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

FOODIE REVIEW: KAFFEINE + BIBIMBAP

Had a relaxing day out with my sweet friend Lili who's just moved to London - oh how I remember when I first moved down almost 7 months ago, how time flies!

First stop to fill up our empty tummies:

Kaffeine, an independent, Australian/New Zealand owned café located at 66 Great Titchfield Street in Fitzrovia, just north of Oxford Street.

 The cafe is quite small, with limited seating - but cosy and welcoming inside with it's warm earth tones, and great to just chill out and have a light meal, as long as you don't mind sharing tables with other customers.

I ordered a flat white and a gala apple with calvados and walnuts sweet muffin.

Lili had a tasty mixed salad dish and a cup of mocha.

The waiters/waitresses were polite and served drinking water without us even needing to ask. 

They have a weekly menu that they post on their blog, which I think is  great idea that adds variety - not like your typical, commercialized Starbucks/Costa/Nero that are sprouting like mushrooms everywhere.

The food on the counter looked so colourful and tasty, and tasted just as good. And not forgetting the amazing coffee - would definitely recommend a visit. 

We then headed on to Primark on Tottenham Court Road - spent a good 2 hours or so in there (!) and both of us ended up with a happy bag of bargains.

I think I've found a new shopping buddy teehee x

The shopping really worked up an appetite and we both mutually agreed to have Korean - Assa was too long a wait, so we ended up at Bi Bim Bap in Soho.

It was about 4pm by the time we arrived, so it was either a late lunch or an early dinner, still can't quite decide, hmm... 

 

The signature dish here is bibimbap (what could have possibly given it away?), which is available in ten versions - I ordered the Chilli Chicken whilst Lili ordered the Chilli Pork. 

For drinks we had oolong tea.

Speedy service and low prices, a good place for those on a  budget - though I still don't see the justice behind the additional £1.00 for an egg...
Like most Asian places I've been to, you don't expect to see smiley faces on the waiter/waitresses - but as long as the food is cheap and satisfying no one's going to notice much. 

As it was a nice (but chilly) evening, we decided to be 'hard-working' and walked back to Lili's place instead of taking the tube.

This is a rough idea of our walking route...

Distance approximately 2.5 miles

   

May have possibly crossed a different bridge but that's pretty much the distance we covered.

It took us about an hour, but we finally got there!

And I'm not even tired from it.

These boots (and legs) were definitely made for walking *ahem*

Now for a relaxing evening watching Saturday night TV with a glass of wine (and maybe more vitamin c)

Life is good x