Criss Cross The Ultimate croissants

The new kid on the block Criss Cross is taking London by storm and you can see why because it has the visually appealing coloured flavoured layers and it is filled with decadent filling which are creative and different.

When you walk past, you can't miss all these brightly coloured and artisan looking croissants at the window and then when you go inside, there is more in the cabinet.

In the sweet section they have: 

Strawberry Dream £5.30 (White Chocolate Cream & Strawberry Gel)

Blue Matcha £5.30 (Matcha Whipping Ganache & Blueberry centre)

Criss Coco £5.30 (Coconut Cream, Mango & Passion Fruit Sauce)

Black Yuzu Meringue £5.60 (Yuzu Curd & Light Sesame Praline)

Chocolate Raspberry (Vegan) £5.50 (Raspberry & Lychee Jam, Dipped in Almonds & Dark Chocolate)

Pecan Vanilla £6.10 (Pecan Frangipane, Vanilla Pastry Cream)

Double Chocolate £6.10 (Cocoa Frangipane, 70% Valhrona Chocolate)

Savoury:

Whiskey Salmon £7.30 (Whisky & Soy Cured Salmon, Cashew Cream, Dried Seaweed)

Green AF (Vegan) £6.60 (Guacamole)

Caesar £6.90 (Chicken Breast, Lettuce & Caesar Dressing)

Truffle Cheese £8.90 (Four Cheese Cream & Black Truffle)

Veggie (Vegan) £6.60 (Sauté Mushrooms & Leeks with Sun Dried Tomatoes)

Croque Monsieur £6.90 (Béchamel Sauce, Ham, & Brie Cheese)

It was so hard deciding which one to get but in the end I got the Blue Matcha because the name stood out as you normally associate matcha with green but the blue comes from the blueberry filling inside.

I let the professionals slice the croissant in half to show the filling inside and they did a beautiful job.

The blueberry filling is actually hiding on the other side and there was quite a fair bit to it.

It was the dreamiest croissant I've had because the whipping ganache was sweet and fluffy like whipped cream complemented by the blueberry.

I am not fond of mango but I also tried the Criss Coco which also gave me a surprise, the desiccated coconut was magic and I think this is the first time I have ever had coconut on croissant.

It was simply delicious with the mango filling.

I definitely recommend Criss Cross for that decadent afternoon treat or office treat.

Will be returning for other croissants and hope to see croissants filled with poached eggs or quail eggs for that eggporn instaworthy picture :)

Criss Cross Video

Criss Cross

 49 Old Compton Street, London W1D 6HL

https://www.crissxculture.com/

Photos of the cafe and croissants:

Lamb burger deal at Selekt Chicken, Shepherd's Bush

On my way to Shepherd's bush market I spotted the Lamb burger deal which was impossible to resist.
Firstly, you don't often see it on the menu and it was two for 2.49 with fries.

To be honest, I didn't really want the fries because I just like the chippy ones or the French Fries.

The restaurant was really busy when I ordered because someone just made a 60 pound order but they were able to do mine quickly.

The lamb burgers were delicious and tasty, although not quite like the product it was still good and it came nicely wrapped in striped blue paper.

Malaysian Street food at The Spice Lab - St. Mark's Church turned food hall

I don't eat much Asian food in UK and if I do it has to be worth me going!

This year has been interesting, all the Asian places I have dined seemed to be owned by Malaysians like Olympic Cafe, Eat Lah and Ong Ong buns!

My visit to Mercato Mayfair was mainly because of the location being a church turned food hall!

At the entrance there is a delicatessen and when you go inside you are greeted with a hall of tables with the eateries on the side.

On the ground floor, there is a pasta bar and pizza and upstairs you have the Asian eateries.

Upstairs, I was struggling to choose between the ramen or the Malaysian joint but in the end I decided to have Malaysian fare mainly because the rice is visually striking and I can compare it to EatLah.

I didn't feel like curry so the lady was really nice to do me some chicken satays with their signature tricolour rice.

The food was served on a plate so I was confident I could get photos of it with the alter on the background and not dropping food on peoples' heads!

The owners were really nice and gave me a roast coconut drink which I had at home.

Overall, the chicken satays were tasty, they were sweet itself and the sweet peanut sauce gives it more depth.

The star of the show which was the rice, was my favourite especially the blue rice coloured by blue butterfly pea flower and the tasty yellow turmeric rice.

Also seen on their instagram, they also have green matcha rice and charcoal rice.

Definitely recommended but I plan to come back on a weekday when it is quieter.

Other photos of the church:

Squirty Egg custard Buns from Bunhouse (8unhouse)

Although Asia started the instaworthy dimsum bun trend, I feel that the quality of Chinese food is actually better in the UK in terms of quality, freshness and presentation.

Anyway, Bunhouse is famous for these squirty egg custard buns and the way the buns are presented.

Bun has been open for a while now and the menu has changed quite a few times.

In a way, I liked their initial bun menu but I can understand it was taken off as the filling are not your conventional bun fillings.

The buns that I liked were the Chicken bun (filled with chicken, pate, miso), Fish bun (filled with cod, prawn, chilli oil and basil), Red Choc Bun (filled with dark chocolate, pig blood and chilli).

The fish was definitely unique because they don't have buns filled with fish in Hong Kong.

Each bun is stamped with its flavour which makes them easy to distinguish as well as giving it a signature look as no other place does that.

Sadly, I also missed their rainbow bun in 2019 which was so pretty.

On my first visit, I had their signature custard bun and the lamb! 

Unfortunately, I got the bad one of the batch that day which didn't squirt and the base of the bun was stodgy as it wasn't steamed long enough.

At the bottom of the bun there was some weird doughy pile in the middle.

I could have told them but I decided not too and revisited another time.

Had it been another person, it could have been their first and last visit.

The second visit was much better, the bun was stamped better and you could see it was pure liquid custard in the middle.

Overall, the bun was tasty and not too sweet.

Also tried the lamb and beef which it is filled with quality chunks of meat inside and not crappy meat like in Hong Kong.

Overall, I would recommend visiting for the custard buns.

Hopefully they will serve the rainbow buns again.

As well as Chinatown, Bunhouse have just opened another branch at Hawley Wharf.