Lunch at The Dock Mermaid Bay, Cardiff

Throwback of Welsh lunch at The Dock on Boxing Day.
Located at Mermaid Bay it was difficult to find options that day because we were far from the market let alone trying to buy some laverbread or proper Welsh Breakfast.
Scanning the area, it was the usual chains except this one which was slightly hopeful.
Ordered the welsh cawl and welsh beef lasagne.
The cawl was diced lamb, carrot, swede, potato, leek stewed and served with Alex Gooch sourdough.
I was a bit disappointed with the cawl because all I could taste was parsnips which got me wondering if the parsnip was Christmas leftovers.
While looking at the menu, I discovered a parsnip soup they had at Christmas so it was definitely leftover parsnip soup with lamb added in.
The Welsh beef lasagne was ok, ordered it only because it was made with Welsh beef.

Frisella avocado, salmon and poached egg brunch

Frisella may look like a bagel but its not.
It is hard and crispy that needed to be soaked with water / flavoured liquid before serving.
Usually eaten with tomatoes.
Apuglian chef Alessio and Roberta were really kind to give me some frisella to experiment with and I decided to turn them into brunch.
I used gyokuro tea to moisten it with some saltiness while the leaves were used as garnishing.
Then I assembled it with a ripe hass avocado, Squeaky bean vegan salmon alternative and a ready to eat poached egg from M&S and it was delicious!!

Back at Mo' Mangio! for the Orecchiette Pugliesi and Frisella Dolcella dessert

After trying Mo' Mangio! last week I was hooked so this time went back for more pasta and this new dessert seen on their instagram.

I had the Orecchiette Pugliesi which is handmade Orecchiette Pasta with Turnip Tops, Anchovy Extract (Colatura di Alici), Garlic, Chilli and Toasted Crumbled Bread.

The highlight of this were the turnip tops which are native to Puglia which is a must try as the dishes here are Apulian.

I felt that it was a really healthy option that was light and tasty with lots of greens and I loved the bitterness.

The turnip tops also jogged my memory of this Italian stall where they had pickled turnip tops which were really nice.

Next was the Frisella Dolcella dessert which was insanely good so best leave some room for that too!

I totally fell in love with this Frisella bread as it is so light and versatile.

Just like some breads, it has always been eaten in a savoury way but now they are serving a sweet Frisella Dolcella, which is an Apulian artisan baked loaf served infused in Orange syrup topped with Nutella, Strawberries, crushed handmade Meringue and a Mint leaf as garnish.

THE FRISELLA DOLCELLA is MUST because it was like eating a crispy cloud with nutella and strawberries.

Simply delish.

@mo_mangio_italian_takeaway

@alessio_chef

@9robi3

Scottish Haggis, Neeps and Tatties for Burn's night at Wetherspoons

[Scottish Haggis, Neeps and Tatties for Burn's night at Wetherspoons]

It's Burns week so I resorted to having my Scottish haggis, neeps and tatties fix at Wetherspoons because M&S isn't doing that delicious neeps and tatties centre piece this year which I am glad I tried last year.

Interestingly the essential gravy/whisky sauce isn't included with the neeps and tatties so you have to end up ordering it because you just need some gravy with it.

Wetherspoons in general disappoints but the reason I went was for the Burn's night menu.

Judging by the simplicity of three items like mashed potatoes, mashed swede and haggis which is obviously supplied, it would be hard to go wrong.

I suspect, they were all in a big dish under a heat lamp served when ordered because the mashed potato was a bit hard and chewy like the top surface of a shepherds pie when it has been in an oven / heat lamp for too long.

Overall, it was more than satisfactory with bottomless tea.

The prices for this meal differs from location because of costs but I don't get the odd pricing with the pennies.

@wetherspoonsofficial

Mini curries at Zabardast

Finally tried zabardast which has been around for ages serving wraps.
I prefer curries which is why I didn't try until recently when they started offering mini curries.
I was captivated by the omelette which looked soft and fluffy so had that with rice and chicken tikka masala.
The spices here are light so you won't get agitated for the rest of the day.
Although it wasn't very filling it was delicious and a nice option for lunch.

Chicken livers at The Truro, South Croydon

The Truro opened a few months ago but back then they were in teething stages so only opened in the evenings.

They now open during the day which is expected otherwise it would be an opportunity loss.

Finally tried it because I had run out of options that day as I was late so I had the chicken livers with some rice.

The chicken livers actually come with a roll but I felt like having some rice with it which I am so glad I ordered because it was fluffy basmati rice.

The livers were delicious and fiery in a hot peri sauce.

You can really taste that charred aroma on the livers.

I liked the way the grill was clean so you don't taste any second hand charred tastes from other meats.

This is the reason I'm picky with fry ups and grills.

Also tried the grilled chicken and prawns with rice which was really tasty but the bowl for the prawn shell didn't come until a while later.

On a side note, the service on a weekday was so different to the weekend.

The staff on the weekend were really warm and friendly.

A family that just got seated was given some kind of drink which I could not see so it shows how different it is from a weekday.

Taro Swiss Roll with drinks at YUMTEA, Canary Wharf

Stopped by for a cake and drinks as we were in the area so we had a Taro Roll, Houjicha and Iced Yuzu Americano.

The coffee was just weird because the pairing was odd even though I expected that with a layer of yuzu paste at the bottom.

The Houjicha was how it should be.

I felt the cakes/rolls were Japanese inspired Chinese quality.

As usual the sponge is so different from English sponge with a heavy eggy taste and the texture was really moist.