THE CUPCAKE & MACARON TOUR OF LONDON

Cupcakes and macarons...how could I resist!

All the weekend slots were fully booked but I managed to take the afternoon off after work on a sunny Friday.

Little did I know that I was going to be the only person who signed up for that day...guess everyone else was at work!

Thankfully I had a friend who joined me at the last minute...making the walk less awkward. What is usually a 20-person tour, turned out to be more of a chilled walk with just the two of us and our own private tour guide.

The tour included 7 tastings on the go.

| The Cupcake Bakehouse | 

Founded by former model Lorraine Pascal who left the catwalk in pursuit of the perfect cupcake.

I had the cherry crumble which was recommended - crumble and cupcake mmm...

Using mainly British ingredients, there was nice balance of lovely moist sponge and icing.

 

| Ladurée |

One of the top premier sellers of the double-decker macaron, and one of the best known macaron makers in the world.

Stylish and irresistibly plump and moist bite-sized macarons.

 

 

| Sweet Couture |

A boutique bakery that's famous for its mouthwatering handmade cupcakes.

Hand baked and decorated using the finest ingredients and no preservatives, they also have a range of treats free-from wheat and gluten.

 

 

 

| Hummingbird Bakery |

Known as London's Magnolia bakery, the Hummingbird Bakery is an American-style bakery founded in 2004, the Soho branch being 1 of 5 branches in London.

The concept was developed by Tarek Malouf who developed as he saw a lack of places in London to enjoy the taste of the truly authentic American-style baking.

Each branch has its own kitchen and team, serving a full range of American-style baked treats and desserts, freshly baked using the same ingredients and techniques as those used in home baking.

 

| Yauatcha |

Michelin starred and known for its contemporary dim sum.

The macarons were much larger than average - the salted caramel macaron was one of the best that I've tasted with a great balance of sweetness and saltiness.

Forgot to take a quick snap at Patisserie Valerie, for which Madame Valerie opened her first patisserie in Frith Street, Soho in 1926. With more than 50 cafes around England, they serve a delicious variety of hand-made cakes, gateaux and patisseries, made using traditional recipes.

I had the pistachio macaron - much smaller in size compared to other places, and pretty average tasting.

| Fortnum & Mason's |

The final stop, with the most impressive display counter - so many colours and flavours, I wish I could have tasted them all!

I chose the Kir Royal because...it's Kir Royal, and such a pretty bright pink colour! Yes, I am a really girly girl.

 

Happy and high on sugar, it was a pleasant little tour around London's finest culinary artisans and dessert boutiques. 

With no slow walkers and stragglers to slow us down, we finished in less than an hour, giving us some time to wind down in the afternoon. 

I'll definitely be popping back to a few of my favourites for more sweet treats!

The Cheekster, signing out x

 

GETTING DRENCHED, YAUATCHA LONDON & COSMOPOLITAN MAG

A post that was from yesterday:

Sunday started out as quite a grey chilly morning and as always I was prepared with my trusty Fulton umbrella. 

As the rain suddenly started with heavy drops sending people on the street scurrying to seek shelter, me and my friend thought we were prepared as we swiftly took out our umbrellas and continued walking under the pelting rain. It was literally within seconds that we were ambushed by this HUGE gust of wind and bullets of water coming at us at 45 degree angles...that killed our umbrellas. Oh what a sight it must have been as the two of us ran against the rain trying to shelter our already drenched bodies with half-broken umbrellas. Yes, my supposedly wind-proof umbrella was left broken and battered, there was no hope left for her - as I buried her in a nearby trashcan. The both of us on the other hand were left cold and shivering at the entrance of T.k.maxx - I think I was more concerned about my wet, disheveled hair (which I had just washed in the morning!) rather than about catching a cold.

Literally seconds after we ran inside, the rain stopped...and the sun decided to come out - what luck ay. Looks like my leather jacket and shoes just got their first experience of rain, and probably not the last.

We eventually dried off and treated ourselves to lunch at Yauatcha in Soho - a contemporary dim sum teahouse, the younger sibling of Hakkasan which I blogged about in an earlier post.

Sauces

Prawn, cuttlefish and zucchini dumpling

Fried duck and pumpkin dumpling

Sirloin beef and enoki mushroom cheung fun

We ordered our favourite dessert, hoping that it would taste as amazing as the one at Hakkasan! This one was different though, the one at Hakkasan was steamed and covered in ground peanuts, whilst this was deep fried and coated with sesame seeds. 

It did take a while for it to arrive, during which we were served some complimentary macaroons - I'm guessing because I was served a dirty, chipped plate...

Complimentary macaroons

Deep fried sesame balls

Overall looks pretty classy, though service was a bit slow particularly as it was during lunchtime. Both levels were packed with customers - not as many Asian people except for maybe the younger 'hip' ones - like us ha! Traditional dad would be astonished by the exorbitant prices of the dim sum... 

And now back to the present day:

Today I became a London tourist guide ha! Majority of the time I just walked aimlessly but ended up at the destination somehow! Yes you can always trust a woman's sense of direction.

Weather was good and Camden Town was buzzing as usual - had an awesome sausage with potatoes for lunch from a Polish stall.

Today I decided to go for the sporty young street look, not quite my everyday look but it's cool to mix it up a bit sometimes. I think my new trainers make me feel more youthful lol.

And I got stopped by people from Cosmopolitan to get a photo snapped and briefly interviewed for a quick feature on street-wear lol! How very intriguing...

Skirt: Zara TRF / Top: H&M / Bag: Zara / Shoes: DKNY / Accessories: Sam Ubhi & Forever 21

Well I guess that's my weekend over and it's back to the work routine tomorrow!

xoxo