Trying out a pasta bar wannabe at Tooting Market

Another pasta bar in South London.

I was drawn there by the name vermicelli because I thought vermicelli was angel hair pasta (capellini) but they didn't have it.

Anyway, tried vermicelli 3 ways which was a tasty pasta in a strong umami tomato sauce.

There was a dash of black pepper, sun dried tomatoes and basil leaves to garnish.

Overall, it was nice but I didn't like the black pepper.

Coconut pancakes from Khanom Krok, Borough market

Khanom Krok has been at Borough market for years serving Thai food and coconut pancakes so still going strong.

It is best to get the pancakes when they are making a fresh batch obviously so it is nice and hot.

The reason I mentioned this is because they come in portions of 8 but when there isn't enough pancakes for a portion, you will get those remaining pancakes and the fresh batch to make up a portion so the ones waiting while the new batch are being made get cold.

I was lucky to get a fresh batch and overall they were quite tasty and not too sweet and heavy on the coconut milk taste.

Greek Food at The Olive Grove, Cambridge

Randomly dined here for Greek food because I didn't feel like Korean or Chinese which seems a majority on that road.
The menu offering was interesting as it had risotto.
Started with the grilled octopus which was served on this delicious silky fava bean puree, however the grilled octopus itself had a funny taste and it seemed like those vacumn packed ones.
The lemon risotto was interesting as it was refreshing but it did get heavy as you ate more.

As well as food, they offer many Greek snacks like crisps and drinks for people to purchase.

Dinner at Côte Brasserie

A nice French brasserie which I found a bit commercial however the French onion soup was really good.
The Breton fish stew was too strong on the tomato and lacked that bouillabaisse vibe to it.

Dinos hotdogs opens at Boxpark in Croydon

Dino's a brand of hotdogs inspired by the streets of Brooklyn available in glass jars as seen in the supermarkets have opened a hotdog stall in Croydon.
As a foodie, I had to try them out.

On the menu, you can go for classic or global.

It really really nice that they let me customize the hot dogs.

I started off with some basic dogs with some of their special sauces like chimmichurri mayo, piri piri.

Then I also had a Classic to appreciate simplicity.

To summarize, I really like their dogs because they are tasty and the classics are the best especially with sauerkraut, mustard and ketchup.

The chimmichurry mayo was a bit too creamy for my liking, I was expecting the sauce to be green like pesto consistency.

The piri piri glaze turned out to be another good one but the piri mayo wasn't needed because it was too creamy.

Last but not least the bun, it was nice and soft but I prefer the basic white ones because I find brioche too sweet.

Awful service for a Joyful hot chocolate at Half Million

There used to be a few branches of Half Million but now only one on Oxford Street remains.
I rarely complain about rude service but this place was so bad that I would not return.
I have been meaning to try this place for hot chocolate so did that one afternoon.
The barista could obviously see I was taking pictures of the making of this hot chocolate.
Anyway, I was taking a picture of the hot chocolate and even though that person knew I was taking a picture, that person moved the drink towards me which I couldn't quite understand.
As a foodie, I asked what the lighter coloured chocolate pieces were and that barista was really snappy about it and answered white chocolate which does not look like it.
Definitely not Joy of Chocolate as advertised.

Italian AMICI at Ashford and French bluewater

Went here for some Italian fare.

Originally, I wanted to order the Tagliolini al Nero con Granchio, Nduja e Gamberi £17.95 which is 

Black squid ink pasta with spicy Nduja, king prawns, crab meat, in white wine, garlic, and topped with crispy calamari.

They said it was really spicy because of the Nduja but I only wanted that dish because of the squid ink pasta so they suggested getting this other seafood pasta instead.

In a way, I regretted not asking if they could just use squid ink pasta for the other dish.

Anyway, also had this other buccatini dish which was also in a tomato based sauce.

Overall, I felt that both pastas tasted really similar as the tomato base was the same.

To be fair, their lunch time sets are really good value with the starters and dessert options.

Apart from that, it was a really nice restaurant and the ambiance and setting was good.

AMICI ASHFORD

30 North St, Ashford TN24 8JR