Disappointing experience at Lavo

Disappointing experience at Lavo.
Booked brunch three months ahead to get poor seating on arrival.
I regretted not walking out because everything from food was underwhelming.
Perhaps management should sit there to experience how cramped it is getting in and out between two tables either side with a 10cm gap which puts you off getting food as part of the self service brunch.
You could place a side plate on the gap between the two tables either side and it could sit perfectly without falling off.
Getting in and out, you had to cause inconvenience to the table to the left or to the right!
There are two floors offering the same food so I guess it depends if you are on the nice/naughty list.
If you are in the know, media brunches often offer more than what is served to showcase the food.
The dessert selection was rather lame that day, it was just the typical stuff you would get at hotel breakfasts and a few cake selections and worst of all those pastry tarts.
They didn't even have the maritozzi buns which was obviously offered on a media day.

Dinky little Maritozzi buns for £2

Dinky little Maritozzi buns for £2

Last year, we saw the trend of these Maritozzi buns from Rome which are buns with a brioche texture filled with whipped cream.

Prior to this, I have tried a few from various places in London but DolceVyTA specializes in them.

You can get the regular ones or the dinky small ones so I had the smaller ones as you can't get them elsewhere in that size.

As expected, it was nice and the bun had a nice chew to it like panettone.

The whipped cream had a strange lemony taste to it.

Overall, worth trying for £2 if you haven't had a Maritozzi before.

@dolcevyta_matteomanzotti

#maritozzi

Soy Cured Egg Yolk musubi from Onigiri KOME

Onigiri KOME, a Hong Kong owned musubi pop up.
I was captivated by the soy cured egg yolk which has an interesting texture.
It's semi solid and fudgey in texture with a strong salty soy taste.

Also tried the Tsukudani Sesame Kelp which was on the sweet side.

Hoping to get my hands on the salted plum and mentaiko cod roe!

Pick and Mix style lunch boxes at L'express Coffee Company

Discovered L'express Coffee Company while dining nearby.
This no frills eatery captivated me because you choose what you want for a fixed price.
Prices start at 6.90 to 10.50.
So obviously for 10.50 you can have everything in the cheaper range.
The 9.50 is probably sufficient as the 10.50 box is just wider.
I chose the 10.50 because for that selection there was lasagne, chicken curry, chilli con carne, peri peri chicken, rice noodles which are all my favourites and additionally I can get anything from the other range like houmous, salad etc.
I got mainly the hot items because it was the things I wanted so imagine how joyful it was having chili con carne, lasagne and curry in one meal.
The chicken curry was really comforting as it was just like the school one while the chili con carne and lasagne were just as good.
The potatoes wedges were to my liking as they were soft and fluffy.
You can also order sandwiches and baked potatoes at the far end.
According to the internet, they used to be located in Holborn.
Will definitely return.
There is seating outside so on a pleasant day it's a great place to enjoy the food.

Noci pasta at Battersea

Noci Pasta, another pasta bar which I got confused with another that has a similar name.
Dined there and it was quite enjoyable.
The pasta choices are similar offerings to the ones at the popular pasta bars.
I had the silk handkerchiefs which was something I have been meaning to try.
The one here has a lot more to offer with mushrooms and actual walnut pieces but the forest mushrooms could have had more variety like their photos but I guess that is either seasonal or for photos.
Portions are small just like other pasta places.
The spaghettoni my partner had was very garlicky and the texture of the was rather hard and al dente so I was happy with what I chose.

Subway footlong gingerbread cookie

Finally tried it.
A bit too sweet but had a gingery kick to it.

Plain jacket with salt and butter at Mr Spud, Stevenage

The humble jacket is sadly going out of fashion these days so not many places offer them apart from caffs etc.

There was a jacket potato stall so I decided to get a plain jacket to appreciate and see if it was a good potato.
Jackets these days are presented differently from the past like shown on their product pictures.
The old way was cutting a cross in the middle and pressing the jacket from the four sides and using a fork to fluff it up.
A good jacket will fluff up.
Anyway, I guess these days it is more convenient to flatten them out for the fillings.
The jacket I had was nice but somehow different because the potato is different and the skin is thinner with a strong earthy taste.
Overall, definitely worth trying.