Thursday, November 24, 2022

Sainsbury's Pud You Dare Cafe experience

 As a foodie, I am always upset when traditional food disappears hence, I like to eat and document as many traditional foods like pie mash, English bakery and old school food as possible.

The humble Christmas pudding is also in danger, so I was elated that Sainsbury's are doing a Pud You Dare Cafe experience to put the pudding back on track.
Not only do they have traditional pudding but there is also a modern Caramelised Biscuit Pudding served with a spiced caramel sauce and a sprinkling of biscuit crumb.
The cafe is only there for two days where I went along and tried the puddings.
Although, I am not much of a Christmas pudding fan, it is a must during Christmas.
The Taste the Difference 18-Month Matured Christmas Pudding was seriously good and even better with double cream while the Caramelised Biscuit pudding had a modern twist without being too sweet yet decadent.
To appreciate the puddings, I opted for custard and double cream that was not spiked so that I could taste everything properly.
At the experience, you get to choose different sauces and topping with the pud complimented by drinks.
For drinks, I had the cranberry orange presse which was refreshing.
Overall, I was so glad I got to the cafe which was free of charge held at Hello Love in Holborn and for every attendee at the cafĂ©, Sainsbury’s will donate £3 to Comic Relief.

More info:
https://www.about.sainsburys.co.uk/news/latest-news/2022/10-11-2022-pud-you-dare
Opening Days: Thursday 24th & Friday 25th November 2022
Address: HELLO LOVE, 62–64 Southampton Row, London WC1B 4AR
Opening Times: 12pm – 7pm on Thursday 24th November, and 11am – 7pm on Friday 25th November
Cost: FREE
Booking: Via www.opentable.co.uk/r/sainsburys-pud-you-dare-cafe-london 




















Monday, November 21, 2022

Spaghetti bolognese and Lasagna at Classic Cafe

Classic Cafe has been around for quite some time and is still going strong!
I finally tried it one day when I ran out of things to try in Croydon.
The service is quite friendly or one might find it too friendly.
It is can open cafe so you can see all their offering in the cabinet, the spaghetti and sauces looked fresh as well as the lasagne.
On the first visit I had the spaghetti bolognese which turned out to be fantastic hence the return.
What was impressive about the pasta was that it they actually tossed the spaghetti in the sauce after reheating it unlike other places where they just slap the sauce on top and reheat it in the microwave.
The bolognese sauce was really tasty and the meat was good while the spaghetti had a good al dente texture and elasticity.
Also on that visit, I had the apple pie with custard.
The second visit, I had lasagne which also didn't disappoint as the cheese and sauce was balanced without being too heavy.
Will be returning for the jacket potato with cheese.









Classic Cafe Croydon
1019, Whitgift Centre, 21 N End, Croydon CR0 1UT

Saturday, November 19, 2022

Subway festive sticky toffee puddings

Quite a nice cookie with chewy toffee bits and you get that Subway cookie standard with the crunchy sugar crystals.
As well as toffee, I could also taste cocoa in it as well.
There were some dark bits that looked like dates but I wasn't quite sure.




Cake Forest opens in South Croydon

Cake Forest opens in South Croydon offering eggless cakes.








Sunday, November 13, 2022

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.







Thursday, November 10, 2022

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.

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