I love visiting London. By living in Brittany, I have the opportunity to go there often but it was more than 5 years since I went in Great Britain so I had lot of things to discover. What I like and admire in London is the harmonious blend of cultures and people from around the world which is constantly enriching the English capital. It’s also what I look for in my plate when I go to London. I’m not a fan of big corporate restaurants or coffee shops, like Pret a manger, Burger King or Starbucks I like privileging small independent or creative shops. En route les Foodies !!

Sunday Roast in Hawksmoor Seven Dial

Let’s start with a traditional British meal. If you still believe British don’t know how to cook please try this. The Sunday roast,  is of course served on Sunday because it used to be eaten after Church. It’s made with roast beef, Yorkshire pudding and stuffing, potatoes, carrots, greens, and other vegetables depending the season. It’s usually served with cheddar sauce or gravy. Hawksmoor is well-known for high quality meat so it sounds the best place to try Sunday roast. Meat was delicious and soft, the Yorkshire pudding was hhhuuuuuge, and they added baked garlic and onions it was fantastic!

Tips: -Better book a table if you want to be sure to have chance to eat Sunday roast. They usually served it during lunch time and they might not have it after 5pm. Portions are huuuugggge be sure to not have a heavy breakfast before this!

Cereal Killer Cafe in Brick Lane

Are you a 90’s kid/ teenager? If yes, you will enjoy so much this funky place! Troll Dolls everywhere, 90’s playlist, and Spice Girl wallpaper! All your favorite cereals are here, from Apple minis to Fruit Loops passing by Cheerios and Lucky Charms. But they are not serving only cereals with milk, they also have a real menu with sweet and salty specialties. It tried a creamy Mac n Cheese topped with spicy Cornflakes and to my surprise it was absolutely amazing! We wanted to have the Unicorn Poop but we were already too full! Next time!

Tasty experience in Bao Soho

Have you ever tried Taiwanese food? I didn’t and I’m glad I had the chance to go to Bao in Soho.  This tiny restaurant has a huge reputation and londoners can tell you, that you have no chance to go to eat there on weekends. The menu is simple and you just check  with a pen what you want to eat. The portions are small sometimes individual or just over a mouthful. So it’s pretty difficult to share but the positive part is that you can try almost the whole menu. Bao, a steamed bun, with fried chicken or comfit pork is very good. Also be prepared to try food that you never had before and to not know what you are eating.  For me the home pickles were delicious but I don’t have clue of what it was.

Tips: They don’t accept reservations so be prepared to wait. The best is to go for late lunch around 1pm during the week. Portions are smalls if you have a big appetite you might be a bit frustrated.

Dominique Ansel Bakery

Dominique Ansel is the French pastry chef who made New York addicted to Kouign Amann and created the Cronuts, a combo between a Croissant and a Donuts. This brilliant idea made him famous all over the world.

But what really attracted me in the London Bakery was the Cookie Shot. A small glass made of biscuit like those snacks that we had in our childhood which interior is lined with chocolate. In this small glass you pour a sweet milk that gently mixes with chocolate. As we drink the milk we start to eat the wall of the glass as it is impossible to resist the smell of cookies. A very fancy school snack !

Flesh and Buns, Covent Garden

Basically for me Japanese cuisine was limited to sushi, miso soup and Ramen. That’s why it was a very good idea to go to try Gua Bao in Flesh and Buns.  The idea of the place is to offer a Japanese bistro food and small plates so you can share. The Bao are fluffy steamed buns you can stuffed with various choices such as chicken or salmon yakitori,  crispy duck, … I highly recommend you to try the Korean fried wings.

‘But you said you had Bao in the Taiwanese restaurant!’ you will tell me. Exactly Japan borrowed Bao from Taiwan cuisine when they colonized it. Both are amazing and very tasty and it’s very interesting to try both.

 

Spring ice cream at 4 Winters

Believe me or not, but last week it was 28 degrees in London ( i know you don’t believe me). After a long walk in Soho we were craving something fresh and what’s more fresh than ice cream? We stopped at 4 Winters. This place is offering home made ice creams but especially the ice cream choices vary according to the seasons. For example for Spring 2018  they have Rose Lokum, Marshmallow passion, Strawberry cheesecake and Lavender honey. I took lavender honey and it was a great choice, you could taste very well the lavender taste but also the sweetness of honey. It was delicious.

Vietnamese espresso at The Expresso Room

If you are tired of Starbucks, Cafe Nero, and Nespresso run to Ormond Street at the tiny coffee shop The Espresso Room. Their coffee is very tasty. I’m not a big fan of espresso because it is usually too bitter but this place has amazing one. Since the weather was very warm I went for iced Vietnamese espresso. Basically in a cup you have the sweetness of the condensed milk with the strong taste of the espresso.  It’s very beautiful but unfortunately you need to mix it to be able to drink it. Very unique way to have your daily dose of caffeine and to be cooled!

It’s always time for Doughnuts 

I couldn’t go in London without eating donuts! Even more since Doughnut Time came from Australia to invade London streets. You can find them in Shoreditch, Victoria, Notting Hill, even at the airport so you can have your last bite of donuts before leaving!

Don’t ask me which one is the best… I tried only 8 yet.