[Review] Yummy Cakes at Victoria Yum

I love cakes, but it has been difficult finding a decent cake shop.
Most of the good small bakeries have retired so you have to resort getting cakes from the supermarket which are just frozen cakes or cakes that have a long shelf life.
Some bakeries offer instaworthy cakes which lack substance but Victoria Yum appealed to me in the sense that their cakes are creative as well as delicious and not to mention instagrammable!
The shop owner is probably called Victoria hence the name Victoria Yum but I love the the classic British Victoria Sponge/Sandwich so somehow I just knew I was going to like it.

After browsing their website, the cake choices were exciting so it was hard deciding what to get.

Some of the creative ones include:
Matcha Chai with Cinnamon & Cardamom
Raspberry Rose & Pistachio
Poached Pear & Blueberry
Fresh Peach & Raspberry
Courgette, Pistachio & Lemon

I planned to go there in January but fortunately I found out they were doing some refurbishing as they were closed until Feb 2nd, 2020.
They are only open from Weds to Sat from 9am to 4pm so as soon as it was Wednesday I went to Victoria Yum.

However, when I got there, they didn't have the full collection so went back again on Saturday.

As expected, the cakes were like eye candy so it was hard to choose.
The special cake that day was Parsnip, Apple and Honey which shows her creativity with vegetables in cakes just like the courgette one.

It was a battle to decide which cake to get, I already had red velvet in mind because I wanted something basic to satisfy my simple cake craving.
As well as the red velvet the rhubarb raspberry also looked good, I liked the pink cream in the middle which should have a nice tartness from the rhubarb.

In the end I went for the Ruby Red Velvet which was a big generous slice!
Not only was it big but it had four layers so it was difficult to fit another slice in that day.

Digging in to my cake, the layers were so decadent and the silky vanilla cream cheese in the middle literally melts in your mouth.
Having tea with the tea is a must but then you always have tea with cakes.

Although I couldn't quite finish it, I was already thinking of another slice of cake.
I regretted not getting another cake to take home as it would mean looking forward to another Saturday for cakes!!!!

Went back again and had the Rhubarb and Raspberry which was also just as delicious but that day they had the rainbow cake which made it hard to decide!

[Restaurant Review] All you can eat breakfast at Toby Carvery for £4.89

I love breakfast so the all you can eat breakfast for £4.89 at Toby Carvery was really captivating.
If you are having Quorn sausages, this must be ordered when you pay.

At the breakfast bar, all these items should be there.
Bacon, Pork Sausages, Free Range Fried Eggs (v), NEW Hash Browns (v), Baked Beans (v),
Plum Tomatoes (v), Handmade Potato, Bacon, Cheese & Onion Hash, Freshly Roasted Mushrooms (v), Breakfast Gravy, Breakfast Yorkshire Puddings - Our famous homemade Yorkies with roasted onion and bacon bits, Toast (v) - With a selection of jams and spreads and Quorn™ Sausages (v) - Available on request.

Got there at around 10am and it was not very busy however at the breakfast bar, certain items were not refilled until later so you have to leave room for other bits.

I was looking forward to the hash but it was in a lot of oil so were the mushrooms.
The breakfast Yorkies are different in the sense that they have bits of bacon and onion in them and the breakfast gravy has a hint of tomato in it.

Overall, I would recommended the breakfast because you can try everything for an affordable price which is unlimited but some improvements are needed.
Some of the the items were in a lot of oil and the sausages were over done.
The gravy ladle was too hot to handle as it got heated at the breakfast bar.
The tea is bottomless but again you have to wait for them to refill the tea bags.

Science Gallery Cafe at London bridge

Paratha Inn opens in Croydon!

Paratha Inn has finally opened!!
I have been eyeing on this joint earlier this year which was supposed to open around April but unfortunately we all had to wait due to Covid.
Paratha Inn opened recently so I just couldn't wait to check it out.
They specialize in Paratha rolls which are basically like wraps but using Paratha just like Frankie Rolls and Kati Rolls in Central London.

On the menu there are so many rolls to choose from but it was really hard to choose because they all seemed good.
According to the staff the Malai Boti Roll is the best seller and everything is made fresh, expect more meat to salad ratio in the filling.
For me, I have probably locked my choices down to the egg shami roll, peri peri chicken roll, paneer roll, chicken tikka roll and masala chips.

I couldn't make up my mind, I got the Kashmiri Pink Chai (Noon Tea).
The traditional Kashmiri tea is made with gunpowder tea, milk and baking soda which makes it pink because of the chlorophyl in tea reacting with bicarbonate of soda).
At Paratha Inn, they do not use baking soda.

When the Kashmiri Pink Chai came, it pretty pink contrasted by the green crushed pistachio nuts.
The taste was milky, sweet and delicate and with every sip there were some crushed pistachio nuts that give it some depth.

Also had the Doodh Pati Chai which tasted like Horlicks at first then the aftertaste was like Hong Kong style milk tea so Hongkongers will definitely like it.

Both the Kasmiri Pink tea and Doodh Pati Chai are mild and not spiced so they are not as strong as the masala Chai.

Since the Malai Boti roll is their popular pick, I had that with masala chips and chicken tikka rice.

The roll was creamy and delicious with big chunks of tender white meat while the paratha wrap was soft and light.

Next I had the Masala Chips, another favourite of mine as a carbs person. Each chip was fully covered in sauce and the spring onions worked like magic giving the spiced chips some grassy freshness.

For mains, the chicken tikka rice was really filling, there was so many chunks of chicken in it and the rice was fluffy.
I found the rice quite fiery with a strong cardamon fragrance so if you can't take the heat you might want to ask for it less spicy.

Photos at Paratha Inn:

Address:
244 High Street Croydon CR0 1NF

Video:
https://youtu.be/S9APFHX5Dgc

Photos before the opening!