SMACKS hamburger debuts in South Croydon

I was really excited about the opening of SMACKS in South Croydon because it looks so colourful and catchy.

They finally opened in late July serving burgers with an extensive menu of burgers, wings and desserts.

SMACKS specializes in freshly ground PRIME ANGUS beef burgers and freshly prepared Fried Chicken everyday.

Since then, I have been a frequent customer so I feel really bad I still have not shared it on here yet.

Starting with the basic hamburger which is super comforting and satisfying.

I liked the way, they have grilled it so that it is slightly crispy on the surface but still moist in the middle and then you have generous ketchup, mustard and onions just like McDonalds.

So to summarize, it is like a perfect McDonalds hamburger but if not better.

On another visit, I tried their breaded wings and BBQ wings which also surprised me again because of the quality and price.

Again, you can see the wings have been fried to perfection.

Fish fillet:

Delicious fish burger dupe.

The fish burger is bigger than u know and you get a whole slice of cheese.

The sauce and fish tastes just the same so definitely yummy. 

Paid 4.49!

As well as the wings and burgers, their fries are fab hence I love coming to SMACKS for their fries when I need to test out some sauces.

Desserts are just McDonalds style with apple pie and soft serve.

Apple Pie:

To summarize, I can't recommend this place enough because they are that good and all visits have almost been consistently good.

Cuttlefish tagliarini at Trullo

Trullo is one of those restaurants where you have to check their menu every day to see if there is anything exciting and seize the opportunity which does not guarantee success because they are always fulled booked.
Over summer they had these amazing chilled soups like almond and cherry, almond and melon but sadly I didn't make it as I didn't want to waste a visit if it was full.
I had a back-up restaurant but it went according to plan which is typical.
I have been eyeing this cuttlefish tagliarini which has been on the menu for a few weeks now.
Before I tried it, I was wondering if it was going to be black from the ink but it wasn't.
Anyway, it was definitely worth my visit as you can really taste the fishyness of the cuttlefish in the pasta and the cuttlefish pieces were so soft from being slow cooked.
Some cuttlefish pieces were a bit mushy but still nice.
Also from the close ups, it makes me wonder what those hairy bits are in the close up being herbs or cuttlefish.
It turns out that they are anchovies which worked well wonderfully as you have that cuttlefish fishyness and then you get the saltiness from the anchovies.

Again, a spoon is needed to finish the lovely sauce.

Previously, I dined at Trullo for dinner in the summer where I had the Spinach Tagliarini with nettles. You could visually see more sauce on this but the yolk was smaller compared to Padella.

As for the taste, I felt that the Spinach tagliarini tasted better than Padella because the flavours and saltiness were balanced and there was more sauce.

I was still hungry so I had Tagliarini with chopped mussels, chilli, garlic, and wild oregano.

To my surprise it tasted to my liking so I was really impressed and the taste was so moreish because of the lemon which was not stated on the menu.

However, it appears that it does contain Almafi lemon on their 2019 post on instagram.

The sauce was so good that I needed a spoon to finish the sauce and chopped up mussels.

The only thing I was not impressed was the optional but not so optional donation and if you are a walk in customer it really depends on who serves you that determines whether you get to dine there or not.

Batchelors Limited Edition Pigs in Blankets

It's Christmas soon and everything is pigs in blankets.
Obviously with pigs and blankets it would be sausages and bacon.
Batchelors already have bacon noodles so I would expect the pigs in blankets to taste similar or have something added.
The limited edition noodles definitely did have a strong smokey bacon smell and a corresponding taste.
On top on that, you can taste some thyme but luckily it was not too strong.
There was supposed to be some dried pieces of sweetcorn and mushroom, but I couldn't find any.
Overall, I am biased, so I liked it and if you like the bacon noodles by Batchelors, then you are going to like this.

Fresh dumplings from Baxfood Caribbean

On my first visit to BAXFOOD Caribbean I was captivated by the filled dumplings.
You can choose Jerk meat or tofu mushroom so I got the tofu mushroom as not many places offer that.
Basically it was like a savoury donut sliced in half and filled with Jerk.
It was really tasty with the tofu puffs and mushrooms but I found it quite spicy.

I managed to get to sample their festival and oxtail with butterbeans which were so delicious.

Somehow I had a craving for their dumplings so went back.

Most dumplings that you see are already fried and sitting there until you buy them.

I was really surprised that the dumplings are fried to order at Baxfood.

Having them straight from the fryer tastes very different.

They are soft when they are hot and as they cool down they have a chew to them, this time I had it a non Jamaican way with melted Camembert and it was so good.

The dumplings on their own taste savoury and there is a unique taste that I cannot describe but it was nice.

Baxfood Caribbean

1 Whytecliffe Rd S, Purley CR8 2AY

It was really tasty with the tofu puffs and mushrooms but I found it quite spicy.

Pandan frappe from Panadera Bakery

There are so many pandan desserts but not much options on drinks so when I found out that Panadera had a pandan frappe I had to try it.
Overall, it was a really nice drink but the only thing I didn't like was the syrupy buko (young coconut) at the bottom.
It would be nice if they had some huge sago pearls to replace the buko.
Price paid: 5.20

A touch of Laos in London

I have had my fair share of soup noodles and salads by Celebrity and model Laotian Chef Justin but Pad Mee Lao was new to me hence the visit to Lao Cafe in London.
Laotian noodles are described as intensely sweet and salty.
The flavours were interesting and for me it was love and hate at the same time.
They are moreish and delicious because they literally taste like rice noodles tossed in undiluted bovril complimented by the aromatic caramelized onions but then you have this annoying intense sweetness to follow.
Somehow, that intense taste like bovril keeps you going and then the sweetness tells you to stop!!
I found the noodles a bit too al dente for my liking but you get used to it.

The pork in the noodles was some sort of roast pork belly or pork neck with crispy bits.
You can choose from a choice of pork, vegetables or prawn but strangely beef is not offered.
There are meant to be beansprouts / bean shoots and carrots but I opted without because I don't like them.

For the adventurous, why not add ant eggs to your Laotian Curry.

The Laotian curry was the star of the show because I love the strong dill and Thai basil along with the mixed mushroom medley like wood ear fungas.

The ant eggs were interesting, not my cup of tea but I tried.

You could see some of the developed ants which looked like wasps but it turns out that they use the weaver ant species.

Unfortunately, I visited this restaurant again a year later and the noodles have gone downhill, there was no longer this love/hate sensation and it tasted just like those noodles you get from the Chinese Restaurants.

60 Chandos Pl, London WC2N 4HG

Heinz black garlic mayo

 I love coloured foods especially when it is something unsual like black, purple blue etc.

Heinz have launched a limited black garlic mayo for halloween which comes in three designs: purple, white and orange.

It was hard deciding between the white and purple but in the end I got the purple.

The black garlic mayo is made from black garlic which makes it special.

For those that have not come accross black garlic, it is a black from the fermentation process but if you look closely it is not truly black but a dark brown colour.

The texture of it is soft, mushy and tastes sweet, there is a twinge of sourness and there was an interesting feeling on the mouth because of the pH levels. 

Similar to roasted garlic, there is still a garlic odour and smell.

Tasting the sauce on its own, I felt that there was not much real black garlic as it wasn't that sweet and punchy but you still have a creamy garlic taste to it with a fine gritty grainy texture.
I decided to pair it with some purple potatoes like you do and it was really tasty.

It was also good on pizza, hotdog and fries.