london
Showing posts with label london. Show all posts
Showing posts with label london. Show all posts

london: scotchtails, borough market.

scotchtails proved to be strangely elusive- the first time we went to borough market, we wandered around the market in search of it, even googling and asking stall owners, convinced that we were not looking hard enough. in the end we realised that they just weren't open that day (J was astounded when we told her- she was all, it's always there when i go!). the second (and final) time we went back to borough market, i had my fingers crossed- i really, really wanted to try it before we left london. and happily enough, there they were, under one of the makeshift tents.

the menu was simple. scotch egg on a bed of rocket (4.50), meal box which came with additional sweet potato fries (6.90) or just the sweet potato fries alone. we wanted just the scotch egg, but there was no such option (i asked, and was told that they'd charge us 4.50 anyway), so we got the one with rocket. the scotch egg they had on offer that day was a pork one.



i'd had scotch eggs before, but this one was different. most of the time the meat around the scotch egg is such a thin layer that it seems more like an afterthought, but this one was really wrapped with a thick, juicy layer of pork mince. the yolk was molten and a glorious orangey hue. artisanal scotch eggs, indeed. the breading was minimal, making it less greasy than scotch eggs usually are. the scotch egg was finished with a grind of black pepper and sea salt. even the dressing of the rocket was good. i love it when simple things are done well.



i'm glad we managed to try the scotchtails in the end. if i had more space (and time) i probably would've wanted to go back again.

scotchtails
borough market
SE1 1TL
http://www.scotchtails.com
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london: chinese laundry, islington.

never expected to want to eat chinese food while in london, but upon hearing J's enthusiastic recommendation of the place, i decided that C and i had to make a trip there, even though it was quite out of the way. i'm a sucker for chinese fusion, so it was right up my alley.



went for breakfast, because their breakfast/lunch menu was different from dinner. there were so many things i wanted from the menu that it was hard to choose- the only limit was how much our stomachs could fit, really.





service was quick. the first item to arrive was the rice & peanut milk (£2.70), followed by the egg bing (£5.50), which was basically a chinese scallion pancake with a glorious sunny side up sandwiched in between.



the pancake was crispy and yet not greasy- i could almost pretend that it hadn't been pan-fried in oil.



the laundry full (£10.50) arrived next. it was a great way of trying what the restaurant had to offer, since it had a bit of all their morning plates- braised beef, peanuts, tea egg, king oyster mushrooms, julienned potato, bacon and what they called milky little buns (basically fried mantous with a drizzle of condensed milk). i loved the milky little buns, especially paired with the other items. the sheer variety made it a fun eat- kind of like a chinese fusion version of a big breakfast, really.



the shrimp cake benedicte (£12.50) was the item i was eyeing all along, and was adamant about ordering it. theoretically speaking, it should've been great, but it wasn't- let down, perhaps, by the shrimp cake. i was imagining something plump and juicy, but it was overly crisp and to me, it barely qualified as shrimp cake. would've liked more of the peanut brittle, too- i could hardly find it, and it was one of the components that had excited me about the dish. probably should've ordered something else- the savoury tofu did call out to me.

C was really full after the meal, but i felt it was just nice. i did like the food in general- just not the shrimp cake benedicte. i would probably go back again to try their other items. i'm sad that i don't have more stomach space, really.

chinese laundry
107 upper street
N1 1QN
http://chineselaundryroom.co.uk
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london: bao, soho.

i ate a lot in london (and C, who has the stomach of a bird, had no choice but to try to keep up). it makes sense, then, for me to blog about what i ate. i usually plan our food pitstops, but we chanced upon bao in the most singaporean way ever. we were wandering around in soho, rounded a corner, spotted a queue for a restaurant that was across the street, and decided to just join the queue. of course, after that, we googled as to what exactly we were queueing for, and it enticed us enough to stay in the queue.



we'd really lucked out, though, because we'd reached just prior to them opening for lunch. even so, we waited for about half an hour.





we were handed an order chit while in the queue. so many things on the menu tempted me it was hard to narrow it down (figuring that the baos were minuscule in portion we were planning for this to just be a snack). with the help of google we made our decision, and proceeded to entertain ourselves by watching people go up to the storefront, ask for a table, then get told by the staff that the queue was there, and... *cue shocked face*. 



we got a table by the bar, and quickly placed our orders. service was quick and efficient. first thing that came was the peanut milk (£2). two baos came shortly after- the classic (£4) and the confit pork (£4.50). i was more excited by the confit pork initially, but it proved to be too fatty for my taste, and i ended up liking the classic better. it was basically pulled pork (a very aromatic rendition) with fermented greens and a generous dusting of peanut powder sandwiched between fluffy, pillowy buns.



but my favourite, however, was definitely the lamb bao (£5)- the pulled lamb shoulder matched really well with the coriander sauce. i was initially hesitant about ordering it because i'd have to eat it alone (C refuses to eat lamb) but i was so glad i did. C doesn't know what she's missing out- i offered her bites but she plainly refused (more for me, then).



the only letdown, i felt, was the eryngii mushrooms with century egg (£4). i could hardly taste the century egg. should probably have just stuck to the baos.

food was good. fusion at its best, really. if i lived in london i'd probably brave the queue for it again. it was surprisingly filling, too. never intended for it to be lunch, but we ended up being so full that we couldn't eat anything else until dinner.


bao
53 lexington street
W1F 9AS
http://baolondon.com
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