the have refurbished the place. Updated pictures at the bottom of this article].

Purezza is the first plant based pizzeria in UK so how could I not pay it a visit.
It is so successful that they have a second branch at Camden.

I was also attracted to Purezza because of their home made rice based mozzarella and other cheeses which they ferment themselves.

Previously tried the pizza in Brighton which was not quite enough so I went to Purezza again in Camden to try the Dough Balls.

The staff were really nice and offered some water while I was waiting for my order.

There are three dough balls per portion.
Basically it was soft pillowy balls filled with runny melted vegan cheddar.
The dough had a crispy surface while the it was light and fluffy just like a naan oozing with vegan cheddar.

All good except one was a bit burnt.

The menu:

Related posts:
Festive pizza, mac and cheese, Lasagna at Purezza Brighton

Purezza Camden:
43 Parkway, Camden Town
London