Cod Cheek bites at Paradiso

Cod cheeks, any cheeks be it beef cheek or pork cheeks are always top tier as well as filet or loin.
Dined at Paradiso especially for the cod cheek bites.
Unfortunately, they were a bit tasteless.
All you could taste was the bitter oily batter.
The chips were over done in my opinion.
I've had some seriously good cod cheeks before from Quality Chop House.
I know it can't be compared but I would expect the cheek to be tasty.

Volcano ribs at YiQi

YiQi, a relatively new pan Asian restaurant in Chinatown.
I have been meaning to try but held back because it was hard deciding on what to have.
The soup noodles choices were good as it was authentic like the white curry with duck blood probably inspired by the michelin duck bloody curry mee.
I love the broth and all just not keen on Asian noodles. The rest of the stuff I've eaten elsewhere.
Luckily my partner and I were both keen on the Thai Volcano ribs so we had that.
[probably called volcano ribs because of the way the ribs are laid out but looks more like a bonfire.]
The broth was the star, zesty and spicy.
Some glass noodles in it would be nice.
The ribs were a bit disappointing as they could have been better
I have had better ribs where the meat is aromatic and soft.
You can tell from the colour as it was grey.
The good ones are a little darker with a pinkish colour in the centre and pull off easily from the bone.
The ribs here seem like they've been stewed for a while like restaurant leftovers which I've tried from chefs and restaurants in Asia.
Any how the quality here is still better than Asia where they serve broken bones and joints with little meat left on them.
You get a green chilli dip but it's not exactly generous.
The snow bud white tea was interesting because the colour looked more like black tea and the taste was like aged dried orange peel or what they call chan pei.

Cedric Grolet pistachio!!!

Last week I was joking about wanting the pistachio but my partner took it seriously so we had the amazing pistachio for dessert.
I am glad it turned out good.
When you try the first bite you just know it will be finished.
The sweetness didn't kill it.
It was literally like eating a pistachio and visually it looks like a huge pistachio without the shell.
Starting off with the chocolate coating which is the thinnest and most delicate i've experienced, then you have the silkiest lightest whipped cream in the middle followed by intense pistachio paste which has the texture like peanut butter with a slight dryness kick.
Then the super fine crunches which is like eating the crisp pistachio skin.
I thought the thin chocolate coating was crucial, too thick would have made it sweet and it would have been hard to appreciate the light filling and delicate crispy texture of the other parts.
Overall, this was the best and my favourite so far from Cedric Grolet and I believe the hazelnut should be good as well.

I feel that the recent offerings at Cedric Grolet are more to my liking.
Cedric Grolet provides sturdy takeaway cutlery which doesn't snap like plastic ones provided at some restaurant.

Pricey Salmon and poached eggs at Sunflower Kitchen

Sunflower kitchen, Maddox Lane is not the place to go if you have Hyperacusis.

I love trying restaurants especially independent ones.

Sunflower Kitchen is a rare find as it is located in Mayfair which is quite unusual in this day and age but back many years ago there were probably more than one!

Anyway, my first visit, I just had tea which probably annoyed them.

I only had tea that day because it was too noisy so I might as well come on a quieter day for food.

Went back when it was quiet and asked if there was smoked salmon and poached eggs which I saw on the board.

The guy said it was available and asked if I wanted toast but I just wanted eggs and salmon.

When it came, there were grilled tomatoes, sliced avocado, halloumi on it so I figured it was there to increase the food bill so I just played along with it to see if that was the case when I asked for the bill.

For me it's all about the dining experience which I reflect each time so each restaurant experience is memorable like this one out of the 10K+ restaurants I've reviewed collectively on different platforms.

So when the bill came, it was £18.95 which is indeed a bit pricey because for that price you can eat at better restaurants.

Anyway, I said I only asked for salmon and eggs but it came with halloumi, tomato and avocadoes which I did not ask for so he reduced the bill to £15.95 which is a bit more reasonable I guess.

Perhaps they need to charge around £18.95 per head to survive in this day and age.

Another persons bill came to £18.95 but I don't know what they ordered but the food they serve is mainly pastas, lasagne, sandwiches etc which are around £10.95 on the lunch menu.

Ironically, their google description says "Your honest & local independent serving daily fresh panini, pasta, salads & more 🌻"

Erm OK!

The Christmas Burger at Burger and Beyond

The Christmas Burger is a Woodland Turkey & Sage patty and a Norfolk free range pork meat patty with double American cheese and deep fried double breaded brie.
This was a one off as I don't really eat burgers over 8 quid unless it is something really fancy.
I knew I was going to like it because the pork patty was like a sausage patty.
The best bit is the two wedges of fried brie, punchy cranberry sauce and bright slaw which complement it nicely.
The turkey patty was a bit dry but that was expected with the nature of turkey.
Overall it wasn't bad but probably a bit too salty.
Staff were understaffed at the London Bridge branch only went because it was convenient otherwise would have visited Soho.
Plates were on the small side and the sitting area was cramped.
The Christmas menu is not reflected on their website nor is their social media responsive when you comment.

After visiting the London Bridge branch of Burger and Beyond, decided to go back for the Prawn roll with Caviar but it was sold out so went to the Soho branch a few days later.

Again, they were understaffed and clueless.

Splurged out on this prawn roll but didn't expect it to be that dinky!

It was nice but I can get bigger and better one at Harrods while the lobster prawn roll at M&S is also a pretty good deal yet delicious!

Prawn roll at the Soho branch:

TOUM - Lebanese French Rotisserie

Roast chicken, fries and toum!
Who doesn't like a good roast chicken with fries.
I tried Toum as soon as I could when I found out about them.
I knew I was going to like their fries especially because they are like shoe string fries and fried once from raw.
Toum is Lebanese specializing in roast chicken and fries as their signature with toum sauce.
What I like about this restaurant is the French touch so on the menu there is steak frites, escargot etc.
Toum is a delicious garlic dip like mayonnaise.
I am not sure how it is meant to be but the first time I tried at this another restaurant it was super emulsified and light as a cloud.
Anyway visited during lunch so sat at the bar where I was fortunate to see all the magic.
Also saw the steak frites which looks just as good as Swixx Buttxx if not better with green Paris butter sauce.
The chicken was ok but a little disappointing as it didn't come from the rotisserie but from the metal cabinet drawer all chopped up.
The chicken isn't bad but there was no skin so the surface was a bit dry but the breast part somehow fared better.
The fries were to my liking like the ones in France while the toum sauce was thick and garlicky with a spicy kick quite different to this other place.
These are the best fries in my opinion compared to other steak frites places and hope they stay like that.
The Bill..I wasn't quite impressed with the still water as it looked like tap water in an unbranded ceramic bottle.
Will be back for the steak.
Currently, they have just opened for a week so are in teething stages.

SCOFF! The only scone that you eat with a knife and fork at The Savoy

SCOFF! The only scone that you eat with a knife and fork.

There will be no debate as you won't be putting any cream or jam on it.

Enter SCOFF, specializing in scones at The Savoy so how could I not visit!

These are no ordinary scones as they are dressed up and ready to eat.

You get to choose from Chocolate coconut, Mango, Strawberries and Cream, Tiramisu, Salted Caramel Popcorn

The texture of the scone base was interesting because it was somewhat different to a scone, it was more like a dense thick cake that has been baked in a small cake mold ring which gives it uniform shape base.

I think it isn't 100% scone mixture but probably mixed with some cake but the texture reminds me of something that I can't think of at the moment.

The colour of the base is slightly darker which seems to suggest it was baked on a pan like a cake.

It was a really hard choice but the strawberries and cream is probably the best while the others are really fancy.

After a long thought I got the tiramisu which had this sheet of coffee jelly on top.

Overall it was really nice but I found it rather sweet.

Will be back to try the strawberry.