Dark Chocolate Malteser cake from Honesty Baked In by Hummingbird Bakery

Finally, we now have dark chocolate maltesers in the UK so we don't have to get the Austrailian version.

I have tried the Aussie version in 2011 but found it too sweet despite being dark and there was white chocolate in it as well.

The UK dark chocolate version is much nicer as it isn't so sweet and you can really taste the cocoa in the dark chocolate coating.

Dark Maltesers have taken over Hummingbird bakery for one day in South Kensington to unleash the dark side of people by dishing out free cakes with personalized messages reflecting our dark side such as eat with your mouth closed, I don't understand my job etc.

There were two cakes to choose from, a chocolate and a chocolate cardamon by 2021 Bake-Off finalist Crystell Pereira.

I opted for the chocolate so that I could see how their regular chocolate cakes taste like.

The chocolate cake was amazing, from the rich moist chocolate cake to the lovely chocolate coating.

Crosstown seasonal Nectarine and Cherry doughnut

Although Crosstown doughnuts are pricey, they do pay off because the texture and taste it good.

I got hooked on their doughnuts after trying the pandan one and the plain iced ones.

Expect a bready doughy texture for their doughnuts and bits of chia seeds which helps the doughnuts go fluffy according to the shop.

This time I got the seasonal Nectarine and Cherry doughnut which cost me a whopping 4.75!!!

I suppose it was really tasty and the filling was loaded with refreshingly tart nectarine puree balanced by the amazing fuscia pink sweet cherry icing.

Rhubarb lemonade at Pret A manger

It's been a while since I've last visited Pret A Manger. 

I was there on the hottest day because I needed to hydrate myself so got the rhubarb lemonade which is something I have been wanting to try for ages.

There are so many Pret  A Manger branches and I happened to be near Carnaby Street so visited the one on 9 Argyll St, London W1F 7TG.

I wasn't sure what to expect on the rhubarb lemonade but the taste was so refreshing and sharp with a great fizz.

£2.50 pizza deal at Taste Max Pizza

Competiton is fierce for Pizzerias that you will find many places offering 7" with two toppings from £1.50-3.50.

There was even a recent survey saying that pizza is now the most popular choice in the UK for takeaway beating the previously popular Chinese and Indian food.

At Taste Max Pizza which is an independant pizza joint at the heart of Surrey Street Market, they are offering 7" pizzas with two toppings for just £2.50 with a choice of thin crust or deep pan!

As a foodie, how could I not try.

On the first visit, I had the deep pan with anchovies and feta and on the second visit I had thin crust minus the cheese blend with blue cheese and spinach.

Both were to my liking especially the thin crust which was a lighter option great for an afternoon treat.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this place as their pizzas are good and I like their topping choices.

Taste Max Pizza: 54 Surrey Street, Croydon CR0 1RJ

The Ice Cream Project by Anya Hindmarch

On the hottest tuesday of the year with temperatures hitting as high as 40 degrees, it was time to chill out at The Ice Cream Project by Anya Hindmarch.

It was so hot that my phone was not coping that well either.

As crazy as her flavours, I ordered 14 scoops because I wanted to try all them and I am so glad I did that.

Expect the unexpected with flavours like salad cream, baked beans, Soy sauce, HP sauce, Heinz ketchup, Lea Perrins, Mayonnaise while on the normal side you will find Quakers, Frosties, Co Co Pops and Lyons syrup etc which are all Anya Hindmarch's favourite brands as well as British classics.

It costs £3.50 for two scoops so trying all flavours only cost me a mere £24.50 which was money well spent considering all these limited edition flavours and a memorable experience especially if you are a foodie.

Just a brief summary: soy sauce was my favourite as well as what other people have said.

All the savoury flavours were well executed because they were properly savoury and tasted like the actual flavour unlike other ice cream flavours were they have a good idea with poor execution.

The baked beans was unique as it actually contained baked beans which have a crunch to them as they are frozen.

This is possibly the first Western flavour with beans in ice cream as you will find lots of beans in Asian desserts.

Strangely, I felt that the Heinz ketchup tasted more like baked beans than the actual Heinz baked beans ice cream.

Another memorable one was salad cream which seriously tastes like salad cream however the mayonnaise was a disappointment as it lacked any mayonnaise taste to it but gives a mayo aftertaste.

Quakers, a sweet one was normal compared to the rest but I loved the way it was loaded with oats so it has a lovely mouthfeel with oats to chew on.

I feel that Quakers should launched a new line of ice cream loaded with oats and a non dairy oat based ice cream as well since they are oat specialists.

 

Quick tasting notes from the following flavours:

--Kikkoman Soy Sauce--Toasted sesame ice cream with umami-rich naturally brewed soy sauce

Great soy umami saltiness.

The kikkoman soy sauce ice cream was really nice.

There is so much potential with savoury ingredients like bacon,  salted caramel and miso etc.

The taste was really nice because somehow that saltiness was really moreish.

I'm glad they did this but why didn't they have Marmite. 

--Heinz Tomato Ketchup--
The ketchup ice cream tasted more like baked beans than the actual baked beans ice cream.

--PG Tips--

Great tea flavour as if you were drinking tea.

The PG tips ice cream was really nice especially if you are a pg tips drinker.

Tea in the form of ice cream however I felt that the tea flavour could have been stronger.

Heinz Mayonnaise

The mayonnaise ice cream was a bit disappointing as I didn't get any mayonnaise flavours coming through only on the aftertaste.

HP Sauce:

The HP sauce ice cream was on the sweet side but then it was made with dates and tamarind.

Heinz Salad Cream

The salad cream served its purpose because it actually tasted like salad cream with in ice cream form and a bit of sweetness.

Heinz Baked Beans

interesting experience with crunchy frozen baked beans.

This is probably the only Western ice cream with beans unlike the Asians and South East Asia where they like to add beans to desserts and ice cream.

--Quaker Rolled Oats

Loved this with lots of chewy oats.

The Quakers rolled oats was surprisingly good loaded with oats which give it a nice chew. It also gives it a healthy touch with oats. I feel that @quakeroatsuk should launch their own oat based ice cream made with oat based milk loaded with oats as a new line of Healthy non dairy ice cream.

Bird’s Custard

Another nice sweet ice cream with a creamy custard flavour

Kellogg’s Coco Pops

A tasty chocolate ice cream with crispy coco pops in it

Kellogg’s Frosties

A sweet vanilla ice cream with crispy frosted corn flakes. 

Lyle’s Golden Syrup

A very sweet ice cream with a honey kick

--Lea & Perrins

loved the taste of this tomato sorbet with a sharp spicy kick.

The lea & perrins ice was really nice and better than HP because it was like a savoury sorbet with tomato and a spicy kick.

--Polo

A very minty sorbet with crunchy bits of crushed polo.

The Polo sorbet was really nice especially if you like mint flavours. 

It was more like menthol sorbet with crushed crunchy polo pieces.

I would have loved it if they put those mini polos in for that extra instaworthy picture. 

The Ice Cream Project:

Pont Street, Chelsea
Monday - Saturday 10am - 6pm
Sunday 12pm - 5pm

Ethiopian food at Surrey Street Market

It's been a while since I had Ethiopian food so I was planning to have it again but couldn't decide where.
It just so happens that there were two stalls at Surrey Street market so I tried both of them.

One serves meat while the other is just veg.

The first day I tried Eritrea and Ethiopia Vegan food and the second day I had Elim's.

You got to love injera which is a bit like a pancake and pikelet merged together with a ferment sour taste which is refreshing and moreish.

Personally I liked the meat more because it goes better with the injera.

They had tripe on the menu but sadly it was not available.

Restaurant quality paella from the Paella Shack

To be honest, I don't really get food from stalls because food tastes the best when it is just served.

With stalls and street food, you have to find a place to sit down quickly and often disposable cutlery simply is just not as good as reusable cutlery.

Came accross the Paella Shack where they were serving Fideua which instantly caught my attention.

Fideua is something I usually have at the restaurants so seeing it right there I had to try it.

It is a dish that you can easily manage with a spoon and there is no sauce except for the aioli which means the noodles will not get soggy while you are trying to find somewhere to enjoy it.

As expected, the fideua was so good and full of seafood flavours infused all the way through, the mussels were fresh and delicious. 

The star of the show had to be the calamari which was soft and springy.

Fideua, the dish of the name and also the noodle are short strands of noodles that are similar to macaroni with holes in them.

The aioli was creamy and garlicky just like Lebanese Toum but thicker like mayonnaise.

Overall the fideua was amazing just like the one Chef Martin Currasco did for me if not better but not comparable.

After that meal, I was hooked and went back the next day for more since it was a weekly special.

The following week they had Arroz con Costillejas (pork ribs paella rice) which is a dish that originates from the Murcia region in Spain.

At Paella Shack, they have cooked it with pork ribs, red peppers, rosemary, garlic, smoked sweet paprika, extra virgin olive oil, saffron, tomatoes and paella rice.

Just like their paellas, it was really tasty and the pork ribs they used were fresh. 

As well as fideua and pork ribs, how could I not try their regular seafood paella, chicken paella and black paella so I went back again.
The seafood paella was how you would expect it to be infused with lovely seafood.

The chicken paella was a surprise, it was similar to Valencia paella with beans and cooked with the chicken, the rice was very flavourful.

Last but not least, the ink paella was just as delicious as the seafood but with a lovely cuttlefish flavour along with their calamari.

It turns out that Paella Shack is helmed by Xavier who runs the London Paella School so you can expect restaurant quality Paella which I definitely agree with.

You can definitely see for yourself as seeing is believing because other stalls I have seen, the paellas can be on the dry side especially the meat.

For more information, they put their latests updates on instagram: @paellashack and @ldnpaellaschool

Photos of the making of the ink paella kindly sent to me by Xavier:

Just when I thought I tried everything, they had cod and cauliflower paella which is ideal for fish lovers.

It also comes with apple aioli which is not something you would always get to try.

Although at some restaurants they serve squid ink aioli, peri aioli and stuff like that.