Spaghetti bolognese and Lasagna at Classic Cafe

Classic Cafe has been around for quite some time and is still going strong!

I finally tried it one day when I ran out of things to try in Croydon.

The service is quite friendly or one might find it too friendly.

It is can open cafe so you can see all their offering in the cabinet, the spaghetti and sauces looked fresh as well as the lasagne.

On the first visit I had the spaghetti bolognese which turned out to be fantastic hence the return.

What was impressive about the pasta was that it they actually tossed the spaghetti in the sauce after reheating it unlike other places where they just slap the sauce on top and reheat it in the microwave.

The bolognese sauce was really tasty and the meat was good while the spaghetti had a good al dente texture and elasticity.

Also on that visit, I had the apple pie with custard.

The second visit, I had lasagne which also didn't disappoint as the cheese and sauce was balanced without being too heavy.

Will be returning for the jacket potato with cheese.

Classic Cafe Croydon

1019, Whitgift Centre, 21 N End, Croydon CR0 1UT

Subway festive sticky toffee puddings

Quite a nice cookie with chewy toffee bits and you get that Subway cookie standard with the crunchy sugar crystals.

As well as toffee, I could also taste cocoa in it as well.

There were some dark bits that looked like dates but I wasn't quite sure.

Cake Forest opens in South Croydon

Cake Forest opens in South Croydon offering eggless cakes.

SMACKS hamburger debuts in South Croydon

I was really excited about the opening of SMACKS in South Croydon because it looks so colourful and catchy.

They finally opened in late July serving burgers with an extensive menu of burgers, wings and desserts.

SMACKS specializes in freshly ground PRIME ANGUS beef burgers and freshly prepared Fried Chicken everyday.

Since then, I have been a frequent customer so I feel really bad I still have not shared it on here yet.

Starting with the basic hamburger which is super comforting and satisfying.

I liked the way, they have grilled it so that it is slightly crispy on the surface but still moist in the middle and then you have generous ketchup, mustard and onions just like McDonalds.

So to summarize, it is like a perfect McDonalds hamburger but if not better.

On another visit, I tried their breaded wings and BBQ wings which also surprised me again because of the quality and price.

Again, you can see the wings have been fried to perfection.

As well as the wings and burgers, their fries are fab hence I love coming to SMACKS for their fries when I need to test out some sauces.

Desserts are just McDonalds style with apple pie and soft serve.

Apple Pie:

To summarize, I can't recommend this place enough because they are that good and all visits have almost been consistently good.

Cuttlefish tagliarini at Trullo

Trullo is one of those restaurants where you have to check their menu every day to see if there is anything exciting and seize the opportunity which does not guarantee success because they are always fulled booked.
Over summer they had these amazing chilled soups like almond and cherry, almond and melon but sadly I didn't make it as I didn't want to waste a visit if it was full.
I had a back-up restaurant but it went according to plan which is typical.
I have been eyeing this cuttlefish tagliarini which has been on the menu for a few weeks now.
Before I tried it, I was wondering if it was going to be black from the ink but it wasn't.
Anyway, it was definitely worth my visit as you can really taste the fishyness of the cuttlefish in the pasta and the cuttlefish pieces were so soft from being slow cooked.
Some cuttlefish pieces were a bit mushy but still nice.
Also from the close ups, it makes me wonder what those hairy bits are in the close up being herbs or cuttlefish.
It turns out that they are anchovies which worked well wonderfully as you have that cuttlefish fishyness and then you get the saltiness from the anchovies.

Again, a spoon is needed to finish the lovely sauce.

Previously, I dined at Trullo for dinner in the summer where I had the Spinach Tagliarini with nettles. You could visually see more sauce on this but the yolk was smaller compared to Padella.

As for the taste, I felt that the Spinach tagliarini tasted better than Padella because the flavours and saltiness were balanced and there was more sauce.

I was still hungry so I had Tagliarini with chopped mussels, chilli, garlic, and wild oregano.

To my surprise it tasted to my liking so I was really impressed and the taste was so moreish because of the lemon which was not stated on the menu.

However, it appears that it does contain Almafi lemon on their 2019 post on instagram.

The sauce was so good that I needed a spoon to finish the sauce and chopped up mussels.

The only thing I was not impressed was the optional but not so optional donation and if you are a walk in customer it really depends on who serves you that determines whether you get to dine there or not.

Batchelors Limited Edition Pigs in Blankets

It's Christmas soon and everything is pigs in blankets.
Obviously with pigs and blankets it would be sausages and bacon.
Batchelors already have bacon noodles so I would expect the pigs in blankets to taste similar or have something added.
The limited edition noodles definitely did have a strong smokey bacon smell and a corresponding taste.
On top on that, you can taste some thyme but luckily it was not too strong.
There was supposed to be some dried pieces of sweetcorn and mushroom, but I couldn't find any.
Overall, I am biased, so I liked it and if you like the bacon noodles by Batchelors, then you are going to like this.

Fresh dumplings from Baxfood Caribbean

On my first visit to BAXFOOD Caribbean I was captivated by the filled dumplings.
You can choose Jerk meat or tofu mushroom so I got the tofu mushroom as not many places offer that.
Basically it was like a savoury donut sliced in half and filled with Jerk.
It was really tasty with the tofu puffs and mushrooms but I found it quite spicy.

I managed to get to sample their festival and oxtail with butterbeans which were so delicious.

Somehow I had a craving for their dumplings so went back.

Most dumplings that you see are already fried and sitting there until you buy them.

I was really surprised that the dumplings are fried to order at Baxfood.

Having them straight from the fryer tastes very different.

They are soft when they are hot and as they cool down they have a chew to them, this time I had it a non Jamaican way with melted Camembert and it was so good.

The dumplings on their own taste savoury and there is a unique taste that I cannot describe but it was nice.

Baxfood Caribbean

1 Whytecliffe Rd S, Purley CR8 2AY

It was really tasty with the tofu puffs and mushrooms but I found it quite spicy.