The Breakfast Club - Authentically English Breakfast

I came to know about The Breakfast Club during my research for my first trip in London back in 2017 but only got to try it now. The story goes that Vain Pot didn't feel they serve up anything we couldn't really find in Singapore so we ended up in Granger & Co back then. So later on, another friend dragged her to Breakfast Club and she discovered wonderful pancakes there. *rolls eyes*

Finally, I get to dine in The Breakfast Club! This is an awesome place that I really think every visitor to London should have a meal at. Yes, it serves a lot of typical brunch food you can find everywhere but it's authentically English. Dining here, it made me feel that most of the brunch creations we find in many cafes originated in these Western cultures. The Breakfast Club seems to bring out this culture so distinctively, it'll be a waste if you skip this place when in London.

Looking at the menu, there's a whole list of stuff I really want to try. I settled on the Salted Caramel Banofee Pancakes (9.50 pounds) because pancakes were the original reason that made me shortlist this place (I was googling best pancakes in London). It tastes really awesome! I found the pancakes to be soft and fluffy but a little bit doughy. It however went really well with the whipped cream, chilled bananas and salted caramel sauce. In fact, the balance was so good, I finished the 3 stacks of pancake which would have been too much for my Asian stomach normally.

Vain Pot ordered the Oatmilk Porridge, with crushed pecans, coconut and maple syrup (5 pounds), mainly because I wanted to try it too. I could tell it's not exactly her thing. I really like the western version of porridge because of the thick milky texture of oats in milk. I especially like the sweetness of the dish and the crunchiness of the fruits (usually bananas) or nuts that it comes with. I think it's an acquired taste but I really like it.

I found it a pity that it's my only visit there despite 3 trips to London. Then again, Vain Pot whips up really delicious brunch so I feel rather reluctant to have my brunch outside. I strongly recommend a visit to The Breakfast Club to experience the vibrancy of the cafe culture in London as well as the authentic English dishes that they serve. This single dining experience has certainly won me over!

The Breakfast Club
11 Southwark Street, SE1 1RQ

Maison Kayser - French Bakery in Town

Over the weekend, I strove to get some balance in my work-life and met a friend for breakfast. I've been on a diet lately and am striving to keep my food intake on the healthy side. Starting your day early at some cafe can be rather refreshing. I particularly enjoyed the time where after good food and coffee, I can sit back relax and enjoy a good read. I want to do this more often!

Maison Kayser is a French bakery with a few outlets in Singapore. They are known for their fresh bakes. I went to the Scotts Square outlet partially because it's near the MRT. One of the guys I was supposed to meet doesn't drive. The other reason is my own fatigue of driving when I don't have to. Sitting on the train allows me to read on the go and do other productive stuff.

While I was there for breakfast, I was trying to eat enough so that I don't need to have lunch. I picked the Pasta Salad ($10) which comes with a bun on the side. It's pretty good. I enjoyed the tangy spiciness of the pasta shells, the cheese, greens and cherry tomatoes that made my meal healthier. I'd think it's a good healthy fix for anyone who wishes to grab something on the go too.

Naturally we tried the fresh bakes too. I didn't try the Almond Croissant which my friend ordered ($3.50) but it looks delicious enough. One thing I notice is that the staff won't offer or ask if you wish to warm the bread. So you need to ask. I had a set breakfast ($5.90) while waiting for my friend. Comes with brewed coffee and a fresh baked. My selection choice was Plie Aux Chocolat. It's tastes fantastic and I highly recommend it. The bun was fresh and soft. I enjoyed the mild custard and chocolate stuffed that goes excellently with the pastry. The sweetness was just right too. Enjoyed every bite!

For dessert, I settled for the eclaire with vanilla cream ($5.50). While the vanilla icing was pretty good, I found the dough to be not very fresh with a bit of over-night feeling. The texture was dry and too doughy. Not gonna order this again.

Would I return for a second visit? I'd say it's 50-50. The place is pretty small so you got to be early if you want seats. I went there at 9.30am and there were people already inside. I totally enjoyed my fresh baked and would like to try more of their pastries. I'd say only go there if you love fresh bakes like me and you probably should have it on the go without the coffee.

Maison Kayser
6 Scott's Road, #B1-25 Scotts Square, S228209

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

Chin Mee Chin Confectionary

This weekend is a very rushed week. I was just telling Vain Pot that I'm so overwhelmed with work I didn't have time to make any balloon sculptures. As a big fan of living an enjoyable and exciting life, I feel particularly proud of myself this week because I still managed to head to somewhere meaningful with Vain Pot for a comfortable 1 hour meal. It's simple and easy to do. I get especially riled whenever people who have more time on their hands don't even bother to come up with something more exciting than window shopping and movies week in and out whenever they initiate a meet up. Buay sian meh?

Our choice of leisure this week is to pamper ourselves with some simple old school comfort food. Kaya bread on toast and soft-boiled eggs. Vain Pot loves this place a lot while I don't really fancy coming here for a number of non-food related reasons. Chin Mee Chin Confectionary specialises in traditional bread on toast with kaya or butter spread and soft boiled eggs. They also are wildly popular for their cakes and egg tarts. The place is so popular, you'll have to share tables.

The cakes which mostly go for a dollar are soft and fluffy. They are also rich in flavour and easy to eat. I would like to highlight the egg tart which I find very different from egg tarts I find elsewhere. Vain pot especially likes this one. The crust taste more like a cookie crust and the egg in the center taste a lot more like custard than your usual soft yellow creamy eggs. The egg custard and cookie tart gives it a uniquely CMC taste that makes the tart very popular among CMC visitors. Be sure to go early because there's a chance the tart may go out of stock due to strong demand.

The traditional kaya toast with soft boiled eggs is also clearly a winner. The toast is very old school, look at the buns, it's made in house freshly baked using the charcoal grill we see on TV for shows depicting that semi-modern era.

The eggs are big and fat. See the yolk still so big despite breaking. It makes for an extremely filling meal despite its simplicity. The total damage is only $10.80 with drinks included. A simple yet awesome way to kick start a weekend. I don't only eat atas food okay! Haha! My friends tend to feel that my definition of enjoyment is to spend a lot of money which doesn't necessarily have to be the case if you bother to look hard enough.

So will I come back here? I'll be very honest. I'll only come back when I wanna give Vain Pot a treat after a stressful week of work. I don't like the parallel parking here. I think the hygiene factor sucks and the attitude of the old timers extremely bo chap sometimes I feel like I'm talking to myself when I ask them questions about my orders or the food. (For example, they screwed up my eggs order and served me 3 eggs instead of 4. I even had to chase for that 1 elusive egg myself even after they acknowledge its their mistake) So I'll only suggest visiting this place if you can look past all the non-food negative points and just want cheap and good comfort food.

Chin Mee Chin Confectionary
204 East Coast Road

Recommended food from my last Hong Kong trip

Before the trip, my travel companion has been whining, "Hong Kong nothing to do one, just eat and eat only." Then there will be the question, "why you like to go Hong Kong so much?" Because... I like to eat!

I have been to Hong Kong 4 times in total. The last trip being my most memorable. There's always this noodles I must eat on every trip found in Maxim Palace. Maxim Palace is the Hong Kong equivalent of the Imperial Treasure in Singapore. I must say, their food is really good! The multiple times I have been there have always left me wanting to return for more. Their E Fu noodles, ordinary as it looks, is the best E Fu noodles I have ever had. 

Maxim Palace

B13-B18, B/F, Shun Tak Centre, 168-200 Connaught Road Central, Sheung Wan 

(Currently there's a more popular outlet at Central, but I still like the Sheung Wan one best)

While we are on the topic of Chinese food and dim sum, I tried the 3 Michelin Star Lung King Heen at Four Seasons Hotel. While the food is executed competently and service was awesome, I can't help but feel a deep sense of disappointment. From my experience, my interpretation of the 3 stars was 1 for food, 1 for service, 1 for ambience. Nothing very wrong with that however I kinda was expecting the Michelin stars to be graded purely for food. Having took the trouble to order the Chef's recommendation, 3 Michelin stars really left me not very impressed. To be fair, service was impeccable. ALL the staff can speak good English and know the food well. The quality of food. cutlery and view was nothing short of premium. My only gripe was I was there for the food more than anything else...

Lung King Heen

8 Finance St, Four Seasons Hotel 

(Lunch is from 12pm-2pm, you can make reservations online)

One surprise of the trip was Tomato Cheese Noodles. Honestly I first tried something similar during my first Hong Kong trip at Lan Fong Yuen and it really was nothing impressive. This tomato noodles doesn't taste spectacular either, but it is comfort food I can enjoy on a cold tiring day. One amusing thing the owners told me was that their main customers are Singaporeans. Considering their obscure location in a run-down building, it's funny how we tourist can keep their business going. 

Star Cafe

36 Basement Champagne Court Block A 16 Kimberley Road (Next to Mira Hotel)
Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong 

(There's another famous tomato noodles, typical Dai Pai Tong, Sing Heung Yuen, which I was lazy to try the other round)

Another highlight of my trip is the High Tea (Afternoon tea in Hong Kong context). The original plan was to have enjoy the view atop the 103th floor at Ritz Carlton, but alas the window seats were full. We settled for high tea at Intercontinental Hotel and it was a pleasant experience. Unlike Singapore, the high tea offered at Intercontinental Hotel carries seasonal themes. In my case, I was served the Christmas High Tea. My biggest gripe with high tea is that I always never finish the food. I don't enjoy desserts and the sweet part of the high tea usually is meant for my dining companion. That said, the standard of the high tea is pretty high, the scones are soft and fluffy and the savory does not come across as "jelat". Fussy Pot practically finished her half of the sweets so I suppose it's pretty good. I took one bite of mine and that's it. Haha! 

Lobby Lounge

Intercontinental Hong Kong

18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Shui 

Australian Dairy Company is another place I will be back again when I do make my 5th visit to Hong Kong. The steam milk is fantastic and the scrambled eggs on toast is uniquely Hong Kong. To be honest, prior to the visit, I was pretty adamant that the hype is exaggerated. But after eating the scrambled eggs on toast with its unique creamy buttery taste, I'll subject myself to the long queue and rude staff again. Being lactose intolerant, dairy products better be good to make the sacrifice. Trust me, the steam milk here is. 

Australian Dairy Company

47 Parkes Street 

(Closed on Thursdays)

Kam's Roast Goose is one of the places I went twice in a single holiday. The double visit actually highlighted their inconsistency in food quality. My first visit was after a long day of eating and seriously I was full when I arrived. The goose was so good that despite me and fussy pot being full, we finished the entire plate. Worth every bit of the 1 star Michelin they earned. The second visit however was pretty disappointing. The meat was hard and nowhere near the tender meats we found so much joy in eating. 

Honestly after the second visit, I'm not even sure if their Michelin star was a fluke. Anyway to enjoy your goose there be sure to order thigh meat the next time you visit.

Kam's Roast Goose

226 Hennessey Road