Lilac dim sum romance at Baoziinn 人民公社

From my dining experience, dim sum has always been good in the UK and Baoziinn is one of the good ones that I highly recommend.

I feel that they are consistent in general and the food served is always presentable as well as fresh.

Baoziinn actually specializes in dumplings and meat on skewers as well as Northern Chinese street food.

Moreover their colourful dim sum is another winner.

The impressive thing is that their food tastes amazing without the use lard or MSG.

I don't know even where to start because I tried their dumplings, wontons and dimsum and everything was bang on.

Just like a Michelin inspector, I visited the restaurant several times as well as their foodhall outlets and all visits were good.

My first visit was Soho where I had the mix and match dim sum, the staff were really helpful with  advice on my dim sum choices.

If only the quality of dim sum and food on average in Hong Kong could be as good as UK.

Most dim sum in Hong Kong does not even pass the chopsticks test, what I mean by that is that they disintegrate when you pick them up with chopsticks or they stick to the steamer and the skin breaks.

I find dim sum in HK too oily that once you've had one you can't finish the rest and you end up bloated all day.

The steamers in Hong Kong are so dirty that it really affects the taste of the dim sum as the stench really infuses in the dim sum when it gets steamed.

At Baoziinn, I had no trouble eating dim sum to myself!

Looking at the steamers use, they were spanking new and not soiled with oil.

My second visit, I went to London Bridge, again the same brilliant consistency and the staff Andy and Ken were really welcoming!

Food did not disappoint so I decided to check out their outlets at Canary Wharf and Market Halls Oxford street to see how the quality was, again the dumplings and wontons were cooked to perfection.

Moving on to the taste of the food with dim sum first.

I purposely tried the lilac and purple ones because who would be as crazy as me to choose that combo for the shot.

The prawn and sweetcorn shaomai was simply delicious because of the bouncy prawns.

It was so good I ended up trying the shaomai platter which was colourful and you get to try other flavours like chicken and mushroom which was amazing.

Visually you can see how good their steaming technique is from the shaomai, the wrap is still clearly defined with folds and folds and not mushy or soggy like some other places.

Most vegetable dumplings are bland but their dumplings were extremely tasty with juicy and colourful vegetables inside.

Last but not least, the baozi were fluffy filled with tasty filling.

The soy beef with sweet potato noodles was quite unique and flavourful.

Moving on to the dumplings and wontons, I was also blown away by its quality, both of them were made with quality and fresh mince, again the dumpling and wonton skin were wrapped nicely and did not break during cooking.

To summarize, this is the place to go for quality food and a nice environment.

Look at how clean their steamers are and how crisp and dry the steaming paper is compared to Hong Kong!

 

JÖRĐ Nordic plantbased oat milk popup cafe

Visited the Jord popup cafe over the weekend for brunch!

Finally tried their oat milks which I always see at the supermarkets.

It was really nice of them to let me try the drink on its own so that I could really taste it properly.

The original tasted just like regular milk but not as smooth.

The vanilla was impressive as it was flavoured but not sweetened meaning it can be used in so many things without adding to the sweetness.

As well as drinks, Jord Cafe have showcased well how it can be used in pancakes, smoothies and oats.

I was so happy paying for the 7.50 price tag which got me a latte, salmon pancakes, bamboo reusable cup, bag and coupon for a carton of the drink to try at home.

Available until oct.

{self paid}

Vegan vegetarian fix at Govinda

Discovered Govinda while I was at Oxford Street, it is one of those side streets that you would take to Leicester Square.

Govinda serves vegetarian and vegan Indian thalis, salads and sweets at really friendly prices.

It is really interesting, there is a guy there who is some sort of security that stops people using the toilet I guess.

Anyway, there was no hesitation trying this place because of the friendly prices reflected in the queues.

I liked the canteen style where you can see all the lovely lassis and drinks at the cabinet and the curries, then you have the sweet and cakes near the till.

Buttermilk is a rarity so that was the first item I placed on my tray.

Moving on to the mains, it was tempting to get a Thali but I decided to have a light lunch and had the creamy paneer and yellow rice so I could leave some room for dessert.

On a second visit, I had the berry lassi.

The creamy paneer with peas and rice was simply delicious and comforting, the curry paneer was soft and tasty without any heat in this delicious tomato based sauce accompanied by the fluffy rice.

Moving on to the drinks, the buttermilk is an acquired taste, it is hard explain how it tasted but it was savoury spiked with spices.

The berry lassi was very soothing but rather sweet with bits of blended berries in it.

As for the cake, the cake part was moist and rich but the frosting was too heavy for my liking.

Overall, another option for a comforting quick fix when I am in the area.

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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