Tea with the tide

A nice little tea room on Southend pier which was the one featured on Jamie and Jimmy's show on Channel 4.

I thought I was the only person experiencing unengaging attitude but from the google review two weeks ago there was a similar experience.

After ordering a cake, we were not given a fork or anything so had to ask for one.

The cake selection they had was evidently from Costco.

Surprisingly good meal at Giggling , Harpenden

Giggling Squid is one of those restaurants that you will remember because of the name.
The first time I came across it was in Wimbledon so just acknowledged it was a Thai restaurant and forgot about it because I don't often go there.
You will find them everywhere but not in Central London.
Finally tried them in St Albans and I got the best surprise.
It was much better than the proper Thai places.
I actually enjoyed it because the ambience was lovely, it had that English setting, the attire of the staff looked nice.
For drinks, obviously Jasmine tea is the best pairing but they had English tea as well and it was a proper loose leaf tea.
Food wise, it was really difficult to choose because everything was good so ended up getting the drunken ribs.
I know it is the usual slow cooked ribs with meat that literally comes off the bones but the sauce was just as amazing.
It was flavourful but the herbs and spiciness was not as harsh as the ones you get at those Thai places.
The morning glory was to my liking as well and not garlicky.
The puffed rice looked like...........
But to summarize, would definitely return as there are too many things to try.

Peach bubble tea from HiTea, St Albans, The Maltings

To be honest, I am not a fan of bubble tea but got to try the peach bubble tea at HiTea.

The only thing I liked was their cake selection because they had traybakes, scones, cookies and brownies which are items you would want with tea.

Anyway, tried the peach bubble tea which was too syrupy for my liking and the milk and flavouring tasted like it was made from milk powder.

Taramasalata and Lamb Shank at EGE Turkish restaurant in Purley

Went here randomly for a light meal because they had Taramasalata which is blended creamy fish roe served with bread.

The Taramasalata was really silky but it tasted very different to the supermarket ones which are salty, fishy and smoky.

The one at EGE tasted more tangy and the bread that came with it was hot and fluffy so overall it was quite nice.

Revisited this place for the lamb shank which was how it should be so there were no surprises.

It tasted like an English casserole, then meat came off the bone and it was probably those ready catering supplies of sous vide meats you can buy for convenience.

Fine Brazilian fare at Las Iguanas

Las Iguanas is a chain that serves Latin American fare.
Dined there for the Xinxim Brazilian curry and Buenos Aires Burger with chimmichurri.
Although, the chicken was dry and hard and there were only two pieces of overcooked crayfish to be found.
The xinxim sauce was banging, it was a bit like korma and satay sauce but with a refreshing kick of lime.
The plantains were sold out hence not pictured.
All mocktails and cocktails are buy one get one free all the time so had the spiced oat milkshake which is just like horchata.
This is my third time having Brazilian/Latin American food but Las iguanas is quite different as it is a chain compared to the smaller restaurants hence they have proper English menus and the flavour profiles would be more suited to the general palate.
The independent ones are more rustic and have that home cooked taste to it.

Ube custard young coconut pie from Kapihan, Battersea

I went to Kapihan only for one thing and it was the flaky sumptuous ube custard young coconut pie.

Basically, it is a buko pie taken to the next level!

A buko pie is basically a pie filled with young coconut slices and this is the same but with extra ube custard which makes it even more delicious.

The pastry also did magic because it is light and flaky unlike the buko pie I had which came in a shortcrust pastry.

If you haven't tried young coconut before, the texture is like mango.

Overall, definitely recommended because it was not too sweet or sickly that one can indulge to themselves!

To summarize, the staff were super friendly and offered to warm up the pie which makes it even more delicious.

Would love to see them do a pandan custard version as well because I love pandan.

Also had the refreshing matcha float but it could have been fizzier but it was not too sweet.

Wakame seaweed themed lunch at Wasabi

Randomly went to Wasabi to have a look because I have not visited for ages and spotted this new kaiso seaweed potto salad so decided to try it.

Also had some noodles and seaweed tempura crisps to go with it.

I love wakame for its salty marine flavours, however I wasn't that keen on this salad because of the rice vinegar which gives it that sweet taste and makes it more fishy like fresh seaweed from the beach.

The noodles were just the usual with some Chinese cabbage which was quite salty.

Finished with the seaweed tempura crisps which I have always want to try but held back because of the price.

They are not that expensive compared to other things I try but expensive when its not your cup of tea.

Firstly, I didn't expect them to be spicy and I found them a bit salty as well as a little sweet which annoyed again like Asian savoury snacks.