THE NIBBLE TRAIL #3

Can't believe it's December already - the start of a busy month! 

In a good way, of course.

Went for ballet and jazz class as usual, and decided to treat myself (which I do so very often - TOO often at times).

1. Bageriet - 24 Rose Street, London WC2E 9EA

Having recently stumbled upon this little gem with my cousin the other day, I popped in for a quick comforting snack. Conveniently located just down the road from Pineapple Dance Studios, I was eager to get another taste of their delectable cinnamon buns.

Tucked away on a quiet side street, this little Swedish bakery only seats 8 persons (takeaway is available), and I was fortunate enough to have a short sit-down break after 2.5 hours of dancing.

I ordered the Autumn Glow tea which had a fruity apple flavour, alongside my cinnamon bun, which was deliciously light and fragrant.

So many tantalizing Nordic baked goods on display - I'll definitely be back for more.

 

 

2. Picture Restaurant - 110 Great Portland Street, London W1W 6PQ

Since my first visit there when they opened in June, this has become one of my favourite hideaways. Tom, Soria and the rest of the team are always very welcoming and pleasant - and the food prepared by Colin and Alan who are busily working in the kitchen never fails to satisfy. 

And of course not forgetting to mention Ben - my bar buddy that makes awesome drinks and cocktails!

I ordered an Appleade and the slow cooked Cornish squid served with spiced chickpeas.

Had a bit of a green theme going on today - edible art on a plate, mmm...

They also currently have a seriously delicious venison dish on the menu that I tried the other day - don't miss out on it!

 

And don't forget to say hi to the pretty little Christmas tree in the corner!

3. Cocochan - 38-40 James Street, London W1U 1EU

And the last stop for today...to satisfy my sweet craving.

Having seen photos posted on Twitter, the chocolate fondant was something I just had to tick off my list...

I went for the Chocolate fondant with pistachio heart, which was served with pistachio ice cream. Pistachio and chocolate, a clear winning combination for me.

And if you ever do drop in for a meal, they have a nice selection of small pan-Asian dishes to choose from.

 

And that sums up a my short #nibbletrail post today.

Looking forward to a whole month of indulgent eating...what better way to celebrate the festive season!

Which reminds me, I haven't started on my chocolate advent calendar. And I bought two...just because they were on offer (!) - looks like I've got some catching up to do. 

After all, somebody's got to eat them... 

I should probably dance and stretch more to work off the calories. 

Watched in awe as someone in dance class totally owned today's choreography to Britney's Work Bitch. 

Beaten by a guy - enough said.

Have a great week everyone x

The Cheekster, signing off x

THE NIBBLE TRAIL #2

Oops, I've missed a post last week due to...unforeseen circumstances.

This can only mean one thing - more eating to catch up on!

I've decided to do it on a Saturday this time, because some of my favourite places are closed on Sundays.

1. Schokokusse - Southbank Centre Christmas Market (15th November - 24th December)

It's that wonderful festive time of the year again! - unless of course you're the Christmas Grinch.

Contemplating on what I should get, I spotted this stall selling chocolate kisses. The last time I had one of these was at the Christmas market on my trip to Bruges, which I loved.

 

 

My little Irish cream chocolate kiss wanted to get a selfie with the London Eye, but the sun was unfortunately shining from the wrong direction...

So we ended up at Trafalgar Square instead.

 

Oh the things I do for you little one.

2. 10 Greek Street - 10 Greek Street, London W1D 4DH

A lone diner at one of my favourite places again, I perched myself at the end of the bar. I was asked if I was waiting for someone else, which I said no - maybe I should have pretended that I was stood up by my date.

I ordered a small portion of seared scallops which was served with cauliflower puree, clementines and pomegranates.

Perfectly seared scallops, and I especially loved the smooth creamy texture of the cauliflower puree.

 

3. Yoobi - 38 Lexington Street, Soho, London W1F 0LL

I usually order the temaki, but this time I went for the maki rolls - ordering a portion of the Unagi eel maki rolls from the Specials board.

4. Muriel's Kitchen - 36-38 Old Compton Street, Soho, London 

By this time, I had met up with Lili for our usual catch up - and what better way to do it than with some lovely sweet treats! Food is after all best shared in the company of good friends.

This new branch in Soho has just recently opened in the last couple of days, and we were lucky enough to be seated at the table with the swings! 

We ordered the apple strudel with ice cream and the coconut and orange loaf cake.

 

And convinced by our very charming and attentive waiter, I ordered an extra portion of the red velvet layered cake with berries - very naughty of me I know.

 

 

Not quite sure what I was looking at...but it must have been good.

If you missed the last #nibbletrail post, click here.

Watch this space, or follow me on Twitter/Instagram for more #nibbletrail adventures.

The Cheekster, signing off x

THE NIBBLE TRAIL #1

As my Sundays are usually quite chilled and relaxed (a.k.a. I have 'too much' free time - sometimes), I've decided to do a weekly post (#nibbletrail). These will basically be short posts of my foodie adventures - ideal when I'm having solo days out. The rule is that I will only order one dish/drink at every stop - bars, restaurants, cafes (cake with coffee is accepted - because you just can't have cake without coffee), food stalls etc. 

1. Koya Bar - 50 Frith Street, London W1D 4SQ

 I got in just before 12noon for the breakfast menu. Initially, I was planning to order the Okayu, but then became swayed by the specials board, and ordered the onigiri instead. 

Tasty little rice parcels wrapped in seaweed, served with miso soup and pickled beetroot.

 

2. Damson & Co - 21 Brewer Street, London W1F 0RL

One of my favourite places to stopover for a coffee, except this time I went for the salmon tartare. If there was tartare on any menu, and I could only choose one dish, the tartare would be the clear winner - because who doesn't love tartare. 

Light, fresh and citrus-y, with a slight hint of spiciness.

3. Poppy & Sebastian at The Real Food Market - Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London Se1 8XX

Food markets are great for their variety of foods, and The Real Food Market is one of my favourites on a weekend. The Chou pastry dessert from Poppy & Sebastian was just too strong a temptation - sugar-coated, soft and fluffy pastry filled with creamy custard, and topped off with a thin slice of caramelized nuts. 

 

London is so beautiful when the weather is good - so breathtaking that even my little Chou could not resist taking a selfie against the London Eye...

Because this would be the first and last time for him. Sorry little Chou.

4. Kaffeine - 66 Great Titchfield Street, London W1W 7QJ

Another one of my favourite coffee places, and a nice stopover when shopping around Oxford Street. Usually I would have ordered a flat white, but I haven't had an affogato in ages, and this is one of the places that I always know I can count on.

 

That concludes today's Nibble Trail. Eating out at a variety of places means that I am not restricted to just one menu, and I can continue exploring (and shopping) in between. I also don't have to linger around at one place for too long and avoid looking like a sad,  neglected little singleton. 

Besides that, I feel less restrained when taking silly photos in public - I just pretend to be some innocent snap-happy tourist.

Let's hope we have more sunny weekends ahead. 

And if you're excited about Christmas lights, the Oxford Street Christmas Light switch-on is on Tuesday 12th November.

 

For future posts, follow me on Twitter/Instagram #nibbletrail - yes, I do use the HASHTAG, despite the fact that I do find them quite annoying at times. I only use them when necessary though - honest. 

Hope everyone else had a good weekend.

The Cheekster, signing off x

BO LONDON

It's not very often that I have dim sum on a weekday - usually it's an occasional weekend affair when I get the odd craving. However, I purchased a voucher from Groupon quite a while back, which I thankfully remembered about, just in time before it expired...

My Mondays are usually reserved for dancing, but I took it easy today (without missing the amazing class by Jasmin Saulo!) and excitedly rushed off after class to meet Mr D.

The voucher entitled each of us to two dishes from the Steamed section, two dishes from the Fried section, and a bowl of fried rice.

Our reservation was for 1.30pm, and it was rather disappointing that they had already sold out of four of the dishes (?!).

So this then narrowed down our choices, leaving us with eight other dishes which we ordered one of everything to share between us.

I also ordered some Jasmine tea, which came served in a cute little pot with a long handle.

 

| Black truffle, soy, Chinese cheung fun |

This is probably the daintiest-looking cheung fun that I have ever eaten - six delicate rolls of cheung fun with the tiny little mushrooms.

 

| Sichuan spiced lamb xiao long bao |

One of my favourite dim sum choices that is never missed off the order - we ordered this alongside the classic version. Lovely hint of spiciness. 

The skin was maybe a bit denser than what I'm usually used to, but tasty nonetheless.

| Har gau with black truffle XO |

Another one of my dim sum staples.

Delicious fresh and juicy prawns encased in a a lovely, thin, translucent skin.

The only thing missing now is my sieu mai.

 

| Wild mushroom dumpling |

 A nice, generous stuffing of mushrooms. A meat-free choice, but still one of my favourites, knowing how much I love mushrooms...

 

| Foie gras pot sticker |

A gyoza, but with foie gras stuffing.

One of the delicacies that I very rarely eat...just in case any of you animal activist/fanatics out there are reading this...

 

| Fried squid ball, kaffir lime |

 Juicy, bouncy balls of goodness - and the kaffir lime mayo sauce was a nice twist.

| Chicken pesto spring roll |

Smaller than your average spring roll, fried to perfection and full of flavour.

 

| Fried rice with Chinese olive leaf |

Very tasty, if maybe just a tad bit on the oily side. 

Then again, oily fried rice usually tastes way better...

As they say, you can't win 'em all.

The meal turned out to be quite filling. As with all my dim sum experiences, I always leave feeling guiltily satisfied. Fat yet happy.

Overall, Bo London is a bit on the pricey side in terms of dim sum, but I suppose it would be great for an indulgent treat every now and then.

Well-suited for those who prefer a more contemporary variation to the traditional dim sum.

The Cheekster, signing off x

STRIPPED BACK

It's been a while since I last went to a pop-up, so I once again went with my gut feeling and booked a couple of tickets to Chef Ben Spalding's Stripped Back at Redhook Restaurant.

 The concept began 15 months ago in Broadway Market in Hackney, and has supposedly been 'hugely' successful.

The meal was described as to 'consist of breads, butter, eight servings of balanced, creative & delicious food, along with a few unexpected twists in between'.

My instinct chose to take their word for it.

The last few dinner and pop-up experiences that I selected for us have been good, so Mr D let me take the lead in the decision-making for this...

It was a Sunday evening, which we later realized was not quite an ideal day:

1. Not many places are open on a Sunday, including Redhook - we got to Farringdon earlier than expected and did a little stopover at Zetter Townhouse for some drinks instead.

2. Apparently a 'storm' was coming that very day, and it was overly-dramatized all over the news and Twitter - I brought my new WINDPROOF DOUBLE-CANOPY umbrella just in case... 

 

The selection of wine was very limited, with rather extortionate prices, in my opinion.

I frowned in disapproval as Mr D ordered an average bottle of Shiraz that cost £18.00.

The first dish that was placed in front of us had a few spicy rice crackers in it.

Me: 'This looks like the ones you get out of the packet at the Japan Centre or Chinatown.'

Mr D: 'Maybe it is...'

Anyway, we assumed that it was just some nibbles to 'whet out appetites'...

 

Next, we were served some crackers (or rather 'A' cracker, broken in half) with Viking(?) butter, sprinkled with some muscovado sugar, on a piece of metal. A waiter also come round with a platter of rice-cakes for us to pick off. 

Mr D: "It feels like I'm eating the ingredients of a cake mix."

Me: (ignores Mr D and curiously inspects the piece of metal) "Maybe we could break some plates and use the pieces to serve food in our kitchen next time."

I'm pretty sure in the 'key details' we were supposed to be served bread...

Maybe the shops ran out of bread as everyone was frantically hoarding food in preparation for 'the end of the world'. A.k.a. rain.

Crabmeat with grapes and parmesan. And I think there were some chopped almonds in it as well. Finally a substantial looking dish - things were starting to look up.

We did like this dish, nice different flavours in each mouthful, and a decent portion too.

 

And then we were faced with this...

It was some salmon belly dish with slices of guava, cucumber, onion and vermicelli.

There was a moment that both of us looked at it, speechless...

Me: "It looks like someone's leftovers."

Mr D: "It looks like a salad."

Me: "Maybe it IS a salad." (watches as Mr D picks out the cucumber slices and drops them in my already sad-looking plate)

By this time we were both trying to guess how many 'servings' we had actually been given - and whether those rice crackers should be included in the count...

Before our next dish arrived, we were handed a sheet of paper which read 'Here are the cuts of cow that are in your next dish...'

This got us a bit more excited again, as we eagerly anticipated what our next dish would be.

And then THIS came out...

A bowl of mushed up meat, with a piece of VERY hard bread on the side - even 6ft 7" Mr D struggled to break it apart.

We each had different visualizations of the dish - this was definitely not one of them.

 

And as if the previous dishes weren't already disappointing enough...this was dessert.

White chocolate, peanut butter, and jam.

Even more silence as we started at the disaster that was laid in front of us.

Me: "What IS this?!"

Mr D: "White chocolate."

Me: "It looks like someone attempted to make a cake and then ran out of time to leave it in the fridge for it to set." (Spoons up the distasteful-looking puddle and shoves it into mouth) 

Now, I've eaten deconstructed desserts before, like the delicious cheesecake at Parlour. But never have any of those looked as abysmal as this.

Alongside that, we were served cups of malt milkshake...

Me: "This tastes like Ovaltine."

Mr D: (takes a sip, and face scrunches up in disgust)

I mean, who makes MALT MILKSHAKE. Sometimes sticking to basics works out better, like chocolate or strawberry, maybe? 

Even the funky looking straws could not salvage it.

 One of my favourite courses of a meal - RUINED.

 

This is probably the first time that I can admit that I made the wrong choice - it's usually Mr D that makes the bad decisions. I think it's starting to rub off on me.

 Considering we paid £34.00 (+£1.50) per person (excluding drinks), maybe not quite our money's worth. In terms of food that is. Although we did get a good dose of humour from it...

The entire meal felt more like a roller-coaster ride - with more downs than ups.

I don't usually like writing negative posts, but looking back at the whole experience, this was just too disastrous to miss out in my archive...

I'm sure Chef Ben Spalding is a very talented (and good looking) man - but maybe he just took the twists a bit too far... 

This post will clearly make mum and dad question about their dear daughter's spending and choice of food. They will be visiting soon - I better choose wisely this time.

I also should start cooking again at home more often. 

And I am even tempted to bake a white chocolate and peanut butter cake of some sort this weekend - just so I can wipe out the horrid nightmares and rekindle my love for them again.

The Cheekster, signing out x