Burmese fare at Laphet Larder

Lahpet larder has recently opened their third branch near London Bridge.

As a fan of Burmese food I have been meaning to try. 

Lahpet is probably the only big scale Burmese restaurant in London. 

They serve the usual suspects like Mohingha noodles and tea leaf salad. 

On the first visit, I had the curry noodles and tea leaf salad.

Tea leaf salad is a popular dish in Burma made with fermented tea leaves and crunchy beans. 

It tasted pretty much how it should, salty, tangy and garlicky just like other Burmese joints I have tried. The coconut noodles were to my liking not spicy or too coconutty. 

I loved the quaver style crackers and the finely chopped purple onions. 

Very palatable and comforting.

Returned for the Mohingha and Yellow peas with dough sticks.

I felt that Lahpet Larder is definitely my scene because there is a slight variation on the menu for the mohingha, the West End uses catfish while the Shoreditch branch uses Bream and Squid.

At Lahpet Larder they use Mackerel which is tastier in my opinion as it is fishier.

It reminds me of Assam Laksa which uses sardines.

The soup was thick with so much silky pulled mackerel yet boneless which was impressive.

I felt that the dough sticks were better dipped in this gorgeous broth and the dough sticks were done to my liking still soft yet crispy unlike the Asian ones which are crispy all the way through.

The yellow peas were better than anticipated because they were like English mushy peas with spice.

After trying the famous mohingha, I can understand why they are so successful because it was definitely top notch and much better than the ones from Macau.

The only thing I didn't understand was the chopped chillies because this is the first one that is spiced up compared to all the mohingas I'ved tried.

Finished with the paratha bubble waffle with Burmese Tea espuma which is not available at the other branches.

The dessert is inspired by Burmese tea where it is served with Parathas with sweet peas, some places serve naan.

I loved how they put the paratha in a bubble waffle press to give it that modern touch. 

Again, it was lush and totally to my liking because the Paratha was not burnt or too crispy, it was soft and flakey without being too brown. 

The Burmese tea espuma dip looked like a thick sweet emulsion at first like mayonnaise but it turned out to be light and airy as whipped cream which is what espuma is. 

The taste of this was just like Burmese tea but made into espuma which is a match made in heaven for the bubble paratha.

I appreciate how the paratha was not sweetened so you can literally dive into the heavenly dip with it.

I also bought a jar of fermented tea leaves which have a nice floral aroma and the taste was a bit like oolong and jasmine with a citrus peel flavour, however the aftertaste is super bitter unlike the salad.

They were slightly more expensive than The Lost Tea Company but could be supplied by them as they do serve teas by The Lost Tea Company.

#ssglondoneats

@lahpet

tea leaf salad at Lahpet

coconut chicken noodles, lahpet

dawei mohinga

paratha bubble waffle and Burmese tea espuma

Trying the ramen at half price at the Kanada Ya opening in Westfield

Kanada Ya is interesting as they have been around for many years with branches in Central London.

Now they have branched out to the West to Westfield.

As I happened to be in the area so tried it as it was half price for everything.

Before I ordered, I expected they wouldn't have the full menu as they just opened but they said they did so I went ahead to order the things I wanted.

Just as expected I was later told that some items were not available so we only had ramen.

Anyway, the pork slices were very different, in one bowl is was quite fatty and very lean in the other.

The thing that I liked was that if you order extra condiments or sauces, they come separate and not drizzled on top the ramen.

Lunch at Current Cafe, Harrow Place E1

Current Cafe, an interesting place serving Asian/Japanese fare.

Tried the mapo tofu with beef which comes with quinoa rice. The tofu was like smooth cubes of jelly and the beef was fine mince but clumped together probably because it had not thawed properly when it was cooking. It was ok but lacked umami, but I reckon its msg that gives it that kick in other restaurants. The loose leaf variety was good and they even had this Monkey tea which tasted like a metal pipe.

Galbani burrata pop up bar in London

London's first ever pop up burrata bar.

I love burrata especially as starters but Galbani has proved burrata is delicious savoury as well as sweet like on French toast or paired with chocolate and cherries because it has a mild creamy taste just like this Lithuanian cheese.
I tried the burrata with nectarines which was the perfect marriage of fruit and nuts.
The red onions and creamy burrata were delicious together.
Basically heaven on a plate with nectarines, figs, pistachio nuts and red onions.
I didn't feel left out not ordering the one with prosciutto as the vegetarian pistachio also had an umami touch to it.
In sweet form burrata was just as decadent and a treat because you rarely get them in desserts.
The pairing of my favourite chocolate cherry was amazing with choc shavings, plump cherries on a soft but firm chocolate cake.
Nothing was cloyingly sweet
I was so impressed that something you can buy from the supermarket is restaurant serving quality.

illy Crema from Wafflemeister

Wafflemeister is everywhere but never tried because I'm not a waffle fan.

Finally tried as I was captivated by their drinks.
It was interesting to see them offer caramel with tapioca but the illy creme was the star of the show.
It looks like coffee slush but a million times better.
Holding the cup of illy crema, it felt so light even though it was filled to the top.
The texture reminded me of Wendy's frosty while the taste was coffee with some sweetness.
Definitely recommended.

M&S cafe Raspberry and White Choc Matcha Latte or Vanilla Matcha latte

New M&S cafe Raspberry and White Choc Matcha Latte or Vanilla Matcha latte, both available hot or iced.
Not a matcha fan, choose from the Cinnamon Bun Latte, available hot or iced or the American s'more chocolatey milkshake with whipped cream, a biscuit crumb and marshmallows.

I tried the vanilla matcha latte which was to my liking because it was not too grassy.