Uzbek dumplings, handpulled noodles and rice at Oshpaz

It been a ages since I've had a good lamb pilaf so when I saw the Osphaz stall which offers Uzbek cuisine which is similar I had to try it out.

They specialize in plov which is similar as well as dumplings.

Oshpaz can be found at Seven dials serving dumplings while their rice stall will be at different locations with updates on their social media.

For dumplings I went to Seven dials while for the rice I went to their stall at Tower bridge.

I had the beef and chicken dumplings which are both made with cumin and onions.

Overall they were both nice with the chilli oil.

At tower bridge, I tried the vegetarian dumplings which were made of pumpkin and onions, they were on the sweet side but still nice.

Last but not least was the plov which was rice with chickpeas and grated carrots topped with chicken or lamb of your choice.

It was really tasty and the chicken was well flavoured and tender.

Will be back for more plov as they use my favourite long grain basmati rice which is soft and fluffy.

Everything comes with sour cream which is a bit like Turkish food with yoghurt.

Also had the Uzbek noodles at their food court stall, again they were a great surprise.

The handpulled noodles were so flavourful and the broth was interesting because you can taste tangy notes and then there is this chevril herbs which makes it taste like aniseed as well as strong notes of Thai Basil.

Above all that, the meat was fresh and tasty. 

The samsys were like crispy triangle puff pastries filled with juicy minced beef.

Greek and Asian style skewers at The Skewer Club

Spotted this joint accross the road while I was waiting for the bus.
At first it didn't captivate me because I thought it was going to be some Turkish style meat skewers but as a foodie it is always good having an open mind so I decided to have a look.

To my surprise, it was much more exciting than it seemed because they do skewers with an Asian Greek twist and it is a newly opened hence the current introductory prices.

The menu encourages you to build your skewer box with steps by choosing a skewer, a side, salad and then a sauce so I thought the meal was going to be served in a box.

I liked the menu choices as there was something good in every section that you would want to choose more than one option.

In the skewers section, you have Greek meatballs, squid and even halloumi and tofu for vegetarian all marinated with an Asian twist.

The sides ranged from fries, wild rice to couscous.

Then the salads options had so many options like Greek salad, Asian style slaw, fennel and carrot to salad leaves.

You can imagine how hard it was to decide because everything was so good so I got the tofu and squid skewers with wild rice and cabbage slaw.

Everything is served on their own so that the flavours do not get mixed which I really appreciate as you can taste each item properly.

Somehow, I was expecting it all to be in one box because of description skewer box or at least served on a tray or on a Japanese bento style tray with separate compartments.

I was also given the couscous and some sauces to try.

The skewers very tasty and didn't really need the sauces even though the sauces were really good.

The squid was perfectly grilled and flavourful but the tofu was too sweet for my palatte.

Next were the sides and salads which were a delight especially the couscous because you can really taste the dill, parsley as well as the kimchi which was not too spicy.

The kimchi tastes like the ones made by Onggi but I could be wrong.

I liked the wild rice as well because they use the long grain basmati rice and there were chunks of vegetables and cauliflower in it.

Last but not least, I loved their dips especially the caramelized onion and soy which had a nice umami kick to while the ponzu mayo was really refreshing yet creamy which would be good to go with their wonton chips and flat bread.

Will definitely be coming back for more.

Moving Mountains Plant Based Quarter Pounder

As a foodie with no specific diet, I love trying plant food as well as meat to see how they fare.

Moving Mountains were giving away free burgers so I had to get my hands on one as I have not encountered this brand before.

The queue was fast moving so I only had to wait 20 minutes and I got my burger before it rained heavily.

I liked the way you can add sauces yourself which let me taste how the burger is without any sauces.

It was a quarter pounder so I liked the thickness which makes it satisfying for a burger.

The texture was good as it was soft and not over cooked without any soy/beany aftertaste.

I felt that it was similar to the beyond burger but the texture and taste was better.

As well as the quarter pounder they also do sausage burgers and fish fingers which are served in IKEA Hong Kong they said.

In the UK, you can get them at most Supermarkets like sainsburys.

I was really lucky to get a sample which I cooked the very next day and just to how how big the patty is, I placed it in a standard size burger bun with purple cabbage and Hellmanns gravy mayonnaise.

Asian Bistro and Chai Goodwhich debuts at Covent gardens

While I was at New Row, I spotted this interesting bistro that serves Indian food with an Asian twist as well as bubble Masala Chai and bubble mango lassi.

On the menu, I liked use of Bao filled with Indian options like Chicken Korma, butter chicken 
as well as the conventional Katsu.

Then on the main menu, you have various curry choices serve with rice or salad.

 6 New Row, London WC2N 4LH

Zaatar and Gruyere cheese croissant from Chestnut bakery

I have always wanted to try a zaatar croissant as a lover of zaatar which led me to Chestnut bakery because they have them.

As well as Chestnut bakery, Bread ahead also have them but only at their Jeddah branch so Chestnut bakery was the solution.

Another way would be buying a good quality croissant and sprinkling zaatar on top.

The one at Chestnut bakery has gruyere cheese filling.

Sadly, the croissant was disappointing because the texture was stale even though it was heated at the cafe.

In terms of taste the cheese didn't quite come through.

Cherry bomb and Jacob dough-lordy doughnut from doughnut time

Doughnut time has all these wonderful OTT doughnuts that stop you when you go past but somehow I didn't really get the impulse to get one because of the flavours

I almost got the Jubilee ones because of the rhubarb cream glaze but somehow I missed out but didn't spot anything that captivated me lately until the cherry bomb.

The cherry bomb was unique because the doughnut was marble with red velvet layers and filled with cherry jam.

It wasn't a bad doughnut but I felt that the doughnut itself let it down as the texture was more like a soft bun that was not yeasty or bready.

Otherwise the jam filling was good and the red white layers were amazing.

Overall, I felt that it was overpriced.

Although it was not my cup of tea, I went back for the plain doughnut ring which was much more pleasing.

A bit pricey for 3.50 considering you can get other nice plain ones for less.

Also had the Jacob dough lordy which cost 4.50.

Again, you that same bready texture but the good thing was the doughnut base is not sweet so it goes well with the cream cheese frosting.

Plain sugar ring doughnut:

Jacob dough-lordy doughnut