Francesinha at Three Lions, O farol and the supermarket ready meal version

If you like gravy, bread, cheese and ham then you would probably love the Portuguese Francesinha which is an overloaded sandwich drenched gravy.

My first and best Francesinha led me to Three Lions at Nine Elms, an unassuming restaurant that is Portuguese.

I was quite shocked it was priced at £18 but found out why when it arrived.

There was too much meat to cope with, but it explains why it costs £18 as there are two quality steaks inside as well as the sausage and ham shown on the plate with fries as I put them aside.

Overall, I really enjoyed it because I love cheese, bread and egg and the beer gravy sauce was fantastic as it was bitter and tasted like marmite.

The chips they served were decent house cut chips and not the ones bought from suppliers.

Soaking the chips in this sauce was simply divine.

I appreciate the tasty cheese they used and not tasteless chewy mozzarella.

Francesinhna is so popular that you can buy frozen ready to bake versions at Portuguese supermarkets.

I actually made a sandwich swimming in gravy that I posted which is how I found out about Francesinha from a Portuguese follower.

The next restaurant was O'farol priced at £12.

It was nice but the beer sauce was not as rich as Three Lions and the cheese was tasteless while the fries were cold.

It's not the first time I've dined at O'farol because their fries are usually hot.

Anyway, although I do not recommend the francesinha, their octopus, seafood and lobster rolls are brilliant.

Frangus Francesinha moda do Porto.

This is a ready meal version of the Francesinha which is a sandwich filled with meat and sausages topped with melted cheese, beer sauce and a fried egg.

I believe I followed the instructions, but the bread turned out chewy and dehydrated so you are probably better off thawing the product to room temperature and then microwaving it for a few minutes.

Overall, I just didn't like it.

There are other brands as well so I might try them out.

Supa Ya ramen opens second ramen joint in Peckham

I discovered this TRADITIONALLY INAUTHENTIC ramen though a newspaper article which aroused my interest to go because of their crazy creations (Shown further down).

Somehow, I fell in love with their interesting pairings, the logo too because it is inspired by English Pot noodles and the name is also like Batchelors super noodles hence Supa Ya Ramen.

Even though it is not traditional, the ramen pictures look crazily good.

Luke started off serving ramen in his home and finally opened a joint in Sept 2021 located in Dalston (East London) on the high street.

What surprised me was how popular it was and their ramen proved it.

Now they have opened another branch in Peckham and I am so glad I went because they are serving the cheese burger ramen which isn't often on the menu.

Since I was there, I ended having the cheese burger ramen as well as the chicken.

Interestingly, the noodles were the same but the texture was a bit different, the noodles were softer in the cheese burger and the not so soft for the chicken was were softer later on in the meal after it was in the broth for a while.

Overall, the cheese burger fulfilled what I had been waiting for all along and it was definitely worth my visit.

I loved the fusion but the gherkins were a bit too sweet and more cheesy sauce would have been good.

The pickles from their beef ramen would have been good.

The chicken ramen is another popular thick with that rich golden broth but I found it a bit salty.

191 Rye Ln, London SE15 4TP

https://www.facebook.com/SuperBritishGirl/posts/pfbid0bLiVAeFYgcTdzz8BLgFgcnRSe2CXZCW3QtGshrHiadAMXVMdvSbfnRsrmi1ktjJl

Spending my pre Halloween afternoon at Beauty and the Feast in Purley

A few weeks ago, I spotted this girly pink and instaworthy cafe while I was on the bus so I went back one afternoon and gave it a try.

You are greeted with PINK and it's pink all over.

I went for a simple doughnut and cup of tea since I had plans after.

Overall, I had a fun time enjoying my short break while getting some reels for my socials and it didn't break the bank as my bill was only 4.50.

It is interesting they have their own cosmetic brand as well.

Will definitely check out their brunch someday as they do look captivating from their instagram.

Beauty and the Feast in Purley:

114 Brighton Rd, Purley CR8 4DB

Tasty by Greggs inside Oxford Street's London Primark

Earlier this year, Greggs opened their first Tasty by Greggs inside Primark in Birmingham and now they have opened another one inside the Primark at Oxford Street.

It is definitely a treat and a lovely retreat being able to get fresh cream eclairs which is a rarity these days as not many bakeries sell them and only larger Gregg branches have them.

The vibes at Tasty by Greggs are fun and instaworthy with a white phone booth, London Bus and a sausage roll swing.

Anyway, how could I not stop by for some treats especially the apple danish and tea!

Pret's Christmas Menu Eve experience

As a foodie and Pret fan, I was so glad to attend the Pret's Christmas Menu Eve experience which lets you try the Christmas menu which will be launched in Pret and Veggie Pret stores from Tuesday 9 November until the end of December.

The event was such a smart move by Pret so they can see which items will be popular picks and how people like them.

At the experience, you get four tokens to redeem one cold food item, one hot food item, a hot drink and one bakery item.

Christmas Eve Menu:

Pret's Christmas Lunch

- Christmas Lunch Baguette (Cold)

- Brie & Cranberry Baguette (Cold)

- Festive Falafel & Squash (Cold)

- Beet Wellington Baguette (Cold)

- Christmas Brunch Rye Roll (Hot)

- Pigs in Blanket Hot Roll (Hot)

- Hog Roast Macaroni Cheese (Hot)

- Creamy Mushroom Macaroni Cheese (Hot)

- Boxing Day Toastie (Hot)

Bakery

- Chocolate Orange Mini Loaf Cake

- Mince Pie

- Melvin Cookie

- Tiffin

Hot Drinks

-Macaroon Hot chocolate

-Gingerbread Latte

-Praline Latte

It was really hard making a choice because everything is something that you would want to try!

In the end I had the Pigs in Blanket Hot Roll, Brie & Cranberry baguette, Chocolate Orange Mini Loaf Cake and a Praline Latte.

To be honest, I liked them all, the Pigs in blanket hot roll was satisfying with pork sausages, bacon in a delicious mustard mayo sauce complimented by the sweet caramelized onions.

The Brie & Cranberry baguette was another amazing choice taken to the next level by the quality pistachios in it which goes incredibly well with the Brie and cranberry.

For sweet treats, it ended with a rich chocolate orange mini loaf cake and a praline Latte.

Overall, I was so glad to have attended this lovely experience which let me indulge on all these festive treats.

Pret Melvin the Snowman Gingerbread:

This is not new as it came out in 2022.

I didn't have any expectations for this but it was nice because the gingerbread cookie base was not too sweet yet had a proper gingery kick.

Coupled with the icing, it tasted good.

The texture was too my liking as it was not rock hard like teething biscuits but a little bit soft that you can bend it without snapping it.

#ssgpret

Ackee and saltfish

Ackee is everywhere in the Jamaican cuisine so how could I not try it.

I decided to try the Ackee and saltfish as you are more likely to get chunks of it to taste whereas it gets mashed up in the patties.

Unfortunately, you won't find fresh ackee in the UK so it is likely that it came from a can.

My first impression of Ackee and I simply love it, the texture and taste is creamy which makes it versatile for anything so I plan to buy a can of ackee soon.

I would say the texture is really creamy and melts in your mouth.

Although ackee is a fruit and related to lychee, the texture is nothing like lychee with a really delicate texture.

It is so delicate that, it just breaks into smaller pieces when you run your spoon in the dish.

When I asked to see their ackee in the stew, I knew I had to get it because you could see it was still chunky and I did not regret.

New Pot Pie soup from M&S Cafe

For autumn, M&S Cafe have this new Chicken Pot Pie Soup (£4.95) which is basically soup with a piece of puff pastry on top.

It's not the first time I've had soup with pastry on top but coming from Marks and Spencers I had to give it a try.

When it came, it was literally a bowl of soup with a piece of puff pastry on top.

It was so different to the ones I've had before where the pastry is draped on to the bowl and baked in the oven.

Anyway, it was a little disappointing as the pastry and soup were like separate identities and a roll was missing which I found out when someone else ordered it.

The puff pastry was a really rigid hard one with a strong crisp texture, it was like a stale croissant that still holds its shaped reheated for that crisp texture.

The chicken soup I believe are the ones they sell in the chilled section but sadly I found it too salty.

Although I was disappointed with the chicken soup, I definitely recommended the turkey soup because I bought the chilled one and it tasted amazing.