Tapas at The Real Greek

I have always wanted to try The Real Greek ever since I saw their tapas promoted for veganuary.

Finally dined there one day as the restaurant I was going to go didn't have this new dish.

The Real Greek is a chain so I didn't really have any expectations but I guess you just have to choose carefully.

There is a FILOXENIA DINNER MENU where you can choose from the fixed menu but some of the nice options were off the list like the prawns, octopus etc.

The GIGANDES WITH SPINACH (Hearty giant beans and spinach, cooked in a tomato and garlic sauce.) was quite nice as it was similar to baked beans with spinach while not so sweet.

The CHICKEN MONASTIRAKI (Chicken thigh, marinated with Greek herbs, served with tzatziki, onion and tomatoes.) was also tasty but the chicken was a little dry.

Overall, not bad if you choose items to your liking.

The Agean slaw was not pleasant as I found it too sugary while the fried calamari was a bit lame because you can get coated calamaris anywhere like pubs etc.

Pizza at Franca Manco, Bermondsey

This is my second at Franca Manco which I try and avoid because they are everywhere so I only dine here when I run out of options.

To be honest, their pizzas are not bad.

I had the Traditional halloumi D.O.P. cheese, organic tomato, roasted potatoes with onions, mozzarella, marinated baby plum tomatoes with mint & seasonal pesto (light tomato base) pizza.

The pesto is actually quite nice but overall a bit plain so adding the optional lamb sausages may have made it tastier.

Finished with the chocolate with blood orange ice cream which was not bad but the chocolate flavour wasn't too smooth and it was powdery while the orange was not refreshing.

Dinner at Banana Tree

Dined at Banana tree randomly which is a pan Asian chain in soho.

It was really hard choosing something to eat as I didn't find the choices appealing.

Ramen would have been my choice but they strangely serve it with rice noodles.
The beef rendang had a strong lemongrass taste and it was very spicy while the soya noodles were very salty.
Also had the plain laksa soup as a side which was watery and bland but the aubergines in it were the only thing nice even though it wasn't authentic.

 

Valentine's Dinner preview at Mo’ Mangio!

I was really chuffed that I got to try the upcoming Valentine's set from Mo' Mangio!, a takeaway/delivery kitchen in Kentish Town.
As I say, the menu (even without pictures) is always the best indicator whether you will like the food or not.

Some menus can be long or short but the key for me is the percentage of items that captivate you.

It is like going out with a new friend, you can just go by feeling and know whether you get along or not which works for me anyway.

The Valentine's menu at Mo' Mangio was to my liking, the design got me and upon reading the starter, main and dessert, it was for me.

Somehow, my eyes went straight to dessert because I liked that Englishness that I could relate to with custard and strawberries.

Starting from the starter, it was Frisella Strange Love, an Apulian artisan baked loaf infused with herbs water topped wild rocket salad, beetroot, capers, walnuts and shaved Pecorino cheese.

Frisella is like an Italian bagel which is hard and crispy that is soaked with flavoured liquid before serving to make it soft.

It was my first time having Frisella a Puglian dish, I loved the texture as it was light, crisp and soft like a mild crispy choux that was complimented by the tasty toppings especially the beetroot and capers.

You can really taste the herbs when you eat the Frisella.

I really appreciated the beetroot because it natural and not overly seasoned like some places .

Next was the Tagliatelle Lemon and truffle.

Pasta is a must for Valentine's just like the iconic scene of the Lady and the Tramp.

Anyway, I love Tagliatelle more than anything else because it hangs the flavours and sauce well.

The tagliatelle actually blew me away because the lemon really made it moreish and the star of the show.

It was tangy and zesty real lemon which I really appreciate and then you have some truffle to give it that sophistication.

Everything was in harmony as well as the Parmesan.

To finish off, the Cuddle Cream Tart was a good ending.

Obviously, you can opt for traditional Tiramisu but for Valentine's, the romantic red strawberry tart seals the dinner with a lovely sweet kiss.

I loved the jelly glaze and crisp strawberry pieces in that delightful custard cream on that homemade tart base.

It's something different to your usual Italian dessert yet quite comfortingly English in a way.

The small hand crafted gift was a nice touch for me because I love fish and chips and it was a chippie fork with a lovely crocheted red rose on it.

Chefs Roberta and Alessio are seriously passionate about their food and have thought out well the execution, ingredient pairing of the dishes from scratch to how it should arrive in the best form when it is delivered.

Balaleet at Fait Maison Salon de The, Mayfair

I love Middle Eastern food so ever since I saw this interesting dish of short vermicelli on omelette at Fait Maison I have been wanting to try it.

Finally tried it at the Bond Street branch which is more relaxing than the branch in the West.

I always knew what I wanted but didn't know the name of the dish so finally found out that day when I saw it on the menu.

However, it was a bit different in reality as it was labelled as sweet noodles with saffron on top of omelette.

That moment, I was a bit disappointed because I don't like sweet with savoury things especially saffron but decided to try it anyway just to tick the box.

When it came, it looked like a plate of short vermicelli which was quite different to the photos of an omelette with short vermicelli in the middle to contrast it.

It was definitely an interesting breakfast but not to my liking as expected because I can't handle sweet and savoury.

Although Saffron is an expensive spice, I think it is an acquired taste which I really couldn't handle as it was too aromatic like rose and soapy.

The Paratha with Cheddar Za'atar was nice but it was exactly the same as Indian Roti and Taiwanese Roti with cheese so it wasn't memorable so I think ordering the Hamsa would be a better choice.

New bubble teas and butterscotch oat latte from M&S Cafe

M&S Café are now in the game with bubble teas.
Choose from jasmine and strawberry tea served with strawberry popping boba and ice, or mango and passionfruit bubble tea.

I am not a fan of bubble tea but tried the jasmine and strawberry tea which was pleasant but still not my cup of tea.

The butterscotch oat latte was amazing though.

Joyful buffet at Za Za Bazaar Restaurant, the biggest buffet restaurant in UK

Stumbled upon Za Za Bazaar Restaurant located in Bristol's Harbourside area which is a buffet style restaurant with various of cooking stations.

As a foodie, I have always wanted to try a buffet restaurant to see how they compare with the ones in Asia.

Obviously JRC and COSMO are well known over UK but I got the impression that they only did Asian food hence I never visited.

I was instantly impressed upon going inside because this buffet restaurant was HUGE and I mean HUGE.

They even had a table sheet with a map of the cooking stations.

We couldn't have visited at a better time than over the Christmas period because they had mince pies, Christmas puddings as well as Brussel sprouts.

There was something captivating at every station but the one that looked the best was the Indian one which explains why there were a lot of Indians dining there which means that their Indian food was GOOD.

I was certainly glad this was my first proper buffet restaurant experience in the UK as it is the largest buffet beating Croydon's Cosmo.

There were five main cooking stations: India, the Far East, the Caribbean, Tex Mex, the Americas and Europe so I was sorted because I love those cuisines and there was a dessert station to finish!

With all these options, I had to try one station at a time to not miss anything.

Ultimately the Indian station was my favourite as well as the English roast.

They even had English pies, pasta and lasagna etc.

The only station that did not impress was the Chinese which just wasn't edible.

Dessert was comforting with lots of English desserts and they even had CUSTARD.

Usually prices are max £20.99 per person but we paid £24.99 because it was boxing day but it was worth it. 

I felt that even if you were just having Indian fare, it was still worth it with all those curry choices, naan breads and everything.

Would definitely visit again if I was in the area.

The only negative experience was that I saw someone use their bare hands to feel the naans and put them back when there were tongs available.

Photos of the buffet and restaurant: