Stargazy pie at The Barley Mow by Cubitt House

It's National pie week so I am truly excited because pies get justice.

There's East London style served with mash and liquor or just pie with mash and gravy.

I've have been meaning to try the Stargazy pie which is rare these days.

A Stargazy pie is made with sardines, eggs and potatoes with sardine heads poking out the top edges of the pie as if they were gazing at stars.

What brought me to the Cubitt House chain was their Stargazy pie launched for pie week which I feel uncomfortable addressing as a Stargazy pie because the ingredients are different.

I suppose it makes sense for Cubitt House to use langoustines as this is one of their offerings on the menu.

But anyway, I still had to try it even though it is filled with chicken and Dublin prawn for the sake of it.

I was definitely the first person to order this as they staff were literally just given briefings about it.

£25 is a bit expensive but it delivered, the pie, mash and gravy were all good but just not the name.

Starting from the garlic mash, it was green with finely chopped grassy green spring onions and it was tasty and well balanced in terms of flavour, garlic and butter whilst having a potato taste.

Next the star of the show, the pie, although the pastry was quite thick and heavy, the chicken and Dublin Bay prawn were good and the pastry was crisp and soft on the inside and somehow it felt like there was some suet in it.

Even though, the pastry was quite thick for a small pie, there was quite a lot of chunky chicken and what you would expect from a langoustine so not much cavity in the pie.

The chicken filling was flavourful and it didn't really need the gravy but having the gravy took it to another level as it tasted like a lobster bisque gravy with some alcohol.

So overall, although it was pricey, all the elements didn't let you down.

As well as the fantastic pie, their restaurant menu upstairs is also worth checking out with lamb crumpets with anchovy mayo, pie mash with parsley sauce, deep fried oysters etc.

I also spotted some white strawberries which happened to be pickled and served with cheese.

The staff really made my day and let me try one.

The pickled strawberry taste was quite different to how I imagined it to be, it was not that sharp but sweet and sour like pickled plum.

Lush doughnuts at Donutelier by Roladin

Finally got my hands on these doughnuts from donutelier.
On my first visit, I could not make up my mind, on the second visit one of the doughnuts I wanted were sold out.
Managed to get what I wanted today!
Donutelier by Roladin specializes in these fancy doughnuts and they work!
I think what makes these good doughnuts are the doughnut base which you will find quite different to other doughnuts.
The texture is firm with a chew like an iced bun base but with some softness which goes really well with the fillings and toppings.
For simplicity I had the vanilla pecan which has icing on top and beautiful smooth cream. Inside there was silky dreamy custard.
As for the blackforest, I preferred it chilled as it was not too sweet.
Somehow, I felt that it should be garnished with a cherry and not a raspberry.
It was good how every part of the doughnut was flawless, from the doughnut base, filling, fruit/nuts to the amazing cream because some creams can be waxy or synthetic.
Last but not least, you won't be getting a greasy/oily donut!
Well done Donutelier.
I felt that my 6 quid was more well spent that something that was 4 quid that was not nice!
Definitely a treat to try!

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New Brunch options at M&S Cafe; eggs benedict/royale/shakshuka

On a recent visit to M&S Cafe, I was really pleased to see the new brunch options.

When all these years, many cafes having been serving eggs benedict and eggs royale, M&S Cafe have really missed the bandwagon.

Although, they are late in the game, nothing beats M&S quality especially when it comes to M&S muffins, salmon and ham etc.

The prices are affordable so I would rather eat here than because of the quality and taste.

The eggs royale was simply delicious especially that quality salmon which takes it to the next level even though I am already bored of eggs royale from having too much at other cafes.

Similarly, the Benny & Eggs were just as good depending if you are in the mood for ham.

They are also in the game with the trending Shakshuka which I found a bit acidic for brunch because of the tomato sauce!!!

As well as brunch, they also have the salmon roll which is not bad but it is a little messy to eat because the roll is rather crumbly in texture.

Scottish salmon and egg roll:

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Haggis all year round at Deeney's in Leyton

One can only think of Haggis when they think of Scots and Burn's Night but if you are craving for some Haggis, you can get your fix at Leyton where they specialize in Haggis cheese toasties and Haggis breakfasts.

As well as Haggis, they have it all like the Square sausage (Lorne sausage), potato scones as well as veggie haggis and Scottish Breakfast tea.

It was a really difficult choice but I thought I would save breakfast for the next visit and have the haggis cheese toastie and some extra sides.

Ended up choosing Macbeth over Hamish Macbeth because I wanted to appreciate the haggis but you can take it to the next level with an extra fried egg with the Hamish Macbeth which has bacon.

Also, on the side, I ordered a square sausage, veggie haggis and tattie potato scones with Scottish tea.

The haggis cheese toastie was seriously good as expected because the pairing of cheese and haggis is a match made in heaven, the mustard in it was a smart way of making it not so heavy but I didn't like the caramelized onions because I found them a bit sweet for my palate.

Tattie scone:

Square sausage:

To finish off, I had Scottish breakfast tea which is somewhat stronger than English Breakfast tea so it was a great way to wash down the toastie.

Overall, a great place to have brunch with more seating downstairs and female toilets were thoughtfully equipped for the ladies.

Deeney's:

Caribbean style pie mash at Marjays

[Self paid review]

Pie Mash comes from East London and there are not many places serving now because it is losing its charm.

As a foodie, I have to try anything pie mash related.

Enter Marjays which is pie mash with a Caribbean touch, similar to Pie Republic which is inspired by Indian dishes.

The creations are endless, imagine having Chinese or Thai inspired pie mash.

Clearly, it was going to work at Marjays because there are jerk patties which is also pastry.

The menu is simple, you choose a pie and pair it with creamy/garlic mash, steamed veg, gravy and plantains.

I just felt like pies that day so chose the goat curry and jerk chicken.

To summarize, the pie pastry was really good, it was light yet baked to perfection with a lovely crust.

The curry goat is one that I would really recommend because the chunks of goat were tasty and there were pieces of goat shin which is soft and gelatinous in this rich curry sauce.

The jerk chicken was also nice with soft and supple pieces of chicken but I found it a little too spicy for my palate and some sauce in the pie would be good.

It is probably better to get the meal because £5.99 for a pie is quite pricey and £6.99 for the curry goat pie.

The only gripe is that Marjays is located in Boxpark so you have to download that annoying app to get in to buy the buys.

Limited edition stacked with flavour pancakes with chocolate hazelnut spread at M&S Cafe

Pancakes are getting boring but I liked the way they had it at M&S Cafe because it looks like an inexpensive treat chocolate hazelnut spread and strawberries.

As a foodie, it was a good way of trying out their Chocolate hazelnut spread without buying it and the pancakes buttermilk pancakes.

The pancakes were a little burnt and dry but compensated by the chocolate hazelnut spread.

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New ham hock & chicken pie and Rhubarb custard cake at IKEA

Made a random visit to IKEA and it was a fruitful one because they had some new dishes as well as a new cake.

On offer was chicken schnitzel with katsu curry sauce, ham hock & chicken pie and the new Rhubarb custard cake.

I went straight for the ham hock & chicken pie without hesitating paired with mash and the rhubarb custard cake was a bonus.

To my surprise the pie was actually far better than I anticipated because I usually go at the wrong time when food is not at its best.

The pie pastry was crisp yet light and the ham hock fillings was seriously tasty and creamy.

Again, I was surprised that the mash was good as well because it was not too buttery yet had a balanced potato taste.

Finished with the cake which was a bit too sweet but you could really taste the sweet custard in the filling and the rhubarb compote layer was the star but there was not enough of it.