Comforting Pho at Rao deli

In UK, I have no fuss or complaints with Vietnamese food but I found myself avoiding it in HK because the quality and taste is so different from UK.
The ones I like in Hong Kong are Fuhn and Chua Lam's Pho because they taste just like the ones in the UK so basically North American Pho style.

Rao Deli is another decent place for pho in London with its hearty beef bro and slow cooked beef.

Went here twice because it was that good.
On the first visit, I had the tender boneless chicken thigh and on the second visit I had the original slow cooked beef and rare beef. 
Tried the broth first on the first visit which instantly got me hooked because of the strong herbs yet the broth was clear and light free from a layer of oil.
However I felt that the broth was different for the chicken and the beef which called for the second visit for the beef.

Both were equally as good and I must say their beef was impressive as I only eat good beef so polished all the beef from the bowl as it was tasty and fresh.

My favourite was the rare beef which was tender and delicious.

Vietnamese pho can get really spicy towards the end so I like to have my chilli served separate.

The tip is to add a few pieces of chilli and take them out asap when the broth has your desired level of spiciness.

Rao Deli:

304 Borough High St, London SE1 1JJ

Free 12" pizza at Pizza Union

Pizza Union started off in 2016 founded by Bobby Hashemi offering super-fast pizza and affordable pizzas.

Since then, there are six restaurants in total with the latest opening in Holborn!

They were giving away free pizzas from 11am to 3pm.

If it were not for this giveaway, I would not have known about this super fast and affordable pizza restaurant.

Despite the queue, I didn't have to wait long for my pizza proving how fast it was and there were plenty for tables to dine in as well which made it a successful giveaway.

It was a basic 12" pizza which was a good way of seeing how good their pizza was in terms of pizza base and Tomato Sauce.

I was impressed with their tomato sauce as it was punchy and the pizza base complimented it nicely as it was baked to perfection with a nice crispiness and chew to it.

After finishing my pizza, I browsed their menu and shocked to discover how affordable their pizzas were starting from 3.80.

Pizza Union:

ALDGATE ★

29 LEMAN STREET, LONDON, E1 8PT

DALSTON ★

14 KINGSLAND HIGH STREET, LONDON, E8 2JP

HOLBORN ★

1 NEW OXFORD STREET, LONDON, WC1A 1LW

HOXTON ★

145 CITY ROAD, LONDON, EC1V 1AZ

KINGS CROSS ★

246-250 PENTONVILLE ROAD, LONDON, N1 9JY

SPITALFIELDS ★

25 SANDY'S ROW, LONDON, E1 7HW

Breakfast at A&N Brothers Cafe

A&N Brothers Cafe is another greasy spoon located in South Croydon, there are not many on this street but I liked this cafe.

The staff were friendly and I would say the star of the show has to be the sauteed potatoes which are technically fried sliced potatoes.

They also have the rainbow cake which was quite nice.

 

Trullo vs Padella for Spinach Tagliairini with nettles, nutmeg and egg yolk

It's spring tis the season for nettle!
At Padella and Trullo, Spinach Tagliairini with nettles, nutmeg and egg yolk is served.

A stunning dish of tagliarini in green sauce topped with a runny egg yolk.

Padella and Trullo both belong to Tim Siadatan and Jordan Frieda who are the creators behind these two restaurants.

Trullo first opened in 2010 and then followed by Padella in the 2016 offering affordable pastas staring from £5.

I dined at Padella in 2019 when the basic pasta was £5 and now 2022, it has gone up to £10.

Anyway, my latest visit was the Spinach Tagliarini with nettles which is a seasonal pasta that can't be missed and I went to both Padella and Trullo to see which place fared better.

Interestingly, at Padella the dish costs £14 while it cost £13 at Trullo and now you will find that the prices of pasta at Padella level up with Trullo!!

Padella was my first stop for lunch and these green noodles did not disappoint, they were really flavourful and when you mix that egg yolk, you get a burst of saltiness as there are some salt crystals on the yolk.

After having a great afternoon went to Trullo for dinner.

Started with the Spinach Tagliarini with nettles, you could visually see more sauce on this but the yolk was smaller.

As for the taste, I felt that the Spinach tagliarini tasted better here than Padella because the flavours and saltiness were balanced and there was more sauce.

I was still hungry so I had Tagliarini with chopped mussels, chilli, garlic, and wild oregano.

To my surprised it tasted to my liking so I was really impressed and the taste was so moreish because of the lemon which was not stated on the menu.

However, it appears that it does contain Almafi lemon on their 2019 post on instagram.

The sauce was so good that I needed a spoon to finish the sauce and chopped up mussels.

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Free Food in Croydon

I was randomly in town and there was stall giving out delicious vegan food with a theme FOOD not BOMBS and forks not knives!

The carbs was really tasty with some hot sauce and I loved the vegetables.

Free plant based burger at the Tindle Sides pop up in SOHO

TiNDLE is a Singapore based chicken alternative which can already be found in Hong Kong.
They are finally in the UK offering free burgers for three days at a popup in SOHO.

The meat alternative is made of texturized soy protein and wheat gluten.

What's good about this alternative is that it can be cooked in different ways.

I went along to the popup and tried their burger.

The queue was fasting moving and I got some free merch as well.

Overall, the chicken alternative was not bad but I felt that the texture was a bit mushy and it is similar to the early meat alternatives like Seitan and gluten offered in Hong Kong where the texture is stringy and soft.

However, it tastes really good served in a burger with sauces.

New Rhubarb Strawberry shake and Strawberry salted lime lemonade at Shake Shack

I love the burgers at Shake Shack and the custards as well as milkshakes are amazing as well.

This time I went there for the new limited edition rhubarb strawberry shake which costs 5.65.

Strangely it was served in a paper cup and not a plastic cup hence the photo looks different to the product shot.

Anyway, I was impressed with the taste because you can really taste the vanilla and real strawberries however I was a bit disappointed with the lack of rhubarb tartness.

Apart from that it was good.

Also on the menu I spotted this interesting Strawberry salted lime lemonade.

I sampled a bit but felt that it lacked a salted lime punch to it but you could taste the lovely strawberry and sweetness.