As well as Dark Sugars, Said Dal is another good place in Central London for chocolate.
Said Dal 1923 was established in 1923 in Italy.
You can expect to find thick hot chocolates and desserts covered in chocolate sauces.
The menu:
As it was the afternoon, I didn't feel like a hot chocolate so had Chocolate Tea with a donut topped with chocolate to satisfy my cocoa cravings.
The donut covered in chocolate was nice and rich with a mix of melted white, milk and dark chocolate finished with a perfect sugarless chocolate tea.
Overall, quite a nice place but the staff could have been more attentive and I wasn't impressed with a big piece of tissue stuck to the fork.
Said Dal 1923 London:
41 Broadwick St, London W1F 9QL
As I was in London, someone asked me to get some rice rolls.
The message directed me to this dodgy alley so I thought the person was mucking me about as it looked dark and dirty.
Entered a shop which looked like a seafood shop and asked for rice rolls and the guy told me it was the shop next door so it appears I was in the right direction.
Finally found the shop with a narrow corridor that only fits one person so once you bought your stuff anyone queuing would have to give way.
To be honest, the rice rolls were really good as the texture was firm with a chew and much better than the crap in Hong Kong which is sweet by default without any sauces.
They also had buns which I didn't like much as they were hard to swallow.
This is another hip coffee joint that opened earlier this year in 2019.
It is run by a Doctor and an IT professional who decided to join forces and open a coffee shop.
The shop owners are really nice and friendly.
Went there with friends one weekend.
There was good range of coffee and there were fancy lattes like Turmeric, Beetroot, Chai and Matcha.
For vegans, they had some vegan cakes and toasts.
As I have already tried the fancy lattes elsewhere, I went for the cheese scone with tea.
Taco Bell is as fast food chain from USA.
There was a branch in Croydon so tried it as I have always wanted to try it.
The menu is divided into a few sections: tacos, burritos, meatless, shareables, cravers and desserts etc.
I tried two meatless burritos, a side of rice and cinnamon twists.
Annoyingly, the two meatless burritos and cinnamon twists were not on the website nor on the self ordering kiosk which is why I didn't try it earlier as I just looked at the self ordering kiosks and looked no further to the counter.
Here is the a la carte menu which is more comprehensive.
Double cheesy black beans burrito:
The black bean burrito made my day as the cheese was not too overwhelming while the black beans were firm and not too starchy complimented by the rice.
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7-Layer Burrito:
The vegetarian 7-layer burrito was a disappointment.
Having 7 ingredients: refried beans, seasoned rice, guacamole, lettuce, cheese, diced tomatoes and sour cream.
Firstly it was cold and secondly I couldn't taste all these ingredients especially the guacamole or refried beans.
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Seasoned rice:
The seasoned rice was just the rice in the burritos which you can order as a side.
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Cinnamon Twists:
The cinnamon twists were different and tasted like sweet snacks sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon.
Overall quite nice as they were not too sweet or oily.
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There are hot sauces available at the condiments area as well as mayonnaise.
For Halloween, Hong Kong has launched the NEW Phantom Frappuccino .
It is also available in hot as the Phantom Latte.
The black Phantom Frappuccino contains Starbucks signature espresso with fragrant black sesame sauce, red bean sauce and milk, topped with fluffy whipped cream.
Enjoy it iced with a layer of chewy red beans. It’s a treat more than trick!
There is also Pumpkin Spice Latte which is not new but contains signature espresso with flavor notes of pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove.
Enjoy it topped with whipped cream and real pumpkin pie spices.
Flat Iron is a popular affordable steak house which opened on Beak Street in London since 2012.
Since then, it has become a success and there are now nine branches.
I began dining there a few years ago.
Beak Street was the first place I tried it and I was hooked.
Flat Iron is definitely the place to go hence I always recommend people there.
Recently went to the Tooley Street branch and the quality had gone down a little bit.
The steak I had was full of membrane but they happily changed it for me so the replaced steak was all good.
After replacement:
The only complaint would be the serving boards they used because there was some off putting smell on them.
The metal cups and plates had paint coming off it which meant rust was in contact with food.
Apart from that I will go back but to a different branch next time.
I was so excited when I heard about the first ever cat cafe that was going to open in Eastbourne.
Eastbourne has always been the Victorian seaside town for holiday makers and nothing much has changed until the recent years.
If it had been twenty years ago, the idea would have been strange as every household would have a cat or dog.
Even when I told my friends I was going to a cat cafe in Eastbourne, they were quite amused but I love cats.
In Hong Kong I have been to numerous cat cafes, rabbit cafes and even reptile cafes but the one in Eastbourne was definitely more exciting being in my home town serving tea and English cakes etc.
In Greece, cats roam freely while in Japan, there is a cat island!!
Entry fee is only 5GBP at the moment.
There are other cat cafes in UK but as a Eastbourner I felt that I had to visit this first.
There is also one in Shoreditch called Lady Dinxx which charges 1xGBP entry fee.
Some might query about the entry fee which is quite reasonable because some Cat Cafes in Hong Kong charge a minimum spend per person but the food they serve is terrible while the place is not comfy with tables close to each other or tatami sitting style where you have to take your shoes off.
I was really lucky to be in town and having not made an appointment, I tried my luck as a walk in customer early in the morning while it was still quiet.
When you enter, there is a double door so that the cats don't get out by accident.
Once you are inside, there are lots of comfy sofas.
At the far end there is a food menu and a cake cupboard and at the entrance there are some nostalgic sweets.
As soon as I sat down I was surrounded by cute kitties.
Looking at the menu, there was a good variety of hot drinks, cakes, sandwiches etc.
Having just had breakfast, I just got the tea.
It was really good that the menu was reasonably priced.
They place a wooden spatula on the table after you have ordered.
Overall, I had a lovely time being there with cats and meeting cat lovers so I am definitely coming back.
If you're lucky, you might get a cat falling asleep on your lap.
The Mad Catter Cafe:
7 Station Parade, Eastbourne BN21 1BE
