[Review] Cake Zone Eggless cakes in Croydon

There are currently two branches of Cake Zone in London at the moment, both on London Road.
I went to the Cake Zone on near Croydon for the eggless cakes.

Unfortunately, the selection was smaller than anticipated because I thought they had eclairs and other goodies according to google map.

For the eggless cakes, there were six choices and they all cost £2 per slice.
There was chocolate, black forest, coconut, strawberry, pistachio and rose to choose from.

It was quite difficult to choose even though it was only six choices but basically it was either the chocolate sponge or the Victoria Sponge.
From the cabinet, the coconut looks the best in terms of the sponge and cream but as pistachio is not always offered I went for that.
As for the chocolate sponge, it was either the black forest or the chocolate slice but as the chocolate cream looked like buttercream I went for the black forest.

Overall I was really impressed with these cakes compared to Cake Box because they are fluffier and the sweetness is just right.
The cream for the black forest is a winner here because it is light and fluffy.
Compared to Cake Box, the slices are smaller and do not look as fancy as Cake Box, same goes with the packaging as it does not have tailored made boxes and sleeves which make it difficult when you carry it home.

Revisited Cake Zone again because I was craving for cakes.
This time got the chocolate slice and the Coconut slice.
I am glad I had the coconut there because the box is not tall enough for it and some for the chocolate as the cream on top gets crushed.
Anyway, the coconut slice was amazing, imagine it like a Victoria sponge with coconut on top.

Tried the chocolate slice as well because the chocolate cake looked different to the chocolate cake base in the black forest.
The taste of this one was also amazing, the texture was just like normal cake and the chocolate buttercream was light and not too sweet with a rich chocolate taste.

To summarize, my favourites picks would be the chocolate slice and the coconut slice.

Cake Zone Croydon.
254 London Road

[Review] Shadi Bakery freshly made naans and a hidden secret restaurant!

Shadi Bakery is an amazing joint in West Croydon and now there is another branch in Hounslow according to the internet.
Discovered Shadi Bakery in 2016 when I was at West Croydon.

The naans are freshly made and only cost ‎£1 for 3 back then and they still do now.

As I have already tried the naan, this time I had the Zahter Naan which was also ‎£1.

The Zahter naan was amazing and the naan was consistently good as before, it was soft, yeasty with a slight resistance.
The zahter topping was aromatic and I think there was a slight lemon taste as well.
It so was impressive because it so was delicious and non greasy.

I was craving for a zaater naan again with cheese but didn't feel like travelling to Shepherds Bush so went back to Shadi Bakery, unfortunately they do not use Akawi cheese because it is high in fat.

As well as the bakery, there is a secret restaurant at the back serving ouzi and other dishes so dined there because they had chicken livers for £5 which was a good deal since another restaurant a few doors away are serving it for £11.

The most importat thing is that they serve it with their freshly made made naans from the front.

I could tell the livers were reheated in the microwave but they tasted great but unfortunately they didn't give me fresh naan which ruined the experience.

Anyway, after I told them the naan was cold I was given a freshly made wheat naan which was crisp and warm and took the whole experience to the next level with the chicken livers.

Also on the table was sumac which is a refreshing powder made of dried berries which makes the food moreish.

Will be back to try the other dishes.

[Restaurant Review] Roast Dinner at Toby Carvery

Roast dinners and English food are getting scarce these days so the ones that still do it can get quite busy.
At Toby Carvery, they serve the carvery every day but Sunday is the best day to go as all five roast meats are available.

As it can be very busy on Sundays, it really depends on luck as well because the Yorkshire Puddings run out fast and the lines for roast are long.

Although the Yorkshire puddings are refilled, they do take time and the second batch that we saw were not as good as the first as they had not risen.

The roast meat is also like that because it gets dry the longer it sits there.

The location also matters because the quality looks different at different Toby Carvery branches.

Went to the South Croydon branch because the roast and sides looked fab.

To be honest, I was lucky everything was spot on when it was my turn so definitely top marks.

On my plate was Gammon, Roast Beef, Roast Roast Lamb and Roast Turkey should have there but as it wasn't so I got some more on a different plate.
Sides on my plate were Yorkshire pudding, stuffing, mac & cheese, Pork Crackling and beef dripping and plain roasties from the carvery deck.

After you get the roast, the final touch is the gravy and condiments where they have Toby's Special gravy and Vegetarian gravy.

Lashing of gravy and mint sauce make it all delicious.

I was definitely satisfied with the roast especially the gammon ham which had a nice salty kick without being too dry and the turkey was soft and moist.
The best thing was the stuffing, mint sauce and gravy which just makes it complete so that's why I'd rather come on Sundays when everything is there!

The Menu:

Will also be coming back for breakfast because they have the all you can eat breakfast!