Breakfast and Brunch in London

It's the last day of 2017! I'm still writing content on my last London trip. Technically in a couple of hours, I'm heading out for high tea with Fat Fat. After which, I might be thinking of buying a water gun to wash my new carriage. Breakfast and brunch in London is really a food blogger's heaven. The selection is so plentiful and this is just a little bit of my long list of must trys.

I went to Cereal Killer Cafe on my own when Vain Pot went to work. I know, the common perception is what's so great about cereals you have to travel to somewhere just to eat it. Cereal Killer Cafe carries an international spread of cereals and the selection is abundant. It's a cozy and interesting place with beds in the cafe where almost everyone rush to sit on.

One reason why I'm fascinated with this is because I don't enjoy eating cereals that much when I prepare it myself. However, the cereal advertisements on TV tend to bring out a more delicious appeal on cereals and I'm curious to know if the pros can give me a different experience. Visitors can either mix and match their own cereals or select from their cereal cocktails. I selected the Feckin Nut Case which is made up of crunchy nut clusters, crunchy nut cornflakes, honey nut cheerios, hazelnuts and almond milk. I got to say it's awesome! Greedy me ordered the medium size bowl and I couldn't finish but I tried my best because it's really good. There's adequate sweetness yet you don't feel diabetic and the nutty crunchiness was really an excellent balance of flavours. Cereals can really taste awesome if you know how to prepare it! If I bring guest to London, I'm definitely bringing them here.

Cereal Killer Cafe
Mezz 2, Camden Stable Market, Chalk Farm Road, London, N16 7UY

Vain Pot took me to Darwin Brasserie for an early birthday celebration. It's unfortunate that it's semi-raining semi snowing that day because the highlight of the place is dining at the Sky Garden. Yes, awesome views, perfect Christmassy environment and cozy interior. There's a semi-buffet (continental breakfast) menu and an ala carte (hot breakfast) menu. I'll strongly suggest the Hot Breakfast menu because the Continental Breakfast looks too ordinary.

Vain Pot selected the Pain Perdu which is made up of crisp bacon, crushed pecans and maple syrup. It's the first time we are trying such a dish and it's surprisingly agreeable with our palettes. The bacon goes excellently with the bread and maple syrup, you don't get sick of eating it and in fact, you want to have more! I settled for traditional English breakfast and all the individual ingredients were executed perfectly. No complains! I especially enjoyed the bread with butter. I'd like to come back here when it's sunny and experience the full ambiance of the beautiful sky garden with awesome food and company.

Darwin Brasserie
Sky Garden, 1 Sky Garden Walk, London, EC3M 8AF

We woke up too early for Duck and Waffle even though it's 24 hours. To successfully book Duck and Waffle is a challenge. Our time slot was 6:15am breakfast so it was too early for me to be sufficiently awake to remember to take photos of the venue. Duck and Waffle is located on the 40th floor. The awesome view of the London skyline and it's affordable menu makes it a highly popular venue for tourist and locals alike. Trying the signature duck and waffle justifies that this place isn't just gimmicky. The waffle was fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside. The duck was tender with the skin fried till crispy. I'm not much of a savoury waffle person but I found the meal easy to finish. I don't mind coming back here to watch the sunrise and enjoy some simple breakfast.

Duck and Waffle
Heron Tower, 110 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4AY

Granger and Co is actually my very first meal in London. I found them while searching for the best pancakes in London. The place is really popular, there's a snaking queue just to be seated. Granger and Co specialises in Australian food and having eaten there, I'm now tempted to visit the Down Under.

Vain Pot and I ordered two dishes to share. While the serving is huge, they are surprisingly very easy to finish. In fact we fought over the food because we can't get enough of it. The first dish we had was the Fresh Aussie which is jasmine tea hot smoked salmon, poached eggs, greens, furikake, avocado and cherry tomatoes. The smoked salmon is by far the best smoked salmon I've ever eaten! I wanted the entire piece to myself. It's light, with a little tea flavour and you can taste the absolute freshness of the fish. 

We also had to try the signature ricotta hotcakes with banana and honeycomb butter. This is the fluffiest, lightest, hotcakes I've eaten. It's so light, you don't feel like you are eating flour. The honeycomb butter and maple syrup goes so well with the banana and hotcakes it can double up as a dessert. 

I strongly recommend Granger and Co for its ricotta hotcakes. You won't know what good hotcakes are before trying this. 

Granger and Co

237 Pavilion Road, London, SW1X 0BP

Cakes & Snacks in London

London is always known for fresh bakes and afternoon teas. It's almost a waste if anyone in London doesn't give cakes, cookies and biscuits a chance. In my stay there, I have noticed that London is pretty similar to home, they got all sorts of food ranging from the street snacks to the dessert parlours. This week, I wish to share all that my stomach consumed (it's bulging more now) and what I feel everyone should try.

Peggy Porschen Cakes is a popular cake shop at the city centre of London. They are known among tourist as the instagrammable cake shop. My visit there was marred by the misjudgment of the day turning dark early due to Winter. My photos turned out less instagram-worthy.

Aside from the appeal to the eyes, the quality of cakes at Peggy Porschen Cakes is really high. The owner herself is a Le Cordon Bleu Graduate. The both cakes we tried, Bejeweled Chocolate (Christmas special) and Pink Prosecco (Christmas Special) were both soft and fluffy with icing blending very well with the cake. For tea, we shared a pot of Sugar Plum fruit infusion cinnamon spice. The hot tea went excellently with the cakes and it'll be perfect if the day was brighter so I am appreciate my food better. It really gives you a taste of what tea in London should be like on a lazy afternoon and oh yes, before I move on, be prepared to queue.

Peggy Porschen Cakes
116 Ebury Street, Belgravia, London SW1W 9QQ

One of the most memorable stuff I ate during my London trip is the Butterbeer and Butterbeer Ice Cream. Yes, if you are a Harry Potter fan you no doubt know what I'm talking about. This is found in Harry Potter World so unless you pay for entry to the tour, you won't be able to try it. I'm personally not a Harry Potter fan, heck, I didn't even read the book! Despite this, I'm largely fascinated by the Butterbeer, made of butterscotch soda with ice cream on top and caramel ice cream for the Butterbeer Ice cream. I enjoyed what I ate, it was delicious, I got to share it with you! I've no regrets paying for Harry Potter World too, coming from someone who knows nothing about Yule Ball or Firebolt.

Harry Potter World 
Warner Bros, Studio Tour, London

One of the task I really wanted to complete this trip was to finish reading my book. So I went to this tiny quaint cafe in the heart of town to try some of their very unique ice cream flavours. It's a small place but I found a seat to read my book. No kidding. It's my very first dark chocolate chilli gelato. I also enjoyed the more normal Tonde Gentille Hazelnut. Ice cream was smooth and doesn't melt easily, just the way I like my gelato to be. Awesome! I also tried their oreo hot chocolate which I found very enjoyable as well. It's worth checking them out for their unique ice cream flavours. They won some awards! 

La Gelateria

27 New Row, Covent Garden, London WC2N 4LA

I visited the famous Dominique Ansel Bakery on my last day just before my flight. For the entire duration I'm in London, we have a few occasions where I nearly ate there but had a good reason not to each round. So my foodie nature kicked in and the last day saw me making a special trip to Victoria Station just to try my very first Cookie Shot and Cronut.  

A Cronut is basically a donut and a croissant combined as one. The one I ate had strawberry filling in it. Not much of a strawberry fan but it tasted awesome. I was quite surprised the cronut wasn't served pipping hot but I supposed that's how it was supposed to be. The sides were coated with sugar and the top glazed with pink sugar. Taking a bite into my cronut, the few adjectives I can think of are fresh, addictive, good pastry. The coffee shot is another interesting experience but I won't be specially doing this again. The cookie cup was really solid and the cold milk tasted good in the cup. Some of you who like to buy the cookie cup as a gift can do so in a box of 6. Really though, the main show stopper are the fresh bakes. 

Dominique Ansel Bakery

17-21 Elizabeth Street, Belgravia, London SW1W 9RP

Recommended Chinese Food in London

Been too busy clearing work and enjoying my London holiday that I've been guilty to neglect my little hobby food blog lately. Anyway, living in a London apartment I can pretty much call home makes writing blogs far more enjoyable. During this short break, I've noticed a problem getting reliable reviews on good food in London. So I'd like to pretty much fill this gap as much as possible. I thought I'd kick start my writing on London by touching on the Chinese food here because I got cravings for food back home after getting a little bored with the Western fare.

Goldmine Restaurant is known for their duck dish. Basically in London, the 3 popular duck restaurants are Four Seasons, Gold Mine and New Fortune Cookie. Given that my stay is limited, my very limited research led me to conclude on trying Gold Mine for this visit.

Vain Pot and I ordered half a duck and my gosh, this is by far the most value for money half a duck I ever had! Half a duck, no bones all meat and so tasty! We devoured the generous slices of meat with relish. The balance in flavour is awesome with the tenderness of the meat and the juiciness from the fats just beneath the duck skin. Vain Pot asked me if this is even better than the Kam's Roast Goose we fell in love with in Hong Kong... and I kinda felt that Roast Goose still wins at its best but Goldmine is far more consistent in terms of food quality based on the reviews and my own experience.

We tried a couple of other dishes at Goldmine and I felt while decent is nothing to rave about. Stick to the duck when you come here.

Goldmine Restaurant
102 Queensway, Paddington, London W2 3RR, UK (nearest tube: Bayswater)

The second unexpected discovery was at Ma Po. It's a restaurant walking distance from where we live and that day I was craving for some Chinese fare but didn't want to take the tube. Vain Pot recommended I try this place.

I ordered stir fried chicken with ginger and onions as well as a hot and sour soup. Both dishes were awesome and prices were reasonable. The rice cost me 2 pounds though... I felt the best thing about eating Chinese dishes with rice when you are away from home is the warm and fuzzy feeling it brings you. It helps that the chicken was tender and honestly I've eaten this dish many times elsewhere and I thought this is one of the best versions. I'm certain I'll definitely have at least one meal here each time I'm in London.

Ma Po
176 Lower Road, London SE16 2UN, UK (nearest tube: Surreys Quay)

The final place I'm featuring this visit is Lin's Restaurant & Bar. The weather was too cold, I skipped the photo-taking of the shop front. I found this dish on Instagram and literally walked in showing the photo to the host and told them I wanted the exact same dish. Turns out there're two similar dishes so it's difficult to tell which was which. Apparently, there's a Chongqing Noodles and a Szechuan Noodles and the key difference is the sauce. For this visit, I tried the Chongqing Noodles which I can vouch taste very authentic. The mala effect was so strong it literally numbed my taste buds for most of the meal.

I heard 2 Chinese girls next to me asking the waiter for the spiciest dish they got to offer. Lin's Restaurant & Bar is known for its spicy authentic Chinese food that caters to the Chinese community in the city. I was generally satisfied with my experience even though the noodles were a tad too spicy for me. I'd like to give them additional points for the hospitality and excellent service while I was there.

Lin's Restaurant & Bar
134 Southawk St, London SE1 0SW, UK (nearest tube: Southawk)