Sunday, February 11, 2024

Chicken and rice from Hot Pizza & Grill, Purley

Tried this place because it was new, they do pizzas and chicken.
The chicken was grilled chicken tender pieces but I felt it was a bit dry, not from the grill but it was originally dry, however the rice was amazing.
At 7.99 a bit pricey compared to my usual at Selekt chicken in West Croydon.






Saturday, February 10, 2024

Pistachio lassi from Saburi, Harrow

It was my first time coming across pistachio lassi it so had to try.
The lassi was lovely and thick but unfortunately too sweet.
I should have bought some natural lassi to dilute the sweetness instead of throwing it away.
According to online platforms, there is also a cashew lassi.
Also spotted was bread pakora [battered toast].
They had a lemon in a glass of water which is good will to the business.











Thursday, February 08, 2024

The hot milkshake unbelieva-bar by COSTA COFFEE

Costa coffee have launched these new Hot milkshakes for a while now, after trying them the salted caramel is definitely my favourite because coffee gives it a nice balance to the sweetness.
There are two other flavours: chocolate hazelnut and white chocolate strawberry.
The unbeliva-bar was a fun immersive experience with quirky facts and interactive games with some photo spots.
Salted caramel remains my favourite!
#ssgcosta
@costacoffee
https://costaunbelieva-bar.co.uk/











Wednesday, February 07, 2024

Lunch at Botinica Hall

Botinica Hall is new at Clapham Junction where the former Debenhams department store was.
It is more like a social place where you can dine and work with plugs and wifi etc.
Service was slow especially at the end when you are waiting for the bill.
I suppose the menu was reasonable but I made the wrong choice that day, I got the Italian po boy which was pizza dough style and the bombollini.
The vegetarian options are actually quite good like the nduja gnocchi.
The bombollin was really disappointing, they looked nothing like mini doughnuts and were dusted with so much sugar that it defeated the purpose of the nutella.
It was similar to those Chinese doughnuts but nicer because it wasn't so eggy and soggy while too dark for my liking.



Build your own poke from Island Poke

Finally tried island poke because I ran out of options.
I got the build your own poke with sushi rice, ahi tuna and smashed avocado with yuzu dressing.
I was annoyed I didn't notice the sauces by the cutlery because I would been happier with the light soy sauce as it isn't sweet like the yuzu.
They also had green sriracha.
The avocado was like guacamole so I could have done without it as I prefer pure smashed avo.
Anyway, the food was ok, the tuna could have been better because I got some annoying cuts with lots of chewy white connective tissue.
When I have my sashimi, I always avoid salmon and tuna when I visibly see connective tissue.
On a side note, the summer poke bowl with dill looks fantastic.







McDonald's new Raspberry and White chocolate pie and KitKat Ruby Chocolate McFlurry

New KitKat Ruby chocolate McFlurry and white chocolate raspberry pie from Mcdonalds from 7th Feb!!
I got my hands on the raspberry and white chocolate pie which was quite nice but a bit too sweet.
The white chocolate was more like custard and I didn't enjoy the raspberry seeds from the raspberry side.



I had the KitKat Ruby Chocolate McFlurry without the raspberry sauce and loved it because I could appreciate the ruby chocolate more without the super sweet raspberry.








Greasy spoons with a Chinese kick at Spicy Noodle Cafe in Balham

I love traditional caffs that serve a proper fry up.
This time I visited Spicy Noodle Cafe which was actually unsuspectingly a caff.
20 years ago this cafe was acquired by SL who has added Chinese dishes to the menu while fry ups are cooked in a wok.
It felt like a Chinese Take away but caff style with breakfast and Chinese.
I made several visits because there were so many things to try on both the Chinese and English menu.
Personally, the English menu was more to my palate.
The Chinese menu was a little too sweet for my liking but better than many other places.

A quick review of what I have tried:

English Menu:
Ham. Egg and Chips: Ham, Egg and chips are food of Gods but every element has to be perfect for that winning satisfaction.
I have been observing the food served at this place so I was assured.
The ham was glistening and moist, full of flavour without being too salty, the eggs were perfectly done with a runny yolk as well as the egg white being bang on with that delicate jelly yet bouncy texture.
Last but not the chips were to my liking, nice and anaemic in colour and same as the ones served in my favourite fried chicken shop.
Eating this was pure joy, each mouthful was delicious especially the ham and egg white while dipping my chips in the yolk.
Each bite was different!! Sometimes it was egg and chips, sometimes it was ham and chips, or ham and eggs!
Bubble: a nice mash of potato and peas, delicious with salt and pepper
Cheese on toast: flawless with proper melted cheddar
Roast Lamb: Bit dry and tough, not enough gravy.
Roast potatoes were the frozen ready ones which were a bit dry and hard.
Cheese and Salad Roll: Best cheese salad roll I've had in ages.
It literally took me back to school dinner days where they were wrapped in clingfilm.
I loved that traditional roll which has that yeasty smell and chew.
The lettuce had that crunch, the tomato umami, the tasty cheese and the freshness of the cucumber.
Pure foodgasm.
The presentation of this couldn't be better because it was freshly made so all the salad was fresh, vibrant and glistening.
Liver and Onions: much better than other greasy spoons but I think it's just not my cup of tea because the texture of the liver is too hard and firm.

Chinese Menu:
Prawn noodles: delicious fine egg noodles with bouncy tender prawn but overall a bit sweet for my liking.
Beef Ho Fun: Again, nice and clean compared to Chinatown, it was not heavy or oily.
Wonton Soup: Sweet while the wonton fillings was a bit mushy.
Mushroom Tom Yum Soup: Very tasty but not tangy enough
Singapore Vermicelli: nice but they do not use the finer ones that I like by Yeoh's, overall ok and you can taste the curry powder.

There are three other Asian English Caffs out there which I have tried.
One is English and Thai while the other one serves English and Chinese roast on one plate.
Last but not least Billingsgate Cafe which serves Chinese noodles on Monday morning which takes effort to try.
Wing Loon is also a caff in Waterloo but serves 100% Chinese food.
 






























Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...