ZENB Project and supper club

Found out about the ZENB project as they were giving away pasta for lunch at Old Compton Street so I went along and grabbed a bowl.
Their pasta is made of yellow peas and the texture and everything is just the same as pasta.

I managed to try some on its own and you really couldn't tell but if you ate a sufficient amount then you start to get a yellow pea aftertaste but who eats that much plain pasta on its own.

The pasta I tried was cooked with tomato sauce so if it was a blind test you couldn't really tell but it is more wholesome because it is similar to wholewheat pasta.

In the evenings, they are hosting a wholesome, hands-on, plant-powered dining experience by Lauren Lovatt executed by Chef Clement where I was lucky to get my hands on a ticket.

I returned for the supper club and it was definitely an enlightening experience cooking with less waste and discovering some of the possibilities that using as much of the whole plant can offer.

After arriving, the dinner started off with chit chat and vegetable crisps which were made by a food dehydrator.

Although I have tried these before, the ones at Zen B were delicately flavourful and moreish.

Next were the Juice pulp crackers with kimchi cream, picked roots and leaves.

The Juice pulp which people throw away after juicing can actually be made into tasty crackers.

I was surprised how tasty they were as well as the lovely crisp and crumbly texture compared to the sold hard commercial crackers you get.

The kimchi cream was also made from the water that was used to pickle the roots so all the flavours and ingredients were not lost.

The main course was Broccoli and Bean Pasta e Fagioli with miso sourdough breadcrumbs and plant-based Parmesan.

The star of the show was the ZenB macaroni which was just like your regular macaroni in terms of texture and in terms of taste, it was the sauce that it was cooked in.

The dish as a whole was really delicious because I liked the wholesome starchy beans and everything was really tasty.

The plant based Parmesan was crispy and actually tasted cheesy which was made from air dried tahini.

Last but not least was the stunner dessert which was beetroot and bean truffles.

It was so sinfully decadent yet not guilty because it was totally vegan and I love the way the pulses give it that silky melt in your mouth texture just like truffles which were dusted in carob powder.

Throughout the night dinner was accompanied by a mixture of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.

I chose the non alcoholic kombucha by Genie drinks and tried the fiery ginger and citrus.

Personally the fiery ginger was my favourite while the citrus was refreshing.

We were given all a box of ZENB pasta to take home:

https://zenb.co.uk/

Traditional afternoon tea for one at Tea and Tattle

Although I've had countless swanky afternoon teas, I do like traditional back to basics afternoon teas involving finger sandwiches, scones and modest plain Jane English cakes.
This led me to Tea and Tattle where they serve just that for £19 which includes a tea and lemonade.

It is a small tea room located inside a book store opposite The British Museum.

Inside the tea room, it is nice and cosy with a some carnations in a vase on each table.

Without further ado I had the tea set for one.

Strangely, I could hear the microwave in use a few times but what on earth for as there is nothing warm or hot to be served.

Anyway, my tea arrived first and then the food so the tea gets cold quickly.

For simplicity, they serve it without the strainer as it has already been strained.

It was the Earl Grey, but perhaps I had a bad batch because it was really different and peppery compared to other Earl Greys I have had.

Lemonade was the last to arrive or I would have taken a picture of it all together.

On the upper plate, I was served the following finger sandwiches:

Ham with Horseradish Mustard Mayonnaise and Tomato sandwich

Cream cheese, chives and cucumber

Tuna Mayonnaise cucumber

Egg mayonnaise and chives

On the lower plate was scones with strawberry black pepper jam/plum jam and carrot cake.

The sandwiches were nicely executed and tasted how it should and it was good that you could really taste the chives.

Moving on the scones, these were what captivated me because the way they are served is unique with a layer of clotted cream and the jam in the middle.

THERE WERE KNIVES & FORKS ON THE TABLE WHICH IS A NO NO.

YOU DON'T EAT SCONES WITH A KNIFE AND FORK WHICH I HAVE SEEN SEVERAL PEOPLE DO!

The scones were really good as expected while the cake just tasted like a supermarket cake.

Finishing off with the lemonade, I found it rather sweet yet it tasted like a sherbet lemon so it was quite comforting.

Overall, I would really recommended this especially the scones so I will probably come for scones another time with a different tea.

NOTE: This review is not affiliated or in anyway endorsed with Tea and Tattle but was self paid out of my pocket.

Tea and Tattle:

41 Great Russell St, London WC1B 3PE

Christmas menu at Subway - Tiger pig reviewed

For Christmas this year (2021), Subway has come out with a few festive items like the Tiger Pig, Brie Sub, Pigs in blanket pot and chocolate orange cookie.

Basically it is called a Tiger pig because of the bread.

Overall, there is nothing festive about it as they don't have any limited edition cranberry sauce or anything on those lines.

You get the same same salad and sauce choices so I had brown sauce with some spinach leaves because the rest of the ingredients don't really go well with it.

It was ok but I wouldn't say it was a top quality sausage that you want to finish the rest.

Popeyes finally opens in London, Westfield City in Stratford

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]

Popeyes at TOP Mall in 2018

Indian Street Food at The TAVA Shop

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.

The Tava Shop:

248 High St, Croydon CR0 1NF