White pudding at Mary's Cafe

White pudding on the menu is scarce and not popularly known hence you will only find it at expensive restaurants or in Ireland!

Mary's Cafe is a rare gem in London that serves it in their Big Irish Breakfast hence the journey there to try it.

I ordered the Big Irish and changed the hash browns for bubble and I am so glad I did because I liked the way they put spinach leaves in it.

The bubble was nice and fluffy but the sausage was a bit too fatty for my liking as you can literally see a piece of fat in the sausage.

Moving on to the white pudding, I would say it is very different to black in terms of texture which is more bouncy and meatier with lots of spices.

It was like eating a meatloaf/stuffing.

Dessert ended nicely with the jam roll, it was similar to a suet pudding and delicious with proper custard.

Unfortunately, I didn't try them in the summer because they have jelly and ice cream.

Overall, a must visit because it is one of those old cafes that you can appreciate the decor and seating etc.

Jam roll pudding:

Mary's Cafe, Camberwell:

 

Breakfast was good at Today's Cafe

Today's Cafe is a cafe that you will always pass on the bus route as there is a bus stop right outside which makes it really convenient if you are getting the bus!

I only recently tried because I tried Elly's accross the road hence I wanted to compare and see how they fared.

The menu at Today's Cafe was very friendly and affordable, I was really impressed they even had Kippers and eggs on the menu, a very traditional but forgotten breakfast these days.

On the first visit, I had sausage, egg, tomatoes and everything was perfect.

The second visit, I had black pudding, egg and bubble where the bubble was quite traditional because you can really taste the cabbage.

Finished with a chocolate cake and custard.

The custard again was proper homemade and not those commercial carton ones but the cake was literally a slice of chocolate cake with chocolate sauce in the middle.

I was hoping that it would be a chocolate sponge or something but then the menu did say chocolate cake so I got what I ordered.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this cafe if you are in the area.

Breakfast and curry at Elly's Cafe

Elly's Cafe located in South Croydon has been noted for famous bacon and good fry ups in mylondon news so I decided to check it out.

Competition is fierce as there is another cafe just accross the road.

I visited twice for and had chicken curry on the first visit and a fry up on the second visit.

The portion of the chicken curry was huge as you not only get coleslaw but there is salad as well.

Visually, it was very impressive as you can see shreds of chicken as well as huge chunks of chicken.

You can really taste the herbs in it like oregano and thyme which gives it that English curry character.

Overall, it was filling but the rice was a little soft.

Returning another day for breakfast, I had the set which included black pudding.

It was a little disappointing as many of the items were a bit dry and fried for too long reflected in the dry barley in the black pudding.

It's been a couple of years since the last visit so went back to Elly's for some curry chicken and spaghetti.

The reason, I had spaghetti was the rice was too soft on the last visit.

Chilli con Carne with spaghetti would have probably been a better pairing which I shall have next time.

The chicken curry was a bit different to the last visit, the pieces of chicken were chunky and there were no shredded chicken pieces.

The taste was very clear this time, it reminded me of the curry pancake rolls at school and the onions so the curry powder used is probably the same one.

Fried chicken at The Spot

Fried chicken is fierce competition in London so quality is in general quite high.

Randomly walked past on my way to Today's Cafe and the chicken looked good in the cabinet ie freshly done so how could I not resist in getting one.

The chicken turned out really as expected, ie the coating was well seasoned and the chicken was uniformly coated while the chicken inside was moist.

Although, the joint was broken off in the bag!

The only complaint was the menu, they have not updated the menu so you get charged a little extra.

The Spot

South Croydon

In Arriva London

Mint Aero and Ice Cream Yorkie at Toby's Carvery

Toby's Carvery famous for roasts and Yorkshire pudding have got this Mint Aero and Ice Cream Yorkie which is basically a Yorkshire pudding with ice cream and mint aero chocolate balls.

Although it would seem unusual, it is similar to the Dutch baby pancake which is a huge American popover again which is similar to a Yorkshire pudding.

The one at Toby's is filled with soft serve ice cream which is a little different to ice cream and it didn't contain whipped cream as stated on the menu.

Despite, the slight difference in the description, it was quite nice because you have this creamy soft serve contrasted with the crispy and airy Yorkshire pudding with a chew.

You can imagine it like eating a huge crispy choux filled with soft serve.

I don't know if Toby's and Aero have something going on for them to include the Aero but I feel that it would simply be delish with some salted caramel drizzle on the soft serve because the aero mint balls and the soft serve feel like separate identities unless you crush them so that they mix better.

Proper ice cream would also taste better overall or perhaps I just don't like milky tasting soft serve.

Other improvements, I would like to see is clean forks because I am sure someone with impaired vision could see that the fork is soiled.

Jamie Oliver is back with Pasta Dreams

It's been a while since I last dined at Jamie Olivers, however you can still get his pasta kits and sauces at the supermarkets.

For Jamie Oliver fans, he is now back with Pasta Dreams in Soho but sadly I didn't see him!

It is collection and delivery only.

I haven't ordered yet because you need to scan their code which I find inconvenient, I would rather use a self service machine like KFC and then pay.

Here are the latest pictures and menu of the place.

Pasta Dreams by Jamie Oliver – Archer Street Chambers

9 Archer St, London W1D 7AX

Video:

https://www.youtube.com/R-O34CE4qUo