Lunch at Central Cafe - Croydon

Central Cafe is another cafe in East Croydon serving breakfasts and roasts, however the location can be convenient or inconvenient depending on where you are coming from.

It is located at George's Walk which seems to be cornered off.

Anyway, finally paid it a visit as I was nearby where we had roast lamb and spaghetti bolognese.

The roast lamb was just your standard but the meat was a bit dry.

The spaghetti bolognese was much nicer even they it was microwaved but it garnished with some nice red onions and herbs.

You can see the spaghetti has been sitting there for a while as the strands were dry and stuck together.

They used to have Lahmacun on the menu but sadly it was not popular hence it was stopped.

Central Cafe
 47 St George's Walk, east croydon CR0 1YL

Daily Specials at Lamar - Best lemon chicken with roasties

Lamar Grill is relatively new to West Croydon where they specialize in kebabs and wraps.

Finally paid it a visit but not for their kebabs.

I think it was a Sunday I went and they had daily specials the counter where you can pick and choose what you want.

They don't seem to do daily specials anymore as it wasn't available on a recently visit but I had chicken thigh, potatoes and some rice.

I was bowled over on how delicious it was because the chicken had an amazing tangy lemon taste and the chicken tender coated in a crispy herbed coating.

The potatoes were also fantastic, similar to English roasties and the rice was fluffy and taste.

Would love have this again, but it is subject to availabity and daily specials are quite random so I do try to make and effort to try thing when I see them rather regretting.

Lamar - fresh sharwama & falafel

27 London Rd, Croydon CR0 2RE

Braised Pork Rib Noodle soup at YeYe Noodle and dumplings

Wen't here randomly which is located in a small lane.

A tiny joint yet it was packed with seating upstairs and downstairs.

I was glad to be seated downstairs which is more spacious.

Ordered the Braised Pork Rib Noodle soup which is basically a slab of ribs on hand pulled noodles.

The star was the meaty ribs but it was not that fresh or over cooked because the meat was quite dry and felt like it had been braised for days while the broth was rather bland.

Overall slightly better to other poor quality meats in HK, the meat actually came off the bone cleanly.

If you are used to crap meats then this would probably be heaven!

Ye Ye Noodle and dumplings

14 Artillery Psge, London E1 7LJ

A special trip for the jellied egg at Maison Francois

As a foodie, how can one not visit Maison Francois.

Maison Francois is a modern French bistro near Old Bond Street which recently got recommended on the Michelin guide.

I was there specifically for two things and that was the oeuf en gelée £10 and the flat-bread with moules marinière £12.

When the oeuf en gelee arrived, it was simply stunning in every angle.

The oeuf en gelee is a jelly dome made with soft boiled egg, beef tea, smoked tongue and herbs according to their instagram.

It was visually perfect, the herbs, smoked tongue cubes, and egg was beautifully arranged to set. 

I know it sounds silly, but I had to do a video of slicing the egg and you only have one shot to get it right.

Putting my knife into the egg, it sliced beautifully with vibrant yolk coming out.

Next, was indulging in this beauty.

The aspic beef tea jelly was so moreish melting in your mouth along with the creamy egg yolk and tasty smoked tongue cubes.

Then you have the refreshing herbs that give it a nice ending.

You can really taste that chevril which has so many flavours coming out of it like Thai Basil and aniseed. 

Overall a must when ordering and best not to share.

Finished with the moules marinière which is pillowly flatbread topped with a generous amount of mussels.

Everybite was heavenly with soft and tender mussels and crisp chives however the flatbread was a little soggy in the middle.

Saying that, it was not too burnt compared to their insta pictures.

Apart from that, this was another beauty as where else can you find flatbread with fresh mussels.

Maison Francois:

34 Duke Street St James's, St. James's, London SW1Y 6DF

Possibly the best Himalayan dumplings in London at House of Momo: Dalston and Brixton

Every country will have some sort of dumpling in their cuisine.

The Nepalese have dumplings called momo usuall filled with chicken which looks similar to Shanghai Xiao Long Baos.

I have had my fair share of Nepalese dumplings which revolve around steamed or pan fried dumplings served with hot sauce.

At House of Momo they serve a good variety of dumplings and there was one particular one that comes in curry sauce.

First you choose the dumpling, then how it is cooked and then if you want it with curry sauce.

I went for the cheese and veg dumplings, steamed then fried served in curry sauce with some extra Thukpa noodles.

On paying the guy with cash, I was given the wrong change.

While I was waiting for my food, I could hear noodles and rice being cooked which sounded like the stir fries in the Chinese takeaways but with much more effort as it was louder.

When the dumplings came, they did not disappoint. 

I tried the dumplings first and inside, it was filled with delicious melted gooey cheese tasting like cheddar.

The curry sauce that it was in was light which really worked as it did not steal the show from the dumplings and it was not spicy.

The thukpa noodles on the other hand were disappointing and the broth was nothing like urban yak.

Went back again for the chilli noodles and requested it without the sauce as it would be too spicy.

It was really nice of them to accomodate the request and served the sauce separate.

Update 2024:

You can now find them at Brixton Village.

The taste is the same but the sauce is runnier compared to Dalston and the rice is laced with MSG!!

Nepalese Thukpa.
Very different to the other ones I have tried in terms of the broth but still delicious.
The broth was very strong and salty like soy sauce with burnt spring onions which give it that aromatic taste along with garlic.
I loved the julienne crunchy cabbages and the chicken which was crispy on the edges.
The other thukpas I have tried are usually lemony and this wasn't.